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Gas Give-aways Draw Customers; Pizza for Patriots in Time for July 4th Shipping; Americans Don't Do Well in American History Quizzes; South Korea Protests; Spain Wins Euro Cup

Aired June 29, 2008 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This has really been a turning point for Spain. This tournament started with 16 teams at the beginning of the month -- Italy, France, Russia, out. It came down to just two. And now, Spain wins it -- Fredricka.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, ANCHOR: All right, Al. Thanks so much. We're going to check back with you in the next hour. I hope those were fireworks behind you, too, by the way. Folks are really excited there in Spain.

All right. The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM begins right now.

Next in the NEWSROOM: Now, we're (ph) going to have celebrating soccer right here, this is what is taking place in South Korea. And it's all about American beef.

And in Manhattan, a supermodel reportedly commits suicide. The beauty once graced the cover of "Vogue."

And nothing seemed to be hotter these days than free gasoline.

All right. Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. And you are in the NEWSROOM.

Our top story: Face-off in Seoul over U.S. beef.

Hundreds of protestors and police were hurt in these clashes. South Koreans were outraged that their government is importing U.S. steaks and chops once again. They're afraid that the beef could carry mad cow disease. At one point, protesters even used ropes to try to drag away police buckets (ph) used as barricades.

And new signs today of a developing story in relations between United States and North Korea. Remember, that country is being considered one of the "axis of evil." Well, now, a shipment of U.S. food aid has arrived there.

Friday, North Korea destroyed the cooling towers of its Yongbyon nuclear plant. Well, that was part of a deal to disclose and dismantle its nuclear program.

Our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour is back from North Korea. She was there to witness this explosion. We talked about the latest developments coming out of North Korea. CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I've just been told some new information according to our U.N. sources. A new deal has been signed between the United States and North Korea, the U.N. and other partners to help the North Korean, the North Korean people in terms of delivering food aid. This is not linked to the nuclear negotiations. The two are separate. Nonetheless, it's happening at precisely the same time.

North Korea has some 23 million people and is estimated according to the U.N. that about 5 million are in dire and desperate need of food aid. And so now, a letter of understanding has been signed between the U.S. and North Korea and the U.N. and it is to deliver and dispatch around the country to the most needy, some 500,000 tons of aid.

To that end, A U.S. ship, has just, in the last day, docked at the North Korean port of Nampo. It will take some two days to unload and then take out and to start taking it out around the country. But the real significant part of this is that the North Koreans in their negotiations with the U.S. and U.N., on this issue, are giving unprecedented greater access, geographical access to their country for this process.

WHITFIELD: It has been at least what -- three years since the U.S. last delivered any kind of food aid to this country? What precipitated this? Why now?

AMANPOUR: Well, because they know now that they desperately need help, we're being told, with being able to try to reach the needy in their country. We're told that this sort of reflects a new awareness, a new openness from the North Koreans. That they can't do it alone and they desperately need help to get to their people.

They've had several years of bad, natural disasters, bad rain, bad harvest, crops have failed. And as I say, some 5 million people, according to the U.N., are in desperate need.

And our sources are saying -- and this is really key -- that this letter of understanding dramatically increases the range that the U.N., the U.S., and other partners are able to travel to be able to reach the beneficiaries. And they're going to be able to directly reach the beneficiaries. And it's gone from 50 counties to 150 counties all across the country, we are told. And not only that, their special staff has been up from 10 to 60.

And in the words of the people that I've been talking to, this is unprecedented. And it's certainly has not been like this since the '90s when the height of the famine was striking North Korea. And they had quite a lot of foreign assistance then.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And let's talk about what's taking place in the southern portion of Africa. Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe was sworn in today for a sixth term as president. It came hours after he triumphed in a one-man runoff amidst accusations the government sponsored terror.

Like most news outlet, CNN is currently banned from Zimbabwe. Our story comes now from South Africa and CNN's David McKenzie.

David, we understand that a number of people were forced to vote for Mugabe. And even the opposition leader was invited to the inaugural but, did he show up for that?

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, Fredricka, as you can imagine, he did not show up for that. Opposition is saying, you know, "Why would you go to this event if the opposition has been snubbed in previous encounters like this?"

Well, what had happened is that President Robert Mugabe is yet again the president of Zimbabwe after almost 30 years in power. He won this very disputed election that was roundly criticized as being unfair, and there was a lot of violence and intimidation say human rights groups.

