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Secret Meeting; Oil Shoots Up; Run for Glory; Your Money; $6 Oil Leap

Aired June 06, 2008 - 10:00   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Friday, June 6th. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
It is a meeting that took place last night in the home of a colleague. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton getting together to meet as they promised. Suzanne Malveaux is standing by in Washington for us.

And Suzanne, we're starting to get a few details of the atmospherics, at least, of the meeting.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We certainly are, Tony.

Senator Dianne Feinstein is spilling the beans here because she was the host of that exclusive meeting between these two. She is talking -- she talked to our own Ted Barrett on The Hill and she just released some of the details about this meeting.

It took place at 9:00 last night. It lasted about an hour. It was at her home, which is not far from the Clintons' residence. It was in the living room, she said. And she said that Hillary Clinton actually called her yesterday, late afternoon, to see if they could use her house. And she said, certainly.

She said the living room had two comfortable chairs facing one another. That's where they sat. Then, she said, she left the room and it was just the two candidates. Nobody else was in the room. Each one of them had a campaign representative who went to the study.

She said that they talked and called her over when this meeting was done. She said good night. I hope had you a good meeting. She said they were laughing after this was all over. She said they got along very well.

And then when asked about why this private, secret meeting. Now Feinstein is someone who's very close to Hillary Clinton. A big Clinton supporter. And this is how she put it. She said, "this is a deeply personal time. You're sorting out your feelings. Clinton is going to be giving this big speech tomorrow. Barack is trying to put things together for a major presidential campaign." She says, "there's a lot of decompression, nerve endings, that need to come together." And she says, "I think the opportunity is to sit down, just the two of them, was positive."

So, Tony, just some color and some details about that. That first face-to-face and, obviously, a critical time for both of these two who are trying to bring the party together. Just the first step.

Tony.

HARRIS: Absolutely. All right, Suzanne Malveaux for us. Suzanne, thank you.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: More economic pain today. It's something none of us wants to hear. Oil prices shoot up. More from senior business correspondent Ali Velshi now.

All right, Ali, boy, this is worse than yesterday.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And I was with you just a little while ago telling you that the unemployment numbers has gone up. Now look at this. Oil is trading at $134.68.

Now there's been a report out from somebody at Morgan Stanley who says that he expects oil now to get to $150 a barrel by July 4th. Now I think that might be part of what is driving the cost of oil up right now. But this is a gain of more than $6 today. Yesterday we had a gain of more than $5. So these are some of the biggest moves in the price of oil ever.

We're trying to track down how far we have go back to see if there was ever a move like this, between we don't think so. So we've got massive moves in the price of oil. The irony is, that I think this is the first day in about a month that we didn't see a gasoline price record.

COLLINS: Yes. Well, that's exactly what I was going to ask.

VELSHI: But there's a lag between the price of oil and the price of gas. So what we did see about two weeks ago, we stopped breaking -- I think it was about May 21st or 22nd -- we stopped breaking oil price records. So what we're now seeing is the gas price catch up. And now when we're back to these levels again, you can sort of expect that this little lull that we might see in gas prices could result in an increase again in the coming weeks.

So we're tracking this very closely. Let me just tell you the numbers that we're looking at right now. We're at $134.68. This is where it's hovering. $133.17 is the highest that oil has ever settled at, at the end of the day. And the highest it's ever reached is $135.09. So we're very, very close to all-time records on the price of oil. We'll watch this very closely. Obviously, we know from the last several weeks the effect that it's had on auto companies, on airlines and on Americans in general.

COLLINS: Yes. A couple of things here to talk about, too. That lag time that you talk about, before we actually feel it at the pump. About typically how long is that? And also . . .

VELSHI: Ten days.

COLLINS: Ten days? About ten days?

VELSHI: Ten days to two weeks generally, yes.

COLLINS: OK. Look at the Dow right now, too.

VELSHI: Yes. Well, this is -- the Dow was doing fantastically before it opened this morning and then the opportunity employment numbers came out and that turned it into negative territory. And then this oil price business has come out and the Dow now almost 214 points lower. I mean this is just -- I think there are a lot of people thinking maybe we're out of the woods or starting to come out of the woods on the economy and then all of these things come together and we realize that between jobs and the price of energy, those are the two most important components into your general happiness and way of life. Those two are being compromised. That's a big challenge to the economy.

