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American Morning
Latest US Election Polls; Obama and Clinton Begin Unity Tour Today; Politics Inspires High Fashion; Oil Breaking Records Again; Water Cooling Tower at North Korea's Yongbyon Nuclear Facility Demolished
Aired June 27, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: 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?
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Another question is, you know, as this verification process happens, is there any going back? I mean, in the past we've seen North Korea sort of make promises and then renege. Symbolically, this explosion happened. But they could rebuild the cooling tower. Or is this really the dawning of a new day there?
VERJEE: They could rebuild the cooling tower. It would take 6 to 12 months to get that reactor up and going again. There had been a lot of other disablement activities at the Yongbyon reactor. For example, the reprocessing facility.
They have taken some pretty significant steps. And it does seem as though they are committed to ending the plutonium production at Yongbyon. The reason that that is significant is because you need plutonium to build a nuclear bomb.
But North Korea, while committed on this front, it seems in any way this reactor was pretty old and decrepit and falling apart. So they were planning on giving it up anyway is what many experts say. There are some unanswered questions that North Korea really has to come forward with.
What have they done with the suspected uranium-enrichment program? Are they sharing any of the nuclear secrets with anyone? Are they actually going to hand over the weapons and the plutonium when it comes to that? There's a lot of mistrust on both sides.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Zain Verjee for us. Thanks.
ROBERTS: Let's try to get some of those questions answered. CNN's Christiane Amanpour was one of a few journalists who was able to witness the tower's destruction. She joins us live this morning all the way from Pyongyang in South Korea. Christiane, you heard what Zain was saying. This implosion of this water cooling tower, a very significant event, but by no means means that North Korea is giving up its entire nuclear program.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it does mean that North Korea seems to be committed to this part of its nuclear program which is the only part that's known about its nuclear program. And that is the plutonium activities at Yongbyon.
Anything that is suspicious about any kind of uranium enrichment, there is scant evidence according to both the United States and indeed independent nuclear experts. Scant evidence about uranium enrichment and they just simply don't have the evidence or the answers to that, nor to the proliferation which obviously they do want answers to.
And they hope to get that in the ensuing months and weeks of negotiations. But clearly, what is significant is that in full view of the international press court, now the world, and in full view of U.S. State Department officials who came to witness this, they have blown up part of the Yongbyon facility.
This is the cooling tower which was, in fact, disabled along with a lot of the Yongbyon facility. They have not been making any plutonium, extracting any plutonium or making any new bombs or any such thing since the summer by all accounts, including the accounts of independent -- well, U.S. government experts who are on the ground in Yongbyon.
So what many are saying is that these moves that the North Koreans have systemically taken along with the United States and the four other countries to these talks -- China, Japan, South Korea and Russia, appear to show a shift in North Korea's intent and its behavior to the future. Appear to show a strategic decision to move out of its isolation.
While there's a lot of verification, a lot more steps to go through, it seems that for the moment U.S. officials are -- and others -- are sure that this is at least for this moment the progress that they're looking for. In fact, today, when this cooling tower had been blown up, the U.S. official on hand said that this is a significant disabling moment and action. And it does put the U.S. and the other countries in a good place to start the next phase of the negotiations.
John?
ROBERTS: Christiane, you mentioned that they have not been extracting any plutonium at the Yongbyon plant since last summer. But what about the plutonium that they already have extracted? What about the nuclear devices that they are believed to have already constructed? What happens with all of that?
AMANPOUR: Well, the plutonium that they've already extracted is meant to have been detailed in the declaration that they handed over yesterday, the precise kilograms of extracted plutonium. It is meant to have been delivered once and for in the declaration. Now the declaration also, they have 18,000 pages that have already been handed over which will allow them to verify the declaration. That's the point of those two documents. That one allows them to verify the other.
Now in terms of the nuclear devices that they have made, we know, according to experts, that they have made seven -- around seven or so. And we know that they test fired one back in 2006. These devices, this aspect of it, the weaponization aspect of this program is expected to be detailed and discussed in the next and future rounds of negotiations that continue.
One thing we did hear today on a positive note, you know, because the North Koreans have said that the U.S. had not come forward with its delivery of fuel oil back in February, they had slowed down removing the fuel rods. Now we are told that they're about to speed that process back up which is another move in the right direction.
