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American Morning
Primary Day for Kentucky and Oregon; Barack Obama Could Cross a Symbolic Milestone Today; New Hurdle for Hillary Clinton; Airline Dissatisfaction
Aired May 20, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WYCLEF JEAN, TOGETHERFORHATI.ORG: Don't believe anything on the blog. But the reason why, you know, it's important to be able to give a child a life. And you know to start with -- just with my wife, the way that she's with Angelina. It's like -- I would say that's like the best thing that has ever happened.
And in growing up in my father's church and seeing a lot of time kids that grow up and -- well, like no parents and the idea of you being able to give a kid a life is a beautiful thing. She's three now and she's incredible. Best thing in my life.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the picture is beautiful. I know that was taken for a GAP campaign to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. You're involve in so much. You know, you continue to give back. You've got a huge heart. You're an amazing musician. I'm so glad that I finally got to talk to you in person.
JEAN: I'm glad you did the call and everything. That was great. How are the elections going?
PHILLIPS: I'll work on that. We'll talk about that. Stick around. Meanwhile, I'm going to plug your Web site as we go to break. Togetherforhaiti.org, log on. You want to raise $48 million in six months. We're going to help you do it.
JEAN: Yes. Thank you.
PHILLIPS: All right. Thank you so much.
John?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up on one minute after the hour. And some breaking news to tell you about this morning. This coming to us from WABC in New York. That New York's new governor David Paterson apparently has checked himself in to a hospital on New York's Upper East Side. The reason he's suffering from a severe migraine.
Neurologists will be checking him out this morning. We expect to get some more information about his condition a little bit later on. But initial indications are that it is a severe migraine headache. We'll keep following that story for you this morning.
It is primary day for Kentucky and Oregon. They are voting right now in Kentucky. Polls close at 7:00 Eastern. In Oregon, it's a mail-in ballot. Voters have until 8:00 p.m. Pacific to turn in their ballots. And here's how the delegates line up.
Barack Obama could cross a symbolic milestone today. There are 103 delegates total at stake. 51 in Kentucky, 52 up for grabs in Oregon. Neither candidate will get the 2,026 delegates needed to win the nomination today. But Obama is just 15 delegates away from taking the majority of the pledge delegates that are up for grabs.
Senator Hillary Clinton is working off a different set of numbers. Numbers not yet recognized by her party. She told voters in Kentucky that she is already winning in the popular vote.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There are a lot of people who wanted to end this election before you had a chance to vote. Well, it may surprise you to learn that I have more votes than my opponent. More people have voted for me to be your president and I am proud of that. And I sure do want to add a bunch of votes from Kentucky to that total.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, she is hoping to sell the superdelegates with that argument. Of course, she is counting Florida and Michigan, which lost their delegates for moving up their primaries. The rules committee has until the end of the month to decide whether or not to include them. Certainly, they are trying. It's just the formula by which they are included. That's a question.
PHILLIPS: Barack Obama and John McCain are in a war over diplomacy with Iran. Obama was campaigning in Montana yesterday when he talked about what a McCain presidency would mean.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A run of the single biggest strategic beneficiary of our war in Iraq. And I believe that if we have tough, direct diplomacy, we could contain the threat that Iran poses. We've got to change our policy -- for policy works. That's not what John McCain is delivering. And that's why he can't be in the White House for another four years or another eight years. He's got the wrong idea and the wrong message.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: McCain accused Obama of inexperience and reckless judgment for saying Iran does not pose the same serious threat to the United States as the Soviet Union did. And John McCain also blasted Obama for saying he'd talk to Hamas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Obama has little or no experience on these issues. But I believe that when you say that you would not negotiate with a terrorist organization, Hamas, but you will negotiate with the state that sponsors Hamas, shows a fundamental misunderstanding of the situation and the issues that we face, particularly in the Middle East.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Hamas is now in control of the Palestinian government, but the U.S. has labeled it a terror organization. Obama denied McCain's claim saying he would only talk to Hamas if the group stopped calling for Israel's destruction.
ROBERTS: CNN's Jim Acosta is with the CNN Election Express. He's live in Frankfurt, Kentucky for us this morning.
Jim, Hillary Clinton expecting a big win there in the Bluegrass State. All indications are she's going to get it today.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. If you look at the latest CNN Poll of Polls, Hillary Clinton could crush Barack Obama by some 30 points if the polls held up. And Barack Obama is looking like he might eke out a pretty comfortable margin of victory in Oregon.
Both Clinton and Obama have been spending the last several days in both of these states. Senator Clinton striking those economic themes, hitting those bread and butter domestic issues like the economy, health care and education. Barack Obama talking about the environment and other factors like clean energy, green energy jobs out there in Oregon.
Both of these candidates should essentially come out of these states with a wash in terms of delegates. But all eyes will be on both of these candidates tonight as Hillary Clinton has her victory party, which she expects to be a victory party in Louisville, Kentucky. She will continue to make this claim that she holds a popular vote edge over Barack Obama.
