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American Morning

Shortage of Food Around World Hitting Home; Gasoline Hits Another Record High; New Fight Brewing Between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama

Aired April 24, 2008 - 07:00   ET

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


JONATHAN CAPEHART, EDITORIAL BOARD WRITER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": You have African-Americans who are proud of Barack Obama and coming out and voting for him in droves; 92 percent voted for him in Pennsylvania.
But you also have women who are enormously proud of Senator Clinton and would like to see her become the first woman president. So what we have here is the clash of the titans within the Democratic Party. And as we all know, is this is driving everybody crazy.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Jonathan Capehart, including all of us too at times, from "The Washington Post" -- good to see you, John.

CAPEHART: You too, Kyra. Thank you.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Just crossing the top of the hour now. Another new record for gas prices this morning, now $3.56 for a gallon of self-serve regular. That's up 31 cents in a month, and to think that last year we were complaining about paying $2.86 a gallon. But at least oil prices aren't going up this morning.

In overnight trading, a barrel of oil is actually down about $1 to just over $117. Along with those rising gas prices comes new concern about the global food crisis. We've been talking about warehouse stores like Costco and Sam's Club, limited sales of imported rice.

Sam's is restricting 20-pound bags now to four per member. Sam's says that the cap is only temporary, but the store in Tampa is reportedly already out of imported Basmati rice and isn't sure when it will get new shipments.

The World Food Programme says the price of rice has more than doubled in the past five weeks, and the World Bank says all food prices have skyrocketed 83 percent in three years.

Well, some people are taking a critical new look at ethanol and whether turning corn into fuel is making the food shortage worse. I spoke with Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern earlier on AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JIM MCGOVERN, CO-CHAIRMAN, HUNGER CAUCUS: Corn grown is now being put to biofuel used to be put toward consumption. And so, there's less corn, you know, that's being used for food. And as a result, you know, you have -- with the shrinking supply, you have higher food prices.

And, look, you know, corn is used not just, you know, for, you know, regular meals that one has, but corn is also used for corn feed. So, the price of chicken goes up. The price of meat goes up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: McGovern says that the U.S. needs to figure out how to make ethanol and biodiesel from nonfood items.

Our team of CNN correspondents around the world is looking at the causes and solutions to the food crisis. Our Ed Lavandera is in Dallas where customers are looking to save by shopping directly from farms. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta this morning is in Lima, Peru, where the answer may be found in the new focus on the humble potato. And Ali Velshi breaks down where your money is going for a gallon of gasoline. We'll check in with them coming up this hour.

PHILLIPS: A showdown in the Senate. Republicans blocking a bill that would make it easier for workers to sue for pay discrimination, saying it would trigger a flood of lawsuits. The Democrats say the measure was needed to help employees get back lost wages. Now, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama interrupted their campaigns just to voice support for the bill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm hoping you will stand up and vote to make it clear that women who get up every single day and go to work deserve to be paid equally to their male counterparts.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you work hard and do a good job, you should be rewarded no matter what you look like, where you come from, or what gender you are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Legislation already passed by the House was intended to reverse the Supreme Court decision limiting salary discrimination suits.

House Democrats are looking to add on to President Bush's war funding bill. They meet today to discuss a plan to include extended unemployment benefits and new education funding for veterans. While on Iraq overnight, the U.S. military says that two soldiers were killed when their vehicle rolled over in Tikrit.

Former President Jimmy Carter firing back at the Bush administration after talking with leaders of Hamas. Carter has now returned to Atlanta after his trip and says that no one, including the secretary of state, urged him against traveling to Syria or meeting with the militant group.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There was never anyone, anywhere in the Bush administration in this country that asked me or even suggested that I not go, or that I not meet with Hamas or Syria. Never. Nobody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: On Tuesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that Carter was warned not to visit leaders of Hamas.

ROBERTS: On Capitol Hill today, U.S. intelligence officials will show some members of Congress a secret videotape and other evidence supporting a claim that Syria was building a nuclear reactor with help from North Korea. Israeli war planes bombed a facility last September. Syria has maintained that the site was an unused military facility.

Our Ben Wedeman has been talking to unhappy Israeli officials. He joins me now from Jerusalem. What does this tape show, Ben, that would make Israeli officials so unhappy?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically, it's not what the tape shows, it's the tape itself. What they feel is that their intelligence-gathering message could be compromised by the airing of this tape. In addition to that, they're worried that this revival of this issue is going to cause pressure to be put within Syria on Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, to retaliate against the Israeli air strikes.

So the Israelis would rather that the whole subject simply not be discussed, not be aired. By in large since last September, they have been uncharacteristically mum on this subject, and they say they're going to stay that way -- John.

ROBERTS: But, Ben, what do we know of this videotape, and what it purports to show, which is the reason why CIA officials want to show it to members of the intelligence committees in Congress?

WEDEMAN: Well, basically, what we know from "The Washington Post" report is that there is a surprising resemblance between the facility that the Israelis struck last September and the nuclear facilities in North Korea. And therefore, that really does, as far as this "Washington Post" report goes, creates -- basically proves once and for all that the Syrians were pursuing some sort of nuclear program, and that obviously is a cause of concern for the Israelis -- John.

