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Obama's Plane Diverted; Fighting California Wildfires; Car Bomb Explodes Outside Indian Embassy in Kabul
Aired July 07, 2008 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning again, everyone. You're informed with CNN.
I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
Developments keep coming into the CNN NEWSROOM on this Monday, the 7th of July. Here's what's on the rundown.
Bertha shows up on our radar, the Atlantic's first hurricane of the season.
The weather giving firefighters a hand, finally, in California.
HARRIS: The candidates focusing on issue #1, the economy today. And so are we. Ways to recession-proof your life.
COLLINS: Should third-graders take cholesterol drugs? An influential pediatricians group say yes -- in the NEWSROOM.
Just in to CNN, mechanical problems for Senator Barack Obama's campaign plane to divert.
CNN producer Alex Marquardt is joining us on the phone.
Alex, I know you're in St. Louis. You were on the plane.
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN PRODUCER: I am on the plane. We just landed in St. Louis after taking off a short while ago from Chicago. We were on our way to Charlotte, North Carolina, for an economic event, and about an hour into the flight, many people working; I personally was sleeping. They came back to tell us that we would be in fact landing in St. Louis.
We were told by a press person that upon takeoff, the pilot detected what they call a control ability issue in the pitch of the plane. We were told not to worry. The pilot came on shortly thereafter to confirm that, to say that we were heading down to St. Louis.
In the dissent, he detected that the problem had been fixed, but they were landing just to be sure. Naturally, we don't know whether this will affect the event in Charlotte. We're holding here on the plane right now. The center is headed into the airport to hold, and that's all we know right now.
COLLINS: OK. So basically you are waiting for a different aircraft. Everybody is going to have to deplane and get on to another flight in order to get to Charlotte, if in fact that does happen?
MARQUARDT: Well, we're not quite sure. They are basically assessing the problem now that we've landed.
We did land. There were fire trucks on the runway. But I have to tell you, it was one of the smoothest landings that I've ever felt.
Obviously some of us were a little bit worried. They told us right away that we wouldn't have to assume the brace position, that they had what they call full authority of the aircraft. And it was a very smooth landing, so it didn't really feel like anything was out of the ordinary, and I get the impression that they're just going to look under the hood a little bit, see exactly what was wrong, and hopefully we'll be off shortly.
But there really hasn't been much indication whether we will change planes or just stay on this one. I assume that if it were a major technical issue, that they would have us deplane, but as of now we have been told to hold on the plane.
COLLINS: OK. Understood. Well, landed in St. Louis just to be safe there.
We sure do appreciate it.
Alex Marquardt, a CNN producer traveling with Senator Barack Obama today.
We'll stay on top of that story for you.
HARRIS: You know, weather is grabbing our attention this morning. Two different extremes to tell you about.
Lightning sparked hundreds of fires in California, but now cooler temperatures are giving firefighters a bit of a break.
Our Kara Finnstrom is watching the efforts there live.
Plus, our Rob Marciano is following the first hurricane of the season. Bertha is moving across the Atlantic. Rob will tell us about the projected path of the storm.
But first, a break in the weather giving firefighters some breathing room and some homeowners a bit of a sigh of relief.
CNN's Kara Finnstrom is in Goleta, California, this morning.
And Kara, I know we're paying close attention to that marine layer that I can see around you, certainly behind you. It's certainly helping the firefighting effort with humidity, but the downside is you really can't get planes in the air to help, can you? KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a little bit of a give and take there, but we can actually see mist in the air, so that's a good thing. This cool, damp weather, exactly what firefighters say they needed.
They've been stretched thin. They've been battling more than 1,000 wildfires across the state during this past month, with lots of scorched hillsides like this one.
But Tony, this morning some good news. It looks like they are making some headway against the two largest which have threatened thousands of homes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FINNSTROM (voice-over): A small air force is in the skies above California; 140 tankers and helicopters dropping hundreds of thousands of pounds of water and flame retardant. Right now, crews in the air and on the ground are taking full advantage of a gift, higher than expected humidity and cool temperatures.
RICK NEWTON, U.S. FOREST SERVICE: Today's a big day to get a lot of this work done before the weather changes on us.
