Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
North Korea Blows up Nuclear Plant Tower; Unity Drive: Obama Tries to Sell Clinton Fundraisers; Child Rape Rant; Fashion Politics; Interview With Clinton Campaign Chairman Terry McAuliffe; Ethics on the Trail; Soccer or Football?
Aired June 27, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. State Department official, Sung Kim, who is the point man on North Korea, turned to the director of safeguard at Yongbyon and sort of patted him on the back and gave him a handshake. Both of them seemed to realize the significance of this. Afterwards, we spoke to the U.S. official who said that this was a significant step toward disablement and that it put the United States and the other countries involved in these negotiations on the path to start the next phase of these important moves towards disarming North Korea.
For his part, the North Korean official said that he was quite sad because he was witnessing a life's work being destroyed. But he did say also that he hoped that the collapse of this tower would contribute to peace, not only in the Korean Peninsula, but also in the world. Those were his words.
Back to you.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Christiane, it would be interesting to get your take. Is this just for show? I mean, as we had talked about earlier, that probably within six months to a year, this could be rebuilt if they chose to do so. Or is this really the beginning of a new day for North Korea's legitimacy in the world?
AMANPOUR: North Korean officials, including the chief North Korean nuclear negotiator, have told me that their intent is positive and they want to move forward. Indeed, they, in fact, moved up the collapse of this tower, because it wasn't actually due to happen in what's known as the second phase, which is this phase that we've just witnessed, handing over North Korean declaration, having the U.S. remove it from the list of states that sponsor terrorism, and lift some sanctions.
But North Korea brought up this collapse, along with the United States, to show willing and to show its commitment, according to North Korean officials who we've spoken to. And many of the experts, including the U.S. officials and North Korean officials we've spoken to, say that they believe North Korea has made now the strategic decision to move forward with this disarmament process.
It is not a one-way street. It requires the United States and China, Japan, South Korea and Russia, all the countries involved in this process, to make reciprocal moves towards North Korea, including in terms of helping them with their desperate energy shortages, normalizing relations, giving them security guarantees that there will be no hostile intent, in return for the eventual full disarmament of North Korea.
CHETRY: Christiane Amanpour for us this morning there witnessing history, if you will. The implosion of a cooling tower, a key symbolic move in the negotiations with North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions.
Christiane, thank you.
Also happening today, here in the U.S., Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama hitting the campaign trail together for the first time in public. And their first stop will be the town of Unity, New Hampshire. It's a place they actually split right down the middle in the nation's first primary.
If you'd like to watch the Obama/Clinton rally in its entirety today, you can catch it on your laptop. CNN.com will be streaming it live from Unity, 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Clinton and Obama were together last night as well in Washington for a fundraiser in front of Clinton donors. Barack Obama cut a personal check to help his former opponent get out of campaign debt. It was for $4,600 from himself and his wife. The maximum individual donation allowed by law is $2,300. And he also had some words of inspiration for the audience.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It is still possible, I think, for both of us to win, and the American people, but only if we are unified and if we understand the stakes involved and understand that there are people who need this country to change far more than any of us in this room.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Obama may still have a tough time selling himself to some hard-core Clinton donors with hard feelings left over from some sometimes tense primary battles.
Our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, is live for us from Washington this morning.
Bill, how can Senator Clinton be the most help to Senator Obama?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, start with this: those were her supporters, her big-dollar contributors in that room last night. And she urged them to give support, give money to Senator Obama, because she said they have to commit themselves to that fight. And of course, he can help her retire her considerable campaign debt.
This is a very serious split in the party. Parties this divided usually have trouble winning. Reagan versus Ford did not win. Carter versus Kennedy -- Kennedy versus Carter, rather, Carter did not win. Barack Obama acknowledged the split, but he also made an interesting comment about how deep this split or how shallow this split actually is. Listen to what he said last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: On every issue, she and I and the entire Democratic Party don't have the kinds of ideological rifts that we've seen in the past.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: He even mentioned the issue of universal health care, which is probably the most serious issue where she and he had differences, and said that he endorsed the idea of universal health care, which will go a long way towards healing that division in the party. He said to those supporters that he didn't expect to see the passion and commitment that they gave to Hillary Clinton. But Hillary Clinton did her part when she rose to speak and talked about the urgency of the task facing the Democratic Party.
