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Black Liberation Theology and Reverend Wright; New Record Gas Prices; New Airline Checkpoint Rules
Aired April 28, 2008 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Take a look at these pictures. The question here is wildfire season already? Fires, well, they're raging in the dry brush east of Los Angeles and northwest of Miami. We'll see where they're headed and who may be in danger here.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: No one, no subject, no controversy is off limits for the Reverend Jeremiah Wright and suddenly the whole world is his pulpit. This hour we're going to hear from a long time friend and fellow man of the cloth.
LEMON: And get this Melissa, just in time for vacation season, new plans to ease the strain of air travelers while securing the homeland here.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
LONG: And hello, I'm Melissa Long, in today for Kyra Phillips.
And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: All right, we start with severe weather and a tornado warning in Virginia. Chad Myers on top of it.
What do you have for you us, Chad?
(WEATHER REPORT)
LONG: We've been following the nasty weather and they could really use some rain down south. We've been talking about the wildfires just outside of Miami. Let's show you some of the pictures. These are live pictures from our affiliate WSVN showing you the smoke, showing you the flames. It's Miami-Dade and the fire teams from Miami-Dade County are trying to get this brush fire out.
If you happen to be familiar with that area, we want to tell you it is an industrial area, that's what Chad Myers was telling us earlier. But we do know while there aren't any homes in harm's way, there is a potential that a women's prison could be near the flames. And I should also point out, we learned earlier that it hasn't really rained significantly in that part of Florida, in southern Florida, Miami-Dade since April 8.
So things have dried out quite a bit. We're going to keep pictures up and keep monitoring them for you as we watch the nasty fire situation there down in southern Florida. We're also waiting to follow and find out a little bit more about the fires that are raging east of Los Angeles.
Coming up a little bit later, we'll check in with CNN's Thelma Gutierrez. She's reporting there and has been finding out more about people that have been evacuating and those that decided to stay put and not evacuate.
Let's get some more insight from Chad. We've been talking about you, I've been quoting you, saying that you were the one telling me that they haven't had much rain in Florida. Also of course you're following the situation out in the west coast, and they really haven't had significant winds, those Santa Ana winds.
So this is good news?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No, the winds have been great, really, three to four, five miles per hour across southern California. That's basically nothing.
Now yesterday, they were much higher than that, probably 10 to 15 miles per hour and that was blowing some of the sparks downwind. Here are some of the pictures here. This is some of the file video we have of the Sierra Madre. Now this is just north and northeast of L.A. proper, not as far east as let's say San Bernardino.
This is the San Gabriel Mountains. Just the mountain areas here. If you don't know what southern California looks like, you literally have houses as far as you can build them until you get to that mountain, then you just can't build them anymore because it gets too steep. Well the fires are in the steep part, not really in the neighborhoods just yet, but with those winds out of the northeast, even five or 10 miles per hour, some of those sparks could fly into the homes and they certainly don't want that.
The fire down in Miami, that's a completely different story, that's basically in a swampy area between Miami and the everglades out near the women's prison up there just to the west of the airport. So far, so good on that, nobody really getting in any danger. A lot of smoke with it, but nobody really in any danger at this point.
LONG: Chad thanks so much.
Let's talk to Thelma right now about the Sierra Madre fire. She's joining us live from just east of Los Angeles.
And Thelma, I know this area really hasn't seen fires in what, 30 years, 40 years, so there's a lot to fuel the flames.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Melissa.
This area hasn't burned in about 40 years, so there's a lot of fuel out here. We have been keeping our eye on the ridge right behind me that you see right up there. The flames, just a few minutes ago, were licking the area, and what we've been watching all morning long are these very daring drops of fire retard ant, a lead plane will come in, it will be chased by another larger aircraft. Then you'll see this amazing drop in this canyon, a very daring move. Also, we've been noticing choppers going up, dropping thousand gallons at a time on to that area. The problem is that this area is very steep. It is very rugged. You cannot get the fire crews up in the area, though there are about 500 crews who are on the ground at different spots trying to put out those hot spots. There are also engines positioned along the ridge, protecting some of those homes.
Now, while my colleague, Tom Larsen, actually hiked back into the area over the ridge to be able to get closer to that area. So we're able to show you those pictures via broadband. But we've been noticing that the flames will kick up with a little gust of wind and then suddenly you'll see this massive air assault on the area, and they're able to knock those flames down.