ROBERTS: And I know that you'll keep following it from right inside the country. Christiane Amanpour. She's in Pyongyang for us this morning. Christiane, good to see you. Thanks.
CHETRY: Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton begin what's called a unity tour today, as Obama helps pay off his former rival's debt. At a fund-raiser last night in Washington, D.C., Obama and his wife, Michelle, donated a combined $4600 to Clinton's campaign. That's the max of individual contributors.
Senator Obama asked his top fundraisers to do the same. CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER 360" received exclusive cell phone pictures. That's what you're seeing right now of this meeting, where Clinton asked supporters to work together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This was a hard fought campaign. That's what made it so exciting and intense. And why people's passions ran so high on both sides. Now, I know my supporters have extremely strong feelings, and I know Barack's do as well.
But we are a 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 win back this White House.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Their unity tour kicks off today in Unity, New Hampshire.
ROBERTS: Earlier this morning, I spoke with Clinton's campaign chairman Terry McAuliffe. I asked him what Senator Clinton's role might be as Barack Obama's campaign moves forward. Here's what he told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TERRY MCAULIFFE, CLINTON CAMPAIGN CHAIRMAN: She's going to go. She's going to speak one night. I mean, she got, you know, 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, it wasn't about Hillary, the campaign. It was about all the things she fought for and not about the people in this room.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: McAuliffe also told me he didn't think that the idea of Clinton as vice president is off the table. But that it will be Barack Obama's decision as to who he chooses. And you can watch the entire Obama-Clinton rally from Unity, New Hampshire at cnn.com. We'll be streaming it live at 1:00 Eastern.
CHETRY: Obama by Versace, a fashion line inspired by a presidential candidate and getting some attention on both sides of the Atlantic.
Also, unity is the name of the game as Hillary Clinton joins Barack Obama for a rally in New Hampshire. So the big question is will her supporters follow suit? We'll take a look, ahead.
Also, it's posh and vex, fans have been able to do it. Now the NBA is trying, getting Americans into soccer. They took their shots for charity right here in New York. And our Richard Roth takes us there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Today is Bill Gates last day at Microsoft. Well, take a look at this. This is a picture of 11 of the 12 original employees. No, that's not. That's the sulfur -- oh, there it is. Taken back in 1978 when the company was just three years old. Look at that. Some of them looked like little kids.
Well, Gates is there on the left, the spry 22-year-old. Do you see Gates? He's the one at the very bottom of the picture, right? All the way down there. Yes, at the very bottom (INAUDIBLE). OK.
Well, one of the employees organized a reunion photograph. Here is a split of what they look like now 30 years and 90,000 employees later.
ROBERTS: Not to mention --
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: I was going to say we left out the most important part -- the money.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They're all doing very well.
CHETRY: How about that? ROBERTS: Ali Velshi is here this morning. And unfortunately, Ali returns, the hairless profit of doom is back and --
VELSHI: And another oil record.
ROBERTS: Where oil prices now?
VELSHI: Well, we pulled back just a little bit. But as you can see behind me, oil hit $142.26. This is often a very rapid gain this morning. We topped $140 and overnight $141. Now $142. It's pulled back a little bit.
But just take a look at the big gain in oil prices yesterday. Oil was up $5 to a new record yesterday, a settle of $139.64. That is a very substantial gain in one day. Although in the last few weeks, we've seen $5 and $10 gains and losses in 24 hours. So oil is back up. That affected markets yesterday. We looked at a Dow that was down at second biggest amount this year.
The Dow was down 358 points. That's about a three percent drop. Same on the NASDAQ. A little bigger on the NASDAQ actually and the S&P 500. Overnight, Asian markets were down. A couple of them five percent.
We are looking at a low open now on U.S. markets as well. We're tracking that closely. What's going on with oil this morning to cause this kind of a surge?
Well, we haven't got anything definite right now. But there are three things that are contributing to this -- one is that the U.S. dollar is now lower and expecting over the course of the next week to be lower because the European Central Bank is expected to raise rates on July 3rd. That will weaken the U.S. dollar. And that tends to make the price of oil go higher.