Here's what Hillary Clinton said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: We have to make it a priority in our lives to elect Barack Obama the next president of the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: The biggest applause line that Obama got at this meeting was when he said that he told his top fundraisers that they have to start working to help Senator Clinton retire her debt. It needs to be taken care of.
These were Clinton contributors in this audience. And with that, they rose and gave him a standing ovation -- John.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, we'll be watching this afternoon as well, 1:00 Eastern Daylight Time, when the two of them get together in Unity, New Hampshire...
SCHNEIDER: Right.
ROBERTS: ... and kick off his general election campaign with her somewhat at his side.
Bill Schneider for us this morning.
Bill, thanks very much.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
ROBERTS: An amazing political story for you this morning. You're not going to believe this one. One Massachusetts lawmaker is taking heat today for his harsh description of what attorneys could do to child rape victims if they take the stand in a criminal trial.
As CNN's Brian Todd tells us, he is now getting some heat for those words -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Kiran.
This one Massachusetts state legislator is opposed to mandatory sentences for child rape cases. And he painted a grim scenario of what could happen to young victims who take the stand if one proposed law is passed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice over): A chilling declaration from a legislator in Massachusetts during a heated debate over whether to mandate minimum sentences for child rape. He said these proposed minimum penalties would force him as the defense attorney for an accused child rapist to do whatever it takes to win his acquittal, up to and including a merciless cross-examination of the victim.
STATE REP. JAMES FAGAN (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I'm going to rip them apart. I'm going to make sure that the rest of their life is ruined. That when they're 8 years old, they throw up. When they're 12 years old, they won't sleep. When they're 19 years old, they'll have nightmares, and they'll never have a relationship with anybody.
TODD: State Representative James Fagan was opposing a bill named for Jessica Lunsford who was raped and murdered by a neighbor in Florida in 2005. That proposal would set a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years for aggravated rape of a child under 16.
Jessica's father, Mark Lunsford, told a local newspaper, "He just added insult to injury. Why doesn't he figure out a way to defend that child instead of trying to figure a way for defense attorneys to get around Jessica's law?"
A grueling cross-examination like Fagan suggests, might not play well with the jury.
JEFF JACOBVITZ, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There is certainly a risk if you're questioning a child too aggressively, because a juror will have sympathy for a child. A defense attorney has to be careful and sensitive to that issue.
TODD: Jessica's law has been passed in some form in 42 states. In states without minimums, Lunsford says, there's a risk that justice won't be carried out.
MARK LUNSFORD, VICTIM'S FATHER: My story is only one of thousands across all these states. And the only people that are paying the price for these crimes are the children.
(END VIDEOTAPE) TODD: Representative Fagan did not return our calls. He did tell a local newspaper that he did not intend to demean or offend victims, but he stood by his comments, saying he felt his hyperbole was necessary to show just how bad it could get in a courtroom if defendants face mandatory minimums in his state.
John and Kiran, back to you.
ROBERTS: A pretty bizarre story.
Brian Todd this morning.
Brian, thanks.
CHETRY: Well, it's being called the largest survey of its kind, asking black Americans what it's like being black in America right now. And it found that most are optimistic about the future.
Eighty-two percent of those surveyed say they believe it's important to prepare their children for racial prejudice. A quarter of the participants said they've experienced racial bigotry within the past three months. Radio One commissioned the national study.
Well, be sure to join Soledad O'Brien on July 23rd and 24th for "Black in America," a CNN's Special Investigations Unit presentation.
ROBERTS: You're watching the most news in the morning.
And coming up at 7:13, Tony Blair and a very tough warning about cutting greenhouse gas emissions. We spoke to him just a short time ago. Find out what he's proposing. That's ahead.
CHETRY: Also, at 7:20, presidential duds. The clothes that apparently make the man, but what about a president? We're going to find out what top Italian designer Donatella Versace says about the candidates' clothes.
ROBERTS: And coming up at 7:42, as the world community watches the European Cup with fascination, people in this country ask, what cup? Richard Roth investigates whether soccer can ever catch on here.
You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BUSINESS REPORT)
ROBERTS: The North Pole may lose its ice this summer. Scientists in Colorado say global warming may briefly melt the Arctic ice cap at the geographic North Pole.
The ice in the Arctic is becoming progressively thinner and retreated to a record low level last September. At one point, opening up the Northwest Passage for the very first time.
