Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Petraeus to Become New Head of Central Command; Americans Facing Pain at the Pump; McCain Details POW Experiences; Global Food Price Increases Hit Consumers
Aired April 23, 2008 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CO-HOST: Well, they all said Hillary Clinton had to win Pennsylvania and not by little. "They all" meaning the pundits. So now what? Now the race moves west and south, while the numbers don't move much at all.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CO-HOST: This is not the spot where the Soyuz space capsule was supposed to return to Earth and certainly not how it was supposed to return to Earth, as well. Russia says the three- person crew landed Saturday on a razor's edge. We'll be getting a live report.
Hi, there. I'm Brianna Keilar at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
We begin with this. Army General David Petraeus is moving on up. The current commander of all coalition forces in Iraq has been hand- picked for a new assignment. Straight to our Pentagon -- senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre for the very latest on this.
Jamie, not really a surprise, right?
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. He was the top pick because of his reputation as someone who is familiar with asymmetric warfare, the kind of counterinsurgency going on in Iraq right now.
You know, when General Petraeus got that assignment as the top Iraq commander, he got congratulations and both condolences, as well, from friends who said he was taking on mission impossible. He may be getting some of those messages today as he trades the challenges of Iraq for a wider set of responsibilities, including Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East. Well, he'll have to apply his talents.
But again the reason Defense Secretary Robert Gates recommended General Petraeus as, quote, "the best man for the job" was because of his reputation as somebody who knows how to adapt to a modern style of warfare.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I recommended him to the president because I am absolutely confident he's the best man for the job. The kinds of conflicts that we're dealing with, not just in Iraq but in Afghanistan, and some of the challenges that we face elsewhere in the region and Central Command area are very much characterized by asymmetric warfare. And I don't know anybody in the United States military better qualified to lead that effort.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCINTYRE: So assuming General Petraeus is confirmed by the Senate, his former deputy, Lieutenant General Raymond Odierno, will go back to Iraq to take over his old job as the top Iraq commander.
Asked today if that wasn't a stay-the-course kind of strategy, with the two key people still overseeing operations in Iraq, Secretary Gates admitted it was, but said he thought that course was a successful one -- Don.
LEMON: Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre. Jamie, thank you.
KEILAR: Here we go again. Another day, another record gas price. AAA says the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded has topped $3.53. That is up two cents from yesterday's record. Just a year ago the national average was $2.85 a gallon, and back then we all, of course, thought that was high.
And gas, it is, as I said, sky high. And that's everywhere. But the Bay Area in particular really hit hard, now paying $4 a gallon.
CNN's Chris Lawrence reports from San Francisco.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): San Francisco drivers are getting past the shock. Now they're changing their lives to live with $4 gas.
DEBBIE JASMIN, CANCELED VACATION: We don't take our Expedition out, usually.
LAWRENCE: People have permanently parked their SUVs. Traffic is down on Bay Area bridges, and the trains has had 7 percent more riders than this time last year.
MARLOWE DOUGLAS, SWITCHED TO RIDING TRAIN: That's why I'm riding BART today because of the price of gas right now.
LAWRENCE: It's also changing when people drive and what. Overall, car and truck sales are down, but hybrids are up almost 40 percent.
SCOTT DOUGLAS, PRIUS DRIVER: I used to have the luxury of not really even worrying about the price, partly because I've got the Prius. But now, $43.
LAWRENCE: Think that's bad?
DOUGLAS: Oh, my God. Wow. LAWRENCE: Scott Douglas just saw what the guy before him paid to fill up.
DOUGLAS: When is the last time you saw $115 spent on gas?
LAWRENCE: Especially for taxi drivers, who buy their own gas.
DIDDY DENNIS, TAXI DRIVER: When I first started, you know, it was like $2 something.
LAWRENCE: Now every press of the pedal eats into his wallet.
(voice-over) Why don't you just raise the rates to make up the difference?
