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American Morning
Tornado Hits Boy Scout Camp in Iowa; House Approves $1 Billion Aid to Help Mexico Fight Drug War; Obama Campaign Scans the Web for Rumors; Former NBA Referee Says There's Game Fixing in Playoffs; Jim Johnson Stepping Down From Obama Camp; Top Secret Files from Al Qaeda in Iraq Revealed
Aired June 12, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin with breaking news. This is terrible.
A powerful tornado cutting a path right through a Boy Scout camp in western Iowa. At least four people are dead, another 40 injured. Cars and trucks were tossed around. Every building pulverized.
Tents were literally swept away and teenagers pinned beneath it all. Iowa's governor spoke out just moments ago about the tragedy. Here is some of what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. CHET CULVER (D), IOWA: We do have four confirmed fatalities. We are saddened by the loss of life. We're very concerned about the dozens that have been injured, and we continue to do everything we can to make sure that those injured are going to recover.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Now, not long after that tornado hit, one of the campers who was in the storm's path spoke to our affiliate KMTV overnight. It was actually one of the troop leaders. Have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, TROOP LEADER: If we had been five seconds later, like there would have been way more people gone. Like it was -- and then I ran.
I took a kid to a shelter and get him, and I was running back and that's when it hit. And I jumped in a ditch. And then I grabbed a first aid kit and ran up to where the one that all the kids are like not alive or dead.
So we got a bunch -- a bunch of us, we got together and we started undoing the rubble like from the fireplace and stuff and pulling kids out, and waiting for the first responders and stuff to get there. So it was the biggest tornado, I think -- I don't know. I was just laying there, but it was big.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROBERTS: That's Eric Moore (ph), one of the boy scouts trooper (ph). What he was talking about, where he was saying, if it were five seconds later, that the death toll would have been higher. They were all running towards this structure, a fireplace structure that collapsed on top of a lot of the boy scouts. So he didn't quite make it there, as he said, jumped into a ditch and perhaps saved that young boy's life because they didn't make it to the structure.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: And Reynolds Wolf, you, you know, follow this extreme weather. You've seen pictures like this. You've talked about it a number of times. You just -- you never -- you can't ever time these things out.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Not at all. I mean, this was very unexpected. They had very little time to take cover. This tornado was also what we sometimes refer to as a rain-wrapped tornado. There was quite a bit of precipitation around the funnel, and of course it made contact with the ground making it very hard to see.
Latest we have, as you mention, we've got many injuries and we have four fatalities, and still we got a lot of work to do right in that area to survey the damage and look for possible others.
Let's go right to our Google Earth and give you an idea at home just exactly where much of this took place. We're going to start off again at Little Sioux Scout Camp in Iowa, presuming, you know, that location, and again a scout camp. I mean, how -- one place that I know most parents would always consider to be safe for their kids in early late spring, early summer event. And sure enough, we had the outbreak yesterday.
Some 50 tornadoes reported throughout more parts of the central plains. Let's zoom in and show you some other locations. That wasn't the only spot that was affected yesterday.
Kansas State University in Manhattan, they took a direct hit yesterday outside the university. Many injuries in that location, but also in Chapman, Kansas. We're going to zoom a little bit farther to the south where we had even more activity. And we had 60 buildings, some homes, some businesses just flattened by this tornado that came right through that area.
Now, the scary news is we are far from being done with this kind of activity. This morning we've got some very strong storms developing near the Des Moines area, now moving back towards Oskaloosa and Davenport. You don't have a whole lot of activity yet, but you'll notice a lot of this precipitation is going to be moving right in your direction.
A lot of this area, keep in mind too, not necessarily the threat of tornadoes but still the flood threat exists throughout all of the state, including parts of the Midwest. We're going to be dealing with again floodwaters that are going to be -- the rivers rising and possibly receding and then rising once again through the weekend.
Although the tornado threat not much of an issue now, but later on today, yes, it could pop up one more time especially for the western half of the Great Lakes into the Ohio Valley and into parts of the Corn Belt.
So we could see a resurgence of this tornadic activity and, of course, that flood threat remains locked in place. Let's send it back to you.
PHILLIPS: All right. Reynolds, thanks so much.
WOLF: You bet.
ROBERTS: And we should mention also that our Sean Callebs is on the scene there in Little Sioux, just gathering some facts. We hope to hear from him very soon.
All across the Midwest the rivers are rising from Minnesota to as far south as Missouri, straining several levees, bridges and dams in the area. And rain just keeps on coming.
In Cedar Falls, Iowa, a frantic sandbagging effort is underway to keep the waters out. And at this hour, evacuations are in effect for downtown Cedar Falls, neighboring Waterloo, and also parts of Indiana.
PHILLIPS: Now also new this morning, the Pentagon releasing video from an unmanned drone. Officials say that it supports the military's version of that air strike we told you about yesterday aimed at Taliban fighters that mistakenly killed 11 Pakistani troops.
