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American Morning
Obama/Bill Clinton Relations; North Korea Dropped from Terror- Sponsor List; Converting Your Car to Run on Used Cooking Oil
Aired June 26, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SEN. BOB CASEY (D), PENNSYLVANIA: No candidate in American history has demonstrated more through their campaign, their commitment through the kind of reform we need in our election laws than Barack Obama. 90 percent of his donors have contributed $200 or less. That's what I call pretty effective demonstrable, verifiable campaign finance reform.
So I think the McCain campaign is getting pretty desperate if they're trying to make that case. I think he's demonstrated already that he knows how to bring reform to spread the playing field, so to speak, so that more and more Americans can participate in our democracy. No candidate has done it better.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Well, we are out of time this morning because of all the breaking developments out of North Korea. I had a lot more I wanted to ask you, but we'll have to bring you back on the show.
Thanks for being with us, Senator Bob Casey. Senator out of Pennsylvania and Obama supporter.
CASEY: Thank you very much.
CHETRY: Also, stay with CNN. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will be on CNN's "THE SITUATION ROOM." That's today, 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning. President Bush announced just minutes ago that the United States intention to drop North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism will occur within 45 days.
This comes after North Korea's declaration of its nuclear activity earlier this morning. President Bush says the documents go all the way back to 1986. And tomorrow, North Korea is expected to blow up a key part of its nuclear reactor at Yongbyon. They'll blow up. They'll implode cooling tower.
The worldwide resources of CNN takes us inside North Korea right now. Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is live for us in Pyongyang.
Christiane, President Bush described this as a one step in a multi- step process. What occurred in this step and then what further steps need to be taken?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: (OFF- MIKE) and away from its nuclear program. It has been long awaited under agreements with United States. This declaration should have been given at the end of 2007. However, here we are the end of June 2008 and they have handed over their nuclear declaration.
From what we know, it's about 60 pages. According to what President Bush says it deals with all the plutonium activities. Papers going back to 1986. It has a lot of information that needs to be given about all its plutonium production and extraction.
That means taking the very potent plutonium out and making some nuclear weapons with it, which North Korea has done so. Now, also, concurrently, North Korea has been systematically disabling the Yongbyon nuclear reactor. It's done so under the eyes of the IAEA. And indeed, U.S. technical experts who had been helping with the disablement.
And this is a continuous presence, when we were there, unprecedented access back in February, we were able to see for ourselves that the reactor has been shut down. Plutonium production no longer is occurring and the reprocessing is no longer occurring.
Experts say that by this process now, this means that no new bombs of plutonium are being made. No better bombs and it makes it much less likely that North Korea is able to export its knowledge, its expertise or any material that could be used for nuclear weapons.
In return for that, you heard President Bush say that he is going to be informing and removing, rescinding North Korea from the list of states that sponsor terrorism and he's going to be removing some sanctions under the trading with the enemy act. This is a very carefully sequenced progress and process by which to eventually they hope to disarm North Korea.
As a statement and of commitment of goodwill and intent, North Korea is going to blow up its cooling tower at Yongbyon tomorrow afternoon. That would be Friday after, North Korea time, and we will be there to witness that.
Back to you, John.
ROBERTS: Christiane, one of the issues that President Bush said extremely important here and where this goes as we go forward on it is North Korea handing over the plutonium that it extracted from the Yongbyon reactor. Have you talked with any North Korean officials there about that particular point? Do they appear that they would be willing to hand over that plutonium?
AMANPOUR: Well, the last time I was here I had exclusive meeting with North Korea's chief nuclear negotiator. The last time was during February at the time when the philharmonic came to visit. And at that time, people were describing the state of affairs as an impasse between the two countries.
North Korea's nuclear negotiator said no, it was not an impasse. They continue to speak. They continue to try to resolve this situation. And he said that the country is committed to this. Not just to the stage we have just reached now, but also to future stages of handing over the plutonium, dealing with all of that.
And as you know, phase three, which is subsequent phases of these negotiations deal with much more detailed declarations of what North Korea has been doing with its nuclear facilities including the weapons, the weaponization, and all of that.
And that time, that means after today, after this weekend, when the six-party talks resume, that they are expected to come up with a complete, a much more complete declaration of what it's been doing at Yongbyon. And then, they also as you heard from President Bush need to talk about enrichment and proliferation.
John?
ROBERTS: Christiane Amanpour for us in Pyongyang, North Korea this morning. And Christiane, thanks. We look forward to more of your reporting there from inside that secret emission.
Kiran?
CHETRY: And for more on what happens next, we go to State Department correspondent Zain Verjee in Washington.
It was interesting to hear the president, Zain, because it's being touted as this major move forward and while it certainly is, he also had a lot of caveats, I guess you could say, as he was announcing exactly what these implications for North Korea's declaration mean.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. And he was making the specific point that this is action for action. If North Korea does something positive, the United States will do something positive.