This is what the ice layer looked like as of Wednesday. The orange line that you see there is where the ice shelf should be this time of year. So the ice retreating somewhat.
Now, even if it does open up at the North Pole, it's not like the ice cap is going to disappear. You'll just get a little hole here and there. But still, it would be pretty dramatic.
CHETRY: It really is.
And meanwhile, former British prime minister Tony Blair is asking for a clear fight against global warming. Earlier this morning, John had a chance to speak with Mr. Blair, who is now a member of the nonprofit organization The Climate Group.
He said that greenhouse gases need to be cut by at least 25 percent by 2020 to avoid catastrophic change. He's also urging member nations of the Group of 8 to create a global solution by next year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY BLAIR, FMR. BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: What I'm actually suggesting, because this is very, very difficult negotiation -- you've got America on the one side, China and other major developing countries on the other. What I'm suggesting is that at next year's negotiation, let's do the maximum that is realistically possible, get this action under way, and then make sure that over the next few years, we're adjusting and reviewing as our understanding of this problem changes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The G8 convenes in Japan next month.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's Obama by Versace. The legendary designer has come out with a clothing line inspired by one of our presidential candidates. But casual chic might not catch on with blue collar voters around the country.
We sent CNN's Jennifer Eccleston to Milan for a look at fashion politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Don't be fooled by these conservative colors. This men's collection is distinctly Democrat, created by top Italian designer Donatella Versace in the image of her newest "it" guy.
AUDIENCE: Obama! Obama! Obama!
DONATELLA VERSACE, DESIGNER: It's casual chic. It's (INAUDIBLE) of today men.
ECCLESTON: But Versace isn't just watching the U.S. presidential race for fashion ideas.
OBAMA: And change is coming to America.
ECCLESTON: She's a designer inspired after listening to Barack Obama speak.
VERSACE: I said, "Wow, this is a man I would like to stand with on this collection, because he's all about change and hope and challenge in the future.
ECCLESTON: And to her, nothing screams change like an open collar, sandals, and a man bag.
OBAMA: Yes, we can.
ECCLESTON (on camera): Here in Milan, when the queen of Italian fashion anoints you her latest muse, it's safe to say you're pretty cool. But for some American voters, cool may not be what Obama needs right now.
MARY ANN AKERS, "WASHINGTON POST": Barack Obama right now is trying to reach out to working-class voters. He's had to make great efforts to reach out to them. He's had difficult doing it.
ECCLESTON (voice over): And Versace's generous gesture may not make it any easier.
AKERS: She is the ultra sexy, slinky line of clothing that is really not worn by your average, mainstream American voter.
ECCLESTON: Nor your average presidential candidate.
VERSACE: Just that he's a politician (INAUDIBLE) a different image. But, you know, it's the idea (INAUDIBLE) very much.
ECCLESTON: And what about John McCain?
VERSACE: It's so conflicted, his clothes. He should (INAUDIBLE) a little bit.
ECCLESTON: They say the clothes make the man. But can they really make the next president?
Jennifer Eccleston, CNN, Milan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Versace says she was creating a style for a relaxed man who doesn't need to flex muscles to show he has power.
ROBERTS: It's 25 minutes after the hour. You're watching the most news in the morning.
Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton kick off a Unity tour just hours after he hands her thousands of dollars to pay down her debt. We're talking with Clinton's campaign chairman. There he is. Terry McAuliffe, live, when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
Good morning, Terry.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-eight minutes after the hour now.
Later on today, 1:00 this afternoon Eastern, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will make their first joint public appearance since the end of the primaries. They're going to host a rally in Unity, New Hampshire. It comes hours after a private meeting with prominent Hillary Clinton donors in Washington. That was last night.
Clinton campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe hosted that event, and he joins me now live from the nation's capital.
Terry, good morning. Good to see you. How did the event go last night? What was the upshot of it?
TERRY MCAULIFFE, CLINTON CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: It was great. We had about 300 people in this room. Represented about $230 million that they raised for Hillary's campaign.
Hillary introduced Barack. They got up there. There was a great feeling in the room.
I think everybody's realized the importance of winning this in November. So it was a great Unity event. People were fired up. Peopled asked questions, tough questions got asked. And you know, people walked out of there saying, OK, let's go, we're fired up for the fall election. Let's go raise some money for Barack, let's help him win, let's help the down (ph) battle elections.
