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Wisconsin Flooding Hurting Tourist Season; Man Survives With a Nail in His Head; Volunteers in Des Moines Prepare for Possible Lake Flood; John McCain Speaks in Philadelphia; NASA to Send New Spacecraft to Learn About Dark Matter; Cindy McCain or Michelle Obama as First Lady
Aired June 11, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: More falling rain, more rivers rising, more misery this morning from the Midwest flooding and the threat could continue for weeks. In Cedar Falls, Iowa, sandbag levee looks like it is holding so far. Officials are worried the river could break through the levee and flood the city's downtown.
In Wisconsin, authorities are watching about 1,000, can you believe it, dams for possible breaches. Only two have given way since Monday, but others could fail as more rain falls. Also in Wisconsin, engineers are repairing the damage left after Lake Delton drained into a nearby river. Five homes were swept away and the popular lake was reduced to a mud pond.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: The flooding in Lake Delton, Wisconsin, comes just as the summer tourism season starts to ramp up. Our Susan Roesgen is there with more on the damage and the recovery effort. Susan, you were pointing out that's part of the Tommy Bartlett water ski show that is so famous in this country directly behind you.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it is true. I'm standing here, Heidi, at basically the bottom of what was a 300-acre lake. I decided that the best thing to do in is a situation like this where normally I would be under 12 feet of water is to get a metal detector and come out here and try to find somebody's engagement ring that fell over the side of a boat maybe or the keys to a 1979 Pinto. That's probably out here somewhere or a tackle box that fell off a boat. I'm sure the guys with metal detectors will be out here.
This is the ramp for one of those famous water skiing, acrobatic water skiing shows. Let me show you what one of those shows looks like in a normal year. For 55 years, the Tommy Bartlett show has been putting on this water skiing show out here, all kinds of acrobatics, people come to see it, about 300,000 people a year come to see this show. And now Tom Diehl, the owner, the president of the Tommy Bartlett show says this year it just won't be the same.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM DIEHL, OWNER, "THE TOMMY BARTLETT SHOW": It is going to hurt. I mean, the Wisconsin Delton area in totality has about a billion dollar economic interest in tourism, spending in tourism and this 254- acre lake provided a significant part of that. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Now, what he is going to do here is he's still going to have the show basically without the water skiers. He's going to have some things that you might see like in the Pocono's, comedians, magicians, jugglers. He's going to try to get anybody he can to come fill up the stands and at least generate a little bit of revenue so the season won't be a total washout. They do plan Heidi to refill this lake but not until the end of the season. And here is the ultimate irony, I think. This was a man-made lake. This lake was created in the (AUDIO GAP) to bring tourists to this area, to Lake Delton in Wisconsin and you know, it is not nice to fool Mother Nature. She took it back.
COLLINS: Yes, I guess so. Boy, I just can't get over that shot. I have been there a couple of times. Man, oh, man. It is just absolutely evaporated. Susan Roesgen coming to us from Lake Delton, Wisconsin, Wisconsin delta area there, appreciate that Susan.
Not far away from where Susan is standing, more than 150,000 homes and business in Michigan still without power this morning after several days of severe storms there. The utility companies say it will be later this week before all the lights are back on. Eight people were killed in the Michigan storms. The National Weather Service confirmed at least two tornadoes hit the state on Sunday. Another hit during storms on Friday.
HARRIS: Boy, the Midwest so heavily damaged by -- it feels like - I want to say weeks, but it feels like a couple of months now just really, really bad weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: One more note on Iowa to share with you. Some are calling this another 100-year flood only 85 years early. Back in 1993, the river in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, rose to about 19 feet. It is expected to crest as Rob was just saying Thursday, between 20 and 20 1/2 feet. So facts and figures from that devastating flood in '93, it inundated 20 million acres of nine states, 54,000 people were evacuated, 50 people died and the flood caused $20 billion in damage.
HARRIS: So let's take you over to the west coast now, where expected high winds could fan destructive flames in northern California. Crews are fighting fires in several fronts near Stockton, California, 30 homes were destroyed there. Fires farther north forced people out of their homes and destroyed another 21 homes. Firefighters are facing off against about a half dozen different fires right now. A fire captain is among several firefighters injured. He is in the hospital with second and third-degree burns.
