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American Morning
New Trouble for Bank of America; Olympic Torch Travels Through Malaysia; Extreme Weather Around the Nation's Capital; DNA Testing Set to Begin For 416 Children From Polygamous Compound
Aired April 21, 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: And this quick programming note. Hillary Clinton sits down with Larry King tonight. And as always, you can catch Larry, 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. And you can ask the questions as well, and she'll answer some of them. Head to CNN.com/am to find out how.
The presumptive GOP nominee, John McCain, is going to be in Alabama today, kicking off a week-long tour of poor communities. He says they've been largely ignored during the presidential campaign.
McCain is accusing his Democratic rivals of supporting tax hikes that he says would make a recession even worse. McCain says cutting taxes and stimulating the economy are more important right now than trying to balance the budget.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Well, former President Jimmy Carter is speaking out to CNN this morning after his fact-finding mission in the Middle East. That trip has sparked outrage both here and abroad.
President Carter defended his decision to meet with the leaders of Hamas and he again stressed that the militant group should be part of the Mid-East peace process.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That they would accept a Palestinian state on a 1967 borders, if approved by Palestinians and that they would accept the right of Israel to live as a neighbor next door in peace.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Mr. Carter also took aim at his critics, suggesting that Israel and the U.S. are wrong for refusing to meet with the group he says must be involved in peace talks.
Pakistan flexing its military might. There's word this morning that it test fired a long-range missile that's capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional warheads. Pakistan's military says that missile is also able to strike targets deep inside nuclear rival India.
The Olympic torch made its way to the streets of Malaysia today. And officials there did not take any chances. More than 1,000 people worked to protect that torch run. And CNN's Dan Rivers is in Kuala Lumpur.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Torrential rains put a damp on the end of the Malaysian leg of the Olympic torch relay. But there were also a couple of incidents at the beginning, both involving foreigners trying to unfurl Tibetan flags and posters.
In both times, they were harangued and set upon by Chinese flag- waving students who objected to their presence. They were both escorted from the vicinity of the torch relay and after that the torch was allowed to proceed to the end of the relay here in Malaysia.
Dan Rivers, CNN, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Also some breaking news to follow here at home overnight. A powerful aftershock in southern Illinois. It measured 4.5, one of the strongest since Friday's 5.2 quake. That broke just before we went on the air on Friday. So far, at least 15 aftershocks have been reported since Friday morning.
We're also watching breaking news out of northeast Philadelphia this morning. Take a look at this picture. A seven-alarm fire spread through several vacant buildings, causing at least one of them to collapse. Thankfully, no one has been injured, but several nearby homes have been evacuated, at least 10, because of those burning embers that are flying through the air.
Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, Philadelphia fire commissioner Lloyd Ayers told us about 15 people have been taken to local shelters. We are watching that story closely -- John.
ROBERTS: This morning an 18-year-old is in custody accused of plotting a Columbine-style attack against his high school. Ryan Schallenberger was arrested on Saturday in Chesterfield County. Police say the teen was planning to set off several explosions at the school.
The teen's parents notified police after a package of ammonium nitrate was delivered to their home. That is the same chemical that was used in the Oklahoma City bombing. News of the threat leaving folks in the community pretty rattled.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Community right there is devastated. This is one of these young guys that just doesn't happen. We just don't see him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are confident that the school is completely safe and everything will be running as normal in the morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Police in South Carolina say they also confiscated a diary which revealed his admiration for the Columbine shooters.
Gun violence making it a deadly weekend in Chicago. Police say at least four people were killed and nearly two dozen injured in 26 separate shootings. Investigators say all the three of the incidents were gang-related. Police are now calling for more gun legislation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JODY WEIS, CHICAGO POLICE SUPERINTENDENT: I just don't see a need for an AK-47. I've been an avid hunter throughout my whole life. I've served in the military. And I just don't know when you would need an AK-47 to engage in any type of sporting activity. You can hunt any type of game in the world and you do not need an AK-47 to do that. AK-47s have one intent and that's to kill human beings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So lots of violence in Chicago over the weekend. And in New Orleans, six people were killed in separate shootings over the weekend. Violence came just a day after police reported a drop in the city's murder rate.
DNA testing begins today to identify the 416 children taken into state custody from that polygamous compound near Eldorado, Texas. Child Welfare officials say once the children give samples, they will be placed in foster care.
Their parents will give DNA samples later on this week. And authorities are also looking into whether a 33-year-old woman arrested in Colorado was the one who sparked this entire investigation. Texas Rangers say they have evidence suggesting the woman lied claiming to be an abused 16-year-old on the polygamous ranch.
