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American Morning

Record Breaking Price for Gas and Oil; Keystone Countdown: One Day Until Pennsylvania Primary; Pope Bids Farewell; What Voters are Looking For

Aired April 21, 2008 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


ANNOUNCER: Last round: 24 hours to Pennsylvania, out comes the kitchen sink.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POLITICAL AD ANNOUNCER: Obama's attacks have been called, quote, "destructive" and "poisoning."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POLITICAL AD ANNOUNCER: Eleventh hour smears, paid for by lobbyist money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Blistering attacks from both sides.

The most politics in the morning.

New this morning: Jimmy Carter, one-on-one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FMR PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No substantive progress is being made. This is disheartening.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Speaking with CNN about his meeting with Hamas.

And, back home in Rome: the lasting legacy of the pope's "Mission to America" on this AMERICAN MORNING.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN HOST: Good morning. Thanks very much for being with us on this Monday, the 21st day of April, that all-important primary just 24 hours away now.

ALINA CHO, CNN HOST: That's right. It seems like it's been a long week, couple of weeks than it has been. But, finally --

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: I think it was seven weeks ago was the -- CHO: Finally, we're primary eve. Yes, partial of it.

ROBERTS: Seven weeks ago was the last primary. Incredible. It took this long and it's almost here.

Breaking news to tell you about this morning, though. The gasoline prices broke another record over the weekend and may have hit an important psychological marker. Taking a look at the CNN gas gauge this morning, for the first time ever, the average price for a gallon of regular -- look at this -- $3.50. That's up almost 25 cents from just a month ago. And last year, it was a relative bargain at $2.86.

Oil continues its record rise as well. Oil prices spiked overnight to a record $117.40 a barrel. One factor, a Japanese oil tanker was attacked in the Middle East off of the coast of Yemen. There are also reports that rebels may have shut down a crucial pipeline in Nigeria. We'll keep an eye on this for you this morning. Ali Velshi will be here in just a couple of minutes to tell you what it all means.

We're just one day away now as we said from the critical Pennsylvania primary, the first time in more than a month that voters will go to the polls. In that time, we have become familiar with Barack Obama's pastor. We've seen buzzwords like Bosnia and bitter hit the headlines and increasingly negative campaigning.

One hundred fifty-eight delegates at stake in Pennsylvania. Right now, Barack Obama leads by 146 delegates. It would take a large victory for Hillary Clinton to make a significant dent in that.

Jim Acosta is live for us in Philadelphia this morning. And Jim, I'm sure that voters are getting pretty excited about going to the polls tomorrow, what has been a long wait for them and for everyone in America watching this contest.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, John, and Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are stepping up their attacks on one another as they barnstorm the Keystone State for last minute undecided voters. As expected, both Democrats are airing negative TV ads across Pennsylvania while at the same time accusing one another of hitting below the belt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I hear Senator Clinton's campaign say they're going to throw the kitchen sink strategy at us, and they try to manufacture or exploit fake controversies instead of talking about what is important for the American people, how we're going to deal with the energy problems, how we're going to deal with the mortgage lending crisis. And I'm thinking while you learn the wrong lessons from those Republicans who are going after you in the same way using the same tactics all those years.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So while my opponent says one thing and his campaign does another, you can count on me to tell you where I stand and you can count on me to tell you very specifically the solutions that I'm offering for America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: The Obama campaign which has spent the most money in the state is still confident, or is trying to stay confident that they could pull off an upset in the state while team Clinton says it is taking nothing for granted. Hillary Clinton has seen her double-digit lead in this state dwindle down to something in the neighborhood of five percentage points.

Meanwhile, there is still a healthy chunk of undecided voters, somewhere around nine percentage points. That may bode well for Hillary Clinton who has done well with those last-minute undecided voters in recent elections. And with all of this talk of undecided voters, it's no surprise that Barack Obama is spending or wrapping up this campaign day where Hillary Clinton has been very strong out in Pittsburgh while Hillary Clinton will be attacking Barack Obama's base of support here in Philadelphia. One thing is certain in this state, it won't be feeling like Groundhog Day in Pennsylvania for very much longer -- John.

ROBERTS: That's a good thing. Jim Acosta for us this morning in Philadelphia. Jim, thanks very much, and all kinds of politics to tell you about this morning as we're 24 hours away from that big primary.

CHO: That's right. You know we're upon a primary when the candidates start losing their voices as Hillary Clinton seems to be. Meanwhile, Barack Obama has been outspending Hillary Clinton big-time in Pennsylvania. Thanks in no small part to his fundraising juggernaut. Take a look.

The latest campaign finance report show Obama raised $41 million in March and had $42 million available for primary spending in April. Hillary Clinton raised $20 million in March and had $31 million available for April.

Over on the Republican side, meanwhile, John McCain raised $15 million in March and had $11 million cash on hand at the start of the month. And a quick programming note just hours before Pennsylvania voters head to the polls, Hillary Clinton will sit down with Larry King tonight. That's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN -- John.

