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American Morning
Former White House Press Secretary Makes Bombshell Accusations About Bush Administration; Bush & McCain Team Up for Fund Raising; Florida Delegate Battle Heads to Court; Gas Price Up, Oil Price Down; Dell Deceives Customers
Aired May 28, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE ALLEN, POLITICO.COM: The only good quality that he had in their view which was loyalty.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Right. He's getting ripped not only by Karl Rove but by Fran Townsend, the former national security adviser to the president, or the Homeland Security adviser to the president, rather. She's now a CNN contributor. Let's listen to what she said last night about this.
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FRAN TOWNSEND, FMR. BUSH HOMELAND SECY. ADVISER: People need to understand that as an adviser to the president, I or Scott have an obligation, responsibility to voice concerns on policy issues. Scott never did that on any of these issues as best I can remember, and as best I know from my White House colleagues. So for him to do this now, frankly, strikes me as self-serving, disingenuous, and unprofessional.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Mike, not only is he being thrown under the bus, but they're backing up the bus and they're running over him again.
MIKE ALLEN, POLITICO.COM: But we do see in this book glimpses of things that we might have imagined but nobody had seen. For instance, in here Scott says that he is the one who told the president this was definitely an undesirable task, who informed the president that the Chief Economic Adviser, Larry Lindsey, remember in the run-up to the war had told the "Wall Street Journal" that it could cost $100 billion to $200 billion.
Now, that turns out to be the low ball of all low balls but at the time that was heresy. And he says the president was steamed, clearly irritated. And, John, when they say the president is clearly irritated, you know what they're talking about there.
ROBERTS: Yes. He also rings in, Mike, on the Valerie Plame leak, and we all remember in October 2003, he stood up there before the White House press corps. You were in it. I was in it, at that point, saying that Scooter Libby, Karl Rove, Elliott Abrams had nothing to do with this leak. Now here is what he writes in the book. "I had allowed myself to be deceived into unknowingly passing along a falsehood. It would ultimately prove fatal to my ability to serve the president effectively. I didn't learn that what I'd said was untrue until the media began to figure it out almost two years later."
So he's basically saying that they gave him bad information to go out there and tell us. He's saying it wasn't his fault. Was it his fault?
ALLEN: Well, John, he takes a little blame himself and he says that he was at best misled is the way he put it, but as you said in that quote, he allowed himself to be deceived. And so, there are -- this is not a one dimensional portrait.
He does still say that he believes the president is authentic and genuine. He does say that he still likes and respects the president, but he says that things got terribly off track. And he says the president also was deceived in the Valerie Plame matter.
So you can see in the book how wounded Scott feels by the way he was treated and by the fact that he went in front of the press, and frankly embarrassed himself when the facts came out of the trial.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Mike Allen from "Politico.com" who broke this story yesterday. We also hope to hear from Scott McClellan himself later this week, perhaps Friday here on AMERICAN MORNING -- Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Senator John McCain has $3 million more in his campaign war chest this morning. The presumptive Republican nominee held a closed door GOP fund-raiser with President Bush in Phoenix. The president and Senator McCain were seen together briefly on an airport tarmac, and as CNN's Ed Henry tells us, it was a rare event for the two of these men to share some similarities and some striking differences.
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ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two months ago, it was President Bush dancing as he waited for John McCain to arrive at the White House. Now, it's McCain who is tap dancing, using the president to rake in big money in Arizona but limiting pictures of them together to this brief shot at the airport long after the nightly newscasts.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No cameras, no reporters, and we all know why. Senator McCain doesn't want to be seen hat in hand with the president whose failed policies he promises to continue for another four years.
HENRY: While Democrats charge a McCain victory will be a third Bush term, the reality is not that simple.
ALEX CASTELLANOS, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: McCain has established himself as his own brand. He's the maverick brand. He's kicked over tables in Washington whether they're Democrat tables or Republican tables.
HENRY: Speaking about nuclear security Tuesday, McCain suggested he would take a tougher line with North Korea than the president has. But on Iraq, McCain is largely in lock step with the president as he made clear when he fired back at war protesters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Endless war, endless war.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will never surrender in Iraq, my friends. I will never surrender in Iraq.
HENRY: On the economy, McCain largely backs the president. After voting against the Bush tax cuts in 2001, he is now trying to woo conservatives by promising to make those very same tax cuts permanent. But on the environment, McCain has broken dramatically with the president calling for caps on carbon emission, and suggesting Mr. Bush has not shown leadership on global warming.
MCCAIN: I will not permit eight long years to pass without serious action on serious challenges.
HENRY (on camera): The president's fund-raising for McCain continues today in Utah, but minus McCain. Mr. Bush will be appearing with Mitt Romney instead. Ed Henry, CNN, Scottsdale, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: It's now turning five minutes after the hour, and a brand new CNN delegate count on the Democratic side. It shows Barack Obama up by nearly 200 delegates, 1,978 to 1,780 for Hillary Clinton. That puts him just 48 delegates away from clinching the nomination now.
Today we could get a better picture of what happens to Florida's 211 delegates. A federal court in Tampa will hear arguments to have them seated. Hillary Clinton won 50 percent of the vote there beating Barack Obama by 17 points.