We hear the choppers flying above, and they're on their way in. So it's been a very active flank of the fire, and, you know, we're just hoping that they're able to keep that fire from coming down into this residential area -- Melissa.
LONG: Thelma Gutierrez reporting on the wildfire right there, the brush fires happening east of Los Angeles.
Thelma thank you so much.
One of the other stories we've been monitoring today, the news that two workers have been killed in an explosion at a utility plant in western Indiana. The facility turns coal into gas. It is shut down for now. But a plant manager says a metal part failed and that let pressurized gas spew out and ignite.
LEMON: For the second straight day Barack Obama's former pastor is speaking out about those sermons that sparked such a firestorm. This morning the Reverend Jeremiah Wright addressed the National Press Club in Washington and as you may have seen right here live on CNN, he took some questions afterwards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONNA LEINWAND, VICE PRESIDENT NATIONAL PRESS CLUB: You have said that the media have taken you out of context. Can you explain what you meant in the sermon shortly after 9/11 when you said the United States had brought the terrorist attacks on itself, quote, "America's chickens are coming home to roost."
REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT, SEN. BARACK OBAMA'S FORMER PASTOR: Have you heard the whole sermon? Have you heard the whole sermon?
No, no, the whole sermon. Yes or no?
No, you haven't heard the whole sermon. That nullifies that question. Well, let me try to respond in a non bombastic way. If you heard the whole sermon, first of all you heard I was quoting the ambassador from Iraq. That's No. 1.
But No. 2, to quote the Bible, be not deceived, God is not mocked. For whatsoever you sow that you also shall reap. Jesus said do unto others as you would have them do unto you. You cannot do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you. Those are biblical principles, not Jeremiah Wright bombastic divisive principles.
LEINWAND: Some critics have said that your sermons are unpatriotic. How do you feel about America and about being an American?
WRIGHT: I feel that those citizens who say that have never heard my sermons, nor do they know me. They are unfair accusations taken from sound bites and that which is looped over and over again on certain channels. I served six years in the military. Does that make me patriotic? How many years did Cheney serve?
LEINWAND: What is your relationship with Louis Farrakhan? Do you agree with and respect his views, including his most racially divisive views?
WRIGHT: What I think about him as I said on Bill Moyers and it got edited out, how many African-Americans or European Americans do you know that can get 1 million people together on the mall? He's one of the most important voices in the 20th and 21st century, that's what I think about him.
I said, as I said on Bill Moyers, when Louis Farrakhan speaks, it's like E.F. Hutton speaks. All black America listens. Whether they agree with him or not, they listen. Now I'm not going to put down Louis Farrakhan anymore than Mandela would put down Fidel Castro. Do you remember that Ted Koppel show, where Ted wanted Mandela to put down Castro because Castro is our enemy? And he said, you don't tell me who my enemies are, you don't tell me who my friends are.
Louis Farrakhan is not my enemy. He did not put me in chains, he did not put me in slavery, and he didn't make me this color.
LEINWAND: In light of your widely quoted comments damning America, do you think you owe the American people an apology? If not, do you think America is still dammed in the eyes of God?
WRIGHT: For governmental leaders, those, as I said to Barack Obama, my member, I'm a pastor, he's a member. I'm not a spiritual mentor, guru, I'm his pastor. And I said to Barack Obama last year, if you get elected November the 5th I'm coming after you. Because you'll be representing a government whose policies grind under people. All right? It's about policy, not the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. You could hear some of the responses there. But how was he really received by people there at the National Press Club? Well, Father Michael Pfleger, ever heard of him, he's a big player in Chicago. He was in the audience. Pfleger is a Catholic priest from the south side of Chicago and considers the Reverend Wright a close friend of his.
I spoke with him earlier this afternoon. Take a look. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: You can understand some people saying, Father Pfleger, that, you know, this has become a distraction to Barack Obama and why didn't Reverend Wright wait to make all these comments and to defend himself?
REV. MICHAEL PFLEGER, SAINT SABINA CHURCH: Well, I think two things. One is, when you've been demonized and defined in a national and international perspective for the last three weeks, I think he has a right to say, no, this is who I really am, and to say, this is the person, this is what I do, this is what I believe, this is who I am as an individual.
And also we want to, I think to put in perspective, his preaching and the gospel message in the terms of America's history and in terms of the prophetic black tradition of the church.
LEMON: Do you think this was the right time Father Pfleger?
