Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Iraq Strategy: Candidates on the War; Illinois Levee Breaks; 'Planet in Peril'; Plane Crashes and Catches Fire at Khartoum Airport
Aired June 10, 2008 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: We have got our eyes on more extreme weather right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. And our Chad Myers, stationed right here in the weather center, he's got all of the very latest for you.
We have crews in Wisconsin, where more communities are in danger now from those rising rivers. The video is just in from the city of Pewaukee. Take a look at that video.
And on the East Coast, the mercury continues to rise, and it's promising to be another scorcher. Well, if you need to cool off, why don't you head to the cascades, where it's more like winter? As a matter of fact, it's snow.
Snow in June, plus floods. We've got a heat wave and we saw that waterspout.
(WEATHER REPORT)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: We are keeping a close eye on Wall Street, Washington and your wallet. Oil prices are up. Democrats are up in arms over oil profits. But the Federal Reserve chief remains upbeat about the overall economy.
This of course is issue #1. And we are bringing you special coverage all day.
Well, record oil prices, they mean record profits for oil companies. But the government won't be getting a bigger piece of that pie.
The Senate Republicans have blocked a Democratic plan to impose a windfall profits tax on the five biggest U.S. oil companies. Democrats pushed the plan as a way to rein in soaring energy prices, but Republicans say taxes are not the answer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MAJORITY LEADER: The American people deserve to know the truth, that the road ahead won't be easy, but this is a start. It will help lower prices, it will help working families make ends meet.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: Hitting the gas companies might make for good campaign literature or even news clips, but it won't address the problem. This bill isn't a serious response to high gas prices. It's just a gimmick.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: The Senate last monthly rejected a Republican energy plan which would have opened up part of an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil drilling.
It is not rosy, but it's not as bad as we think. That is Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke's latest snapshot of the economy. He told a Fed conference last night that, despite a recent surge in the jobless rate, the danger of a "substantial downturn" seems to have faded. He says other factors are offsetting the numbers, like recent interest rate cuts and reform efforts in the credit market, but he cautions that economic activity will likely be weak in the current quarter.
LEMON: The economy of course issue #1 with voters, and it's getting a lot of attention that week as John McCain and Barack Obama take their general election battles across America. In a speech in Washington, seen live on CNN this morning, McCain vowed to get the economy back up to full strength. And he painted Obama as a tax-and- spend Democrat.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No matter which of us wins in November, there will be change in Washington. The question is, what kind of change?
Will we go back to the policies of the '60s and '70s that failed, or will we go forward? Will we enact the largest single tax increase since the Second World War, as my opponent proposes, or will we keep taxes low, low for families and employers? That's a question that will be asked. This election offers Americans a very distinct choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, after his speech at the National Small Business Summit, McCain headed to New York to address the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.
Barack Obama is making the economy the central theme of his general election strategy and he's calling John McCain's plans a continuation of President Bush's failed policies. Right now the presumptive Democratic nominee is campaigning in Missouri, where he's also pushing his health care plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator McCain says he supports choice, but when your employer drops your coverage because they're no longer getting a tax deduction, and no one else will sell you insurance because the tax break that he's offering doesn't even cover half of the costs of health care for the average family, you will not have a choice. My health care plan isn't about taking away your coverage, it's about giving people more options and thus a real choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, as part of his health care push, Obama is spending part of the day shadowing a nurse.
The presidential hopefuls have very different views on the economy, and let's take a look at where they stand.
Senator Barack Obama wants to end the administration's tax cuts for upper income earners and grant a $1,000 tax cut to most families. He also calls for an end of the war in Iraq and wants to invest that money in the U.S.
Senator John McCain wants to extend the administration's tax cuts. He wants to make it harder to raise taxes. And McCain proposes a variety of tax breaks for entrepreneurs and corporations. He says that will generate more jobs.
KEILAR: Changing the strategy on Iraq, not on the ground in the war zone, but on the campaign trail.
CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The war in Iraq is going better. At least for now. And that may force Barack Obama, the anti-war candidate, to rethink his strategy. Obama won over Democrats by promising to pull combat troops out of Iraq as soon as possible and have everyone out within 16 months except for a residual force.
OBAMA: We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in. But we -- but start leaving, we must.