A developing story from Mt. Rainier in Washington State. Rob mentioned it just a moment ago. Just about an hour ago, an Army Chinook helicopter rescued two hikers who were trapped Monday in an overnight blizzard. A third hiker, the husband of one of the survivors, was killed. The hikers who were rescued are being flown to a hospital suffering from frostbite and hypothermia. We will keep you posted with more information as we get it on the scene.
COLLINS: A small town in Oklahoma on edge today. That's after the killing of two young girls shot to death on a country road. Family members say the girls were best friends planning a sleep over. Officials are offering a $14,000 reward for information in the case. Investigators say they are looking into the possibility that the suspect lives in the area and they are warning parents to be careful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF JACK SHOATE, OKFUSKEE COUNTY, OKLA: Basically what we are saying is we don't know what (INAUDIBLE) but if it were me, you know, I wouldn't let my kids out walking unless there were other people around that you knew.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: A short time ago I talked with Manny Gamallo, a reporter covering the case. He explained why he thinks investigators believe that this was not a random killing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF MANNY GAMALLO, REPORTER, TULSA WORLD: It is just too far off the beaten bath. The closest paved road is almost four miles away. This is within a maze of county dirt roads. So it is unlikely, according to the authorities, that anybody who would have gone through there as a thrill killer or whatever looking for a victim. So that's why they think that. They didn't think there was any signs of sexual molestation. So they are really puzzled as to what a motive may have been.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Again, investigators say that they have no suspects at this time. Funeral services are being planned for 11 year-old Skyla Whitaker and 13-year old Taylor Paschal-Placker.
HARRIS: A patient has a nail in the head. The doctor has just the thing for him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does anybody have a hammer, a claw hammer? I thought he was teasing at first. No he says. Go in like that and he says we can pull it out like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: It's no joke. A nurse passed the claw hammer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK, we want to take a quick look at how stocks are doing on Wall Street this morning. Yeah, man, down 142 points. Well I guess that's a bit off of session lows. We were down in the 150-point territory. That was just a short time ago. We will of course check in with Susan Lisovicz. She is watching the numbers for us from the New York Stock Exchange. And also, we are less than two months away from our unparalleled television event, black in America. Don't miss this groundbreaking documentary series coming up this July on CNN worldwide.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: It keeps rising. Brace yourself, regular gasoline now averaging $4.05 a gallon, another record high according to AAA, 0 .9 of a cent higher than yesterday.
Another fallout of high gas prices, parents of young athletes cutting back on budgets or even missing their kids' away games. CNN's Rusty Dornin explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over: For Dana Scott, the final trip of a very long gas-guzzling soccer season. He is car pooling with his daughter's team 100 miles south of Atlanta for the Georgia State cup tournament. For Scott and other parents the final whistle has come none too soon for their wallets. Any idea how much you spent on gas?
LISA ARKIN, SOCCER MOM: Gosh. Soccer, I would say probably on a weekend, $100, $120.
DORNIN: How many weekends have you been doing that?
ARKIN: Oh, gosh, every other weekend.
DORNIN: So we went along for the ride with Scott while he filled up for the trip.
DANA SCOTT, SOCCER DAD: We're on up to about $75.
DORNIN: Is this going to mean that some parents (INAUDIBLE) going to be able to have their kids in sports?
SCOTT: Oh definitely. We've had to think about what we do with our own expenses to accommodate paying the fees for the sports as well as the gas.
DORNIN: For parents like Marie Bledsoe, there was no turning back despite the gas pain.
MARIE BLEDSOE, SOCCER MOM: We are already fully committed in sports and it would be hard to back out because of that. Does it put a dent in your pocket? Absolutely. Is it crazy. Should we all be car pooling more, yes.
DORNIN: So what's a parent to do to help trim their losses?
MARY LUTZENKIRCHEN, SOCCER MOM: Not all of us go to the games now. We chaperone and sometimes parents don't come extra. And like my family, I will go this weekend. But nobody else will.
SHANNON MOORE, SOCCER MOM: I think because our kids are a priority for us, we will make it work somehow but it is a concern.