Our Susan Candiotti is live for us in Tampa, Florida, this morning. Good morning to you, Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. In just a couple of hours from now and only days before the Democratic National Committee is supposed to meet in Washington to try to settle Florida and Michigan, a Democratic Party activist is back in federal court pounding away at the DNC in a lawsuit that he filed last August trying to make Florida's primary count.
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VICTOR DIMAIO, POLITICAL CONSULTANT: We decided this is not right. This is wrong.
CANDIOTTI: Political consultant Victor Dimaio and his lawyer Michael Steinberg, the two-man team taking on the Democratic National Committee, suing to make Florida's January primary vote count. DIMAIO, POLITICAL CONSULTANT: This is nuts. I mean, this is not right. I mean, how can they ignore Florida? I mean, of all the things we Floridians have suffered through, through hanging chads, through Bush versus Gore. And, you know, they're sticking it to us again.
CANDIOTTI: Their lawsuit was filed last August.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That their votes will --
CANDIOTTI: Senator Bill Nelson and Congressman Alcee Hastings also sued, but their case was thrown out of court by a different judge. DNC Chair Howard Dean won't budge.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD DEAN, DEMOCRATIC PARTY CHAIRMAN: You cannot violate the rules of the process and then expect to be forgiven for it.
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CANDIOTTI (on camera): Why shouldn't the DNC be able to make its own rules?
MIKE STEINBERG, ATTORNEY: But the rules have to comply with the United States constitution.
CANDIOTTI: Steinberg dusted off the constitution and based his case mainly on the 14th Amendment. "No state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
Steinberg says in 1940, the Texas Democratic Party would not allow blacks to vote in a primary and the U.S. Supreme Court making national headlines ruled in favor of black voters. He compares that case to Florida's battle with the DNC.
STEINBERG: Now, the Democratic Party is arguing oh, you had a right to vote. We just weren't going to count it. But it's like saying, OK, black people can vote in the Democratic primary, we just won't count your vote. If you don't count the vote, then it's not the right to vote.
DIMAIO: This is not about Victor Dimaio or even Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. This is about the poor suffering voters of Florida wanting their vote to count.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: Well, lawyers for the DNC say that the party has a constitutional right to make its own rules without the court interfering. If Victor Dimaio loses, he says he's going straight to the Supreme Court, but obviously he's running out of time. John, back to you.
ROBERTS: And we should remind viewers this morning, too, Susan, that this coming Saturday the Rules Committee of the DNC will sit down to try to figure out what to do about Florida and Michigan. Susan Candiotti for us this morning outside the courthouse in Tampa. Thanks.
PHILLIPS: Nine crew members aboard a ship taken hostage by pirates. The desperate attempt this morning to get them free.
Plus, what the United Nations is doing to stop these kind of rampant attacks. A CNN exclusive. That story straight ahead.
ROBERTS: Bad business. Dell computers getting hammered by a judge on fraud and deceptive marketing tactics. If you own a Dell, and millions of you do, you'll want to hear from the man who brought the suit against the company. New York's Attorney General Andrew Cuomo coming up.
PHILLIPS: So is your cell phone bad for your health? The widow of Attorney Johnnie Cochran renewing the debate over cell phones and brain cancer. Our own in-house brain surgeon, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, weighs in straight ahead.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, the tarnished touch?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oprah is down seven percent this year in total viewers.
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PHILLIPS: Is Oprah's slump tied to her work on the stump?
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OPRAH WINFREY, HOST: I'm voting for Barack Obama.
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PHILLIPS: What happens when you mix politics and Hollywood? Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: Ten and a half minutes after the hour.
Gasoline prices hit another record. No surprise there, but what is surprising? Oil prices down a whole lot. Will prices at the pump follow suit? Ali Velshi here with that and more. Good morning.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: One hopes so, you know. About 75 percent of the price of a gallon of gasoline --
ROBERTS: It would only be fair.
VELSHI: It would only be fair that when oil prices go down, gas prices go down. We have another record for gasoline, as John said. $3.94 a gallon. That's the national average for gas. About 11 or 12 states I think are paying above $4 on average. About five states are just below that. But here is the thing, crude oil yesterday settled at $128.85. I mean, that's a deal. That's an absolute bargain.
Let me have those. $3.34 lower yesterday and then by this morning it had actually crossed $127 on the downside. It's about 127 bucks right now, so that's a $5 drop in 24 hours.
ROBERTS: What about all those poor saps that bought it at $135?
VELSHI: Suckers. Told you shouldn't have done that. I mean, here's the thing.
Last week when oil went up $5 in 24 hours, we really saw that as very extreme. That's the first time that it happened in years. To see that drop the same amount is actually fairly significant. So we'll see what happens. If logic follows and oil stays at these low bargain basement levels, you might see those records in gas prices actually stop in 10 days to a week.
One of my colleagues suggested we might actually see the records break by the end of this week, and we put some good money on that deal.
PHILLIPS: I'm glad you listened to me.
VELSHI: Exactly. You know, we get most of our oil or not most of it. We have a very large proportion of the oil that we use in the United States is drilled offshore from the water. About 25 percent of the water that we actually -- the oil that we actually produce in the United States is offshore. That costs about $20 to $60 a barrel to produce, and there are an estimated 86 billion barrels of this oil undiscovered as of yet.