Barack Obama will be in Des Moines, Iowa, celebrating essentially where everything kicked off. That victory there in the Iowa caucuses which propelled him on the stage that he's on now. But the Obama campaign being very careful, John, to not come across as overly presumptuous when they make that claim that they've captured that edge, that majority in the pledge delegate count.
John?
ROBERTS: All right. Jim Acosta for us this morning from Frankfurt, Kentucky, the capital there. Jim, thanks very much.
Just three contests left after today. Up next, it's on to June 1st, Puerto Rico, on a Sunday, with 55 delegates at stake. That was a caucus, but they decided to make it a primary because it now becomes very important in the overall delegate count. Then on June the 3rd, the last two primaries -- Montana and South Dakota with 31 delegates total.
Kyra?
PHILLIPS: A new hurdle for Hillary Clinton. Coming up, we're going to ask her campaign how they'll go on if Barack Obama reaches a delegate majority tonight.
And airline dissatisfaction. A new consumer survey says that Americans are fed up with the airlines. Find out who the worst offenders are, straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Eight minutes after the hour. And Ali Velshi here. How much do you hate your airline?
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I mean, I think the airlines are in a tough spot because of fuel prices but I think they made some really bad decisions and that has manifested in this newest airline costumer satisfaction survey index that's out. People are having the worst level of satisfaction with the airlines since 2001.
PHILLIPS: So what are the factors?
VELSHI: Well, they -- baggage is a problem. Well, fares are the number one problem. But airline fares in the last year. The increase has been pretty dramatic and it's mainly because of fuel prices. So I'm almost going to say, you know what, that's not their fault, like it's not anybody else's fault.
But at the same time what we've seen is a lot of cancellations. A lot of lost baggage and all of the airlines are now charging this extra money if you have more than one bag, which is interesting because you can't carry all your stuff on the plane anymore because you can't take more than 3 ounces of shampoo, for instance, on to the plane.
PHILLIPS: But have you notice? They're all turning to humor. It started with Southwest Airlines. Now if you fly Delta and I flew. I am trying to remember the airline that I flew a couple of weeks ago and they're --
VELSHI: John is not seeing any humor in this whole thing.
ROBERTS: No, no, no, just Deltalina.
VELSHI: Deltalina.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: They are having these funny videos. So they are trying to at least make you laugh while you're getting host.
VELSHI: Yes, which is nice and especially if you are sitting on the tarmac for a while. I'll tell you that the airlines that came in above average. By the way, it's a measure that these people use. The average number is 62. The airlines above that were Southwest, which actually increased a little bit in its rating.
Continental, which was down dramatically right to the average. Down 10 percent in satisfaction compared to last year. And American which was up just a little bit. Below average. The airlines coming below the average were Delta, which was up a little bit to below the average, Northwest, United was unchanged and U.S. Airways down 12 percent. It was the lowest rated of all the airlines. It sort of lives in that spot.
U.S. Airways kind of rent space in the -- they call this a customer service disaster. I mean, ever since the attempted merger with America West, U.S. Airways continues to be a problem.
ROBERTS: Delta needs to put Deltalina on every flight. Customer satisfaction would go way up.
PHILLIPS: Why?
ROBERTS: Even if you were late, you wouldn't care.
VELSHI: Fair enough. I'll make the suggestion.
PHILLIPS: All right. Exclusive interview with Billionaire Investor Warren Buffett. See what he's saying about writing out bad economic times. We'll see if Ali Velshi agrees with him. We're going to take you live to London where he sat down with CNN, only CNN, our Becky Anderson.
ROBERTS: And Rob Marciano at the CNN Weather Center for us now tracking the extreme weather.
Rob, what are we looking at today?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, John, you'll be happy to know, when I flew home yesterday, that Deltalina video was on my Delta flight.
ROBERTS: But not Deltalina herself.
MARCIANO: No, that would definitely -- I'd make a (INAUDIBLE)
ROBERTS: Careful, careful, Rob, careful.
MARCIANO: And coming up, we're going to talk about primary weather. We're going to talk about the heat across the southwest. It's going to be another sizzling day. AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": In response to climate change, Barack Obama said we can't drive our SUVs, keep our houses at 72 degrees and eat all we want. When Al Gore heard we can eat all we want, he called Obama a global warming fanatic. He's an environmental nutcase.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: I'm thinking I'm not moving to Yuma, Arizona anytime soon. That's darn sure.
MARCIANO: You'll definitely lose some body fluid.
ROBERTS: We actually ate all we wanted yesterday and we're still suffering for it.
PHILLIPS: Yes, that's true. Even though we walked 20 miles. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: See you, guys.
PHILLIPS: Well, you're watching the "Most News in the Morning." Warren Buffett has made billions of dollars as an investor. So you'd think at age 77 he might be ready for a retirement, right? Oh, no. Buffett talks about that and a lot more in an exclusive interview with our own Becky Anderson.