ROBERTS: Breaking news this morning out of Illinois. Another aftershock reported overnight, the 18th and the strongest since Friday's earthquake. The 4.5 tremor happened about 40 miles from Evansville, Indiana, about 130 miles from St. Louis. Friday's 5.2 quake caused a little bit of damage, was felt from Nebraska all the way to Atlanta.

Scientists say potential destruction from Midwest quakes could be widespread since the bedrock there is not as fractured, not as broken up as it is in the West Coast, which allows the shock waves to travel much further.

This morning security is tight at a school in South Carolina after a major security threat was avoided. 18-year-old Ryan Shallenberger (ph) was arrested on Saturday in Chesterfield County. Police say the teen was plotting a Columbine-like attack, nine years after the Colorado school shootings. The teen's parents called police after they received a package of bomb making materials.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF SAM PARKER, CHESTERFIELD COUNTY: In the past, he's experimented with pipe bombs, and we find these in the experimental stage of making explosive devices.

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ROBERTS: Police say that they also confiscated a hate-filled diary that included details of the attack and maps of the school. Shallenberger (ph) has been charged with making bomb threats.

DNA testing begins today to identify the 416 children taken into state custody from that polygamist compound near Eldorado, Texas. Child Welfare officials say once the children give samples, they will then be placed in foster care. Their parents will give DNA samples later on this week, and authorities now want to know whether a 33-year-old woman arrested in Colorado sparked the entire investigation. Texas Rangers say they have evidence suggesting the woman lied by claiming to be an abused 16-year-old on the polygamist ranch.

CHO: Well, he was just here, and Pope Benedict XVI arrived back at the Vatican overnight after a six-day visit to the United States. Vice president Dick Cheney hosted a farewell ceremony last night at New York's John F. Kennedy Airport Hangar 19. The Pope thanked American Catholics and members of other faiths for their warm hospitality.

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POPE BENEDICT XVI, LEADER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: I ask you to remember me in your prayers, and I assure you of my affectionate friendship in the Lord. May God bless America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Hours earlier, the Pope celebrated mass at Yankee Stadium. It was quite a sight. Nearly 60,000 people attended. Imagine having a ticket to that. The Holy Father urged all Catholics to unite, understand real freedom, and to reject abortion. The Pope also addressed the clergy sex abuse scandal several times during his visit. And stay tuned because Jason Carroll will be with us in a couple of minutes with a complete wrap up of the Pope's visit.

Meanwhile, former President Carter is speaking out about his recent sit down with the exile leader of Hamas. This morning in Jerusalem, Carter also took aim at his critics saying the problem is not the fact that he met with the militant group, but that Israel and the U.S. refused to meet with someone. He says everyone must be involved in the peace process, and he said Hamas would accept a peace agreement if it's approved by the Palestinians. CNN has interviewed President Carter this morning. We're going to have that interview for you in our next half hour -- John.

ROBERTS: Seven minutes after the hour. Of course, we're talking about the big Pennsylvania primary coming up that's keeping a lot of people busy. Well, emergency crews in Philadelphia are busy this morning attending to a massive warehouse fire. This is another structure that has caught fire as a result of embers flying over from the original warehouse fire.

This is in the Frankford area of northeastern Philadelphia, and there is the camera pan as you can see a little bit more. There's the warehouse where the whole thing started. A lot of fire crews on the scene there. They've been pouring water on the fire since about 3:00 this morning when it broke out.

But now again, because those embers are flying off of that building and landing on other structures, they've got more fires to contend with. So we'll keep an eye on this for you this morning. Keep coming back to it. Let you know what the process and the progress is in fighting this fire. Apparently nobody inside this warehouse at the time.

CHO: Thank goodness.

ROBERTS: Don't know at this point what it was used for or the adjacent three-storey structure that's on fire now as well. But we'll keep an eye on that for you this morning.

Pumping up, gas prices reaching a new record high overnight. Have drivers reached their threshold? Our senior business correspondent Ali Velshi joins us from the Election Express. He's also in Philadelphia today.

And extreme weather, wildfires force hundreds of people to flee in New Mexico. What's causing the flames to move so fast? We've got that for you coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: We're back at AMERICAN MORNING. It's 10 minutes after the hour.

Oil spikes and gasoline hits a new high. Why did it happen? What are drivers doing about it? Ali Velshi in Philadelphia this morning with CNN's Election Express, which I take it, Ali, may not be rolling as much as it was once. Now, the diesel jumped about $4 a gallon. What's going on here with gasoline and oil prices?

ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right. First of all, that's been parked for a while but it probably cost about $1,000 to fill it with the prices of diesel as they are right now. Let me tell you, there's two different stories and I'll start with the oil because the natural evolution of things starts with oil.

Oil hitting $117.40 overnight. Now, why? One is reports of rebel attacks on a pipeline in Nigeria. That happens fairly often. Nigeria is one of the world's largest producers of oil. The second one is a Japanese tanker, was attacked off the coast of Yemen. Unclear yet what happened, but one ship fired on that tanker and it was leaking oil.

Now, why should one tanker affect the price of oil? It's because our supplies are so tight, we're using so much oil that any oil that isn't being processed into diesel or heating oil or gasoline causes the price to go up in an unstable market like this.