ROBERTS: Ben Wedeman for us in Jerusalem this morning. Ben, thanks.

PHILLIPS: And a sharp questioning by House Democrats. FBI Director Robert Mueller said that his agency warned the Justice Department and the Pentagon that some interrogation tactics may have been illegal. Mueller says that the agency first raised concerns back in 2002 when terrorist suspects were subjected to waterboarding by CIA interrogators. At that time, the Justice Department considered waterboarding and other harsh interrogations. That is legal as long as they didn't result in organ failure or death. Mueller refused to say how the agencies reacted to the FBI's concerns.

Now, police in Indianapolis are searching for a gunman who shot a pregnant bank teller. Four other suspects have been arrested. Police said the gunman entered the bank on Tuesday, hopped the counter then shot the woman who is pregnant with twins. The woman's husband says that she's in critical but stable condition.

Child Welfare officials say that the hundreds of children removed from the polygamous sect in Texas are being placed in foster homes where they won't have contact with other kids. TVs will be turned off, and they can still be home schooled. They say it's meant to protect the children who until now have lived a secluded life.

And new details on Rozita Swinton, the person of interest in this case. According to court documents, a phone number that was used to report alleged abuse at the Texas compound is one of several that was used by Swinton.

ROBERTS: Moving so fast that it's hard to keep up. Gas prices reaching new highs. Our senior business correspondent Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business."

And severe storms on the move. Rob Marciano is tracking extreme weather, next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Nine minutes now after the hour. Ali Velshi is here, and every day we have a new record for the price of gas.

ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

ROBERTS: Is there any end? Is there any top (ph) here?

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: Well, the jump -- June 8th, it's going to stop going up.

ROBERTS: You're just predicting this?

VELSHI: I just made that up. I just made that up.

PHILLIPS: Now, everybody is marking on their calendar.

ROBERTS: You know who they're going be angry about it.

(CROSSTALK)

PHILLIPS: He just likes to start trouble.

VELSHI: What people don't know -- what people don't know is that this isn't live. We just happen to find --

ROBERTS: He's like Puck from "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

VELSHI: See where it ends. If I knew where it end, then I wouldn't be at work today, right? I would be calling and sitting from my jet plane which is taking me to my helicopter, which is taking me to my yacht, which, by the way, all of which will be very expensive to fuel up, because the average price of gas lay now at $3.56 a gallon, up 25 cents in a month.

Now, the point is that in a month thing keeps moving because the gas price keeps going up. So if you look at the pace, the rate of change, this week it's been more than two cents a day. Last week, it was one cent a day. Before that, it was --

So it's not only the price just keeps going up, the speed at which the price keeps going up is accelerating. So we'll have to look at that.

Now, as you know, gas prices are higher. Diesel prices are higher. But let's take a look at what affects the price of gas. Look at the breakdown here.

Most of the price of gas at $3.50, which I just used for round numbers, is from the price of oil. $2.59 of that is from oil. Taxes, state and federal make up about 40 cents. And I just want to point that out because we got a lot of people e-mailing us and telling us, why don't we talk about taxes.

As oil goes up, taxes actually become a less relevant part of the price of gasoline. Federal taxes are 18 cents. Refining is about 26 cents. Distribution, marketing, and profit for the gas station. Now, that's -- all of those three things are 25 cents. And before anybody gets too angry at the gas station owner, they're actually making far less on the gasoline they sell you.

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: Yes, they're making about -- we had a gas station owner, she's making 14 cents --

VELSHI: Yes, it's usually an average factor --

ROBERTS: And when you factor in credit card costs as well...

VELSHI: Right.

ROBERTS: ... she's only making 8 cents.

ROBERTS: That's why some places give you a discount for using cash. So that's not where the money is being made. So, just worth thinking about. That's how it all breaks down for you.

ROBERTS: I don't know about you, but I'm looking forward to June 8th, when the price of gas starts going up. If it doesn't, we know where you live.

VELSHI: Yes. PHILLIPS: He's a guru. He's a gas guru.

VELSHI: Perhaps I won't be here on June 8th.

PHILLIPS: All right. Violent storms on the move right now. Let's take a look at this.

ROBERTS: Wow! That was close.

PHILLIPS: There's actually something kind of beautiful about that, though, unless you're on the golf course then you run like --

(CROSSTALK)

ROBERTS: 100 feet this side may not have been so beautiful.

PHILLIPS: Lightning strikes just a few feet away, believe or not. So who should take cover day? Rob Marciano tracking the extreme weather.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Attagirl, Kyra, you know, bring out the bright spot of the storm video. Kind of a romantic quality to it.

PHILLIPS: You know, that's the passionate side of me, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right. Good morning again, guys. Yes, we're going to talk about lightning. We're not talking about tornadoes. We had a bunch touched down yesterday. I think the threat is equally as great today. Complete weather is coming up when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Dramatic video coming in. It was from Tarrant County, Texas. North and west parts of Texas to the west of Fort Worth, really getting hammered last night. Thanks to this video from WFAA.

Most of this action has moved eastward, but Texas as always this time of year seems to always be under the threat. Good morning, everybody. I'm Rob Marciano. Welcome back -- bang! -- to AMERICAN MORNING. If that doesn't wake you up, I don't know what will.