DORNIN: For some players, state tournaments like this can be a springboard to more prestigious teams and the possibility of college scholarships. So whatever the penalty the goal that makes every penny spent on gas a smart investment. Rusty Dornin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Still to come, a backyard project stops when a nail gun shoots off. What happened to the nail?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He asked me, he says, did you see where that nail went? I said no, I don't. But I said, I have just a little sting here. Did the nail go by here?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Wait until you hear how doctors got it out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: When home fix it jobs go bad. A man gets shot in the head with a nail gun. Why am I smiling so much as I read this? The doctor grabs a claw hammer to get it out. Maybe that's it. Here's Sandra Bolimus with KCTV in Kansas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANDRA BOLIMUS, KCTV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With his wife and grandchildren by his side, George Chandler walks his dogs in this (INAUDIBLE) neighborhood. This simple task now seems amazing when you consider what just happened to him Friday. Take a look. This x-ray of his head says it all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It went all the way into the top of the head. You can see what blood is on there. That was all the blood there was.
BOLIMUS: George and his buddy were outside building a lattice in the backyard.
GEORGE CHANDLER, HIT IN HEAD WITH NAIL: He was on the ladder and he was above me. And I don't know if he -- he come this way and I was down here and I come this way.
BOLIMUS: As his friend tried to untangle the nail gun hose, it went off. What's unbelievable is at first they had no idea where the nail landed.
CHANDLER: He asked me, he says, did you see where the nail went? I said no, I don't. But I said I've got just a little sting here. Did the nail go by here? BOLIMUS: That's when they discovered the 2 1/2-inch nail had actually gone right through his head.
CHANDLER: It was just like maybe a sting bite or something. There was no blood. If there was blood, I probably would have gone --
BOLIMUS: George was alert and talking as an ambulance rushed him to the hospital. Instead of reaching into his surgical bag, doctors used something right out of a tool box.
CHANDLER: Does anybody have a hammer, a claw hammer? I thought he was teasing at first. Then he says, no, he says, it went in like that, he says we can pull it out like that.
BOLIMUS: George returned home where children in the neighborhood made him a colorful get-well card.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope you don't have a headache. That's cute.
BOLIMUS: He and his family can laugh about it now knowing that he's pretty much nailed down the most unbelievable story on the block.
CHANDLER: I feel very lucky, very, very lucky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Chandler says he feels fine, but he will have to go back to the doctor for some follow-up checkups.
COLLINS: Yeah. Our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is joining me now. Elizabeth, explain. We don't want to say that this happens all the time but we have seen this before. How does it happen?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: First of all, I want to show everyone what a nail gun looks like. Maybe I'm just not into home improvement.
COLLINS: Careful now. Careful now.
COHEN: It is not loaded.
COLLINS: All right.
COHEN: I made sure that it was not loaded. This is pretty heavy duty, I mean a nail coming out. I don't even want to think about it. But this is a nail gun like the one that that gentleman was using. Let's take a look again at that x-ray. It is really incredible. Here it is. The nail went into his head and you can see it again right here. Here is the length of the nail. And we ran these x-rays by an emergency room physician at the University of Chicago. He said wow, they really picked the absolute best place for that nail to go in. That it went in and it avoided a whole lot of problems. And Heidi, you mentioned, has this happened before? There's some 40,000 accidents per year with nail guns so this has definitely happened before. COLLINS: Yeah, but this type of injury where it goes into the skull like that?
COHEN: Yes. We have seen it before. I remember, within the same year, it was -- watched sort of a similar x-ray like that. Amazing that there is that sort of pocket, if you will. You know what they did -- to get it out, the doctors went to the maintenance department at their hospital in other cases. They go to the maintenance department at the hospital and say give me a claw hammer. That's the way -- that's the way they take it out. Yeah, believe it or not, they actually do use a regular every day claw hammer to get it out.
COLLINS: I cannot get over that. But it does have a good point (INAUDIBLE) home repair warriors, sometimes we call them weekend warriors. What should people do if there is an accident like this? Certainly, you don't want to try to pull it out on your own.
COHEN: Exactly. So that these folks in Kansas did the exact right thing. Leave it in there. I'm going to go over three very common household injuries and what you do. This is very basic first aid. Of course there are going to be exceptions. Here are a couple of things that people should remember. When you have a sharp object like a nail go into your body, leave it there. You don't know what it is holding in. Don't remove it. And the second thing is if someone is bleeding, apply pressure. Do not wrap a tourniquet around them. Just apply pressure to the point where they are bleeding. Also, if someone has a major fall like let's say from a ladder that is against the house, leave them there. Call 911, let the professionals move the person. If you move this person you could injure them even more.