Now, let's look at gasoline. According to the AAA, gasoline, the national average for a gallon of self-serve unleaded has reached $3.50 a gallon. Now, according to another survey that we use fairly often, the Lundberg survey, it's about $3.47. AAA has about 85,000 gas stations and it is based on the last credit card swipe last night. Lundberg is sort of a more scientific survey of about 7,000 gas stations so they tend to be the same one, and it's every two weeks.

I should tell you the numbers tend to track each other. Now, yesterday morning, I paid about $3.78 for gas in Long Island. I paid $3.23 in New Jersey. So a national average doesn't mean anything to most people. But why are we telling you what the average is? It's because we are trying to give you a sense of the trend, and the trend in every state has been up.

The question now, John, as we've discussed many times is, does $3.50 and that trend cause people to make decisions about how they drive, what they do, whether they carpool, whether they trade their car in, whether they move closer to home, that's the question right now. We have seen consumption of gasoline in the United States actually start to edge down -- John.

ROBERTS: Let's not forget too, Ali, that a lot of people have already been paying more than $3.50 a gallon because a lot of these new, more efficient cars have to run on, you know, super gasoline.

VELSHI: Premium.

ROBERTS: So that's about $3.75.

VELSHI: Yes.

ROBERTS: Yes. All right. Ali Velshi for us this morning.

VELSHI: And, by the way --

ROBERTS: Go ahead.

VELSHI: We'll chat more about it afterwards.

ROBERTS: All right. Thanks, Ali.

VELSHI: I was just going to say that -- we'll talk later.

ROBERTS: All right.

(CROSSTALK)

CHO: Well, high sales are up 38 percent.

ROBERTS: Problem with the satellite delay.

CHO: Yes. That's OK.

ROBERTS: I say it here and it doesn't reach there until two seconds later. We'll keep up to date with Ali on this this morning.

CHO: Yes, I know you had a beautiful Saturday, right, in D.C., but not so good Sunday. But we've had some wacky weather going on.

ROBERTS: It poured. It poured all day Sunday.

CHO: But some wild weather in our nation's capital to tell you about. Thunderstorms set off six tornadoes around Maryland and Washington, D.C. Wildfires in New Mexico. Another earthquake in southern Illinois early this morning. Rob Marciano is watching all of the extreme weather for us. Hey, Rob, good morning.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Alina. A possibility of all that happening again today. Might see the ground shake in Illinois, seems to not want to stop. And the storm that produced those tornadoes around D.C. is very slow to move out. Complete weather forecast is coming up after the break. Stay right there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. We are tracking extreme weather this morning including a wildfire just outside Albuquerque, New Mexico. Take a look at those pictures. It forced hundreds of people to leave two towns. High winds are grounding air tankers and fanning the flames.

And severe thunderstorms bore (ph) at least six tornadoes in the Washington, D.C. area on Sunday. One of them damaging an elementary school and a church in Prince George's County, Maryland.

Rob Marciano is at the weather update desk tracking all of the extreme weather for us. Rob, you are a busy bee this morning.

MARCIANO: Yes, we've got all spectrums of the natural disaster arena to cover. First off, the tornadoes across the mid-Atlantic. Here's a graphic of the storm reports that have come in. Six in total ranging from North Carolina up through Virginia and in through Maryland as well. And this one in particular, right in the District of Columbia and this one did some damage. It was an EF-0 and it did some damage or EF-1 did some damage to the elementary school in that particular area.

So crazy weather last night. And this storm that produced these tornadoes is very, very slow to move out. The center of it is right there. We'll zoom in a little bit to the radar scope. You notice that it's just kind or swirling around. It's not really moving out to sea like we like these to do. So that means that today we will see similar weather and with a strong east wind and a full moon, high tide is going to create some coastal flooding in some parts of these areas.

If you live in Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads, you're in for a wet morning. A breezy cool east wind off through Alexandria, Boston, and in through inside the belt way, same deal. And again, some of these thunderstorms could be on the rough side later on today. While record breaking cold temperatures across parts of the northwest, Great Falls got down to minus one with 12 inches of snow yesterday. And on top of all that with that fire burning in New Mexico, we once again, Alina, have a critical fire danger out in effect for parts of the southwest today.

CHO: Wacky weather. Wacky weather in the pacific northwest, too, Rob. All right, thanks.

MARCIANO: OK.

ROBERTS: And yesterday in Washington, the Washington area, we had just thunderstorm after thunderstorm after thunderstorm roll through in torrential downpours, and it made for a pretty wild "Hot Shot". Take a look at this.

Lightning strikes a plane in midair.

CHO: Oh, wow.

ROBERTS: A "Hot Shot" you got to see there. In fact, two commuter planes reported being struck just a couple of minutes apart as those violent storms blew through parts of Maryland and northern Virginia. Take a look at that there.

Wow! Incredible! Right through the aircraft. One of those aircrafts had to turn around, landed safely at Dulles Airport. The other one was diverted and landed in Baltimore. Everyone was OK, but there is some -- I've never, ever seen that before.