COLLINS: Yes, I hate to say it, but it's almost like a perfect storm.

VELSHI: Yes, that's exactly what it is. Yes.

COLLINS: All right. CNN's Ali Velshi "Minding our Business" this morning. Ali, thank you.

VELSHI: OK, Heidi.

COLLINS: And on Monday, we bump "Issue Number One" up a notch. A day long solution to oriented look at your money concerns. Your house, your job, your savings, your debt. How the number one issue this country is facing, the economy, is affecting you. "Issue Number One," extended coverage, all day Monday right here on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

HARRIS: Firefighters in eastern North Carolina hoping light winds will help them get a handle on these ferocious flames. A wildfire near Columbia has nearly tripled in size, scorching nearly 29,000 acres. About half of the fire is burning on a wildlife refuge. Seventy homes have been evacuated. Firefighters had hoped to contain the fire last night but it jumped containment lines, giving it the real potential to double in size again.

COLLINS: Millions of Midwesterners holding their breath today, hoping they're not in for another round of this. Severe weather tearing through the Great Plains yesterday. Tornadoes touching down in Nebraska, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa. Fierce winds in Oklahoma ripped the roof right off this church in Tulsa. Several homes also damaged. And in one town, power lines came down and caused a fire.

Heavy rain also a huge problem. Streets turned into streams in Kansas. This guy getting around by floating through his neighborhood. In Iowa, rivers flooded. More storms expected today. And people are preparing now by sand bagging flood prone areas in several different towns.

Jacqui Jeras standing by.

So they're sand bagging, Jacqui. (WEATHER REPORT)

COLLINS: The powerful storms rattling the nerves of man and beast. A pair of circus elephants in Kansas got spooked and escaped their enclosure. They roamed around town before ending up in two separate backyards. One had to be tranquilized and coaxed into a truck. It was very confused. The poor guy. The other apparently just got tired of walking around and surrendered.

HARRIS: Challenger from the east takes on a monster from the west.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's going to be really tough. Big Brown is a super horse.

RICK DUTROW, BIG BROWN TRAINER: But the Japanese people are coming here and they thought Godzilla was dead. He's not. They're going to be watching him run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Smack talking. Love it. Big Brown makes a run for the triple crown.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

New questions about a 40-year-old assassination. Who really killed Robert F. Kennedy and why?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Clampdown in Zimbabwe. Opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai has just been released after his second police detention in as many days. Tsvangirai is trying to unseed long time President Robert Mugabe in a controversial runoff election. Mugabe's government is accused of using violence, intimidation and election fraud to hold on to power. The U.S. embassy in Harari says yesterday a group of Mugabe loyalists attacked a convoy of American and British diplomats.

And the U.N. is outraged at Zimbabwe's government is ordering aid agencies to suspend field work indefinitely. U.N. officials say millions of Zimbabweans depend on international groups for food and other aid. Opposition leader Tsvangirai recently talked to CNN about the challenges.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN TSVANGIRAI, PRES., MOVEMENT FOR DEMOCRATIC CHANGE: The situation has not been normal for us in the embassy. We face so many obstacles. As I speak, all the rallies they have been banned. We have had to improvise in terms of how we access the people. And it's a very hostile environment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Mugabe often accuses Britain and the United States of siding with the opposition in an effort to topple him and return Zimbabwe to colonial rule.

COLLINS: Big Brown's shot at history comes in tomorrow's Belmont Stakes. CNN's Richard Roth is looking at the final hurdle to the triple crown.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Big Brown was all wet this week. But he is the hot horse for the Belmont Stakes.

DAVE GRENING, DAILY RACING FORM: This horse is the real deal, the total package.

ROTH: New York could have heard the Big Brown package coming as he won the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And Big Brown's in town! Big Brown by far!

ROTH: A win in the Belmont Stakes would make unbeaten Big Brown only the 12th horse to win the fabled triple crown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is out there, man. This is history.

ROTH: But the racing world hasn't seen such history since 1978.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who would have thought that it would have been 30 years? I mean, 30 years. It's just an incredible run without a triple crown winner.

ROTH: Big Brown's hometown New York trainer is very confident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this all a foregone conclusion?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Without a doubt.