PHILLIPS: And you've been there. You've been on those platforms.
VELSHI: I've been on one of those rigs. It was right before Hurricane Katrina hit. We were there to sort of show what would happen in case the rig would have to be evacuated. And lo and behold, by the time our helicopter landed on the rig, it had to be evacuated. So we got to see it in real life.
ROBERTS: Well, you know, certainly oil prices and gasoline prices still so high they're putting a bad squeeze on a lot of people in this country.
VELSHI: Yes.
ROBERTS: But, you know, we can at least maybe revel in the fact it might come down just a little bit.
VELSHI: It might end.
ROBERTS: Hence our levity this morning. VELSHI: Yes.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Ali.
PHILLIPS: Massive flooding in the Midwest. We're talking about that. The flooded streets, the water-logged roads. Folks in Kansas this morning, well, it looks like this, and they're trying to clean up after severe storms pounded that area.
ROBERTS: Rob is here in New York. He's watching the storms for us this morning. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, John, only two reports of tornadoes yesterday. That's a relatively quiet day, but flooding was an issue. We'll talk more about that and what you can expect today. AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Hi, guys, I'm here.
PHILLIPS: Hi, Rob. How are you doing? I think we were all wrapped up in your whole little PowerPoint. What's it called? PowerPoint?
MARCIANO: John, do you want to chime in on that?
ROBERTS: I'm hoping it works.
MARCIANO: Yes.
ROBERTS: Fingers crossed. We're about to take flight now.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Explain to our viewers.
MARCIANO: This is TV magic. We don't have to tell them anything.
PHILLIPS: Show them your little --
MARCIANO: We're going to try to advance the weather maps or charts in Atlanta with this garage door opener basically.
First off, let's show you some video out of Texas. So we had some big time problems yesterday with heavy rain, 6.5 inches of it that fell in Denton County, Texas. And just a little creek called Hickory Creek just overflowed its banks. It cut off a lot of folks there. They had a bridge that was deemed impassable or not impassable. They weren't supposed to use it, and folks were using it because the new bridge pretty much was washed over.
All right, let's check out some of the numbers as far as what happened yesterday, not only in Texas but in Kansas as well. These are some heavy hitters, 6.6 inches in Rose Hill. Coffeyville, Kansas, 5.45. These are, in some cases, over a couple of days.
And here we go, the big moment of truth. Did you see? It worked.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: Hey! Check.
ROBERTS: There you go.
MARCIANO: Pick one of these up at your local office depot for about 10 bucks.
All right. Nashville down to Chattanooga back through Jackson, Mississippi, we're looking at some showers. We don't expect to see a tremendous amount of severe weather today. Yesterday we had two tornadoes. That's relatively quiet considering the over 100 that we've seen in the past five days.
Huntsville, Alabama back to Columbus, this could be heavy rain at times, but likely if we get it will be beneficial rain. Frost and freeze advisories across parts of the Upper Midwest and also across parts of Upstate New York and in through parts of eastern, western Pennsylvania. How about that?
ROBERTS: Congratulations.
MARCIANO: You know you want to touch it.
PHILLIPS: Yes. Now, I just wanted to see -- I want to beam it over your computer and see what else pops up there.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: Let's not press it. Don't press your luck.
PHILLIPS: Besides your personal collection figures maybe?
ROBERTS: A nice way, maybe you could make me disappear.
PHILLIPS: Oh.
MARCIANO: No, never.
PHILLIPS: Now that I would never want.
ROBERTS: You could only be so lucky.
PHILLIPS: Come on, I totally disagree.
ROBERTS: All right. Rob, thanks. We'll check back with you.
MARCIANO: All right.
ROBERTS: Seventeen and a half minutes after the hour. CNN exclusive, pirates attack another ship off the coast of Somalia. Now, nine crew members are being held hostage. The United Nations tries to step in. We're going to have a live report just ahead.
PHILLIPS: Also, is your cell phone bad for your health? Well, doctors are investigating possible links between cell phone use and brain cancer. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is following that story for us. Hi, Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. I was part of a really interesting panel last night on Larry King. A bunch of neurosurgeons talking about cell phones and what the expectations are for your safety. I'll have it for you after the break. Stay with us.
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ROBERTS: Almost 20 minutes after the hour. A New York judge has ruled that Dell computers engaged in a massive bait and switch scheme that lured customers into buying products with advertisements promising no interest and no payment financing.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sued Dell last year on behalf of hundreds of customers. He joins us now to talk about the big win, what it could mean for Dell customers.
Good to see you, Mr. Attorney General.
ANDREW CUOMO, NEW YORK ATTORNEY GENERAL: Good to see you.
ROBERTS: Why did you go on the war path against this company?
CUOMO: Well, we didn't go on the war path originally. We had complaints. We had consumer complaints. We had hundreds and hundreds of consumer complaints across the state, and we approached Dell last year.
ROBERTS: What were they complaining about?
CUOMO: They were complaining about the subject of the lawsuit, which was, the actions of Dell didn't meet the advertising of Dell. Dell was saying if you buy a computer, we have special interest rate financing packages, preferred lending packages, except you didn't get them.