ROBERTS: And voters at the polls right now in Kentucky. Obama looks to Oregon to put him over the top, where they've got a mail-in vote going. That story in today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, SEN. BARACK OBAMA'S WIFE: I think that, you know, those are distractions and distortions that just aren't accurate. It's a part of politics. I mean, you know it's very -- I don't know anybody who would put themselves or their families through the arduous task of running for president.
It is, you know, it's a very draining feat. And I think that every candidate, whether you agree with their policies or not, I think their families and their spouses care deeply about this country. I know I do. I wouldn't put myself and my family in this position if I didn't have a level of pride.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Senator Barack Obama's wife, Michelle, responding to Republican attack ads suggesting that she has not always been proud of America. Senator Obama said in a broadcast interview to attack his wife is quote, "just low class."
Well, this morning, we want to hear from you. Should candidates' spouses be fair game in the campaign? Right now, 48 percent of you say yes. 52 percent say no. Things are getting closer throughout the morning here. Head to cnn.com/am to vote.
Also send us an e-mail through our Web site. Let us know who you voted for or what you voted for and why you did. We'll be sharing some of your thoughts coming up in about a half an hour's time. Just look for the link on there that says "e-mail us."
Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Billionaire investor Warren Buffett offering advice for weathering this economic storm. He actually sat down for this exclusive interview with our own CNN's Becky Anderson and she joins us live from London.
Becky?
BECKY ANDERSON, ANCHOR, CNN'S BUSINESS INTERNATIONAL: Hello, Kyra. It's not often you get to sit down with a man who has just passed his buddy, Bill Gates -- his bridge buddy, Bill Gates, to become the richest man in the world. $62 billion is what Warren Buffett is worth. A fascinating interview, I've got to say. You know, it's not often you get to sit down with somebody you really admire.
Let's do the facts, shall we? Fifty years ago, seven investors -- they were friends and family lent him in total $105,000. That now is worth $620 million if I've got my numbers right. That's an awful lot of money. His shares in Berkshire Hathaway are worth $125,000 each. This is a man who famously said he loves to tap dance to work. So I asked him whether he was still enjoying his job and whether he was thinking of stepping down anytime soon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: You're not thinking of stepping down anytime soon, are you?
WARREN BUFFETT, CHAIRMAN, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY: No, no, no. I'm planning to work for about five years after I die, actually I love what I do. I get to do exactly what I want to do every day, how I want to do it, with people that I love and that genuinely like me. You know, it doesn't get any better than that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: He's here in Europe, Kyra, on a sort of road show. He's got his wallet out. He's got some wisdom. Of course, he's a sage of Omaha. Some wisdom for some of this medium to large size family businesses on the continent. He sort of sedulously avoided investing in Europe before. I can't tell you how excited some of the European companies are about him coming to this side of the pond with his checkbook.
And he says, you know, people are running their businesses well. He says they don't need him. But if they want him, he will pick up the phone to him -- to them at the moment. So a fascinating guy. Great to meet. And he makes it all seem so simple.
Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Oh, he's so down to earth. He just seems like a very genuine, real person. You could have a great time with. And he's a Democrat, right? I'm curious. Did he talk to you about who he is backing?
ANDERSON: Yes, he did. And I don't think, to some Americans, that will be a surprise. To many people internationally, they won't have known which side of the fence he stands. But he is. He's a Democrat. And I asked him yesterday who he wanted in the chair at the White House in 2009.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUFFETT: I would be for both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, but I think Barack is going to be the nominee. And so it will be Barack Obama that would be my preference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: And that will do. Barack Obama no harm whatsoever. I know he's got a lot of people backing him at the moment, but, you know, you'd always want Warren Buffett with you wherever you are.
PHILLIPS: Talk about a fundraiser.
ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely.
PHILLIPS: Could you see him on the ticket, Becky? What do you think, Warren Buffett and Barack Obama?
ANDERSON: I don't know about that. As I say he's really -- oh, it would be fantastic he was. He's really very down to earth, as you suggested. He's got $200 billion in his investment fund. I think he's got enough to do at the moment. I think he needs to stand for vice president. But I'm sure lots of people would vote for that ticket if indeed he did.
PHILLIPS: Becky Anderson, great to see you this morning. Thanks so much.
John?
ROBERTS: It's 22 minutes after the hour. A new list out this morning ranks the most peaceful nations on the planet. So where does the United States fit in on the list? And which European country sits alone at the top? We've got the answers coming up for you.
And Hillary Clinton says she's winning the popular vote. We'll ask her campaign communications director, Howard Wolfson, how they are counting those votes. You're watching the Most News in the Morning on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: And you're watching the "Most Politics in the Morning." And a big day in Kentucky and Oregon. 103 delegates at stake. 51 in Kentucky. 52 up for grabs in Oregon. And next on the schedule, June 1st, it's Puerto Rico with 55 delegates at stake. Then on June 3rd, the last two primaries, Montana and South Dakota with 31 delegates total. And there's a fight over the number of delegates needed to clinch the Democratic nomination. One number is coming from the Clinton Camp. That number would shoot down talk of Barack Obama claiming any delegate majority today.