PFLEGER: I don't know that there is a right time. I think what we have to be careful of in America and I think in the media is not to connect what Barack Obama is doing as running for president and Jeremiah as the person, the preacher and the pastor. We have to make -- this shouldn't be a distraction of the campaign because the issues of the campaign, of gas prices and foreclosures and joblessness and health care, those are real issues that we've got to keep focused on.
But also I think Reverend Wright has a right to define himself and say you've defined me and demonized me and I need to let you know who I really am. So I think we've got to be mature enough to separate the two.
LEMON: Correct me if I'm wrong. Obviously your Saint Sabina Church, south side of Chicago where Barack Obama is from, you're supporting Barack Obama?
PFLEGER: Absolutely support him. I've known him for over 20 years, did community organizing with him and I'm very supportive of him.
LEMON: The first public appearance that Reverend Wright made was at your church at a Maya Angelou event.
PFLEGER: Yes, Maya Angelou was speaking at the church and invited Dr. Wright to come, number one, because he likes Maya Angelou and he enjoys her, but two, is to let him know that there are people who love him and support him outside of Trinity and they know the man. The people in Chicago, he's spoken at Saint Sabina Church a number of times, I've spoken at Trinity, they know him, I wanted him to feel that people stand with him as the person they know.
LEMON: OK, let's talk about this, here's a criticism. That Reverend Wright is more concerned about his reputation and himself than he is about the larger picture, which is electing the first African-American to office. And right now again, he's more concerned about himself and that this is in some way narcissistic or selfish.
PFLEGER: I disagree with that. I think any human being that for three weeks has been demonized and trivialized and put into a caricature around the world, there's no place he can go that people have not seen him, you know, I don't think it's narcissistic to say, wait a minute, this is not me.
LEMON: OK, how would you -- people who, this gives people, especially white Americans who are on the fence about Barack Obama a reason not to vote for him?
PFLEGER: No, I think, first of all, I look at it this way. If Barack Obama comes out of a church that wants to be looked at as being this hateful and nationalistic mean church, anti-American church, and turns out someone who has brought unity, hope, and change and possibility to America, someone who is able to embrace all people like Barack Obama, maybe the picture we've been shown of Jeremiah Wright and Trinity is not a true picture.
Because look at this man. He's setting America on fire, with hope and a tent he's bringing everybody into. So I think white America, I hope white America will say this man allows us to see something in the future and move to something that deals with the issues Jeremiah Wright talks about in American history as well as in African-American history. And I think Barack is able to lift us to a point beyond all that with who he is and what he believes in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Father Michael Pfleger from Chicago.
We want to hear your thoughts on the Reverend Wrights' comments. Were they divisive or descriptive, as he said? Sound off at i- Report.com and we will read some of your comments right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LONG: Incest, rape and captivity, Austrian police say it was all under the roof of this home in one of that nation's most monstrous crimes ever. Now we're getting a first glimpse inside.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: President Carter is certainly nothing new, but how about getting around town on a rented bike? One company is hoping this idea will take off as gas prices continue to climb to dizzying new heights.
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with more.
Hi, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Melissa.
Save some money, shed some pounds, it's all good, right?
LONG: Sounds like a terrific plan. LISOVICZ: High gas prices are causing many of us to search for new ways to cut costs and for companies to capitalize at the same time, which brings us to what's being called the nation's first large scale bike sharing program. Smart bike D.C. is similar to the zip car rental program and will roll out in the nation's capital next month.
After paying a $40 annual membership fee, you can swipe an access card and pick up a bike from one of several computerized racks around town. The bike can be rented for up to three hours. Clear Channel already runs bike sharing programs in one of a dozen European cities, including Barcelona and Oslo, and if it's popular, the bike sharing service will be expanded to other cities, perhaps Atlanta.
LONG: Perfect timing. You have to wonder if they sped up the release of that, considering just how high gas prices have climbed. I don't know about you but I drive by a gas station day after day and I grumble each day.
LISOVICZ: Yes, you put on the blinders right?
LONG: Yes, because gas prices are hitting records by the day.
LISOVICZ: That's right. For the 14th straight day Melissa to be exact. Gas prices hitting records. AAA says the national average for a gallon of regular gas is now just over $3.60 a gallon. In San Francisco the average price topping $4 a gallon. The "L.A. Times" says San Francisco, the first city in the mainland where the average price crossed that threshold.