DENNIS: Well, that would be a good thing, if I could. But unfortunately, I haven't any control over it.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): Only the city can raise taxi rates, to keep customers from getting gouged. But it's killing the cabbies and will probably force Diddy Dennis to quit.
DENNIS: It seems like I'm bringing home almost 60 percent less than what I was when I first started.
LAWRENCE: And a lot of Bay Area families say there's no end in sight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think we'll be doing any big travels this year, this summer, at least by car.
LAWRENCE (on camera): Especially when you are paying $60, $70 a pop just to fill up. A lot of folks here have canceled vacations, sold off their big trucks. And some companies in the Bay Area are now running shuttles to pick up and take their employees to work.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Chris.
True or false, gas prices depend on supply and demand. If you say true, you're wrong. Well, mostly wrong anyway. Many other factors have a say in what we pay.
CNN senior business correspondent Ali Velshi joins us now from New York to break it all down for us. And I guess the best way to get the cheapest gas, really, is not to buy it at all, Ali.
VELSHI: Yes, that's exactly right. To that degree it is, to some degree, supply and demand. Because if none of us bought it, it would probably be cheaper. But most of the price of a gallon of gas, don, is tied to the price of oil. That's the bottom line.
But let's break it down for you. The thing is that you break it down based on the price we're at. So we just said we're at $3.53 a gallon. Two dollars and sixty-one cents of that, or about 74 percent, is based on the price of oil. So obviously, as the price of oil goes up, we're going to pay more for gas.
Taxes are about steady at about 40 cents. That's a combination of state and federal taxes.
The refining cost moves around, but right now it's about 26 cents out of $3.53. And the distribution and marketing, and that involves the profit for the gas station and the trucks who get it there, is about 26 cents.
So as you can see, the overwhelming majority of the price of a gallon of gas comes from the price of a barrel of oil, which is why, on a daily basis when I have that barrel with me and the price goes up, it is going to have an effect on you. When the price of oil goes up, you're going to see it in gasoline. We've seen that line, and that's not a mystery to anyone, Don.
LEMON: OK. Hey, I've got to ask you this, because there was some discussion about this. And some people say the price of gasoline really has to do with sort of people banking on how much gas is going to cost. It has something to do with the stock market and trading? And...
VELSHI: Yes, well, sure. And this is the same, by the way, with corn, or wheat or soybeans. These are traded commodities.
LEMON: OK.
VELSHI: So people make money out of investing in them. And if you can make more money doing that than you can in the stock market or in property, you're going to do that. There's some people who say at $117 or $118 for a barrel of oil only about 80 bucks of is supply-and- demand driven. The rest is all like the stock market, exactly.
LEMON: OK. So I would say mostly wrong if you say it's supply and demand. All right. Ali Velshi, thanks for breaking that down for us. Always appreciate it.
Love the vest, by the way. I have one just like it.
VELSHI: I know, I saw.
LEMON: You want cheap gas prices? This is for our viewers, Ali. Go away; we'll see you later. You want cheap gas prices? Make a run for the border. We'll tell you why Mexico is such a lure these days for American truckers.
KEILAR: Going and going and going. It is a race that won't end, candidates that won't quit. It's late in the Democratic presidential primary season, but the fiercest battles could be yet to come.
Live events from both senators happening right now in Indiana. Senator Obama in New Albany on the left side of your screen. And then a Senator Clinton event in Indianapolis there on the right. Hillary Clinton has gotten a much-needed double-digit win over Barack Obama in the Pennsylvania primary, the biggest remaining contest on the Democratic calendar.
The season picks up next month in Indiana, North Carolina, West Virginia, Oregon and Kentucky. And of course, do not forget Guam. Finally in June, Puerto Rico, Montana and South Dakota head to the polls. More than 400 delegates remain at stake in all of this that is left.
So let's take a moment now to look at the latest count. One hundred fifty-eight delegates up for grabs in Pennsylvania last night. Clinton won more than Obama did, but we don't yet know the final split. Overall so far, Obama has 1,719 delegates on his side. Clinton with 1,586. Two thousand twenty-five are, of course, needed to win the nomination.
