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American Morning
Ted Kennedy to Undergo Surgery; Obama Cuts Ties with Controversial Church; Monkeys Learn to Move Robotic Arms; Party Unity: Major Concern for Democrats
Aired June 02, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: In this case, most likely one of the things that Dr. Friedman, Duke are known for, are being able to do what's called motor mapping. Meaning that you find that area of the brain that is responsible for movement and you map it. You actually, you know, you notice where it is and you stay away from that. You can also do that with speech areas of the brain as well in case this tumor is close to those areas.
And essentially then, knowing now, having mapped those areas you stay away from them, removing much of the tumor as you can without actually touching those areas. And that's the goal of this operation. Take out as much tumor as possible without in any way, you know, causing any neurological problems for the senator.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Sanjay, it ends with one question. We were wondering based on the silence from the Kennedy camp over the last couple of weeks since the diagnosis, whether or not there was and that this tumor was operable.
I have spoken with some people including Dr. Bernadine Healy, whom we had on a couple of weeks ago talking about this, who have had brain surgery themselves, and in terms of this mapping of the brain and making sure that motor and speech function stays intact, as the doctors are going in there excising this tumor, they were awake during that surgery.
GUPTA: Yes.
ROBERTS: Is there a chance that Senator Kennedy could be for all intents and purposes awake during the surgery?
GUPTA: Yes, there is. In fact, oftentimes it's that feedback that the patient in this case himself gives that is so crucial. Squeeze your right hand, senator, move your right arm, that sort of thing. Can you say the following words? That sort of stuff is very crucial so it may be very possible that he's going to be awake during this operation.
Again, this is one of the things, you know, Duke is known for, obviously, Massachusetts General where the senator was getting his initial treatment, good hospital for so many things that you do have sort of centers around the country that are known for certain things, and Duke is known for that.
So, you know, that's a possibility, and having that motor mapping and speech mapping done is just something that has become more common. But I can't remember if Dr. Healy had that done as well, but it's become more common over the last several years.
ROBERTS: Yes, Dr. Healy did have it done. She was awake during the surgery and as you said, they were going and say a few words for me, try to repeat a sentence, and that was the course of her operative surgery.
Sanjay, I know that we -- this does not relate, we should say to our viewers, this does not relate to Senator Kennedy's case. But in your experience, if a surgeon such as yourself or Dr. Friedman, who's going to do the surgery on Senator Kennedy this morning, does think that there's a chance that an operation could help, what does that suggest about the prognosis here for Senator Kennedy or other patients?
GUPTA: That's a good question, John. You know, I think what -- you know, first of all, there's a couple of very important things that we still don't know.
We were told this is a malignant tumor, but we don't know if it was the -- you know, how malignant it was. Malignant tumors aren't all the same. So, you know, this is the glioblastoma, which a lot of people have said speculatively, that the prognosis was worse than something like what's known as an oligodendroglioma, which is a different sort of tumor.
So that's a very big sort of question mark and it's very hard to speculate otherwise. I can tell you this though. Operating on tumors, the data would suggest that if you can operate on something and remove as much of it as possible, the data has included the most people, but that's going to give you a better prognosis because you just -- chemo and radiation can do a lot. But the more that you can actually surgically remove, the much better the prognosis is going to be.
ROBERTS: All right. Dr. Sanjay Gupta for us this morning calling in. Doc, we appreciate it because I know you've got your own case coming up.
GUPTA: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: Thanks very much. Good luck to you in the O.R. today as well -- Kyra.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Turning to politics now, and a sweeping two to one victory for Senator Hillary Clinton in Puerto Rico as we head into the homestretch now. After 23 weeks, 54 contests, and two remaining, Clinton says that she is taking the race a day at a time. Yesterday she won 68 percent of the vote to Barack Obama's 32 percent, and picked up another 38 delegates, but the turnout far lower than she would have liked.
And with the finish line in sight, Clinton is repeating what has become really her rallying cry. She's insisting that she has the popular vote and will be the stronger candidate against presumptive Republican nominee John McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to take it a day at a time, that's where we are and that's where I intend to be. And, you know, I am in this race because I believe strongly that this country has got to be turned around with leadership that will address our challenges and seize our opportunities.
I happen to believe I'm the best person to do that, and I happen to believe that I am the stronger candidate against John McCain. People have been trying to get me out of this race since Iowa, and my political obituary has yet to be written and we're going forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Jessica Yellin taking a look at the race this morning. She is live in San Juan, Puerto Rico for us. Hi, Jessica.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra.
You heard Senator Clinton there. She was so clear and emphatic. She is not giving up. This thing is not over. Her case right now is all focused on the superdelegates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN (voice-over): Another landslide victory.
CLINTON: Que quiero, Puerto Rico.
YELLIN: But could it be Senator Clinton's last? The candidate insists there will be no clear winner even after the last primaries on Tuesday.