The Defense Department tape allegedly shows militants and coalition forces engaging in a battle right there along the Afghan/Pakistan border and coalition planes responding with air strikes. CNN is working to verify this. Meanwhile, Pakistan has condemned those air strikes calling them unprovoked and cowardly.
Now, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blasting President Bush calling him "a wicked man" one day after the president said all options were on the table in trying to get Iran to drop its nuclear program. He also is telling the president, "Your era has come to an end." Earlier this week at the U.S. European Summit, Iran was warned tougher sanctions would come if Tehran refused to comply.
ROBERTS: Five minutes after the hour. New this morning, the military says it is not ending its so-called stop loss policy anytime soon. And the number of troops affected by the program may actually increase slightly.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Michael Mullens says keeping soldiers past their enlistment dates allows army units to be stocked with trained soldiers ready to deploy to Iraq and Afghanistan. Right now, about 11,000 soldiers are serving under the program.
House Democrats will try again today to push a plan to extend unemployment benefits by 13 weeks. Democrats fell three votes short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the extension. The White House is threatening to veto the bill saying emergency steps are only needed if unemployment rates jump considerably higher than the 5.5 percent reported for the month of May. Vice President Dick Cheney addressing concerns about the economy calling on Congress to renew the president's tax cuts, boost domestic energy production, and pass free trade agreements. He went on to say if the Bush tax cuts expire, it would result in a $280 billion tax increase on Americans.
PHILLIPS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning." An outbreak of violence in Mexico's drug wars.
Coming up next, how the U.S. is getting involved to help keep that problem from spreading across the border.
And Barack Obama and the Web. He's harnessed his power to raise millions of dollars, and he's seen the bad side too. The good and the bad and the ugly of cyber campaigning, straight ahead.
Tornadoes tearing across the Midwest. We've been telling you about that deadly rain-wrapped tornado at an Iowa Boy Scout camp. We'll have the latest pictures and forecast straight ahead on the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Your money is issue number one here at CNN, and this morning you are forking out more of it for gas. For the fifth straight day now, AAA says gas hit another record high, $4.06 a gallon this Thursday morning.
PHILLIPS: And we're talking about Mexico's drug war. The House approving more than $1 billion of aid this week to help Mexico fight drug traffickers. That plan providing assistance ranging from military equipment to police training, but critics say it's just not enough.
Zain Verjee has more on the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mexico's drug war, 4,000 killed, more than 400 military and police officers. The country's acting police chief assassinated. It's payback for the government's crackdown on drug cartels. Fears in Washington the battles could spill across the border and threaten U.S. security.
ROBERTA JACOBSON, DEPUTY ASST. SECRETARY OF STATE: Certainly I think the cartels and the violence that they use can be considered terrorism.
VERJEE (on camera): Take a look at this map. The worst areas are along the U.S. border. In just this one town, in one day nine people were killed.
Why is it so unstable? Because of demand. Cocaine and marijuana just flow up through Mexico, through this area into the United States. U.S. authorities say that Mexican drug traffickers have a presence in 82 cities right across this country. The situation is getting so dangerous that some Mexican policemen scared for their lives are turning up at the border asking for asylum in the U.S.
VERJEE (voice-over): President Bush wants to help Mexico. Helicopters, surveillance equipment, part of a 2007 initiative to root out corruption and boost border security.
ANDREW SELEE, MEXICO INSTITUTE WOODROW WILSON CENTER: Building a really good justice system that's effective. Building strong police forces that people can trust. And those are the things that give a solution in the long term.
VERJEE: The president wants Congress to fund $1.5 billion aid package to Mexico over three years.
JACOBSON: I think the U.S. Congress understands that Mexico cannot do this alone and that it affects the United States. It affects our security.
VERJEE: But Congress has already trimmed the cash for the first year and is attaching conditions to the aid to make sure the crackdown doesn't violate human rights and the money isn't lost to corruption. Mexico's furious at those conditions and wants Congress to soften them.
U.S. officials worry Mexico may not cooperate as running gun battles rage at the border.
VERJEE (on camera): Another big problem, weapons coming from the United States. The Mexican Embassy in Washington tells CNN that police forces there are outgunned by heavily armed drug organizations. They add that Mexico wants to work closely with Washington to ensure the security of both Mexico and the U.S.
Zain Verjee, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Eleven minutes after the hour, and you're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
Barack Obama and the Internet. From raising millions to squashing rumors, a special look at how the Web has helped and hindered his campaign.
And our top story today, tornadoes target a campus and a campsite as another violent storm plows through the nation's midsection.
Reynolds Wolf tracking extreme weather for us right now. Hey, Reynolds.
WOLF: That's right. We've been talking about tornadoes this morning, but also we still have that big threat of flooding across much of the Midwest. We'll tell you how long that threat is going to exist right here on AMERICAN MORNING, the "Most News in the Morning." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF: And welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Breaking news now as another round of extreme weather tears across Middle America. Four people are reported dead and 40 hurt after a tornado struck a Boy Scout camp in western Iowa. Iowa's public safety commissioner says close to 100 campers were on the site when the storm hit. All scouts were between the ages of 13 and 18.