STARR: But last month, the number of U.S. troops killed was the lowest ever. IEDs and sniper attacks all on the decline. Obama knows this isn't the time to sound like a cut-and-run commander in chief.
OBAMA: I never say there's nothing or never or no way in which I change my mind.
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Barack Obama has to stand for the proposition that good news in Iraq is good news for America. That he's not for losing this war.
STARR: Obama has shifted focus.
OBAMA: I am absolutely convinced that the best thing we can do is to set a clear timetable, tell the Iraqis we are going to start pulling out.
STARR: John McCain once suggested a willingness to keep troops in Iraq in some capacity for the next hundred years.
MCCAIN: I will never surrender in Iraq, my friends. I will never surrender in Iraq.
STARR: Now he says he hopes most could be out by 2013, and don't expect any letup in McCain's criticism of Obama for lack of military experience.
MCCAIN: Senator Obama was driven to his position by ideology and not by the facts on the ground. And he does not have the knowledge or experience to make the judgments.
STARR: Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, coal, it's an abundant resource that could help fuel America's future. So why are environmentalists so outraged over efforts to get it out of the ground? The debate over strip mining in our "Planet in Peril" segment.
KEILAR: Plus, slavery in America, legal? Absolutely not. Alive and well, though? It is. One former slave tells her story ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. We've been telling you about flooding, devastating really much of the Midwest. And just got an e-mail from the governor's office in Illinois I'm going to toss to Chad Myers here in just a little bit.
But Chad, Governor Rob Blagojevich saying he's going to respond to a section of Illinois, Lawrenceville, Illinois, where the levees broke.
Talk to us about that, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, south of town and east of town is where the water actually came from and went through the levee, and actually 14 people had to be evacuated from that area. But here's the map behind me.
You can see Chicago, you can see Lawrenceville. It's way down south, well down into southern Illinois.
We'll zoom into the area here. We're talking Wabash River, we're talking the Embarrass River, and Lawrenceville there.
The good news is the water really didn't get into Lawrenceville proper, but just to the east of town here, kind of in a farming community. Now, there was still some water damage in Lawrenceville, don't get me wrong. But the break and the main energy of the break did go to the east of town, and there is some good news, except if you live east of town. It didn't go the other direction, it didn't go into town proper.
But the governor is going to work with the rest of emergency management to make sure those people are out, out safely. And eventually get back into their homes if they can -- Don. LEMON: It's Lawrence County, Lawrenceville, Illinois.
MYERS: Correct.
LEMON: Of course, not far from Chicago, within driving distance. But Lawrence County is the heart of a 10-state region in central and most of the major metropolitan areas there in the Midwest. So it's an important area.
Our Chad Myers has his eyes on that, and he's going to update us if it warrants it.
Chad, thank you very much for that.
MYERS: You bet.
KEILAR: Environmentalists call it an outrage, but the coal industry says mountaintop mining is the best way to get at a much- needed resources.
Joe Johns examines the debate in today's "Planet in Peril" segment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It is loud, destructive and highly controversial -- the mountaintop mining operations of West Virginia.
SUSAN LAPIS, PILOT, SOUTHWINGS: Five, nine (ph), tango, 1880 at departure.
JOHNS: As you fly South from Charleston, mountaintop mines appear quickly on the horizon.
LAPIS: They'll dynamite very carefully down to the coal, harvest the coal, and then they'll start the dynamite process over again.
JOHNS: Our pilot has been flying over these mountains for a decade as a volunteer for SouthWings, an environmental group opposed to the practice of mountaintop mining which arranged this aerial tour.
LAPIS: I've been watching this one go down since I've been flying up here. And it is a very dramatic change. It was high and impressive, and now it's low and flat.
JOHNS: In West Virginia, almost one-third of the 158 million tons of coal removed from these mountains in 2006 came from mountaintop mining. Critics want it stopped. They say the practice pollutes the surrounding water and the dust presents health hazards to nearby communities.
(on camera): This is what it looks like on ground when a mountaintop mining site is reclaimed. The company stopped mining here about a year and a half ago. There's rocks, there's grass, but critics of the process argue it can make land like this almost useless.