The opposition leader is saying that this inauguration was a total sham.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN TSVANGARAI, OPPOSITION LEADER: The inauguration is meaningless. It's a sham (ph). The world had say so, Zimbabweans have said so. So, it's an exercise of a sense of delusion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCKENZIE: Well, Fredricka, now, we move on to Egypt where African Union leaders will be meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh. They hopefully are going to make some strong statements about what has happened in Zimbabwe. Certainly, both President Bush and Prime Minister Gordon Brown of England had pushed for that -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And David, let's go back to the opposition leader, Tsvangirai. Even though the runoff is over, he pulled out because of threats of intimidation and his own, you know, supporters are being killed. I have to wonder, how much he still fears for his life that Mugabe remains in power and that he was the one first who came very close to removing him.

MCKENZIE: That's the good question, Fredricka. He's been held up in the Dutch Embassy in Harare, the capital for some days. He's come out briefly to make statements to the press and then going back saying that he feared for his life.

He has not been given a passport here. He has a need (ph) of new passport and they wouldn't give it to him to go to this, Sharm el- Sheikh conference. So, other members of the opposition are there. So, it's a good question whether he will be able to come out and talk to his members openly because that will have to happen, of course, if any kind of negotiation happens between the two sides.

WHITFIELD: All right. David McKenzie, thanks so much, reporting from neighboring South Africa.

All right. So, we know you want to know, exactly who is Robert Mugabe. He led an uprising against the Rhodesian government in the late 1970s and was elected prime minister of what became known as Zimbabwe in 1980. Well, that was the country's highest office, of course, at the time. The title was later change to president in 1987.

Mugabe is 84 years old and the only leader the country of Zimbabwe has ever known.

Well, in this country, authorities in North Carolina say they are questioning a military man in connection with the death of a pregnant soldier, Megan Touma. This other soldier is being classified as a person of interest.

Well, here now is Bryan Mims of CNN affiliate WRAL.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN MIMS, WRAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An official at the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare School at Fort Bragg confirms that one of it's students is being questioned in the death of Specialist Megan Touma. She was 23 years old and 7 months pregnant when she was found dead in a hotel room.

Lieutenant Colonel John Clearwater says, the soldier is a male, but would not release his name; and we're not sure (ph) whether he's related to Specialist Touma. He says the soldier has not been charged with anything and decline to comment further.

This development came the same day that the "Fayetteville Observer" published the letter claimed to be written by the killer. The person calls the murder a, quote, "masterpiece" and threatens to kill again. At a bottom of the letter is a symbol like the one used by the Zodiac killer, a serial murderer from the 1960s who was never caught.

Dr. Michael Teague, a forensic psychologist and former criminal profiler for the Raleigh Police Department says there's variety of reasons someone would use that reference.

MICHALE TEAGUE, FORENSIC PSYCHOLOGIST: I'm thinking it's probably more a chance of somebody wanting some publicity or having a very kind of an estranged sense of humor or maybe even the actual perpetrator trying to confuse the police.

MIMS: A Fayetteville police official told the newspaper he believes the letter was written to try to mislead police. Specialist Touma had been staying at this Fairfield Inn by Cross Creek Mall when a hotel employee found her decomposed body in the bathtub last Saturday. Search warrants released Friday night show two sections of dry wall in the hotel room had what appeared to be blood.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: Well, you heard those references to the Zodiac killer and the signature symbol. Well, just to remind you, he or she is a serial killer believed to have shot or stabbed at least five people, the person who is attached to this symbol. In letters, the Zodiac claimed to have killed many more. No suspect was ever positively identified and no arrests had ever been made, which is why they are interested in this case.

All right. Now, I'm talking about the presidential vote '08. All right. Well, Arizona Senator John McCain is keeping a very busy weekend. This morning, he met with the evangelical father and son duo of Billy and Franklin Graham at the Graham Family Retreat in the North Carolina mountains. McCain did not get an endorsement, but he doesn't come away empty handed, either.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They have known my family, they've known of me for many years, they're great leaders in this nation and I appreciate the opportunity to visit with him and I'm very grateful for the time they spent with me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: How did he look?

MCCAIN: Fine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: On a separate note, "The New Yorkers" reporting that the U.S. has sent troops into Iran. Do you have any comments about that or any thoughts about it?

MCCAIN: That the United States...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Sending forces to Iran, "The New Yorkers" reported that.