CLINTON: I will lead the popular vote. He will maintain a slight lead in the delegate count. The decision will fall on the shoulders of those leaders in our party empowered by the rules to vote at the Democratic convention.
YELLIN: Her campaign is still arguing those super delegates should back her, insisting the Puerto Rico primary makes her case.
TERRY MCAULIFFE, CLINTON CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: It helps the popular vote argument. Second, it helps with the Hispanic argument that, you know, it's a key core voting bloc for us to win in the fall.
YELLIN: In other words, only Clinton will turn out the Latino vote in November. Here supporters sounded familiar themes from a Clinton supporter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's the most qualified candidate for the presidency.
YELLIN: And Obama supporter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need a change in perspective. We need a more collegial international approach.
YELLIN: But Puerto Rico differed from almost every other Democratic primary in one key way, turnout was exceptionally low. Less than 20 percent came out to vote.
But the Clinton campaign was counting on Puerto Rico to pump up her popular vote total. They insist they're not disappointed and the campaign continues.
CLINTON: I ask you to consider these questions. Which candidate best represents the will of the people who voted in this historic primary? I am in this race because I believe I am that candidate.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
YELLIN: And Senator Clinton is now headed or is in South Dakota where she will focus on the next two primaries that are coming up, South Dakota and Montana. She is not expected to win in those places, but she is still focusing on the possibility she could become the nominee because the next day she's going to be in Washington, D.C., and her campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe tells me they will be dealing with the super delegates all day trying to persuade them to back Senator Clinton. There's no giving up here -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Yes, there never is. Jessica Yellin, thanks so much.
And now, some of Clinton's closest supporters are hinting that it's time to move on. A national co-chair of Clinton's campaign, former Governor Tom Vilsack, says, "It does appear to be pretty clear that Senator Obama is going to be the nominee after Tuesday's contests. She needs to acknowledge that he's going to be the nominee and quickly get behind him."
ROBERTS: Well, Barack Obama is cutting ties with his controversial church after being a member there for 20 years. The announcement comes just days after a visiting Catholic priest delivered a controversial sermon at Trinity United Church of Christ.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is here now with the story. I guess it was just kind of that performance that Father Pfleger gave which was kind of the last straw.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: They just couldn't afford it. I mean, Barack Obama is campaigning in Troy, Michigan. I mean, he's really looking forward to the general election.
This was a personal decision for the family, but it was also a situation, a scenario, where the campaign could just not afford this, that it was just out of control.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): Another scandal at Barack Obama's church.
FATHER MICHAEL PFLEGER, VISITING PRIEST AT TRINITY UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST: I'm white! I'm entitled! There's a black man stealing my show!
MALVEAUX: Visiting priest Michael Pfleger's remarks quickly went viral, an immediate target for pundits and bloggers. And this time Obama had had enough.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We also don't want a church subjected to the scrutiny that a presidential campaign legitimately undergoes.
MALVEAUX: Pfleger gave a mea culpa Sunday.
PFLEGER: I am deeply sorry, and I pray that my apology will be accepted even by those who have told me they won't accept it.
MALVEAUX: But it was too late for Obama.
OBAMA: By Father Pfleger who is somebody who I have known, who I consider a friend, who has done tremendous work in Chicago, but made offensive statements that have no place in our politics and in the pulpit.
MALVEAUX: Still the decision to leave was difficult for Obama. Trinity was a place where he married his wife and where his children were baptized.
OBAMA: I want to be able to take Michelle and my girls, sit in a pew quietly, hopefully get some nice music, some good reflection, praise God, thank Him for all the blessings that he has given our family. Put some money in the collection plate.
MALVEAUX: Parishioners at the church say the story was blown out of proportion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Politics and church should be something totally separate and I feel how can they bring all of this politician things inside the church, you know? If someone's preaching and they're delivering the word however they feel to deliver that word, and that should be them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not going to take the church down by any stretch of the imagination.
MALVEAUX: But it remains to be seen if Obama can distance himself enough to quell voter's concern over his judgment come November.
OBAMA: I have no idea how it will impact my presidential campaign, but I know that it's the right thing to do for the church and for our family.
(END VIDEOTAPE) MALVEAUX: And with my interview with Michelle Obama earlier in the month, she was talking about, this was something that was very painful for them, and obviously they felt that it really -- they didn't want this church or at least the controversy around the church to define him and that's really something that the campaign was also concerned about. So they are moving on here.
The church released a statement saying they understand. They wish -- their well wishes and prayers.
ROBERTS: I would expect that he is going to join another church. Has he decided on which one yet?
MALVEAUX: They haven't decided on which one, but obviously, I think this was something that they -- they belong to this church for such a long time that initially they decided they were going to stay and it really wasn't until this last move, they have been talking about what do we do with the girls? How do we move on beyond this controversy?
ROBERTS: All right. Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning.
Good to see you, thanks.