ROBERTS: Now, of course part of all of this is to help Senator Clinton retire her debt. I know Senator Obama is reaching out to his big money donors, not necessary small money donors.
MCAULIFFE: Yes.
ROBERTS: And both he and his wife Michelle cut checks for $2,300 a piece to Hillary Clinton.
Have you cut a check yet to Barack Obama? Has Senator Clinton?
MCAULIFFE: I didn't ask Hillary last night. I have cut a check, yes, John. I have done that. And you know, I also got one from the finance chair last night. Penny handed that check over to me.
So, you know, it feels good. We need to go forward together.
It is going to be a tough, long, hard general election. But, you know, these two candidates on the stage last night represented 36 million people who voted in the primaries. Twenty million more than we had in 2004. If we can keep everyone moving the same direction, fired up, it is going to be a spectacular year for the Democrats this November 4th. ROBERTS: You know, we mentioned just at the top of this that you've got that event in Unity, New Hampshire, this afternoon. Senator Clinton last night acknowledged that there's still some hard feelings, not necessarily from her, but certainly amongst some of her supporters. But she has pledged to work very hard for Senator Obama.
Let's listen to some of what she said last night.
MCAULIFFE: Sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: We are family. And we have an opportunity now to really demonstrate clearly we do know what's at stake, and we will do whatever it takes to try to win back the White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Terry, she says she's going to do whatever it takes to try to win back the White House. What role do you think she should play in the campaign, and what role do you think she is owed at the convention this summer?
MCAULIFFE: Well, she's going to go, she's going to speak one night. And, I mean, she got, as you know, 18 million people came out and voted.
People were passionate for her. She brought out women in record numbers. And she has told Senator Obama she will do whatever they want.
She plans on campaigning every day this fall, to be out there. The issues are so great.
You know, as she said last night, you know, it wasn't about Hillary, the campaign. It was about all the things she fought for and not about the people in this room, she said. It's about all the people who are having a tough time getting by.
That's what the campaign is all about. And she wants to take the message into the fall.
As I say, we keep everybody going in the same direction, everybody fired up. I mean, John, we can pick up a significant number of seats in the Senate, in the House, in the state legislatures all across this country. People want to move this country in a new direction.
But I tell Democrats, we've all got to work hard. It's going to be a long, hard, tough campaign. John McCain is going to run a ferocious campaign. It's going to be tough. But we all have got to be doing it together. We've got to put the campaign behind us and move forward in a positive way.
ROBERTS: Terry, this idea of her being the running mate, is that off the table, do you think? MCAULIFFE: Well, I don't think it's off the table. You know, listen, Senator Obama has to make that decision. Obviously I'm biased. I would love to see Hillary on the ticket.
I think, you know, if she were on the ticket, I think we honestly, John, would control the White House for 16 years. It's going to take that long to undo the eight years of the Bush administration. But Senator Obama's got to make that decision himself. And he's got to do what he thinks is in the best interest of the campaign and the country.
But whatever he decides to do, whatever role for Hillary, she is ready to go. And she will do whatever they ask her to do in the fall campaign.
And I made the same pitch last night to all of our supporters. We have done this now for three weeks. We've done conference calls all over the country to all of our people.
OK, you know, we tried. We gave it everything we had. Now we need to move forward and support Senator Obama.
So, you know, we're all in a good place and we're ready to go. We're fired up for the fall election.
ROBERTS: Terry, we've got to run, but we'll be watching this afternoon.
MCAULIFFE: All right, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Take care. Good to see you.
MCAULIFFE: You bet. Thank you.
CHETRY: Got some breaking news right now on the price of oil. Our Ali Velshi following it. And this is certainly not news anyone wants to hear this morning.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: No. But another surge in the price of oil.
Let me just tell you, we had a surge yesterday, we had a surge this morning. Now oil trading above $142 a barrel. $142.26 is the last number I was able to confirm, but it is moving very, very quickly.
Let me just give you a sense of this.
Yesterday, oil was up $5.09. And it settled yesterday at $139.64. Then it went over $140, $141 this morning, up to $141.72, which is what I was reporting to you at the high less than half an hour ago. And then we saw another surge beyond that.
So at this point, we're running more than $2 higher than that $5 gain that we saw yesterday, $142.28 a barrel. This is of concern, because obviously it plays into everything else that we're talking about. We've seen a bit of a retreat in gas prices today. But when you start to see these increasing records, that means we're a few days away from those gas prices starting to go up again.