MCCAIN: I have no information concerning that and in all due respect, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case. But, I have no information on it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: OK, great.

MCCAIN: Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. John McCain there as he's departing (INAUDIBLE). In the meantime, Senator Obama is spending this Sunday off the campaign trail after he addressed Latino leaders yesterday in Washington, D.C. He takes his wife for a night on the town.

And today, Obama's itinerary includes a trip to the gym. Hopefully somebody will recognize him there. He'll be getting a haircut and shooting a few hoops with his daughter. I mention that because in Washington, at a gym, they didn't recognize him, they asked for his ID. All right. Practicing the politics of Jesus. A group of young evangelicals say that's what they want our next president to do. So, will their conservative positions on social issues lead them to John McCain? Well, not necessarily.

Here now is CNN's Kate Bolduan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Call them political misfits, but post religious rights or even the next evangelicals, no matter the label, these voters are anything but easy to define.

SHANE CLAIBORNE, AUTHOR, "JESUS FOR PRESIDENT": We have found the light of the world. We found the hope of the planet and it burns much brighter than McCain or Obama or America. Amen.

BOLDUAN: Shane Claiborne is the perfect example. We caught up with Claiborne, a Christian activist and author on his book tour in Pittsburgh, the title says it all, "Jesus for President."

CLAIBORNE: Over and over, we are hearing things like, "I knew there was more to Christianity than what I saw on TV than televangelists and patriotic pastors and cover our (ph) bishops."

BOLDUAN: He represents a new movement of young evangelical voters. They care about traditional issues like abortion and gay marriage, but say their agenda is far broader -- poverty, social justice, and the environment are moving to the forefront.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's getting harder and harder to find a good (INAUDIBLE).

BOLDUAN: Clairborne's tour bus even runs on veggie oil.

In 2004, about 3/4 of the evangelical voters supported George Bush. A solid voting bloc political analysts say may not be such a lock (ph) this year because of these young evangelicals.

BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: The impact is likely to be that they will dilute the evangelical support for the Republican Party. The evangelical vote will be more up for grabs than it has in many years.

AMANDA WIDING, UNDECIDED VOTER: I'm very undecided. I feel like there are certain issues I identify more with the Republicans and others I identify more with the Democrats.

STEPH WALKER, YOUNG EVANGELICAL: I grew up in a very Republican family but my growth and my faith, it's kind of move to different direction.

BOLDUAN: Back on tour, Shane Claiborne say's it's more about how you live your life November 3rd and 5th than how you vote on November 4th on Election Day. CLAIBORNE: Is the religious right, wrong? What a lot of us are doing is trying to learn from the mistakes of the generation that's come before us and go. But we're not going to endorse a candidate or a party. This is not about going left or right, but going deeper.

BOLDUAN: Kate Bolduan, CNN, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And, of course, we want to keep you informed. So, all the latest campaign news is right at your fingertips. Just go to CNNPolitics.com. We'll also have analysis from the best political team on television. It's all there at CNNPolitics.com.

All right, a big turn now for today's gay pride parade in San Francisco, two weeks after California started signing off on same-sex marriages.

Plus, a red flag fire warning out west; same state, different region. Well, more of lightning strikes spark even more wildfires.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Oh, it's hot out west, dangerously hot. And there are fears that more fires are going to be sparked. In northern California, officials have issued a red flag warning today with possible dry lightning in the forecast which how many of these fires got started in the first place.

Right now, thousands of firefighters are battling more than 1,400 blazes. Many sparked by that dry lightning I spoke of. Well, this fire you're looking at right here, that's in one of the most popular tourist spots there in northern California, Big Sur.

Meteorologist Karen Maginnis is in to weather center. She's been tracking what this weather is and isn't doing. It's certainly not helping the firefighters there.

But before you and I talk, Karen, we're going to bring in Mike Jarvis, who is a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Mike, both Karen and I have questions for you. Let me begin by asking you, we're talking about 1,400 different fires, how in the world do you tackle them? How do you make the decision?

MIKE JARVIS, CALIF. DEPT. OF FORESTRY AND FIRE PROTECTION (by phone): Well, good afternoon.