MALVEAUX: Thanks.
ROBERTS: We're following a breaking story this morning. Senator Edward Kennedy is going to undergo surgery to treat a malignant brain tumor. He is going into surgery at 9:00 this morning. We're going to have full continuing coverage of those details as we get more information this morning.
PHILLIPS: And a long battle between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton could end this week. When it's finally over, deep divisions will be left within the Democratic Party.
Coming up, whose job is it to mend the fences, Clinton or Obama?
ROBERTS: And a major fire destroys some Hollywood movie landmarks that Universal studios is looking to get back into business today, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Universal Studios will be back open today after a spectacular fire that destroyed a lot of the famous movie sets and tens of thousands of video reels. Hundreds of firefighters battled the three-alarm blaze for more than 12 hours. The fire covered the equivalent of two city blocks, and a cloud of smoke rose thousands of feet into the air.
Crews now say that even the popular "King Kong" exhibit was a total loss. Witnesses say it looks like a bomb that just exploded.
Commuters feeling the pain. Sky-high gas prices forcing employers to help their workers out. Stephanie Elam in for Ali Velshi this morning.
Good morning.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is widespread. This is across the country because it's affecting so many areas now when you take a look at gas. Although for once I can tell you that gas stayed where it was for one day at $3.97.
So it's up about 10 percent from a month ago and up about 26 percent from a year ago. But a new survey of 4,000 driving commuters in 10 metropolitan areas said that at this point they just want the option to work from home. So some companies are really trying to find a way to make that happen here. That means a four-day workweek is something that is coming around in lots of parts of the country here.
It would mean 20 percent fewer trips to and from work, of course. And it would cut the consumption by about 40 percent and that would save about 65 million gallons of gas a day. So some of the things that companies are doing, higher mileage reimbursement. That's about 42 percent. That's what people are doing there.
Flexible work schedules, telecommuting. Public transportation discounts also something that they're looking into, as well as gas cards as rewards for good performance. But, of course --
ROBERTS: That's a great idea.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: That's right.
ELAM: That is a good idea, right? You like to do a good idea, here you did well, here some gas cards.
But, you know, the other thing is this is affecting school districts and as well as colleges where they're also cutting back to four days to get to school as well. And they're saying this will help out students' wallets and also oil prices are so high for heating oil that they have to do this as well. If they didn't do it, some of the school districts are saying they either have to cut jobs or programs. And so, this is what they're doing.
ROBERTS: Here at CNN we're thinking of going to a six-day workweek.
ELAM: Yes. I think some of you do that.
(CROSSTALK)
PHILLIPS: He's already doing that.
No, John is doing the seven-day workweek doing politics.
ROBERTS: I'm cutting back from seven to six.
ELAM: Him and Wolf Blitzer, they hold down that seven-day workweek.
ROBERTS: Stephanie, thanks very much.
ELAM: Sure.
ROBERTS: We're also following breaking news this morning, Senator Ted Kennedy, as we told you, will undergo a six-hour operation this morning to treat his brain tumor. We're going to be speaking with medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen about the procedure and his post-operative plan.
PHILLIPS: Plus, Rob's watching the extreme weather for us. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Kyra.
We do have extreme weather expected across the plains. Also, it's hurricane season, June 2. Can you believe it? Already we have our first tropical storm of the season, Arthur, where is he? What's next?
AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Severe Weather Center. It's hurricane season now. That starts June 1, and as you know over the weekend, we had a little flare-up.
Tropical storm Arthur developed in the western Caribbean, made landfall near Belize, across the Yucatan and in through central Mexico. It's pretty much right here. It's dissipating, it's done. It's not going to get into the Bay of Campeche and the Gulf of Mexico. So we're not too worried about this.
But we are worried about the upcoming season. And, by the way, getting an early start like we have really is an indication that we're going to have not a crazy kind of season, but it certainly leads one to worry.
The averages are these -- 11 named storms, six hurricanes, two of which usually become major hurricanes. And these are the two forecasts both by NOAA and Doctor Gray out of Colorado. And those two forecasts call for another above average season.
One because we are in this trend where things are favorable the last 10 years globally to see more Atlantic hurricanes and get a La Nina happening, too. So that typically helps things out.
All right, back to the states we go, pretty quiet across the northeast. We're looking at severe weather across parts of the plains where there is a severe thunderstorm watch in effect until 10:00 later on today for these folks living in Nebraska. This is the same area later on today that could be suspect for seeing more in the way of severe weather. So, here we go. Arthur is done. Hopefully we won't get too far down the list there, Kyra, as far as the names of those tropical storms and potential hurricanes as we go through July, August and September. Back to you in New York.
PHILLIPS: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: OK.
PHILLIPS: We're following breaking news on Ted Kennedy, undergoing surgery for a brain tumor later this morning.