FINNSTROM: Firefighters near Big Sur in northern California where a stubborn wildfire has destroyed 22 homes are intentionally lighting backfires to destroy fresh fuel along the blaze's edges. Down south near Santa Barbara, volunteer firefighters in an isolated canyon community use their own trucks and fire retardant to spray down their own home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE FIREFIGHTER: It's good.
FINNSTROM: Those firefighters working in the shadow of the state's swelling ground attack. Across California, 24 major wildfires are raging, with more than 20,000 firefighters converging with trucks, shovels and hoses.
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: Our personnel and resources was stretched to the breaking point. Our firefighters are exhausted.
FINNSTROM: Over the weekend, hopeful signs they're gaining ground in both Big Sur and Santa Barbara. But with the fire season raging long before it usually starts, nobody expects much of a break.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to be that kind of year.
FINNSTROM: Here near Santa Barbara, firefighters are feeling confident enough that they've begun lifting some of those mandatory evacuations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FINNSTROM: And Tony, firefighters will be keeping an eye on the skies. As you mentioned, they would like to get up there at some point today and make those water drops, because they feel that those have made a tremendous difference. But they did get a lot of ground work done yesterday, and they are just thankful for this marine layer this morning.
HARRIS: Yes, absolutely. All right.
Kara Finnstrom for us in Goleta, California.
We're also calling it the Gap fire.
Kara, good to see you. Thank you.
COLLINS: Let's head on over to Rob Marciano now, also watching this as far as the maps and the wind and all of that stuff that we've been talking about over the last couple of days.
What do you think, Rob? Are they going to be able to get up and fight this thing from the sky?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: They will. It will burn off, so to speak, over the next couple of hours. Still pretty early out there out West, so the marine layer will go away to visibilities will improve and they will be able to battle these flames from the air.
Light winds, both northern and southern California. And those are the two big fires, one near Santa Barbara there, the Goleta fire, and also the Big Sur fire there just south of San Francisco.
A live shot for you from Los Angeles. Check it out. Temps there in the mid-60s. There's your marine layer as well.
KTLA, thanks for that shot. Good morning, L.A.
That will go away. You'll get into sunshine. You'll be a little bit warmer today. You'll be even more warm as we go through tomorrow.
As a matter of fact, excessive heat watches have been posted from Vegas to L.A., the mountains of Santa Barbara, and up towards San Jose. Those will probably be upgraded to excessive heat warnings, meaning that beginning tomorrow, things will get toasty in California.
So today is the day to get some of those fires under control. Hopefully tomorrow we get a little bit more in the way of pulls (ph) on the map, and that is never that great a thing.
All right. Let's talk hurricane season.
We'd love to get some of this tropical moisture over towards this fire, but that's just not the way it works. This is our latest -- our first hurricane of the season, Hurricane Bertha.
This is the 11:00 advisory. This has been upgraded to a 90-mile- an-hour storm now. So it has strengthened significantly.
It is barely along, just south of the subtropical ridge, which is forecast to weaken and allow Bertha maybe to sneak up to the north before it hits the U.S. We certainly hope that forecast remains true.
Here's your latest numbers -- 90 mile-an-hour winds gusting to 115. That make it a Category 1, almost a Category 2. Probably going to become a Cat 2 today or tonight, with now strengthening forecasts to 105-mile-an-hour intensity.
But the good news for us, at least, is the forecast track is getting a little bit more confident to re-curve this. It might even miss Bermuda. But we'll have to wait and see about that.
So, Hurricane Bertha flexing her muscles. Hopefully she won't be bringing her strength to the United States.
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: Yes, we hope not either.
All right, Rob. Thanks.
MARCIANO: All right.
HARRIS: You know, a few minutes ago we told you about a series of blasts in Pakistan, Karachi. Meantime, a suicide car bomb explodes outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan.
It may be the deadliest attack since the fall of the Taliban. At least 41 people are dead. A government spokesman says some of those killed were women and children.
Some of the pictures now. More than 100 people were injured. This morning, the Taliban are denying any responsibility for the blast.
On the phone with me right now, Paul King. He was just blocks from the embassy when the blast happened.
Paul, good to talk to you.