They advertised extended service warranty programs. For more money, you could have in-home service, and they didn't deliver on the service. So we got the complaints.
We contacted the company, and we said this is what we're hearing. This is what we need to fix. I'm always looking for an amicable resolution. Couldn't find one. And as a last resort we go to court, which we did in this case.
ROBERTS: And the judge ruled in your favor. CUOMO: So far, so good.
ROBERTS: And here is what he found. The judge found that Dell "repeatedly failed to provide on-site repairs to consumers who purchased on-site service contracts," that the at-home thing, I guess you were talking about.
CUOMO: Right.
ROBERTS: Pressured consumers to disassemble their computers when contracts promised on-site repairs, discouraged consumers from seeking technical support and failed to provide promised rebates to consumers.
Sounds like the judge agreed that they just failed on all counts here.
CUOMO: Well, we thought it was a fairly clear cut case, and if it's a marginal case, I don't like to bring it. We believe we were right, and we believe we could prove it and so far, we have. And hopefully we now correct the situation and we move on.
ROBERTS: So here's the thing that people at home are wondering. And I've got three Dell computers at home. My corporate laptop is a Dell. So many other millions of Dell computers out there. What does this mean for customers?
CUOMO: Well, what we'll be doing this year now, what the judge said was he'll give us until December 1 to assemble all the complaints to determine the class that deserves restitution. So we'll be spending the next couple of months saying to people if you have a bona fide complaint that you believe you were victimized by these actions, contact us. We'll put together a class that represents the people that need to be reimbursed, and now it's going to be a question of damages and the amount of those damages with Dell.
ROBERTS: Now, Dell certainly is not accepting this ruling. Here is what the company said. "We don't agree with this decision. We'll be defending our position vigorously. Our goal has been and continues to be to provide the best customer experience possible. We're confident that when the proceedings are finally completed the court will determine that only a relatively small number of customers have been affected."
They're holding themselves up as models of customer service and just a few people. Do you buy that?
CUOMO: No, I don't buy it. I didn't buy it initially, I don't buy it today. I think that's what the judge is saying, and then they have a choice, and all companies have a choice. You can either continue to litigate the situation and they can appeal this decision, and we go back to court, or they can fix the problem.
They can, as I like to say, do the right thing and move on. And I hope what they'll do here is they'll recognize the judge's decision. They'll recognize the complaints. They want to restore their reputation for integrity and customer service, then do it. Then just fix the problem and move on.
You know, we all make mistakes in life, even corporations. Fix it and move on. And in putting together people who have Dell computers who think they're entitled to damages, we have a special Web site nyagdell.com, nyagdell.com. And if they have a complaint, go on to that Web site, we'll put together a class.
ROBERTS: I'll do that because I kind of have one, too.
CUOMO: I'll look for yours.
ROBERTS: All right. Mr. Attorney General, good to see you. Andrew Cuomo this morning -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Mass evacuations in China. Tens of thousands of people trying to get out of the way of a possible dam break. We're live at a refugee camp in the earthquake zone.
Plus, your I-reports, straight ahead.
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, the fight for Florida.
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VICTOR DIMAIO, POLITICAL CONSULTANT: They're sticking it to us again.
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ROBERTS: A lawsuit in the land of the hanging chad. Can it solve the delegate dilemma?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICTOR DIMAIO, POLITICAL CONSULTANT: This is about the poor suffering voters of Florida wanting their vote to count.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: A look at the possible end games, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: So how safe is your cell phone? Last night Larry King hosted a round table discussion about the topic which included doctors and Attorney Johnnie Cochran's widow. She suspects that the tumor that killed her husband was caused by heavy cell phone use. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": People at CNN who saw a lot of him said he was on that phone a lot.
SYLVIA DALE MASON, JOHNNIE COCHRAN'S WIDOW: Yes. KING: Is that true?
MASON: Yes, he was on the phone a lot, but as Dr. Black used to say, use an earpiece when we're using the cell phone.
KING: That's the simple solution to this? Don't -- instead of your phone, attach an earpiece?
MASON: Attach an earpiece immediately.
DR. VINI KHURANA, NEUROSURGEON, THE CANBERRA HOSPITAL: The concern is not just brain tumors but other health effects associated or reported to be associated with cell phones, including behavioral disturbances, salivary gland tumors, male infertility and microwave sickness syndrome.
DR. KEITH BLACK, JOHNNIE COCHRAN'S PHYSICIAN: If we look at the evidence that we have now, it's difficult to say that cell phones have a direct link to brain cancer, but it's also difficult to say that they're safe. There have been studies that have come down on both sides of the issue.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now live from Los Angeles. Good morning, Sanjay. We just heard two different doctors give us some varied views on cell phones and this connection. Where exactly does the research lie? And has anything been proven?
GUPTA: Really, no. And I think that's sort of a startling thing just to say that. I think there's a certain expectation that your cell phone has been proven to be safe. And what we're learning as we looked at all the data, there's a lot of studies on this, but we don't have enough still in terms of length of studies.
A lot of the studies, for example, were three years and the people have been using their cell phones for much longer than that. A lot of the studies didn't look at children, for example. Kids are using these cell phones starting at a young age and using them throughout their entire lives.