We do have some lightning strikes that are being detected by the National Lightning Detection Network, and we coupled that in with our radar. And now, you can see here across parts of Arkansas, a number of lightning strikes been popping up there, anywhere from 700 to 800 strikes in the last hour. And that's come down quite a bit as most of this real turbulent weather from last night is beginning to settle down and head a little bit farther to the east.

As far as where this rain is going to go -- continue moving eastward behind us when we get some clearing, we're looking at the possibility of seeing more thunderstorms that could produce maybe some tornadoes. All right. Southwest parts of Missouri. Man, the last couple of months, you seem to be just getting hammered with rainfall. You've got a flash flood warning that's in effect until 10:00 your time. And notice that the energy from this system goes all the way up into Canada, and then we'll get some clearing behind this and then it will fire up all again, I think, today.

There's your flash flood warnings just to the east of Kansas City and through Springfield, Missouri. Here's your threat for severe weather today. Again, it moves a little bit farther to the north across parts of Nebraska and southern Kansas. Damaging winds, large hail, isolated tornadoes are possible.

We had 10 reports of tornadoes yesterday. We had baseball-sized hail. We had winds that -- straight-line winds that gusted over 70 miles an hour. So I think we'll see similar action today. Hopefully we won't see a whole lot of damage and certainly we don't want any injuries. We'll keep you posted as the day rolls along. John and Kyra, back up to you.

ROBERTS: Rob, thanks, appreciate it. Hey, stick around for this and you might want to get out your checkbook too. Remember that Red Sox jersey, the construction worker tried to bury under the new Yankee Stadium?

MARCIANO: Oh, yes, yes. Did we find it? We dig it up?

ROBERTS: They actually did bury it. They dug it up. It's been for sale on eBay and, in fact, the auction closes out in just under five hours. The current high bid, $87,600. Remember that that construction worker, a little bit of a prankster buried it in the clubhouse, wanted to be --

PHILLIPS: Wanted to curse the team --

ROBERTS: Wanted it to be a curse on the team. There are some pictures of them when they dug it out. And they decided, hey, the best thing to do would be to put that online.

And proceeds, by the way, are going to the Jimmy Fund at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute there in Boston. It's the favorite charity of the Red Sox, helps people with cancer to $87,600 right now. The bidding started at $500. How much are you willing to bid, Rob?

MARCIANO: I wouldn't pay a dime for that. By the way, I think the Red Sox called them out on that because Big Papi --

ROBERTS: Whoa, whoa -- way whoa --

PHILLIPS: Let me just back up.

ROBERTS: Excuse me, Mr. Charitable Marciano? Why wouldn't pay a dime for it?

MARCIANO: Last night, I gave my money to a charity and other causes. PHILLIPS: But the Pope blessed it.

MARCIANO: So, Big Papi not having a good year so I think the Red Sox fans may have dug that up themselves just to maybe get the curse off of them.

ROBERTS: I think they buried two of them and that's the decoy that they brought up.

MARCIANO: You guys know that the grounds crew tapped him -- the guy who runs the grounds for Yankee Stadium the past 17 years is actually from the Boston area. So I wouldn't be surprised if there are some stuff there in the old Yankees stadium.

ROBERTS: Yes. Well, maybe when they tear it down they'll find some of that. But, at least we know where your charitable streak runs, Rob. Thanks.

MARCIANO: Easy now. See you guys later.

PHILLIPS: The Democrats duke it out. Senator John McCain looks to pick up all the leftovers. Can he sway Democratic voters today during his listening tour?

Coming up, we're going to talk with a McCain supporter, Florida Governor Charlie Crist.

And we're looking at the possible solutions to food shortages around the world. Dr. Sanjay Gupta on assignment live from Peru just for us. Next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: And welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." The price of food is skyrocketing around the world and it's causing drastic food shortages in developing countries and even hitting here at home. We've been talking all morning about the temporary cap that some warehouse stores here in the U.S. are placing on bulk sales of rice.

We're paging Dr. Gupta this morning. Sanjay is on assignment in Lima, Peru, looking to a possible solution to the world food crisis. Good morning, Sanjay. Sanjay, you just arrived a few hours ago, I'm told. What have you seen so far?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we arrived late last night and immediately went into some of the smaller towns. It's sort of interesting. What's happening here with the food situation is the government is recognized that this has become almost an insurmountable problem. What they tried to do is actually mobilize the army and actually secretly -- this is good -- secretly put together these food sacks and go by night to actually knock on people's doors, and especially in impoverished areas and hand them food. It's usually some rice, some beans, some oil, and six cans of anchovies, interestingly enough. The issue is that if they had this sort of distributions by day, in the past, there might be chaos, there might be riots. So this is one of the solutions they're coming up with to try and deal with this. It's a bit of a band aid as you might imagine.

People are very hungry in many parts of Lima and in many parts surrounding Lima as well. But the government now involved. The government now distributing food by night. Kyra, some remarkable stuff.

PHILLIPS: Peru combating hunger with the potato. Explain more about how that's adding to the relief.

GUPTA: You know, it's interesting. You know, I've been doing a lot of talking to people about this. The potato -- first of all, there's 5,000 different varieties of the potato here in Peru. Just a piece of trivia there. It's also one of the crops that takes the least water to actually grow. So it can grow at different climates, different heights. You know, there's different heights here in Peru and near lima as well.