COLLINS: Great point and good reminders too even if it is a emergency 101. You panic a lot of the times, forget all of that basic stuff. There is that x-ray again. Man, I can't get over it.
COHEN: That's a different one. That's another guy.
COLLINS: We are just trying to show how this happens.
COHEN: Good lord.
COLLINS: You have to be careful. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.
Just a reminder, to get your daily dose of health news online, you can logon to our web site. You will find the latest medical news, a health library and information on diet and fitness, that address, cnn.com/health.
HARRIS: We are coming right back with the latest news from the campaign trail. First, the new invention by the man who created the segue could provide clean water for thirsty nations. Miles O'Brien shows us the water sling shot.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Inventor Dean Kamen took me to the river, dropped a bucket down and let the glib facts flow. More than a billion people do not have access to decent water.
DEAN KAMEN, INVENTOR: Their choice is drink bad water or die of thirst.
O'BRIEN: The segue inventor has spent the past decade trying to make the awful choice a thing of the past.
KAMEN: Let's take this water back.
O'BRIEN: Carrying a bucket of Merrimac River water, he segued his way to his lab where he has built an amazing water purifying device he calls sling shot.
KAMEN: We call it a sling shot because, as you might recall from the old story, it was this little guy David. He had a really big problem, a Goliath of a problem.
O'BRIEN: Sling shot distills the dirty water, which is the best way to purify it, but distillation normally requires a lot of power. Sling shot recaptures nearly all of the heat used in the first place and reuses it. It needs less juice than a blow-dryer.
KAMEN: We have a very realistic solution here.
O'BRIEN: It was delicious and it can produce enough water for 100 people a day. Getting these $2,000 devices to places where they are needed will take a whole new level of inventiveness. Miles O'Brien, CNN, Manchester, New Hampshire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: I want to take a minute to show everybody this incredible picture that we are getting in from Des Moines, Iowa. We have been watching the water situation for days now, all of the flooding there. And look at this live pictures from our affiliate there, I believe it is KCTI. Do you see the underpasses of the Des Moines River? You can't get under them, obviously. I mean, this river is looking like it is about to crest.
HARRIS: Did you get the information on Waterloo as well, Iowa? Evacuations have been ordered there particularly in the downtown area. The mayor there Tim Hurley (ph) says the evacuation order is not because of levee breaches or river water, but because lift stations can't keep up with the groundwater runoffs, so problems just all over Iowa as we've been documenting throughout the morning in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: We also have the report of evacuations in Cedar Rapids and people really trying to help out their community there with all that sandbagging that we've been looking at.
Rob Marciano, watching all of this for us as well. Joining us now to give us the very latest. What's happening? You know, we were talking about how it will take a few days, probably, for these rivers and waterways to crest.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, some have crested, some are cresting. And some still have several days to crest. This particular river, the Des Moines River, is forecast to crest early tomorrow morning.
So those bridges that we're seeing in that live picture, you can see people standing on either side of the bridge, they're closed. Because this river is forecast to crest about another foot and change over the next 12 to 18 hours. And of course, those forecasts -- they can change. River forecasting is one of the more difficult things to do. Because you just don't know how much runoff is going to filter into the rivers from the rains that are coming. And there is rain heading right over that area right now.
So, there is some question marks as to how much farther that water's going to go up. Certainly, if you go that high as it is, with the currents and the pressure, there could very well be some structural damage already to those bridges. Here it is on Google Earth. I think I've got it zoomed in to the right area. You see the two bridges, the Locust Street and Grand Avenue areas there. And, all within the Des Moines area, the Des Moines River. And this system that's all filtering into the Mississippi River. So, you've got the Des Moines River, you've got -- whoops, sorry about that. You've got the...
HARRIS: You've got the Cedar River.
MARCIANO: The Cedar River, as well. And we're zooming in to that. Cedar Rapids, this is an area that's going to peak over the weekend, actually Friday, at 22 feet. That's six feet above major flood stage. And then you've got the Iowa River, which is forecasted to crest on Saturday, at 30 feet. That's five feet above flood stage. University of Iowa is in there. And they're expecting some flooding, potentially bad flooding over the University of Iowa. And then all of this has to go into the Mississippi River eventually. And that river, at least at Burlington, is going to crest at 22 feet on Monday.
So we have several days to deal with as we go through the next couple of days and then we have more rain that's falling right now. So that's what's creating the problems. There you see the entire system, not really moving very quickly.