Right now, we've got some big issues with the possibility of flooding. We've got widespread showers, storms rolling right through parts of central Iowa. Places like Des Moines right along the river, you've got the rain that continues to come down. As this rain falls, the water levels right along the river continue to rise.
There is a chance that we could see the water levels rise, the rivers rise, and then actually recede and then rise again as we get into the weekend. As far north as Sparta into Minneapolis, back over to Rice Lake, even into Hayward, as we look into Minnesota and also into portions of Wisconsin.
And as far south as Missouri and even over into Kansas, the rain continues right along this boundary that is zipping from west to east. And we're going to have, again, more issues in terms of the flooding not just in the rivers but many low-lying areas. You got some ponding with this additional moisture. It is going to be a very messy day in many parts of the Midwest.
Now, you're looking at the map here. You notice some greens and kind of a lime green shade and then a darker green. Those indicate your watches and warnings. It's hard to find a spot in the western half of the Great Lakes or into the Midwest that is not under one of these watches, warnings or advisories. Now, we can expect more as we make our way through the daytime hours.
Now, although most of the tornadoes formed yesterday, and we had some during the overnight hours, we have more possibility of seeing that kind of activity again today. Some of this over the area that is flood prone, all due basically to the same components. Atlantic Gulf moisture coming in. This boundary, coming in to the western half of the Great Lakes. That combined with daytime heating will make for a very unstable atmosphere, possibly a very frightening day for many people.
That's the latest we've got for you. John, let's send it back to you in New York.
ROBERTS: Reynolds, thanks very much.
And back to our top story. Right now, frantic parents have converged on the town of Little Sioux, Iowa, desperate for information. Joining us now is Deborah Neary. She's from the American Red Cross Heartland Chapter, out of Omaha, Nebraska. She's at a shelter there helping folks out.
Deborah, thanks for being with us. You just had a press conference together with the governor of Iowa, Chet Culver. What's the situation like there at the shelter? How many folks are you helping out? Who have you got there and what's their state of mind?
ON THE PHONE: DEBORAH NEARY, AMERICAN RED CROSS HEARTLAND CHAPTER: I tell you, it's been a long evening and the shelter has been pretty full most of the evening, with a lot of parents anxiously waiting the news of their child. About midnight is when we started seeing parents starting slowly to leave the shelter as they got news that either their child was in a hospital or was safe and could be picked up at the local high school. It wasn't until about 4:00 a.m. that we were able to leave, that all of the parents had finally been notified about the whereabouts of their child.
ROBERTS: So, at this point, Deborah, are there any other children or any other camp counselor staff that are missing?
NEARY: No. Everyone has been accounted for. There were 93 scouts and 25 staff, and they've all been accounted for, the ones that were part of the Boy Scout camp.
ROBERTS: Gosh, it's just such a terrible, terrible tragedy. You know, these kids go off to scout camp and many of us as children did that, and this is the last place you expect anything like this to happen. But Mother Nature is just so capricious, striking kind of willy-nilly here. What's been the effect on the community there of these deaths?
NEARY: Well, the American Red Cross has been on the scene the entire evening with mental health counselors, spiritual care counselors, people that have been helping the local community and the families through this tragedy. We've been working with families one-on-one to let them, you know, share their feelings, be comforted as they awaited the news, you know, of their loved ones. And we will continue to stay in the area and help with flood relief efforts and tornado relief efforts in the days and weeks ahead.
ROBERTS: Yes. There's certainly a tremendous amount of need there between the tornadic activity and the flooding there. Good work that you're doing, important work.
Deborah Neary from the American Red Cross Heartland Chapter there in Omaha. Deborah, thanks for being with us this morning. I know you're busy.
PHILLIPS: You know it's amazing you were saying it could be a lot worse. And I was reading it was actually an 18-year-old staff member there at the camp that saw the funnel cloud and then made the alert.
ROBERTS: Yes.
PHILLIPS: Imagine if he wouldn't have been paying attention.
ROBERTS: Exactly. And it could have been worse because many of the scouts were going toward the structure that I guess was a fireplace shelter which collapsed on top of them, and a number of them didn't make it. So, in this instance, it was a good thing that some of them didn't find shelter at least in this particular structure.
PHILLIPS: We're talking about that and also campaigning on the Web. One woman had a crush on Obama, you'll remember that. But other people on the Web had it out for the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.
Not quite sure how enticing those videos were, but find out how the campaign plans and the rumors got out, and how it's affecting the general election.