CHO: I don't think I've ever seen that either.

ROBERTS: And that is just extraordinary.

CHO: You're lucky to take the train back to New York.

ROBERTS: I'll tell you, it was the way to go yesterday.

CHO: Imagine being on that plane. It's a good thing nobody was hurt.

ROBERTS: You know, if anybody was on that plane that got hit by lightning, send us a --

CHO: Yes.

ROBERTS: Drop us an e-mail.

CHO: Good idea.

ROBERTS: Go to CNN.com/am and let us know what it was like. Give us some contact information. Maybe we'll get you on the air to talk about it. If you got a "Hot Shot," send it to us as well. Go to CNN.com/am and follow the links. We'd love to get it on TV. But I tell you, we raised the bar this morning.

CHO: Yes, we certainly did. That is some "Hot Shot."

All right. The Pope back home in the Vatican this morning. The message and the impact from his six days in America. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Pope Benedict XVI returning to the Vatican overnight after his six-day trip to the United States, and it was a packed schedule. He celebrated mass in Washington, D.C. and New York City, visited Ground Zero, and met with victims sexually abused by priests.

CNN's Jason Carroll covered the Pope's trip. He joins us now. It was just incredible to see those pictures inside Yankee Stadium.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes.

CHO: And the Pope looked almost as happy to see the crowd as the crowd did to see him. You know, it was really amazing.

CARROLL: He really did. It was definitely history making. The Pope was seen by thousands during his papal visit, but perhaps one of his most important efforts was when he met privately with victims of sexual abuse by priests.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL (voice-over): On the last day of his celebrated six-day U.S. trip, Pope Benedict XVI looked to the future and pledged to remember the past. The Pope talked about the days ahead for Catholics in a flowing mass inside a packed Yankee Stadium.

POPE BENEDICT XVI, LEADER OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: The blessings of freedom in all that will build a future of hope for coming generations.

CARROLL: While the past was remembered with a solemn morning prayer at Ground Zero.

POPE BENEDICT: God of peace, bring your peace to our world (ph) and us.

CARROLL: It was there Pope Benedict met with a small group of survivors and family members of 9/11 victims, among them, a firefighter who lost his brother that day.

TOM RICHES, MET POPE AT GROUND ZERO: It's comforting to know that, you know, that our loved ones aren't forgotten and that the ground is sacred to him, because it's always been sacred to us.

CARROLL: But it was another sobering issue, that of sexual abuse by priests, that may have defined Benedict's first papal visit to the U.S. The pontiff addressed the issue more than once. He took the unexpected and extraordinary step of meeting with victims. The move was met with some surprise and much praise.

FATHER JOHN BARTUNEK, AUTHOR, "INSIDE THE PASSION": He believes in the power of the truth to heal wounds and to inspire the human heart. And so, he wasn't afraid to deal directly with something that is a very -- it's a tragic and a difficult truth to face.

CARROLL: That meeting gave many victims hope while others warned it's only a first step.

GEORGE SHEA, SEX ABUSE SURVIVOR: The fear is that once he gets on the plane today and leaves, everybody is going to say great, he addressed it and now it's over. There's no more work that needs to be done. But, you know, the way I see it, he just started the work that needs to be done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And the true test of what type of impact the Pope's visit had will come later. We will see. Will we see a rise in church attendance? Will more men end up joining the priesthood? Will the church respond aggressively when there are future allegations of abuse? All this remains to be seen.

CHO: Yes, but he certainly started the dialogue and it was just an incredible visit. Who said this Pope wasn't a rock star, by the way? The reaction in the crowd told the story.

CARROLL: Absolutely.

CHO: Jason Carroll, thank you so much.

CARROLL: All right.

ROBERTS: Twenty-four minutes after the hour now, and we're just 24 hours away from the big Pennsylvania primary. A contest that some people say could save or doom Hillary Clinton's campaign. Many people believe that Clinton has to do decisively well to keep party insiders from backing Barack Obama and pushing her to drop out of the contest.

So that brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. If Hillary Clinton doesn't win tomorrow's Pennsylvania primary by a substantial margin, do you think she should drop out of the race?

Cast your vote at CNN.com/am. We'll have the first tally of your votes coming up a little bit later on this hour. And we'd like to hear from you as well. Drop us an e-mail. Go to our Web site, CNN.com/am. Follow the links that say "contact us." We'll read your e-mails a little bit later in our next hour here.

And a quick programming note as well. Hillary Clinton sits down with Larry King tonight. It's your chance to ask the questions. Head to our Web site, we'll tell you how. As always, you can watch Larry King right here on CNN, 9:00 p.m. Eastern. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning." Former President Jimmy Carter lashing out after coming under fire at home and abroad for meeting with leaders of the militant Palestinian group Hamas. What he's saying and whether it will impact the peace process. CNN talked with President Carter this morning. We'll have that for you ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: It's 27 minutes after the hour. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama stepping up the attack ads in the final blitz before tomorrow's crucial Pennsylvania primary. Clinton attacking Obama over his health care plan and Washington inexperience, and Obama accusing Clinton of using "slash and burn politics." How is it all playing with voters?