Plus, monkeys learned to move a robotic arm using only their mind. Miles O'Brien has more on that story and the impact it can have for people -- Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CHIEF TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: It's monkey think and money do, Kyra, and that could be big news for people who are paralyzed or missing limbs. We'll have the story in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Monkey mind control. It sounds like science fiction, but it's not true. Scientists have trained two monkeys actually to control a prosthetic arm with nothing but their thoughts.
Turning now to talk about what impact this could have for people is chief technology correspondent Miles O'Brien.
O'BRIEN: Well, Kyra, this is a big deal. Monkey think, monkey do. These researchers have actually tapped into the neurons in the part of the brain called the motor cortex, and this monkey simply think about manipulating a device. There you see it there -- the hand -- to get a piece of fruit or a marshmallow, and it works.
Now, researchers implanted a tiny mesh of electrodes in this part of the brain to control that arm. The monkeys' arms were gently restrained. You see them in those little tubes there, right?
They're not hurt or anything like that.
PHILLIPS: We'll make that clear.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
PHILLIPS: They're not being abused.
O'BRIEN: This is the state of the art in neuroprosthetics, and let's listen to one of the lead authors in all this, Neurobiologist Andrew Schwartz, University of Pittsburgh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW SCHWARTZ, NEUROBIOLOGIST, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH: What we're able to do is to show that the monkey could use its brain activity to control a robot arm that was very human like, a very natural arm, to reach out, get a piece of food, grip it with a gripper at the end, and bring it back to its mouth so that he can eat it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Now here's the thing, Kyra. Did you notice how fluid that movement was? Now, if you think about what it takes for us to pick up that pen, about 1,000 neurons have to fire in order for that to happen. It's incredibly complicated.
It's too hard to tap into all the thousand neurons, so the secret sauce in this whole method here is they came up with a mathematical formula as like a gap filler. And they have 100 electrodes which sort of read and fill in the gaps and make that nice, smooth motion.
PHILLIPS: So how could this eventually be applied to humans?
O'BRIEN: Well, I mean, you can imagine if a monkey in a few days can learn to do this, certainly this has great implications for humans. Let's listen to Dr. Schwartz one more time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHWARTZ: We hope to use this in people that are paralyzed either with spinal cord injury or ALS or brain stem stroke, or people who perhaps are amputated, that have amputated arms. And what they would be able to do then is to use a device like this to help them in every day life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: However, three big hurdles. Here are the caveats.
First of all, reliability of these electrodes. They only last for about a month. They've got to figure out how to make that last a little bit longer. Secondly, there's a lot of extra hardware you didn't see in that shot that makes this all work. They got to miniaturize it quite a bit.
And finally, the other thing is when you push on this, you get feedback back.
PHILLIPS: Right.
O'BRIEN: This is only one way. And so, the only way you know how you're picking it up is visually. Coming up with a two-way street is a little more complicated. But they're working out. They're not insurmountable odds, and these guys aren't monkeying around, if you know what I mean.
PHILLIPS: Pretty cool stuff.
O'BRIEN: All right.
PHILLIPS: Hear no evil, speak no evil.
O'BRIEN: Yes, OK. That's it.
PHILLIPS: Thank you, Miles. John?
ROBERTS: Twenty-five minutes after the hour.
So close yet so far for Hillary Clinton. How will the Democratic Party come together after Clinton and Barack Obama cross the primary finish line tomorrow? We'll speak with Democratic strategist Joe Trippi, straight ahead.
And seven Palestinian students stuck in Gaza after their visa applications are denied. The students are all Fullbright scholarship winners and they can't get to the United States. An update on their situation coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know that there are a lot of Democrats who have been concerned about whether or not the party's going to be able to come together after this long contest, and whether Clinton supporters will support Obama and whether Obama supporters will support Clinton.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Barack Obama speaking at a rally in South Dakota. Party unity very much on the minds of Democrats this morning. They see Obama inching closer to the nomination, but Hillary Clinton not backing down. So how do they move forward as one after tomorrow's final primaries in Montana and South Dakota?
Joining us now from Washington, Democratic strategist and CBS news contributor Joe Trippi. Joe, it's good to see you this morning. Let's start with the finish line here.
It's 2,118 delegates under the new formula including Florida and Michigan. Barack Obama currently 48 away. He'll probably pick up at least 15 more delegates in tomorrow night's contest, which will put him 33 away from the finish line in super delegates. Can he get there?
JOE TRIPPI, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Oh, yes, he'll get there, he'll get there. He may even get there before Tuesday. I think a lot of super delegates may come his way in the next few days, and then Tuesday night he goes over the top in Montana and South Dakota, or it may happen right after. But it's just a matter of days now before Obama has enough delegates to declare himself the nominee.
ROBERTS: Hillary Clinton had a huge win in Puerto Rico yesterday. She literally buried him, getting the lion's share of the delegates there and getting bragging rights as well.