So this is important. Also, it's fairly easy to distribute and it's a nutritional source. You know, it sort of get the bad wrap in the United States because of all of the carbs and all the starch, but it's a fairly nutritional piece of food.

The question now is, how do you get it to people who need it the most, within Peru and also maybe outside of Peru as well? So there are some distribution centers that are trying to address this issue. Every country has their own way, and this is what Peru is doing.

And also, Kyra, let me just tell you quickly, one of the other issues I'm going to be dealing here in Lima and outside of Lima is the idea of what is called vertical transmission of HIV/AIDS, different topic. But this idea that moms transfer the AIDS virus to the children. They have special obstacles here in Peru. I want to show you how they're dealing with that tomorrow.

PHILLIPS: We sure look forward to your report. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, great to see you.

ROBERTS: You know, we've been talking all morning about food shortages, and it brings us to our "Quick Vote". Is it uncalled for hysteria or careful planning? Sam's Club and Costco, the two biggest U.S. warehouse retail chains, are restricting sales of certain types of rice. Sam's Club says it's just a temporary cap intended to ensure that there's plenty of rice for all members, limiting sales of 20- pound bags of imported rice to four per member.

Some Americans though have even started hoarding the grain as its price has doubled this year. So here's the "Quick Vote" question for you this morning. U.S. stores rationing rice? Good idea? Bad idea?

Right now, 64 percent say it's producing panic; 36 percent say it's a sensible solution. Cast your vote for us at CNN.com/am, and we want to hear from you as well. Send us an e-mail on your thoughts. Is this a pragmatic idea? Is it producing panic? What about using food as fuel? We like to know what you think. Go to our Web site at CNN.com/am. Follow the link that says "contact us." We'll read your e-mails a little bit later on at this hour.

PHILLIPS: John McCain on the road again today. The presumptive Republican nominee heads to the Ninth Ward of Louisiana looking to pick up traditionally Democratic voters. Can he succeed? We're talking with one of his biggest supporters coming up next.

And the cost of basic necessities like food is rising fast. But there is relief. We're going to tell you how you can get a hold of skyrocketing food prices. That story and today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty-six minutes after the hour. Today, presumptive Republican nominee John McCain will visit the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans devastated by Hurricane Katrina. After pledging to mount a new war on poverty, McCain is trying to connect with voters who traditionally vote Democratic on his so-called listening tour. But can he?

Florida Governor Charlie Crist is a McCain supporter. He joins me now from Tallahassee. Governor, good to see you this morning.

GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (R), FLORIDA: Good to see you, John, how are you?

ROBERTS: I'm doing fine, thank you. Hope you are as well. Senator McCain says that he believes the country is in a recession. Just the other day, President Bush said the country is not in a recession. Who's right?

CRIST: Well, you know, I think the American people are right. You know, they understand that the price of gas is high, that the cost of food is getting higher, and they're having to deal with these issues. And that's why Senator McCain is working so hard to be directly in touch with the American people in many places in this country that some of them feel forgotten.

He's toured Appalachia, as you said, will be in New Orleans today, a very important area, especially as it relates to hurricane damage and recovery and making sure that, you know, the people in Washington understand what's important to the people in New Orleans and Appalachia and throughout the United States of America. John McCain understands that, and that's why he's working so hard to be out in the country, to be with the people, to hear their concerns, and to see their heart.

ROBERTS: Looking back to my original question, if I could, between John McCain saying we're in a recession, President Bush saying we're not. Which one of them got it wrong?

CRIST: Well, I like Senator McCain and I like President Bush, but I think what's important is that we have economic issues that we all have to deal with. And I think, you know, the people understand that. We certainly understand it in Florida.

We're dealing with a budget downturn as it relates to supporting education, making sure we protect the most vulnerable. And our House and Senate members are working very hard to make sure that that's taken care of and I'm very proud of them for it.

On the last week of our session here, Florida is no different than America. In fact, we're a microcosm of the country, a state of almost 20 million people. Senator McCain will be here again this weekend. We look forward to receiving him as well.

And I think it's important that we understand, people, families are dealing with challenging times. They need tax cuts. Senator McCain understands that. He wants to cut the gas tax. My word, you know, you talk about how people are dealing with economic issues, all you got to do is go to the gas station and you feel it.

In addition, he understands that cutting the tax on cell phones is so important -- that about 257 million Americans have cell phones, use them. It's a great way to communicate. Helps out in emergencies many times and wants to reduce those taxes too.

ROBERTS: In launching this war on poverty, he went to Inez, Kentucky, which is the same place that Lyndon Johnson went in 1964 to launch his war on poverty. We've been seeing Senator John McCain doing some things, going to places which have been off the tradition of Republican map. Here's what he had to say about all of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have to, as I've always said, continue my campaign, go across America, campaign everywhere, take nothing for granted, and give them my vision of the future of this country and make it clear that I'm going to be the president of everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Governor, is he looking at polls that suggest that Democrats who are upset that their particular choice didn't become the nominee may go vote Republican this year, and he's trying to peel off as many of those voters as he can?