Joining us now from Philadelphia is E. Steven Collins. He is the host of the popular radio show, "Philly Speaks." He interviewed Hillary Clinton over the weekend. He joins us now.

E. Steven, thanks for being with us this morning. How are Philadelphia voters feeling? It's been seven weeks of waiting here until tomorrow. They got to be pretty excited about this whole thing.

E. STEVEN COLLINS, HOST, "PHILLY SPEAKS": John, I totally think people are very excited here. I also think people are ready for it to be over because we've seen ads and news reports and interviews and on and on, people knocking on doors. There's so much excitement here built up because so much is at stake.

As you know, this is a very, very important primary for a variety of reasons. It could be make or break as you pointed out earlier for Hillary Clinton.

ROBERTS: Right.

COLLINS: And it could be an opportunity for Barack Obama to demonstrate that he can close this deal and a lot of people in this city and across the country are interested in his ability to get that done.

ROBERTS: You know, the candidates over the weekend were complaining about how negative this contest has gone. Here's a couple of examples of some negative attack ads. Let's listen to those.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Obama's attacks have been called "destructive and poisoning." There are more and more questions about Barack Obama. Instead of attacking, maybe he should answer them.

ANNOUNCER: Federal records show Clinton has raised millions from PACs and lobbyists, more than any candidate in either party. Eleventh hour smears, paid for by lobbyist money. Isn't that exactly what we need to change?

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROBERTS: That's what we've got going on in the airwaves, under the robo-calling, the attack mailers as well. What do people there in Pennsylvania think about this attack, attack, attack?

COLLINS: Well, to be completely honest with you, the weather has been so great here, it's been like 78 degrees. Everybody I know has been out getting a little suntan, enjoying a little outdoor activity. A lot of people I think haven't really focused on those particular themes of health insurance or lobbyist's money.

I think in our city and in the suburban areas closely associated with Philadelphia, issues like crime, unemployment, the economy, the economy, the economy, are central themes over and over and over again. You have double-digit unemployment among African-American men and at the same time, such an increase in street crime.

Our new mayor has done a great job at beginning to reduce the numbers. But so far, almost 90 people have been killed by gun violence in Philadelphia, something that unfortunately, our great city is known for as the murder capital.

ROBERTS: Right. You know, we should mention too that in two hours time, coming up at our 8:00 hour here, Mayor Michael Nutter will be joining us. He's supporting Hillary Clinton. You had an interview, Steven, as we said with Hillary Clinton over the weekend, talking about the idea of the Democratic Party eventually coming together around the eventual nominee. Let's listen to what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: During an election, people feel passionately about their candidates. That's the right thing to do, because obviously we're all working very hard to engender that level of intense support.

But anyone who is listening, I hope they know that whatever differences there are between Senator Obama and myself, they pale in comparison to the differences with Senator McCain. And we're going to have a unified Democratic Party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: What do you think about that statement? We will have a unified Democratic Party. The length and intensity of this primary season, will there be lingering divisions or will it all be bygones by bygones and people will get together?

E. STEVEN COLLINS, HOST, "PHILLY SPEAKS": I sure hope so. I think that, John, as you know the history of the Democratic Party is a party that people articulate their different views. You mentioned our mayor's coming on a little later on this morning and I think he's put it well in terms of just articulating his view that he can be an African-American and support Hillary Clinton.

I think there's a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for her despite what polls say. And yet, at the same time, I think a lot of people vote black and white here and across the country are just gaga over Obama, and what he represent.

The other night here at Independence Mall, 30,000 to 40,000 people showed up on a Friday night, a beautiful summer night, down in Independence Mall in downtown Philadelphia to show their support and waited for hours for him to come and speak.

And so we see that, the amount of money he's raised, the set records, the way in which he's conducting his campaign are all different ways that have attracted 18 to 24, 18 to 34-year-old voters for the very first time. And in that, the overall Democratic Party is the big winner. 4.1 million voters here in Pennsylvania alone. And of that number, 235 -- 240,000 newly registered voters for this major contest.

ROBERTS: Well, we'll see. It's expected to be a record turnout tomorrow. A lot of people excited about. E. Steven Collins, thanks very much for being with us this morning.

COLLINS: Thanks, John. Good to be with you.

ROBERTS: Good to talk to you.

Alina?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We want to tell you that Barack Obama giving a backhanded complement to his Republican rival John McCain while campaigning in Pennsylvania saying, quote, "Either Democrat would be better than John McCain and all three would be better than George Bush." Meanwhile, McCain is accusing the Democrats of supporting tax hikes that would make a recession even worse he says.

And he said cutting taxes and stimulating the economy are much more important right now than trying to balance the budget.

Breaking news this morning. Gasoline prices broke another record this weekend. Taking a look at the CNN gas gauge. The average price for a gallon of regular is now at $3.50. That's up almost 25 cents from a month ago and last year, gas was just $2.86. Seems like a bargain.