(voice-over): But the industry says mountaintop mining is actually the only way to access coal close to the surface. Plus, they say, what's left is a bonus for the economy.
CAROL RAULSTON, NATIONAL MINING ASSOCIATION: The people in the state have really said, you know, there's a better way to do reclamation than just trying to make it look the way it did before. There are other things we want here.
We may want some recreational opportunities. We may need areas that are safe from flooding to build schools and hospitals and airports and housing developments. And these sites provide that kind of opportunity.
JOHNS: But for many residents of the Mountain State, losing their mountains is not a sacrifice they want to make.
Joe Johns, CNN, Charleston, West Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Were they panicked by a predator or an underwater noise? Or following a fish and they simply got lost? Those are just some of the theories British scientists are weighing as they try to figure out why dozens of seemingly healthy dolphins got stranded in the river in southwest England. Twenty-six were found dead, several others were rescued and put back in the sea.
KEILAR: The defense secretary grounding a plan to shrink the Air Force. He talked about it with our Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre, and we'll hear details straight ahead.
LEMON: Well, it's the trickle-down effect of rising gas prices. Small business owners are getting hit from both sides. How they make the tough choices.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Defense Secretary Robert Gates is touring some of the largest Air Force bases to talk about last week's leadership shakeup. He's also telling troops about another new development, a reversal of plans to shrink the Air Force.
The drawdown was meant to cut 40,000 personnel by 2010. Gate says the reversal is meant to boost morale.
Our Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre has been traveling with the secretary. He interviewed him today. They covered the Air Force developments, as well as the big picture in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: What do you think is going to happen in Iraq after you leave? You're six months away from leaving. How do you envision it playing out? ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, I actually think that, based on what I read in the newspapers, I think either person who is elected president is going to come in and take a close look at it. I've said repeatedly we can't get the end game wrong. The next president would suffer the greatest consequences if we do get the end game wrong. So I think whoever is elected is likely to take a fairly sensible approach to it.
MCINTYRE: So their actions will probably be tempered by all of the practical and reality considerations that you have to take into account when you're...
(CROSSTALK)
GATES: I certainly hope so.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: That is CNN's Jamie McIntyre talking to Robert Gates there. We'll be hearing more from him ahead in the NEWSROOM.
LEMON: A growing list of big-name restaurants and supermarket chains are pulling many varieties of tomatoes, fearing a salmonella outbreak. We just spoke about it a little bit ago with our Elizabeth Cohen, our medical correspondent. Now Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with a look at the quick action being taken by these companies.
And it's probably going to affect the bottom line, Susan.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, because that is a food that's not consumed. That's for sure, Don.
And you gave us all the ingredients in your half-eaten sandwich, and it did not include tomatoes, perhaps no coincidence. Subway, just one of a number of national food chains that has stopped selling tomatoes.
Certain raw, red plum, red roma and red round tomatoes have been linked to salmonella. McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Wal-Mart, Kroger among the chains that are pulling certain types of tomatoes. They're looking to avoid the backlash that occurred after other recent recalls.
Two years ago, a spinach contamination caused nearly 200 people to get sick. Many consumers stayed away from spinach for months. That was an E. coli outbreak. A new survey by Deloitte shows nearly 60 percent of Americans stopped eating a particular food item after previous recalls, sometimes temporarily, sometimes permanently -- Don.
LEMON: OK. That's not good.
So let's follow up on the story you did yesterday. It was about rising airfares. Do you have an update for us?
LISOVICZ: That's right. Well, we told you, Don, about an effort by American Airlines and other carriers to raise airfares yet again, and it looked as though all of them would go along. Guess what? This one did not stick.
American rolled back that $20 fare hike, so have United, Delta, Northwest. Don't celebrate yet. Fuel prices, of course, are sky- high. And another attempt to raise fares likely.
Crude oil, by the way, though, is down sharply today, down about three bucks a barrel. Stocks meanwhile, little change. Check it out.
It's about 100 degrees here in New York. Maybe traders are feeling it.
The Dow, on the plus side for now, barely up 3.5 points. Nasdaq, under pressure for a second day, it's down 14 points, or about half a percent.
Next hour, the business community's latest effort to crack down on child porn.
Don, back to you.
LEMON: Wow. OK. A hundred degrees in New York, and it always feels hotter because there's no grass, no trees, no breeze.