Of course all this comes as oil prices continue to rise as well, that got real close to $120 a barrel before retreating today. Stocks are higher though, on Wall Street most airline stocks sharply higher, talks of more deals in the wings. And billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian increasing his stake in Ford.
Wall Street taking that as a vote of confidence, Ford shares were up 9.5 percent. The Dow Industrials right now up 39 points, about a third of one percent. The NASDAQ is up half a percent. And I will be back later in the hour for the closing bell with some sweet and interesting facts about the major story of the day.
Melissa, back to you.
LONG: All right, talk to you in about 40 minutes. Thanks.
LEMON: This is other business news as well, let's talk about other business news. Buying selling or refinancing a home can be scary in this unstable housing market.
Ali Velshi has some mortgage advice that's right on your money.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Adjustable rate mortgage. Those can be very scary words in this housing market. Many homeowners stuck in sub prime ARMS that are resetting are being forced into foreclosure. But if you're in the market for a mortgage, there's a chance that an adjustable rate mortgage might be right for you.
GREG MCBRIDE, BANKRATE.COM: There are a couple of prerequisites. If you're not going to be in the home for very long, it can make sense. If you can expect a big increase in income, that's not very common, but if you're in that situation, it could work for you.
VELSHI: With a fixed rate mortgage, monthly payments will be steady. But with an adjustable rate mortgage, your payments will vary over time.
MCBRIDE: This is not a decision you're making based on the outlook for interest rates. If you're a good candidate for an adjustable rate mortgage, by and large it's because your timetable is short enough that that loan would function as a fixed rate loan. Right now the value is in fixed rate loans.
Those rates are still very low. If you saw bigger disparity between adjustable and fixed rates for somebody who plans to be in the home less than 10 years that could be enough to tip the scales in favor of that adjustable rate loan.
VELSHI: And that's this week's "Right on your Money."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: A hassle free trip through airport security? Wouldn't that be wonderful? Could it really happen? We're going to tell you about some new rules that might make your next trip to the airport a bit easier.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: He's 73-years-old, his name, Josef Frizzle, and he's accused of committing one of Austria's worst crimes ever. He allegedly held his daughter captive in his cellar for 24 years, raped her repeatedly and fathered seven children with her, and no one, not even his own wife, knew.
This is the underground dungeon right there, where the 42-year- old daughter and three of her children were allegedly kept, never seen daylight. Police say Frizzle told his wife three of the other kids were dropped off by their missing daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANK POLZER, LOWER AUSTRIA POLICE: This man, for 24 years he led a double life. Before with his wife, he had a family of seven children, and then he had another six children with his own daughter. Of which he had himself brought up three of them.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Police say Frizzle told them one of the seven children he had with his daughter died and that he tossed the body in an incinerator. The daughter and the other children they range in age from five to 19. They are now in psychiatric care.
LEMON: Unbelievable.
A father is under arrest for allegedly stabbing a student at his daughter's high school north of Houston. Authorities say the man and his wife came to the school to tell administrators their daughter had been sexually assaulted. That's when the father saw a male student who allegedly witnessed the attack. They say he stabbed the boy and he did it three times. The student is hospitalized in good condition.
LONG: Black liberation theology is at the heart of Reverend Jeremiah Wright's faith and at the core of many African-American churches and also under attack according to Wright.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon live at the CNN World Headquarters here in Atlanta.
LONG: And I'm Melissa Long in today for Kyra Phillips, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: All right. Severe weather causing a disturbance in parts of North Carolina.
Let's take you now straight to the Severe Weather Center and Mr. Chad Myers.
Take it away, Chad.
MYERS: And tornadoes on the ground in Florida, west of Jacksonville, near Sanderson, right along I-10 right there. A report of a tornado on the ground near the interstate. That storm has now moved a bit to the north of the Interstate but still there and still affecting people. That's for Baker County up there in Northern Florida.
Now we're going to switch you up to almost Virginia Beach, Hampton Roads. Three separate little pink boxes, three separate tornado warnings. All of those cells are spinning. The most important one, I think, is probably going to head toward Hampton Roads, probably in the next hour or so. There it is. There's Franklin right there. That's just north of the Murphysboro (ph), as well.
Now, this area here has been spinning for a while. There is the spin to the storm. It is now sliding on up and it's going to be in Virginia -- the Virginia Beach area here -- probably in an hour, if it holds together.
But for now, we're talking about Franklin and all the way down to Carsville here. A tornado on the ground, probably with a tornado titan (ph) impact of six.