LEMON: Well, her win in Pennsylvania notwithstanding, Clinton still trails her Democratic rival in the nationwide popular vote in the number of states won. And in what may be most important -- most important category here. Of course, that is fundraising. She alluded to as much in her victory speech last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I need your help to continue this journey. This is your campaign, and this is your victory tonight. Your support has meant the difference between winning and losing. Now, we can only keep winning if we can keep competing with an opponent who outspends us so massively.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, that opponent, Barack Obama, had already moved on to the -- to Indiana by the time Pennsylvania results were coming in. Polls show the race is tight and the next major contest on the Democratic calendar.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now it's up to you, Indiana. You can decide, you can decide whether we're going to travel the same worn path or whether we will chart a new course that offers real hope for the future.
During the course of this campaign, we've all learned what my wife reminds me all the time: that I'm not a perfect man. I will not be a perfect president. And so, while I will always listen to you and be honest with you and fight for you every single day for the next four or eight years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Obama was interviewed just a short time ago by CNN contributor Roland Martin on his radio talk show. We'll bring you some of that just a little bit later on in this hour. KEILAR: Clinton-Obama, Obama-Clinton. With Pennsylvania behind them, both campaigns refocus on this man. Who will face Senator John McCain? The presumptive nominee talks Vietnam and his time in captivity today.
LEMON: And you may not recognize this boy, but golf fans, well, know his famous father. Ernie Els and his family's challenge with autism.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Let's get you live now to the newest battleground. It was Pennsylvania. Now they have moved on to Indiana.
You see there on the left, that is New Albany, Indiana. Senator Barack Obama at a town-hall meeting at Indiana University. On the right of your screen, Senator Clinton fresh off of her victory last night from Pennsylvania's primary. She's in Indianapolis, Indiana, for a Solutions for America event. Both candidates out stomping just a couple of hours after the Pennsylvania primaries -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Senator John McCain is mixing the personal with the political today. The presumptive GOP nominee on a weeklong tour of places he says often get lost in the political mix.
His latest stop, Inez, Kentucky, where President Lyndon Johnson once launched his war on poverty. Analysts say McCain is trying to reach out to moderates and show that he's not a, quote, "typical Republican." He's also reflecting on his POW ordeal in Vietnam to offer hope.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: One of the techniques that is used to try to get cooperation was to take ropes, very thin ropes, and tie them around your biceps and then -- tightly -- and then loop the rope around your neck and pull your head down between your knees. Obviously -- and leave that you way, and obviously, that's a very uncomfortable position.
One time -- night I was in the interrogation room in that position. And a guy came into the cell. He was what we called a gun guard. He was basically just a sentry. I'd never had anything to do with him. I had seen him in the camp, but I had nothing to do with him.
And he came in, and he put his fingers to his lips, and he reached down and he loosened the ropes as they were binding me. And a few hours later came back, which was obviously the end of his watch, and he tightened the ropes again.
And the following Christmas day, a couple of months later, the North Vietnamese, because it was Christmas day, allowed us separately to stand outside our cell for a few minutes. We were kept separate in those days, so it had to be done one at a time. Well, it came my turn, and I was standing out there in a dirt courtyard. And he came wandering over. And he walked over, and he stood next to me for a minute. And with his sandal in the dirt, he drew a cross in the dirt. And he stood there for a minute, and he never looked at me. And he looked over at me and then he rubbed it out and he walked away.
The moral of that story is very obvious. We can't always do it ourselves. And many times, many times from the most unexpected places, thanks to our common faith and belief, help will come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: And if you'd like to watch any of the candidates today, you can check them out at CNN.com/live. You can watch the rallies and their events, live and unfiltered. Again, that's at CNN.com/live.
LEMON: There are new and disturbing questions today about the extent of North Korea's nuclear ambitions.
According to "The L.A. Times," CIA officials believe North Korea was helping Syria build a nuclear reactor capable of making weapons- grade plutonium, and they'll say so to Congress tomorrow in closed- door briefings.