LISOVICZ: Yes. Try the subway. Try the subway.
LEMON: All right. Well, good luck to you and all the New Yorkers today. Thanks, Susan.
LISOVICZ: We're a tough bunch.
KEILAR: They're caught in the middle of the gas crunch. We're talking about small business owners who are being forced to make tough choices. Do they raise prices or risk going broke?
Here's Senior Correspondent Allan Chernoff.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Delicatessen owner John Killoran is reminded of soaring gas prices every time he looks at his refrigerator cases, because suppliers have been tacking on fuel surcharges.
JOHN KILLORAN, TUDOR VILLAGE DELICATESSEN: It's expensive. You know? I mean, you've got deliveries six, eight times a day, 10 times a day, $5 a piece.
CHERNOFF: At the same time, some customers feeling the gas pinch are buying fewer salads and sandwiches.
CHRISTINE MALAUSEENA, DELI CUSTOMER: Those are things that I always used to buy that I don't buy anymore. I can't afford to.
CHERNOFF (on camera): The deli held off on raising its prices, but when gas hit about $3.90 a gallon here, the owners say they had to raise sandwich prices, up by 25 cents.
(voice-over): More than 40 percent of small businesses in the Northeast have raised prices in the past three months. And more than a third in other regions of the country, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.
WILLIAM DUNKELBERG, NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESS: Profits are hurt unless they can pass these costs on in the form of higher prices.
CHERNOFF: The deli suppliers who haven't raised delivery prices yet say they're hurting. Greg Barniki (ph) now often works alone on his truck, without the assistant he always had.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're forced to cut back on help.
CHERNOFF: The Tudor Village Deli is still in the black, but if gas prices keep rising at this rate, John says he'll be put out of business.
(on camera): If this continues...
KILLORAN: Oh, man, if this continues, forget about it, you know? Lock up the doors.
CHERNOFF (voice over): Allan Chernoff, CNN, Stony Brook, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: He has been an unpopular American president in parts of Europe. Well, today President Bush sets off on another visit to that continent. We'll look back at some of the issues that have divided Mr. Bush and U.S. allies in Europe.
KEILAR: A child not seen could be a child enslaved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you know there's a kid who lives in that house but you never see him out, you see the other kids go to school, but you don't see that kid? If you see something that looks odd to you, don't hesitate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Working to free slaves in America today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Kyra Phillips.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. It is 29 after the hour, and here are three of the stories we're working on for you in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A salmonella outbreak linked to three types of tomatoes has spread to 17 states. Federal officials are trying to find the source, while more restaurants and markets are pulling the tomatoes. The outbreak has sickened dozens of people and it possibly contributed to a cancer patient's death.
Damaged dams in parts of flood-filled Wisconsin are in danger of bursting. Engineers are keeping a close eye on them after one dam breach washed away houses. And in southeast Illinois, levee breaks have flooded homes and farms near Lawrenceville, forcing evacuations there.
President Bush and his European Union allies united against Iran at a summit in Slovenia. U.S. and EU leaders pushed for tougher sanctions against Tehran, over its disputed nuclear program.
LEMON: It has never been a match made in heaven. President Bush and European leaders, often at odds over all sorts of issues, including Iraq.
Well, here's our European political editor, Robin Oakley, with more on this rocky relationship.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN EUROPEAN POLITICAL EDITOR (voice-over): What can a final year U.S. president do while reporters are preoccupied with who will succeed him? Well, how about a trip around Europe for some final hob-knobbing with other world leaders. But when he leaves, will he be missed on a continent which he divided so sharply over Iraq? Mr. Bush acknowledged the difference back in 2003.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's no question where Jacques Chirac stood. And I made it clear where I stood.
OAKLEY: The Bush administration was not famous for its tact with Europe's big players.
DONALD RUMSFELD, FMR. DEFENSE SECRETARY: You're thinking of Europe as Germany and France. I don't. I think that's old Europe.
OAKLEY: President Bush's best European buddy Tony Blair, was driven out early because of his association with an unpopular president. Those close to the diplomatic exchanges say it wasn't just the policy differences on issues like climate change that caused problems. It was the tone from what critics called a unilateralist White House.