ROTH: But there is a threat from the far east. Casino Drive, Kentucky bred but Japanese owned, won his debut in Japan and then sent Big Brown a big message in his first race in America.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But here is Casino Drive who said sayonara to this field.

ROTH: No boasting, though, from Casino Drive's stable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it's going to be really tough. Big Brown is a super horse.

RICK DUTROW, BIG BROWN TRAINER: But the Japanese people are coming here and they thought Godzilla was dead. He's not. They're going to be watching him run. ROTH: Big Brown had have one problem. A small crack in his left front foot that needed repaired.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If he gets beat, it's not going to be because of that.

ROTH: A triple crown might boost the racing industry, hit by horse breakdowns and slumping fan interest.

MIKE WATCHMAKER, DAILY RACING FORUM: It's not going to be a salvation of the game. The game has many other issues that need to be addressed. But it's not going to hurt the game, that's for sure.

ROTH: At a Belmont Stakes preview lunch, the dessert special was a Big Brown brownie. Now it's up to Big Brown to eat up the rest of the field in the stretch at Belmont.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Big Brown is a superstar.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Boy oh boy, it's getting exciting. CNN's Richard Roth is joining us now live from Belmont Raceway in New York.

And, Richard, the last time you and I were in the stands together at the Belmont, it was for Smarty Jones. I hope that that is not going to be the same result this time around.

ROTH: Yes, I have to stay neutral, of course, but we did see each other here at Belmont in 2004. There were 120,000 people there then and that could happen today. Tomorrow when the race happens. Smarty Jones was the last in a recent long line of horses that won the first two legs and then came up shore here, which would, of course, be disappointing.

But Big Brown has some issues. There's -- he was on the track just about an hour ago jogging. And there were a lot of photographers around for Big Brown's Friday stroll. But he has had a foot problem that I mentioned in that report. The trainer says, nothing to be concerned about. And a lot of people seem to think it's nothing. He's had to deal with it for a while.

COLLINS: Yes. So how did he look to you?

ROTH: He looked pretty good. I'm not a great judge of horse flesh. I have enough problems judging humans. But he looked OK. We haven't heard any problems.

COLLINS: OK. Well, that's interesting. I wonder, though, you also had the contingent from Japan, if you will, talking in your piece a little bit about what they're thinking. Now that he's been out on that track, are they saying any more about the competition?

ROTH: Well, Casino Drive has a unique training schedule. Very different from horses in America. They have been slowly walking him up hills, on wood chips. If he wins, people are going to be saying, maybe we should change the training.

He's only had two races lifetime and he had to sit for like two months in quarantine coming from Japan and yet he turned in that great performance a couple of weeks ago. He is the main contender.

COLLINS: Wow, yes, I had forgotten all about the quarantine. So he's been sitting around for a couple of months. Interesting. Well, it's going to be fascinating to watch. I know you'll be watching closely as well. Thanks so much. Richard Roth coming to us live from Belmont Raceway.

HARRIS: You've got money questions. Our Gerri Willis has answers. She is taking your e-mails.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Once again, a look at the big board. The New York Stock Exchange. What is going on with the Dow? And who is this analyst from Morgan Stanley making this prediction, releasing this report about a short-term spike in oil prices?

And on the heels of the report, we get a spike in oil prices. Up to $134 per barrel in trading today. And you can see the impact of that information and the jobs report for May as well. The Dow, boy, tanking right now. Down 210 points inside the first hour of the trade day. We'll get a market check from Susan Lisovicz shortly right here in the NEWSROOM.

Better credit, better gas mileage, better ways to use your money. Our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, is here on Friday with e- mail questions.

Gerri, good to see you.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, Tony.

HARRIS: I wish I had some more time with you. I'd ask you about this Morgan Stanley report. But we've got a lot of great questions for you this morning.

WILLIS: We've got a lot of ground to cover, that's right.

HARRIS: Yes. All right. Our first question comes from Judy who writes, oh, Gerri, "if either of us co-sign student loans for our kids, will this count against us and lower our credit score? If this is the case, then neither my husband nor I desire to be co-signers. Is there any other option?"

WILLIS: You know, I feel you pain, Judy. But guess what, when you co-sign anything, you're on the hook for late payments and that lowers your credit score. We talk about this all the time. Look, if your kids don't qualify for a loan without you as a co-signer, you're in a tough place. What you can do is max out as much federal aid as you can.