And it's those bragging rights that she is using as her case to the super delegates to say I'm stronger among the Hispanic community. I'm stronger in big battleground states. I'm stronger out there in the heartland, stronger with white working class voters. Let's listen to her appeal to the super delegates last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I do not envy the decision you must make, but a decision has to be made and in the final assessment, I ask you to consider these questions. Which candidate best represents the will of the people who voted in this historic primary?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So she's got that argument that she's making to the super delegates, Joe, but she needs 85, almost 90 percent of the remaining super delegates to go across the line herself. Is that possible?
TRIPPI: Look, she crossed him yesterday in Puerto Rico, but it's just not going to be enough. I don't think she can get 90 percent of the super delegates.
I mean, the case that she's making that she has more of the popular vote, you know, the rules are number of delegates and I think that's what's going to happen at the convention, the same as in the general, it's electoral votes not popular votes. We saw that with Al Gore in 2000. So, no, I think the popular vote argument that she's making, one may not hold ground with any of the super delegates. But even then it's going to come down to who has the most delegates that's Barack Obama and he has it all locked, will have it locked up by Wednesday or Thursday.
ROBERTS: Joe, the other big news from the weekend was, of course, the DNC rules committee decision on Florida and Michigan. Florida, well, it's controversial among some Florida voters, it certainly paled in comparison to the controversy over Michigan.
Let's listen to what Harold Ickes from the Clinton campaign said about that yesterday with Wolf Blitzer on "Late Edition."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAROLD ICKES, SENIOR CLINTON ADVISER: They hijacked, you know, they reached in and grabbed four delegates from Hillary. It's unheard of and unprecedented in this party to take delegates from a candidate and give them to another candidate is quite incredible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Hillary Clinton wanted 73 delegates from Michigan, she got 69. In your estimation as a impartial observer, was the process fair?
TRIPPI: I don't know the process was fair or not, but that committee - what happened inside the committee was they literally held a vote behind closed doors in which a motion to split the delegates 50/50 won. And that's when some of the Clinton supporters stepped back and said, whoa, can we go back to that place where we you only take four of our delegates. The party was clearly moving to Obama and what you saw, I think, in that committee meeting is how a committee in the party that's been the Clintons for years have switched and moved to Barack Obama.
ROBERTS: Joe Trippi for us in this morning from Washington. Joe, thanks.
Good to see you.
TRIPPI: Good to see you, John.
PHILLIPS: Alina Cho here with other stories making news this morning.
Good morning, good to see you.
ALINA CHO, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you.
We have an important update on the health of Senator Ted Kennedy. As you know, Kyra, good morning, everybody, and we begin with that breaking news. In about 90 minutes time, Senator Ted Kennedy will begin six hours of surgery to treat a malignant brain tumor. Kennedy through his office released a statement just a short time ago within the past hour. The operation will take place in Duke University Medical Center, that's in Durham, North Carolina.
Later, Kennedy will also undergo highly focused chemotherapy and radiation. Kennedy said in that statement "after completing treatment I look forward to returning to the U.S. Senate. I'm doing everything I can to help elect Barack Obama as our next president. Coming up. Stay tuned, CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen will be here to talk about more about Kennedy's surgery.
Another miraculous rescue, 19 days after that devastating earthquake in China. Two minors were plucked to safety, they're recovering now after being stranded in the mountains near the quake's epicenter. They have survived on just rice and a half bucket of water for 19 days. Rescuers say they were weak but conscious. The official death toll from the quake now stands at more than 69,000 with nearly 19,000 reported missing.
And Prince William is beginning a two-month tour of duty with the Royal Navy. Once he passes sea survival courses, the 53-year-old prince will be heading to the Caribbean and North Atlantic to provide disaster aid in the event of a hurricane and carry out counter narcotic operations. Commanders insist the prince will be treated just like everybody else living in cramped conditions and waking up every morning by 6:30. 6:30? That's late.
PHILLIPS: Hello. Let's sleep again.
CHO: Going to the Caribbean. Of course, his brother as you guys know had that tour of duty in Afghanistan. And had to come back after it was revealed --
PHILLIPS: And they also said, it's not going to disturb anything. CHO: Right.
PHILLIPS: It won't be a problem.
CHO: Right.
PHILLIPS: He'll be like everybody else.
CHO: But I think the Royal family deciding to get it out there, and of course the Caribbean is not exactly the same dangerous place as Iraq or Afghanistan.
PHILLIPS: Thanks.
CHO: You bet.
PHILLIPS: Let me get back to our breaking news now. This morning about Senator Ted Kennedy's surgery to treat a malignant brain tumor. It's expected to begin at 9:00 a.m. Eastern. We were told at Duke University Medical Center. It's going to last about six hours. His treatment will be followed then by chemotherapy and radiation. CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joining us now from Atlanta.