But take a look at this before and after picture of the alleged reactor site, which was apparently bombed last year by Israel warplanes. Intelligence officials have long been silent about any nuclear ties between North Korea and Syria.
Now, this new revelation could give conservatives more fuel to oppose easing sanctions on North Korea, something the administration had been planning to do. We'll keep following this story and bring you any new developments.
KEILAR: An extremely hard landing and way off-course. What else went wrong with Saturday's return to Earth of the Soyuz capsule? Our Matthew Chance is standing by in Moscow.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Just talk to anyone. Gas prices are still the top concern for Americans, but food prices, well, they aren't far behind. And Susan Lisovicz is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with the very latest on that.
Susan, we've been talking about this a lot: gas prices versus food prices. Many people are having a tough time making ends meet.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No question about it. And of course, they're related and for many reasons. It's a good time to be on a diet. A fiscal diet, if you will.
This is a poll from "USA Today" which shows that nearly three out of four Americans, Don, said they're worried about food prices. And it showed that nearly half of them say it's caused a hardship for their families. And some of them, about 10 percent, say it's caused a severe hardship.
Food prices year-to-date have gone up 5 percent. Actually, that was just in the first three months of the year, according to the Labor Department.
Let's break it out for you. Milk prices up more than 13 percent. Cereal and bakery products also soaring. And these are just staples for most households, obviously -- Don.
LEMON: Yes. Absolutely. So we see consumers eating out less frequently, choosing cheaper restaurants, also not going to, you know, those expensive coffee places. Any changes in the way people shop at the grocery store?
LISOVICZ: Oh, yes. It's trickling down there, as well, Don. I mean, first of all people are clipping coupons again.
And another thing that really could be the next casualty is organics. You know, we are talking about Earth Day just yesterday. A lot of folks embracing the idea of things that don't have pesticides, that are grown organically. There's a lot more products out there.
But there's a different poll that showed now that less than half consumers surveyed say that organic products are good from them. And that is down 17 percent just from two years ago.
And what's the primary reason that they're turned off on organics? It's food prices. It's the cost of them, which can run, on average, 50 percent to 100 percent higher than their mainstream alternatives.
What you're also seeing is more people buy directly from local farmers, which is often the cheapest and, many would argue, the best alternative to the situation.
Here on Wall Street we're seeing a little bit of green. We've seen more earlier in the session. Thank goodness for Boeing. It reported quarterly earnings today up 38 percent. Its shares are up 5 percent. That's lifting the Dow. Right now, blue chips are up 20 points. NASDAQ, meanwhile, hanging in there. It's up 17 points. And oil prices are down slightly.
In the next hour, we're going to be talking about the job market this summer for teens. Not as easy as in summers past.
Don, back to you.
LEMON: I can only imagine. If adults who have been in the work force for a while are out of work, then teens are probably going to have a tough time.
LISOVICZ: That's right. They're competing with people who have a lot more experience.
LEMON: Yes. OK, Susan Lisovicz, thank you.
LISOVICZ: You're welcome.
KEILAR: The United Nations calls it the silent tsunami. It's the worldwide fight in food prices which no longer threatens just developing nations. Families in every hemisphere are adjusting the way they put meals on their tables.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Morgan Neill in Havana talking here with the Torres-Tamellco (ph) family.
(voice-over) This Cuban family of five live in a modest apartment in the capital. Najurca (ph) shops in a markets near their home, where prices are kept by the state. Prices here have changed little, if at all. That's because the state subsidizes food, absorbing much of the higher cost itself.
That's not to say rising world prices have had no effect.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (speaking foreign language)
NEILL: "Vegetable oil is expensive. And finding food it can be hard sometimes," says Luis. "In the black market, a bottle costs 60 Cuban pesos. Sixty pesos can be some 40 percent of our monthly salary."