CHETRY: So why are we hitting this new record? What are the factors that have happened?
VELSHI: Well, you'd almost think it'd be the other way around, right? We've seen Americans using less oil. We saw Saudi Arabia agree to putting a little bit more oil on the market the other day. We've seen production increase.
So you shouldn't see this. This is what indicates there's something not market-related going on here, because there is that demand for oil that keeps on going, but every time we have a reason for oil to come down it seems to go up again.
So it's unclear. And we'll start to get information as to what's going on. But as you can see on the barrel there, $122.26. That's a lot of surge for a few hours in the morning.
CHETRY: It sure is. And you know, they're talking about it in the halls of Congress, about possible laws when it comes to speculation.
VELSHI: Right. There's definitely some part of this is speculation.
CHETRY: Speculation.
VELSHI: Well, you know, you need to be speculative -- you need to have speculation in any market. It greases the wheels of investment, because there's some sense that every investment is speculation. But how much of this is speculation, how much of it is supply and demand?
And when you start to see supply go down -- when I see a surge like this, I'm looking for there being a supply problem somewhere. I'm looking to hear that something happened to a supply problem somewhere in the world.
And we will continue to see where that is. It's not typical because the markets haven't opened for trade yet, full trade -- this is electronic trade -- to see that kind of a move without a reason. But we're going to look for it, and as soon as we have it we'll bring it to you.
CHETRY: All right. Ali Velshi reporting on a new oil record. A dubious distinction set today.
Thank you.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: Well, from a gaffe on terror talk to ignoring religious groups, both Senators John McCain and Barack Obama navigating some ethical concerns on the campaign trail this week. And coming up, we're going to talk to ethics expert Bruce Weinstein about it. Also, soccer, or football, has been a tough sell in the U.S. Now superstars from another sport are trying to change that. Richard Roth gets involved in a very unique exhibition game.
You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.
Every week we check in with our ethics expert to see how the presidential candidates are handling the ethical challenges they face in their quest for the White House.
Bruce Weinstein writes the ethics column for BusinessWeek.com, and he joins me right now.
Thanks for being with us.
BRUCE WEINSTEIN, BUSINESSWEEK.COM: It's a pleasure.
CHETRY: Senators Obama and Clinton met up with her top fundraisers.
WEINSTEIN: Yes.
CHETRY: This is an event that happened last night. And he actually whipped out the checkbook, wrote a check, $2,300, which is the maximum, to help her with this campaign debt that she has holding over.
Does he have to help pay off her debt?
WEINSTEIN: Doesn't have to. It fit's in the ethical category of above and beyond the call of duty.
Now, apparently, it is a tradition within a party that the nominee will pay off or help pay off the debt of the loser. But it's not ethically required. It shows good character. It's praiseworthy. But if he didn't do it, it wouldn't have been wrong.
CHETRY: Also, there was apparently some grousing behind the scenes from some Clinton supporters saying he should just in one fell swoop help her get rid of that $22 million she has.
WEINSTEIN: Well, that would really be beyond the call of duty. I mean, he does have some obligations to himself. So it's a trick to balance those two interests, but he can do it.
CHETRY: Let's talk about Hillary Clinton's husband, former President Bill Clinton.
WEINSTEIN: Yes.
CHETRY: There was an article on atlantic.com suggesting that he's still angry with Barack Obama for how the campaign portrayed him during the primaries. If he's still upset, how does he balance that with trying to do the best for his party and also dealing with some of his personal concerns?
WEINSTEIN: Perhaps by stepping back and realizing the election is not about him. It's about the interest of the country.
Now, the question, should he be helping at all? That's really only a call that the party can make. After all, he has a conflict of interest. So of course he would say that he ought to help.
The ethical question is, can he do no harm and hopefully make things better? Two ethical principles. At least do no harm, make things better. If he can do both, then he ought to play a role.
CHETRY: All right. McCain's campaign yesterday sent out a memo, and it was essentially supposed to be a compare and contrast of the two candidates. But it really did go after Barack Obama's character, if you will, saying that, you know, he put his self-interest first and that he puts his interests ahead of the country.
Was that unethical?
WEINSTEIN: It's ethically questionable. Who knows what is in a person's heart? And let's say that you do some volunteer work in your spare time and you feel good about it. Does it mean you're doing the work because it makes you feel good? Not necessarily.