CRIST: Well, I don't think there's any question about it. I mean, you look at John McCain's record. I mean, this is a man who can work with people across the aisle. He's proven that in his great service in the United States Senate as well as the U.S. House of Representatives.

And you talk about a guy who understands public service, somebody who served his country in the military as a true American hero, a prisoner of war for 5 1/2 years. I mean, this is a man who understands that a servant needs to serve with a servant's heart, a public servant does. And that's why I'm so proud to support this man. He's got such great strength and great integrity. And I just like the guy. I think he's a great man.

ROBERTS: What about potential opponents? Look, let's have a quick listen to what Senator Hillary Clinton told me yesterday after her win in Pennsylvania.

Apparently we don't have that, but she said that the voters of Pennsylvania have made their views known. She is the better candidate to go against Senator John McCain. Which candidate would he rather run against?

CRIST: Well, I don't think it really matters to be honest with you. I think he looks forward -- I know he looks forward to the campaign in the fall. He's working very hard, as you know right now, to reach out to Americans all across this country.

The voters in Pennsylvania made a loud statement though. I mean, for Senator Clinton to get a 10 percent win, that's a big win. I mean, usually in politics, you get a 5 percent or 6 percent victory, it's a big deal. What Pennsylvania did, my birth state, by the way, it was a big deal. And it was important to Senator Clinton.

But I know that Senator Clinton and Senator Obama are going to continue to work hard. The vote is in Guam on Saturday as I understand it and it's on to Indiana and North Carolina. There's a lot of other contests yet to be heard. It's important, though, as the governor of Florida that think the Democratic National Committee needs to seat the delegates that were voted on and seat it after our January 29th primary. We had a record turnout, John, both Republicans and Democrats in that primary. I think it's important that the Democratic National Committee as well as the Republican National Committee seat all those delegates for both of our conventions this summer.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: And Senator Clinton also told me yesterday that she doesn't think that the Democratic party can make a decision on who is the nominee before Florida and Michigan are counted. Would you urge her to stay in the race until the delegates are counted?

CRIST: Well, it's not my position to urge either of the candidates.

ROBERTS: But you're the governor of Florida, you just said that you want to see those votes counted. Would you agree with her that the Democrats shouldn't make a decision on a nominee before the votes of your constituents there in Florida are counted?

CRIST: Oh, without a doubt. I agree with that 100 percent. I think that every vote should count. We should not disenfranchise any voters. I mean, we've had a lot of debates in Florida...

ROBERTS: So, you encourage her to stay in until those votes are counted.

CRIST: I would encourage the Democratic National Committee to count those votes. I mean, the voters of Florida did their job. They turned out. They turned out in record numbers. We should honor their vote as well as the voters in Michigan. I mean, you know, Senator -- excuse me, Governor Granholm of Michigan and myself both put out a statement that these delegates should be seated. That we ought to honor the Democratic right of people to vote and their votes to count and not disenfranchise any voters.

ROBERTS: Now, we'll keep watching this one closely. It certainly is interesting. Governor Charlie Crist of Florida, good to see you this morning, sir. Thanks for being with us.

CRIST: Thank you, John.

ROBERTS: Kyra.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A battle over billions could hold up the latest Iraq war funding bill. Aids say that House Democrats want to add $13 billion in extended unemployment benefits to the bill. They're meeting today behind closed doors. President Bush has promised to veto any bill that goes over his $108 billion request for military and diplomatic efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And the top U.S. military commander in Iraq is getting a promotion. General David Petraeus will take over the U.S. central command and oversee the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. White House wants Petraeus former deputy in Iraq Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno to replace him. If approved by Congress, Petraeus and Odierno will be in their new jobs by September.

The U.S. Inspector General from Iraq reconstruction says that Iraq could take in as much as $70 billion in oil revenues this year. His report is prompting Congress to considers laws that would force Iraq to shoulder more of the costs rebuilding their country.

ROBERTS: We have been talking all morning about the price of food and reports of shortages around the world. The rising cost are eating in to household budgets from coast to coast. We found a solution. More families are taking matters in to their own hands by putting their hands to work.

AMERICAN MORNING's Ed Lavandera is live at the Dallas Farmer's Market. So, Ed, what's the solution? Did we find out?

ED LAVANDERA, AMERICAN MORNING CORRESPONDENT: Well, all of these talk about rising food prices has really been a boom for local farmers like the Lemley family from Canton, Texas, just a few miles away from Dallas. And really, if local farmers and if you're willing to pick your own fruit, you can save a dollar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LYNN REMSING, OWNER, GNEISMER FARMS [corrected copy: GNISMER FARMS]: In a given day, everybody will come in and pick anywhere from one to two gallons.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Everything Lynn Remsing grows, gets gobbled up. REMSING: We have seen a tremendous increase in the number of people that are picking their own fruits now.

LAVANDERA: Thousands of people are flocking to Remsing's farm in this Ft. Worth, Texas suburb to pick their own fruits and vegetables. On this six-acre plot, sales have doubled in the last year.

REMSING: This year has been an extremely good year for us. Because the number of people that I think have found fresh vegetables because they're looking for a cheaper source of food out there in the marketplace.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's $4 for the onions.