PAUL KING, IREPORTER: Thank you, Tony.
HARRIS: If you would, describe what you heard and then what you saw.
KING: Well, I was in the guest house, which is, as you mentioned, is a few blocks away. Actually, the first thing that we heard really wasn't not so much the sound of the blast, but just a real sort of rowing of the windows, and then about a second, or less than a second afterwards, a very large blast.
And I immediately -- you know, the sound of the blast was such that we knew that it was a bomb of some sort. Obviously the sound of it also was a very large one. We went out onto the rooftop of our guest house, which is four or five blocks away, and saw a very large plume of smoke sort of emerging.
HARRIS: Paul, have you ever been anywhere close to something like this, clearly a terrorist attack?
KING: I've been in Afghanistan for about two and a half years now, and regrettably, we have had a number of these events. Some are closer than others. This one -- certainly just the size of it was one which really caused -- really caught our attention. But, you know, from time to time these things do occur and you guys report on them, and, yes, this is certainly not the first one.
HARRIS: Did you dare go any closer to the actual site of the blast?
KING: No. Immediately -- as with most USA contractors, we have -- our security firm sort of immediately -- sort of was on top of it. And...
HARRIS: Got you.
KING: ... sort of contacted all of us and sort of, you know, put us pretty much on a lockdown stage, where we currently are. And regrettably, that's part of life here in Kabul.
But now, we didn't get out there. I mean, it was -- even if you wanted to -- I mean, immediately in about two or three minutes, you could hear the sirens coming and kicking in. And it was clear that this was going to be a large one.
Our guest house is actually just -- in between that site and where our guest house is, is one of the emergency hospitals. And you know, you could tell that was going to be -- this whole area is going to be congested just with as the hospitals and the emergency services try to sort of cater to the challenge.
HARRIS: Got you.
All right. Paul King working as a U.S. contractor there in Afghanistan.
Paul, thank you for the pictures, thank you for the iReports.
COLLINS: Get out the yellow ribbons. We could hear from three Americans held captive for nearly six years in the jungles of Colombia.
They will attend a welcome home ceremony this afternoon in Texas. These latest pictures show them getting reacquainted with their families. Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell were among 15 hostages freed last week in a daring rescue mission.
You can watch the yellow ribbon ceremony live in "THE SITUATION ROOM" this afternoon, 4:00 p.m. Eastern.
HARRIS: Your federal government in the red. One candidate's plan to balance the budget in four years.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Quickly happening right now, we want to show you this live picture of Senator Barack Obama's campaign plane. He and a whole crew of people inside, obviously, were headed from Chicago to Charlotte for a live event that is supposed to take place there in about an hour or so, when the plane had to divert, citing a control ability issue.
We have a producer on board that aircraft who has been calling in and e-mailing us and letting us know what is going on. As you can see, the plane is fine. And he says it was actually one of the smoothest landings that he's had on the entire election cycle. Again, according to our producer, Alex Marquardt.
So now there is the live picture for you of the aircraft at Lambert in St. Louis. Lots of fire trucks when they landed. It looks took to be as a cautionary measure.
So we will stay on top of that and let you know what's going to happen with that event in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Back to issue #1, the number one topic for them today. John McCain and Barack Obama speaking about the economy on the campaign trail.
McCain is in Denver laying out a plan to balance the budget in four years. And as we said, Obama travels to Charlotte, at some point, we think, anyway, to talk about helping families hurt by the slowdown.
More tag team events coming up, too. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will make three joint appearances this week. Unlike the Unity rally last month, these are planned as private fund-raisers.
And John McCain has a new political director. Mike Duhaime ran Rudy Giuliani's short-lived presidential campaign.
HARRIS: The candidates and the economy, are they doing enough? Let's take a look with Politico.com's financial correspondent, Eamon Javers.
Eamon, good to see you. Thanks for your time.
EAMON JAVERS, POLITICO.COM FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey. Thank you.
HARRIS: You know, our e-mail "Question of the Day," as we sort of drill down on ways that people can sort of recession-proof their lives right now is, do you believe the candidates have been specific enough about their plans for the economy?
And folks, you can certainly send us your thoughts on this, cnnnewsroom@cnn.com.