So, McCain really ought to focus on what Obama is doing rather than the motivations or the intention behind why he's doing it. After all, who knows what is in a person's heart?
CHETRY: All right. Bruce Weinstein, as always, great to see you, ethics columnist with BusinessWeek.com, known as "The Ethics Guy."
Thanks.
WEINSTEIN: It's a pleasure.
ROBERTS: Thirty-nine minutes after the hour.
Just in to CNN, take a look at this from our affiliate KMOV in Missouri. Here's a scene of yet another levee breach. This one in Winfield, Missouri. It's about 38 miles, 38 to 40 miles northwest of St. Louis, along the Mississippi River.
Last week there was another huge levee breach as well. And they got a lot of rain over there in the last couple of days.
You know, when Jacqui Jeras was with us the other day, she was saying that they were getting as much as three inches of rain in that area. And of course, that's going to swell the rivers up and that's going to put more pressure on those already saturated levees.
And as you can see, one of those broke through there. And the water from the Mississippi now just pouring into more farmers' fields. So still a lot of problems out there in the Midwest.
CHETRY: Yes. And this is the shock that we've had for days, it seems, as we've watched that town, one of the towns, really ground zero for the flooding.
And as we heard from Jacqui Jeras yesterday, something as small as -- was it a muskrat that was walking along the levee -- was enough to allow some of the seepage. So just an example of how tenuous the situation there is and just how any little disruption, even something as small as -- I think a two-inch wake of a small boat could cause a levee to breach.
So there we see the town of Winfield and some dramatics pictures this morning.
ROBERTS: Well, energy is one of the biggest issues this election year. What exactly is Senator Barack Obama's plan when it comes to oil and future technology? We examine his positions coming up later on this hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 42 and a half minutes after the hour.
You go into any Irish bar in New York City over the last few weeks and they're also watching Euro 2008. Soccer sells so many places around the world, except, it seems, here in the United States. But now some NBA stars are trying to convince fans that the world's biggest sport deserves a good, hard look.
Our Richard Roth was there for a very unique exhibition game and brings us the results as only Richard can.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This was -- remember, like, when Babe Ruth in the '30s would go through the Midwest, you'd hear stories? This was almost like that, maybe without the beer and the hotdogs.
You may not realize it, John, or even like it, but it's growing. Soccer, ever more popular in the United States.
It's not anywhere near football and baseball, but this week's celebrity crossover soccer match highlights the trend.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON KIDD, BASKETBALL STAR: Make sure you have that rolling when I score my goal.
ROTH (voice over): Jason Kidd wasn't kidding. The NBA basketball star talking trash on the soccer pitch? Basketball star Steve Nash was more realistic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Steve, are you better at soccer or are you better at basketball? What do you think?
STEVE NASH, PHOENIX SUNS: What do you think?
ROTH: But people literally scaled walls or trees to see this celebrity pickup soccer match in New York City. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had them up in the trees over here.
ROTH: For soccer?
BARON DAVIS, GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS: I love basketball, soccer. Whatever makes you happy. Play it.
Right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love soccer!
ROTH: Not everybody loves soccer here, but cynics beware.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's getting a lot better. I mean, you see the fans out here today.
ROTH: And seeing real soccer stars like Thierry Henry is hard to believe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's great. It's like playing a video game.
ROTH: The French star offered a fairy-tale solution.
THIERRY HENRY, SOCCER PLAYER, BARCELONA: You have to stop maybe for one, two years in the NBA and NFL and it will work.
ROTH: Not going to work. But hooking them young seems to help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's my favorite sport, and I love to play it.
ROTH (on camera): Why should Americans appreciate soccer more?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the world's game. And if you're trying to be a part of the world, you have to sort of...
ROTH (voice over): Spoiler alert. David Beckham was not here.
(on camera): What about Beckham? Has he turned you on to the game, or has he just turned you on?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think just turned me on.
ROTH: This celebrity charity match has been going on now for an hour. They said I'd get in the game, and I'm still waiting.
Can I enter the game?
VENANZIO CIAMPA, PROMOTER: Not now, no.
(SPEAKING ITALIAN)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I want is the sport to continue to grow in leaps and bounds.
ROTH: Can I try? All right. Can you pass it already? Give me a little lift here. Just give me a little -- this is my bad foot, by the way.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH: I've got it finally.
And Sunday, John, as you mentioned, is the final of the European National Club Championship, Spain versus Germany.