What does the data show for 20, 30 years now? We just don't have a lot of that information. There has been some conflicting reports that have come back. Some studies have come back and said, look, the risk of certain tumors is up to four times greater if you use cell phones versus if you don't. Other studies have come back, for example one -- a Danish study said there doesn't seem to be any increase.
Right now, I'll tell you, Kyra, and this was something that came out last night. There's an international study called the interphone study that is starting to get some data back looking at several different countries, and they are finding a slightly higher brain tumor risk with people who use cell phones. So, again, a lot of data out there.
Now, the trade industry, the cell phone trade industry, we asked them as well to be a part of that show last night. They didn't come on the show, but they did release a specific statement again, sort of pointing to this idea that there's a consensus among a lot of leading scientific organizations saying there is no current evidence to show that cell phones are dangerous. The question is, is there enough evidence to show that they're safe?
PHILLIPS: So we really don't know. I mean, if you look at all the different types of cell phones over the years, we really can't say if an older one is more dangerous than a newer one.
GUPTA: You know, again, if you ask the cell phone industry, you ask a lot of scientists, they'll say they're safe. They've been safe all along. Most cell phones give off between 850 to 1,900 megahertz of what is known as non-ionizing radio frequency. The reason that's important is because it needs to be distinguished from what is known as ionizing frequency, which is for example x-rays.
Non-ionizing is part of the electromagnetic spectrum stuff that's in the air all the time. But there is a wider array of cell phones.
Let me just take you a trip down memory lane here, if I can for a second. First of all, there was a cell phone that used to come in a bag. You remember this. This was in the early 1980s.
These cell phones back here, big cell phones, 1983, this is one that a lot of people may be familiar with. In 1992, Motorola had this cell phone and they went on. And then in 2001, you had a Nokia like this.
Again, if you ask a lot of the scientists who study this, they say, look, there was never enough non-ionizing radiation to be a problem. But you know, those studies were based on people who use their cell phone once a week for six months. People stay attached to these cell phones all the time now, Kyra, as we know.
So as Dr. Black and a lot of scientists said, use a wired earpiece. It keeps the cell phone away from your ear and try and carry the cell phone in an outside pocket or in one of the sort of industry holsters, something you can put on your belt.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: You can never be too careful. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much. And we want to know what do you think? Do you believe that using cell phones causes cancer? It was our "Quick Vote" question today. Right now, 55 percent of you say yes. 45 percent of you say don't think so.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: What about these little blue tooth things that people wear in their ears for 12 hours a day?
PHILLIPS: That's a good question. Should have asked Sanjay Gupta. There's probably studies or research studies or research going on about that as well.
ALINA CHO, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Well, I got to dig out my earpiece out of my bag and start using it a little bit more.
ROBERTS: Alina Cho is here with other stories new this morning. How are you?
CHO: Hey, I'm well. Thank you. Good morning, guys. Again, and good morning, everybody. We begin with breaking news overseas. Israeli Defense Minister and former Prime Minister Ehud Barak is speaking out this morning. He's saying that current Prime Minister Ehud Olmert should step down while he's under suspicion of corruption. Olmert is accused of taking bribes and cash envelopes. So far aides to Olmert says he has no plans to step aside.
Researchers say it's the strongest evidence yet that children exposed to lead at an early age are more likely to commit violent crimes as adults. After tracking more than 250 people from birth to adulthood, the University of Cincinnati researchers found 55 percent, most with higher levels of lead, had been arrested at least once. Previous studies have shown that lead has harmful effects on judgment, cognitive function, and the ability to regulate behavior. Until now most of that research was focused on juveniles, not adults.
You think gas prices are sky high here? Try Europe. How does $9 a gallon sound, Ali? It's sparking protests. Truck drivers disrupted the morning commutes across Great Britain, Spain, and France today. More than 1,000 trucks converged on London alone. That's because England has the most expensive fuel. A gallon of diesel now costs more than 9 bucks. Ouch.
PHILLIPS: Property as well. Houses are a fortune in there, in England.
CHO: Yes.
ROBERTS: We've hit $5 for diesel in California and New York and Phil who works here on the floor was just in Italy. He was saying it was 8 bucks a gallon is what they were paying for gasoline.
CHO: And the exchange rate -
ROBERTS: And his cousins were blaming America.
PHILLIPS: As they were drinking fine wine on the waterfront and prosciutto on their pizza. That's a whole other story.
Well, brand new information this morning on how the military plans to transition to a new commander in chief in a time of war. Barbara Starr joining us now live at the Pentagon with more on this. Hey, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, CNN has learned that Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff, last week ordered a team to be established to begin considering the issues and threats that must be briefed to a new president as soon as the votes are counted. We don't even have the nominees yet but the military is getting ready for the next president. Pentagon sources tell us the issues on the table, of course, will be Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, but an issue you might not expect, food and fuel prices because those prices, of course, skyrocketing around the world and the Pentagon is getting worried that all of that could pose some new security threats for the next administration. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Barbara Starr live from the Pentagon. Thanks so much.