COLLINS: That's the problem.
MARCIANO: It's more swirling, you know?
COLLINS: Yes.
MARCIANO: And this area right here, is kind of stalled out. And this is the area that is seeing the rain -- flooding and the rainfall is not helping that. So, southern Minnesota and of course, the worst of it is in Iowa. And right now, those thunderstorms about to roll through Des Moines. It's got to be an awful feeling to watch that river rise over that bridge. And right in downtown and know that there's more rain on the way. Potentially this particular shell that's heading that way. This could drop easily a half inch of rain or more in just an hour or so -- so.
COLLINS: Really?
MARCIANO: Bit of a dicey situation there in Des Moines. Again, I'd like to end it by saying that the longer-range forecast trend...
HARRIS: Things improve.
MARCIANO: ... next week, it is calling for dry weather. But it could very well be a long rest of the week, after these falls.
COLLINS: Yes, no question about it. Already so much damage.
All right, Rob, thank you.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
COLLINS: The sputtering economy. It is "ISSUE #1." And Republican John McCain is stepping up his attack on Barack Obama, his latest target. Obama's suggestion that the North American Free Trade Agreement be renegotiated. McCain says that would hurt small businesses. But he agrees with Obama on one idea -- a new economic stimulus package. Obama's proposal totals about $50 billion. McCain hasn't put a number on his ideas yet.
Meanwhile, Obama's list it is potential running mate, now numbers about 20. Senator Chris Dodd, of Connecticut, is one of the names to come up. One Democrat who's seen the list says it also includes former lawmakers and former top military officials.
Just a reminder, Senator John McCain will hold a town hall meeting in Philadelphia this hour. Actually, it looks like he has taken the microphone and getting to speak, as we speak.
So let's go ahead and listen for just a moment.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And let me say, I would appreciate your support and I will -- I want to assure you, I will compete and win in the state of Pennsylvania and we will win in November.
(APPLAUSE)
And we will carry this state and I will be the next president of the United States. And I want to thank you for your enthusiasm and your support. And I'm grateful for it.
(APPLAUSE)
And my friends, we're going to get on the bus and we want a lot of you to come with us and we're going to travel all over the state of Pennsylvania. And we are going to go to the small towns in Pennsylvania and I'm going to tell them I don't agree with Senator Obama, that they cling to their religion and constitution because they're bitter. I'm going to tell them they have faith and they have trust and support the Constitution of the United States because they have optimism and hope and are the strength of America. That's what America is all about.
(APPLAUSE)
Is the people who love our country, who cherish their religion and support the second amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America. That's the message and that's another reason why we are going to win the state of Pennsylvania next November the 4th.
So -- and also my friends, I want to say -- and I will make my remarks fairly brief, because the important thing about a town hall meeting -- and I've had hundreds and hundreds if not thousands of town hall meetings, is not only your opportunity to talk to me. But it's my opportunity to hear from you. And people are sick and tired of this kind of campaign that's going on, the sound bytes, spin room, the media personalities that overshadow the candidates with the gotcha questions.
My friends, they want us to stand before the American people in a town hall meeting and listen to their hopes and dreams and aspirations. And that's why I have asked...
(APPLAUSE)
... And that's why I've asked Senator Obama to join me in 10 town hall meetings once a week, between now and the Democratic convention. And let's fly around this country. Let's get on an airplane, I promise not the try to fly it.
(LAUGHTER)
Let's get on an airplane and let's get on an airplane and let's go to cities. I asked him to join me tomorrow night in Federal Hall in New York City. And let's hear from the American people. Let's select a few hundred Americans who are unaffiliated and let's stand before them. Instead of the sound byte, instead of taking someone's comments out of context and flashing it around on the cable shows. Why don't we hear complete answers and complete thoughts and that way, and that way, the American people will really have an ability to judge.
So I have not heard from Senator Obama. But I certainly urge him again to accept my request to meet him in town hall meetings all over America. That's the essence of democracy. I hope he'll take me up on that request.