And here's what Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe told CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRY MCAULIFFE, CLINTON CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: You have to hit the magic number, 2,210. You have to get the number to be the nominee.
We didn't treat -- when Jimmy Carter, and Ted Kennedy ran against him in 1980, when Gary Hart took Walter Mondale to the convention in 1984, nobody treated them like they're treating Hillary Clinton today. When you get the number to be the nominee of the Democratic Party, you are then the nominee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And that number 2,210 includes Florida and Michigan. The number that the Democratic Party is going with for now 2,026 and it doesn't include results from those two states because they held their primaries earlier than the party allowed.
John?
ROBERTS: Barack Obama's campaign says after today he will have a majority of pledge delegates in the race. That doesn't mean though that he's going to cross the finish line first. But earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, Obama's national campaign co-chairman Tom Daschle said it is a major statement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM DASCHLE, OBAMA CAMPAIGN NATIONAL CO-CHAIRMAN: This is a very important threshold today. Having the majority of pledge delegates, John, is a tremendous new accomplishment and we're very excited about it. But it doesn't mean it's the end.
ROBERTS: Well, if it doesn't mean it's the end, what exactly does it mean and why point it out?
DASCHLE: Well, I think it's important to say that the pledge delegates are those who have been selected by the states. Barack Obama has won 32 contests, and from states all over the country. And those -- each of those contests selected delegates. We now have the majority of selected, pledge delegates from all of those contests all over the country. That's an important achievement.
ROBERTS: Right. But what does it mean in the overall scope of things when the finish line is 2,026 delegates or the Hillary Clinton campaign would like to push that out to 2,210. What does having the most number of pledge delegates -- the majority of them -- mean tonight? DASCHLE: Well, I can't imagine that the unpledge delegates, those who are called superdelegates, I'm one, could ever overturn the majority of the pledge delegates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: There you go. The final answer. Obama needs 15 more pledge delegates to reach that threshold.
So what is the Hillary Clinton campaign saying about all of this? Joining us now from Arlington, Virginia is Clinton campaign communications director Howard Wolfson.
So you heard what Senator Daschle had to say there, Howard. Also, campaign manager David Plouffe says quote, "A clear majority of elected delegates will send an unmistakable message -- the people have spoken, and they are ready for change."
What do you say?
HOWARD WOLFSON, CLINTON COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Well, I think the people are going to speak tonight in Kentucky. The people spoke last week in West Virginia. The people have been told that this race is over, that Senator Clinton is finished, and yet hundreds of thousands of people keep coming out to the polls and millions of people and voting for her.
So I am going to listen to the people. And I think the people are going to speak loudly and clearly. And, frankly, I think that these premature victory laps that the Obama campaign is engaging in is a real slap in the face to the voters in the upcoming primaries and to the 17 million people who supported Senator Clinton so far in this race. We have more votes in our tally than Senator Obama has in his. Let's let the process play out. We think we're going to be the nominee.
If Senator Obama is the nominee, we'll support him. But he's not the nominee yet. And he's not going to be the nominee by the end of the night.
ROBERTS: Your campaign keeps making the claim that you have more votes in the popular vote than Senator Obama does. But by all counts, to get there, you have to include Michigan. And his name was not on the ballot there. So therefore, he does not get any of those popular votes. And you also include 13 caucus states where lots of people voted. So how can you explain to people how that's a legitimate count of the popular vote?
WOLFSON: Well, we are including any state in which there was a certified vote count. There are a couple of caucuses, not 13. There were a couple of caucuses where there was no certified vote count so it's impossible to know exactly how many votes either candidate got. And by the way, we won one of those caucuses, so it's not a question of who has won them or who has lost them. It's getting an accurate vote count. And then you look at all the other states in which there was a certified vote count. You total up the votes and Senator Clinton has more votes for her than Senator Obama has for him. It's actually pretty simple. It's the old-fashioned way of counting votes. Who has gotten more of them.
ROBERTS: But you continually make the point that every vote has to be counted. So if you exclude even one state in your overall measurement, how can you be standing by your pledge to count every vote when you say you lead in the popular vote?
WOLFSON: Well, I don't know how exactly you would count votes in a state in which there was no certified vote count. I mean, we could claim --
ROBERTS: So then how --
WOLFSON: We'd be happy to claim --
ROBERTS: Right. So then how is the popular vote at all a legitimate measure of where you stand? Should it be pledge delegates, which is the way that the Democratic Party chooses the nominee?
WOLFSON: Certainly pledge delegates is important. In the end, we're going to choose our nominee by the person who has the most delegates overall. Not pledge delegates. Not unpledge delegates, but delegates overall. But popular vote is very important. I think it sends a very important signal about which candidate is getting the votes of the American people. So, of course, the popular vote is something that superdelegates will look at.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Hillary Clinton, Howard, has said Barack Obama needs a few more delegates before he can claim to be the winner. What's the number of delegate that he needs to get to claim to be the winner.