We've actually had statewide, in all jurisdictions, we've had 1,420 fires. Now, that's state and federal lands, as well as some local. And, of those, we've just been using management teams into the command teams. We've been bringing in people from other states. We've exceeded the mark of 41 states that have come and brought in some resources and personnel here. The federal government has been bringing in anybody they can to help out. But, just in the state jurisdiction, we've had very good success in containing or even controlling all but one fire in the southern half of the state. The problem we're having is in the north which is where most of those lightning strikes hit.

And what's happening now, with the weather out here is that we're getting some blue sky, which is good news because the whole northern, 2/3 of the state has been breathing smoke for a week. The downside to it is it's like taking a lid off, one of our in-state (ph) command team leaders says, "It's like taking a lid off a pot," because now, what's going to happen is all those little fires up in the north, you start getting some increased fire behavior and it could be a problem.

WHITFIELD: Well, and I guess, it really underscores how serious a problem this is for you. Your state fire fighting teams and equipment is just so remarkable there in the state of California. You deal with this kind of stuff all the time, but that you are relying on so many other states this early in the game really does say that, I guess, the potential of it getting even more out of hand is there?

JARVIS: Well, I do want to caution people because we actually have made real good progress. And I'd just heard a radio report earlier today that said that no progress is being made. If you just take the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, our jurisdiction, and you break it into two halves, since, in the last week, we've had 329 fires in the south; all but one of them is controlled. In the north half of the state, our jurisdiction, we've had 605 fires.

Now, I don't have control numbers but I've got 362 fires that are contained which means they're far enough along with that we're monitoring, but we've got people moving on to other fires.

So, we've actually made huge progress, but I think, any place where you take in a one week period to get 1,400 fires, they all happened in about the first three or four days. So, they've been able to knock down a lot and I can't say enough about the firefighters from California and out of state, because they'd just been going full gun. We've got some in-state command teams of north that have been going and jumping from one fire to the next and we've got some on stand by.

So, it's really -- all we can really do, as someone said to me and he said, "Well, you manage the chaos as best as you can." And they've been doing an exceptional job. We've had maybe 50 structures lost in the whole state. And that, you know, we don't like losing homes, but considering how many fires there's been and there's been no fatalities, it's been pretty successful despite the loss of those structures.

WHITFIELD: Well, that's good news. Mike, thanks so much.

And Karen Maginnis, our meteorologist has a question for you as well.

KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Mike, I was looking at some of the rainfall totals that they have seen across California and just about everybody for the month of June has seen no precipitation. So, it is tender dry but it hasn't just been dry for June or just this year but two years of a drought, as you had mention earlier. Right around Big Sur, they are saying that that particular fire, which was a big draw for the tourist, that's only 3 percent contained right now?

JARVIS: Right. I haven't seen the current numbers on that. That's seemed some pretty steep terrain over there; it's also a pretty isolated terrain. And that's the exact same problem we're having in the north. The difference is that in the north, most of the fire, we've been able to steer away from populated areas.

That Big Sur area is a very popular tourist attraction for a good reason. That's probably one of the most beautiful stretches of ocean that you could see in the world. But, yes, it's tough down there and we've got agency reps and department reps and we've got everybody with the full service. We are throwing all we can at that too. but you kind of have to start picking, you know, worst first.

It's kind of more of a triage situation, it's what someone called it earlier in the week because what you end up having is, "OK, are we going to knock them out where there's the population or the homes or both and we've been really good with saving lives, which is top priority."

But we've got now is we finally got them getting some containment on some of these other fires. So, we're shifting equipment around the places like the Big Sur or back in the Mendocino which, you know, Mendocino alone had something like 131 fires burning at one day last week.

So, it's, you know, it's really kind of just a constant effort by the state operation center. We've got amazing people over there that are working this fire that have intelligence way beyond we've ever have. It's a fantastic job across the board on all of this. We're just hoping that things don't just get too lively, because if the wind is picking and the aversion layer (ph) dropping, but we do have a very dry state here and it's been this way for the last couple of years. All we can do is hope for rain.

WHITFIELD: Well, an incredible effort that's being made. We wish you all the best. We know you're working really hard to try and get this under control. You're working against the elements there too and that's stuff.

Mike Jarvis, thanks so much, of California State Forestry Division.

JARVIS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Of course, we are going to talk some more about the conditions out west and throughout the country right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MAGINNIS: And hello everyone. I'm CNN meteorologist, Karen Maginnis. We're giving you a look at Google earth in some of the fires spread across California. You see they're having this cluster, a group of fires, hundreds of them across northern California, just kind of outlining the rim of the interior valley.