LAVANDERA: Remsing says that organic fruits and vegetables he grows are consistently cheaper than the inorganic foods sold in nearby supermarkets. That's because he doesn't have transport and packaging costs. Here you pick strawberries right off of the bush.

Do you think this the wave of the future?

REMSING: I think it is. I think we're going to see this come. If you've ever been to, seen the European markets. They do a lot of green houses. They do a lot of local small farms.

LAVANDERA: Local farmers are reporting a boom in sales all over the country. In the last ten years, the number of farmer's markets has nearly doubled nationwide. And for the first time the farm bill before Congress will allocate nearly $2 billion to help specialty crop growers expand where they sell their food.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Expanding the availability of produce, creating commodities that can -- those are the types of things that I think will help -- could help bring prices down. But it's a -- it's a global problem as you're aware.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: And of course, John, unfortunately, a lot of these local farmers are battling is the expectations game. Many customers, for example, someone in Michigan come wintertime, they want an orange, not something you find locally. So, that's got to be brought in. John.

ROBERTS: Exactly. We're so used to being able to get whatever we want whenever we want it, that sometimes we got to pay the price for that. Ed Lavandera for us this morning. Ed, thanks very much.

PHILLIPS: You can see Ali Velshi picking his own fruit.

ALI VELSHI, CNN, SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Really. That would make one of us. I'll take my own. Nothing.

PHILLIPS: Through the strawberry patch.

VELSHI: I pick my own pies in the morning. That's all I pick. ROBERTS: Could you get us on your way here.

VELSHI: Picking fruit. Thanks, Kyra.

ROBERTS: I thought you were a common man.

PHILLIPS: Yes, he's a humble guy. You're saying about his helicopter pad...

VELSHI: I live in Manhattan. There's no fruit to pick here.

ROBERTS: Central Park?

VELSHI: You know, one of the things that they do say, though, if you buy in bulk, which I'm prepared to do except I live in Manhattan in a little apartment, so I can't really do that either. But buying in bulk is supposed to save you money, particularly when food prices is higher, except now, you might not even be able to do that. I'll tell you about that when AMERICAN MORNING comes back in a minute. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Hey, welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Ali Velshi. And listen, let's talk about rice for a second. We have talked about all these grains that are going up in price. Well, now, there are limits on what you can buy at places like Sam's Club and Costco. Sam's Club, in fact, is imposing a fairly strict limit across the entire chain. Now, the bottom line is this is about buying a lot of rice. First of all, rice prices have gone up. They've doubled in the last year. They've been going up actually since 2000. But they really, really accelerated to $24.82. That's if you happen to be a trader at the Chicago World of Trade. Your retail price is a lot more than $25 a pound.

Over at Sam's Club, which is Wal-mart's sort of big box discount operation, you can buy four 20-pound bags at a time of jasmine, basmati, or long grain white rice. You might be thinking what do I need a 100-lb of rice for? Usually, small restaurants and operations like that that buy it from places like that because distributors where you normally get your supplies for charge a lot of money now with delivery and fuel surcharges.

ROBERTS: A lot of mom and pop operations.

VELSHI: Right. You just need or you might need 100 pounds a week or something. Or less than that, you go to Costco or Sam's Club to buy it. They're limiting the amount that they can sell, sort of wholesaling. That's a bit of a problem -- it's not rationing as in wartime or anything like that, but the concept in America, that there is limits on what we can buy in terms of buy. That's got to get people a little bit worried about stuff. And clearly, it does have people worried as...

ROBERTS: Our "Quick vote" results.

PHILLIPS: Put people in a panic.

ROBERTS: Yes.

VELSHI: And I don't think we're there yet. But it's definitely - I think it's important for us to talk about this food issue a lot. Because that's -- that's not stopping.

ROBERTS: Oh, absolutely. And we'll read some of the e-mails that we got this morning.

In the meantime, extreme weather up close and personal - take a look at this. A funnel cloud caught on tape in Texas. Where is the extreme weather headed now? Rob Marciano is live in Atlanta for us this morning. Good morning, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN, METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. Yes, that's a pretty dramatic video. Most of it happening in very rural areas. As we expect to see more of the same in different spots today. We'll tell you exactly where the severe weather is expected to break out when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: There you go, twister on the ground, my friends. This out of Dawson County, Texas, part of a storm system that did damage some homes even if it was in a pretty rural area. It knocked down some power lines. There was a couple of tornadoes that were reported in this area. Winds also gusting to 70 miles per hour away from the tornado. And upwards of baseball-sized hail. Wow. That's good stuff.

All right. Hopefully, we'll have -- looks like we're going to have more severe weather today. Just a matter of, you know, do we keep it in spots where people don't live and we keep the damage to a minimum. Here's Dallas - westward is where we saw the action yesterday. Now, it shifts a little bit further to the north and to the east. East of Oklahoma City, south of Tulsa, these are not severe, but they are beginning to bubble up as we go through the afternoon.

And Little Rock, Arkansas to the east, we're seeing some rainfall. Some of this has some lightning, some gusty winds but for the most part, it's not so bad. This area and through parts of western Missouri, especially south of Kansas City St. Louis line and towards (Springwood). This is an area that has really seen a tremendous amount of moisture. Saturated ground here. We have flash flood warnings that are posted down through the morning because of the heavy rain that's already falling over an area that has seen a tremendous amount of moisture, really the past couple of months.