Also, Libya has threatened an output cut of oil. And OPEC's president has suggested that oil will hit $150 to $170 within the next few months. So that doesn't -- it doesn't mean he's doing anything about it. But when OPEC, which controls so much of the world's oil, suggests that oil prices are going up, you might concur that they know more than we know about it. So these are factors that are causing oil traders to push the price of oil higher.
ROBERTS: And there was that analyst at CIBC that predicted $7 gasoline by 2010.
VELSHI: Jeff Rubin has said that. And the thing about Jeff is that he not only predicts it, but he tells you what the larger effects of that are going to be including on housing prices for those people who live in the suburbs. So it's worth listening to Jeff.
We're actually going to talk to him a little later on, hopefully, on "ISSUE #1". We put in a call to have a conversation with Jeff Rubin.
ROBERTS: You know, a lot of people considering moving back into the city. VELSHI: Right, because it just gets too expensive. So these are just bigger, longer term impact if oil stays this high.
ROBERTS: All right. Ali, thanks so much.
VELSHI: OK.
ROBERTS: The sometimes bitter Democratic nominating process now turns to hugs and handshakes. But will that translate into votes for Barack Obama? More on today's unity tour, coming up next.
CHETRY: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Change is coming to America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And what says change better than a short suit and a man bag? Italian designer Donatella Versace turns Obama into a fashion line.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's all about change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The inspiration, the clothes, and her critique of McCain. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: We have some breaking news right now. And there you see the pictures coming to us from Winfield, Missouri, where another levee has given way, crumbling into the town. The Mississippi River expected to crest tomorrow at more than 11 feet above flood stage.
Officials there say that floods have damaged close to 700 homes already. At quarter past the hour, our Rob Marciano was here in the studio with us this morning. You're looking at the same pictures. Just an example of how fragile the levees were in many of these towns because of the Mississippi.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Well, Senator John McCain supporting a California State effort to ban gay marriage. It comes in a new statement to a conservative marriage group. McCain says states and not judges should decide the issue.
CHETRY: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING -- the Obama look. Politics inspires high fashion. Donatella Versace opens up about her new line and offers some advice to McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just loosen up a little bit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 19 minutes after the hour. It is Obama by Versace. A legendary designer has come out with a clothing line inspired by one of the presidential candidates. And we set our Jennifer Eccleston to Milan and believe me she accepted this, to take a closer look at fashion politics.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JENNIFER ECCLESTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL 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.
CROWD: Obama! Obama! Obama!
DONATELLA VERSACE, FASHION DESIGNER: He is casual chic. He's like the image of the modern man of today's man.
ECCLESTON (voice-over): But Versace isn't just watching the U.S. presidential race for fashion ideas.
OBAMA: 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 that would I like to inspire me for this collection because he's all about change and hope and, you know, challenge of 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 difficulty doing it.
ECCLESTON: And Versace's generous gesture may not make it any easier.
VOICE OF UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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: I understand that he is a politician and needs to project a different image, but you know, it's the idea behind the man who inspired me very much.
ECCLESTON: And what about John McCain?
VERSACE: He's too constrictive in his clothes. He should loosen up 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)
ROBERTS: Versace says that she was creating a style for a relaxed man that doesn't need to flex his muscle to show that he has power. But, Kiran, I'm not sure that shorts suit is going to look good on him.
CHETRY: Or the man bag. You can't carry that thing around the campaign trail. By the way, on saksfifthvenue.com, one Versace men's blazer, 1,200 bucks.
ROBERTS: Bargain. It's twice the price.
CHETRY: Well, after a seesaw battle in the primary, Hillary Clinton is all smiles and she backs Barack Obama. But what will her role be as the campaign rolls on? We're going to get a look at today's Democratic unity tour, next.
And also oil breaking records all over the place. Now, it's $142 a barrel. Gas, $4.07 a gallon. And more concerns about the economy. So, why are people still spending small fortunes on art?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, you would think during this economy that people wouldn't be spending money on art. But you're here to tell me that they actually are spending, spending, spending. What's behind that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Actually, the market particularly for 20th century works of art, both impressions to modern and post-war contemporary art is just on fire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Coming up, the booming art market.