KRISTI LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kristi Lu Stout in Hong Kong with restaurant owner Jeremy Tieh (ph). And Jeremy, I understand you source a lot of your ingredients in this market. Just how high have prices risen over the past year?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Incidentally, you see the more basic items tend to experience the higher increase in terms of raise (ph), rather than the more excessive items.
STOUT: Right, right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People in particular, you see right now, you're probably seeing like that. This -- perhaps this plate of squid, you'd be able to get it for something like about 10 bucks as couple of months ago. But now you're seeing something like 15 bucks. So it's amazing.
Things like basic items, as I mentioned, like oil, like grain. Oil in particular, actually, we see a hike of about 100 percent.
STOUT: Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's crazy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Two places a world apart but joined by the common concern over skyrocketing food prices. And still to come, a similar look at how families in two other countries are coping with the same phenomenon. LEMON: But first, the new Fortune 500 list of the top companies is out. And we're highlighting some of the names behind the numbers. But before we tell you who they are, we'll give you a chance to guess.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's a devoted mom and is this year's highest-ranked woman CEO, a woman known for her commitment at work and at home. We'll tell you who it is after the break.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who's this year's top woman CEO? Angela Braly of health-care giant WellPoint. After taking over WellPoint less than one year ago, Braly has helped the company move up two spots on the Fortune 500 list, while still devoting herself to her family. Employees say that Braly sets the tone for WellPoint's family values.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
KEILAR: and I'm Brianna Keilar in for Kyra Phillips. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: All right. We're working on several developing stories for you right here today in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A big promotion for a top commander. General David Petraeus has been chosen to head U.S. Central Command. Petraeus is currently the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and he could leave in late summer or early fall.
A hearing is expected this afternoon in Texas on a massive and confusing child custody case. Lawyers for the hundreds of children seized from that polygamous ranch are questioning how they would all be cared for if they were moved to foster homes. Meantime, lab workers finished taking DNA samples from the kids, hoping to sort out their family relationships.
Richard Gere testifies before senators next hour on Tibet. China's recent crackdown there has drawn global and sometimes violent protests, especially over Beijing's role as host of the Summer Olympics.
KEILAR: Well, the Pennsylvania primary is over. A double-digit win of course, for Hillary Clinton last night, but the campaigning is far from over. Let's take you now to Indianapolis, Indiana where Senator Clinton is holding an event. This is called a Solutions for America event. That's what the campaign is calling it. She is talking about the economy. Let's listen in. SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mechanisms that worked. And we are going to get tough on China. It's time that we said wait a minute, this is not working. We export jobs to them. They import lead-laced toys, contaminated pet food and polluted pharmaceuticals that actually ends up killing people like us right here in Indiana and America.
I've had a little experience getting tough on China, and I believe that it's the right policy for America. I went to Beijing in 1995, and their strict instructions spoke out against their policies as they affected women, and said, look, you cannot treat women as though they are some second-class version of a human being any longer, and we are going to stand up for women's rights as human rights.
The Chinese didn't like that so much. They blocked out my speech. They wouldn't let people in China listen to it, but that's OK we got it around anyway. So we also have to get tough on China when it comes to the way that they are committing industrial espionage against America. This is something Senator Bayh and I talked about two weeks ago.
We went up and down this state. We talked about Allison Transmission and the great plant that makes the Humvee for the military. We talked about what we have to do to stand up for American jobs in the American defense sector. If there was one area where you would think your tax dollars would put Americans to work --
KEILAR: All right, we are listening to Senator Hillary Clinton. She is talking about the economy in Indianapolis, Indiana, which of course, the primary -- one of the next primaries, May 6th, hotly contested between the two candidates. There is another event going on in Indiana, as well.
LEMON: Absolutely, they are going to crisscross that state, both of them. That's because that's where the next primary is going to be held. Let's go now to New Albany, Indiana, a town hall meeting there at the Indiana University. Barack Obama taking questions. He talked about jobs, and now he's taking a question now, I believe, about Social Security. Let's listen in.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Next generation and generations to come. That's my commitment. Now, let me describe the problem that we have with Social Security right now. We really have two problems. One is, is that the trust fund, which is where all the money from the payroll tax is supposed to go, sort of a kitty, a pot, it has been generating a surplus which should be sitting there, because soon we'll have to use that surplus for retirees.