Elizabeth, Senator Kennedy heading into surgery, as we speak about an hour and a half it's supposed to start. Let's talk about what's going to entail.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kyra. This surgery will most likely last about six hours and the goal really in many ways is quite simple. Doctors want to get as much of the tumor as possible without damaging key areas of the brain that control, for example his speech and his motor skills. Now Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's neurosurgeon was just on your show talking about how they will often have the patient awake during this kind of surgery so that they can do what's called mapping. They can say Senator move your right arm. Senator, squeeze my hand, and that way they can sort of better map where they are going and what the tumor is and is not affecting.
PHILLIPS: And there's going to be the surgery and then doctors are saying OK, we're going to follow up with chemotherapy and radiation, how common is that?
COHEN: That's very common. That is standard of care for this kind of tumor. You do surgery and then you follow up with radiation and chemotherapy. And the radiation and chemotherapy - the treatments by the way will be done at Mass General in Kennedy's home state. They won't be done at Duke, we're told.
PHILLIPS: Well, we're going to be following up, of course, all morning. Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
ROBERTS: It's now 35 minutes after the hour. Bad news for the airlines this morning. Stephanie Elam in for Ali Velshi today. What's the story?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it means have you avoided flying for the last year?
ROBERTS: No.
PHILLIPS: You can't afford, right.
ELAM: For a lot of people, they have no choice. And you know what, there has been some ripple effect to the economy. I'm going to tell you all about it coming up here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Bottom line, air travelers ticked off.
ELAM: Pretty much, yes.
PHILLIPS: At the end of the rope.
ELAM: At the end of the rope, tired of flying. You know what, before I tell you that we have got a little bit of breaking news coming in the world of business. The Wachovia Board is asking the CEO of their company Ken Thompson to resign. And obviously this is coming from the AP but this is a big deal in light of what we have seen with the credit crunch and what's been going on with mortgages. So, we'll keep our eyes on that and get more of that as well.
All right, let me tell you a little bit about what's going on with folks who are fed up with flying. According to a survey commissioned by the Travel Industry Association, they're saying more than 100,000 travelers a day are avoiding getting on planes. They said that they're just fed up with the whole process of going through delays and cancellations, let alone the screening process of taking your shoes off, pulling your computer out, all of that. The commission found that more than 40 million trips were foregone in the last 12 months and that has a ripple effect through the whole economy.
Think about it, hotels restaurants, even taxes for local municipalities, federal taxes, all of that having an affect there of nearly $26 billion. So this does play into it. More than 60 percent believe the air travel system is getting worse. A third of air travelers are dissatisfied with the air travel system and 48 percent of all frequent flyers are unhappy and travelers are the most irritated. This is the interesting part to me, not so much with the airlines but with the actual travel process. Which I actually tend to agree with.
ROBERTS: The travel process, they're getting -- and the worst part about flying from here to Washington which I do every weekend is getting from here to La Guardia airport.
ELAM: That is. That's not the airlines.
ROBERTS: And then looking up at the boards - well, you said it's the process. ELAM: Yes. It's the process.
ROBERTS: And looking at the board and seeing that my flight's been canceled.
ELAM: You need a helicopter then to take you from here to there and then it may get a lot easier.
PHILLIPS: OK. Maintenance travel.
ROBERTS: This is a pet peeve.
PHILLIPS: Hey, that's cheap.
ELAM: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Here's my pet peeve, we need a true high speed rail system in the northeast corridor.
ELAM: To get you... Because it is actually quite easy to get to places like that. Think about people with hubs. If you're at a hub airport and you know, you have to get from there to a smaller airport, for a lot of those people it's becoming so expensive to do that, that it's becomes a bigger deal. So, they're driving to get to these bigger hubs. That's an issue.
ROBERTS: Steph, thanks very much.
ELAM: Sure.
ROBERTS: A group of Palestinian students all winners of prestigious Fulbright scholarships find themselves stuck in Gaza this morning. Their visas blocked by politics. A live report on this latest outrage right after the break.
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PHILLIPS: Seven Palestinian students all Fulbright scholarship winners are finding their dreams for higher education blocked by politics. At first they were told that they would lose their scholarships because of Israel's ban on letting Palestinians leave Gaza. Now, the State Department says they'll get the grant. But leaving still remains a concern. They need the visas.
Atika Shubert takes us live from Jerusalem with more -- Atika.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kyra, it all started with a letter from the U.S. State Department that canceled those Fulbright scholarships, but then a day later, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, weighed in herself saying that the State Department would put pressure on Israel to grant these students those travel permits.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHUBERT: At university campuses in Gaza on Thursday, seven students opened their e-mail box to find this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are extremely sorry that we are unable to finalize your -
SHUBERT: The letters all read the same.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...the Department of State will not be able to finalize --
SHUBERT: What appeared on the an equivocal and unexplained rejection for all seven Fulbright scholars in Gaza.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... that the Bureau of Education...
SHUBERT: Software engineering students Hadeel Abukwaik told us what happened when she called the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem for an explanation.