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, the al-Qaeda files. Michael Ware combs through unseen files and footage, some graphic and shocking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Al-Qaeda gunmen brought this man here to die. Staged for maximum impact, he's to be executed on this busy market street.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Ahead, a sneak peek at a terror treasure trove. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-two minutes after the hour. Every election it seems candidates reinvent the way they use the Internet, and Barack Obama is no different. But not all of the Web hits have been good. Now his team is trying to make sure rumors don't go viral for the general election. CNN's Carol Costello has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Internet has been Barack Obama's best friend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MUSIC: I got a crush on Barack Obama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The Obama girl was just the first in a long line of well wishers. You could say Obama has been fortunate.
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Look at his online fund-raising. One month alone during the primary season, $45 million online.
COSTELLO: Oh, but the Internet can turn on you, too. In some ways it's become Barack Obama's worst enemy, too. Negative posts abound about Obama's faith, his patriotism, and about his wife.
MICHELLE OBAMA, BARACK OBAMA'S WIFE: For the first time in my adult lifetime --
COSTELLO: And there's no stopping the rumors.
TATTON: It happens so fast. There's an anonymous smear and it gets forwarded, and then it gets cut and pasted. It might get cross posted onto a blog post. These are rumors that start traveling virally.
COSTELLO: While the McCain camp relies on volunteers and the media to discern what's rumor and what's fact, the Obama campaign is going to beef up its camp's Internet operations to aggressively fight back these rumors.
There are also reports Obama will hire sort of smear czar to oversee the effort. Campaign workers will directly respond to Internet attacks by sending supporters e-mail messages refuting online rumors, and the campaign has a fact check site on its Web site.
Analysts say the reason for such strategy is clear. Internet rumors about Obama, especially about his religion, have left cyberspace and have entered the nonvirtual world. There are voters who now think he's Muslim.
Do you know whether or not Obama ever attended Islamic fundamentalist school, the madrassa?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've heard he did. I don't know any of the facts about it, but I heard he did.
COSTELLO: Obama is not Muslim and did not attend a madrassa. Still those rumors and new rumors persist, and Obama blames the media in part for fanning the flames.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's this rumor circulating.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRES. NOMINEE: There is dirt and lies that are circulated in e-mail, and they pump them out long enough until finally you, a mainstream reporter, asks me about them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Still most analysts say the positive about Barack Obama outweighs the negative online, and they say the campaign has been very effective in dealing with the lies -- John, Kyra.
ROBERTS: Carol Costello this morning. Carol, thanks.
PHILLIPS: A former NBA ref facing felony charges now claims that other officials are fixing the playoff games. Is he telling the truth or is he just a desperate man singing to get a lighter sentence? We'll talk about it.
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, calorie controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It definitely affects what you order. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Do you really want to know what's in that big Mac?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's ridiculous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Ahead, a showdown at the fast food counter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As far as we're concerned, it's business as usual.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, the NBA Finals continues tonight with the Boston Celtics playing the Los Angeles Lakers in a dream match-up for the league, but the NBA also has a pretty much of a PR nightmare on their hands.
Disgraced referee, Tim Donaghy, now claims that league officials instructed refs to fix a playoff game in 2002 to make the series last longer. Now the game he points to is right here, between the Lakers and the Sacramento Kings, including this controversial play when Kobe Bryant elbowed Mike Bibby. Can you see it right there in the face? We'll do it again.
And the refs actually called the foul on Bibby. So does it look like a fix, or is it just a bad call?
I'm joined now by sports attorney, Ryan Smith. He hosts "My Two Cents" on the BET Network. Good to see you this morning.
RYAN SMITH, SPORTS ATTORNEY: Great to be here.
PHILLIPS: OK. Let's look at the video once again.
SMITH: OK.
PHILLIPS: I just want to get your vibe on this, all right?
SMITH: All right.
PHILLIPS: So obviously, when you see it go down and the ball, OK --
SMITH: Look at the elbow.
PHILLIPS: Yes, Kobe keeps elbow, a nice little sly move there. Boom, right into Bibby. SMITH: Right.
PHILLIPS: But, you know, the ref calls the foul on Bibby. So what do you think? Bad call or is this what Donaghy is talking about where refs are fixing things?
SMITH: Well, this is the problem with his claims. In every game there are always calls that can go one way or another. But you look at this and you say, you know what, the fix is in. These refs had it, you know, in for the Sacramento Kings, but that's not necessarily true.
He's in a sense -- Bibby set his feet there, and Kobe just made a spin move around him. But these are the kinds of things that happen during the course of the game. So with Donaghy's claims, it makes everyone look back and say, you know what, was this fixed?
PHILLIPS: And now, of course, everyone is going to be looking at every single call.
SMITH: Exactly, and you can't do that with an NBA game because so many things are happening. The refs have so many different calls. That can't be proof of whether or not a game was fixed, and that's the problem.
PHILLIPS: But how could that foul been called on Bibby when it seems pretty obvious that Kobe elbowed him?
SMITH: Well, in a sense --
PHILLIPS: Are you talking about the feet?
SMITH: If Bibby sets his feet he's in a sense defending his position. If he sets his feet, then the foul could be on Kobe. Kobe is just trying to get by him.