CHO: But, John, he maybe a super spy but James Bond's car is all washed up this morning. Take a look at this. While being driven to the set of the new Bond film, the Aston Martin fairly plunged into an Italian lake over the weekend. The driver suffered minor injuries. A crane was actually needed to pull out the black sports car. The new film titled "Quantum of Solace" hits the big screen later this year.
Well, race car driver Danica Patrick making history this morning. She's now the first-ever woman to win an Indy car race. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boys, move over! The lady is coming through, Danica Patrick wins at Twin Ring Motegi.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: That's right. The lady won it. The 26-year-old took the top spot at the Indy Japan 300 yesterday, winning by nearly six seconds. She celebrated by shedding a few tears there, but also drinking some sake. She said all of this paid off because she stayed on the track while the others made pit stops for fuel. Patrick was overcome with emotion after the race.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANICA PATRICK, FIRST FEMALE TO WIN INDY CAR RACE: I didn't really expect to cry. I guess, I expected to actually probably do more what I'm doing now and that's kind of nothing. I'm a race car driver. I'm supposed to win races. That's what I'm supposed to be doing. And, you know, I feel bad it took so long.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: And get a load of this. AirTran Airways is celebrating her win by painting her picture on one of its jets. Today, pilots and flight traffic controllers will call it by its new name -- AirTranica One.
And stay with us because Danica Patrick will join us live to talk about the historic win. That's coming up in our next half hour.
She said she was a little embarrassed by the fact that she was crying a little bit, but then she said, you know what, I'm just going to take off my helmet and let everybody see me. Good for her.
ROBERTS: Helio Castroneves cries exactly the same way every time he wins. It's not a problem.
Another sign of a struggling economy just coming in from America's second largest bank. Senior business correspondent Ali Velshi joins us from the Election Express in Philadelphia, coming up.
CHO: And extreme weather around the nation's capital. At least two tornadoes spotted around Maryland and Washington, D.C. What's going on? Rob Marciano is tracking all the extreme weather for us, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Ten and a half minutes after the hour. New trouble for Bank of America today. Ali Velshi live for us this morning with the CNN Election Express in Philadelphia.
What's up, Ali?
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John.
Bank of America is America's second largest bank by assets after Citigroup. Well, as you know, we're in earnings season where companies report their earnings for the first three months of this year.
Bank of America's earnings have just come in. And the earnings are much, much lower than expected. Now, Bank of America is still in the black, still earned money in the first three months. It was still profitable.
But the numbers are worse than expected and it's attributable to the very same things that we've been seeing in banks all along. They've written down some more assets that are bad loans, basically, that are not going to be collected upon because of this mortgage crisis.
And when the banks are in trouble, that's a big deal for all of us because it affects the availability of credit. It affects how much credit costs and many of us in our 401(k)s and IRAs invest in mutual funds, which are very heavily invested in America's banks.
So, it's a continuation of the same crisis that we've seen for some time. Not great news. Bank of America reporting its earnings much lower than expected, much bigger hit than expected.
Now, the Dow was already down. The futures were already looking lower and that continues at this point. So, that's what we're looking at for this morning at least in stocks, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Ali Velshi for us this morning.
Ali, thanks.
The economy, of course, is issue no. 1 on the minds of voters. Join Ali, Gerri Willis and the CNN money team for "ISSUE #1," everyday at noon Eastern right here on CNN, and also online at CNNMoney.com.
CHO: Well, the economic stimulus checks are almost in the mail. And retailers are making offers they hope you can't refuse. Interesting story. Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis takes a closer look at some of the deals. You won't want to miss this.
And, damage near D.C. A pair of tornadoes tear up roofs in the suburbs. Is more extreme weather on the way? Rob Marciano is watching it all. He's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Fifteen minutes after the hour. Severe thunderstorms spawned a pair of tornadoes in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. on Sunday. One of them, as you can see here, damaging an elementary school in Prince George's County, Maryland. Parts of the roofs were torn off and trailers flipped onto their sides.
Odd because over on the Virginia side of the district, the area where I live, there was barely any wind at all.
CHO: But the rain was coming down.
ROBERTS: The rain was coming down in buckets.
CHO: You know, we had some divine intervention in New York yesterday. We were expecting rain but it ended up being really, really nice at the end of the day.
ROBERTS: You know, it's the papal weather thing.
CHO: That's right.
ROBERTS: It happens. A friend of mine was in St. Peters Square years ago when the Pope John Paul was going to give the homily. And he said it was a cold, rainy, blustery day, and literally ten minutes before the Pope came out, the skies -- part of the sun came out. He gave the homily.
CHO: Funny how that happens, isn't it?
ROBERTS: When the guy's back in, it started raining again.
CHO: Meanwhile, we want to talk about what's going on in the D.C. areas. The danger over from that tornado threat. Rob Marciano tracking the extreme weather for us.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHO: Yes, that's great. Listen, I used to watch those runners come up heart break hill in Boston all the time when I was in college. We were drinking beer, though.