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, a pitch to sell soccer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's great. It's like playing a video game.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: American All-Stars and world-class footballers in a New York street game. But does anyone care?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about Beckham? Has he turned you on to the game or just turned you on?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think just turned me on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Richard Roth looks at why the world loves soccer and we don't. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can I try? All right, can you pass?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Unity is the theme today as Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton appeared together in the town of Unity, not by accident, New Hampshire. But questions remain about how big Clinton's role will be in the campaign in the days ahead. And I'm joined by "Time" magazine columnist Joe Klein.
Welcome, Joe. Good to see you this morning. So who has the bigger challenge right now in terms of unity -- Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton?
JOE KLEIN, TIME MAGAZINE COLUMNIST: Well, Barack Obama has got the nomination. By the way, the great thing about this town of Unity is that each of them got 107 votes there in the New Hampshire primary. I mean, you got to look really hard or be in luck to find a town named Unity where each got equal amounts.
It's on both. I mean, you know, it's Obama's nomination. He has to have the smoothest possible path to the convention and then to the general election. But Hillary Clinton's long-term reputation in the Democratic Party is at stake now, too. And I think that she's very conscious of that.
CHETRY: We'll talk about dealing Hillary Clinton supporters into the fold and making sure that they will support Barack Obama. We have seen a change in this. In fact, the latest polling shows that 53 percent of her supporters say they now will back Obama. But 23 percent, nearly a quarter, said they're going to pick McCain. How does she change that? KLEIN: Well, I think that they change it together. I think that Obama has trouble with older voters, especially women. He has trouble with Latino voters. These are constituencies that Clinton can help him with. They're areas where she did very, very well in the primaries.
But I think that, you know, overall, Obama seems to be running fairly well in the polls at this point with the caveat that polls at this point mean nothing.
CHETRY: Right. Or the delegate counts are off and on.
Now, you wrote a few weeks ago, she has -- she more than he, has the power to unite or destroy the party. He's doing better in the polls. He's raising money. Why does he need her so badly?
KLEIN: Well, he wants everybody. I mean, it's hard. It has been traditionally hard over the last four, five cycles for a Democrat to win the presidency. You need to have all the stars aligned. And I think that in this case, because she was the first woman to really get this close, there are awful lot of women who are feeling disappointed and they have to -- they -- the message has to go out that Obama really welcomes them.
CHETRY: There's an Atlantic.com article suggesting that Bill Clinton is still angry at Barack Obama, writing that, quote, "He feels that Obama's candidacy was essentially an anti-Clinton candidacy. Clinton is convinced that the Obama campaign went out of its way to portray the former president as a racist."
Are you hearing that? And will some of these hurt feelings play into the role that Bill Clinton has as we move forward to the general election?
KLEIN: Well, I'm hearing that Bill Clinton is very, very, very bitter from people who have spoken with him. And it's time for him to get over it or go off and do his charitable work.
I mean, this guy -- I've known in him for 20 years. He is probably the most talented standup politician I've ever covered. He knows the rules of the road. And I think that what's going on now is it's kind of strange. I think his behavior is really, really shocking.
CHETRY: Elaborate.
KLEIN: Well, I mean, you know, he knows what politics is about. You know, of course, the Obama campaign was on some level an anti-Clinton candidacy. The Clinton campaign was an anti-Obama candidacy, but it's been decided. If they're both Democrats, you get together. And I don't think it was all about Bill. I think it was -- this election was all about, you know, Democrats making choices.
CHETRY: Very interesting. Joe Klein, "Time" magazine columnist and author of "Primary Colors: A Novel of Politics." Thanks for being with us.
KLEIN: Great.
CHETRY: Also, if you're away from your TV, you can watch the entire Obama-Clinton rally at cnn.com. We'll be streaming it live from Unity, New Hampshire, 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Joe, thanks a lot.
John?
ROBERTS: We're coming up to the bottom of the hour. And we're following breaking news right now. The 60-foot high water cooling tower At North Korea's Yongbyon nuclear plant was demolished a short time ago. Pyongyang says the move is a gesture of the nation's commitment to dismantling its nuclear facilities.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice blasting today's runoff presidential election in Zimbabwe calling the vote a, quote, "sham." She told reporters in Japan the U.S. is looking to see what steps can be taken in the United Nations Security Council.