Let's go ahead and show you what's happening a as far as that red flag alert all across northern California into Nevada, also into Oregon. And I want to point out, you may see a lightning flash there, there are also maybe a lightning flash down here. Does that mean we're seeing a thunderstorm that's going to be a rain producer? Not necessarily.

In most instances, the air is just so dry here that the rainfall just doesn't make it all the way to the ground. I want to point out what the radar is indicating right now. Still right around the rim, the higher terrain, that's where you're going to manage to squeeze out most of that moisture.

I want to take you right now and show you what's happening in Sacramento. They have been dealing with this smoke now for days. That kind of gray shaded area, that's not fog, it's not haze because it's been so incredibly hot and incredibly dry. But they are seeing a particular matter in the air that is very, very hazardous.

All right, so, we've got a few isolated showers, but how much rainfall have we seen? June is a very, very dry month. Fresno, Bakersfield, Modesto, San Jose, saw just a trace; but Los Angeles, no one has seen any rainfall the entire month of June. Most areas are 50 percent or 75 percent of their normal average rainfall totals. Fredricka, and that's devastating news for these folks.

WHITFIELD: Gosh, it really is. It really is tremendous and it's amazing how quickly it has all spread, particularly in the north, and no rain, certainly doesn't help the rest of the state, either.

MAGINNIS: That's right.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Karen. I appreciate it.

All those fires in northern California, somehow they are not even really impacting what's been taking place in the streets of San Francisco. Just take a look. Right now, thousands of people have been turning out, celebrating in the streets there on this gay pride day parade. Especially, given the state Supreme Court's recent decision allowing same-sex marriages.

Well, it was only a couple weeks ago, we introduced you to a couple who was about to take advantage of that new ruling and get married. And it was just at the time, maybe a day or two before they were to walk down the aisle. And now, we've invited them back. Stephen Weir and John Hemm, in your beautiful tuxedos. And this is about how you looked on your wedding day, isn't it?

STEPHEN WEIR, NEWLY MARRIED GAY MAN: Yes. We decided to have traditional clothing. I'm wearing my family Scottish tartan and John decided he'd wear (INAUDIBLE) color and this is how we got married. WHITFIELD: Congratulations. And Stephen, what's interesting too is for many, many years, as one of the county clerks, I forgot that title, right? You were actually signing off on a lot of the marriage licenses, unable to do the same for yourself. But then, the ruling came and you were able to get that marriage license for you and John.

WEIR: Yes, it's very sweet. It's an incredibly positive thing for us. We went ahead and went through our ceremony, had our family and friends present. And I just can't tell you what a wonderful thing it is.

WHITFIELD: So, John, you guys have done the gay pride parade before but this year, did it feel different?

JOHN HEMM, NEWLY MARRIED GAY MAN: I think it felt different for the whole gay community and I think for the rest of the world. But, to be, more exactly, to the gay community, it's the first time in a long time, the gay community, I think, across the world -- well, in California, has been able to really celebrate something that was really important in their life. Really, it had something worth meaning.

The AIDS community has really made the gay pride parade a kind of almost adored (ph) sometimes. This is really uplifting. This really gives them something to celebrate and has brought a new meaning of light to the gay community rather than, you know, just another float trying to raise money for another gay vaccine, or housing development or something. This is great.

WHITFIELD: And Stephen what does this do, particularly, for other states or for other advocates across the country who were saying, "We now want to be like California and we want to allow the union of gay couples legally"?

WEIR: Well, I can tell you this. Gay couples from across the country are coming to California to personally experience this for themselves. I know that a couple came from Panama City, Florida just last week to my county, of all places, because they wanted to get married in California and they...

WHITFIELD: But they do that even knowing that it's not going to be recognized once they go back to their home states?

WEIR: This is true but they wanted the experience. And let me tell you, some of these people have been together for 30 years and this may be their only chance.

WHITFIELD: Stephen Weir and John Hemm, thanks so much. And, again, congratulations on what were beautiful and meaningful nuptials for you all just, what is it - maybe, two weeks ago?

WEIR: Two weeks ago.

WHITFIELD: OK. Congratulations on two weeks now of being married.

WEIR: Thanks. Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much for coming back. Appreciate it.