Now, take advantage of lower federal student loan rates. You may also qualify for what they call a plus parent loan. You can have your kids pay off the plus loan through an agreement specially with them. And generally, though, with a plus loan, you're still going to make out cheaper than with a private loan. But, yes, I've got to say, you're on the hook.

HARRIS: Yes, you're on the hook.

Our friend, Jeff in Arizona, writes, oh, Gerri, "which is the best decision, to pay off debt or invest in my 401(k)?"

WILLIS: Good question, Jeff. Investing in your 401(k) to the point you get the company match is critical. It's the free money. You definitely want that.

Now, if your situation is more complicated, you really have to assess it. If you have a lot of credit card debt -- and by that I mean you can't even make the minimum payments or maybe you're using one credit card to pay off another -- that is a sign you're over your head in credit card debt. Now if that's the case, knock out that credit card debt first. That's generally your highest interest debt. On the other hand, if your debt is low cost debt, like a mortgage or a car loan, consider putting even more money towards your 401(k). You can probably invest and get a higher rate of return than you can paying down the debt.

HARRIS: Smart, smart, smart.

Tesia writes, Gerri, "are unsecured personal lines of credit beneficial in the long run for consolidating credit card debt?"

WILLIS: Well, you know, look, I have to ask this. Why do you think you're going to pay off an unsecured personal line of credit if you're not paying off your credit card bills?

HARRIS: Pay now.

WILLIS: You've really got to think about your habits here. Consolidating only makes sense because you get a lower rate of interest, but you have to pay it off. Plus, getting an unsecured personal loan is not easy these days. Creditors want to see higher credit scores. And if you have higher credit card debt, that's going to be hard to get.

Plus, by taking out a personal loan, you're not getting into the habit of paying down your credit card balances each month. Going forward, that's the habit you really want to get into. Transferring your balances to a zero percent or low introductory rate credit card is probably a better option. But you really want to read the fine print carefully because there are lots of nuances in these credit card agreements. Sometimes there's a rollover fee. Keep an eye on that. But you've just got to, you know, bite the bullet and pay it down.

HARRIS: Right. Right. Yes. That's sounds sound advice. That makes sense.

David from Ontario is trying to flip the script on us here a little bit, Gerri.

WILLIS: I know. Look at this.

HARRIS: Well, he has actually written in with his own tip about saving gas. He writes, "most cars can hold twenty to thirty gallons of fuel. It takes energy and fuel to carry it around. Filling the tank only half way could save a significant amount over time."

Is there any truth to this, Gerri?

WILLIS: Well, I think this is fascinating, David. We were so fascinated, in fact, we called Edmunds.com to talk to them about it. In fact, most tanks, they say, hold about 15 gallons of gas or less. So, in theory, you're right about the weight of fuel. But the effects are really hardly noticeable. It would only translate into about a 0.05 percent miles per gallon at most. And that's really the effect of having yet another small person in the car. So it does not make much difference.

HARRIS: There you go. Hey, I really want you to talk about "Issue Number One" today coming up at noon Eastern right here on CNN. We've got this analyst from Morgan Stanley releasing thing report on oil prices and then we've seen a runner-up over the last couple of days on oil prices. It's a little scary right now. We know that the gas prices will follow shortly. Give us a sense of what you're covering today, "Issue Number One," noon Eastern.

WILLIS: Well, we'll cover that and we'll also be talking about this other bad news today, the unemployment rate soaring last month. Coming up on "Issue Number One" at noon, we're going to tell you about retraining, where the jobs are. We'll have practical advice for you on the issue of jobs, your house, your money, your wallet. We're there for you. We're also answering your questions by e-mail. So send us an e-mail to issue1@cnn.com. We're answering those questions live on the show. Join us. We want to see you there.

HARRIS: We'll be there. Gerri, great to see you.

WILLIS: Good to see you.

HARRIS: Great weekend to you as well.

WILLIS: You as well, Tony. Thank you.

COLLINS: A steroids dealer gives names to the NFL and then turns up dead. A journalist who talked with him now talks with us. Murder mystery in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM.

Productive discussions. The official buzz about a secret meeting last night between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. It was their first meeting since Obama racked up enough delegates to secure the Democratic nomination. Tomorrow, Clinton will announce that she is suspending her run for the White House and supporting Obama. In a joint statement, the campaign said last night's meeting focused on the important work that needs to be done to succeed in November.