ROBERTS: Well, I can't run five blocks, so.
CHO: You can bike lots of miles, though. Not so bad
You're watching the Most News in the Morning. Uncle Sam wants you to spend that economic stimulus check and he's not alone. Gerri Willis will look at what some retailers are doing to get their hands on your money.
ROBERTS: And tomorrow, a crucial day for Senator Clinton. Experts say that she must win and win big. We'll talk to the mayor who's in her corner. That story in today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Well, remember those economic stimulus rebate checks that you're supposed to be getting? Well, guess what? The IRS starts paying out on May 2 and some companies are finding ways to cash in on your money.
CNN's Personal Finance Editor Gerri Willis joins us now.
So Gerri, $600 for individuals, $1200 for families. Do you have to actually bring in the checks physically in order to get these deals?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, in some cases you do. You know, these retailers, they are all over it. They see big opportunity here. As you know, they have had a lot of trouble with earnings, with revenues even in this marketplace.
And now they see the opportunity to pick up some dough. So, for example, at Kroger and Sears, you actually take in your check physically and exchange it for a gift card.
Krogers and Sears are saying they will give you 10 percent off merchandise. So you expand your money just a little bit there. Home Depot is offering -- and Staples are offering sales promotions. Home Depot in particular offering specials on green products. Staples is offering no interest payments and six months, you know, delay before you start making payments on some items, as well as 10 percent off on others. Sony, get this, is offering $400 off HD-TVs.
CHO: Wow.
WILLIS: Yes. Now, listen -
CHO: I just bought three. So I missed out on the deal.
WILLIS: You bought three?
CHO: Well, I had a lot of catch-up to play.
WILLIS: You got to watch CNN all the time.
CHO: Yes.
WILLIS: In every room. Right, OK. One thing to say here, though, is May 2 -- yes, if you direct deposited your check to the IRS. May 16, if you're paying by check. So you won't quite get it yet.
CHO: Very quickly though. You know, a lot of talk about people tightening the belt, saving for things like necessities and food. So should people really be spending their rebate checks on things like this?
WILLIS: Well, there was a recent survey that spoke to this, which I think makes a lot of good sense. People say that they are not spending this money. Two thirds say they will save it. They will pay off high interest debt. Check it out. I think that's a great idea.
Here's what you need to think about. High interest debt is something you definitely want to pay down in this environment because you are probably paying 14 percent, 15 percent on your credit card.
Make sure you have emergency savings. That's another great thing to do in this particular environment. We have a recession on. Maybe somebody could lose a job in your household. And if that has already happened, you definitely want to think about maybe one of these grocery store cards, because if you are having trouble paying the mortgage, you may also be having trouble paying for groceries as well and you will be able to spend just a little bit more.
CHO: Well, and if looking at $4 a gallon gas, gas too.
WILLIS: Crazy.
CHO: All right. Gerri Willis, our personal finance editor. Gerri, thanks, good to see you. WILLIS: My pleasure.
CHO: John?
ROBERTS: Tomorrow's Pennsylvania primary. It's a contest that could save or doom Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign. The mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, a Clinton supporter, joins us live to make the case for his candidate.
But first, "Fortune" magazine is releasing its list of the top 500 companies this week. And we are highlighting some of the names behind the numbers. But before we tell you who they are, we're going to give you a chance to guess.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This Fortune 500 leader and immigrant who put his Ph.D. studies on hold to become the youngest CEO on the list. Who is this force in the dot com world? Find out after the break.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who is the young Internet mogul who put his education on hold? Thirty-nine-year-old Jerry Yang was studying electrical engineering at Stanford when he helped start Yahoo!. Yang was born in Taiwan and moved to the U.S. when he was 10-years-old. And although his mother was an English teacher, he only knew one English word, shoe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Senator Hillary Clinton picking up the endorsement from an unlikely source, "The Pittsburg Tribune-Review." That's because the paper's billionaire owner and publisher, Richard Mellon Scaife personally bank rolled many of the investigations that led to President Bill Clinton's impeachment.
And now, less than 24 hours until the crucial Pennsylvania primary, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are making their last-minute pitches to voters. Earlier, we spoke with Pennsylvania Congressman Chaka Fattah, who is backing Barack Obama.
Joining me now from Philadelphia, the city's mayor, Michael Nutter who is backing Hillary Clinton.
Mayor Nutter, good to see you. Good to have you back on again.