All right. Severe weather threat today, here we go. We move it up through the north and through Kansas, Nebraska, damaging winds, large hail, and isolated tornadoes. Where do we see the action? Yesterday, we mentioned that. This is Dallas-Ft. Worth to the west. That's where we saw seven reports of tornadoes. We'll shift the map up to the north. We did see two reports of tornadoes in Nebraska yesterday. So, a couple did sneak up well to the north. But today it looks like most of the real serious weather should be in through Kansas and Nebraska. We'll keep an eye on the radar scope and keep you posted throughout the day. John, back to you.

ROBERTS: Rob, thanks very much. We look forward to that.

He is accused of killing close to 3,000 innocent people on September 11, 2001, and someone has to defend him. Today, in an CNN exclusive, meet the military man that has to take Khalid Shaikh Mohammed's side in a war crimes tribunal. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: It's 47 minutes after the hour -- now, a CNN exclusive, one-on-one with the Navy Captain assigned to defend the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks. The trial of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed is the first war crimes tribunal since World War II. Our justice correspondent Kelli Arena has the exclusive interview with the attorney that the Pentagon assigned to defend him. She joins us now this morning from Washington. Kelli, good morning.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

You know, Captain Prescott Prince is in Guantanamo Bay this morning. He is hoping to meet with Khalid Shaikh Mohammed yesterday but he e-mailed me to say that procedural issues got in the way. Actually talking to his prospective client is just one of the many challenges Prince says he's facing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA (voice-over): He's a small-time lawyer with a gargantuan case. Defense attorney Prescott Prince is a navy reservist recently called to active duty. And ordered to represent one of the most notorious accused terrorists in the world -- Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.

CAPT. PRESCOTT PRINCE, NAVY LAWYER: I could have said no. I don't think I would have been doing an honor to myself or honor to my calling.

ARENA: Mohammed is accused of planning the September 11th attacks. The government says he even confessed but also admits he was water boarded. And Prince has a problem with that.

PRINCE: Even the greenest deputy sheriff or rookie police officer in a skunk holler county knows that if you rough up a defendant, anything he says after that is not going to be admitted in to court.

ARENA: But it could be admitted in this court -- the military commission, where civilian rules do not apply. The government is seeking the death penalty. Prince says he doesn't have the resources normally available in a capital case. So private legal groups are stepping in to help by recruiting civilian lawyers to aid the defense.

PRINCE: We are going against the entire United States government.

ARENA: These are unchartered waters for this navy captain. And he knows it. Have you gone over your head what you're going to say?

PRINCE: Only 100 times.

ARENA: He has never taken a death penalty case to trial and his client has been held in isolation for years.

PRINCE: I'll be the first person who can literally look at him in the eyes and say I am here too help you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ARENA: Prince still doesn't have any idea what to expect. He doesn't know if Khalid Shaikh Mohammed knows that he is there or if even whether he'll accept him as his lawyer. But as you heard, John, he's prepared for just about anything.

ROBERTS: Does he expect any kind of a backlash. I know that he has to take the job. He has to do it to the best of his abilities, but is he expecting that some people won't be very happy about it?

ARENA: You know, I asked him that. And he said he really hasn't thought about that. He's not worried about it. He said he does have friends that died in the Pentagon. So he felt that loss very personally as well. And, you know, interestingly, John, you know that I covered the Zacarias Moussaoui trial. And I saw family members go over to the lawyers representing him and saying thank you, we know what you're up against. You're doing a good job and we understand. Amazing, huh?

ROBERTS: Yes. Kelli Arena for us this morning. Great story. Kelli, thanks very much.

ARENA: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: So, is it uncalled for hysteria or careful planning. Sam's Club and Costco, the two biggest U.S. warehouse retail chains are now setting restrictions on purchases of certain types of rice. Sam's Club say that it's a temporary cap intended to ensure that there's plenty of rice for all members, limiting sales of 20-pound bags of imported rice to four per member. Some Americans have started hording that grain and the price has doubled this year.

That brings us to this morning's "Quick Vote" question. U.S. stores rationing rice. Right now, 65 percent say it's producing panic. 35 percent say it's a sensible solution. Cast your vote at cnn.com/am, we'll keep tallying your votes throughout the morning.

And we've been asking for your e-mails as well. Joe from Malibu, California says this "the worldwide food shortage crisis just illustrates the rule of the "unintended consequences" of a not-well- thought-out solution to a problem, in this case, the search for alternative fuels. There is a rude shock to all mankind on the horizon. ROBERTS: Kathy from Marshall, Michigan says "I do not believe that "using food for fuel" is causing a food crisis. If the government would stop paying agricultural land owners to not plant their land encourage them to produce food not only for ourselves but for the world, it would make much more sense all the way around."

PHILLIPS: And Marty from the Villages, Florida writes "ethanol is such a ridiculous interim waste of time and resources. The limited amount that can be produced and the food price ramifications are only one result, we need to expedite production of electric and hydrogen powered vehicles, not just to reduce our dependency on oil, but to improve our environment."