But really, this is a really big win for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her diplomatic efforts. I mean, the U.S. has been so dragged down with Iraq, Afghanistan, sputtering Mid-East process. So this is some good news. And in spite of efforts by conservatives to sandbag this whole process and constantly criticize, this is a big and very significant milestone.
So what we're going to see, Kiran, is some pretty dramatic moments in the coming hours. One of which is the blowing up of the cooling tower of North Korea's main nuclear reactor. That's going to be part show, part substance. Now I spoke to one nuclear expert about what it all means.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: We're with Jon Wolfsthal. He's been following North Korea since the 1980s. This is Yongbyon. It's North Korea's main nuclear facility. Here is where they produce the plutonium to make nuclear weapons. And there it is, the cooling tower. Is the destruction meaningful?
JON WOLFSTHAL, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Well, this is a critical piece of equipment for the nuclear reactor. Without this facility, the reactor can't operate and can't produce more plutonium for weapons. We can see here that the facility has been cleaned out in preparation for the destruction. The equipment has been put some place else for monitoring.
VERJEE: The verification is now the key process because the question is -- is North Korea really committed to giving up the plutonium and you need to get in there.
WOLFSTHAL: That's right. We don't trust North Korea. We don't take them at their word. We need to get people on the ground. We need to be taking samples. We need to put together, basically, a jigsaw puzzle from pieces of data without really seeing the cover of the box.
VERJEE: You were there. You took some pictures of the really bad stuff. This is what we want to get our hands on, right?
WOLFSTHAL: That's right. This is the spent fuel that came out of the reactor in the early 1990s. Under the Clinton administration, this was under monitoring. Under the Bush administration, it was actually turned into nuclear weapons. We're now trying to get it back under control.
VERJEE: What does this whole process, North Korea does something, the U.S. does something -- what does that mean for a future administration, either Obama or McCain?
WOLFSTHAL: Well, it gives the future administration something to pick up on. We were deadlocked as we were a couple of years ago. There would be nothing to build on. Now, at least, we have something we can try and build off of.
VERJEE: Thanks so much, Jon Wolfsthal.
WOLFSTHAL: My pleasure.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: You know, it is interesting that you asked about that -- about the future presidency and the future administration taking over. We talked to Senator Bob Casey, an Obama supporter, just a few moments ago. And even he acknowledged that this is certainly a win for the Bush administration.
VERJEE: It is a win for the Bush administration. And make no mistake, President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are looking toward their legacy. They need something to point to and making progress with North Korea is something pretty substantive here.
But even though, you know, there may be a lot of praise for the administration today, it's North Korea. And it's very difficult to trust North Korea. You can't take them at their word. So you need to verify them. That's the next key step in the process.
What's going to happen is that the U.S. and the other countries are going to look at the document, see how much plutonium the North Koreans say they have and they're going to go and check it out to see whether they're telling the truth. They're going to get on the ground, they need to take samples of the plutonium, samples of the nuclear reactor, samples of nuclear waste.
It's kind of like going through someone's garbage and coming up with a picture of what really happened. How long has it been in the world? So that's going to be significant and only then can they move on to the next phase, because North Korea could be lying.
We need to see what that number is, what that number -- what number of plutonium they say they have and compare it to what the U.S. thinks they have.
CHETRY: Long road ahead, but a big first step. Zain Verjee following it all for us this morning. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Nine minutes after the hour. We're going to be following the breaking news throughout the morning. Plus, a spectacular art display happening right now under the Brooklyn Bridge and at three other Manhattan locations. We'll show you more, coming up.
CHETRY: Also free fuel. It's actually leftover grease from restaurant fryers and it's finding a hot new purpose. We'll tell you how drivers are using it to fill up their car and how much they're actually saving.
ROBERTS: Plus, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton hitting the campaign trail together for the very first time tomorrow, in Unity, New Hampshire, in an effort to unify the former rivals.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Wow. At first it was the lunch went away, then they started taking peanuts out of the little package, and then now they're cutting service. What's next with these airlines, Allan Chernoff?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, the airlines have to pay for fuel just like we have to pay for gas. In fact, jet fuel is now close to $4 a gallon, and that's without taxes. So, the airlines, certainly, are suffering. We are suffering as a result as well.
Let's have a look at some of these service cutbacks that American Airlines is now announcing. They previously, earlier this year, said they were cutting service by 11 percent in the fourth quarter. These are cuts that will take place in November. Have a look. Chicago, St. Louis, Dallas, and LaGuardia Airport in New York.
Now, it's not those big cities that are going to be hurt so much. It's the smaller towns that really suffer. We're talking about places like Huntsville; Tulsa; Oklahoma City; Syracuse; Rochester; Albany, New York.