When we get to five or better, there's a pretty good chance that this storm is on the ground, even though it hasn't been reported just yet.
These storms are all spinning, Don. And it's going to be a very busy day for us here, but we'll keep you advised. If you have a storm headed your way, make sure you get inside.
LEMON: Take cover right, Chad?
MYERS: You bet.
LEMON: All right, thank you, sir.
MYERS: OK.
LONG: It is 3:30 Eastern, 12:30 Pacific.
Here's a look at some of the stories we're working on for you right now in THE NEWSROOM.
This is a first glimpse into what people in Austria are calling a house of horrors. Police say 73-year-old Josef Fritzl kept his daughter captive in this cellar for 24 years, raped her repeatedly and fathered seven children with her. The daughter is now 42.
Firefighters managed to keep this raging wildfire from burning several homes near Los Angeles, but 500 acres are scorched and temperatures have been rising. It could take several more days to contain the flames.
And the death toll is expected to climb after a high speed passenger train jumped the tracks and hit another train in Eastern China. The official news agency says at least 70 people are dead and more than 400 injured -- and dozens of them critically.
LEMON: All right, so he was brash. He's winking at supporters. He's clearly enjoying himself. The Reverend Jeremiah Wright is breaking silence in a big way. Barack Obama's controversial former preacher has drawn fire for his racially charged sermons.
Well, today, in a question and answer session at the National Press Club, Wright said attacks on him are attacks on the African- American church. And he dismissed Obama's condemnation of some of his remarks.
Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WRIGHT: Preachers say what they say because they are pastors. They have a different person to whom they are accountable. As I said, whether he gets elected or not, I'm still going to have to be answerable to God November 5 and January 21. That's what I mean.
I do what pastors do. He does what politicians do. I am not running for office.
I am open to being vice president. (LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. So, empowerment, Christianity and a healthy dose of controversy -- all at the center of what the Reverend Wright is preaching.
And CNN's Joe Johns, he'll explain for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At the heart of the controversy over Jeremiah Wright is a doctrine of faith that's called black liberation theology.
WRIGHT: Barack knows what it means to be a black man living in a country...
JOHNS: Black preachers we spoke to see an attack on Wright as an attack on their freedom to preach.
DR. GAIL ANDERSON HOLNESS, GREATER WASHINGTON COUNCIL OF CHURCHES: He is not preaching hate theology. And that should be a clear statement. It's not hate theology. It is a liberation theology. When Jesus was around, they didn't respect Jesus. They were angry with him when he spoke the Beatitudes on the mountain. They were angry with Martin Luther King when he was around and they didn't respect him and now he's a great hero.
JOHNS: What a lot of black parishioners hear on Sunday mornings was formulated as a response to the black power movement in the 1960s.
REV. RONALD BRAXTON, METROPOLITAN AME CHURCH: Christianity had to take up the flag of liberation in that you could be black and Christian because the black power movement was saying that Christianity was white European. We can be Christians. We can follow Christ because Christ is a liberator. He was and is a liberator.
JOHNS: The Reverend Ronald Braxton is pastor at Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. where President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton attended prayer services the morning of his inaugurations.
(on-camera): This congregation has been here about 170 years. The building has been here about 120. I've attended services at Metropolitan since the mid-1980s. The sermons sometimes touch on social issues, but like most churches, it's generally about faith.
(voice-over): The AME Church ascribes to a black liberation theology and it can lead to some passionate sermons.
But hate?
BRAXTON: Yes and no. Yes, it's hate. It is hate of a system, of a society, of a politics that will not treat all persons equal. That will spend billions of dollars to fight a war but will not spend half of that amount of money to make sure that children have health care.
When you see day to day, when people come into your office or come into your church looking for a loaf of bread, mothers come in -- can you do anything for me, reverend? I need some help. They come to your bible studies. They come to your prayer services at night. And they stand at your door when you get there. It is hate for that kind of a system, because you know within your heart that this country, the richest country in the world, can provide for her people, but she will not.
JOHNS (on-camera): Metropolitan AME Church is right down the street from the White House and around the corner. The pastor here is highly politically aware and careful with his words.
(voice-over): But he concedes in the pulpit preaching, he can get so emotional, so passionate, that even he might get carried away, like the controversial Jeremiah Wright.
While all black churches are different and most sermons are different, the debate over Jeremiah Wright may go on. But what many black churches share is a core belief that the preachers are there to stand up for social justice -- even if that sometimes comes across as angry words.