ROBERTS: We should mention that you're playing hurt too, right?
ROTH: That's right. I tried to tell them I had a bad foot, but...
ROBERTS: So no bending it like Beckham?
ROTH: No, no, no. It's goofing it up like Roth, I guess.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: All right, Richard. Thanks very much.
ROTH: This is usable.
ROBERTS: Hey, I love that. Let's have a ball this morning.
Good stuff. Thank you, man.
CHETRY: Well, tomatoes are off the menu. Restaurants yanking them after reports of a salmonella outbreak. So are they safe to eat today?
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look when the most news in the morning returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: The recent salmonella scare prompted several fast food chains to pull tomatoes off the menu. The number of people made sick from eating tomatoes tainted with salmonella now 750-plus cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.
Now, some 330 of those cases are in Texas. It's the only state also that's reported a death possibly linked to the outbreak.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now with a look and some practical advice.
Right now is it safe to eat tomatoes, Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think the best way to characterize this is that the salmonella investigation is still ongoing. But the FDA has tried to mitigate some of the effects of some of these dangerous tomatoes. So I think it's getting safer, but not safe yet. You need to know which tomatoes you're eating and you need to know from where they came as well.
So here's a look at some of the safer tomatoes, for example, things you can look for: cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, tomatoes with a vine attached. That's something you can look for, obviously. Tomatoes grown at home as well.
Those ones you can eat right up. Those ones are going to be safe, no matter from where they came.
Look at some of the ones that are going to be unsafe though. This is what you have to pay attention to -- the raw red plum tomatoes, red Roma tomatoes, and red round tomatoes.
Now, if you don't know what these tomatoes look like, look them up -- you can do a search on the Internet for them like I did to actually see what it is that you're buying. Or you can look for the signs in the stores.
But trying to figure out from where they came, that obviously can be a little bit more difficult. You're not always given that information.
So what the FDA has done is actually created a Web site. You can go to FDA.gov and look in the spotlight box, and they're going to give you the safe states from where a lot of these tomatoes came. And you can sort of start to pinpoint exactly what might be best for you.
Now, here's a little piece of trivia, Kiran. The type of salmonella they're talking about is actually known as Salmonella St. Paul. Now, you don't need to remember the name, but this is a particularly bad salmonella. I mean, just a small amount of it can get you sick, which is why so many people are paying attention.
You usually get sick within 12 hours to three days. You get a fever, you don't feel well. Usually it passes through, but it can be a miserable few days -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Wow. Like a really, really, really bad stomach flu.
How exactly does the FDA track down contamination?
GUPTA: You know, this is interesting. It's a true medical investigation.
And I had some time to actually follow along the investigations during the E. coli scare, where they actually go to the farms and try to figure out, how does it get from the farms to someone's actual fork? How does that process happen?
And it can be very difficult, because you're actually trying to do what's called the trace back. We talked to Dr. Acheson, who sort of oversees food safety. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. DAVID ACHESON, FDA: So far, we have not found the proverbial smoking gun to say, oh, that's it. But clearly, we're continuing to see this very aggressively with teams in multiple places.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: A 50/50 chance that they may never find out exactly from where the salmonella actually originated. So it's just this process of mitigating.
You've got multiple suppliers, multiple distributors, multiple stores. It can be hard, as you might imagine, Kiran, to pinpoint it.
CHETRY: It's tough. You have to paint it all with a broad brush. And a lot of the growers and people that they employ are suffering because of it as well, even if their tomatoes are possibly safe. Tough to track down.
Well, very interesting, Sanjay. Thank you.
GUPTA: Thank you, Kiran.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice over): United they stand.
CLINTON: We will do whatever it takes to try to win back this White House.
ROBERTS: Clinton and Obama hit the road together today, and behind the scenes as they try to turn the hard-core Hillary fundraisers.
Plus, campaign passion.
SCARLETT JOHANSSON, ACTRESS: The first time that I met Barack, I was so star struck.
ROBERTS: A starlet named Scarlett gets her candidate into an e-mail mess. Jeanne Moos tries to clear things up.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The e-mailing brouhaha led one whit to write: "I did not have textual relations with that woman."
ROBERTS: You're watching the most news in the morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's coming up on 55 minutes after the hour.