Problem is Bush has been borrowing against that surplus to fund the war in Iraq, for example. Now,, that money will be paid back, but when you take money out of the trust fund, what that means is when the bill comes due on Social Security, you are going to have to borrow that money from somewhere else. You're going to have to pay interest on that.
It makes it more expensive. It drives up the national debt. It's not a good way to manage your budget. All right, so first thing is, we've got to get our budget under control so that we are not raiding the trust fund and return to fiscal responsibility. And that means, the principle of paying as you go, no tax cuts, unless you are eliminating tax cuts for somebody else.
No increases in government spending unless you actually have a way of paying for it, either by eliminating old programs that don't work or finding new revenues. The point is, we can't keep taking out a credit card on the name of our -- in the name of our children from the bank of China, and pretend that we are being responsible stewards for the American people.
LEMON: Barack Obama, New Albany, Indiana. The town hall meeting at Indiana University talking about Social Security there. If you would like to watch any of the candidates today just go to CNN.com/live to see their rallies and their events live and unfiltered. Again, that's CNN.com/live.
KEILAR: Re-entering earth's atmosphere at the wrong angle. Subjected to g-forces eight times that of gravity, and landing way off course. How much danger was there for the crew aboard the Russian Soyuz capsule? CNN's Matthew Chance is in Moscow, investigating this -- Matthew. And, what have you learned so far?
MATTHEW CHANCE: Well, according to Russian space officials quoted by local news agencies, it could so easily last weekend ended in tragedy for the return from orbit for that Russian-made Soyuz space craft that was carrying three crew members, including the NASA Astronaut, Peggy Whitson.
It really kind of plummeted back down to earth at a high speed indeed, taking an unusually steep descent out of orbit into the earth's atmosphere. It landed some 200 miles away from the target area in central Asia, where it was supposed to have landed, and it was 20 minutes late.
These things normally, of course, Brianna, are calculated right down almost to the last second when they are going to actually have contact with them again. It subjected those crew members to a great deal of bumping around inside that tiny little capsule. But, Peggy Whitson said, that despite that incident and other incidents with the Soyuz space craft as well, she still had faith in Russian technology. Here's what she had to say
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEGGY WHITSON, U.S. ASTRONAUT: The Soyuz has been a -- a history of very reliable space craft. There has obviously been some issue in the last couple of descents because it went ballistic, but I am sure the engineers will determine what the problems are and will get them fixed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHANCE: Well, let's hope so, because the Soyuz space craft is the main means of travel and return from the international space station for both Russian and U.S. astronauts. Brianna?
KEILAR: And, Matthew, this isn't the first issue, right, that Soyuz has had. Is there more concern for future missions?
CHANCE: I think there is. There's an investigation still underway as to what exactly went wrong. It seems that the Soyuz space craft when it entered the earth's atmosphere -- re-entered it, it came in the wrong way round, and so the heat deflector shields at the front of the space craft were actually at the back, and it caused a great deal of damage, burn damage to the capsule, to the antenna, to the hatch door.
And, that's why it had to switch courses and take this unusually steep descent into earth. It's happened before. They thought they fixed the problem, but obviously they haven't. And so, there is a good deal of concern there, Brianna, about what is actually the cause of this problem.
KEILAR: All right, Matthew Chance for us in Moscow. Thank you.
LEMON: A plan to combat the record high and rising gas prices. The presidential candidates weigh in.
KEILAR: And it's a heartbreaking diagnosis that hundreds of thousands of parents heard before, your child has Autism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERNIE ELS, PRO GOLFER: It's a saddening feeling, to be honest with you, because your whole life will change forever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Pro Golfer Ernie Els opens up about his family's experience.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Quarterback Doug Flutie, hockey star Oleg Colzey (ph) and golfer Ernie Els, well, they all have know glory. They also know the challenges of raising a child with autism.
