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American Morning
President Bush to Push Congress to End Ban on Offshore Drilling; Levee Breach: River Towns Brace for More Floods; Afghan and Canadian Troops Operate Against Taliban Forces; Balancing the Pentagon's Billion Budget on Food and Gas; Israel and Hamas Agree to Cease Fire; Evidence of Torture on Detainee Abuse; What Can Al Gore Do for Barack Obama; Trading in Your Car for a Scooter
Aired June 18, 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: Governor Charlie Crist reversing his position now saying he'd consider the whole thing.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And we're going to talk a lot about that today.
First, though, the number one issue to your money. And today, President Bush will push Congress to end this long standing ban on offshore oil drilling. It's an effort to try to bring down oil prices. His proposal echoes one from John McCain who yesterday changed his mind about offshore drilling.
Back in the 2002 campaign, he was against it. Today with record gas prices he is for it, and his new position sparked an intense war of words with Senator Barack Obama. He's CNN's Susan Candiotti.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, good morning.
For states like Florida especially worried about preserving the environment, adding oil drills offshore is a political hot potato.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Do spiraling gas prices mean it's time to lift a 26-year-old federal ban on offshore oil drilling in Florida, California and other coastal states? Republican John McCain is all for it but says he'd leave it to individual states to decide.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESUMPTIVE PRES. NOMINEE: I believe it is time for the federal government to lift these restrictions and put our own reserves to use.
CANDIOTTI: Senator Barack Obama says McCain's flip-flopped on offshore drilling since his first presidential campaign in 2000.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRES. NOMINEE: I think there's another example of where John McCain has taken the politically expedient way out. He had it right the first time.
CANDIOTTI: Obama supporters argue oil companies don't need unlimited access to drill offshore. They say the industry already has nearly 40 million acres under lease in the Gulf of Mexico but is only using about eight million acres. One oil industry analyst says both men are partially right, but lifting the offshore drilling ban wouldn't help consumers at the gas pump any time soon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If we were to drill today, realistically speaking, we should not expect a barrel of oil coming out from these new resources for at least three years, maybe even five years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: Now, Florida is a particularly interesting backdrop for the story because its Republican governor, Charlie Crist, had been dead set against offshore drilling. Now, he says, skyrocketing oil prices and its toll on consumers have changed his mind.
Now, did we mention that Governor Crist is being mentioned as a possible running mate for John McCain? John and Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: Well, and there's more now on offshore drilling in our "AM Extra."
The ban on drilling covers nearly all of the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts as well as the eastern Gulf of Mexico. It's been in place since 1982. It will expire currently in 2012. Parts of the Gulf of Mexico and some parts of Alaska are open for drilling. It amounts, though, to about 15 percent of the available area. Offshore rigs account for about a quarter of America's fuel production -- John.
ROBERTS: Now to the "Most Politics in the Morning." And the campaign slinging insults over national security today.
A McCain adviser accusing Barack Obama of having a naive approach toward fighting terrorism and a "September 10th mindset for supporting Guantanamo Bay detainees rights to trial." Obama fired back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What they're trying to do is to do what they've done every election cycle, which is to use terrorism as a club to make the American people afraid to win elections. That's what they're trying to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: It is the first time that both men had sparred over the issue of terrorism in the general election.
New this morning, evidence of torture in a report on detainee abuse. A human rights group says medical exam show evidence of beatings, electric shocks, sleep deprivation and sexual humiliation. That goes from some terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and in Afghanistan, even if they were not charged with crimes. This came out just hours after a Senate committee hearing with military lawyers. And Senator Carl Levin said the system of abuse began at the top.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: The truth is that senior officials in the U.S. government sought information on aggressive techniques, twisted the law to create the appearance of their legality, and authorized their use against detainees. In the process, they damaged our ability to collect intelligence that could save lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The White House denies that the U.S. practices torture. At the hearing, the Pentagon's former top lawyer said, "Nobody has advocated torture, period."
And now to the flood watch along the Mississippi River. The Army Corps of Engineers says more than two dozen levees along the Mississippi River could overflow in the coming days. Near record crests are expected in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. One levee already broke in Gulfport, Illinois, and much of the town is now under 10 feet of water.
And it has been a busy night for sandbaggers in Des Moines County, Iowa. That's where CNN Sean Callebs is this morning. Sean has found himself an amazing vantage point right on top of a levee there. Sean, what's the situation behind you?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, to give you some update and information, another levee has given way on the Illinois side. It happened about an hour south of where we are. We're about 10 miles north of Burlington. It's down near Quincy. So that is a -- that's an important situation for a couple reasons.
Clearly it's going to flood thousands of acres down that area. But if you look right here, this is the Mississippi River. It has actually gone down about nine inches last night. The reason, because that breach happened further south, the second one on the Illinois side. It allowed more of the Mississippi to flow into that area.