COLLINS: Gas prices fall for the first time in a month. But if you think the worst is over, you may be in for a sad surprise. Oil prices are taking a huge leap up again today. And gas prices really can't be too far behind. Cnnmoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our "Energy Fix" from New York now.

Hi there, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hi there, Heidi.

Well, we want to start this out with some good news for folks out there this Friday. Gas prices fell overnight. We have not been able to tell you that for a month. But the nationwide average now for regular dips to just three tenths of a penny to $3.986. So don't go spending that all in one place. And even that slightly lower price --- it is not like to last. That's because crude oil futures are soaring up more than $5 yesterday. That marked the biggest single day surge in the last 25 years. But, guess what? It is worse today. Up another $6 or so this morning.

And a Morgan Stanley analyst predicts that prices will reach $150 a barrel by July 4th of this year. So, talk about some fireworks there, really astounding numbers that we're looking at. The reason has a lot do with rising demand in Asia. Another factor today, an Israeli official is quoted as saying an attack on Iran's nuclear site looks, quote, "unavoidable." Now, these factors coupled with a retreat from U.S. stocks means that a lot of people are pouring money into the oil market right now -- Heidi.

COLLINS: So, how is this problem solved? I mean, this is all going to hit us in the wallets, obviously.

HARLOW: Yes, of course. This is the energy fix step. We want to help people out there but the fix is not an easy one.

A new report out from the Paris based International Energy Agency says, in order to combat global warming and relieve the supply worries, it's going to take an investment of $45 trillion. Now, the report says the money should go towards 1400 new nuclear plants by the year 2050 and more than 17,000 wind turbines per year. This is all in an effort to reach the U.N.'s goal of cutting emissions in half by the middle of this century.

Now, that $45 trillion figure -- it's really hard for people to fathom, to put it in some kind of perspective for all of you out there. That is three times the size of our economy here in the U.S. And more than one percent of the worldwide economy. By the way, most of that $45 trillion would need to come from growing economies in Asia. So Heidi, the stakes are very, very high. There's a lot of concerns about supply. Oil consumption projections indicate the world will need five times the amount of oil that Saudi Arabia currently produces, in the year 2050. Something that report says is just unsustainable. And from an environment standpoint, we're looking at more global warming -- could cause famine, drought, coastal flooding. A lot of loss of species. For all of those, people looking at these climbing prices, another $6 today. For them and for us at the pump, an energy fix, it cannot come soon enough, Heidi.

We have a lot more on this. There's a lot more information on our web site. Right there, you see it. CNNmoney.com, so check it out.

COLLINS: Yes, still a lot of debate too, about the global warming and all of it. The discussions will go on, I'm sure, for quite some time.

CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow. Thanks, Poppy.

HARLOW: Sure.

HARRIS: And on Monday, we bump "ISSUE #1" up a notch. A day long solutions-oriented look at your money concerns. Your home, your job, your savings, your debt. How the number one issue the country is facing, the economy, is affecting you.

"ISSUE #1," extended coverage, all day Monday right here on CNN, the most trusted name in news.

COLLINS: A man at the center of a steroids scandal is now at the center of a murder mystery. Police say, David Jacobs, a convicted steroids dealer, was found shot to death in his north Texas home, yesterday. They say his girlfriend was also found dead in the home. Jacobs recently met with NFL security officials, giving them names of players he claimed bought steroids from him. Police are not saying whether they believe the deaths were a double homicide or a murder- suicide. Jacobs was sentenced to three years probation last month after pleading guilty to federal steroid charges.

Now, senior writer for "ESPN Magazine," talked with Jacobs in just the last few weeks and says, the steroids dealer had some chilling things to say.

That writer, Shaun Assael, is also the author of the book "Steroid Nation." He's joining us live from New York this morning.

Boy Shaun, what did you think when you heard this news?

SHAUN ASSAEL, AUTHOR, "STEROID NATION": I was shocked, Heidi. I mean, I had just talked to David days earlier. I knew that he wanted to come out, he wanted to talk about what he had done. He was also cooperating with the NFL, was very serious about giving them the information that he had and this -- it came out of nowhere.