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Politics at the pump -- gas prices have hit another new record, an average of $3.60 a gallon. The presidential contenders are sparring over what to do about it.
Let's check in with CNN's Jessica Yellin in Washington.
She has more on how the presidential hopefuls are responding -- Jess.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Melissa.
Well, with outrage over gas costs so high, the candidates right now are all promising to slash prices at the pump. Today, Hillary Clinton came out with her new plan, and she's taking aim at both McCain and Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My opponent, Senator Obama, opposes giving consumers a break from the tax -- the gas tax at the federal level. I support it. I understand that the American people need some relief. And, you see, I think we want to show that the government can actually work for hardworking Americans again. So doing something like that sends a very clear message.
Meanwhile, Senator McCain thinks says he's all for a tax holiday, but he won't pay for it. Well, that's a mistake because we can't give up on building and repairing our roads. (END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Now, she points out that McCain was the first to propose a gas tax holiday. That would suspend 18.5 cent per gallon federal gas tax, but just for the summer. Now, Clinton supports that tax holiday, but Obama calls it a political scheme. He points out that it will save the average driver only $25 to $30, but it will cost the government up to $10 billion -- money that's used to repair roads and bridges. And he is criticizing his opponents for backing that plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's typical of how Washington works. There's a problem. Everybody's upset about gas prices. Let's find some short-term quick fix that we can say we did something, even though we're not really doing anything, because if you actually took away the gas tax, what are the oil companies going to do?
They're going to raise your gas by five cents. You'll never see the savings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
YELLIN: Now, both Clinton and Obama support a higher tax on oil company profits. All three candidates say the federal government needs to do more to reduce American dependence on foreign oil. This issue will continue to be a hot topic on the campaign trail as these prices stay high -- Melissa.
LONG: Of course.
Jessica Yellin from Washington.
Jessica, thank you.
LEMON: Protesters clashing with police -- an American journalism student who shot these images in Egypt gets arrested. Some quick thinking and one word -- one word on a blog -- will it get him out of prison?
He tells us his story straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Rising food prices and rising tempers -- protesters in Egypt stand-off with police. And an American journalism student, James Karl Buck taking pictures of protests like this one earlier in the month. And that's when Egyptian police arrested him.
He feared he would never be heard from again. So he used his cell phone to text -- and text one word to a blog post.
He is now a free man. He joins us now live from Berkeley, California.
James, thank you so much for joining us.
JAMES BUCK, AMERICAN ARRESTED IN EGYPT: Thanks.
LONG: James, we're going to share some of the photographs that you captured in Egypt while we talk about your story. And let's just give people some more background. You're 29 years old, a U.C. graduate student studying Middle Eastern affairs and journalism. You were over in Egypt working on your thesis. April 10th you were covering a protest.
What happened?
BUCK: That's right. The problem -- there have been such large civil unrest around the country that the secondary problem now is that hundreds of people have been detained and family members don't know where their sons and husbands are.
I was covering a small protest of mothers looking for information on their sons and their husbands. And, at that point, I was picked up by police. Several other journalists were detained for doing the same thing. I think it's become a very hot and sensitive issue for Egypt right now so...
LONG: Now, James, while you were en route to the police station, you had the presence of mind to grab your cell phone and text one word to something called Twitter. Now, a lot of people may not have heard of it until now. So help us understand how it helped you.
BUCK: Sure. Twitter is a social networking site, which means if I post a short message to Twitter, anyone who chooses to follow me can get that message. So I had, at the time, about 30 friends following my Twitter. I sent that message to the Twitter site and it reposted to all my friends. They were then able to call my embassy, call my school and get things in motion to help me.
LONG: How instantaneous was this motion that you just referenced?
BUCK: Seconds. I got replies within seconds.
LONG: OK. Your translator, however, your friend who was with you at the time, was not so lucky. Tell us about him.
BUCK: Well, part of being able to make an emergency call is having someone to call. I had the University of California which helped me. And he doesn't have that network. We tried as much as we could while I was in the country to get him out and now I'm rallying people from here, using Twitter again, actually, to get information about him and to try to put pressure on the government to set him free.
LONG: Now, you're singing the praises of Twitter, Twitter.com. I went online to learn more about it today. People may wonder well, is he getting paid by Twitter.
How well does he know this service? BUCK: I had never used Twitter before I was in Egypt, actually, because information is sorted limited there. Journalists and bloggers use it to let each other know what's going on during the day, like a wire service. So I just got on when I was there and it was the first time I'd ever used it.