In fact, some airports won't have American at all anymore. They will actually cease service to Oakland, Providence, Rhode Island, Albany, New York and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. You can imagine the reaction, quite angry indeed. In fact, the head of the Chamber of Commerce in Harrisburg said, "I don't think American Eagle," which is the regional affiliate of American Airlines, "is being fair to our market." And the governor of New York said, "Especially troubling is the effect this will have on upstate airports."
So, John, Kiran, it really is the folks who live in the smaller towns who are going to be hurt most by all of these cutbacks.
ROBERTS: Think it sounds they've got to drive if you're in Harrisburg, you've to got to drive to what, Philadelphia? That's a long way to go.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Yes.
CHERNOFF: And that's on top, of course, of paying for your snacks on the airplane, paying for checking that bag, paying for this, paying for that. It is no more fun. It really isn't.
ROBERTS: All right. Allan, thanks so much for that.
CHETRY: You know, we were talking about prices of gas being $4 a galloon -- yes, you said jet fuel now, what? $4 a gallon as well?
CHERNOFF: $3.85.
CHETRY: So what if you could use just the stuff out of the fryer of your local drive-thru? Wouldn't that be great? More drivers bypassing their local gas station. They're filling up for free using local restaurants. How practical though is this? We'll, we're going to tell you one guy that's making it work.
ROBERTS: And do you want to go around in life smelling like a french fry?
CHETRY: Sure!
ROBERTS: That's a concern.
Rob Marciano also taking a look at a spectacular sight this morning right under the Brooklyn Bridge.
Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John. You don't want to go around smelling like the East River. Going to take a look. Doesn't smell that bad actually. It's kind of smells good this morning. There is an air of freshness as waterfalls line the lower end of Manhattan. We'll talk about it when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SONG PLAYING: Don't go chasing waterfalls. Please stick to the rivers and lakes that you're used to. I know that you're gonna have it your way or nothing at all --
ROBERTS: Don't go chasing waterfalls; stick with the rivers that you're used to. Well, the rivers that we're used to look a little bit different today. Here's the Brooklyn Bridge and here's Rob Marciano over here. And then right over there on the far side, on the Brooklyn side, Rob, there's a waterfall. What's going on?
MARCIANO: How about that, John? Isn't that a sight to behold? There is one of four that now line the lower end of Manhattan on the east side along the East River.
This artist is known for taking environmental and natural wonders and doing them in a grand scale. Olafur Eliasson is going to have this exhibit up, a public one, until October 13th. Four waterfalls, 90 to 120 feet tall. One is taller than the Statue of Liberty, pumping 35,000 gallons per minute, up the East River, and just cascading down.
By the way, the Brooklyn Bridge, 125 years old. I don't think the designers of the Brooklyn Bridge had this particular sight in mind. Just down river, we can also see one of the taller ones. Looks like the water is actually coming out of one of the office buildings along the Brooklyn Pier there.
So, you can check these out all summer long. And it's quite a sight. The largest public art project ever here in New York City. And you know, it's New York. You do things big. You do things grand and it's kind of cool.
John, back up to you.
ROBERTS: Love that stuff. Rob, thanks very much for pointing that out for us this morning.
CHETRY: I wonder if -- Rob, would you dare to be the first, you know, television weatherman that just sort of takes it all off and jumps in, hangs out under the waterfall. Why not?
MARCIANO: Yes, that will be known as a career killer.
ROBERTS: I don't know, Rob, I think a lot of people might want to see that, including --
MARCIANO: All right, settle down. I know we have some serious news to discuss this morning. That's what I'm told.
ROBERTS: All right.
CHETRY: All right, Rob.
MARCIANO: Maybe tomorrow.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob. CHETRY: Yes, he's right, though. We are talking about something very profound. It's the TV watchdog group saying that children are being assaulted with scenes of sex, violence and profanity on two popular networks. They say that they're trying to strong-arm the two stations into cleaning up their act. Will it work?
Also, Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton duped it out during the Democratic nomination fight and now, they're about ready to kick off a unity tour. How will these one-time rivals really be friends?
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING -- the french fry fill up. Converting your car to run on oil. No more gas station, but there is a tradeoff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We could smell the inside of the car before we got inside the car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: What you need to know about trading gas for grease. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SONG PLAYING: Go greased lightning, you're burning up the quarter mile, greased lightning, go, greased lightning.
CHETRY: Why are we showing cars and then french fries? You'll find out in a minute. You know, gas has topped $4 a gallon now in 30 states. And some drivers have found a way to fill up for free. They're relying on a new kind of takeout from restaurants. It's the used oil.