But even if that foul was incorrectly called, there are -- this is a human element in the game.
PHILLIPS: Right.
SMITH: And that's the problem with a lot of these things.
PHILLIPS: And all refs make bad calls.
SMITH: Exactly.
PHILLIPS: I mean, remember when we were growing up, I got pretty upset with the refs.
SMITH: Exactly, exactly. Everybody gets upset with the refs.
PHILLIPS: And we all want to punch them.
Let's take a look at the statement.
SMITH: Right.
PHILLIPS: David Stern, NBA commissioner. He came out talking about Donaghy and all these allegations.
SMITH: Right.
PHILLIPS: He says, "The reality is that he's a singing, cooperating witness who is trying to get as light a sentence as he can. There's just one criminal here." And, of course, he's saying it's Donaghy, and that's it. And he's the only problem.
SMITH: And this is a good point because you got a guy who is in every -- it's in his interest to actually bring up points like this to say, you know, I want a lighter sentence.
Also, let's not forget in this letter that he filed with the sentencing court, there is the idea that the NBA has asked for $1 million in restitution. Donaghy can't pay that, but if he can't pay that it makes the sentence longer.
So Donaghy, he is coming out maybe with these claims to say -- look, there's other things that have happened. This is not the end of the line here. And, therefore, maybe the NBA will back off its restitution claims and shorten the sentence.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, and he could face up to 25 years likely.
SMITH: Exactly.
PHILLIPS: He's probably going to be in there for --
SMITH: More like 33, a lot less.
PHILLIPS: Right. A couple of years.
For the mainstream fan, do they really care about the integrity of the game or they just there for the entertainment value, bottom line?
SMITH: And Kyra, that is a really great question. Yes, they are. And these -- you know, fans look at this and they say, you know what, in 2002 if that call would have been made, Sacramento would have won the title. That's how fans look at these games.
In 2005, there's another claim he made that a player was targeted, supposedly Yao Ming because of Mark Cuban's comments, that's the allegation that's being put out there by Donaghy not real clearly. But the idea is if these things don't happen, then we win. And without that, fans look at the game and they doubt the integrity of the game. That's the biggest problem with this. So you've got this premiere occasion for the NBA right now --
PHILLIPS: Hey, you've got the Lakers and the Celtics. This is the (INAUDIBLE) of the basketball championship.
SMITH: Right. So now Lakers and Celtics fans are looking at this and saying -- you know what, are calls being made against my team? Is this fair? And that's the problem. Even if it's baseless, as the NBA has already said, you have this problem of integrity.
PHILLIPS: All right. Well, we'll follow. We'll see if there's congressional hearings. We'll talk about it again. Ryan Smith, thanks so much.
SMITH: Thanks, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right.
John?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: 31 minutes after the hour and some of the top stories that we're following right now. A powerful tornado ripped through a Boy Scout camp in Western Iowa last night. At least four people are dead. Another 40 are injured.
Counselors say they heard the warning sirens but there was little they could do. The walls of one brick structure collapsed trapping teenagers. More than 120 people were at the camp at the time of the storm.
And it didn't stop there. The violent line tore through Kansas killing at least one person in that state. State emergency officials say the twister was a half mile wide, tossed cars around like they were pebbles. Dozens of homes were destroyed. Storm also damaged several buildings on the campus of Kansas State University.
And the larger problem in that region, at least the longer-lasting problem, flooding. Right now, rivers on the rise. Volunteers are stacking sandbags hoping to save downtown Cedar Falls in Iowa. But officials fear that more rain could fall today and could bust open a critical levee. Evacuations are under way in Cedar Falls. A little further downstream, neighboring waterloo and other drenched areas.
Now to the "Most Politics in the Morning." The first casualty of the general election campaign. A key member of Barack Obama's vice presidential search team stepping down amid questions about his personal finances.
And Jim Johnson's departure triggering around of rapid fire attacks between the Obama and McCain campaigns.
CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Kyra, John, this has been a fast-developing story that ultimately the Obama camp felt it better to just cut its losses and move on. One of the lessons learned from previous controversies aides tell me is to assess the damage and then respond immediately, which is why Johnson's resignation has been accepted.
(voice-over): Jim Johnson, the man tapped to lead the committee to vet Barack Obama's candidates for vice president stepped down. The abrupt about face following 48 hours of criticism from John McCain's camp that Obama was being a hypocrite for seeking Johnson as an adviser.
The controversy is over Johnson's perceived conflict of interest. Johnson, who was once chairman of the mortgage lender, FannieMae, received millions of dollars in loans from Countrywide Financial Corporation with the help of its CEO.
Countrywide is now under federal investigation for its alleged role in the subprime mortgage crisis. There's no evidence of anything illegal in these transactions, but Johnson quickly became a political liability to Obama who has anchored his campaign on changing Washington and going after subprime lenders.
Obama issued a statement saying, "Jim did not want to distract in any way from the very important task of gathering information about my vice presidential nominee, so he has made a decision step aside that I accept."