HADEEL ABUKWAIK, FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR: I was angry. They told me that because the Israeli scholar is the closing the borders and you're not able to get out of Gaza. So we prefer to give this scholarship to someone who is able to get out.
SHUBERT: With the Islamic militant group Hamas governing Gaza, Israel has limited travel which means Palestinians can only leave with Israeli permission. The U.S. consulate in Jerusalem now says it will proceed to award the Fulbright scholarships and will push Israel for travel permits. No dates were given. Advocacy groups Sari Bashi says no students have been allowed out of Gaza to study abroad since January.
SARI BASHI, GISHA: The people who are suffering are moderate liberals in Gaza who are unable to obtain an education without there being any security benefit to Israel.
SHUBERT: Israel says it is allowing students through on a case- by-case basis. It simply didn't receive any U.S. request.
MARK REGEV, ISRAEL GOVERNMENT SPOKESMAN: I think we will hear from the Americans and this can happen. No one has to pressure Israel on this issue. We have an interest, a real interest.
SHUBERT: The U.S. consulate says while it cannot comment on specific cases, it has submitted numerous requests recently, many of which have been rejected. Hadeel says she won't give up hope.
ABUKWAIK: I believe that the U.S. can get me out and I believe too that Israel that benefit is to have an educated neighbor rather than an angry one.
SHUBERT: Israel and the U.S. seem to agree. But it doesn't change the fact that Hadeel and six other Fulbright students remain in Gaza for now.
(END VIDEOTAPE) SHUBERT: Now it seems that those scholarships will be granted, but those students are still waiting for permits from Israel. And these are the lucky ones. These are students that were involved in this prestigious program, they received a lot of media attention, a lot of pressure from the State Department on the Israeli government. But according to Rice groups, there are dozens of other students in Gaza that have still not gotten permission to study abroad, including today a court case in an Israeli court where they will hear from two students still not being allowed permission to go study in Germany. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And Atika, it just kind of bring home the fact that there is a concern from those that may not be educated on this whole process, that Palestinian students could be some type of threat to the U.S. but Condoleezza Rice has even come forward and said, hey, we advocate these students coming to our country.
SHUBERT: Exactly and even Israeli officials have said they do want to see Palestinian students getting a more liberal pluralistic education. They're concern is when students may go to study in the West Bank, study in Iran, areas where Israel considers a security threat. The problem is not that many students at all are being allowed to go study abroad, in Germany, the United States and other countries.
PHILLIPS: We'll follow it. Atika Shubert, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: You know, there has been one case in the past where a Fulbright scholar in Atlantic university had been accused of having some ties with Hamas. The scholar denied that. But I thought that the way out of that - obviously some highly educated people do turn to terrorism, but it's not the way out of this thing. It's supposed to be through education. Yet, they're not letting them come out to study.
PHILLIPS: And the same issue came up when some Iraqi students were accepted for the Fulbright. This happened right at the time when the U.S. went to war in Iraq. It created the same concerns and controversies. And those students actually end up doing really well in the program. And talking about, you know, being against terrorism. So, it will be interesting to follow.
ROBERTS: It doesn't seem to make a whole lot of sense. We're still in the surface.
PHILLIPS: It's an amazing program as well.
ROBERTS: Yes, absolutely.
Breaking news this morning about treatment for Ted Kennedy's brain cancer. The Massachusetts senator is set to undergo a six-hour procedure at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina this morning. Our continuing coverage on that coming up. And an out of control fire burns down some movie landmarks, but Universal Studios will try to open for business today. We'll have that story coming up.
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ROBERTS: It's 10 minutes to the top of the hour. Universal Studios will reopen today after a spectacular fire destroyed many famous movie sets there. Hundreds of firefighters battled the three- alarm blaze for more than 12 hours. Crew say the popular King Kong exhibit is a total loss and dozens of sets, in tens of thousands of reels of films and video have been destroyed.
And witnesses say it looked like a bomb exploded. Our Thelma Gutierrez has got more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): It was a very stubborn fire that took more than 14 hours to put out. But not before ten firefighters sustained minor injuries and a good fortune of the Hollywood landmark was reduced to ashes.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Shortly before dawn, a spectacular fire lights up the sky above Universal Studios Hollywood.
JOHN HARTMANN, WITNESSED FIRE: It was nasty. Very nasty.
GUTIERREZ: John Hartmann awakens to several explosions and grabs his camera.
HARTMANN: It was the sound of automobile tires exploding on trucks. Whatever it was, it was loud.
GUTIERREZ: A dark plume of smoke shoots hundreds of feet into the air as flames race through the back lot of Universal, consuming famous city facades on New York streets and the courthouse square that you remember from "Back to the Future." This is what happened to the "King Kong" attraction, part of the tram ride at Universal, completely destroyed.