And CNN's electoral map is changing. Minnesota and Wisconsin moving from toss-up states in the general election to those leaning towards Senator Barack Obama. That would give Obama an additional 20 electoral votes. This morning, the CNN estimate has him leading John McCain 231 to 194 electoral votes with 270 needed to win the White House.
The most politics in the morning now.
Barack Obama's wife Michelle says her husband will fight for gay equality just as he fought to help working class families overcome poverty.
Michelle Obama spoke at a fundraiser for the Democratic Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council in New York City last night. She told the audience Senator Obama was in Texas recently and told the crowd there didn't hear very Christian things being said about gays and lesbians.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, BARACK OBAMA'S WIFE: Now to why he told Evangelicals at Rick Warren's Saddleback Church that we need a renewed call to action on HIV and AIDS. That's why he went to Ebenezer Baptist Church and he said that we need to get over homophobia in the African- American community. That if we're honest with ourselves, we'll embrace our gay brothers and sisters instead of scorning them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: That dinner, by the way, raised more than $1 million.
Meantime, John McCain is supporting a California effort to ban gay marriage. In a letter sent to the group Protect Marriage, McCain says he supports Californians' efforts to recognize marriage as between a man and a woman and the judges should not be making the decision.
McCain does, though, oppose a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. He says that the decision should be left up to the states.
CHETRY: The Supreme Court by a 5-4 margin ruling that Americans have a right to possess guns. Already the National Rifle Association says it plans to file lawsuits to ban many gun control laws across the country.
Of course, advocates of gun control are blasting the ruling. Chicago's mayor warned of greater violence and gun rights groups have already filed a lawsuit against Chicago's handgun ban.
As part of a special series filmed and produced by CNN's photojournalists, we're giving you a unique perspective on guns in America. And this morning we take you to a support group for gunshot survivors.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN FERGUSON, GUNSHOT SURVIVOR: It's not like you see it on TV that oh, oh, oh. No. You get shot. In seconds you start losing all your vitals. You start to black out. You can hear sometimes. But mostly you can't look, can't see.
Yes, I couldn't roll back. That's what I knew I was paralyzed. (INAUDIBLE). You start over. You're going to have to live all over again.
Everything you do, you have to start over as if you're a kid. And it's humiliating.
My name is Steven Ferguson. I'm from northwest D.C. This is what I got to do every day. Ride a Metro Access everywhere I go.
I got injured in 1996 from a gunshot to my shoulder. It was a boy I grew up with school. I knew his family. He knew my family. So he served time for my injury. It's just until now, I always thought guns were bad.
You know, I grew up with a gun around me. And I never picked it up a day in my life and use it on anyone because I wasn't brought up that way.
Gun violence is inherited through your peers. You see who you're around which (INAUDIBLE). I look at the wheelchair and my legs, mentally you want to walk so bad and you know you can't. It's been a struggle every day since then.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Again, (INAUDIBLE) through the eyes of one gunshot survivor. And to watch our entire special series on America's relationship with guns, check out our Web site, CNN.com/am and click on the link "In Focus, Guns in America."
ROBERTS: Really interesting to hear those personal stories about all of that. Gives you a real different perspective on it. Still coming up on 34 minutes after the hour, as we feel the pinch at the pump and watch home prices tumbling, there is one market that continues to soar -- art.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now what makes a wealthy person decide that he wants to put his millions into something like this as opposed to, say, a mansion or an island in the Caribbean?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, you can't drive it. You can't eat it. So why is the price going up?
We're going to take a look at why people continue to spend a fortune on new art work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, bend it like a basketball?
JASON KIDD, NBA PLAYER: Make sure you have that rolling when I score my goal.
ROBERTS: All-star b-ballers take on the world's best footballers. A big stadium built to capacity? Try a street corner in New York.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They said I'd get in the game and I'm still waiting.
ROBERTS: Richard Roth tries to figure out why soccer just won't take on.
You're watching the most news in the morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Breaking news to tell you about this morning. Oil has hit a record mark of $142 a barrel. This as the Dow gets set to open at its lowest level since September 11th, 2006. That's after plunging nearly 360 points yesterday.
Well, despite current economic woes, people are still paying millions of dollars for art work. Christie's Auction has sold Monet's "Water Lilies" this week for $80.4 million. That's the highest ever for an art auction in Europe.