ROBIN SHEPHERD, POLITICAL ANALYST: The Europeans felt they were being talked down to and their views were not being taken account of. And this made them very hostile.
OAKLEY: President Bush's final term say others tuned to Europe's mood music has been easier.
CHARLES GRANT, CENTER FOR EUROPEAN REFORM: The second four years has been a different story. George Bush and new secretary of state, Condi Rice, decided to try and rebuild bridges with Europeans. They took the EU itself, seriously. They decided to talk more politely.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: Our interaction with the rest of the world must be a conversation, not a monologue.
OAKLEY: That was Condoleezza Rice, in 2005. While Mr. Bush may have found life more comfortable with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicholas Sarkozy, many Europeans still don't seem quite comfortable with Mr. Bush, particularly on post 9/11 issues.
GRANT: Some of the reason why public opinion has go hostile is actually particular things, such as Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and Bush's views on the use of torture. I mean it's -- you won't find any European government that really agrees with Bush.
OAKLEY: Nor did EU leaders, like Mr. Bush, pushing in 2004 to include the U.S.'s ally Turkey, as a member.
BUSH: I believe you ought to be given a date by the EU for your eventual acceptance.
SHEPHERD: The Americans know that the French don't like the idea. They know the Austrians don't like the idea. They know lots of governments in Europe don't like the idea of Turkey coming in. But they view it as part of their overwhelming strategic interest.
OAKLEY: Mr. Bush hasn't succeeded yet in that aim. And earlier this year he failed to get many Europeans in NATO to put Ukraine and Georgire (ph) on the membership path. So does that mean his visit is pointless or clout gone? Not quite yet, it seems.
SHEPHERD: An American president's voice always counts for something. He may only have, what is it, eight months or so to go. At the same time, the American president is still the leader of the most powerful country in the world. You want to get things done in those eight months, you probably need the American's on-site.
OAKLEY: Robin Oakley, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: We're keeping our eye on a fire in Stockton, California, this is east of San Francisco. These pictures coming to us from our Sacramento affiliate, KCRA. This is a fast-moving, wind-fed fire and it's gutted some homes just east of Interstate 5, the major freeway that runs north to south in that state.
This happened, obviously this morning. It is in California. This blaze burning some residences in an area that's called Quail Lakes. But just to give you a sense, this is the agricultural valley of California. The central valley -- Stockton -- gets very hot, very dry in the summer. Going to be in the 90s all this week. So you can see that firefighters there really have their work cut out for them as they try to battle this blaze that is running through some of these homes there. And you can see just there at the top of your screen that was Interstate 5, very close to the freeway there.
We don't know the cause of this blaze at this point, but we're going to continue to follow this. Again, just to recap, this is in Stockton, California, looking at a fire that's actually -- live pictures now, a fire that has destroyed some homes just east of I-5 there in Stockton, California. We'll keep an eye on this.
LEMON: All right. Well fire's a problem out West, but in the Midwest, we're talking about water and lots of it. You're looking at pictures now from Pewaukee, Wisconsin. And as you can see, what people who living there are going through. They're having to wade through all of this water. As it goes down, this is Wisconsin Avenue, and to many people's homes there. This is the middle of town. The Pewaukee lake has overflowed its banks there. This is not far from Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan has nothing to do with this water here, but it's just on the shore there up north of Chicago.
We want to get now to Tom Diehl. He joined us yesterday. And he took us through some of this unbelievable video that we had been seeing coming out of this area.
Tom, thank you for joining us today. You updated us yesterday on your efforts. Talk to us today about what you're seeing and what you're dealing with.
TOM DIEHL, LAKE DELTON VILLAGE TRUSTEE: Well, right now we're standing down on the stage at the Tommy Bartlett Show, and as you look out here you can see where there was eight feet of water here. It's no longer here. We're in the process now of trying to clean up all the debris that was at the bottom of the lake, because we're planning on opening the show on Thursday with 90 minutes of stage and sky acts. And so we'll still have the same high-quality Tommy Bartlett Show, but it will be without the water skiers this year.
LEMON: How are you going to do a water skiing show without the water?
And you talked to us yesterday about -- we had several homes that we saw just breaking off in two, floating downstream. And you said you had been standing there watching these homes and hoping that that exact thing did not happen.