McCain's campaign immediately slammed Obama saying, "Jim Johnson's resignation raises serious questions about Barack Obama's judgment. America can't afford a president who flip-flops on key questions in the course of 24 hours."
Obama's camp responded, "We don't need any lectures from a campaign that waited 15 months to purge the lobbyists from their staff, and only did so because they said it was a perception problem."
This rapid-fire exchange underscores the lengths both campaigns are willing to go through to convince voters their candidate is the real agent of change.
STUART ROTHENBERG, ROTHENBERG POLITICAL REPORT: These campaigns were about guilt to association. Who has endorsed you? Who do you support? Who you embracing? It can't be stop because we have concluded as a people that you are who you surround yourself with.
STEPHEN HESS, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Both sides are going to be holier than now. And there's nothing wrong with that. Both sides are going to pick up on anything that looks like inconsistencies and now we're in that stage.
MALVEAUX (on camera): Aides to Obama say the controversy over Johnson turned into a distraction right when they were unveiling Obama's economic plan. So while accepting Johnson's resignation could mean taking a hit in the short term, in the long term they believe that voters are going to return back to focusing on the issues that matter to them.
John?
Kyra?
(END VIDEOTAPE) ROBERTS: All right. Suzanne Malveaux this morning in Washington. We'll talk more about this with Democratic strategist Steve McMahon, coming up soon.
PHILLIPS: We're also talking about all the severe weather on the move this morning, spawning deadly tornadoes across the Midwest bringing a lot of rain to the region already under water. We're on the ground with the breaking details.
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING -- counting calories.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To be honest, I really don't want to know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Putting the price your body pays next to the price you pay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It definitely affects what you order.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The fight over fast food and why some places don't want you to know what you're eating. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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ROBERTS: 38 minutes now after the hour. The head of Barack Obama's vice presidential search team steps down a little over a week after he got the position. Jim Johnson stepped down yesterday after being criticized for getting a sweetheart deal on a mortgage. What impact will this have on the Obama campaign?
Steve McMahon is a Democratic analyst. He was a campaign adviser to Howard Dean in 2004, and joins me now from Washington.
Steve, how bad does it look when they didn't vet the vetter and the screener who is supposed to avoid trouble becomes trouble himself?
STEVE MCMAHON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Well, you never think that this would happen to somebody like Jim Johnson who has selected or help select vice presidential nominees for the past two Democratic candidates for president. And he's a man widely regarded in Washington with an enormous amount of integrity.
These are allegations of some sort of impropriety in a mortgage that he got at allegedly below market rates. But they haven't been proven and, frankly, you know, when you are loaning money to somebody who makes as much as Jim Johnson reportedly made, which is several million dollars a year, the mortgage terms typically are favorable because when you make $6 million or $7 million a year, you probably can pay the loan back. ROBERTS: All right. But should the campaign have known about this? Again, it's just this -- there has been no, as you said, proof of impropriety here. That maybe this is just regular business dealing. But it's the perception that's at the heart of the problem here.
MCMAHON: Well, it is a perception that's at the heart of the problem. But what is there for the campaign to have known about? If this, in fact, turned out to be relatively standard practice, my understanding is that the loan he got was about a quarter of a basis point less than what you might get on the street.
But again, he made $7 million a year. So I don't think that's that unusual. If he didn't do anything wrong, then there's nothing in fact for the campaign to have known about. I think the Obama campaign and Jim Johnson did an unselfish thing frankly by resigning.
The Obama campaign obviously wanted to get it behind them. But I don't think Jim Johnson did anything wrong. And frankly, I don't think that he had to be thrown overboard except for the distraction that was being caused.
ROBERTS: Right. The McCain campaign certainly hammering Senator Obama over politics as usual and over a judgment call related to Jim Johnson. Tucker Bounds from the McCain campaign saying, quote, "The American people have reason to question the judgment of a candidate who has shown he will only make the right call when under pressure from the news media."
But certainly the McCain campaign is not immune from such things. Remember Doug Goodyear who was heading up the Minneapolis convention. He had to step down because his lobbying campaign or his lobbying firm, rather, had done some business with Myanmar.
MCMAHON: Yes. The fact of the matter is most of the people who are around politics in Washington have other jobs and those other jobs often involve lobbying. I'm one of those people who happen to believe that anybody, whether it's Jim Johnson or frankly Charlie Black for that matter, is capable of separating their former clients and their past associations from their current role in a presidential campaign.
But we're out of time right now where, frankly -- everybody understands that the special interests and the powerful interests in Washington have too much influence over public policy. And I think the correction that you're seeing here and the reaction that the campaigns are taking to lobbyists is a reflection of that reality.
ROBERTS: You know the Obama campaign fired right back at Tucker Bounds from the McCain campaign. Bill Burton, spokesperson for Barack Obama, saying, quote, "We don't need any lectures from a campaign that waited 15 months to purge the lobbyists from their staff and only did so because they said it was a 'perception problem'."