Our Lola Ogunnaike talked with a leading art special to find out why the art market is booming.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) OGUNNAIKE (on camera): So you would think during this economy that people wouldn't be spending money on art, but you're here to tell me that they actually are spending, spending, spending. What's behind that?
AMY CAPPELLAZZO, ART SPECIALIST, CHRISTIE'S: Actually, our -- the market particularly for 20th century works of art, both impressionist and modern and post-war contemporary, are -- is just on fire.
This particular work by Andy Warhol, for example, just sold a month ago in our May sales here in New York for $32.5 million.
OGUNNAIKE: When I look at this, I mean I hear Warhol. I took an art class. I know Warhol commands great prices. But $30 something million? That sounds even exorbitant for him, doesn't it?
CAPPELLAZZO: The truth is our markets have this really incredible rise in just the last couple of years ago and, you know, the value of this picture, say, five or 10 years ago, would have been, you know, vastly lessened than what it just sold for.
OGUNNAIKE: For a mere $7.5 million, you, too, could walk away with something like this.
CAPPELLAZZO: With "Man-Crazy," yes. She's really a top, top example.
OGUNNAIKE: And is that what your finding right now, that people are willing to spend but it has to be premium quality pieces?
CAPPELLAZZO: Absolutely. That's really -- it's like a big game trophy hunt. And people absolutely want the best of the best.
OGUNNAIKE: So please explain to me why this piece is worth $33 million. Because your average person is looking at it and probably thinking it's just a naked lady on a couch.
CAPPELLAZZO: This painting has about 10 different perspectives going on in it. The gestures are incredible. The painting of the gestures I want to -- even just the detailing and the brocade sofa, and then the way this particular was patched up a bit.
You feel her presence and her humanity, and for any woman who's going to can live with her, you certainly can feel thin next to her and (INAUDIBLE) so...
OGUNNAIKE: That's one reason to buy her.
Now what makes a wealthy person decide that he wants to put his millions into something like this as opposed to, say, a mansion or an island in the Caribbean?
CAPPELLAZZO: Even in the case of real estate, there should have a ceiling on the number of homes someone can have before it simply too many. So maybe the numbers about four or five or something like that. But...
OGUNNAIKE: That's a number for me.
CAPPELLAZZO: Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: This is a concern that I'll never have in my life. How many millions to spend on a piece art. You would think, though, for the $32.5 million in the Warhol painting of Marlon Brando, you'd get a picture over the whole thing.
OGUNNAIKE: Exactly. You'd get a little more Marlon.
ROBERTS: Who's buying all this?
OGUNNAIKE: Well, you've got Russians, you've the Chinese, who have money. But also at the art auction that they had in New York in May, 70 percent of the buyers were Americans. So there are a few wealthy Americans out there who are willing to spend millions.
ROBERTS: Right.
OGUNNAIKE: I spoke with Amy Cappellazzo in the piece. And she said that $10 million is the new $1 million.
ROBERTS: And are they good investments?
OGUNNAIKE: They're actually -- she told me that if you're thinking short term, the people who buy these pieces don't intend to flip them. They hold on to them. So they -- they eventually end up being good investments, because this is something that they keep around for years, for decades. They eventually bequeath to their children or to a museum so they appreciate in value.
ROBERTS: Well, some spectacular pieces in there. Got to start saving up.
Lola, thanks so much.
OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.
CHETRY: Well, CNN is teaming up with a nonprofit organization to give children in New Orleans a new playground.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains the project and the important benefits for the kids.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, a pitch to sell soccer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, soccer is the world's biggest sport. You wouldn't know it here, though. Some NBA players -- they were trying to convince fans here at home to give the sport another shot.
Our Richard Roth was there for a unique exhibition game. Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIDD: 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.
(On camera): Steve, are you better at soccer or you better at basketball? What do you think?
STEVE NASH, NBA PLAYER: What do you think?
ROTH (voice over): But people literally scaled walls or trees to see this celebrity pickup soccer match in New York City.
KIDD: We had to open them trees over here.
ROTH: For soccer?
KIDD: I love basketball, soccer, whatever makes you happy, play it, right?
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: 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.