And now, topping our look across America, this tragic story is taking place out of New York. And now, the medical examiner's office is involved, that they ruled that a model's fall from her apartment was that of suicide. Ruslana Korshunova, you see her there on the cat walk. She plunged nine stories from her apartment building yesterday in broad daylight at about 2:30 eastern time. A friend said Kazakhstani beauty had no reason to kill herself. She had just returned from a gig in Paris and seemed in good spirits and was already on the Russian version of "Vogue."

To Houston, Texas, now. A suspected drunk driver is behind bars after slamming into two police officers at a construction sight. One officer was killed, another injured and a third officer was able to dive out of the way. Our affiliate KTRK reports the suspect was laughing as he was arrested.

A horrible sight for many people at a theme part just outside Atlanta. They saw a 17-year-old kid decapitated by a roller coaster.

UNIDENIFIED TEENAGER: One of them, ducted under the ride, the other got caught in between the ride, and it picked him up and slammed him into the poll. You heard a big pop and he just laid there.

WHITFIELD: Officials at Six Flags Over Georgia say the South Carolina teenager actually jumped over two six-foot fences into a restricted area. The Batman ride is closed today.

This just in out of Huntsville, Alabama. High winds are the problem there. It blew through an air show taking place at the airport. You are looking at what resulted. A child reportedly was killed there. 13 other people were hurt. The captain of Huntsville fire department does not think the damage was a tornado, but serious enough winds to blow things about. We don't know exactly how the child was killed. When we get more information, we'll bring it to you.

In the meantime, I-reports are already coming in as to what happened in Huntsville. This I-report image is showing what appears to be a number of the planes on the ground. It's difficult to discern whether this image was taken before or after the high winds rolled in causing damage and the death of that one child, as I mentioned moments ago.

All right, visit a brothel and get $100 of gas for free? What's that story about? Just one of the many promotions hoping to grab your attention. It grabbed mine and hopefully they want to grab your business.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This is predictable, but we're going to tell you about it anyway. It will cost you more the next time you fill up your gas tank. According to AAA, gas prices climbed seven-tenths of a cent overnight. Every little big counts, doesn't it? The new national average for a gallon of regular, $4.08 now.

Some folks are finding a silver lining from all this pain at the pump, gas give-aways to draw customers in to all kinds of businesses, and underscoring all kinds, CNN correspondent, Allan Chernoff, explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a lousy economy, you have to motivate consumers. The motivator of the year is free gas. The promise of free fuel is how businesses are selling everything from candy bars to cars.

VINCENT TEPEDINO, BAY RIDGE CHRYSLER: It brought a lot of customers in that may not have bought our product.

FRED AUSTIN, CHRYSLER CUSTOMER: This is a good bargain. This is a good deal. We as Americans, we're looking for a deal.

CHERNOFF: There deals at the ballpark, $25 of gas if you buy four tickets to the San Francisco Giants, free gas for less wholesome entertainment in Nevada. Women of the Shady Lady Ranch, a legal brothel, offer $150 gas cards for those to indulge in three hours of pleasure.

(on camera): Free gas promotions are in the supermarket too. The Shop-Rite chain is offering $25 gas cards to shoppers who buy $75 worth of major brand-name products. You can fight gingivitis and fight gas at the same time.

(voice-over): For these pharmacists, free gas is also a lure to take business from competitors. Transfer prescriptions to Rite Aid, the pharmacy will enter you into a weekly drawing for a year's worth of fuel.

MIKE POIRIER, RITE AID PHARMACIST: The more prescriptions they transfer with that coupon, the more chances they have to win.

CHERNOFF: And free gas is motivating good deeds. Connecticut's Red Cross enters blood donors into free gas raffles.

PAUL SULLIVAN, CEO, CONNECTICUT BLOOD SERVICES: The gas cards these days are highly valuable so we're finding it to be a successful promotion.

CHERNOFF: The more you spend, the more gas you get.

Mike Calloway's best driver, get it, and you'll have a full tank to get to the golf course.

CHARLES RHEE, NEW YORK GOLF CENTER: This is the FTI, which is their square driver, also a composite head. This is $500 and gets a $100 gas card rebate. CHERNOFF: Or if you can afford it in this economy, rent a yacht for $20,000 and you get $500 of gas. Let's not even think of how much gas that yacht is burning.

Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Of course, Allan Chernoff and Ali Velshi and Gerri Willis are all part of the "CNN Issue Number One" team. Check out their news on "Your Money" weekdays at noon eastern here on CNN. That's "Issue Number One" during the weekdays, "Your Money" on the weekends.