(APPLAUSE)
And now my friends, I would like to just talk to you about the major challenges facing America. They are three. They are reform, they are prosperity, and they are peace. And I would like to address each one of them not in a complete fashion, but touch on them with you. First of all, we need to reform the way we do business in Washington. Everybody knows that. The approval rating of Congress is at an all-time low. The ratings are so low, you get down to paid staffers and blood relatives. You can't get any lower then I know of. And it's because we're not working for them. It's because we are working for us. It's because we have lost sight of the fact that Americans, especially in these tough times when people are trying to keep their homes, when hundreds of -- couple hundred thousand or more have recently and suddenly lost jobs. When we are in two wars and struggling against radical Islamic extremism. When we got a Medicare system and Social Security system that's going broke. They want us to sit down and work together.
I know how to reach across the aisle. I will attract independents, Democrats, by the way, those supporters of Senator Clinton, I welcome you here today. But, so...
(APPLUASE)
... so what about our economy, my friends? we know these are tough times. I don't have to tell you. I don't have to tell you what tough times we're in. And we need to keep taxes low. Why in the world would anyone consider raising your taxes in different economic times? Senator Obama wants to raise the capital gains tax. My friends, there's 100 million people that have some kind of investment that is affected by capital gains. Why would we want to take more of the people's money and send it to Washington to spend on a bridge in Alaska to an island with 50 people on it?
HARRIS: All right, John McCain, the GOP presumptive presidential nominee. Town hall meeting in Philadelphia. Talking about the environment, energy and some economic issues as well. John McCain outlining his position on gas and oil. And then in a couple of minutes, he will take questions from the audience.
Diplomacy preferred, but all options are certainly on the table. Comments this morning for President Bush repeating his stance on dealing with Iran's nuclear program. The president speaking in Germany.
Our White House correspondent, Elaine Quijano, reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Bush is keeping the focus squarely on Iran, during his farewell tour of Europe. At a stop here in Germany, the president reiterated that he'd keeping all options, including a military option, on the table. Even as he tries to ratchet up the Diplomatic pressure. President Bush did get the backing of German Chancellor Angela Merkel for possible additional sanctions if Iran does not come clean about its nuclear program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: And message to the Iranian government is very clear -- that there is a better way forward than isolation, and that is for you to verifiably suspend your enrichment program, and the choice is theirs to make.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Tehran insist it's program is intended for peaceful civilian purposes only. But the U.S. and other countries are deeply skeptical. In the coming days, a top official with the European Union is set to deliver a package of incentives to Tehran, in exchange for Iran stopping its uranium enrichment. Already Iran's president says the stepped-up pressure and threat of more sanctions won't work.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, Berlin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And just another reminder for you to check out the political ticker. For all of the latest political news, just logon to CNNpolitics.com -- there it is -- your source for all things political.
The latest numbers from Wall Street straight ahead, including more bad news about oil prices. Oh, boy. Right after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
COLLINS: We are standing by for a NASA launch any minute now. A space shuttle, but some interesting cargo on board this rocket.
Miles O'Brien, up after the break with the story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Quickly want to show you these pictures coming into us from our affiliate in California there, KGO. This is in particular, Solano County. It's actually between Sacramento and San Francisco. Nasty house fire. Actually came in as four-alarm house fire. And then, as you can see -- pull out here just a little bit. Unbelievable the way it is spreading to all of the vegetation surrounding this home. It appears to be some sort of farm because vegetation in these fields is absolutely torched, for lack of a better word. Hopefully we'll get to see that picture again because it give you an idea how dry things are in this area. And how quickly they can just go up in flames.
So, I'm not quite sure if they are -- yes, it looks like they're still treating the hot spots on the fire -- I mean on the home. The actual structural fire. And certainly still trying to control the flames that have sort of turned into a brush fire in this area. Not sure if -- are we re-racking the pictures, guys? I think that's what we're trying to do. Anyway, we're going the keep our eye on this for you and let you know if we learn any more information out of Solano County, California, KGO.
HARRIS: In just a little while, NASA will launch a brand-new telescope designed to unlock the mysteries of space. Can't wait to talk to Miles O'Brien about this.
Our chief technology and environment correspondent. Miles, good morning. Tell us all about it.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CHIEF TECHNOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT CORRESPONDENT: Oh, and you can throw space in there too, if you like, Tony.
HARRIS: OK.
O'BRIEN: Yes, let's go down to the Cape Canaveral Air Station. And take a look at this rocket, first of all. They just had a little bit of a delay. The tracking station in Antigua, went down for a little while. But, it's back up. Maybe they went to the beach for a little bit, who knows. No -- anyway they're getting ready to go 12:05 p.m. Eastern time is the current time when they're hoping to get this GLASS telescope off. And on its way to a five or perhaps 10-year mission. That the stand for, by the way, the Gamma Ray Large Area Space Telescope.