HENRY: You have to start maybe for one or two years in the NBA. And then a shot in NFL and then it will work.
ROTH: Not going to work.
HENRY: Did you have fun today?
ROTH: But hooking them young seems to help.
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: It's my favorite sport and I love to play it.
ROTH (on camera): Why should Americans appreciate soccer more?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a world game. And if you're trying to be a part of the world, you have to sort of understand. 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'll still waiting.
And so (INAUDIBLE), can I enter the game?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not now, no! (Speaking in foreign language)
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?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROTH: The match was a fundraising effort for charities of Steve Nash and Claudio Reyna. I've asked to play next year. I don't know if I'm getting in.
CHETRY: All that work and they didn't even let you kick it around a little bit?
ROTH: I guess I'm not big enough a celebrity. But I have some bad feet lately so.
CHETRY: And what are you wearing here? What is...
ROTH: This is an Italia shirt that helped I...
CHETRY: Do you pick sides?
ROTH: ... that helped Italy win the World Cup two years ago. But they're booted out of the European championships which some viewers are aware of. Spain, Germany, this Sunday.
But soccer still needs to grow more in America. There are problems, not enough scoring. But the big stars play in Europe. And that -- a lot of people tune in and watch the games there.
They feel they have no need to go to the major league games here. But I think it's slowly changing. Different demographics, younger population. Let's tune again in 10 or 20 years. I'll be here with this ball.
CHETRY: Love to. I'm so curious, there's all these soccer moms and the kids are always playing soccer. And then it doesn't translate into the pros.
ROTH: I know, they're playing video poker. I mean they grow up. But they take their kids there now. I think it's a change. It really is. Other sports are fading a bit.
CHETRY: All right. So tieless on the vest and now you got an Italia shirt underneath your suit.
ROTH: I'll see you at the committee to protect journalists with black ties in November. Just got the invitation.
CHETRY: Richard Roth, great to see you as always. Thanks.
John?
ROBERTS: Almost three years after Hurricane Katrina, CNN is teaming up with a nonprofit organization to rebuild the Gulf Coast by creating a community that thrives on an active lifestyle.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta will explain it coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
SCARLETT JOHANSSON, ACTRESS: The first time that I met Barack, I was so star struck.
ROBERTS: But were they really e-mail buddies? Obama finally talks about his star studded inbox.
You're watching the most news in the morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Almost three years after Hurricane Katrina, CNN's Fit Nation is heading down to New Orleans to help fight obesity.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is going to be down there. What are you working on down there in New Orleans, Sanjay?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, you now, we've been -- I've been down there about a dozen times since 2005, mainly looking at the hospital systems.
Something else was sort of nagging at us, though, when we were down there. And that is that, you know, when you have so many trouble that's you're trying to deal with, how do you actually get kids out playing, being able to exercise and trying to ward off the next childhood obesity epidemic?
It's very hard down there. But a lot is going to change tomorrow because we're going to build this playground, a huge playground, $150,000 play -- we're actually working with an organization called KaBOOM! that actually put this together.
You can see some of the groundwork being done there. This has been going on for a few days. We're actually going to go down there and put this playground together. It's going to service about 10,000 people in the area of Metairie.
That was an area that was particularly hard hit by the hurricane. Lots of flooding. And just very hard for those kids to find a safe place to play. So that's essentially what we're going to be doing.
Take a look at the schematics -- essentially what this is going to look like ultimately. That's it. This is going to be a remarkable place for kids all in that community, all around that community to come and have a good place to actually play and exercise -- John.
ROBERTS: There was an interesting design process with this whole thing. What was involved, Sanjay?
GUPTA: Well, you know, one of the things -- we didn't know what to do. I mean we never built a playground before. So what we had is the children living in that area went to them and they actually started to draw their own sort of ideal playground, their dream playgrounds, if you will.
Gave them crayons, gave them paper, said have at it for a while, and they drew and then ultimately looking at those designs, they went to order a lot of the equipment and essentially try and build the playground that these kids really wanted. You know, give them some ownership of this project overall.
ROBERTS: Great. So you're going to have a climbing wall made out of milk chocolate? Is it -- no.