Scientists out of Colorado say thin arctic sea ice around the area of the geographic North Pole may for a short time melt this summer. They say that the ice has become progressively thinner over the years. And while they say the meltdown is "astonishing," they add that there's no immediate danger.
Well, the issue of climate change will be a key topic durn next month's G8 summit in Tokyo. Former prime minister Tony Blair is urging world leaders to agree to a strategy to curb global warming by next year.
Earlier, I spoke with the former prime minister about his new report called "Breaking the Climate Deadlock." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BLAIR: Now, it's a big challenge. Don't misunderstand me. But when the world's leading scientists are telling us again and again and again this is a threat, potentially a catastrophic threat to our climate, we've got to act. And what we're trying to do is to suggest a way we can act sensibly, realistically, that protects our economy as well as protects our environment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Blair says he hopes to get global support for a deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent by the year 2050.
John McCain has a new ad attacking Barack Obama for saying no to energy solutions. So what is Obama's plan to solve the energy crunch?
Frank Sesno breaks down his positions for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANK SESNO, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Wind, solar, biofuels -- photo-ops Barack Obama uses to say he's looking to the future while John McCain looks to the energy past.
OBAMA: It's pretty impressive, right?
SESNO: In fact, McCain favors new technologies and conservation too, but emphasizes the supply side of the oil and gas equation. For now, he says we need more.
Obama leans on the demand size. He proposes to reduce oil and gas use through conservation, higher mileage standards, requirements for utilities to use renewables like wind and solar.
Obama's plan offers logic but also inconsistencies. He opposes additional offshore drilling, largely because it would take years to get the oil flowing. True enough, but just about every significant energy proposal would take years to bear fruit. His own plan gives automakers 20 years to double mileage standards.
Obama's criticized McCain for saying more drilling would have a positive psychological impact.
OBAMA: In Washington speak, what that means is it polls well.
SESNO: But there is psychology in energy markets. Worries about soaring demand in China or supply disruptions in Nigeria send prices up. Expectations of more production can send prices down.
Obama's stand on corn ethanol also raises questions. Despite its limited energy value and its impact on food prices, Obama's long supported it, including billions in government subsidies to promote it and steep tariffs keeping cheaper Brazilian sugar ethanol out to protect it. Obama's home state of Illinois is a big ethanol producer. "The New York Times" reported this week close ties in the Obama campaign to the ethanol industry, from his top environmental adviser to one of his most vocal surrogates, former senator Tom Daschle, who serves on the boards of several ethanol companies.
Obama often criticizes big oil, and a big part of his energy plan resolves around higher taxes on oil companies to help fund R&D for new energy technologies, to pay for tax credits for some consumers, even to spur exploration.
(on camera): But oil companies have faced a windfall profit tax before in the '70s, repealed in the '80s. Why? Because they found that it wasn't producing the revenue expected, was a lot of work to administer, and a lot of people say it ended up driving oil exploration and drilling down.
Frank Sesno, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Well, we're crossing the top of the hour now. A couple of minutes before. And here are some top stories we're following for you.
Just minutes ago, oil hit a record mark of $142 a barrel. This happened as the Dow gets set to open at its lowest level since September 11th of 2006. The Dow Jones plunged nearly 360 points yesterday.
People in Zimbabwe are voting today in a presidential runoff election. It's being condemned by world leaders as a sham. Incumbent President Robert Mugabe is expected to win a sixth term.
Also, happening right now, a levee breaks in the town of Winfield, Missouri. The Mississippi River flooding the town right now. That river is expected to crest tomorrow at more than 11 feet above flood stage. Officials there say floods have damaged nearly 700 homes already.
And we also have breaking news this morning. We're following the implosion of the water cooling tower at the Pyongyang nuclear facility in North Korea.
It came down just a short time ago. There you saw it first here on CNN. The symbolic explosion comes just a day after North Korea handed over its dossier on its nuclear program.
We bring in CNN State Department Correspondent Zain Verjee right now.
Now, this certainly, as many have said, is a symbolic first step. So what lies ahead in the future for North Korea after doing what they did today?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Well, what has to happen, essentially, is that North Korea has to tell the United States and the rest of the world that we're open to allowing some very intrusive inspections at the Yongbyon nuclear reactor. What needs to happen is they need to come in, get on the ground, take samples of the plutonium, of the reactor of the nuclear waste, and kind of put a picture together to see what North Korea has been up to and if, in fact, they are telling the truth -- Kiran.