MAYOR MICHAEL NUTTER, PHILADELPHIA: Good to be back. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Are you concerned about the increasingly negative tone of this campaign? Both of the candidates were complaining about it over the weekend. NUTTER: Well, generally, I will always leave it to the candidates to speak directly to what's going on throughout the commonwealth in this election. What I can tell you on the ground is voters are extremely excited about tomorrow. As you mentioned, less than 24 hours, the polls will be open in Pennsylvania.
And so, you know, these kinds of things often do happen on the weekend, leading up to the election. But the voters, I think, are concentrating on the main issues that affect them in their lives.
Senator Clinton's proposals to cut the homicide rate in cities all across America, of course, like Philadelphia, to focus on the high school dropout rate and get our education system better geared to supporting our young people, creating jobs and economic opportunity, focusing on infrastructure and mass transit.
Those are the issues that voters are thinking about and most focused on. And Senator Clinton has clearly demonstrated. She has the leadership and the judgment, the temperament to make a great chief executive for this country.
ROBERTS: What is the most important issue? What's issue no. 1 for people there in Philadelphia, Mr. Mayor?
NUTTER: I think, I mean, as with many major cities, certainly public safety and crime are leading issues, but I think as we go into this election, certainly leadership and experience.
People want to know that their new commander-in-chief is ready on day one. Senator Clinton has certainly demonstrated that over her long career, both in the private sector -- private life and public life.
ROBERTS: Can I ask you how she's demonstrated that?
NUTTER: I think when you look at her body of work going back to her time in Arkansas, in public education, her work with children and families and low and moderate income people, the plans that she has laid out, both as a senator and now of course as a presidential candidate on the issues that I've mentioned earlier, I think it's pretty clear that she has the leadership capacity to move this country in a different direction.
ROBERTS: Barack Obama is expected to do quite well there in the city of Philadelphia.
Let me ask you this question: Can he beat John McCain?
NUTTER: Our goal is to win in November and so, as I've said on many occasions, whoever our Democratic nominee is, and of course, I'm working hard to make sure that's Senator Clinton, but whoever our Democratic nominee is -- all of our efforts will be united behind our Democratic nominee. We must win in November. And I'll be working very hard for our Democratic nominee.
ROBERTS: And do you believe that Barack Obama can beat John McCain?
NUTTER: I do believe that he can win. I think Senator Clinton is in a much better position to win, because of her experience. She's been through the fire, as I say, of an electoral and public career and her campaign.
And so, our Democratic candidates are both certainly able to beat the Republican. I just think that Senator Clinton, at this point, is in a much better position to win.
ROBERTS: Our latest analysis of all the polls there in Pennsylvania show that Hillary Clinton leads Barack Obama 48 percent to 43 percent with 9 percent of people unsure. She still leads him, but her lead is down from double digits just a few weeks ago.
If she does not win by a substantial margin, this is a question we've actually been asking this morning, do you believe that she can stay in the race?
NUTTER: She will stay in the race. You know, I'll leave it to the higher level political pundits to opine on that. This is a situation where you have to win. First and foremost.
You don't get two extra stars next to your name depending on what the point spread is. Certainly has an impact of course on delegates and all that. We've got nine, rather more contests after Pennsylvania. The goal here is to win.
And Senator Clinton is certainly poised to have a good victory that nine percent of the undecided in previous big state races have often broke in Senator Clinton's direction. So our effort is geared toward winning all across Pennsylvania, and that's what we are going to spend the next 24 hours working on.
ROBERTS: Mr. Mayor, this has been such a polarizing primary season. We hear from the Democratic candidates, we hear from Democratic elders that yes, everybody can unite around a candidate. We can all pull together. But do you think, owing to the link of this primary campaign, owing to the intensity that it maybe a little more difficult than people think to bring the party together around a single nominee?
NUTTER: No, I don't. Democrats will come together. We are united in our commitment to winning in November, and that's the only way to do it. So, I think, you know, folks can take a day or so off, depending on what ultimately happens out of the convention and who the nominee is. You know, work on your feelings, get your head on straight, and let's get back in the game and get ready for the November contest.
ROBERTS: All right. Work it out. But everybody back in the game.
NUTTER: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: Mayor Michael Nutter from Philadelphia, thanks for being with us this morning. Sir, good to see you again.
NUTTER: Thank you, always.
ROBERTS: And of course, that brings us now to this morning's "Quick Vote" question -- again, as we asked the mayor -- we're asking you: If Hillary Clinton does not win tomorrow's Pennsylvania primary by a substantial margin, do you think that she should drop out of the race?
As you heard, the mayor just said, she'll stay in. How do you feel about it? Right now, 68 percent of you say yes, she should drop out, 32 percent say no, keep going.
Cast your vote at CNN.com/am and we're also asking for your e- mails on this as well. And we're getting some good ones this morning.
Go to our Web site at CNN.com/am follow the links that say contact us and we'll bring you some of those in just a few minutes this morning.