If these sandbags weren't here, this water from the river would simply pour over this levee down into this field. If you look out there it's just as flat as can be so there's nothing to stop it. I want to show these dramatic pictures from the Illinois side near the town of Gulfport. You could see from this aerial view just where this water poured through, flooding just thousands and thousands of acres. A chiefly farmland. That is a major, major problem in that area. It has taken pressure off of the Iowa side.
I think we also have a map. It will give you some indication of where exactly we are. We're in the southeastern corner of Iowa. The river was supposed to crest last night right at the top of these sandbags. But because of Illinois' misfortune, it has been somewhat of a benefit to folks here in Iowa. The river has not crested as high as they thought.
Perhaps the worst is past them, John, but they're very worried about this levee. It is saturated throughout the night. This 14-mile stretch of this area is responsible for. There have been crews and ATVs going up and down, checking the levee to see if there has been any saturation in the areas. They call it boiling or water is coming through.
They say if the water comes through clear, then the levee is doing its job. If the water comes through muddy, with sand and grit, that means that there's an area where the levee is giving way. And that is a big concern.
The area here mostly farmland. Everybody here evacuated voluntarily. But all up and down this area, John, people had to evacuate mandatory and voluntarily. So very, very touchy situation here.
ROBERTS: Hey, Sean, just where you are right there, are you seeing any evidence of boiling?
CALLEBS: Yes. It's too dark to -- in the camera that way because there's been some seepage but it's clear. Everybody here says it's OK, but where we are, if this levee starts to give way, we're out of here.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CALLEBS: Nothing to stop this wall of water.
ROBERTS: Hey, well, make sure -- you know, safety is the number one concern there, Sean, so don't get yourself in a situation where you might get in trouble.
CALLEBS: Right.
ROBERTS: Sean Callebs for us this morning on a levee there over the Mississippi River. We'll be checking back in with Sean a little while.
CHETRY: We have some breaking news now out of Afghanistan. Afghan and Canadian troops launching operations against Taliban forces in villages just outside of Kandahar. This latest push comes three days after a Taliban attack on Kandahar's prison freed hundreds of insurgent fighters. There you see the video.
One NATO official says there has been "minor contacts with militants." Meanwhile, the British military saying four troops were killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan yesterday.
Fidel Castro appearing on Cuban television for the first time since January. The video shows Castro talking to brother Raul, Cuba's new president, and to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Castro has not been seen in public since he had emergency stomach surgery almost two years ago.
New video this morning out of China. The Olympic Torch Relay making its way to the Xinjiang, a largely Muslim region. Security guards in black gloves and white shorts jogged alongside the torch preventing local or religious groups from disrupting the event.
And the torch arrives in Tibet Saturday despite protests around the world because of it. Critics have been protesting that relay citing China's human rights record in Tibet. ROBERTS: A return to glory for the Boston Celtics. They finished off the Lakers last night in Game Six in the home parquet, and there was no doubt about it. A 131-92 win, the largest blowout ever in a championship clincher.
Paul Pierce was named the final's MVP. It is the Celtics 17th NBA title. No team has won more.
And here's what fans are waking up to in Boston. Front page of the "Boston Globe." Boy, there's a front page that they have not seen for a while.
CHETRY: There it is. Yes, "Back on top." Because you talked about the 16th championships. They won those between 1957 to '86, and they didn't have a win since then.
ROBERTS: A bit of a dry spell, I think.
CHETRY: A little bit. But now, it's really fun to live in Boston. You've got the World Champion Red Sox, the World Champion Celtics, and I guess that's a hit.
ROBERTS: Everything is going their way at this point, at least. Baseball season has still got a long way to run.
CHETRY: Well, you're watching the "Most News in the Morning." How about this? A $3 billion grocery bill?
Tell us what the U.S. military will spend this year to feed the troops, and wait until you see how much they spend on gas. It's just another example of the rising cost of things lately.
ROBERTS: A breakthrough in a push to end the violence in the Middle East. Israel and Hamas hammer out a cease fire, but already a warning before the ink is even dry.
CHETRY: How much weight can a heavy hitter like Al Gore add to Barack Obama's campaign? We're going to be taking a closer look at what his endorsement means to the presumptive Democratic nominee. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning."
If you think feeding your family and driving them around is expensive, well, be thankful you're not in charge of feeding and driving around 1.4 million active duty soldiers. Our Barbara Starr caught up with the person at the Pentagon who is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA STARR, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you think your gas and grocery bill is high, meet Tina Jonas. She spends $15 billion a year on fuel and $3 billion a year on food.
TINA JONAS, PENTAGON CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER: It's pretty hectic around here.
STARR: Jonas manages the Pentagon $600 billion budget.
JONAS: If we were a country on earth, we'd be about the 17th largest economy in the world.