But Eamon, let me ask you, what do you think? Are the candidates being specific enough, good on specifics or short on specifics? JAVERS: Well, as you know, every time you're on the campaign trail, you want to avoid as many specifics as you can, because that's the easiest way to make enemies, particularly when you're talking, as John McCain is today, about balancing the budget.
HARRIS: Yes.
JAVERS: In order to do that, you've got to cut spending. And anywhere you cut, there are people who benefit from that spending who are going to scream and holler and protest about that spending cut. So the trick is for -- on the campaign trail -- to talk about cutting spending without offering as many specifics as maybe...
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Well, Eamon, let me stop you there for a second.
JAVERS: Sure.
HARRIS: So why do you think John McCain is doing this today and making this promise of balancing the budget in a McCain presidency by the end of the first term?
JAVERS: Sure.
HARRIS: Why is he doing this?
JAVERS: Well, on the first question, why is he doing it now...
HARRIS: Yes.
JAVERS: ... the answer is, I think pollsters are really looking at the economic issue as becoming the issue that's driving this campaign right now. I mean, it's a terrible cliche, but, "It's the economy, stupid" is back again in force in an election that everybody thought was going to be about the Iraq war. Now we're seeing it's going to be about the economy.
Oil prices -- we've had some terrible jobs reports lately. That's on the McCain campaign's mind as they craft this plan. And also a pledge to balance the budget really speaks to one of John McCain's strengths, which has been over the years his ability to go out and be a deficit hawk, a spending hawk, and particularly on pork barrel spending and calling out some of those ridiculous spending items that he's so famously known for.
HARRIS: OK. So he feels it's an area where he can score some points and really connect with the American people. But this is -- I have no idea. Maybe you do. I hope you do. Besides the job he is taking on here, what is the federal deficit today? How much of it...
JAVERS: Oh, you're putting me on the spot.
HARRIS: Well, I just don't know. I know it's a huge number, so the ultimate question is, do you believe he can do it?
JAVERS: It's going to be tricky. And here's the real problem.
One, is that John McCain does not want to end the war in Iraq in any sort of short-term time frame. So that means we're going to have to continue those massive expenditures in Iraq over some unknown period of years. That's a lot of money to spend.
The other thing John McCain wants to do is he wants to continue President Bush's tax cuts, many of which are set to expire in 2010. So that's an expensive proposition, too.
HARRIS: Yes.
JAVERS: Doing both of those things and balancing the budget is going to be extremely difficult for John McCain, but he's going to have to go and find some places to cut spending. And in his plan he says he really wants to clamp the lid down on some of this wasteful government spending that we've seen.
HARRIS: But Eamon, that's not all. You just can't -- you know this better than I do. You just can't do it with cuts alone. You have to have your established revenue streams really perform. And it seems to me, you need to find some additional revenues.
Where does -- where does the additional revenue come from?
JAVERS: Well, if you look at John McCain's plan that he's got up on his Web site, the number one issue that he talks about in terms of balancing the budget is growing economy. Well, presidents can't just grow economies. That's something that they don't have very much direct control over.
What he says is he's going to work on low taxes and lowering the corporate tax rate and other things to help boost the economy a little bit. But without a real economic upturn...
HARRIS: Yes.
JAVERS: ... balancing the budget is going to be very difficult.
HARRIS: And we spent a lot of time on John McCain because he's going to talk about this initiative today from Denver.
JAVERS: Right.
HARRIS: But what is the cornerstone of Barack Obama's economic plan?
JAVERS: Well, I think you parallel this with what McCain is saying, Barack Obama is out there talking about letting those Bush tax cuts sunset in 2012.
HARRIS: Yes.
JAVERS: They are scheduled to expire. Obama would let them expire and he would replace those with a middle class tax cut. So, if you listen to the Obama people, what they will tell you is, if you makeover $250,000, you might see your taxes go up under Obama. Under that number, many people would see their taxes go down.
They feel like that's a populist and winning position. But McCain is going to portray that as a tax increase and he's going to try to box Obama in as a traditional liberal tax-and-spend Democrat.
HARRIS: OK. Are the -- Eamon, one last question.
JAVERS: Sure.