Just a quick programming note. Hillary Clinton sits down with "Larry King Tonight." As always you can catch Larry at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. And you can also submit questions that Larry will ask of the senator. Head to CNN.com/am. And you'll find out how.
CHO: Well, breaking news this morning. Slightly part of the reason why oil prices are climbing again. Oil spiked overnight to a record $117.40 a barrel. It happened after a Japanese oil tanker was attacked off the coast of Yemen. A Japanese news agency reports the ship was leaking after it was hit by a rocket that was fired from a small boat. No injuries reported.
More breaking news this morning, gasoline prices breaking a record. The national average price for a gallon of regular is at $3.50. That is according to AAA. That is up almost 25 cents from a month ago.
And another sign of the global credit crisis. The Bank of England announcing a $100 billion plan that will let British banks actually swap home loans for government bonds. They are hoping that swap of assets will promote more lending and prop up the housing market and of course, the overall British economy. Banks have been increasingly reluctant to lend to their rivals because of that credit crunch.
Well, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will pull out the stops today on the eve of this crucial Pennsylvania primary. CNN's Rick Sanchez has been traveling across the country, doing what he does best, talking to people who have been inspired to vote for the first time in this election. There's a League of First-Time Voters. Rick is on the road for us, joining us from Philadelphia.
Hey, buddy, good to see you, good morning.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Always good to see you. I guess we can start with this city, Philadelphia. People here are juiced as you might expect. Look, Pennsylvania hasn't been in the primary game this late in the game in an awful long time. Suddenly they know that they matter -- seriously matter -- and they are excited about it.
But here's what I found, Alina. As I travelled the country talking to different people, I found that there are voters like that all over this nation. In places like Detroit, in places like Indiana, which by the way is going to be next on the primary list. There are people who are juiced, they're pumped, they are energized because they think that somehow this election is going to be the one that's going to be making a real difference and they want to play a real role in this, take part in this.
So, we're going to be taking you to all of those places throughout this week and throughout the next couple of months as well. But let's start at Penn State University, where I travelled to talk to student who say, yes, I'm going to be voting for the very first time in my life and I'm so excited about it.
And they all had a particular bent on how they think this thing should go. By talking to them, you almost get the sense they believe it should go a little more to the right. Here we go.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ (on-camera): If you are planning to vote for John McCain, raise your hand. Hillary Clinton, raise your hand. Barack Obama. Not a single one of you is interested in voting for Hillary Clinton.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm on the fence about who I'm going to vote for.
SANCHEZ: Most people you talk to are energized?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's people that I've met that are totally not into politics whatsoever, and just because of this, they are fired up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a reaction against Iraq, it's a reaction against the economy, education.
SANCHEZ: Change?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Hope?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All I know, for elections is, I'm going to vote for the least of the two evils. I feel like especially the Democratic campaign this year, that is not how it is.
SANCHEZ: Why Barack Obama?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He came and sat on our lawn and spoke to 22,000 people. It was incredible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that Barack Obama is inexperienced. I don't feel comfortable with putting a man who has only spent three years in the United States Senate in charge of all of that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Barack Obama were to become president and we were to pull out all our troops immediately, we would leave it in chaos.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But maybe it's our influence there that is causing them to do anything wrong. If we just leave them with the government, maybe all the problems will go away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I made a mistake, I try to fix the problem. I don't try to just walk away and pretend it's going to not be a problem anymore.
SANCHEZ: Should we have gone to Iraq in the first place?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Saddam Hussein was a brutal dictator, killing thousands of his own people. He used weapons of mass destruction against his own people.
SANCHEZ: John McCain says if we have to be there a hundred years, we should be there. Do you agree?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He didn't say that Americans are going to be there for a hundred years, fighting and fighting and fighting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to have a presence there until it's done, but I think it's really hard to ask Americans to keep giving lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do the people living there feel?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I get the feeling that I would not be too happy, were I in their shoes.
SANCHEZ: Do you think John McCain is going to have a tough time of it because he's trying to please Peter to pay Paul?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he is alienating all of the swing voters that probably would have voted for him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The religious right may not love John McCain, he may not have been their guy. I don't believe they are going to vote for Hillary, for Obama over --
SANCHEZ: No, but they will stay home. They won't vote. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is the scary part.
SANCHEZ: You are having real hesitation about voting for John McCain. Why is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's kind of backed away from gays and lesbians.
SANCHEZ: He needs the base of the Republican Party.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well --
SANCHEZ: The base of the Republican Party is not gay.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he wants those people, he doesn't have me.
SANCHEZ: Go, Dane. That's good. That's good. Excellent.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANCHEZ: You know what's interesting about this is, there's no question that this thing breaks for Obama, the younger you get. We've seen those polls and those trends all over the country.