STARR: She likes to point out that the Pentagon's budget woes are just like everybody else's. Running out of money in a world of rising prices.
The U.S. military is the single largest consumer of fuel in the country, perhaps the world -- 122 million barrels a year.
JONAS: We need another $3.5 billion of fuel money just to get through the year. So we're going to need another $1 billion to finance our food bill.
STARR: From her desk or what she calls her dashboard, Jonas monitors everything.
JONAS: What I do for my fuel prices is I have my -- the figures that I have here tell me how short I'm going to be in the accounts that buy fuel for the departments.
STARR (on camera): So the budget around here really isn't that different than your family budget really?
JONAS: Well, that's right. We're carpooling a lot at home now. Took the metro yesterday.
STARR: Seriously?
JONAS: Yes, I did. I've been taking it the last couple of days.
STARR (voice-over): Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Thirteen minutes after the hour now. Slammed face first into a wall. We'll show you the video that's got one police officer in a heck of a lot of trouble.
Plus, Rob Marciano watching extreme weather and thunderstorms in Tornado Alley this morning. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning, guys. You have some rough weather rolling through, and we had hail again the size of baseballs doing some damage. We'll run down where the threat is going to be.
Extreme heat out west, and the flood threat, of course, continues. AMERICAN MORNING will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My back windshield is broken out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've got baseballs here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That's when you got to be happy you have a garage and you're not out on the road, right?
ROBERTS: Well, sounds like Nolan Ryan was pitching those hails.
CHETRY: See the dense. And there's that windshield eventually. They were just shattered.
Up to 80-mile-an-hour winds, drenching rains, knocking out power to thousands in the area. Police also say the hail damaged a number of patrol cars as well as homes in the area.
ROBERTS: And this late spring of wild weather is not over yet. Rob Marciano tracking it all at the weather center in Atlanta. Who's in the crosshairs today, Rob?
MARCIANO: Same areas actually down across Oklahoma and Kansas. Boy, that's a frightening sound to have that kind of hail peppering and hammering your car.
This is where we expect the severe weather to be today. We're already starting to see it. We have some severe thunderstorm watches that are posted for some of this area by the Storms Prediction Center.
Here it is. This is the little guy that produced some of that action. Well, not this particular cell but certainly this system produced some of that action across parts of Texas yesterday. Now it's in through Kansas. It's driving quickly to the south moving about 50 knots.
And this bow you see right here, that really is some straight line winds that will probably do some little bit damage through south of Wichita heading towards Oklahoma City.
All right. This is the flood warnings that are posted. Of course, this map not changing a whole lot because those rivers continue to rise. And even where they have crested, they are slow to recede.
So the latest we have for you and this is updated from yesterday -- Burlington, Quincy, Hannibal, Clarksville and through St. Louis -- the National Weather Service has upped the antes (ph) as far as what kind of flooding we expect to see. And now they're saying just a plain old record flood forecast here for today.
It will start to crest towards Quincy and Hannibal tomorrow. And then Saturday on Clarksville, now St. Louis isn't going to crest until Monday. And it will crest. That's a major flooding expected there, although it won't get to 1993 levels.
As far as rainfall, John, in Iowa, where obviously the flooding is the worst, we've seen about four inches more rainfall this year than we saw back in 1993. So it certainly is a record-breaking event. Back up to you in New York.
ROBERTS: As we saw with Sean Callebs there just a little while ago, Rob, serious problems along all of those levees that hold back the waters of the Mississippi.
CHETRY: Yes, in fact, a bit later, we're going to talk to the brigadier general who's in charge of all that. I mean, where they warned? Or is this just the fact that no matter how high they build or what they do, Mother Nature is going to do what she's going to do? So we'll talk about that a bit later.
MARCIANO: Yes.
CHETRY: Rob, thank you.
MARCIANO: OK, guys.
CHETRY: Well, this morning, a truce between two enemies. Hamas and Israel agreeing to lay down their arms, but already there are some concerns about how long this will last. Breaking details from the region.
ROBERTS: And a new link between bumper stickers and road rage. We'll tell you why drivers who personalize their car are more likely to lay on the horn. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Word this morning of what may be an end to months of deadly violence between Hamas and Israel. Officials from both sides say a six-month cease fire in the Gaza trip in southern Israel will take effect tomorrow. Israel warns, though, that the truce is fragile and could easily unravel.
Let's get the very latest from CNN's Atika Shubert. She's in Jerusalem this morning.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Kiran.
Well, the cease fire agreement is due to go into effect Thursday morning, 6:00 a.m. local time, and there are several phases to the agreement. First is a period of calm in which both sides are expected to abide by a cease fire. If that succeeds, Israel will then gradually begin opening its border crossing into Gaza allowing supplies in and out.