I mean, let me just say that David felt under enormous pressure. He told me that the kind of information he had, and I'm quoting now, "was the kind of information that somebody might want to put a bullet in the back of his head." And when he said that, I just thought David was under a lot of pressure, it's the kind of thing somebody says when their life is kind of coming apart.

COLLINS: Wait a minute, Shaun. Forgive me. That's what David said himself?

ASSAEL: Yes, that's what he said to me. He said this -- and we were talking about his years dealing steroids and to high profile NFL athletes. He talked about some names that he wanted to name to the NFL. He wasn't able to give me the documentation so I'm not able to tell you if it is real or not. I just know that he was talking about it. He's apparently shared this with the NFL and now it's in their hands. To see just exactly whether they're going to bring charges and also after the murder, Plano police were seen going into the house. So I think these documents were in the hands of Plano police.

COLLINS: Now, I know you've been covering the story for a while and you've had many different meeting with David. Did he seem considerably more nervous to you as of late, when maybe you compare his behavior?

ASSAEL: Yes. Early on when David first contacted me, he seemed excited about the idea of coming out. We've seen various people in the steroids scandals try to turn it around, turn their stories into, you know, speaking engagements, try to sort of become experts. And David thought that was in his future.

But as he got closer to actually publicly talking, you could tell he got very nervous. He was afraid that people were going to start looking at him differently. Maybe, you know, he would lose friends, maybe worse. And ultimately he canceled a date with us to come out and sit in front of a camera and, sort of, you know, show us what he had. But he did that in secret with the NFL. And I just could tell it was -- the pressure was building on him.

COLLINS: Yes. You know, I've done a couple of stories myself Shaun, on the steroids abuse. And in the difference for the wrestling industry, if you will. But, you know, it is such a mysterious and black sort of area when they sit down to actually talk to you about what they know and who they know was involved.

I'm just wondering what do you think happened here?

ASSAEL: You know, I don't want to speculate. Police are investigating. This is a murder, perhaps a murder-suicide. This is his -- the woman beside him was described as his on again and off again girlfriend. I know that David had told me that he was relying on her to help him get through these times.

COLLINS: Did you know her?

ASSAEL: I did not. I just know that David kept mentioning her when he was talking about whether he was going to sit down with us. You know, was it going to be good for her, what did she think about it, he had to consult with her. I knew she was a big part of his life. I don't know the circumstances of this. I just know that in Plano, Texas, David felt there was a spotlight on him and he felt like he was in danger.

COLLINS: Wow. Well it's a very interesting story that I think that investigation going to be going on for quite some time, I imagine.

Shaun Assael, we appreciate your time this morning. With "ESPN Magazine."

ASSAEL: Thanks, Heidi.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: Cabbies weigh in on the presidential race.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Campaign on yes. Gas, too high.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: CNN rides along with rolling pundits.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

COLLINS: Everyone has an opinion of the presidential race this year.

CNN's Zain Verjee, got the view from one group of workers running in White House circles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Taxi!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somalia, originally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

VERJEE: Taxi!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right here in Washington, D.C.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ukraine, yes.

VERJEE (voice-over): The United Nations of political pundits, back in session. In Washington, all roads lead to one address.

(on camera): I need to get to the White House. Do you know any shortcuts?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shortcuts for what? VERJEE: Getting to the White House.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no shortcuts.

VERJEE: What do your passengers tell you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the majority, they like Obama.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need change. We need someone with smart leadership with this country.

VERJEE: And that smart leadership is?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obama is smart leadership.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He needs more training. How to deal with those guys around the world.

VERJEE (voice-over): On the road, their biggest worry is, guess what...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disgusting to have to pay this much for gas.

VERJEE (on camera): What advice you would give Senator Obama and Senator McCain right now, to get into that White House?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Campaign on issues. Gas. Gas. It's too high.

VERJEE: Do you think that McCain is too old?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's not like a main issue to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is he in good health? Shouldn't matter what the age is.

VERJEE: Is Obama too young?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the right age. He's full energy.

VERJEE (voice-over): The cabbies are quick to turn the corner.

(on camera): Do you think Hillary should be Senator Obama's VP?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a good ticket, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just think it would be too much friction.

VERJEE (voice-over): Cabbie pundits disagree on the road ahead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, there's going to be a lot of different prejudices, you know, come to the floor in this election. Some will be very bitter. Some will be very racially divided.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A black person started from zero.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And this is the flag of the United States of America. You see? This is a gray country and I wish all the best.