But as you talk to people who are newly energized, who may be voting for the very first time in their lives, you find that there's a passion where they want to defend their own candidates. We went to Scranton, for example, right here in good old PA. In Scranton you find women's clubs, seasoned, more mature women, who are so ardent their devotion for Hillary Clinton.
And at the same university, we found younger women who say, we are for Barack Obama 100 percent. At Penn State we found students -- first-time voters as well, as you just saw, who tended to be more for John McCain. I mean, it really does run the gamut. You can see the polls and say, well, yes, the younger they are, the more apt they are they're going to be voting for John McCain. But we talked to different people who have all kinds of opinions and all kinds of reasons for wanting to go out to the polls, and all of them, in many cases, do represent different candidates as well.
This is going to be fun. We are going to be taking you all over the country, talking to different people. You can contact us if you think you have a particular group that is unique enough that you want us to go visit. I'll pay you a visit.
Alina, back to you.
CHO: All right, and add to the mix, nine percent of the voters in Pennsylvania undecided.
So, interesting times, Rick. Great report. Thanks for joining us.
AMERICAN MORNING will begin an hour earlier on Wednesday, that's the day after the Pennsylvania primary. We're going to go to bed early. That's 5:00 a.m. Eastern time. Of course, we'll have extensive morning after coverage of the P.A. primary.
ROBERTS: It's actually go to bed light and get up early to watch that coverage. But for those of you who can't stay all the way there until the bitter end, we will be up bright and early to bring you the latest results and analysis.
Clorox, the company built on bleach just got one of the biggest environmental seals of approval out there. But critics say the only thing green in the deal was the cash that was exchanged. How the strange bedfellows got together and why it's happening all over big business. That's coming up.
CHO: And she's making history this morning. And she's talking with us live, Danica Patrick joins us after the break to talk about her historic Indy car win. The first ever by a woman. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty minutes to the top of the hour. Less than an hour from now the CEO of Clorox and the head of the nation's largest and oldest grass roots environmental group will ring the opening bell together at the New York Stock Exchange.
CHO: An unlikely pairing, the Sierra club is endorsing a new line of Clorox green cleaning products. It's one of several strange business partnerships out there these days. Our Polly Labarre joins us now with this story.
Clorox, the maker of bleach, not exactly the most green product and the Sierra Club, the oldest and largest grass roots environmental organization, teaming up, what's this about?
POLLY LABARRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a striking image, isn't it, putting those two things together. This is about Clorox launching a new line of green cleaning products called green works, which they claim are 99 percent natural, recyclable packaging, no animal testing and all that jazz that are priced at a point that shoppers in Wal-Mart and Safeway can really afford them and will look to them as a real viable choice unlike a lot of these other products that have a real markup.
We've got a few of them right here. You can see that there's -- you don't see it yet, but it's a very small Clorox logo and will soon have a Sierra Club logo, which is an unprecedented move for 116-year- old organization. And needless to say, this has caused tons of controversy because the idea is if you are going to endorse this product, is it creating a green halo for Clorox when you talk to the director of the Sierra Club himself and he says there are a lot of products Clorox makes that he would like to see off the shelves over the next few years.
ROBERTS: These green cleaning products are becoming very, very popular. So, I mean, that's what Clorox gets out of it. You know, a nice little photo op with the Sierra Club saying we are doing the right thing for the environment. What does the Sierra Club get out of it?
LABARRE: Well, a couple things. One, we are all faced with a flood of green products and green cleans. It's earth day tomorrow. I mean, every single company has a green message out there.
How do you navigate which ones are truly green and which ones are just green washing or sort of an unsubstantiated claim? The Sierra Club is saying we look, are going to put a stake in the ground, we want to stand behind this because we want to help consumers make better choices.
The second thing is there is a bigger impact here. Can we create a mass market in consumer choices around green products? They are also getting an undisclosed portion of the profits. Again, causing a little controversy. I think the bigger picture here is green is everybody's business. This is so vast a challenge involved so many levels from regulations to transforming corporations to individual behavior that the old enemies, whether it's the environmentalists camping out in trees and corporate polluters cannot afford to be enemies anymore, they really have to work together.
CHO: Well, pairing up, they've also made interesting acquisitions, Burt's Bees and Brita filters. So, they are really going the distance, Clorox is. We'll have to see what happens.
LABARRE: They're committing to it. Yes.
CHO: Polly Labarre, thanks.
ROBERTS: Well, she's in the record books this morning and she's talking with us. Danica Patrick joins us in a couple of minutes to talk about her historic Indy Car win. It's the first ever by a woman.
CHO: Oh, I can't wait for this interview.
And Rob Marciano in the CNN weather center tracking the extreme weather.