CNN's Alina Cho is here with more. Another use for french fries.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Boy, you have a way with words. Don't you. And you mention, you know, gas prices now topping $4 a gallon so more and more people are now saying -- no, thanks to gas and converting their cars to run on veggie fuel.
Yes, we're talking about grease. They are saving the environment and money at the same time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice-over): When Greg Melville revs up his 1985 Mercedes, you might smell french fries.
GREG MELVILLE, WRITER: If you're driving behind me, you're going to have -- you're probably going to get a craving for McDonald's.
CHO: That's because his car runs on waste oil from restaurants. And with record gas prices, it only took a year and a half to recoup the $2,000 he spent to buy and install the conversion kit which he bought online.
MELVILLE: We've driven the car maybe 60,000 miles on the vegetable oil.
CHO: Those miles took Melville and a friend across country twice, using all types of left-over grease and never stopping at a gas station. By the end of the trip, Melville and his buddy were aromatically challenged.
MELVILLE: We could smell the inside of the car before we got inside the car.
CHO: Even without a specially equipped car, you can buy veggie fuel at a regular gas pump like this one in Asheville, North Carolina. It works in any car that runs on diesel fuel.
MC MINAOBO, BLUE RIDGE BIOFUELS: We actually recycle waste vegetable oil that's right here in our community and turn it into fuel that's sold right back to our community.
CHO: Melville admits his primary motive for converting his car, aside from helping the environment, was to save money. Yes, some days his car smells like fried fish, other days, onion rings. So, what does he think of people who might call him and other veggie car drivers -- well, freaks?
MELVILLE: Well, if we're a bunch of freaks, at least we're frugal freaks.
(END VIDEOTAPE) CHO: All right. Well, a lot of people may be wondering how does Melville get enough grease to power his car? Well, he's worked out a deal with a local restaurant in Asheville, North Carolina. They set aside the grease in five-gallon containers. He goes down the street and picks it up once a week.
Also important to note that Melville's Mercedes actually does need a tiny amount of diesel fuel to get the engine started and warmed up, but then he switches on the converter, Kiran, and voila, he is running on veggie oil.
His car smells a little bit like grouper sandwiches, a little bit like french fries, kind of depends on what food the grease was formed from, but, anyway, it's working.
CHETRY: I bet pretty soon people aren't going to call him freaks. They're going to be saying those guys are pretty smart and wanted to follow suit.
CHO: Listen, it's catching on. I mean, this company that he bought the converter from online, Greasecar, I believe it's called. They've sold double the number of conversion kits this year over last year. 800 this year and 5,000 or 8,000 something like that. I'm sorry I don't remember the number but it's thousands.
So we're looking at tens and tens of thousands of cars that have been converted since this started.
CHETRY: I bet you we're going to see this trend grow as the price at the pump does as well.
CHO: I think that's a pretty good bet.
CHETRY: Alina, thank you.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: And the entire nation will smell like a fine old British chicken.
The Obama and Clinton campaigns touting unity this morning. But has the squabbling that punctuated the Democratic race really disappeared? We're going to take a look when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
And a Washington State couple days away from a adopting a Chinese infant watches in horror as last month's earthquake hits. But CNN was able to track down the toddler. Watch the emotional moment when the family comes together, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 27 minutes after the hour. In a sign of unity, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will be making joint appearances in the next couple of days.
Today it's going to be in front of big donors. Tomorrow, in front of voters in Unity, New Hampshire. This despite reports of lingering tension over Hillary Clinton's campaign debt and former President Bill Clinton's very low key show of support for Obama.
Joining me now by CNN political contributor and Democratic strategist Donna Brazile. She's in our Washington Bureau.
Donna, it's great to see you. Thanks for coming on this morning.
DONNA BRAZILE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Good morning, John.
ROBERTS: Washington Powerhouse Attorney Bob Barnett is hammering out a deal between these two campaigns. What are the big issues that need to be resolved here?
BRAZILE: First of all, Bob Barnett is the person that you really want on your side especially when you negotiate the deal. I have firsthand knowledge. There's no question that he is trying to make sure that Senator Obama and Senator Clinton will campaign together. That Senator Obama and Senator Clinton will help to reduce one another's debt in terms of Senator Obama.
He has encouraged his supporters to write a check to Senator Clinton's campaign and Senator Clinton will encourage her supporters to write a check for Senator Obama's efforts, and that's important. I also believe that it's important that they talk about policy and exactly what kind of policy we'll see in our Democratic platform. Senator Clinton has some very talented people that will be very useful to Senator Obama. Clearly, Senator Clinton's conventional role, the role that she will play at the Democratic convention.
ROBERTS: What do you think her role should be there? And should she be on the ballot in a symbolic gesture?
BRAZILE: Well, that's something that Bob will have to work out with both campaigns. But there's no question that she should be allowed to give a speech during prime time.