At the same time, Israel and Hamas will resume negotiations on the release of Corporal Gilad Shalit. That, of course, is the Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas two years ago. Now if this truce succeeds, it will temporarily put a halt to the rocket attacks coming from Gaza and hitting Israeli towns across from the Gaza border. That is a critical part of this agreement for Israel.
For Hamas, it will finally be able to get in the supplies it needs to Gaza. Food, fuel, construction materials, all of these critical to getting Gaza's economy back on track.
This is also a big political victory for Hamas. Israel and the U.S. still consider Hamas to be a terror organization. But this is clearly a big victory for Hamas because it has shown to the Gaza residents that it can open the gates to Gaza, that it is a power to be reckoned with and perhaps most importantly, that it cannot be ignored by Israel. Back to you, John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: Atika Shubert reporting for us this morning from Jerusalem on that important story. Atika, thanks.
CHETRY: Also, the rising Mississippi River threatening towns in Illinois and Missouri with flooding. We're going to take a look at what's being done to try to stop the levees from bursting. We're speaking with a man who's charged with making sure that these levees are working, coming up.
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are scooters sexy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: A slice of Rome here in the United States. The scooter is taking off.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just makes so much sense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Richard Roth takes us for a fuel efficient ride.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Where do you like to be held though, really? Here or here?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching "Most News in the Morning."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Easy. Oh, boy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: The mighty Mississippi River threatening to flood more communities in Iowa, Illinois and Missouri. And there's a new levee breach this morning in west central Illinois. It's in the town of Gulfport, Illinois. It's now under about 10 feet of water this morning after the river breached a levee yesterday.
President Bush is pledging federal aid to help flood victims. In fact, he's traveling to Iowa tomorrow to get a firsthand look at the damage.
Joining us now, Brigadier General Michael Walsh. He oversees the Mississippi Valley Division of the Army Corps of Engineers and joins us from Vicksburg, Mississippi, this morning. Thanks for being with us.
First of all, brigadier general, tell us what the status is right now of many of these levees along the Mississippi.
BRIG. GEN. MICHAEL WALSH, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: Well, certainly we have both federal levees and what we call non-federal levees. Those levees that belong to local levee boards and farmers. The levees that we see on the federal side are still doing well and working as designed.
CHETRY: Well, what are we talking about when we say that the levees are in danger of overtopping versus breaking?
WALSH: Different parts of -- different parts of the levees are designed to protect during different heights or levels of storms. So you may have a levee that's designed for a 30-year storm or a 40-year storm. And if the water gets deeper than the design for that, the water will overtop that levee and flood the area behind that levee. But that's not necessarily or that's not a failure.
CHETRY: All right. We're looking at the pictures; 38,000 people homeless. We had 17 people dead and $1.5 billion worth of crop damage in some of these areas. So that would seem like a failure. What happened there?
WALSH: Well, it certainly, certainly very serious. And I was up in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids last week talking with the governor and also the mayor, and working with some of the people. It's very, very serious.
But, again, some of those levees, both federal and nonfederal levees are designed for storms of a much lesser degree or grade than what the storm is hitting now. We're looking in some areas of this being a 500-year storm.
CHETRY: So does that mean that no matter what the preparations were and no matter how high you try to build the levees, that this simply was inevitable?
WALSH: In the -- there's always a risk when you live -- when you live behind a levee. And again, you design it for certain type storms. And if you design for a 30-year storm, and a 50-or 70-year storm comes over, it's likely to overtop the levee and you're going to be flooded on the other side. CHETRY: Is the Army Corps of Engineers prepared for future flooding?
WALSH: We've got more than 200, 300 people out right now working with the levee boards, working with the state governments, also with FEMA. We've passed out over 11 million sandbags, 90 pumps, 1,200 rolls of polly-visqueen (ph) type. And we're working very closely with the locals to see what we can do to prevent other damages.
CHETRY: All right. Brigadier General Michael Walsh, commander of the Mississippi Valley Division, thanks for being with us.
WALSH: Thank you. You bet.
ROBERTS: Twenty-nine minutes now after the hour, and here are some of the top stories this morning.
President Bush expected to press Congress to open up more of America's coastline to offshore oil drilling. It comes as the candidates talk about how to solve the nation's current energy crisis.
Yesterday John McCain switched sides saying that he would now permit offshore drilling. Barack Obama blasted McCain saying drilling would not lower current gas prices.
And $11 million settlement this morning for most of the Virginia Tech massacre victims. Twenty-four families accepted the settlement and will get $100,000 plus medical expenses. A gunman killed 27 students and five faculty members last April on the campus of Virginia Tech before committing suicide.
The air force plans to double the number of unmanned planes in Iraq and Afghanistan, a move that could reduce troop deaths. "USA Today" reports the U.S. uses Predator Drones in Iraq to battle militias and in Afghanistan, reapers watch and attack Taliban fighters.