Hey, Rob, good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, guys.
Had some rough weather yesterday across the D.C. area, all from this storm that refuses to move offshore. So, we could have a repeat performance. And there's action on the West Coast of the country as well.
Weather is coming up. AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Rob Marciano watching this particular storm that is not moving quickly off shore. Because of that we may very well have rough weather again across the mid-Atlantic. Here's what happened yesterday in D.C.. In three states, we had a total of six reported tornadoes, just right real close to the D.C. area. A report of a school and a church damage from the F-1 tornado. Winds possibly up to 110 miles an hour.
Here's what's going on this morning. We have showers and thunderstorms that are rolling off the Atlantic through (INAUDIBLE) Sound, Cape Hatteras. This is all rolling toward the Hampton Roads area. You notice that spin in the atmosphere. Also, some rain in D.C. Nothing too severe right now. But we could see some more strong thunderstorms later on today.
Severe cold heading into much of the northwest. Record breaking cold with some snow in some of the centers and you would get into the plains with a possibility of seeing severe, possibly some tornadoes in tornado alley.
Alina, back up to you.
CHO: The economy is issue No. 1 for Americans. And the rising cost of health care is one of the biggest worries, especially if you are considering changing or leaving your job.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now with more on that. Sanjay is in the studio with us.
So, what are your options, if you leave your job, if you lose your job? Is the right thing to do buy private health insurance right away?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: A lot of people thinking about this. One of the things that companies are going to offer if they employ at least 50 people is something known as Cobra. A lot of people have heard about this.
You can keep Cobra, your can keep your health insurance for about 18 months, if your company had that many employees. The problem is it's expensive if you're going to pay the full cost as opposed to having the company defray some of that costs
CHO: Yes, what is it ran a month? Does it depend? 500,000?
GUPTA: You know, for a family of four about $1,000 a month.
CHO: A lot.
GUPTA: If you haven't had any significant medical problems, it can go up if you have had significant medical problems. But it sort of brings home this message, you know, sort of OK now, your cobra has ended, now you're going to buy private insurance, it gets very expensive. Here are some tips to sort of keep some of those costs down overall.
Try and buy insurance as a group. That may sound obvious, but if you buy with a group, you're going to help defray some of those costs. And also, if you don't have a specific doctor, you can use a network provider, that's going to bring your cost down as well.
Here's something maybe you didn't know. Federal credit unions actually have plans. And that can help defray some of the costs as well. And also, if you are really struggling, there are some free or low-cost plans that are often times offered by the state for unemployed people specifically.
This is hard to put together. Let me just put up one Web site really quickly, Alina, that people can go to, coverageforall.org. Go there if you are watching right now, you're struggling, that is the place where you may find some options.
CHO: You alluded to this just a second ago but you talked about this preexisting condition. So let's say you have those, how hard is it going to be to get insurance?
GUPTA: You know, we did a whole documentary about this. It is very hard, Alina. There's no question. If you have some preexisting, like if you are a cancer survivor, for example, if you have some sort of neurodegenerative problem like MS, it can be very difficult. So, there are some options there as well. Find out about state sponsored plans specifically. There are some states including this state of New York, New Jersey who are better about ...
(AUDIO GAP)
CHO: Wow, maybe that's the model.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, always a pleasure. Sanjay, thanks.
GUPTA: Sure.
ROBERTS: Just 26-year-old and already in the history books. Danica Patrick is now the first woman ever to win an Indy car race. How did she do it? Well, we'll ask here. Danica joins us live, coming right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Final check of this morning's "Quick Vote" question. We asked if Hillary Clinton does not win tomorrow's Pennsylvania primary by a substantial margin, do you think she should drop out of the race. Take a look there -- 67 percent said yes, 33 percent said no.
ROBERTS: We've also been asking for your e-mails on this as well. We got some good opinions this morning.
Di from Houston, Texas said: "Why should Senator Clinton pull out of the race? This is America and everyone gets to vote... the nomination should not be decided by some states and not others.
CHO: We're hearing from Johnny from St. Petersburg, Florida too. He says: "Hillary should, of course not drop out, not drop out rather. Perhaps there's still time for the American people to realize that Obama, he says, is all flash and no substance... I don't want a president who is a rock star. I want a president who's experienced."
ROBERTS: Marcia from Claremont, North Carolina says: "Hillary Clinton should not drop out. Let all the people vote, count Florida and Michigan. Hillary wins... case closed." CHO: And we also heard from Walter from Aruba -- Walter, you should get out to the beach. The weather's great I'm sure -- "As much as I am a fervent Clintonite, I am more a Democrat. For the good of the whole world, it would be better for Hillary to stop now. I'd rather see her in the White House as a V.P. than have McCain as President." Interesting, and to all of you who voted and wrote in today, we thank you.