DIEHL: That's correct. The whole area down at the northern part of the lake got super charged with water and the sand just gave away, starting at the Wisconsin River and worked its way back 1,000 feet to the lake. Once it got to the lake, it opened up that 400-foot breach and emptied this lake in probably less than two hours. And as you can see out in the photo here, the -- it is dry, except for some of the storm water that's still running through.
LEMON: Wow, unbelievable there. Now I understand you are just back. I want to mention that you are Lake Delton Village Trustee and you're just back from a meeting with the Wisconsin officials there. Talk to us about the latest developments.
DIEHL: We had a very productive meeting with the Department of Transportation, the Department of Natural Resources, the dam engineers, and our engineers. To begin the coordination process of getting our infrastructure back in order. We lost sewer water, electrical and so on. And then to begin the process of planning how we're going to reconstruct the road, hopefully with the dam being included in the road project so that we can kill two birds with one stone.
LEMON: How much does tourism factor into your budget and I imagine you're going to be strapped without people coming in, without the activities that you have taking place on the lake and the rivers there.
DIEHL: Well, every resort owner on this lake here, caters to people who want to bring their families to the dell and swim and enjoy and recreate in the lake. The rooms are still open and I'm hoping that people will still support those resorts so they don't lose the majority of their business. There are some owners who are totally, 100 percent dependent on lake -- the boat rentals operations, the marina operators who are going to lose the entire summer season. So it certainly has a terrible economic feeling for all of those people.
LEMON: Oh, absolutely. We spoke to -- we're planning on speaking to the homeowners -- one of the homeowners in that video of one of the home that was washed away. Have you spoken to those folks, and how are they doing, if you have?
DIEHL: Well, I talked to one family. They were using it as a summer home. But certainly the emotionalism of watching your hope get washed away into the Wisconsin River is very traumatic. Luckily, we did not have any loss of life or any injuries and that's probably the most important thing.
LEMON: Yes, absolutely. OK, I think the person we're going to speak to is Mr. Cubbinic (ph). Have you spoken to Mr. Cubbinic? Is he the person you spoke to?
DIEHL: No, I have not spoken to him yet, no.
LEMON: Tom Diehl, from Lake Delton Village, He's a trustee there.
Thank you very much and again, as I said yesterday, our thoughts and prayers are with you.
DIEHL: Thank you.
KEILAR: A child not seen could be a child enslaved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PEGGY CALLAHAN, CO-FOUNDER, FREE THE SLAVES: He lives in that house but you never see him out? You see the other kids go to school but you don't see that kid? If you see something that looks odd to you, don't hesitate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Working to free slaves in America today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Breaking news into the CNN NEWSROOM. This is coming to us from Khartoum. CNN has learned that a Sudanese plane has crashed while landing at the Khartoum Airport. There are 180 people on board this plane. And all of this coming to us from our affiliates and our resources in that area.
This is Asharooq (ph) television that we're looking at.
These pictures -- these are live pictures, right guys?
Taped pictures. They are coming in from an affiliate there -- Alsharooq television. All we know, all the information we know, is that a Sudanese plane has crashed while landing at the Khartoum Airport with 180 people on board.
We're looking at the map there. That's where this plane was going into as we take this around, and you see the runway there, and then the river on the other side of the Khartoum Airport. But again, obviously this is quite a busy airport. And these picture that are coming into the NEWSROOM are just unbelievable because, obviously, this plane up in smoke.
And you can make out the plane there in the background. Most of the flames appear to be coming from the front of the plane, but not exactly sure if that's -- obviously -- where it originated or exactly what happened there. But obviously, this plane up in flames and smoke and they're working on it at the Khartoum Airport.
Again, these pictures from Alsharooq television. Our international desk and our folks stationed there are on top of this. As soon as we get more information, we'll bring it to you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KEILAR: We're also following a fire in Stockton, California that has moved through several homes in the area there. These pictures coming to us from our Sacramento affiliate, KCRA.
This is a fast-moving fire. A lot of wind there and it's very hot -- 90 degrees throughout the week there in Stockton. This gutted some homes there. This is just east of Interstate 5, the major North/South Freeway running through California.