But Tony, of course you knew that.
HARRIS: Yes, all over that.
O'BRIEN: The GLASS is half full with Tony Harris, at all times, right?
HARRIS: There you go, there you do.
O'BRIEN: Let me give you an idea of what's going to happen once this gets in space, if all goes well. We'll run through it very quickly.
This is a spacecraft that costs U.S. and European taxpayers about $690 million. But it's going to take us to the very edge of our understanding of the universe. And look into things that we don't fully understand well. For example, physicists have been pondering for years now, what is the gravitational forces which cause the universe to expand. And there's thing out there they call dark matter, that they have not quite figured out what it is yet. But they think it's there yet because the way things move, it must be there. This spacecraft will look for that. It's going to look at solar flares, pulse airs, cosmic rays, gamma rays. In short, it is sort of documenting a violent universe.
We're going to know more about black holes if this thing does its job, than we've ever known before. But it's got to get off the launch pad. So far, the weather looks good. But, as you know, it is rocket science. And these things can delay. So we'll watch, we'll listen and 12:05 p.m., if it goes, we'll bring it to you.
HARRIS: Terrific. OK, Miles, appreciate it.
Miles O'Brien, our chief technology, environment and space correspondent, in New York, for us this morning.
Miles, appreciate it. Thanks.
COLLINS: Wow, that's a lot of titles.
HARRIS: That's a lot of work.
COLLINS: Cindy McCain or Michelle Obama, who do you think would make a better first lady? A study in contrasts, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Presidential politics and the women vying to become first lady. What role would Cindy McCain play? How about Michelle Obama?
Here's CNN's Jill Dougherty.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN INTERNATIONAL US AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): They're not elected, not paid. There's no precise job description. But whether they are hostess of the White House or champion of women's rights, first ladies in the United States can wield enormous influence in politics and in society.
The two women poised for the job, 54-year-old Cindy McCain, wife of Republican John McCain, 44-year-old Michelle Obama, wife of Democrat Barack Obama, have strikingly different backgrounds.
McCain, only child of a wealthy beer distributor from Arizona, her stake in the business is estimated to be at least $100 million. She refused to release her tax returns saying I am not the candidate. But later provided the summary pages of her 2006 taxes without details. Cindy McCain has a Master's degree in Special Education. She met John McCain in 1979. He was 18 years older than she was. He divorced his wife and married Cindy in 1980. They have four children, including a daughter, adopted from an orphanage in Bangladesh. Cindy McCain has had health issues. A near fatal stroke in 2004, a battle with prescription drugs, now behind her, she says. Charity is her priority.
CINDY MCCAIN, WIFE OF SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: I've been internationally involved in many, many things, land mine removal, children's health care, poverty around the world. And I will continue that.
DOUGHERTY: On the campaign trail, always dressed impeccably, she stays on message but did take a swipe at Michelle Obama.
C. MCCAIN: I'm proud of my country. I don't know about you, if you heard those words earlier. I'm very proud of my country.
DOUGHERTY: It was a reference to Michelle Obama's controversial statement.
MICHELLE OBAMA, WIFE OF SEN. BARACK OBAMA: For the first time in my adult lifetime, I'm really proud of my country. And not just because Barack has done well, but because I think people are hungry for change.
DOUGHERTY: For a potential U.S. first lady to admit she might not have been proud of her country, drew criticism. But Obama's blunt style goes over well with supporters.
M. OBAMA: I think race always, still in this country, it's always on the table.
DOUGHERTY: Michelle Obama was raised in a working class family in Chicago, yet educated in America's elite universities, Princeton and Harvard Law School. She started working at a top-flight law firm and met Barack Obama when she was assigned to mentor him. They married in 1992 and have two young daughters. Their husbands offer starkly different views of what they would do in office, and so do they.
(on camera): Cindy McCain, a more traditional first lady for a candidate whom some describe as a maverick. Michelle Obama, potentially the first African-American first lady, wife of the candidate who's rallying cry is change. Whoever wins, they'll write the next chapter in the history of America's first ladies.
Jill Dougherty, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.
HARRIS: "ISSUE #1" is next with Gerri Willis and Ali Velshi. But first a quick look at the headlines.