Els opened up to CNN's Patrick Snell while playing the Verizon Heritage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ernie, when you first learned your child is autistic, tell me about the range of motions that surged through you?
ERNIE ELS, 2-TIME U.S. OPEN CHAMPION: It's a big deal. You know, because you know life is not going to be quite normal the way you envision it maybe. We all want our kids to be normal and doing their sports and doing their normal school stuff. And you know, when your child is not going to be normal, you know, it kind of gets you a little a bit. It gets your attention, so to speak. And it's a saddening feeling, to be honest with you, because your whole life will change forever.
SNELL: For those who don't know Ben, what kind of a character is he and how's he doing?
ELS: He's very happy. He makes eye contact. He's quite lovable. You can hug him and he gives you a hug back. You know, the only thing is, you know, his speech is quite impaired. You know, you can see when he walks he walks a little differently. And obviously he likes to wiggle his hands a little bit. When he gets to watching movies and so forth, he gets very into it. So that roof can lift if he starts watching "Nemo" or any of these child movies.
SNELL: You've known about Ben's autism for a few years now. How difficult was it to take the decision to go public with it.
ELS: You know, you practice out here on tour, you know, hitting gold balls on the range, and you see all these young, happily, newly married, young couples, and they all want families. And it could happen where they're going to have a child that's going to be affected by autism. And we just want to have young parents more ready and really get the word out that the public knows about this big, huge problem, and then get into the research of why it happens to so many kids. Is there something going on in the environment, stuff that we eat? Is it the flu shots? What is the problem with autism?
SNELL: What have you learned about yourself? Has it changed you as a person?
ELS: I think I have a little bit, yes, absolutely. You know, for a while, you know, you're quite angry and, you know, you're not feeling great about yourself and especially about the luck of your kid. Then as life goes on, you know, you start seeing that it's not all that bad, and you know, he's different, but he's a great little human being, and then, you know, you start moving along accordingly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, make sure you check out the CNN Web site for more personal accounts of living with autism, as well as the latest research and efforts to combat it. Just click onto CNN.com/special.
KEILAR: Millions of people who are alive today or live decades longer than they otherwise would have, have Michael Debakey to thank. He is the legendary heart surgeon, now 99 years old, and today he received the Congressional Gold Medal at the U.S. Capitol. The honor, of course, bestowed upon him by President Bush.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: His truest legacy is not inscribed on a medal or etched in stone. It is written on the human heart. His legacy is the unlost hours with family and friends who are still with us because of his healing touch. His legacy is grandparents who lived to see their grandchildren. His legacy is holding the fragile and sacred gift of human life in his hands and returning it unbroken.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Among Debakey's many accomplishments, pioneering heart- bypass surgery and inventing the mobile military hospitals known as MASH units.
(WEATHER REPORT)
KEILAR: You might want to call it an American invasion on wheels.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to go outside our country. We have to go to Mexico to get fuel just to survive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: When it comes to diesel fuel, forget buying American, some U.S. truckers are make a run for the border. We'll tell you why.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, so here we go again, Brianna. We say it every day. Another day, another record gas price. AAA says the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded has topped $3.53. That's up two cents from just yesterday's record. Yesterday was a record, as well. Just a year ago, the national average was $2.85 a gallon. And we all thought that was high.
KEILAR: We expect the candidates for president to take note of sky high gas prices and they have. What, if anything, would they do about it?
CNN's Brian Todd takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ratcheting up along with those prices at the pump, the pressure on White House hopefuls to take action.
John McCain's got an idea to relieve you from that looming $4 a gallon mark and he's drafted a bill to make it happen.
SEN JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I propose that the federal government suspend all taxes on gasoline now paid by the American people from Memorial Day to Labor Day of this year.
TODD: A so-called "gas tax holiday." That means for three months, 18.5 cents per gallon in federal tax would be taken off your bill at the pump.