ROBERTS: And now for a story that you will see only on CNN. A Dutch shipping company is trying to negotiate with Somali pirates after one of its ships got hijacked. It happened on Sunday off the coast of Somalia in an area known as the Gulf of Aden. Piracy has been rampant in that area with 24 attacks this year alone. David Mackenzie is live in Djibouti this morning. David, the United Nations is now getting involved in this. How?
DAVID MACKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, John. Here at the Djibouti Port. This is a friendly country, so it's not taking on those ships, but all around us the Somali border is just over there. They are taking on these ships, hijacking them on a regular basis. The U.N. now, the U.S. and French governments have tabled a resolution to try to make these war ships more effective in taking on these pirates. I spoke to the French admiral in charge of this coalition and he expressed frustration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN L. KERIGNARD, REAR ADMIRAL: When you enter in the territorial water, you need to ask for clearance. It means the agreement of the state of Somalia in this case to enter in the territorial waters. With the U.N. resolution, we are hoping to have a legal framework to intervene at sea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MACKENZIE: Well, that French admiral said that basically now they cannot go into those territorial waters unless there's a really good permission from the Somali government. And as you know, the Somali government is not an effective government, so that permission comes very infrequently. But as the pirate attacks have been more and more often, they're hoping that U.N. resolution will pass. Back to you.
ROBERTS: David Mackenzie has been watching the problem with piracy off the coast of Somalia there for us. From Djibouti this morning, David, thanks.
PHILLIPS: Oprah is still the queen of all media, but is her television show, the satellite radio, and her magazine empire on the decline?
ROBERTS: And Ali is watching the latest consumer confidence numbers coming out. What's going on?
ALI VELSHI, CNN, SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Americans are not very hopeful about the future, at least the short-term future. And that matters because when Americans aren't hopeful, they spend less. I'll tell you about that when we come back. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: And welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. The economy, issue number one, and gas prices hitting another record overnight. The average national price for a gallon of regular unleaded now $3.94. And up four tenths of a cent. Talk about getting specific. That's up more than 34 cents over last month's price. How we're supposed to make sense of all that?
VELSHI: Can you ask people to e-mail and then say that and make any sense of them? Because nobody -
PHILLIPS: Do you care there's a fourth tenth of a cent?
All right. Another headache caused by gas prices, the cost of tires now going up as well. They're already expensive enough especially if you got those fancy rims like Ali Velshi. It takes petroleum to make tires and one salesman actually in New Jersey says that he's been forced to increase prices at least five times since November, and he says that now it's actually becoming a safety issue. More drivers are riding around on bald tires. All these problems. Well, it comes a possible solution here.
A Kentucky company actually claiming that it figured out how to make an engine run partly on water. The upgrade from hydrofuel technology actually separates water into hydrogen and oxygen and then it sends right into the gas. Now, the result is a better burn that the company claims increases gas mileage by 50 percent. The cost is 2000 bucks. The company says it's received more than 200 orders. For more solutions to cut down on your gas bills stay with CNN today for the debut of our new segment, "Energy Desk." Tips to help you deal with the rising cost of fuel. It kicks off today at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
ROBERTS: As Matchbox Twenty sings in its new hit, "all we need is some relief from these hard times." But it looks like we're not going to get any. Ali is here.
VELSHI: Consumer confidence not doing well. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING jukebox with John Roberts.
ROBERTS: Well, our producer, Janelle Rodriguez said do you any songs that were written after 1991?
VELSHI: The answer is no.
ROBERTS: The answer is yes. It's a brand new song.
PHILLIPS: That was pretty hip. He did a little google. That's what he did.
VELSHI: Little John. To your last point by the way about tires. Bald is beautiful except when it comes to tires. Change your tires. And I do like the rims that go the opposite direction of the tire.
ROBERTS: Oh you like the spinners, do you?
VELSHI: The spinners.
ROBERTS: You're a spinner guy.
VELSHI: That's kind of cool. All right. So, it is issue number one, the economy, and the Conference Board does a review - she thinks I'm kidding. I really do like those rims, tires goes like this. Anyway, my producer says it's time to move on. That's right. There's actually a bobble about me. All right. So here is the thing, the Conference Board does a survey of American consumer sentiment. It's how Americans feel about the economy. Just 13 percent of you out there think that their incomes will rise within the next six months. 34 percent of you think economic conditions will worsen and 10 percent think economic conditions will improve.
The big issue with a lot of people while we don't talk about it every day is jobs. If your job is there and your income is increasing you generally feel OK about the economy even if the prices are going up like they are now. 16 percent of people surveyed said jobs are plentiful right now. Nine percent said jobs will become plentiful. 28 percent say jobs are difficult to find and 32 percent say jobs will become more scarce. Another fact from this Conference Board is that the number of people planning a vacation right now is at the lowest point they've ever recorded. Because it's hard to travel by air. It's expensive. It's hard to travel in your car. So all you have in the end is your rims. Back to you, John and Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Spinners, always looking good.
VELSHI: Spinners are always looking good.
ROBERTS: It's the small things that are important in life.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Ali.