New this morning, evidence of torture in a report on detainee abuse. A human rights group says there is medical evidence that terror suspects were abused at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq and in Afghanistan even if they were not charge with crimes. This comes after a Senate committee spent most of the day trying to find out how the U.S. adopted interrogation tactics after September 11th.
Senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre has more details for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The man in the hot seat was the Pentagon's former top lawyer William Haynes.
WILLIAM HAYNES, FORMER PENTAGON GENERAL COUNSEL: Did I ever discuss SERE techniques with others in the administration? The answer is yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was the gist of those conversations? HAYNES: I don't remember them any more clearly than what I've just said. And I cannot discuss it further without getting into classified information.
MCINTYRE: The technique used in so-called SERE training short for Survival Invasion Resistance and Escape like what soldiers routinely go through in Fort Bragg include tactics like sensory deprivation, sleep disruption, stress positions, slapping and even waterboarding. But the retired military officer who ran the SEAR program testified mostly it's just tricks of the trade.
LT. COL. DANIEL BAUMGARTNER, FORMER JOINT PERSONNEL RECOVERY CHIEF: They're used by police. They're used by priests. They're used by your mom and dad. I mean, good cop, bad cop.
MCINTYRE: The Pentagon lawyer whose private concerns prompted then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to curtail the roughest procedures says to call them harsh or enhanced is misleading.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The legally correct adjective is cruel.
MCINTYRE: Among the documents uncovered by the Senate Armed Services Committee, minutes of an October 2002 meeting where it seems clear that top lawyer for Guantanamo has reservations about detainee treatment. "We may need to curb the harsher operations while the International Committee of the Red Cross is around." Lt. Col. Diane Beaver is quoted as saying. Officially, it is not happening.
Now retired, Beaver, testified she didn't recall what she said at the meeting six years ago, but denied any cover-up.
LT. COL. DIANE BEAVER, FORMER GUANTANAMO COUNSEL: What I was referring to is if you're going to do, like, a more intense interrogation that would last a longer period of time, you had to make sure that you had the time to do it and that you weren't disrupted.
MCINTYRE: One question left unanswered, who is accountable?
SEN. CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: We would like to hold someone responsible. And it's like trying to catch shadows here.
MCINTYRE (on camera): Senator Leaven's conclusion is that senior administration officials sought the aggressive procedures and then twisted the law to make them seem legal. The White House says the U.S. policy is to treat detainees humanely while trying to get information from them that could protect the country.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And Alina Cho joins us now with some other stories new this morning.
Good to see you, Alina. ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, good morning, guys and good morning, everybody. And new this morning, a police officer slams a teenager face first into a wall. It's all caught on tape. And now the officer is suspended. You really have to see it to believe it.
The 16-year-old is in handcuffs, on his way to the booking room in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Yes, that's when that happened there. It didn't go quietly. According to the report, the officer swung him around as you just saw there, slammed him so hard he suffered facial injuries and damaged three of his teeth. The teen's family has filed an official complaint with the police department. They've also hired a lawyer.
A crackdown this morning on dozens of companies accused of pedaling fake cures to desperate cancer patients. The Food and Drug Administration is warning 25 companies mostly in the United States to stop selling their teas, supplements, creams and other products that claim to cure, treat or prevent cancer. All of them sold over the Internet.
The FDA says the products are dangerous because they could prevent a cancer patient from seeking the proper treatment. The companies could face criminal prosecution if they don't comply.
Tomatoes are back on the menu at a number of fast food chains including Taco Bell and Wendy's. McDonald's not quite yet. They were pulled more than a week ago following concerns about Salmonella poisoning. The outbreak sickened 277 people across the country and the source of the outbreak has not yet been identified. McDonald's says it will begin restocking tomatoes once it gets enough safe tomatoes for its entire chain.
And guys, concerned about road rage? Well, steering clear. It may be as simple as staying away from cars with bumper stickers. According to a study out of Colorado, drivers with stickers, decals or even personalized license plates are more likely to drive aggressively. And it doesn't seem to matter what the sticker says. Even those with peace signs are more likely to get mad on the road.
Researchers say people who have them tend to feel more attached to their car and are more likely to defend it. Either that or they're just simply passionate about everything and that sort of translates to the road. So a 1998 Buick sticker? Do you have one?
CHETRY: I brew the beer I drink.
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: Do you have bumper stickers like that?
CHETRY: No, I don't.
CHO: I didn't think so.
CHETRY: I hope to someday be able to say, I have an honor roll student. CHO: I'm just going to say you've got a couple more years before that but that should be coming.
CHETRY: Thanks, Alina.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: What can Al Gore do for Barack Obama? We're going to take a look at the former vice president's OK and why it's not just another endorsement.
Also, John McCain kicking off a series of new proposals to deal with what he calls the nation's energy crisis. Ali Velshi with a reality check on what the Republican candidate is saying. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(CROSSTALK)
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's been a while. Good to see you.