Oil also on a record price. Oil prices spiked overnight to a record $117.40 a barrel. One factor, a Japanese oil tanker was attacked in the Middle East off the coast of Yemen.

More new numbers released overnight. Most likely related to the ones you just heard. A research firm that watches the auto industry says hybrid sales were up 38 percent in the U.S. last year with the Toyota Prius leading the way. No surprise there. Hybrids still made up just two percent of the overall U.S. market share.

John?

ROBERTS: Spain is asking for help in finding a fishing boat that was hijacked by pirates. Spanish media reports say the pirates boarded the boat off of the Coast of Somalia on Sunday demanding money. 26 crew members are believed to be on board. The Spanish Ministry of Defense says there were no reports of injuries. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice making a surprise visit to Baghdad in support of the Iraqi government. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki assured her he would not back down in the confrontation with Shiite Militias.

Meanwhile, followers of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr are refusing to disband their militia as the government has demanded. Iraqi soldiers on Sunday took control of the last stronghold of Sadr's Mahdi Army in the city of Basra.

A warning today from the Secretary General of the United Nations about global food production at a U.N. conference, and Ban Ki-Moon said the world urgently needs to boost production to stop soaring costs and prevent shortages. He has promised to create a task force to deal with the problem. Food prices have jumped by about 40 percent around the world, sparking riots in some countries.

CHO: Well, Former President Jimmy Carter this morning criticized the U.S. and Israel for refusing to negotiate with Hamas. Speaking in Jerusalem this morning, Mr. Carter repeated that he thinks Hamas should be part of the Mid-East peace process. The U.S. considers Hamas to be a terrorist organization.

About an hour ago, Mr. Carter sat down with CNN and our Atikia Shubert joins us now from Jerusalem with more on what Mr. Carter had to say.

Good morning, Atikia.

ATIKIA SHUBERT, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alina. And of course, the most controversial part of his trip to the region was precisely that meeting with Hamas leaders in Syria.

Now, former president made it clear that he's not here as an official negotiator or mediator, but when he talked to CNN, he defended his meeting with Hamas saying that they must be a part of a final peace deal and that so far, the Bush administration's policy of trying to isolate and exclude Hamas simply has not worked and the peace talks have gone nowhere. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No substantive progress is being made and this is disheartening to everyone in Israel and in Palestine, who hope that this will be the case. So the answer is that everyone hopes for peace. That many negotiations taking place, but nothing is being accomplished.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHUBERT: Now, again, Carter reiterated that Hamas must be a part of the final peace deal. And he said he's not a negotiator or a mediator, but that he hopes that with this meeting, with this visit, he will be able to push both Israel and the U.S. to deal directly with Hamas.

Alina? CHO: Atikia Shubert, live in Jerusalem for us. Atikia, thank you.

ROBERTS: And 36 minutes after the hour. How will issue no. 1, the economy affect voters in Pennsylvania? Our senior business correspondent Ali Velshi joins us live from the Election Express in Philadelphia with more.

Hey, Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. You know, voters across the country are keeping their eye on Pennsylvania and what the presidential candidates are saying here. Not because of how it's going to affect the outcome tomorrow in the primary, but because of what they're saying that might help them in their home state. So when we come back, I'm going to compare Pennsylvania to the rest of the country. Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: 39 minutes after the hour. Watching that breaking news out of Philadelphia for you this morning. Here are some live pictures coming in to us. A seven alarm fire burning through a complex of what we understand are vacant buildings right now. Live section of one of the buildings has collapsed.

On the phone with us is Lloyd Ayers. He's the fire commissioner of Philadelphia.

Commissioner Ayers, thanks for joining us. What have you got your hands around there?

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: Yes, Hi. John Roberts here at CNN.

Commissioner, can you tell us what the situation on the ground is there?

VOICE OF COMM. LLOYD AYERS, PHILADELPHIA FIRE DEPARTMENT: Yes. This fire came in about 2:48 this morning. It was a box at 1494 Leaper and Adams (ph). It's in the Frankfurt section of the city of Philadelphia. It's bordered by the Frankfurt Creek.

It definitely went to seven alarms. This is a complex of approximately seven buildings, varying in range from four-storey to two-storey. We had heavy fire involvement and one of the buildings, four-storey that rapidly exposed homes on the eight division side. We had evacuated approximately ten homes.

We have 15 people sheltered in schools right now. As I have said, the fire has been a very (INAUDIBLE) fight. We have tried to protect the creek. We got to runoff into the creek. We're a little concerned about that. We have had some ways to check in that. But there's about 170 firefighters and right now about 50 or 60 pieces of apparatus just trying to contain this fire. ROBERTS: And very quickly, commissioner, if you could, were the buildings unoccupied at the time? We understand that they were abandoned, but you're certain that there were no people inside?

AYERS: Say again, please?

ROBERTS: I said, we understand that these buildings were not in use at the time, but are you 100 percent sure that there were no people inside them at the time of this fire?

AYERS: Yes, we have the manager on the scene and one building was used for storage. We have one building, a four-storey which we're protecting right now. We don't have fire in it right now. We have heavy paper storage on the second, third, and fourth floors. Storage of metal on the first floor of the same building.