ROBERTS: Making it count. A Florida election battle heads to court again this morning. Hillary Clinton's hope for a comeback may hang on the decision. One of her most vocal supporters tells us why Florida and Michigan should be able to play ball.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kyung Lah in China's earthquake devastated zone where all these people, 160,000 of them, have been evacuated not once, but twice. That story, coming up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 43 minutes after the hour. A new threat this morning in central China. 160,000 people are in refugee camps right now after being evacuated overnight and that figure could jump to more than a million very soon. The government says a lake that was created by an earthquake could burst at any moment. CNN's Kyung Lah is live in the earthquake zone for us this morning at one of those refugee camps. What's the situation there? How great is the danger that these earth and berms that are holding back all this water could burst and flood the whole area?
LAH, Well, the government says, John, the danger is very great. What they are doing is working around the clock and they are trying to prevent that from happening. What they're doing is lifting heavy machinery right off the ground by helicopter, and they're trying to get them to these quake lake areas, trying to dig spillways, and when that machinery gets there, they're just digging and they're also trying to place explosives so they can control what kind of water pressure they're seeing in these makeshift quake lakes.
Now, as far as the residents here, they're just hoping to have somewhere - there's no electricity here. This is one of the many camps these refugees have fled to. These 160,000 who have fled out of the quake lake area could just be the tip of the iceberg. A total of 1.3 million perhaps may have to pull up stakes and end up in one of these makeshift tents. You can see, they're just made out of bamboo and tarps that they have found and then these residents have tried to make this a home. The government says that they are hoping to get to this quake lake and fix it before they have to evacuate that many people. John.
ROBERTS: Kyung Lah with an update for us from Sichuan province in Mianyang this morning. Kyung, thanks very much.
PHILLIPS: And checking in with some of our i-reporters on the quake. Dr. Matt Marko and his wife traveled to the hard hit town of Shaba and actually set up a makeshift medical clinic to help treat the survivors. Veronica de la Cruz joins us from the CNN Center with their story. Veronica.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, Dr. Marko says he saw a photo that broke his heart. A group of school children killed by the quake, that's when he knew he had to help. So, he got together a team of seven people and they have been treating what he described an endless procession of those needing help. He says he's seen fractures in every place a body can have, lacerations, dislocations, infections from walking through the mountains for days. Some have suffered debilitating deformities. And he says most all will be under severe psychological strain once the shock wears off. So, Kyra, he's been blogging his experience and he writes case after case of physical, emotional, and psychological distress and pain. Too many to even begin to tell. "Whatever I do here is not enough, nor will it ever be, but I will try as will the rest of the world."
You know, Kyra, he gave the children there in that camp small jobs to keep their minds off of what happened. And for now, he has done as much as he can but he has depleted his own personal funds in doing so. And you can read more online about his journeys, some really powerful words. All you have to do is logon to ireport.com. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Get involved. Veronica de la Cruz, thank you so much.
Well, Oprah has the power to sell millions of books and make or break careers. But is the empire built by the popular talk show host actually starting to crack?
ROBERTS: And it's one of Hillary Clinton's final chances at a comeback. The Florida delegate fight headed to court today. Being taken up by the DNC's rules committee on Saturday, and now a new plan from her side. We'll hear all about it, coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: The Oprah Winfrey juggernaut, it's launched careers and helped sell millions of books and a lot of other products, but is the queen of all media's crown starting to fade? Here' CNN Kareen Wynter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: It's a wonder I have a roof.
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Oprah Winfrey has a roof and a lot more. The media queen's empire includes a talk show, satellite radio channel, magazine, Broadway musical, and production company, and "Forbes Magazine" says she's worth some $1.5 billion. But all is not perfect in Oprahland. Ratings for her show are down seven percent marking the third consecutive year in decline. Her much hyped prime time reality show, "Oprah's big give" lost a third of its viewers by the end of its eight-week run.
ANDREW WALLENSTEIN, DEPUTY EDITOR, "THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": Oprah's down seven percent this year in total viewers, but just about everything in syndication is down.
WYNTER: But television ratings aren't the only problem. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, sales of Winfrey's "O" magazine have fallen by more than 240,000 copies in the last three years. Insiders say Winfrey's latest move to the campaign trail could hurt business even more.
WINFREY: I'm voting for Barack Obama.
STEVEN ROSS, PROFESSOR AND AUTHOR: The moment you open your mouth and speak politically, you puncture the fantasy of a huge part of your audience, and those people may never forgive you again.
WYNTER: Professor Steven Ross is writing a book about politics in Hollywood.
ROSS: There are moments in everyone's life when they say, you know what, this may be a risky business move, but it's what I need to do as a citizen. I believe in this.
WYNTER: Oprah's camp says those beliefs haven't caused business to suffer. CBS executive Robert Madden oversees the syndication of Winfrey's talk show. He tells CNN, "it has been the number one talk show 471 consecutive weeks. Obviously if you're number one, you're not in trouble." And remember, this media titan has more than a billion in the bank and popularity to spare. Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: This also comes as Winfrey embarks on what could be her biggest project yet, the startup of her own cable channel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARRIE BRADSHAW, "SEX IN THE CITY": It's the last single girl kiss.
ROBERTS (voice-over): Taking a walk in Carrie Bradshaw's designer shoes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who loves the show?