WOLFSON: Well, we believe that when the Democratic National Committee meets at the end of this month to consider the fate of Florida and Michigan, that they will reinstate Florida and Michigan at 100 percent. We're not going to go into a convention in Denver with only 48 states represented. And so once the DNC does that, the magic number will be 2,210. And Senator Obama is a long way from 2,210. Senator Clinton is a long way from 2,210. We got a long way to go in this process. And I think if you look at the results in West Virginia where we won by 40 points. You look at the upcoming state of Kentucky this evening, Senator Clinton continues to amass votes, amass support. Despite the fact that her supporters are being told this race is over.
ROBERTS: But you did lose Senator Robert Byrd who has now supported Barack Obama, even though Senator Clinton won his state by 41 points. So not everybody believes in your calculation here.
WOLFSON: No, and superdelegates are going to make their decisions for a variety of reasons. We have an enormous amount of respect for Senator Byrd. I think that the superdelegates are taking a look at this. Senator Obama's campaign has predicted on several different occasions that there would be this tidal wave rush of superdelegates towards him. It hasn't happened. I think that voters in the upcoming states and superdelegates are saying you know, Senator Clinton has won the key swing states of Ohio and Michigan and Florida and Pennsylvania. She has won them convincingly. She won a huge victory in West Virginia. She seems poised to win an important victory tonight in Kentucky.
We believed that we can win West Virginia. We think Senator Clinton may be a better nominee against John McCain. Let's take a look at this before we make a decision.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll keep watching this. Five more primaries to go, including today. Howard Wolfson, thanks for being with us. Good luck today.
WOLFSON: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: We'll get the first results from Kentucky and Oregon tonight at 7:00 Eastern in the CNN "Election Center." And set your alarm early for an early edition of AMERICAN MORNING tomorrow. We're starting at 5:00 a.m. Eastern for full results and analysis from the best political team on television. Alina Cho here with other stories making headlines. Hello, my dear.
ALINA CHO, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're going to wake up early, huh?
PHILLIPS: You didn't register. What time you're setting your alarm for, correct?
CHO: Yes, I am.
PHILLIPS: 2:00 a.m. is a safe bet.
CHO: That's right. Good morning, guys. I want to tell you more about that breaking news we first told you about at the top of the hour. New York Governor David Paterson checked himself into the hospital this morning. His office has just issued a statement staying Paterson was experiencing migraine-like symptoms and all preliminary tests have come back normal so far. Paterson is legally blind. He apparently has a history of migraine problems. He's said to be resting comfortably right now and will undergo more testing throughout the day
76-year-old Senator Ted Kennedy will not be back to work on Capitol Hill this week. He's still in the hospital in Boston as doctors try to figure out what caused his seizure over the weekend. They are expecting more test results today. An aide says Senator Kennedy is in good spirits and anxious to get back on the job.
A New York congressman arrested for drunk driving and having an extra marital affair will not run for re-election. Six-term Republican Vito Fossella is expected to make the formal announcement later today. Fossella has been under increasing pressure to resign since his drunken driving arrest earlier this month. That led to revelations that he had an extra marital affair and a child out of wedlock.
Beating cancer, clinching the World Series and now pitching a no- hitter. How about that? Red Sox pitcher Jon Lester made history last night at Fenway Park, pitching the first no-hitter this season. He struck out nine Kansas City Royals, including the final batter of the game. And he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma just two years ago. Centerfielder Jacobi Ellsbury as you saw kept the no-hitter intact, diving and catch to end the fourth inning. 24-year-old Lester came back from that rare non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It nearly ended his career back in 2006.
And a not so pleasant surprise for Microsoft's CEO Steve Balmer, while speaking in Hungary, take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Yes, that's an egg. Those are a few eggs that were thrown there. An angry student tossed several eggs at him. You know, Balmer, as you saw there, was able to take cover behind the podium. He's got quick reflexes. The student was reportedly upset over a deal between Microsoft and the Hungarian government that would have given Microsoft an edge in that country and sort of lock out the competition. But kind of takes me back to 10 years ago when Bill Gates had cream pies thrown at him in Belgium. Remember?
PHILLIPS: Taking me back to high school when everybody would egg the principal's car.
CHO: Or use toilet paper on your rival at the house.
ROBERTS: That fellow wasn't exactly throwing like no one around either. So -
PHILLIPS: It was an egg toss.
ROBERTS: It was.
CHO: It wasn't a throw. It was a friendly toss.
PHILLIPS: Exactly. Just like at Easter there at the White House lawn.
ROBERTS: Alina, thanks.
There's a new ranking out of the most peaceful nations today. So is the United States closer to the top or the bottom? The answer coming up next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, cosmetic counter economics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's cheaper than plastic surgery.
PHILLIPS: What makeup can tell us about the state of the economy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's like an instant therapy session.