HARRIS: Are the candidates' Web sites helpful? If I'm sitting at home and I really want to understand what the candidates are talking about in terms of their economic plans, is that a good place to go, the campaigns' Web sites?
JAVERS: It is. I mean, it's a really interesting development this year because all of the campaigns have these detailed white papers up there about how they would do these things...
HARRIS: Great.
JAVERS: ... because they want to ward off complaints that they don't have any specifics.
HARRIS: Great. Now, that's great, because it isn't necessarily the most television-friendly topic, but it's important information.
JAVERS: Right.
HARRIS: And if the Web sites are offering up some good information, maybe we should drive folks to the Web sites.
JAVERS: And you can go there and get as much detail as you want from both sides.
HARRIS: That's terrific.
Eamon Javers, a financial correspondent for Politico.com.
Eamon, good to see you. Thanks for your time.
JAVERS: Thank you.
COLLINS: Should 8-year-old's take cholesterol drugs? Some pediatricians say yes. Head start -- in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Gardasil, a vaccine for cervical cancer, is now the focus of two lawsuits. And thousands of young women are claiming of side-effects. They blame the vaccine from everything from nausea to paralysis. Gardasil has been on the market for two years. Its manufacturer estimates eight million girls and women have been vaccinated in the United States. Should your 8-year-old take a cholesterol-lowering drug? Some pediatricians say it could prevent future heart trouble.
Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen is joining us once again.
So this sounds really young to be taking cholesterol drugs.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, some doctors would you agree with you, but this new guideline from the American Academy of Pediatrics says, look, we have an epidemic of obesity in this country, and some kids, if they have high cholesterol, should be taking cholesterol-lowering drugs, especially if they are already diabetic or have a family history of early heart disease.
COLLINS: So this is not across the board, though. There's a lot of dissention between different pediatricians.
COHEN: There is. This is pretty controversial. I mean, there are some pediatricians who say, look, we have no safety data that says that it's OK for kids to be taking these drugs called statins, and we really don't know what the long-term effects would be if all of a sudden a lot of kids started taking these drugs.
COLLINS: Yes. But there are new recommendations about kids and milk, too?
COHEN: Yes. Along with these recommendations about cholesterol- lowering drugs, there are new recommendations about kids and milk.
Pediatricians have always said to parents, look, between the ages of 1 and 2, your child should still be -- should be drinking full fat milk. Don't go skim, don't go 1 percent. Do full fat milk.
COLLINS: OK.
COHEN: And now they're saying, look, if your child is obese or you have a family history of heart disease or a family history of cholesterol, you should think about doing low fat milk. So this is really the first time they've said this. It's always been -- sort of the conventional wisdom has been, full fat milk no matter what for kids ages 1 through 2, and now they are saying, no, some of those kids really should be on low fat milk.
COLLINS: Yes. You've got to know your kid.
COHEN: This is true.
COLLINS: And your doctor.
COHEN: That's right.
COLLINS: And work together.
COHEN: And work together. You've got to work as a team, absolutely.
COLLINS: Yes. All right. Elizabeth, thank you.
COHEN: Thanks.
COLLINS: And to get your "Daily Dose" of health news online, you can always log on to our Web site. You'll find the latest medical news, a health library, and information on diet and fitness. The address, CNN.com/health.
HARRIS: Is it a recession? That's debatable, to be sure. But you know the answer when you balance the checkbook.
Recession-proofing your life, issue #1 solutions all day in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Welcome back, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris, and you're back in CNN NEWSROOM.
The latest now on a developing story out of Pakistan. A series of blasts. CNN's Reza Sayah joins us by broadband from Islamabad.
And Reza, good to see you.
We're reminded when Pakistan spins into violence, as it has over the last 24 hours, that this is a nuclear country. I have to ask you, how is the new civilian government responding to this uptick in violence?
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a crucial test for this new civilian government who has to look tough in the face of extremism. So they've come out, even though this has been a difficult situation for --, the least that they are saying -- they are determined to find out who carried out these two attacks for two consecutive nights here in Pakistan. We've seen bloodshed.
Tonight it's been the city of Karachi, Pakistan's largest city. According to Karachi police there's been four blasts throughout the city. One person has been killed, more than 30 injured.