Look, she's one of the leaders of our party. She's one of the most admired women in the country and I think to have her voice at the convention would not only motivate millions of Americans to go to the polls this fall, but to hear Senator Clinton talk about the challenges this country faces in 21st century. I think it will be a net plus for the party and for the country.
ROBERTS: How strong is the relationship between these two?
BRAZILE: I think, look, they were allies before the campaign. They will be allies again. They are very -- two astute politicians, very smart individuals and I am sure that Senator Obama will, you know, have Senator Clinton as a trusted adviser. Someone who can help guide him along the path as he go forward.
And look, there are other people out there -- Joe Biden, Bill Richardson and John Edwards and others who campaigned across this country that will also be invaluable to Senator Obama this fall.
ROBERTS: Donna, one of the big questions is what to do about Bill Clinton. There's an article in Atlantic.com that suggests that Barack Obama may have to mend some fences here that people close to Bill Clinton said that he felt slighted because Obama was trashing his record while running on policies that were very similar to his. And also, he feels that Barack Obama may have portrayed him as a racist.
Does Barack Obama need to reach out to Bill Clinton and what role do you think Bill Clinton could play between now and November?
BRAZILE: Well, look, there are people out there who are speaking for former president Bill Clinton. He doesn't need any spokesperson when it comes to building relationships with someone like Senator Obama. I am confident at the end of the day that Senator Obama will reach out and that former president Bill Clinton, who has a modest touch, when it comes to politics, will be out there on the campaign trail, stumping for Senator Obama, to help him get the 270 electoral votes. So, one thing I can personally attest to Bill Clinton's talent as a political strategist, in 2000 he was invaluable in terms of helping me plot strategy so I think Senator Obama will, at the appropriate hour. Once Senator Clinton and Senator Obama has been able to unite the party fully, there's no question that Bill Clinton will be on the campaign trail along with former vice president Al Gore and many others.
ROBERTS: And doing this all in Unity, New Hampshire, which I guess is a better choice than Divide, Montana.
BRAZILE: Well, it's a great stage and we have a terrific candidate running for the Senate up there, Jeanne Shaheen, so this is an opportunity to unite the party up and down the valley.
ROBERTS: We'll keep watching. Donna Brazile, it's great to see. Thanks for coming in this morning.
BRAZILE: Thank you, John.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: And we're just crossing 30 minutes after the hour. Breaking news this morning, President Bush announced just minutes ago the United States' intention to drop North Korea from its list of state-sponsors of terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: If they do not fully disclose and end their plutonium, their enrichment and their proliferation effort and activities, there will be further consequences. Multilateral diplomacy is the best way to peacefully solve the nuclear issue with North Korea. Today's developments show that tough multilateral diplomacy can yield promising results. Yet the diplomatic process is not an end in itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: This comes after North Korea handed over a declaration of its nuclear activity to China, earlier this morning. President Bush says even though this is a key first step, U.N. Security Council sanctions on North Korea are staying in place for now. Tomorrow, North Korea is expected to blow up a key nuclear reactor, at least part of it.
Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins us with more on this. So, the U.S. pledging to drop North Korea from the terror list, but I imagine there are still some big concerns about North Korea over at the Pentagon.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Oh, you're absolutely right, Kiran. You know the nuclear developments we're talking about today of course are very important, but military analysts and intelligence officials will tell you, there is still plenty to worry about. One of the big concerns, North Korea's ballistic missile program. North Korea for years has been trying to develop a long- range ballistic missile that could go far beyond its shores, reach Hawaii, other parts of the continental United States. A big concern there, that they are continuing with that program, and North Korea has an inventory of perhaps hundreds of shorter range and medium range ballistic missiles, even with conventional warheads, nonnuclear warheads, these missiles pose a significant threat throughout Asia and beyond. This is something that is of great concern, so nobody here is exactly breaking out the champagne yet about North Korea. Kiran.
CHETRY: And as the President said a long way to go with the verification process and then after all of that, as Zain Verjee puts it, almost this digging through the garbage, if you will, to figure out what's going on, what role, if any, will the Pentagon have in figuring out whether or not they believe that North Korea is no longer a threat?
STARR: Well, I think military intelligence, elements of the Pentagon, along with the entire U.S. intelligence community, really will be turning their attention to the Korean peninsula to see how all of this goes. You may see the public face of the dismantling of the nuclear program in North Korea, but make no mistake, U.S. spy satellites, other U.S. reconnaissance assets will be directing their attention in the weeks and months ahead to North Korea to try and covertly see exactly what the regime is up to, what they've destroyed and what still may be there. Kiran.
CHETRY: Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon this morning, thank you.