This fire is still going as you can see in these live pictures that we're getting in. We don't know the cause. But this is very close to that freeway, to I-5, and I know a lot of times when you travel through that area in the summer you tend to see scorched areas, maybe from a fire that was caused by a cigarette butt or sparks come off of a vehicle. Again, we don't know the cause there, but that is something that happens along that area, and these homes are adjacent to I-5 there.
We're going to continue to follow this. But just to recap, a fast-moving fire going through several Stockton, California homes there. Firefighters still trying to get it under control, Don.
LEMON: As we follow those two developing news story, we want to talk to you about this. We're going to go to our energy fix desk now. Oil and gas prices have been moving in unison, both shooting higher.
Will the price bubble ever burst? That's the big question.
CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our energy fix from New York. She joins us with the latest.
Poppy, take it away.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hi there, Don.
Well I wish I had that answer, but we certainly have some very useful information. Oil prices easing a bit, down about $3 today, but still above $131 a barrel. AAA says the nationwide average for gas hit a new record high of $4.04 per gallon.
Now, many people, including Senate Democrats, are blaming big oil. Democrats offered a bill today that would rescind $17 billion in tax breaks for big oil over the next decade. That money would instead be funneled into incentives for renewable energies. If the oil companies don't already do it themselves, that's what they're calling for.
The five largest U.S. oil companies earned $36 billion in profit in just the first three months of this year. But you know that bill failed. It was blocked by Senate Republicans today who say we cannot tax our way out of the energy problem. Instead, they propose some more exploration into parts of Alaska, namely Anwar Province, that have previously been off limits to drilling.
Now while this bill failed, Don, you can bet that this debate is going to continue for quite some time, especially through the election season -- Don.
LEMON: Would either plan then lead to lower oil and -- prices at the pump?
HARLOW: Yes, of course that's what everyone is asking.
When you think about it, both of these plans are very long-term solutions. None of them would really help us this month, this year or anytime soon.
The Democratic plan aims to shift more resources to renewable energy. Something that of course will not happen overnight. The Republican plan on the other side to explore in Alaska will likely take about ten years before you see any oil coming out of the ground there. A more immediate plan to keep a better eye on the market. That is just what the CFTC Commission is doing. It is their job to oversee these markets, these futures, these commodity trading futures markets. Now, they're holding a hearing right now, this afternoon, to try to figure out a better way to police the markets. A lot of talk about speculation or is manipulation when they're trading oil futures?
Some lawmakers are calling for more funding for the commission so they essentially really can put more cops on the beat, Don.
LEMON: All right. Poppy Harlow, thank you for much for that.
HARLOW: Sure.
LEMON: You can follow your fortunes at CNNMoney.com. We've got all the day's market news and numbers, expert analysis and much, much more.
KEILAR: A child not seen could be a child enslaved.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CALLAHAN: If you know there's a kid who lives in that house but you never see them out? You see the other kids go to school, but you don't see that kid? If you see something that looks odd to you, don't hesitate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Working to free slaves -- that's right -- slaves in America, right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Breaking news into the CNN NEWSROOM.
Look at these pictures of an airplane on fire, an airplane that had to make an emergency landing into the Khartoum Airport -- 180 people on board. This airplane, it is a Sudanese plane landing at the Khartoum Airport, which is of course the capital of Sudan there.
These are the pictures that are coming in from our affiliates there and our resources on the ground in Sudan. On the left of your screen, of course you see the map there, that shows you exactly where this airport is. The last time we heard much about of this airport was back in 2007, in March of 2007, it had to do with a hijacked airliner. But this time it is an emergency landing that is causing trouble.
We're trying to get information out of Khartoum. As soon as we get more on this, we'll bring it right to you here in the CNN NEWSROOM, Brianna.
KEILAR: Slavery in America. Of course it's illegal, but it still happens. A new book brings to light people forced to work without pay in homes, restaurants, and brothles. CNN's Kareen Wynter reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Williathe Narcisse says she was forced to work for a family for six years.
WILLIATHE NARCISSE, FORMER SLAVE: I used to cry night after night after night.
WYNTER: First in Haiti, then in this posh suburban Miami neighborhood.