Perhaps you want to go to away to Europe perhaps, but can't quite swing the air fare to Paris or Madrid or anywhere else. There's a place that offers the flavors of both, but you don't need a passport to get there.

Melissa Long has more on "On the Go."

(ON THE GO)

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WHITFIELD: A little inspiration here. A retired Air Force sergeant wants U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to have a slice of home for the July 4th holiday. He's shipping thousands of Chicago- style, yum, deep dish pizzas, so the troops can have a taste of home.

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MARK EVANS, ORGANIZER, PIZZA FOR PATRIOTS: What a project. A very big project.

KEN EVANS, SON OF PIZZA FOR PATRIOTS: I think they will be happy they got something from home that's good that they could eat for the 4th of July.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pizza. Put this one out the back.

MARK EVANS: We were eating Lou Malnati's Pizza at our dinner table and we heard the Iraq war going on TV in the other room. He said, Dad, do they have pizza there? I said, yes, they have pizza but not like Chicago style pizza. Kent, you can't copy. This is the best pizza in the world.

KENT EVANS: They'll be happy to receive the pizza when they get it. And all the time and effort will pay off.

MARK EVANS: It's tough out there too. They need good food. So I called Lou Malnati's and they said we'll back you 100 percent, whatever you want, which is amazing. They have been awesome.

Those guys are under a lot of stress there. There's lots of pressure. I can't imagine what they're experiencing. A lot of times you sit there and think back at home and your life, you know, I hope they are thinking about me. So, it's 100 percent. They need a slice of home.

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WHITFIELD: All right, the Evans' originally hoped to send 300 pizzas, but he received so much support he's sending out 3,000. I know they will all be eaten up, no problem.

All right, a little pop quiz for you coming up. Do you know who the Supreme Court chief justice is, or perhaps what country has the third largest army? These are just some of the questions that make a lot of Americans go hmmm.

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WHITFIELD: All right. In Spain, they are going nuts. They now have bragging rights. They are the European champions after winning 1-0 over Germany in Vienna, Austria. We'll have much more of the excitement over Spain becoming the new champions, later in the "NEWSROOM."

Meantime, we are going to play a little sidewalk with Jay Leno. Americans seem to know their Shakespeare -- and I can't say it -- but they're not so up on current events.

Josh Levs did a little research. There's a poll out that showed what happens when you quiz Americans about American history or world history. We don't do so good.

JOSH LEVS, CNN BUSINESS ANALYST: Here's the thing. We've heard the stories that we don't know some basic facts but everyone can say "two all beef patties" and all that stuff.

Today, "Newsweek" has a new poll out at newsweek.com. There's some really interesting thing.

Let's take a look at the first one. They ask people if you can name who the chief justice of the Supreme Court is. 15 percent knew. Granted, in our industry...

WHITFIELD: 15 percent?

LEVS: Yes, not very much. You and I, we deal with the news every day. I would still guess in America it would be higher than that. But it just wasn't...

WHTIFIELD: They misunderstood the question.

LEVS: You think?

WHITFIELD: The word chief threw them off. I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt.

LEVS: Then look at the next one. They were asked how many -- what's the minimum age to be president. Almost half got it right. It's age 35.

WHITFIELD: That's good.

LEVS: Yes. I remember learning it in third grade. But I also know you forget some stuff and who knows.

WHITFIELD: Third grade was a long time ago.

LEVS: Let's go to this next one because this, it plays into politics right now. A lot of rumors about Obama, right? They were asked, what is Obama's religion? 61 percent got it right, saying Christian. We still had more than one-third who didn't know. 13 percent said Muslim. That's one of the rumors he's trying to combat. Trying to get everybody to know he's Christian.

We had the Supreme Court justice. Let's go to the next one. Can you name the speaker of the House? About one-third could do that. Now, this is historic, first woman speaker of the House.

WHITFIELD: I thought everyone would get that.

LEVS: It's true. About 3 percent said yes, and gave another name. The majority said they didn't know.

Let's do pop culture from the past and present. How about that?

WHITFIELD: OK. Oh, boy.

LEVS: Which of the following is not from Shakespeare, Hamlet, Macbeth, Merchant of Venice or the Crucible? I know that will be tough for some people, but they actually did pretty well. Take a look at this one. 58 percent knew.