CHETRY: It has been a while and you were missed.
VELSHI: Let's just be silent and enjoy each other's company for a moment.
ROBERTS: As you gaze leveling the -- into each other's eyes.
VELSHI: Right. This is a fantastic TV.
ROBERTS: You're trying to formulate some sort of segue way into Ali. Welcome back. Where were you?
VELSHI: I was in Chicago. I was actually interviewing the CEO of McDonald's. We had a fantastic conversation about food prices.
ROBERTS: Tomatoes are back in the menu.
VELSHI: Tomatoes back on the menu.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: That's right. So it's a great conversation. I'm going to tell you more about that right now, but -- in a little while. But what John McCain was saying about energy. We're talking about that a little earlier. And I wanted to chime in a bit about that. Because what we have been waiting for is the third leg of the stool from the major presidential candidates in terms of an energy policy.
They've talked about housing, they've talked about other things to do with the economy, but not comprehensibly about energy. Both the candidates say they want to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil and create oil independence. Except that we use 20 million barrels of oil a day. The United States creates 5 million barrels of those oils -- of that oil a day. So we import about three quarters of our oil. We use a quarter of the world's oil output on a daily basis just to drive in the United States. That's truckers and car drivers. We use 10 percent of all the world's oil. We are less than 5 percent of the world's population.
So the problem here is we've been using a disproportion amount of oil for very long. John McCain is talking about drilling for more oil offshore and on shore. The concept here is the problematic one. If you believe that the solution is to drill for more oil, his solution might actually work. The problem is that no amount of oil that we drill for is going to offset the worldwide demand for oil. So it doesn't necessarily bring the price down.
The concentration should probably be on reducing our reliance on oil, meaning our reliance -- our usage of oil. And what we're waiting for from the candidates is something specific on alternatives. Here's what John McCain says he's going to unveil over the course of the next two weeks.
Well, the first part we've already heard about. Instituting the summer gas tax holiday which isn't going to happen this summer because it isn't going to happen this summer and he's not president. He also wants to ease regulations on new refineries, pointing out that we haven't had a new refinery built in this country in 30 years. It may take several years to build.
As we know, he wants to allow more offshore oil drilling and he wants to encourage more use of nuclear power citing countries like India and China that use a lot more nuclear power than the United States does, thereby shifting some of our electricity and other power usage away from oil. So interesting proposals, lacking specificity, but hopefully over the next two weeks we'll get more specifics from him.
CHETRY: We're just wondering in the "NEWSROOM," even if they did let's go banned an off shore drilling tomorrow, how long until that would --
VELSHI: Minimum was three years depending on where you go because you've got to put a drill on a platform in place --
ROBERTS: And there's a shortage of rigs, too, right?
VELSHI: Huge shortage of rigs. Rigs are going for almost $650,000 a day in some cases. And they are not available.
CHETRY: For rent?
VELSHI: So you've got a rig -- yes, because rent they have daily even though you don't buy them by the day, but you pay by the way. If you could get rigs and you know where the oil was, you could start pumping oil soon. But the easy oil is gone. The shallow oil is gone. We're talking about going much deeper to get oil. So it's not a quick solution. And that's the bottom line, it's not a quick solution.
ROBERTS: It's great to see you back.
VELSHI: Good to be back. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Hope you brought back some Chicago dogs with you.
VELSHI: I got a couple of vouchers for some free Big Mac.
CHETRY: Thanks, Ali.
ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE) for us this morning.
Al Gore endorsing Barack Obama. Putting his money where his mouth is. Why it could lend a lot of weight to the Obama campaign.
CHETRY: Also, NATO and Afghan forces launching a new offensive against the Taliban in southern Afghanistan. We have a live report ahead. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: The man Democrats believe should have been president after the 2000 election has thrown his support to the man they hope will be the next president. And Al Gore is no run of the mill endorsement for Barack Obama.
CNN's Carol Costello takes a look at what the Democratic heavyweight has to offer the party's presumptive nominee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Al gore, the adored. Back in the day, you know, like last year many pundits wrote of Democratic voters begging Al Gore to run for president in '08. For some voters, the dream team was Gore-Obama. Today, it's Obama-Gore.
JAMES CARVILLE, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: If I were him, I would ask Al Gore to serve as his vice president, as energy czar in his administration to reduce our consumption and reliance on foreign energy sources.
COSTELLO: Democratic insiders say no chance. They're actually more concerned about Obama's slim lead over John McCain at the time the Republican brand has weakened. So a big Democratic gun like Gore matters.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Having Al Gore, this elder, this leader come out and endorsed Barack Obama and to do so in Michigan, a state where Barack Obama wasn't on the ballot, I think is pretty significant.