PHILLIPS: Lola looks at the lipstick index ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Breaking news from Iraq this morning. Thousands of Iraqi troops are moving into the Shiite militia stronghold of Sadr City overnight. New video just into CNN that we're showing you here. An Iraqi military spokesman says there has been no violence since the troops begin deploying. The spokesman says it's the largest attempt yet by the government to impose control in the area.
PHILLIPS: Peace, love and rock 'n' roll. All right. Maybe just the peace. It's a new study that's out today that says the world is more peaceful now than it was last year. The global peace index ranks at 140 countries from most to least peaceful. State Department correspondent Zain Verjee joins us now from Washington. She's a very peaceful person. At least at this time in the morning.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Actually, no. Kyra, when we look at pictures on TV or read the newspaper headlines, it's pretty hard to think that anything is improving. But check out this report that crunches the numbers on peace and security. It's called the Global Peace Index, founded by an Australian who says the world appears to be a moderately more peaceful place compared to last year. Now the report looks at what's happening inside countries as well as how they interact with the rest of the world.
So, let's take a look at the results. Kyra if you want to book a ticket to a peaceful place this summer, you need to start planning a trip to Iceland. Iceland came in number one. Yes, on the peace index, followed by Denmark, Norway, New Zealand, we call them Kiwis down there and Japan. The five least peaceful countries, though, are Israel, Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia and Iraq. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. So Iceland, number one. What's the social life like? I know you. You've been on checking out. Let's see if it's peaceful. Kyra and I will be planning a trip. Now let's see.
VERJEE: Well, actually, it's very hard to get a date in Iceland because the population is only something like 300,000. And they complain there and say that everyone is related. So that's a big problem that they have. But I want to show you, too, Kyra, where the U.S. stands on that list. Because it was pretty interesting. It stood at 97 out of 140 countries. The report basically takes into consideration a bunch of different factors for the U.S., like it's got high levels of military spending, lots of military engagements beyond its borders in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. And here at home, the U.S. has the highest proportion of its population in jail and a high murder rate. If you compare that to Iceland, that's number one as little violent crime, low number of people in jail. Iceland has no army so it's got low scores in the militarization department. And it relies on the U.S. to protect it like a lot of other countries. Have you been to Iceland, Kyra? Do you want to go?
PHILLIPS: Well, you know, I was thinking about it until you said basically, we wouldn't be able to get a date. So -
VERJEE: On the upside, Kyra, it's got amazing spas apparently because of the underwater thermal springs.
PHILLIPS: Now you're talking. OK.
VERJEE: It's like daylight for 20 hours over the summers. So if you want to get away, I think that may be a place.
PHILLIPS: I'll call you after the break. Zain Verjee, good to see you. My peaceful friend.
VERJEE: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: John.
ROBERTS: 41 minutes after the hour. Some make up is waterproof. Others, apparently recession-proof. Why lipstick still sells in tough times and whether there's still room for a little luxury in your budget.
Plus an early warning of heart disease showing up in your sex life. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta." Hey, Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, that's right. You know, one of the holy grails is trying to figure out who is going to have a heart attack before they do. The answer could have to do with your sex life. Then, there's a tease. I'll have it for you coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Brand new video into CNN this morning showing the chaos, the panic and destruction at the epicenter of the quake there in Wenchuan province, just 10 minutes after it hit. People still being pulled from the rubble today. The death toll has topped 40,000. In Wenchuan province, it was 2,500, the death toll. 9,000 people injured there. And you can still see the clouds of dust from the shaking of the earth hanging in the air in there and coating people with dust. There's a woman obviously taking pictures with her cell phone camera there. Just getting more and more of these pictures in as time goes on. More and more people who had their cameras out finally getting their video through to us.
Two new studies show erectile dysfunction could be a key factor in detecting heart disease. We're "Paging our Dr. Gupta." He's in Washington this morning. Sanjay, what's this all about?
GUPTA: Well, it appears that erectile dysfunction can be an early warning sign of someone who has likely developed heart disease. Exactly as you said, two new studies coming out sort of pointing to this. One out of Hong Kong and one out of Italy. Sort of reinforcing something that doctors have sort of thought for some time. Specifically, the study out of Hong Kong followed more than 2,000 men for four years. And they found that those who had erectile dysfunction, it was an early warning sign, again especially if they were diabetic. It goes on to say, John, that, to your point that it was a better marker in some cases than age, than high blood pressure, than high cholesterol. So, you know, very strong predictive marker.
Another study out of Italy showed two times more likely to suffer heart problems if they had erectile dysfunction. And again, what was so interesting here is that those - the erectile dysfunction symptoms came three years before the heart problems. So a real harbinger, a real forerunner, John, of maybe problems to come if men and their doctors paid attention to it.
ROBERTS: So, what's at work here, Sanjay, and might some of these drugs to treat erectile dysfunction or cholesterol lowering drugs help out?