ROBERTS: 34 minutes after the hour. And this just in to CNN, the Chicago priest who mocked Hillary Clinton is speaking out today. Reverend Michael Pfleger talked about what he was thinking when he made that controversial sermon in Barack Obama's former church. Here's what he said on "Good Morning America" earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. MICHAEL PFLEER, ST. SABINA CATHOLIC CHURCH: I was giving a talk about race and is entitlement one of the things about race that I believe is, an unequal playing field. One of the things I believe in, yes, so I don't apologize for being passionate, I don't apologize for being free. I apologize when my passion or my freeness and my flawness of character get in the way of the content, which is much more important to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Pfleger was suspended after saying that Hillary Clinton thinks that she has a white entitlement to the presidency.
CHETRY: Two watchdog groups saying there's too much sex and violence on two cable networks and they're trying to do something about it. We'll show you how, coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, disaster, thousands of miles away, hits close to home.
RICK HOUSTON, FATHER: Within two weeks, we're supposed to get Sophie and boom there it is.
CHETRY: A Chinese orphanage leveled. An American family waits and waits for news about their adopted daughter.
MICHELLE HOUSTON, MOTHER: My friends that had been pregnant, they can feel their baby inside of them and for me I hold on to the photo.
CHETRY: And finally a family reunited.
MICHELLE HOUSTON: Oh, my gosh, she's so beautiful.
CHETRY: You're watching the most news in the morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Last month's earthquake in China affected thousands of families. Of course, the destruction was seen so far from the epicenter and a Washington state couple also suffered. They suffered an agonizing struggle fearing the worst about the little girl that they were hoping to adopt. But CNN's Kyung Lah was in China and tracked down their soon-to-be daughter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When disaster struck China it hit home for Michelle and Rick Houston of Washington state. The epicenter of last month's earthquake was an orphanage inside was Sophie Wei, the little girl the Houston's has waited nearly three years to adopt.
RICK HOUSTON, FATHER: Within two weeks, we're supposed to go get Sophie. And boom, there it is.
LAH: The Houston's feared the worst.
MICHELLE HOUSTON, MOTHER: My friends that have been pregnant, they can feel their baby inside of them. And for me it's just - I hold on to that photo. I - I put it everywhere. And I just love her. That's just - that's all I know.
LAH (on-camera): Information about adoption slowed to a crawl after the earthquake. For families waiting to adopt, all they can do is wait some more.
But we were in China in the days after the quake. And were able to track little Sophie down, safe and sound. She knows her American parents and her sister also adopted from China. But only from pictures. After our short visit we called Rick and Michelle in Washington state over the internet.
Hello.
RICK HOUSTON: Hello.
LAH: The place that I'm sitting is a hotel in Chengdu. I'm going to send you the video file.
MICHELLE HOUSTON: Oh, my gosh. Oh, my gosh. She's so beautiful! Look at Sophie. Oh, my god, there's our picture album. Look!
RICK HOUSTON: OK. We got to hurry up and get packing.
LAH: A week later the wait was finally over. The Chinese government gave their adoption the green light. RICK HOUSTON: Where are we going? Chengdu.
LAH: They landed at the airport and drove straight to the orphanage.
MICHELLE HOUSTON: I can't believe it.
LAH: Sophie is among the lucky. There are so many more in need of families. In addition to those already awaiting adoption, it's estimated 2,000 children were orphaned in the quake. But for now, the Houston's are thankful for their little girl. Who for years had been an image in a photograph. But is now real, a child in their arms.
RICK HOUSTON: Our family is complete now.
LAH: Kyung Lah, CNN, Chengdu, China.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: What a happy reunion. It's 40 minutes after the hour.
Images of violence, sex and illegal activity coming through the television every 30 seconds, aimed right at your kids if they're watching two networks in particular and the groups are hoping to change that by hitting the networks where it hurts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, computer illiterate.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is such an easy thing to learn. I taught myself how to use the computer.
ROBERTS: Should the next president know how to google?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's 21st century.
ROBERTS: From the blackberry to the PC, Jeanne Moos rates the candidates' computer skills.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I guess you could do on google.
ROBERTS: You're watching the most news in the morning.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hear there's rumors on the internet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Two media watchdog groups are taking on music channels MTV and B.E.T. they say children who watch the stations during the day are exposed to sex, violence, profanity and obscenity once every 38 seconds. And the groups are hoping to change that, by hitting the networks where it hurts, their wallet. Here's CNN's Kareen Wynter. KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, good morning. These television watchdog groups say they're hitting B.E.T. and MTV where it hurts the most, in advertising.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER (voice-over): Sex sells. But media watchdog groups like Industry Ears and The Parents Television council say they have seen enough on some cable music channels.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very graphic, very coarse.
WYNTER: They're pushing network sponsors to pull their ads from some shows on the popular channels, MTV and Black Entertainment Television.