COSTELLO: And if you have a perceived foreign policy experience problem, what better way to assure nervous voters than with support from friends in the know like Former Vice President Al Gore? Gore can also help Obama by raising money. For the first time, Gore is asking his own supporters to donate to another Democrat's war chest. PRESTON: I can't get inside the guy's head. But you know, there's something to be said about, you know, I'm going to make sure that Democrats take back the White House.
COSTELLO: It's certainly something Gore hinted at as he endorsed Obama.
AL GORE (D), FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: I can tell you that we have already learned one important fact since the year 2000. Take it from me, elections matter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I voted. I voted.
COSTELLO: To voters Al Gore is practically synonymous with hanging chads.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is the swinging door chad.
COSTELLO: He's a living reminder to get out and vote in droves if you want your guy to win. And, of course, there's Gore's reputation as captain planet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The power is yours!
COSTELLO: Global warming is a hot issue not only among young voters but among some evangelicals, too. A voting block Obama is actively courting.
(on camera): But with all the good, there's got to be some bad too, right? Most analyst say no, at least among Democrats and independents. Of course, it all depends on just how much Al Gore actually campaigns for Barack Obama.
Carol Costello, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Also ahead on AMERICAN MORNING -- scooter shock.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I say 72 and I can hear them almost drop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That's right. 72 miles per gallon. And a little bit of Italian romance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are scooters sexy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Richard Roth takes us for a ride you won't soon forget.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where do I hold on to?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning."
Trading in your car for a scooter. Would you do it? Well, it will help you save on gas. But can it also maybe make you a little bit sexy? Our Richard Roth took to the streets on the back of a scooter to find out. He joins us from outside our studios in Columbus.
You didn't need any help in this department. I don't know why you're on the scooter this morning, Richard.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll take a prop any day over content, actually. People who drive these scooters love it. But they says they're paying $3 at the pump while the car driver next to them is filling up at $50. It's all part due to gas prices of a scooter craze.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH (voice-over): Nick Bilton was not born to be wild. However, skyrocketing gas prices forced a change. He dumped his car and purchased a scooter.
NICK BILTON, SCOOTER COMMUTER: It just make so much sense from above the financial standpoint and ease of use getting around the city.
ROTH: It made sense to Mark Amerise, too. He has a Lincoln Continental but was shopping for a scooter.
MARK AMERISE, SCOOTER SHOPPER: I feel like right now with the price of gas, you know, we're all just throwing the money away.
ROTH: He was in Vespa Brooklyn, a store that just opened and quickly sold 25 bikes.
CRYSTAL HADJIMINIAS, VESPA BROOKLYN: I have people calling up asking about how many miles to the gallon they're going to get.
ROTH: The scooter industry reports sales are up 25 percent nationally.
ANDREW HADJIMINIAS, VESPA DEALER: On a day like this would you rather be stuck in a subway or are you going to be on a scooter getting fresh air?
ROTH: So I stopped by the New York Scooter Club's weekly hangout. Does this scooter make you feel like a different person when you're riding it?
MARCY FELTMAN, SCOOTER OWNER: Yes. A little bit more powerful because it's more fun. Kind of cool.
ROTH: Could I, too, be cool? I've never ridden a scooter before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, there's a first time for everything.
ROTH: Club cofounder Jonathan Percale (ph) took me for a ride.
(on camera): I am holding on to you. Where do you like to be held, though, really? Here or here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hips.
ROTH: Hips? Very firm hands. Easy. Oh, boy. So far as long as we don't get on the highway, I feel safe.
(voice-over): I couldn't help think of another famous scooter couple in the movie "Roman Holiday." Jonathan was no Audrey Hepburn.
(on camera): Whoa. You're kind of pushing up against me.
Are scooters sexy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.
ROTH: In what way?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess the wind.
ROTH: I lived in Rome for four years but I never rode a Vespa.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why not?
ROTH: I was too scared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I came outside and I saw these wonderful sexy men with all these scooters and I was shocked. They're beautiful and sexy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH: Well, of course, you are going to need a license to drive one of this, Kiran, in New York City in case you're thinking of taking one up. I know John, I think, has a motorcycle of sorts. There are more people driving these as gas prices continue to go higher.
CHETRY: OK. So two quick questions -- number one, where do you put your stuff if you need to go to work?
ROTH: Well, you're not going to be able to obviously carry that much. But there is an area in the back you can put your stuff on the way to work.
CHETRY: All right. And can you balance a cup of coffee and navigate the busy roads of New York City?
ROTH: New Yorkers are excellent and multitaskers and I've seen a lot of people checking Blackberries and having their coffee. Not always while driving but you've got a lot of stoplights in New York.
CHETRY: All right. Well, you look good in the scooter, on the scooter and it looks good on you. So, congrats, Richard.
ROTH: Thank you.
CHETRY: Still want to see him drive it, though. I haven't seen him drive it yet, John.
Thanks, Richard.