GUPTA: Well, you know, cholesterol lowering drugs, specifically statin medications, there's a lot of data on those, John, showing that they do actually prevent heart disease later on down the line. About a third reduction if you take the medications. With regards to erectile dysfunction drug like Viagra, for example, it probably is less likely that they're actually going to ward off heart disease later on. But, and this is very important, the fact that a patient will go to their doctor and say you know I need to take this medication, I'm having some difficulty may prompt a warning to the doctor to go ahead and start looking for things that can contribute to heart disease or stroke later on down the line. What is at work here? The same sort of problem when you get atherosclerosis in the blood vessels to your heart. That can cause erectile dysfunction as well. What we're learning now, what these studies sort of confirm is that the erectile dysfunction precedes the heart problems by a few years.
ROBERTS: Interesting. Valuable new information this morning, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
GUPTA: I'm here to serve. All right. Thanks.
ROBERTS: We appreciate that. Thank you. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away. Betty Nguyen is at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead. Hey, Betty.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN, ANCHOR: Hey, good morning, Kyra. Well, divided Democrats on the NEWSROOM rundown this morning . Kentucky and Oregon, they are voting today. Obama and Clinton expected to split the states. Also newly released video shows just panic and chaos in the seconds after the China quake. Two people buried for a week have been pulled from the rubble alive.
Also metal bats. Are they safe for kids? Well, one family is suing after their son was left disabled. Breaking news anytime it happens. We are in the NEWSROOM. That's at the top of the hour on CNN. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Betty.
Putting a good face on a looming recession. Why lipstick is one of the few luxuries that women can't live without, even in real tough times. And what we can learn from that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 10 minutes now to the top of the hour. Breaking news this morning. Oil hits a new record. Our Ali Velshi here with more on this. It gets to the point where you say to yourself, where is this all going and what is the overall effect?
ALI VELSHI, CNN, SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: This is important because we know the effect that it's having because we see the prices going up. The other thing to keep in mind is from a financial perspective. It's very odd to see the price of oil go up despite seeing anything else that happens. In other words, there's often not something behind it. We have a new record in the price of oil, $127.84. We're heading up toward $128 a barrel. But that also means we've had a new record in the price of gasoline, $3.80. The best estimate we have for gasoline is AAA saying is $3.90 by Memorial Day.
That's you know, we're talking less than a week away now. But if those estimates were made before oil was at these levels. So if oil continues to go up, 75 percent of the cost of a gallon of gasoline comes from the cost of a barrel of oil which means we have several more weeks of increases in gasoline to look forward to. And, of course, working through into diesel and farm equipment and transportation and food and all that kind of stuff. So, it's a tough, tough trend. We can tell you that it's happening.
ROBERTS: It will put a damper on the Memorial Day weekend.
VELSHI: Yes, it is. It will absolutely have some people pull back.
ROBERTS: All right. Ali, thanks. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Well, skyrocketing gas and food prices have caused many to cut corners. But there's one item that sells in tough times. Believe it or not, our Lola Ogunnaike shows us why lipstick does well when the economy is in the red.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The economy is in trouble, but not every industry is complaining.
HOWARD KREITZMAN, VICE PRESIDENT, BLOOMINGDALE'S: The beauty business at Bloomingdale's is one of the best performing businesses this year.
OGUNNAIKE: Some call it the lipstick indicator. In bad times, makeup sales usually go up. Right now industry sales are down 7 percent. It's too early to tell whether overall sales will rise again during this rocky period, experts say, but early estimates show sales of lip products are improving. And the customers we spoke with say beauty still comes first.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To me, it's part of my existence. I need to have it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On the outside, even if you don't have any money, you want to look like a million bucks.
LINDA WELLS, EDITOR IN CHIEF, ALLURE: Beauty goes well in difficult economic times partly because women turn to it as an affordable indulgence.
OGUNNAIKE: You don't have thousands to splurge on the Chanel handbag? The $26 lip gloss is a cheaper consolation prize. Still high-priced lines like Lamere are flying off the shelves at Bloomingdale's.
KREITZMAN: This particular product, which sells for $1,350 is selling at about twice the rate it was last year at this time. There is a theory on this type of product that it's cheaper than plastic surgery.
OGUNNAIKE: For some, the right shade of red is the perfect pick- me-up. Clinique's lipstick names even sound upbeat.
JANET PARDO, SENIOR VP, CLINIQUE: Nothing bad can come in a tube called Angel Red.
OGUNNAIKE: Exactly. The economy? What economy?
PARDO: Exactly. You don't even think about it. It's like an instant therapy session.
OGUNNAIKE: Now would you go so far as to say the beauty industry is recession-proof?
KREITZMAN: I am not smart enough to make that prediction, but at the moment, it seems recession resistant.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: You got to look good when you are groaning so much, you know, over your 401k tanking in this economy but this parlays into lipsticks and longer skirts.