VERJEE: Zain Verjee, CNN, Washington.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: So what did they talk about? Everybody is asking. The secret meeting. New details coming in this morning, in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: It was a grueling primary season full of political hits and misses. A look now at some of the pivotal moments from the Obama/Clinton matchup.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(voice-over): First two contests of the primary season, setting the stage for the battle ahead.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you.

HARRIS: A solid win for Barack Obama, in Iowa. Drawing young voters, female voters, and showing he could win in white America.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Thank you so much!

HARRIS: A dramatic comeback victory in New Hampshire, for Hillary Clinton, who teared up in the run-up.

CLINTON: I just don't want to see us fall backwards. No.

HARRIS: Emotional candidates, agitated spouses, Bill Clinton questions Obama's record on Iraq.

BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen.

HARRIS: Michelle Obama takes it personally.

MICHELLE OBAMA, BARACK OBAMA'S WIFE: To dismiss this moment as an illusion, a fairy tale.

HARRIS: Both spouses in the spotlight and under the gun, Bill Clinton draws fire for downplaying Barack Obama's South Carolina victory.

B. CLINTON: Jesse Jackson won South Carolina twice in '84 and '88..

HARRIS: Michelle Obama's past patriotism, questioned.

M. OBAMA: For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country.

HARRIS: Questions also dog her husband. The missing flag pin from his lapel. His choice of garb on a trip to Africa. False rumors he went to a Muslim school. Even his middle name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barack Hussein Obama.

HARRIS: But as these primary season dust-ups seems to fade, the issue of race stays painfully fresh. With Obama's failure to win the working class white vote in states that could be pivotal in November.

H. CLINTON: Thank you, Florida Democrats!

HARRIS: Just as Hillary Clinton, was unable to get much support from African-American voters after a series of missteps. Including a comment that seemed to undermine the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

H. CLINTON: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., led a movement. He was gassed, he was beaten, he was jailed. And then he worked with President Johnson to get the Civil Rights Laws passed. Because the dream couldn't be realized until finally, it was legally permissible.

HARRIS: Then came a religious storm over past sermons and more recent public outbursts from Obama's longtime Chicago pastor.

REV. JEREMIAH WRIGHT, OBAMA'S FMR. PASTOR: When Louis Farrakhan speaks, it's like E.F. Hutton speaks. All black American listens. Whether they agree with him or not, they listen. Now, I'm not going to put down Louis Farrakhan any more than Mandela will put down Fidel Castro.

B.OBAMA: I'm outraged by the comments that were made. And saddened over the spectacle.

HARRIS: Eventually Obama and his church part ways. Clinton seemed to part from the truth when describing her 1996 trip to Bosnia.

H. CLINTON: So, you know, we landed in one of those cork screw landings and ran out because they said there might be sniper fire.

HARRIS: Race, religion, trust, patriotism. Questions that linger from an historic primary season. And of course, one question we'll continue to hear from now until November.

ANNOUNCER: It is 3:00 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep. Who do you want answering the phone?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And this programming reminder. We will have special coverage of Senator Clinton's rally starting at 11:00 a.m. Eastern tomorrow.

Join Wolf Blitzer and the best political team on television, as Clinton prepares to throw her support behind Barack Obama. Live coverage on CNN and CNN.com.

COLLINS: Quickly want to get you back to the weather situation that we're following. Jacqui Jeras, has her eye on what's happening on northern Minnesota, here. We're talking about a tornado, Jacqui. JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, that's right. And this is confirmed, Heidi too, by the way. We're talking about a tornado on the ground. This is in Hubbard County, Minnesota. You can see that purple box up there at the top. Law enforcement reporting the tornado is three miles south of Lake George, now. And some damage has been reported as well. We'll have more on this coming up. We're going to take a quick break.

We'll be right back in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: And good morning again, everyone. You're informed with CNN, I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

Developments keep coming in to the CNN NEWSROOM, Friday, the 6th of June. Here's what's on the rundown. Oil sky rockets, the DOW tumbles, jobs vanish. "ISSUE #1" this hour, your money.

HARRIS: The chairs comfortable, the talks productive. Their host says the secret Obama/Clinton meeting ended with a chuckle.

COLLINS: The children are home.