We'll read some more of your e-mails in the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS (voice-over): Grizzly attack.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's bleeding heavily from his neck. We have to get him to the car. We need someone here immediately.

ROBERTS: The 911 call after a Hollywood bear turns on his trainer. Plus -- get the message?

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You have the power --

ROBERTS: No, not that one, this one. There's news this morning about the kids and the clothes behind Barack Obama.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The 911 tapes are out this morning after this 700- pound grizzly bear attacked its animal trainer. Take a listen.

(BEGIN AUDIOTAPE)

OPERATOR: Hold on, ma'am. She's at Onyx Summit off of Rainbow Lane, there's a bear -- we think it's an animal attack.

CALLER: Yes, a bear attack.

OPERATOR: A bear attack?

CALLER: Yes. He's bleeding heavily from his neck. We've got to get him in the car. We need someone here immediately.

(END AUDIOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Rocky appeared in Will Farrell's latest movie and was training for a new TV commercial. The trainer 39-year-old Stephen Miller was killed in that attack. So the question this morning -- can wild animals, like this bear, ever be truly domesticated? Joining us now with some insight, Jeremy Carpenter, assistant curator at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Jeremy, thanks for being with us. And I'm actually -- I'm trying to see if I can see any bears behind you right now. I'm going to stay and keep my eye out. Do we have any behind you this morning?

JEREMY CARPENTER, ASST. CURATOR, COLUMBUS ZOO AND AQUARIUM: We do. We do. We have Ginger, one of our grizzly bears right behind me. Hopefully, she'll come back into the picture here in just a minute.

PHILLIPS: OK. I'm going to keep my -- there we go. I think we've got a shot of Ginger right now, a matter of fact. Let's talk about the attack that happened recently. I mean, do you look at something like that as an automatic aggressive act by a bear? I mean, they all have various personalities, right? You really can't predict how they're going to act?

CARPENTER: Right. You just -- you never can predict how they're going to act. And they all have different personalities. I mean, no matter what the animal is, if it's a prairie dog or a big bear. They've all got a different personality and you just really can't predict what they're going to do on the day-to-day basis.

PHILLIPS: So, now apparently, three handlers were working with this bear at the time of the attack. They tried to use pepper spray and other tactics to try and get it to -- to calm down. You know, what are the options for trainers when something like this happens? Is that the only option?

CARPENTER: It's not the only option. I mean, it's something like that were to happen here, we would try to get some of their favorite treats like today we're giving her carrots and apples, maybe even some marshmallows, something that she really likes to get her calmed down and back into her cage. We do carry pepper spray. All over the keepers have pepper spray on them. But, you know, first if you try to just coax them back to where you want them.

PHILLIPS: So as a trainer, you know you're taking on a risk?

CARPENTER: Oh, yes, absolutely. I think that's what the keepers really enjoy is when they come to work every day, every day is different. You know, you can never predict what the animals are going to do. You know, it's exciting for the keepers to work with all these different personalities every day.

PHILLIPS: Can these animals - can these bears ever really be safely domesticated?

CARPENTER: You know, they're wild animals, so like I said, it's really going to be difficult to, to say what they're going to do on a day-to-day basis. I do think it's valuable to have them and do - you know, we can educate them, especially the young children, not only the animals but the habitats that they live in and they can be conserved for future generations, hopefully.

PHILLIPS: Well, Jeremy, as you know, some of the activists are using this incident to really push for animal rights. I want to read something to you. This comes from Virginia McKenna of the Born Free foundation. She says "the movie industry urgently needs to end the use of live wild animals in commercials and movies. Hollywood is a dream factory. This time the dream has become a nightmare."

We mentioned that the bear involved in the attack was in the Will Farrell movie. What's your reaction to that? Your thoughts of using animals like these bears in entertainment?

CARPENTER: Well, it's hard to say, you know? Like I said, they've all got different personalities and it's going to be different whether they're raised from babies all the way up through their adulthood. Or, you know, if they try to start using them right away when they're adults. It's really just going to depend on the animal and the trainers and their skill

PHILLIPS: But knowing what you know about animals. You know, you've got Ginger there in the zoo. It's an educational time, like you said for children when they come to the zoo and learn about the bear and the habitat and all but with regard to entertainment do you think that's a good idea, knowing what you know about how animals can be treated in that industry/

CARPENTER: Well, it's hard for me to say because I've never really worked with animals like in that situation. All I can say is what I've worked with here at the zoo. And you know, I get a lot of enjoyment out of that and just seeing these great animals like Ginger behind me and her personality and being able to know that I've given her the best care that I can provide on a day-to-day basis, I think G's happy here and you know, I can't really speculate in what they do in the movies.

PHILLIPS: Well, quickly, Jeremy, when a bear is involved in an attack like the one that we saw, what should happen to that bear? Euthanized? I mean, would you do that to Ginger if Ginger attacked and killed one of your trainers.

CARPENTER: It would just really depend on the situation. You know, I don't really know a bunch about what happened with this particular incident a couple of days ago. So, you know, I really can't speculate on what they should do with the bear.

PHILLIPS: Jeremy Carpenter, assistant curator at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Thanks for your time today.

CARPENTER: Thank you, I appreciate it.

ROBERTS: Just crossing the top of the hour now. The shortage of food around the world is hitting home this morning.