GUPTA: No, it does. I'm going to go down there myself. I'm going to leave in a few hours. And we got about 200 volunteers from New Orleans that have signed up in this. A lot of people have been driving down from this part of the country as well. So hopefully we'll have some amazing things to show you over the next week or so -- John.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to all that.
Sanjay, have a safe trip. Good work you're doing.
GUPTA: Thank you, man. All right, thanks.
ROBERTS: And make sure that you tune in throughout the day tomorrow to get live updates from Sanjay as the playground gets built down there in Metairie -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, actress Scarlett Johansson finds Barack Obama's politics, quote, "engaging."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHANSSON: The first time that I met Barack, I was so star struck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: But does an e-mail make a relationship? Our Jeannie Moos shows us why breaking up can be hard to do. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE) don't cry. Scarlet Johansson, the actress, is also a self-proclaimed Obama girl. So why does Barack Obama seems to be distancing himself from the Hollywood starlet?
ROBERTS: CNN's Jeannie Moos takes a look at the relationship that isn't.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNIE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Forget "The Scarlet Letter." The only thing scarlet about the e-mails in this story was the sender's name -- Scarlett Johansson.
JAY LENO, HOST, TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO: The 23-year-old gorgeous blonde actress e-mailing a married presidential candidate.
Well, what could go wrong there, huh?
MOOS: And there nothing did go wrong. The story was irresistible.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Why does Senator Obama trade e-mails with Scarlett Johansson? Well, frankly, wouldn't you?
MOOS: Senator Obama told reporters on his plane he traded only one e- mail with the actress. No doubt hoping to put the kabash on jokes like this.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN: John McCain frequently consults with General David Petraeus. Barack Obama frequently consults with Scarlett Johansson.
MOOS: Johansson once joked that she was engaged to Barack Obama but it's his politics she finds most engaging.
JOHANSSON: The first time that I met Barack, I was so star struck.
MOOS: Johansson e-mailed Obama offering her thoughts on the campaign. She told a Web site, Politico, "You'd imagine that someone like a senator who's constantly traveling and constantly on, how he can return these personal e-mails? But he does."
Still, why Scarlett seemed to be saying...
JOHANSSON: Yes, we can.
MOOS: ... Senator Obama was saying, "No, we weren't," e-mailing a lot. that is.
Obama told reporters that Johansson sent one e-mail to his personal assistant, Reggie Love.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Reggie! Reggie!
MOOS: Reggie forwarded the e-mail to the senator. Obama said, "And I write, saying, 'Thank you, Scarlett, for doing what you do.' And suddenly we have this e-mail relationship." Meaning that's how everyone made it sound.
(On camera): Senator Obama seemed to distance himself from the actress. Not even so much as a Dear Scarlett e-mail. Next thing you know, some of the blogs are saying he dumped Scarlett, that he threw her under the bus.
As for their first meeting?
JOHANSSON: He came up to me and the only thing that I could say to him, I was like, hi, Senator. I love your wife. It's so nice to meet you. And he was just like, oh -- you know, like, I'm sure she loves you, too, or whatever, like patted me on the head.
MOOS: Instead of e-mailing, maybe Johansson could console herself with a Barack Obama action figure featuring eight points of articulation so you can pose him presidentially.
The e-mailing brouhaha led one (INAUDIBLE) to write, "I did not have textual relations with that woman, Scarlett Johansson, just like a certain pointing president."
Is that what they mean by posing your action figure presidentially?
Jeannie Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: I'm sure there are a lot of men that would like to have that problem. Scarlett Johansson keeps texting me. I don't know what to do.
ROBERTS: Please, just once. Just once. Come on.
Keep in mind, by the way, if you're away from your television set today, you can watch the entire Obama-Clinton rally. That's the unity rally in Unity, New Hampshire. We'll be streaming it live from Unity at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. So make sure that you go online.
CHETRY: They both got 107 votes exactly in the small little town.
ROBERTS: You can't make this...
CHETRY: ... of Unity, New Hampshire.
ROBERTS: You can't make this stuff up. You know?
CHETRY: You really can't.
Well, thanks so much for joining us on AMERICAN MORNING. Have a great weekend.
ROBERTS: Yes. We'll see you back here bright and early on Monday.
"CNN NEWSROOM" with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins begins right now.