The other buildings were vacant. Through the years, they had been used at several things. One is a dyeing factory for fabrics, which is one of the reasons we are very concerned with the runoff into the Frankfurt Creek right now.

ROBERTS: All right. Well, commissioner, we'll let you go. You sound like you're very busy there. And incredibly impressive pictures that we're seeing this morning. Commissioner Lloyd Ayers from the City of Philadelphia with an update on that fire for us this morning.

Alina?

CHO: Well, Ali Velshi is with the CNN express in Philadelphia talking about issue no. 1 for Americans, that's of course, the economy.

Hey, Ali. So gas reaching another all-time high, that psychological level of $3.50. Oil at an all-time high, what's going on?

VELSHI: Well, you know, we're right on the Delaware River here, so you can cross the river and go into New Jersey which has the lowest price gas in the United States.

And that's the popular thing to do when you're in Philadelphia. But let's talk about what is going on in Philadelphia. For those of you who are not in Pennsylvania, who are looking into the state to see what the presidential candidates are doing.

You know, the unemployment rate in the country is 5.1 percent. The unemployment rate in Pennsylvania is actually a little lower. It's at 4.9 percent, which is interesting. But look at the major cities. Philadelphia has an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent. And Pittsburgh, which is far more industrial than Philadelphia has an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent.

Bring it back here to Philadelphia and let's talk about what some of the major industries are that employ people. You'll notice at the top of the list, education and health services, that's typical, by the way, of major cities with a big population.

Trade transportation and utilities is the second biggest employer. This is on the I-95 corridor. Just a little bit off from there so it's a major transportation center. And remember that Philadelphia is the working port, one of the oldest in the country.

Professional and business services are a big deal in Philadelphia. Headquarters of many, many companies. Government is a major employer here and manufacturing. You don't always see manufacturing in the top five industries in a city. But Philadelphia does have a sort of a gritty industrial side to it as well.

So the interesting thing here, is that the presidential candidates in order to attract voters have got to appeal to a very wide swathe of people. And that's why this campaign is interesting to the rest of the country, because the things that they are saying about Philadelphia and about Pennsylvania will have appeal to those states that haven't voted yet in the primaries and to those people who are trying to tell which of these presidential candidates will be the best for them.

So that's what makes watching this primary from an issue no. 1, from an economic perspective. Very interesting.

Alina and John?

CHO: And by tomorrow, they'll spend $20 million between the two of them, Obama and Clinton, on advertising to get that message out. So all right, Ali, thank you.

ROBERTS: Pretty incredible. Britain's Prince William catching a little bit of flak today. Coming up, we'll tell you where he landed in a military helicopter and why it's causing quite a stir. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROBERTS: Rob, thanks very much. Is Prince William abusing his royal powers? Coming up, we'll tell you about a new controversy involving the prince's girlfriend and a British Air Force helicopter?

CHO: Can't wait to hear that one. And steps taken today -

ROBERTS: Hey, it's not what you're thinking.

CHO: It isn't what you think. Any, steps taken today to determine which children belong to which parents after that raid on the polygamist compound in Texas.

Plus new questions about the caller who may have sparked the raid. Next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Ten minutes to the top of the hour. Britain's Prince William just got his wings, but a couple of his recent flying maneuvers are raising some eyebrows. ITN's Nick Thatcher explains. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK THATCHER, ITV NEWS (voice-over): If you want a surefire way to impress the girlfriend, then landing your helicopter in her back garden might be hard to beat. William, who was recently awarded his RAF wings, touched down in a field in the grounds of Kate Middleton's family home earlier this month.

The Prince was flying a Chinook helicopter similar to this one. It was the same aircraft he used on a separate occasion to pick up Brother Harry en route to a stag party. Defense officials insist it's all part of his training, but the nature of the flights have raised a few eyebrows in military circles.

COL. BOB STEWART, DEFENSE ANALYST: I think behind the scenes they're furious. This is a shot in the foot you don't need, quite honestly. It's not a big deal. But they're upset because it's an unnecessary piece of adverse publicity at a time when we're so short of helicopters in Afghanistan.

THATCHER: The Prince has been on attachment with the RAF as part of preparations for his future role as the head of the Armed Forces.

In a statement, the Ministry of Defense said "Battlefield helicopter crews routinely practice landing in fields and confined spaces as a vital part of their training for operations." And it adds, "This was very much a routine training sortie that achieved essential training objectives."

William is due to complete his flying training at the end of the month and his next attachment with the Royal Navy will see him swap the helicopters and planes for the ships.

Nick Thatcher, ITV News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: The British Defense Ministry confirms that the Prince did land at his girlfriend's family farm, but it says he was only on the ground for about 20 seconds and that he never got out of the helicopter.

CHO: I really want to know whether he proposed. That's the big question I have. They've been dating since college. I know you really care about the (INAUDIBLE).

ROBERTS: It was just a test flight for the ultimate one there.

CHO: All part of the training. All right.