You know, are these campaigns setting standards, Steve, that they can't live up to. If you want good people, you've got to go inside the beltway, and people who are inside the beltway, as you were alluding to a second ago, have histories. MCMAHON: Yes, there aren't very many people in this town who do politics exclusively for a living. And frankly, that model hasn't worked very well. Remember, Karl Rove was a political adviser. He never had an outside client and he got to the White House and ran it like a permanent political campaign.
You're absolutely right. The people in Washington have other jobs. They have other associations. They do other things. If you want to get experienced people in your campaign, you're going to have this challenge.
Frankly, it seems a little bit like, you know, an overreaction on the part of both campaigns to be talking so much about lobbyists when people are concerned about gas prices. They're concerned about what's going to happen in Iraq, the economic policies that these two candidates are going to pursue.
Frankly, I don't think most people believe that Jim Johnson or Charlie Black or Rick Davis or anybody else is going to be determining the policies of the next president of the United States. It's going to be the president who does that.
ROBERTS: But certainly this idea of running clean campaigns that are free of special interests does set up this contradiction when you, you know, look at some of the people that they have to hire. So, Jim Johnson is out. They're going to get somebody new in to search for a vice president. If you were heading up the vice presidential search, who would you pick?
MCMAHON: Well, James Carville had a wonderful idea the other day. I don't know if it's plausible one but Al Gore. If you're Barack Obama, you probably pick somebody who shores up an area where you might want to shore up. I think somebody with some national security credentials; somebody with some Washington experience would be good for Barack Obama; somebody who does for him what Linden Johnson did for John Kennedy.
So, I think you've got a number of people -- Senator Biden, Senator Dodd, Bill Richardson. If he wants to go with a woman, Nancy Harmon -- I'm sorry, Jane Harmon from California has some national security credentials. He's got lot of really good, strong fits.
ROBERTS: Jane Harmon, haven't heard that name floated before but we'll put it in the mix. Steve McMahon, thanks for being with us this morning. Good to see you.
MCMAHON: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: And breaking news, a monster storm spawned several tornadoes, one tearing through a Boy Scout camp this morning. The stories of the terror and the survival.
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, the al Qaeda files. Michael Ware combs through unseen files and footage, some graphic and shocking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Al Qaeda gunmen brought this man here to die. Staged for maximum impact, he's to be executed on this busy market street.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Ahead, a terror treasure trove. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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PHILLIPS: Breaking news that we're following this morning. At least four people killed, 40 others hurt after a tornado struck a Boy Scout camp in western Iowa.
Iowa's Public Safety Commissioner saying that close to 100 campers were actually on that site when the storm hit. All those scouts were between 13 and 18 years old. The boy scouts say that the buildings, the trees, the tents, they were all wiped out across 1,800 acres. We're actually going to talk to one of those boy scouts in about 15 minutes.
Reynolds Wolf is tracking the extreme weather threat right now.
Reynolds, what can you tell us?
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: All right. Reynolds, thanks.
ROBERTS: Republican rebel Ron Paul, he's planning to hold his own mini convention in Minneapolis, same time, same place as the RNC. And he joins us live coming up in our next hour.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING -- calorie controversy.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It definitely affects what you order.
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ROBERTS: Do you really want to know what's in that Big Mac?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I think it's ridiculous.
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ROBERTS: Ahead, a showdown at the fast food counter.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As far as we're concerned, it's business as usual. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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ROBERTS: It's coming up on nine minutes to the top of the hour. The fat police are back in the City of New York. You know that there was a requirement in New York City that fast food restaurants have to put the calorie count on all of their food. And now there's a plan to take that statewide. But when you go for fast food, you really care the calories. Some people in this studio don't.
CNN's Richard Roth is live for us at the Dunkin Donuts at Manhattan's Westside.
Do they care about it there, Richard?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, they cared enough to post them underneath the donuts. Obesity is ranked by New York City as the number one health issue and posting calorie counts, New York believes, is the way to go.
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ROTH (voice-over): What's new on the menu at fast food restaurants in New York City? Calories, and they're everywhere. The city has now given chain restaurants an order. Put up calorie counts on menu boards for customers.
THOMAS FRIEDEN, NYC HEALTH COMMISSIONER: The food that people get in chain restaurants has lots of calories. Many more calories than people realize.
ROTH: Some change such as Chipotle Mexican Grill had complied.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's nice to know the calories that are involved.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it definitely affects what you order when you can see like what you're putting into your body.
ROTH: Some guests have no time for food for thought.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To be honest with you I think it's ridiculous -- the calorie count, because I don't really look at calories. I just -- I want to eat fast food (INAUDIBLE).
ROTH: Chipotle puts up a range of calories for its choices because of different ingredients.
RON DIAMOND, MANAGER, CHIPOTLE: There's been no impact on our business as far as we're concern. It's business as usual.