WHITFIELD: I was about to get that one right. I was doubting myself. That's why I had to laugh. Yes, OK.

LEVS: I knew what you meant. Don't ask her.

Look at the last one before I go because this is fun. Total pop culture of the past, what is the most watched ever thing in prime time? These are the choices. It was the final episode on "MASH," who shot J.R. on "Dallas," or "Seinfeld," last episode. A lot of people said they don't know. Look at that, about one-a third got it right.

WHITFIELD: I was going to go with "Dallas."

LEVS: It was huge.

WHITFIELD: It was huge at the time, who shot J.R.

LEVS: Those are still among the top five. Lucy, giving birth, a lot of people said that. The plurality, one-third got that right, but not everybody.

It's a little depressing see some basic things we deal with every day, a lot of Americans don't know. We see the glass about one- third full on some of those things.

WHITFIELD: For the record, I did get the Crucible right, but it was all in here. I was a little too shy to put it out.

LEVS: She actually can be shy.

WHITFIELD: I know, hard to believe.

Josh, thanks so much, always fun.

LEVS: Thanks, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it. You're helping to make us all smarter.

LEVS: Yes, a little.

WHITFIELD: We appreciate that.

Let's recap the tops story now. This one taking place right here in this country, out west, the wildfires that are raging out of control. We're talking 1400 different fires that the firefighters are dealing with. They are getting a lot of support from firefighting teams across state lines. That is good. Smoke and ash are filling these blue skies out in Northern California, making it difficult for many people to breathe. Air quality is terrible.

Our Karen MaGinnis has been continuing to following and watch all of this taking place there. It's certainly dangerous there. Pools and outdoor activities are closed. Wildfires are scorching parts of Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. It's not just so terrible in California, but other places as well.

All right, still on weather. Heavy rain bringing more flooding to parts of Missouri, already under water. These are the aerial shots. This, in the town of Winfield, which lost the battle against the swollen Mississippi River. An emergency sandbag levee gave way yesterday, flooding dozens of homes.

And a county just south of Winfield is dealing with five more inches of rain, too much for the bridge. Right there, it collapsed because of all that water.

Then, there's the problem of high winds. In Huntsville, Alabama, so much so that it swept through right in the middle of an air show causing problems there. You can see the damage there. We're waiting for more details as to what took place. We understand a small child died as a result. We don't know how that person, that child sustained injures. We understand a lot of the aircraft is grounded now. 13 other people were hurt. The captain of Huntsville fire department doesn't think these high winds were the result of the tornado.

Karen MaGinnis, our meteorologist, in the Weather Center. A real hodgepodge of flooding and dry temperatures out West and the high winds that are deadly in Huntsville. KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I didn't see any reports of tornado warnings that were issued across the region. Certainly, they saw violent weather in the form of the strong line of thunderstorms. It moved across northern Alabama. You can see Huntsville and Birmingham. It moved well past Huntsville. You can see the strong line of thunderstorms. It certainly could produce straight line winds. Those winds coming up from the bottom of the thunderstorm. It could knock over something as light as a tent or that sort of thing and blow everything around.

I checked some of the weather conditions there right now. They are overcast, but we've still got strong storms and severe thunderstorms all across the southeast -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Karen. I know you're going to continue to watch it her in the "NEWSROOM" throughout the evening. Thanks so much.

Thanks so much for hanging with us, the last couple hours. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Next weekend, I'll join you live from New Orleans from the Essence Music Festival where we're kicking off our "Black in America" series.

Coming up next, Rick Sanchez with more news and headlines including the emotional story of a teacher fired for assigning a banned book.

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FIRED TEACHER: They were reading. They were engaged. Then I read that e-mail, again. I looked my students and I decided I want them to read this book.

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WHITFIELD: Teaching, near and dear to her heart. Now talking about what it feels like to be punished for what she believes was doing was right.

Much more in the "CNN NEWSROOM" right after this.

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RICK SANCHEZ, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: Cozying up to the reverend. Billy Graham shares a very personal memory with John McCain, but what about an endorsement?

Police have a person of interest in that pregnant soldier's suspicious death. We are learning more about the fellow they are investigating.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Little girls, they love motorcycles. They have a real passion for bikes. And it grew up into this.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Didn't you say you were on a motorcycle one time?

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SANCHEZ: Then they are revved up. The energy at the annual Gay Pride Parade. We are there. You are in the "CNN NEWSROOM."