Coming up, untangling the polygamist family ties. Today, the children from that Texas ranch undergo DNA testing as new questions arise about who may have been behind that call that sparked the whole raid on the compound.

ROBERTS: The Keystone stakes. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Pennsylvania is going to pick the next president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: How race and class could influence the vote in Pennsylvania. Why Philadelphia's mayor is in the Clinton camp. Why a local congressman says he's got it wrong. The "Most Politics in the Morning."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: It's five minutes to the top of the hour. We're just about 24 hours away from one of the most crucial primaries on the election calendar. Tomorrow is Pennsylvania's turn. Some people say that Hillary Clinton needs a really big win to ward off pressure to drop out of the race.

It brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. If Hillary Clinton does not win tomorrow's Pennsylvania primary by a substantial margin, do you think she should drop out of the race?

Let's check in and see what the results are. Right now, 71 percent of you say yes, she should drop out. 29 percent say no, keep going.

Cast your vote for us at cnn.com/am. We'll continue to tally your votes throughout the morning and we want to hear from you via e-mail as well. Tell us a little bit more about what you're thinking. Go to our Web site -- cnn.com/am. Follow the links that say "Contact Us." We'll be reading some of your e-mails a little later in our next hour.

CHO: Starting today, the 416 children removed from that polygamist compound in Texas will be given DNA tests. Then, they'll immediately be placed in foster care.

Later on in the week, their parents will undergo the same tests. The move -- an effort to try to sort out the true nature of the family relationships. Some have said that the family tree shouldn't look like a wreath.

AMERICAN MORNING's legal analyst Sunny Hostin joins me now with more on that.

So, the judge ordered DNA testing for all 416 children. Amazing, they're going to get it done in a couple of days. Of course, the results will take a bit longer. But what's the point in all this?

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, the point is they are trying to determine parentage, to determine if sexual abuse occurred. Because sex between an older man and anyone under the age of 16 in Texas is a felony, is illegal. And that is really what they're trying to unravel. Did a crime occur as per each child? And so, they have to take DNA from each child. CHO: What I found also interesting that broke over the weekend that the raid was sparked, of course, as everyone knows, by this 16-year- old or purported 16-year-old caller identified as Sarah. Nobody's been able to find her. But then we get word that there's now a person of interest. So, there's word that this may have been a hoax? Tell us about this person.

HOSTIN: Yes and it's very interesting as you mentioned, Alina. Her name is Rosita Swinton. She lives in Colorado.

CHO: Doesn't even live in Texas?

HOSTIN: Doesn't even live in Texas. She has been arrested as a person of interest, which really means she's a suspect. And there's evidence that was found in her home that links her to phone calls made about the ranch.

But I've always said, Alina, that, really, the bottom line is it doesn't matter if it was a hoax. Once law enforcement officers relied upon that information in good faith and then executed the raid and found evidence of sexual abuse, and now we know that they did, it really doesn't matter who placed the call.

CHO: Interesting. So, you're saying, as long as the evidence is there, the case can move forward?

HOSTIN: It's going to move forward. No question.

CHO: All right. Sunny Hostin, our legal analyst. Sunny, thanks, we'll see a bit later.

HOSTIN: Thank you.

CHO: John?

ROBERTS: Breaking news to tell you about this morning. The gasoline price has broken another record. It may have hit an important psychological marker. Take a look at the CNN gas gauge today. For the first time ever, have a look at this, the average price for a gallon of regular is $3.50. That's according to AAA, up almost $0.25, a quarter from just a month ago.

Last year, it was down there at $2.86. It wouldn't be a bargain right now. Oil prices also spiked overnight to a record $117.40 a barrel. One factor, a Japanese oil tanker was attacked in the Middle East off of the coast of Yemen. There's also report that Nigerian rebels may have shot down a pipeline there.

It is the last push before tomorrow's critical Pennsylvania primary. The first time in more than a month that voters will go to the polls. In that time, we've become familiar with Barack Obama's pastor. We've seen buzzwords like Bosnia and "bitter" hit the headlines and more and more negative campaigning.

158 delegates at stake in Pennsylvania. Right now, Barack Obama leads by 146. It would take a huge victory for Hillary Clinton to make a significant dent in that.

Jim Acosta is live with the CNN Election Express in Philadelphia this morning. And all the talk over the weekend, Jim, was about the increasingly negative tone of this campaign.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are stepping up their attacks on one another as they barnstorm the Keystone state for last-minute undecided voters. As expected, both Democrats are airing negative TV commercials aimed at one another, while at the same time accusing each other of hitting below the belt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I hear Senator Clinton's campaign say they're going to throw the kitchen sink strategy at us and they try to manufacture our exploit fake controversies instead of talking about what is important for the American people, how we're going to deal with the energy problems, how we're going to deal with the mortgage lending crisis. And I'm thinking, while you learn the wrong lessons from those Republicans who are going after you in the same way using the same tactics all those years.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So, while my opponent says one thing and his campaign does another, you can count on me to tell you where I stand and you can count on me to tell you very specifically the solutions that I'm offering for America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)