ROTH: Subway also has calorie counts. Jessica Chamberlain (ph) is glad to see them. JESSICA CHAMBERLAIN (ph), CUSTOMER: Absolutely. It makes it much easier to adhere to the weight watchers program for any diet.
ROTH: But franchise owners of McDonalds and Dunkin' Donuts are largely ignoring the directive.
CHUCK HUNT, NY STATE RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION: There's a much more intelligent way to address obesity as a problem and it really should start in the home.
ROTH: The city disagrees and will start fining restaurants next month if they don't post the calories.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many calories are in that ice coffee?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To be honest, I really don't want to know.
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ROTH: Other cities such as San Francisco and Seattle's King County are moving ahead with their own menu posting laws. And as you mentioned, John, New York State and California are considering statewide laws. But it's stop, you now, on the counting, John.
Can you guess how much this vanilla doughnut is and how much the blueberry muffin, the calorie totals are? Care to guess?
ROBERTS: I am going to say 350 for the doughnut and in the muffin -- is that a low-fat muffin or is it a regular muffin.
ROTH: I think it's a regular muffin, John.
ROBERTS: A regular muffin, so I'm going to say 380 for the regular muffin.
ROTH: This is 210 and this is 630.
ROBERTS: 630.
ROTH: Three of these vanilla doughnuts for this blueberry muffin. So you're going to have a new experience when you walk into fast food chain restaurants in New York. You will be able to do some counting and measure.
ROBERTS: Well, you know, the peanut gallery behind me here is ringing in on this whole thing.
PHILLIPS: OK. Yes, I want to know, Richard, I like the bagel sandwich with the sausage, and an egg, and a cheese. Could you tell me?
ROTH: Well, listen, I didn't go to the MIT. I cannot tell you what that is. But I can tell you that a lot of food that looks tasty and very easy to go down, that is also going to cost you later on your waistline.
ROBERTS: All right. We'll let her know that. Richard Roth, thanks very much.
ROTH: I'll bring it back for you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Thank you, Rich.
ROTH: I'll leave it on your desk.
PHILLIPS: Oh, I love you.
Death from above.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no warning.
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PHILLIPS: Four killed, 40 hurt when a tornado strikes a Boy Scout camp. And floods threatened entire towns across the Midwest.
Plus, crashing the party. Ron Paul is here live with his plan to set up shop across the street from the RNC. Ahead, on the "Most News in the Morning."
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ROBERTS: Checking the political ticker now. Al Gore as vice president again? Democratic strategist James Carville suggested Gore's name as a running mate for Barack Obama. Carville says picking Gore would send a strong message about reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil and the importance of the environment.
John McCain's daughter is writing a children's book about her father. 23-year-old Megan McCain's book will be about her father's life, including his bid for the presidency. It's due out the first week of September during the Republican convention.
PHILLIPS: Scarlet Johansson might be the latest woman to have a crush on Barack Obama. The actress says that she often e-mails the senator and is surprised that he actually writes back. No word on how Michelle Obama feels about those e-mails, by the way.
ROBERTS: And for more up to the minute political news, just head to cnn.com/ticker.
Now an important story that you will see only on CNN. Top secret files from al Qaeda in Iraq revealing that the group's extreme brutality may have led to its own unraveling.
The papers and never seen before execution videos fell into civilian hands after fighters started switches sides. A warning that some of the images that you're about to see are disturbing.
CNN's Michael Ware has this exclusive report from Baghdad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MICHAEL WARE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Al Qaeda gunmen brought this man here to die. Staged for maximum impact, he's to be executed on this busy market street. We don't know why. The al Qaeda members who recorded this tape offered no explanation.
But the anticipation is agonizing, leading to a moment that we cannot show you -- a punishment for betraying al Qaeda or for breaking their strict version of Islamic law?
Either way, it was public executions like this that would help lead to the unraveling of al Qaeda in Iraq. And al Qaeda knew it. Its leaders recognized their greatest threat was not the U.S. military, but the men in the crowds who witnessed the slaughters and who would eventually turn against them.
In fact, in this secret memo three years ago, a senior al Qaeda leader warned against a backlash for the public executions. They were being carried out, he wrote, in the wrong way, in a semipublic way, so a lot of families are threatening revenge and this is now a dangerous intelligence situation.
But it took U.S. intelligence more than a year to understand al Qaeda's weakness. Most of these men were once insurgents or al Qaeda themselves. Now they're on the U.S. government payroll, assassinating al Qaeda and patrolling the streets.
And it was one of these U.S.- backed militias, as unforgiving as this one, who overran an al Qaeda headquarters. They discovered computer hard drives with thousands of documents and hours upon hours of videotape and passed them all onto the U.S. military and to CNN.
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WARE: And from these documents, John, we learned that as opposed to what some in Washington would have you believe, al Qaeda in Iraq is home ground. It's lead by Iraqis. And the foreign parties that you hear talked about by some in the administration are really just cannon ball. They're being used as suicide bombers. This is an Iraqi organization which the document also revealed have spies inside U.S. bases.