ROBERTS: Water fight. The Mississippi River plows through a levee while people are standing on it. Now, a small town braces for a ten- foot flood.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't imagine how fast it comes up. Unbelievable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Plus, new highs. Pot hasn't been this strong since the '70s. A new study warning about an easier gateway to addiction and pain depression. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Five minutes now to the top of the hour. Deadly combat in Afghanistan. Four British soldiers were killed in an explosion while on patrol in Hellmann Province. Britain's Defense Ministry says one of the four was the first British female soldier to be killed in Afghanistan.
Meantime, NATO and Afghan troops launching a military offensive against the Taliban over night. We get more on that from CNN's Paula Newton.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Now on the brink of battle, NATO and Afghan troops are laying the groundwork for what could be a dramatic showdown with the Taliban. NATO admits it is trying to restore confidence as rumors fly that hundreds of Taliban are swarming just north of Kandahar City.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether there's going to be a big fight or not, I think that's very unclear. But I think what is certain is that we're in a good position to deal with it if it comes to pass.
NEWTON: This latest crisis triggered by that dramatic jailbreak last week now means at least 400 Taliban are free to fight NATO forces once more. The truth is the Taliban comeback is such a familiar headline coming out of southern Afghanistan. It may not amount to a strategic victory for the Taliban, but it has shaken Afghan confidence in NATO's operation here.
PAUL CORNISH, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY PROGRAMME: When one (INAUDIBLE) because in counter insurgents they would say perceptions really, really matter. So it will be -- there's a big loss in perceptions here.
NEWTON: And for years now that perception that the Taliban has NATO forces on the ropes, has, by NATO's own admission, been expertly reinforced by the Taliban's self-promotion.
Just look at this suicide video of a German Jihad recruit on his way to truck bomb a U.S. military base in March.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Just as they hit us, he says, we will hit them in unexpected places. By creating traps, by waiting in watching holes, we will hit them for God in Shalam (ph).
NEWTON: The video has been circulating on the Internet since April. And here it shows the suicide bomber approaching with his truck bomb and then the point of detonation that killed two U.S. soldiers.
By any definition, the Taliban is proving a deft and stubborn enemy, even in the way it handles its own propaganda. At stake now, well worn ground for NATO forces. For months they have been trying to convince residents here that security could be permanent. Now everyone waits and watches, convinced the Taliban will be back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: And you know, more evidence of that. Nine soldiers lost here, John, in Britain in the last ten days. It really is a sad indicator of that new sense of crisis now brewing in Afghanistan.
John?
ROBERTS: Back to that area around Kandahar, Paula, we understand that some villagers are leaving their homes in panic? What do we know about that?
NEWTON: John, the anecdotal evidence isn't good. If you speak to some troops on the ground in terms of what the Canadians are saying, there are sporadic reports that villagers are fleeing, taking cover, and more than that, that they see the presence of new Taliban in their villages.
The problem here, John, is NATO says they are unable to confirm that. They are trying to take them on as we speak. We have yet to hear more from NATO. We'll be following the story throughout the day. But NATO continues to tell us they are ready for anything.
ROBERTS: All right. Good reporting for us this morning. Paula Newton there in London with the latest on the situation in Afghanistan. Just how much of a threat does the Taliban represent? Robert Grenier is the former director of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center. He was also CIA station chief in Pakistan. He is the current managing director of CRAWL, which is a risk consulting company. He joins us now from Washington.
Robert, we've heard of the situation on the ground there in these villages not far from Kandahar, that the Taliban have got the villagers penned in, they've blown the bridges that would allow them into escape route. They've also mined the areas around the villages. NATO troops now moving in to some of those area.
What kind of a fight do they have on their hands?
ROBERT GRENIER, FORMER DIRECTOR CIA COUNTERTERRORISM CENTER: Well, I don't think the fight will last very long. It may be fairly intense. As you just indicated, the Taliban appeared to have dug in there along the Arghandab River. But they don't like to take casualties. So I think they'll try to inflict some casualties and I suspected they will melt away fairly quickly.
ROBERTS: The strategy of keeping these villagers penned in, is that to try to limit any kind of NATO operation? They wouldn't be able to use air power because of potential civilian casualties? Or would it be to try to get them to come in on the ground so that they might be able to engage them more effectively?
GRENIER: Well, I think it's -- it's a bit of both. They do want to use the civilian cover. I think they also want to decrease the mobility of the NATO troops by blowing up bridges. So a lot of, you know, small rivers in that area. But as, we just pointed out in the report, psychological warfare is a big part of this. The Taliban doesn't have real popular support. They're trying to intimidate the local residents.
ROBERTS: Let's take a look at the overall situation there, Robert. The U.S. reports that more American and coalition soldiers died in Afghanistan in the month of May than died in Iraq. The violence is on the rise there. Bottom line, is U.S. policy in Afghanistan working?
GRENIER: I think the short answer is no. It's not working.