Well, Danica Patrick joins us right after the break. But first here's a quick look at what CNN NEWSROOM is working on for the top of the hour.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: See these stories in the "CNN NEWSROOM." The final full day of campaigning for the Pennsylvania primary.
DNA tests for hundreds of children seized from a polygamist sect.
Wind whipping wildfires in New Mexico, hundreds flee their homes.
Police say this South Carolina teen planned to blow up his high school. Today, his case is in court.
And gas tops $3.50 a gallon on average. Of course, that's a new record.
NEWSROOM just minutes away at the top of the hour on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boys, move over! The lady is coming through, Danica Patrick wins a twin ring Mottegi!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: She has done it. 26-year-old Danica Patrick won the Indy Japan 300 yesterday. By doing so, she becomes the first woman to win an Indy car race. She won by nearly six seconds. Very emotional win for Danica who joins us now from Valencia, California.
Danica, we had you on just before last year's Indy 500. I know, I'm not the first, but I want to say congratulations, what a great win.
DANICA PATRICK, FIRST FEMALE INDY CAR WINNER: That's OK. That still means a lot. Thank you very much. It's a big relief.
ROBERTS: You say it's a big relief. How is it a relief?
PATRICK: Oh, the amount of times that I've been asked when am I going to win my first race. I lost count many years ago.
ROBERTS: Well, this was lucky number 50 in terms of starts for you. Just an amazing race yesterday. You were trying to squeeze every drop of fuel that had you in that vehicle out. When you passed Helio Castroneves on lap number 198 with two left to go, what went through your mind?
PATRICK: That I wasn't sure how it was going to end up. I didn't know, I wasn't 100 percent sure that was for the lead. I thought so because halfway through that last stint that we did, I was told from pit lane that you know with the strategy that we were on, Helio was on that same strategy, that at that point in time, Helio was first and I was second.
And then there was a gap to the next car. So, you know, I knew -- I had an idea that was between the two of us. But again you don't really know how it's unfolding and you don't know -- I didn't know, and Carpenter was on that strategy as well. So, I didn't know where everybody was at. It was, you know, with five laps to go, I'm looking at the leader board and I'm still seeing myself in like fifth. You know, I didn't know how it was all going to pan out.
So, it wasn't until the last lap that I knew. And Kyle who called my race, who did a great job, said, you know, use as much fuel as you want on this last lap. Come around, the checkered flag is yours.
ROBERTS: Wow, so what was it like when you crossed the line and they dropped the checkered flag for you?
PATRICK: Again a relief. I was really happy and then I just kind of let it all out. And I didn't let it all out as loud as my mom did. But I let it all out in a different way.
ROBERTS: Yes, we saw the gutteral --
PATRICK: She claims she didn't scream.
ROBERTS: Oh, she did.
PATRICK: I agree she squealed. So.
ROBERTS: She definitely squealed.
PATRICK: That's right. But I was just emotional, you know, I was relieved, there is a lot underneath that I didn't know was there.
ROBERTS: What about you? We are looking here at a picture of you hugging your mom and there's some tears being shed there.
PATRICK: You know, we've been working a long time for this as a family. You know, they have been at every one of my races for, you know, in Indy car, in Atlantic, not when I was in England, but it didn't mean that wasn't tears shed and how far away I was and what I had to go through. So, this has been a long process. This is my 17th year of racing. So, we have been at it for a long time with this goal.
ROBERTS: Is this victory that much more sweat for you because the IRL had just instituted this weight rule where they take into account the weight of the driver and the overall weight of the vehicle and you would have had to because you tipped the scales at 100 pounds soaking wet, had you to add weight to your car?
PATRICK: Well, you know, I said a long time ago when there was stuff going on about my weight and being lighter than everyone, if it made that much of a difference, why haven't I won a whole bunch of races. So, you know, it does have somewhat effect. If engineers and everybody tries to make the cars lighter, obviously there's something there.
But when the race really unfolds and things really happen, it really plays a very small part in the race. So, so many other things come into it. Traffic, fuel strategies, all those kinds of things, the car setup and how good it is. So, those things play a bigger part.
ROBERTS: Well, we certainly hope that this is the first of many for you. And we look forward to maybe checking in with you before the Indy 500 this year.
PATRICK: Sounds good.
ROBERTS: Danica Patrick, again, congratulations, what a great win over the weekend.
PATRICK: Thank you very much.
CHO: When you look at her, you can tell she's a marketing maven. But this really validates her talent.
ROBERTS: She's a great driver.
CHO: And she's a force to be reckoned with.
ROBERTS: Bottom line, she's a great driver. All the other stuff are just ancillary to it.
CHO: That's right. Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Fredricka Whitfield starts right now.