ROBERTS: Lola finds out why sex is good for the city. Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Democrats in those two states have 2.3 million votes, and they deserve to have those votes counted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: That's Hillary Clinton making her case to make Florida count. A lawsuit filed on behalf of Florida voters heads to court today. Just days before the DNC's rules committee takes up the Florida and Michigan delegate fight. They say they're going to have a solution by the end of Saturday. Joining us now from Sacramento is Lanny Davis, who is a member of the DNC for 12 years, who is also a White House counsel under President Clinton and a very, very staunch supporter of Senator Clinton. Good morning, Lanny.
LANNY DAVIS, HILLARY CLINTON SUPPORTER: Good morning, John.
ROBERTS: Lanny, you've got your own plan here, very complicated. Just give us the broad brush strokes of what you would do about Florida and Michigan.
DAVIS: Yes. In fairness as a matter of practical politics for two reasons, fairness and practical politics, let's seat the Florida delegation as they voted, everybody was on the ballot. It was a level playing field and percentage it out. And those people who are not in the race should be apportioned fairly between Senator Clinton and Senator Obama. That's simple. Michigan is Senator Clinton won 55 percent of the vote. She should get 55. 40 percent voted uncommitted. That's where the reasonable argument is, I say that 40 percent should be allocated on some basis between Senator Clinton and Senator Obama. ROBERTS: All right. Lanny, let me ask you that question though. You got 55 percent of people who voted for her, 40 percent uncommitted, and then 5 percent voted for, I think, Chris Dodd and Dennis Kucinich were the only other names.
DAVIS: Right.
ROBERTS: How do you figure she should get a whack at that 40 percent?
DAVIS: I agree that Senator Obama should get most of that 40 percent. The rules committee just has to find a fair method for dividing it up. One method is take a look at the last public opinion polls and say that Senator Obama has three-fourths of the 40 percent, she should get the other one quarter because some of those votes were not for Senator Obama, they were for other candidates and she might have been the second choice. But that's where this fair amount of discretion available to the rules committee. It's pretty simple.
ROBERTS: All right. I crunched the numbers on this. And let's take a quick look at this. Senator Clinton right now, 1,780 delegates. Michigan, your apportionment you would give her 55 percent, that would be 73 delegates. Then you say under a some element of compromise that's more favorable to Barack Obama than to her, you would have a 50/50 split of the remaining 57 delegates which would give her 28, and then you give her 105 from Florida total. A total of 1,986 delegates, and Barack Obama, 1,978 delegates currently. He'd get 27 from Michigan, 69 from Florida. Total of 2,074 delegates. He's currently 200 ahead of Senator Clinton. Under your formula she would be within 88. The finish line will be pushed out to 2,210 needed to clinch the nomination. 200 superdelegates, 199 left. That gives her a really great case to say to those superdelegates, hey, I'm not 200 away now. I'm 88 away.
DAVIS: You're good.
ROBERTS: Throw your support behind me. But who in the Obama campaign is going to agree to that?
DAVIS: Well, first of all, they have to agree to the seating of Florida and Michigan or they lose the general election. We can't win the general election if we lose both those states. Secondly, they have to agree to do it in a way that doesn't disenfranchise 2.3 million people or Florida and Michigan will take it out on them. So, there has to be some solution. Their solution should be, and I'm proposing it as a reasonable solution, is seat the Florida as they voted because they were all on the ballot, and then a reasonable apportionment of the uncommitted. But, look, don't forget, Puerto Rico should be heavy for Senator Clinton. If she wins Puerto Rico by 10, 15 percent, she could be ahead in the popular vote if you include Michigan and Florida and give Senator Obama all those uncommitteds, she wins the popular vote by the time that Puerto Rico, South Dakota, and Montana finish the process. So, she ends up as the popular vote winner with a less than 1 percent difference. Even by that math between her and Senator Obama. Then you look at the national Gallup polls. She's ahead of Senator McCain plus five which is ahead of the margin of error. Senator McCain is ahead of Senator Obama plus two. Right now as we speak, she beats McCain. Obama doesn't. That's what superdelegates have to look at.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll see if they buy the argument. Lanny Davis, it's always great to see you. Thanks for getting up. I know it's so early there.
DAVIS: Thank you, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Take care, my friend.
DAVIS: Good morning, thank you.
ROBERTS: You, too.
PHILLIPS: Breaking news out of Israel that we've bee following. Israel's defense minister is calling on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to step down or step aside. Olmert is under suspicion of corruption. It's a story that we've been covering for months here on CNN. CNN's Atika Shubert is live from Jerusalem with these latest developments. She was there at the news conference. Atika.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ehud Barak is of course, is not just the defense minister, he's also the head of the very influential Labor Party and he basically said in a press conference that Olmert must step down because, as prime minister, he can not manage affairs of state while still fighting allegations of corruption.
Now, he said that Olmert should either step down or resign, but that Olmert's own party should decide what's happened next. But he also said that if Olmert is not replaced, if he does not step down, then the Labor Party will call for new elections. So, a lot of pressure on Olmert now to act quickly.
PHILLIPS: What is the status of the investigation with regard to those allegations of corruption involving all types of bribery?
SHUBERT: That's right. It's still under investigation. We're still actually at the early stages of this case. Yesterday, we heard testimony from a Jewish American businessman Morris Talansky. He said he gave more than $150,000 in cash to Olmert and his aides, not just for campaign funds but for personal expenses.