Hillary Clinton says she'll consider the idea. That tilts her more toward McCain's side on gas prices and is one of those rare instances where she splits from Barack Obama on policy.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think John McCain's proposal for a three-month tax holiday is a bad idea. You've got 18 cents, we're talking about five percent of your total cost of gas that you suspend for three months, which might save you a few hundred bucks, that then will spike right up.
TODD: Analysts say it may not even save you that much.
ROGER DIWAN, PFC ENERGY: For a family with two cars, if they fill 10 times a month, that will make only something like $30 difference. So, it's not huge.
TODD: Still, McCain says a timely drop in gas prices could also reduce costs for food, packaging and other transportation-related services, and the economy would get an overall boost.
But most of the tax revenue goes into something called the Highway Trust Fund, used to maintain bridges and roads. Some, including Obama, argue that if there's no gas tax for three months, billions of dollars would be lost from that fund. But some experts say the real impact on the country's infrastructure would be marginal.
Obama's plan for gas prices does not focus on the immediate, but rather on long-term ideas like moving the country toward more fuel- efficient vehicles, less dependence on foreign oil. The McCain and Clinton campaigns also favor that approach.
(on camera): Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama agree that oil companies should be hit with a windfall profits tax, which John McCain opposes. An oil analyst tells us that would recover some revenue, but he says the oil companies would turn that around and hit the consumer with higher prices.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, we have some new pictures today from this month's raid on that polygamous ranch in Texas. Well, they're posted on a Web site called captivefldschildren.org which aims to counter the state's allegations about the so-called "Yearning for Zion" ranch and to raise money for the legal fight there. We've covered faces in light of the kids' ages here.
A Texas judge is expected to hear more arguments today about foster care for all these kids whose lawyers object to separating them from their mothers. The state suspects the FLDS promotes sexual abuse by arranging so-called "spiritual" marriages between young girls and much older men.
We'll get a live report from Texas in just a few minutes.
KEILAR: A wild animal trainer suffered a fatal bite from a grizzly bear yesterday in California. He and two other people were working with the 700 pound bear named Rocky who's actually appeared in a number of Hollywood productions. In February, his main handler called him "the best working bear in the business." Rocky actually had a wrestling scene you may recall in Will Ferrell's latest movie, "Semi-Pro."
It's not clear what will happen to the bear now. A Fish and Games spokesman says County Animal Control may end up making that decision.
LEMON: Four gorgeous carats, one strong flush. The math is not in the woman's favor. A very tough lesson.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, let's check with videos are tops (ph) on CNN.com. Lots of you are checking out a segment on last night's "American Idol." One of the contestants apparently having some trouble remembering her lyrics.
Police helicopter's crash landing caught on tape. It happened earlier this month in Topeka, Kansas. But the video was just now being released. All three people on board though are OK.
And with gas prices bordering on ridiculous, an Arizona trucking company is sending its drivers to Mexico where they can fuel up for $2 a gallon. We've got more on this story from our affiliate KTVK in a just few minutes.
These stories and much, much more. Check it out, CNN.com.
KEILAR: Well, Don, here is a tough lesson.
LEMON: Oh yes.
KEILAR: You got to be careful when you take your rings off. An Ohio woman learned it the hard way when she almost lost her four-carat diamond ring.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARGY CLARK, FLUSHED RING DOWN THE TOILET: Set it on the counter on a tissue to dry and in my rush to leave, I was cleaning up the sink area and I grabbed a bunch of tissues. And instead of throwing it in the garbage, decided to throw them in the toilet and flushed all in one motion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Whew! Well, she called Roto-Rooter and the plumbing company was able to snake a camera through the pipes. Took them three hours, but they did find her ring. They had to hammer out the concrete and actually cut a pipe. And now, the woman says the ring is back on her finger and of course, that is where it's going to stay.
LEMON: That happens a lot.
KEILAR: Sure does. LEMON: More than you think, more than you think.
KEILAR: Whew, it's scary, right?
The next hour of the NEWSROOM starts right now.