No, I certainly don't work for Twitter.
LONG: All right. Now, you think he really -- he meaning your translator -- really helped to save your life when you were covering the protest and you're trying to do the very same. So tell us what you're doing exactly using Twitter to help free him.
BUCK: Well, I wasn't that Twitter savvy, but some people who have seen the story started following me and offering to help. Apparently, there are people who have thousands of followers on Twitter who are going to repost my messages and get word out to people to call the Egyptian consulate, to ask about his whereabouts. We're going to contact local politicians, senators, anyone who might be able to put some pressure on the Egyptian government to release this man.
LONG: You know, let me ask you one other thing, though, because you had one pivotal word that you used when you sent that Twitter message and that was "arrested." And then you had one pivotal word that you used when you found out you were once again a free man.
BUCK: Free.
LONG: Free. It just shows the power of this cutting-edge technology. I believe it's a company based out of San Francisco.
What words are you using to try to free your friend and your translator?
BUCK: Freedom of the press, justice I mean, it's a sad day when we've got freedom for some and not all. And I think that, as a journalist, he deserves it just as much as anyone. So I'm trying to keep that in the forefront of people's minds.
LONG: All right. And, again, your work is online through your Flicker site. I must say, your work is very impressive.
BUCK: Thanks.
LONG: And, also, we wish you the best. And, hopefully, you will be able to have the same situation for your friend and your translator. Hopefully you'll be able to find out about his whereabouts and make sure that he's safe soon.
BUCK: Great.
Thanks so much.
LONG: OK, again, James Buck, U.C. Berkeley student.
Thank you so much. LEMON: A hassle-free trip through airport security -- could it really happen?
We'll tell you about some new rules that might make your next trip to the airport just a little bit easier.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. How about this -- fewer hassles for air travelers. That's the goal -- the new goal behind new guidelines from the Department of Homeland Security. Among other things, they give airlines more flexibility checking in passengers with names similar to those on a watch list.
Well, CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve joins us now from Washington -- OK, Jeanne, explain this one. I'm not exactly sure I understand it.
What's going on here?
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, you've heard the stories about grandmothers, infants, even U.S. senators, being mistaken for bad guys. It's one of the major hassles air travelers face -- being confused with someone on a terrorist watch list. Airlines will now be given the flexibility to store the dates of birth of their passengers to differentiate you from the suspected terrorist who may have a same name or a similar name. You will have to supply your date of birth to each airline you fly, but if your airlines are participating in the program, it should eliminate a very big problem, officials say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: To give you some idea, by the way, of the dimensions of this problem, one major air carrier has reported roughly 9,000 false positives every day. If this changes do affect that airline, the number of false positives would be reduced to about zero.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MESERVE: And an additional benefit -- if your airline has your date of birth and has it in their records that you are not, indeed, a terrorist, you will be able to get your boarding pass at a ticketing kiosk or on your home computer -- something you haven't been able to do until now -- Don.
LEMON: OK, Jeanne.
Tell us about the new travel checkpoint being unveiled today.
MESERVE: Yes, the mellow checkpoint. The first one went operational today at Baltimore/Washington international airport. It features some new technology like automated bin return, which is a real nice thing; also three-dimensional x-ray machines that give multiple views of your carry-on bags as they go through. But there's also a different setup. There's more space.
So, for instance, someone who's an inexperienced traveler will have somewhere to take things out of their bag and won't feel the hot breath of the business travelers right behind them in line. The whole idea is to calm the checkpoint down. There are even dim lights and music, the idea being that then the security personnel would be able to spot people who are tense -- the people who might, indeed, pose a real security threat to the flight.
LEMON: Is there still, though -- I'm sure there is -- but is there still a need for all of this airport security that we've been having?
MESERVE: Well, Secretary Chertoff today talked about information that's been coming out in the trial of the London plotters. You'll recall in the summer of 2006, there were some individuals picked up overseas who wanted to blow up aircraft, it's alleged, with liquid explosives. He talked about how they were going to take sports drink bottles, put syringes in them, draw out the sports drink and put in an explosive and then seal up the bottom of the bottle so it would look at if it had never been opened. Then when they were in-flight, they were going to attach a detonator.
Another wrinkle in this -- he said they were going to start blowing up planes when they were in the middle of the ocean coming to the U.S. On 9/11, you'll remember, the strategy was to get all the planes out of the air, back on the ground. But in this scenario, flights would be too far away from either Europe or the U.S. to do that -- Don.