NARCISSE: (INAUDIBLE) call me all types of names. They told me I was going to die. I wanted to get out of the situation but I didn't know what was going to happen.
WYNTER: As horrific as it happens, Narcisse's story isn't unique, statistics show. And as difficult as it is to imagine slavery exists not just in far away countries, but right here in the United States.
Author Ben Skinner wrote the book, "A crime So Monstrous," about slavery, which he describes as the forced labor of someone in homes, restaurants, farms and brothels, for no pay and little sustenance.
BEN SKINNER, AUTHOR: There are more slaves in the world today than at any point in human history.
WYNTER: Skinner says record poverty levels are to blame.
SKINNER: 1.1 billion people living on less than $1 a day. Extraordinarily vulnerable to criminals.
WYNTER: Each year, roughly 800,000 people are trafficked across national borders, and millions are trafficked within their own countries. According to the U.S. State Department, here in the U.S., each year 14,500 to 17,500 are trafficked into the country, the State Department said.
Peggy Callahan, who heads an organization dedicated to ending modern slavery, said the signs of someone being forced into labor can be right in front of you.
CALLAHAN: If you know there's a kid who lives in that house but you never see him out? You see the other kids go to school, but you don't see that kid?
If you see something that looks odd to you, don't hesitate.
WYNTER: At the tender age of 12, Narcisse found the courage to escape. One of her captors was imprisoned, convicted of illegally harboring Narcisse. The others fled the U.S.
Narcisse is now a student living in Miami.
NARCISSE: I'm still hurt about what I went through, but I'm a bigger and stronger person.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Maybe you have some questions about the issues facing black America. Well, here is your chance to get answers from some of the most influential names in black America. Just go to ireport.com/thedream, and post a question there. It will be part of the CNN/"Essence" magazine special event, Reclaiming the Dream. That's going to air on July 19, right here on CNN.
Then join us for "CNN Presents Black in America." This a six-hour television event that examines the complex issues, successes and struggles of black men, women and families. This is really a fascinating series. I've been able to have a sneak peek at this, and I'll tell you it's great.
"Black in America" airs July 23 and 24, only here on CNN. You can also see a preview at CNN.com/BlackinAmerica.
LEMON: We're also following breaking news into the CNN NEWSROOM.
A plane had to make an emergency crash landing -- an emergency landing, into the Khartoum Airport. You see the flames going.
What is going on? What caused this emergency landing or this crash landing?
We'll have details coming up from our senior international correspondent, Nic Robertson, in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Mission accomplished. Seven astronauts are about to say so-long to the International Space Station. They delivered and installed a huge laboratory and this big robotic arm, a big robotic arm there. And they're bringing back a bunch of scientific experiences, as well as astronaut Garrett Reisman. He spent three months in space. Now Gregory Chamitoff takes his place and plans to stay twice as long.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GREGORY CHAMITOFF, ASTRONAUT: This has been so much fun. Riding on the station altogether, it's been a big group the whole time. So -- and the station is huge. And there's plenty of room here for ten people to work hard and do what we've done.
And so I think when they leave, it's going to be very sad for me to see them go, and I think that one moment when we close the hatch, that's going to be the hard moment. And I think after that, I'm with really good friends that I've spent years training with, and they've already been here for two months, so they know how to do it and they'll show me the ropes.
(END VIDEO CLIP) KEILAR: The hatches between Discovery and the International Space Station are set to close just before 4:00 p.m. Eastern. The shuttle undocks tomorrow morning.
The next hour of the NEWSROOM starts right now.
LEMON: A Sudanese plane has crashed upon entering an airport in Khartoum, and it is believed that maybe 200 -- as many as 200 people -- may be dead in this. We want to get to our international correspondent, Nic Robertson. He joins us now from London with the very latest on this.
Nic, you were at that airport recently?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well Don, we know that from people we've talked to in Khartoum that the weather was bad just when that aircraft came in. The security officials at the airport there are telling us that the plane came in, crash landed, burst into flames. They are saying, this is security officials at the airport with their first analysis, they're saying many, many people are dead. They believe as many as 200 people could be on the aircraft. They say this plane was coming in from the Middle East, either from Syria or from Jordan, came into the airport, bad weather, crash landed and now it's in flames.
Those are the barest details we have right now, Don.