CHIEF MICHAEL FREEMAN, LOS ANGELES COUNTY FIRE DEPT: We had essentially two city blocks on fire at the same time.
GUTIERREZ: 400 firefighters attacked the flames from the ground, from rooftops and ladders, trying to keep the fire from spreading through the park.
FREEMAN: They were flowing in excess of 18,000 gallons of water per minute.
GUTIERREZ: Firefighters and studio employees carried blocks of recordings to safety before the video vault burned down. A huge relief for Universal's president Ron Myers because the main vault of the motion picture negatives was not affected.
RON MEYERS, COO, NBC/UNIVERSAL: Fortunately nothing irreplaceable was lost. We have duplicates and obviously it's a lot of work to replicate what's been lost but it can be done.
GUTIERREZ: How it started is still a mystery, but before it was over, arson investigators began to sift through the damage. As for the thousands of tourists who came to visit, the gates remained closed as clouds of smoke billowed into the air.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUTIERREZ (on-camera): Universal Studios and City Walk will be open for business later today. Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Universal City, California.
ROBERTS: Investigators are still looking into the cause of the fire. A fire at the same location back in 1990 was started by a security guard who later pleaded guilty to arson.
PHILLIPS: And breaking news this morning about treatment for Ted Kennedy's brain tumor. The Massachusetts senator going into brain surgery this morning. Our continuing coverage coming up.
ROBERTS: And more breaking news this morning. Nuclear inspectors headed to Syria, did an Israeli air strike last year stop a weapons program in its tracks? Expert inside from our Christiane Amanpour ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Breaking news this morning, Senator Ted Kennedy having surgery, targeting a brain tumor in less than one hour from now. It's going to take place at Duke University Medical Center. It's scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m., and also expected to last about six hours. It will be followed by radiation and chemotherapy we're told and in a statement released this morning, the senator said that experts from across the country decided that this is the best course of action and that he's looking forward to getting back to help elect Barack Obama as the next president of the U.S..
ROBERTS: Also breaking this morning, word that nuclear inspections will take place this month in Syria. Inspectors will try to find out if a facility attacked by Israel last September was indeed a nuclear reactor as the United States claims.
Joining us now on the telephone is CNN's chief international correspondent Christian Amanpour. Christiane, you've been in touch with the folks from the IAEA, what are they saying about this?
VOICE OF CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, as you know, when we broke this story that Israel had in fact bombed this building in Syria back in September. There's been a huge amount of obfuscation and very little detail offered by any party whether it be Israel or the United States or Syria. The IAEZ today says that it only got the information about this reactor in April from the United States. It has been told that the nuclear reactor that the U.S. claims it was, was not yet operational and no nuclear material was introduced into it. However they have always said that they feel that it's Syria's obligation under its treaties to allow all inspections on whatever kind of nuclear work it is doing and therefore they have been demanding that Syria allow them in. And now apparently Syria has agreed according to the Syrian Atomic Agency there in Damascus that the IAEA team will go in June, somewhere around the third week of June between the 22nd and the 24th.
ROBERTS: Christiane, we have seen from the satellite photos that we've running as you've been speaking with was scraped clean by Syrian authorities. If there was no nuclear material there when the attack took place, is it likely that they'll find any trace of anything that could problem that it indeed was a nuclear reactor as the U.S. claims?
AMANPOUR: Well, that is the big question. It is indeed true that according to satellite photos, that site was raised to the ground and in fact a new building has been built in its place. What others are saying is that the U.S. has also asked the IAEA to expand its search not just from this one reactor up north but perhaps to other sites to see whether there was any other facilities that as supporting this site that they claim was a nuclear reactor.
What they're confused about is that in the satellite photos according to Israeli and U.S. intelligence and others who have provided these photos, there was no obvious source of fuel for this reactor. So they're confused about that intelligence and they definitely want the IAEA to check out not just that site, as you say it had been built over again but potentially other sites as well.
ROBERTS: Christiane Amanpour for us this morning. Christiane, thanks.
PHILLIPS: More breaking this morning. This time overseas, a suicide car bombing exploded outside the Danish embassy in Pakistan we're told. Authorities are now saying at least six people were killed. That explosion was so intense, it left a crater right there in the street, blew out the windows, collapsed a wall in front of the embassy. Denmark embassies have been targeted in Muslim countries after Danish newspapers published cartoons of the prophet Muhammad.
Australian forces ending their combat role in Iraq today after a five-year commitment to the war. The troops turned over responsibility of two provinces to U.S Forces this morning. More than 600 soldiers will be going home in the next few weeks but 1,000 Australian personnel will stay in Iraq in noncombat roles.
Admiral William Fallon, commander of central command that had to resign abruptly in March. He has since admitted that he was under pressure because of the public positions that he had taken on Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. Well, the admiral will be joining us live for his first television interview since his resignation. You'll see the exclusive interview tomorrow morning on AMERICAN MORNING.