LEMON: All right, Jeanne Meserve.
Thank you, Jeanne.
MESERVE: You bet.
LONG: The closing bell in just minutes and a wrap-up of the action on Wall Street, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right.
If you're in the Virginia area, listen up. Chad Myers has some information for you -- go, Chad.
MYERS: Yes, really, Southeastern Virginia, basically, Hampton Roads area here -- here's Newport News and then there's Suffolk -- the town of Suffolk right there. Three separate tornado warnings, one for just northeast of Petersburg, one a little bit father to the south than that, kind of over Waverly. And then the one that I'm really worried about maybe moving into a much more populated area around the Newport News/Hampton Roads area into the Isle of Wight County area. Also, this is the city of Suffolk. And that's going to happen about 4:05. So in about 10 minutes, you have 10 minutes to take cover for Suffolk. And then it's going to continue into this populated area. Here's WAVY, our affiliate here out of kind of from Norfolk, Virginia. And you can kind of see the humidity in the air. It's humid. It's hazy. And we have a lot of energy in the atmosphere. Some of these -- some thunderstorms could be tornadic today -- Don.
LEMON: All right, good information.
Thank you very much, Chad.
MYERS: You bet.
LEMON: Time now to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
LONG: Yes. He is in "THE SITUATION ROOM" getting ready to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour -- Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys.
Thanks very much.
It could be the biggest voter rights case taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court since the 2000 election. Today, the court ruled Indiana can, in fact, require voters to show photo I.D. at the polls. We're going to show you how the decision could affect next week's primary in Indiana and beyond.
Also, Obama's former pastor is speaking out and defending his church and his reputation. We'll examine the impact of the Reverend Jeremiah Wright's latest words.
And can Barack Obama close the deal? With losses in Ohio and Pennsylvania does he have a growing problem with white, working class voters?
I'll ask New Mexico's governor and Obama supporter, Bill Richardson. He's standing by live.
All that, guys, coming up, right here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
LEMON: Good stuff, Wolf. We'll be watching.
Thanks.
LONG: Thank you.
And which stories are piquing your interest today?
Here's a look at some of the more popular stories on CNN.com. And number one right now, that unbelievable story out of Austria. Police say a man admits to fathering seven children with his own daughter and keeping some of them locked in a hidden basement for years.
Talk about a water hazard -- a golf course diver stalked and grabbed by an alligator. It happened over the weekend in Tampa. The 62-year-old says he poked that gator in the eye and struggled until it released him.
And WTH -- what the heck?
The racy show, "Gossip Girl," gets an equally racy ad campaign and a lot of people are not OK with it.
These stories and much more on CNN.com.
LEMON: Very interesting there.
LONG: Yes.
Well, the closing bell is just about to ring a couple of minutes from now.
LEMON: Yes, a couple of minutes from now. Actually, well...
LONG: A minute and 30.
LEMON: Oh, about a minute.
LONG: Yes, a minute 30.
LEMON: And Susan Lisovicz is standing by with a final look at the trading day -- Susan?
LISOVICZ: And we've got a honey of a deal to tell you about -- a candy deal.
LEMON: Yes.
LISOVICZ: Uniting the strengths of Mars and Wrigley.
LEMON: A sweet deal.
LISOVICZ: Yes, how sweet it is.
M&Ms, Snickers, Juicy Fruit, Altoids, Lifesavers, Skittles, Starburst -- you name it. We want to give you a fun fact about one of them. M&Ms first introduced in 1941. Soon became a favorite of American GI's serving in World War II, packaged in cardboard tubes that were sold to the military as a convenient snack that travelled well in any climate.
Melts in your mouth...
LEMON: ... not in your hand.
LONG: ... not in your hand.
LISOVICZ: And I'll tell you investors are applauding because Wrigley's shares are up more than 23 percent. And Wrigley is staying in Chicago folks. The stadium, the headquarters, the gum -- everything is coming out of the windy city.
Quiet day otherwise. No major economic reports. Tomorrow begins the first day of a two-day meeting on interest rates. It'll be an interesting one.
See you tomorrow, Melissa and Don.
LONG: See you tomorrow.
LEMON: All right. See you tomorrow, Susan.
Now it's time to send it over to Wolf Blitzer and "THE SITUATION ROOM."
Take it away, Wolf.