PAUL PORTER, INDUSTRY EARS: We decided to go after the revenue, and talk to some of the advertisers and see if some corporate responsibility was going to come into play.
WYNTER: Paul Porter, a former B.E.T. programming director, who says he was let go after his job was eliminated, says adult content is intentionally being marketed to children, in the late afternoon and early evening hours. His group says sponsors like Procter & Gamble, Pepsi and General Motors pulled their ads, after it sent them a PTC study of three rap shows on B.E.T. and MTV - "Sucker Free on MTV," "Rap City" and "106 & Park."
"The Rap on Rap" report found children who watched these shows were bombarded with adult content, sex, violence, profanity and obscenity once every 38 seconds. Compared to about once every five minutes on broadcast TV, which unlike cable, is covered by FCC obscenity rules. MTV and B.E.T. say they haven't lost any advertisers or ad dollars as a result of this campaign. B.E.T.'s chairman and CEO dismissed the study.
DEBRA LEE, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, BET NETWORKS: We take our standards and policies very seriously. We edit videos. We work with the labels. We work with the artists, and we really pay attention to our artists.
WYNTER: MTV says "this report unfairly and inaccurately paints MTV with a brush of irresponsibility. During the time outlined in this report, we did not receive a single complaint about the content of the videos. We take our responsibility to our viewers very seriously, and have a self-imposed standards group that looks at every video and appropriately rates all of our programming."
But Industry Ears says it has swayed sponsors by using the power of negative publicity to pressure advertisers on Viacom's music channels with letters and e-mails.
PORTER: To our surprised that a lot of companies have taken this serious and they don't want to advertise their product with negative images. Procter & Gamble has been very receptive, GM, Pepsi.
WYNTER: Pepsi tells CNN it has not pulled its advertising and Procter & Gamble said it wouldn't disclose details of its media-buying strategies. GM says it has moved its ads from two of B.E.T.'s music video shows but still advertises on many other B.E.T. programs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WYNTER (on-camera): The Parents Television Council and Industry Ears say the fight doesn't end here. That they'll continue to clean up what they call the dirt on television. John, Kiran.
CHETRY: Kareen Wynter, thank you. Well, CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away. Tony Harris is at the CNN Center in Atlanta with a look at what's ahead. Good morning, Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Kiran, good morning to you. Good morning, everyone. The gun rights on the NEWSROOM " rundown for you this morning. The Supreme Court said to hand down a potentially landmark ruling on the right to bear arms. Does it belong exclusively to government or individuals as well? North Korea finally hands over details of its nuclear program. The U.S. responds with a rewards package.
Fresno state's underdog Bulldogs now the lowest seeded team ever to win the College World Series.
And Barack Obama live in just a couple of minutes in the NEWSROOM. Top of the hour here on CNN. Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: All right. Tony, thanks.
Well, beer bellies, pot bellies, whatever you want to call it, the spare tire. It can be a hassle to lose. Is it the worst kind of fat to have? Well, our Sanjay Gupta has the answer when we return.
ROBERTS: And one presidential candidate is a computer whiz. The other one, not so much. How important are a president's commuter skills to running the nation? Jeanne Moos is good to google. You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: We are always on top of the latest medical news here on AMERICAN MORNING. And as a result, you often have questions.
CHETRY: That's right, every Thursday we dig into Dr. Gupta's mail bag. And Sanjay joins us this morning. We're going to dive right in. Hi, Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
CHETRY: Joyce from Jacksonville, Illinois asks is it true gastric bypass surgery can cure diabetes?
GUPTA: You know, Joyce, this is actually really interesting, and probably a little bit of a game changer when it comes to these types of operations. The answer to your question is probably not cure diabetes but very effectively treat it. In fact, a couple of studies have actually come out showing the two different types of procedures, the lap band procedure for example, people who got them, about 73 percent of them actually had complete remission of their diabetes within two years. Think about that, that's pretty remarkable. And with the gastric bypass surgery, it reduced the likelihood from dying from diabetes by about 92 percent. So some pretty significant improvements. Cure probably not the right word but effectively treat, yes, Joyce.
ROBERTS: The next question comes from Scott from Nebraska who writes "I have developed tiny red bumps on my upper arm and I'm not sure why. Do you have any treatment suggestions?"
GUPTA: You know, part of the reason we put this question in the mail bag today is because we get tons of questions like these and they're impossible to answer because I don't know what these red bumps on your skin look like, Scott, but we do get a lot of questions on this. Let me point out a couple of things. There are a few different conditions that can cause bumps on the skin. Again, I don't know what yours look like specifically. But look at this image though, something known as keratosis pylorus. That is something that happens to a lot of people. It's actually quite common. What's happening there is underneath the hair follicles you have small openings and you get these deposits of protein in there and it causes these sorts of bumps. Now, it's not life-threatening or really of much concern at all. It tends to get worse with dry skin so moisturizing your skin seems to help quite a bit. But you know, I don't know if that's what it is, Scott, but that's something a lot of people do have.