Now, local reports are saying there has been seven blasts throughout the city. Police tell us that three of the blasts happened on a bicycle, a motorcycle, and a truck. And no confirmation if somebody was riding those vehicles.
This blast -- significant to note that it happened in Karachi. It's unusual to see attacks in Karachi. The last one that happened, the last significant attack in Karachi, was way back on October 18th, that was the day that former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, made her homecoming back to Pakistan. Her convoy was targeted by a suicide bomber. She survived, but more than 140 people died. And now tonight, more than eight months later, we have at least four blasts, according to Karachi police. One person killed and more than 30 people injured.
No one has claimed responsibility, but the government says that they are determined to find out who's responsible, Tony.
HARRIS: And Reza, just to circle back to yesterday, we should mention that you are in Islamabad and there was a pretty significant blast near Islamabad last night.
SAYAH: Yes. The blast last night in the federal capital, Islamabad, took the lives of at least 13 police officers. And that happened about a few blocks away from a rally to commemorate the one- year anniversary of the deadly raid on the Red Mosque. That made sense. Why someone would make an attack on a city where the government is located, does make sense.
But now you have the city of Karachi, which is the economic hub of Pakistan. Who would want to target Karachi?
There's been a number of militant groups who have dished out threats, but it hasn't been towards Karachi. It will be very interesting to see who was responsible and why they targeted Karachi, Tony.
HARRIS: OK. CNN's Reza Sayah in Islamabad, Pakistan for us.
Reza, good to see you. Thank you.
COLLINS: In Kabul, Afghanistan, a suicide car bomb explodes outside of the Indian Embassy. It may be the deadliest attack since the fall of the Taliban. At least 41 people are dead. The government spokesman says some of those killed were women and children. More than 100 people were injured. This morning, the Taliban are denying any responsibility for the blast.
Osama bin Laden is still considered dangerous, but some experts say he's losing supporters in the Middle East.
CNN international security correspondent, Paula Newton, with moer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OSAMA BIN LADEN, AL-QAEDA LEADER (through translator): America is filled with fear.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: At his most menacing, just after 9/11, Osama bin Laden's words and warnings were breaking news, the world sizing up every syllable, looking for the next threat. But nearly seven years later, his statements are merely reported and cataloged, hardly major news.
And where bin Laden was once an iconic hero, his family's ancestral home of Yemen, in some quarters sentiment on the street is turning against him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): He kills innocent people, he can't be blamed, like when he did with the twin towers. Maybe if he wanted to declare war against America and Israel, than he might find support. But he uses unacceptable methods like killing innocent people.
NEWTON: Bin Laden still commands respect from this young students, and others here. Some causes do resonate, political ones, anti--American, anti-Israel. And yet bin Laden's skill at tapping into that anger is slipping.
(on camera): So even here in Yemen, what seems to be unraveling for bin Laden and al Qaeda is that sense of a cause, the political movement. They have been unable to convince even people here that it's something worth fighting for.
(voice-over): Paul Cruickshank has studied the evolution of bin Laden and al Qaeda.
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CENTER ON LAW AND SECURITY: Certainly al Qaeda remains a threat, but this new technique of al Qaeda, coming not just from mainstream Muslim critics, but also from jihadists with real credibility amongst the radical leaning youngsters that might be recruited into the organization, is starting to hit home, it's starting to hurt the organization. Al Qaeda is being thrown on the defensive.
NEWTON: Officials say recruiting in operations have taken a hit. The CIA saying al Qaeda is suffering significant setbacks globally. And even among those who support jihad, or holy war, some are condemning bin Laden and his tactics.
Abdullah Anas fought against the Soviets with bin Laden in Afghanistan. He believes America's war on terror actually helped keep al Qaeda in business.
ABDULLAH ANAS, FORMER MUJAHID: But this organization have got a very good gift after 9/11, and after the occupation of Iraq. So they are recruiting people as freedom fighters. This organization is not popular in the Arab world. It's not popular in the Islamic world.
NEWTON: Officials stress that al Qaeda remains a threat. Its ability to launch attacks may be compromised by those that it once turned to for support.