OGUNNAIKE: Yes, apparently there's a hemline theory as well, Kyra. Apparently when times are good, hemlines go up. In the '20s you saw a lot of legs and in the '60s, you saw a lot of legs. And the Reagan '80s, Reagan greed is good. You saw a lot of legs, too. But in the early '90s, not so much legs. In fact, grunge was all the rage if you'll remember. They were big on minimalism. So, we have to see what the summer looks like. We'll we see a lot of legs? We'll we see cargo pants? Who knows. PHILLIPS: You and I are always wearing pants. We'll have to discuss our wardrobe. Thanks, Lola. All right, John.
ROBERTS: Who needs a magic wall when you had the stars and your sign. What the soothsayers are saying about the presidential race, next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Hey, right now, we're counting down to closing time. The last polls in Kentucky close at 7:00 p.m. Eastern. Most will close at 6:00 p.m. and in Oregon, folks have until 8:00 p.m. Pacific time to drop off their ballots in the state's all mail-in primary.
ROBERTS: Forget the pollsters, the psychics and the prophets already know what's going to happen?
PHILLIPS: A panel of astrologers will come up with predictions for the presidential race today. And of course, CNN's Jeanne Moos got a reading on it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Look to the stars.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Celestial choirs will be singing.
MOOS: I see a new president in our future. And who needs an election when there's an astrologers' convention to tell us the winner.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hillary being a Scorpio, you can never count her out.
MOOS: 1,500 astrologers gathered for the United Astrology Conference in Denver. The perfect spot to pick up vibes from the upcoming Democratic convention Denver will be hosting. While the political world fixates on John McCain's age, the astrologers were more interested in the exact time of McCain's birth, which has mom helpfully supplied in this Mother's day video.
ROBERTA MCCAIN, JOHN MCCAIN'S MOTHER: Well, anyway this baby came, I think, about 11:00.
MOOS: Astrologers need birth times to chart the future. Forget John King's magic wall. Astrologers have their own charts. This guy predicted Hillary would win super Tuesday when Barack Obama and Hillary actually split.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So super Tuesday is coming and saying, Hillary , hey, here I am to protect you.
MOOS: Protect us from John McCain's chart which sounds vagary obscene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is transiting Uranus directly on top of his natal Saturn.
MOOS: A prediction please -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The person holding the highest office in the land will be referred to as madam president.
MOOS: That prediction was made about two months ago. This one came about two years ago. Self-proclaimed prophet called the ancient one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our current president will be running again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're kidding me.
MOOS: Or maybe you prefer tarot cards. Obama's card suggested charity. Hillary's card with three swords plunged into a heart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Emotional pain.
MOOS: And McCain's card indicated an aggressive, take charge attitude, suggesting he might win.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: King of swords.
MOOS: Most accurate reading so far came from psychic Silvia Brown almost six months ago, predicting the Democratic front-runner.
SILVIA BROWN, PSYCHIC: I think Obama. I think she's going to look like she's going to run away with everything and then all of a sudden, she flattens out.
MOOS: A gallop poll showed that 25 percent of Americans believe in astrology. But, hey, if candidates can predict the future, say the year 2013 -
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ...led to the capture or death of Osama Bin Laden -
MOOS: Why not astrologists or even kids.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is John McCain going to be the next president?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is Hillary Clinton going to be the next president?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Barack Obama.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Out of the mouths of babes. Final check of our "quick vote" this morning. We've been asking, should candidates' spouses be fair game in the campaign? It's a tie. Look at this. 50 percent of you said yes. 50 percent of you said no.
PHILLIPS: We've also been reading your e-mails on this. Connie from Pittsfield, Illinois says, "I couldn't decide who to vote for until I heard Michelle Obama speak about her husband and I voted for Obama. Candidates' spouses should be fair game because I guarantee their opinions matter to their spouses."
ROBERTS: Marcus from Greensboro, North Carolina sent this in "I think that that's where politics go wrong when you're targeting everyone around a candidate, too. Spouses are not on the ballot."
PHILLIPS: And Katherine in Jacksonville, Florida, "if you are an outspoken spouse of a president or presidential candidate, you're fair game. If you're a wallflower, well you should be left alone." To all of who voted or vote in, we appreciate it this morning.
ROBERTS: And get the first results from Kentucky and Oregon. Our coverage begins tonight at 7:00 Eastern in the CNN "Election Center. "Larry King Live" going to be on from midnight until 1:00.
PHILLIPS: And it doesn't end there, we're going to come on one hour earlier tomorrow morning to get you caught up on everything that happens overnight. It will be a special election edition of AMERICAN MORNING, beginning at 5:00 a.m. Eastern time. Thank you so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Betty Nguyen begins right now.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good morning, everyone . You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Heidi.
HARRIS: You will see events come into the NEWSROOM live on this Tuesday, May 20th. And here's what's on the rundown.
NGUYEN: Primaries in Kentucky and Oregon today. The states highlighting the deep divide in the Democratic party.
HARRIS: China's earthquake before the dust settles, see the new video and the latest rescues a full week after the quake.
NGUYEN: Also, do metal bats give the ball too much punch for kids? A boy disabled. Now, the lawsuit.