ROBERTS: As long as you don't develop the red bump right on the tip of your elbow, that's serious.
CHETRY: Send in pictures.
Well, our final question this morning goes to Sydney in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. I heard that having a pot belly is the worst type of fat to have. Any truth to that?
GUPTA: Yes, Sydney. Lots of truth to that. And this is something that's worth talking about for a second. When you talk about all the different risk factors for heart disease, simply getting out a tape measure and measuring waist circumference is one of the best predictors of all of the likelihood of having heart disease or heart attack in the future. Pot belly or belly pot seems to be more biologically active than fat in other parts of the body. We don't completely understand why but we know that that type of fat tends to be the worst kind, tends to cause calcium buildup in blood vessels which can cause blockages. It tends to throw off your cholesterol levels, all things that can actually worsen heart disease later on down the line. So trim up the belly fat. That's very good advice.
ROBERTS: That Buddha belly not a good thing to have. Buddha was happy but you're not going to be if you have it.
GUPTA: That's right.
ROBERTS: Sanjay, thanks very much.
GUPTA: Thanks, guys. ROBERTS: Every Thursday we turn to Dr. Gupta's mailbag. If you've got a question for Sanjay, go to cnn.com/americanmorning and e-mail us your questions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING -
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Should the next president of the United States know how to work a computer?
ROBERTS: McCain needs help from his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, that's absolutely ridiculous.
ROBERTS: Obama is addicted to his blackberry. Jeanne Moos asks how wired do we want our president?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got people to do that, you got to be thinking of more important things.
ROBERTS: You're watching the most news in the morning.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I guess you could do on google.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: The band is one of Barack Obama's favorites, Bob Dylan and Stevie Wonder. The presidential candidate revealed the contents of his iPod to "Rolling Stone" magazine. In addition, he also listens to cellist Yo-Yo Ma, rapper Jay-Z and jazz legend, Miles Davis.
CHETRY: How about it? The contents of the iPod. And iPod is a gadget. So is the blackberry and apparently so is the internet to some candidates.
ROBERTS: A bit of a gadget.
Should a presidential candidate be tech savvy? In our increasingly wired world it may come as a surprise as that one of the candidates doesn't quite compute. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPODNENT: We don't expect the president to be the Liberace of the keyboard, but still, should the next president of the United States know how to work a computer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, yes, I guess so. It would be helpful. Why not?
MOOS: Ask John McCain. Here's how he describes his computer skills.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I am an illiterate that has to rely on my wife for all of the assistance that I can get. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, that's absolutely ridiculous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's 21st century, and you should know how to do it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has people to do that. He's got to be thinking of more important things.
MOOS: While Cindy McCain has been spotted scrolling her Blackberry, John McCain tends to be handed a Blackberry to talk on. Barack Obama on the other hand is one of those guys so intent on reading his blackberry, that he could run into something. "He is a blackberry fiend," says his spokesperson. "Has a laptop on the road and sometimes uses it to talk to his daughters, and surfs the web when he is in need of important information such as sports scores." A far cry from this guy.
PRES. GEORGE W. BUSH, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I hear there's rumors on the internets. One of the things I've used on the google...
MOOS: Just the other day President Bush did it again.
BUSH: They can go on their computers and dial up and volunteer.org.
MOOS: At least John McCain isn't still dialing up and he knows to leave off the "the."
MCCAIN: I guess you could do on google.
MOOS: But McCain's admission that he is computer illiterate was fodder for debate at something called the personal democracy forum. The online experts who had worked for John Edwards got into it and the internet experts from the McCain campaign.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes but you don't necessarily have to use the computer to understand how it shapes the country and I think he has --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's point though, you do.
MOOS: But when McCain's guy said this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John McCain is aware of the internet.
MOOS: John McCain is aware of the internet, became a joke on the internet.
MOOS (on-camera): But do we really want a president who sits around the Oval Office googling all day? This 74-year-old likes to google.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, this is such an easy thing to learn. I taught myself how to use the computer.
MOOS: At least John McCain --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ...taking laptop computers -- MOOS: ...knows the difference between a laptop and a lap dance, even if jokesters made a mockup of McCain's real website with "how does this thing work" and "should I double click here"? Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
CHETRY: Picking on John McCain there.
ROBERTS: We were saying before do you want somebody who was on google all day or somebody who is running a country. Maybe a good thing that he doesn't know how to use a computer. Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We will see you again bright and early tomorrow.
CHETRY: Keep watching. CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins begins right now.