Paula Newton, CNN, Sana (ph), Yemen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Is your paycheck shrinking while your costs are climbing? As experts debate whether or not we're in a recession, we're answering a much more important question, really: how can you recession-proof your life? Pain at the pump is relieved in the pipelines. We'll have the latest on the surging prices of oil and gas.
And a big week on Wall Street. Investors are on edge as new economic numbers shine a light on the road ahead.
Not only is he paying the power company less, the power company is actually paying him. CNN's Deborah Feyerick looks at one man's solar savings.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bob Prout's grandfather started this family-owned funeral parlor in 1920. It's changed a lot since then.
(on camera): Did people look at you and say, you're crazy? What kind of a funeral parlor runs on solar energy?
BOB PROUT, DIR., PROUT FUNERAL HOME: Even my best friends told me I was nuts.
FEYERICK: But when you talk to people now, what is their reaction?
PROUT: Now that the energy costs have sort of skyrocketed, now that people are getting their bills, I've gotten a much warmer reception.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Prout installed 114 solar panels on his roof three years ago.
PROUT: When you factor in the tremendous rate increases, I'm still paying half of what I was paying three years ago for my electric.
FEYERICK: Prout says he produces about three-quarters of his electrical needs for his business and home upstairs. Every hour, each individual solar panel produces enough energy for more than two 75- watt bulbs.
(on camera): The energy flows directly into the house, and can be used immediately for things like lights or air conditioning. Whatever is not used is then sent out over the grid and is bought by the power company.
(voice-over): The power company gets renewable energy to sell to consumers, and Prout gets paid, last year making some $5,400.
(on camera): Technically, you're energy may be in any of these wires that are running around here.
PROUT: That's correct. Absolutely correct.
That can be used at that building or the next building down the street. Who knows where it goes?
FEYERICK (voice-over): Under the state's Clean Energy Program, New Jersey helped pay for the panels which cost $140,000. Prout's share, $60,000. He's already cut his electrical bill some months by more than half.
PROUT: February, was $259, $173 in March.
FEYERICK: Prout plans to add more panels by the end of the year.
PROUT: I'd like to see how low I can get the bill.
FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Verona, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Ditch the SUV, change the way you save your cash? Just a few solutions when it comes to recession-proofing your life.
Our Veronica De La Cruz has been going through your I-Reports.
So what's everybody saying, Veronica?
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're right about that. We've been asking the question, how are you weathering these tough economic times?
Gary Strivey (ph), Heidi, in Bakersfield, California -- well he was one of the lucky ones to snatch up a Prius. There's a long waiting line now. He says that he also plans to buy a Honda hybrid. Which, I don't know if you know this, Heidi, the Honda hybrid gets 60 miles to the gallon. So he's definitely saving a lot when it comes to gas. Heidi, he's also downsized his living space. He went from a 2,700 square foot home, to about 1,600 square feet. So, those are Gary's solutions.
And Heidi, I don't know if you have ever considered buying a Prius.
COLLINS: No.
DE LA CRUZ: No, not at all. Really?
COLLINS: No.
DE LA CRUZ: No?
COLLINS: No.
DE LA CRUZ: What about this car? This is a zap car. Take a look at that.
COLLINS: Really? That is sexy.
DE LA CRUZ: It is kind of sexy.
This one belong to Jim Hooper (ph) and he lives in Crescent City, California. Heidi, he says he believes that electricity is the fuel of the present and the future. This is a 100 percent electric car. It's pollution-free. It's also good for the environment. And, yes, Heidi, he does believe it looks somewhat dorky.
COLLINS: He does? No.
DE LA CRUZ: He does. But he also says that he believed that people probably thought that the VW Bug was pretty dorky when it first came out, too. So -- I -- I don't know.
(CROSSTALK)
COLLINS: Not buying it.
DE LA CRUZ: No?
COLLINS: It's cute.
DE LA CRUZ: No. Heidi Collins wouldn't take a ride in that zap car?
COLLINS: In the back. I might sit in the back.
HARRIS: I would love to see it. I want that I-Report.
DE LA CRUZ: All right. Moving on, Jack -- we want to show you what Jack Silvo (ph) is doing. He's trying to make light of the situation. There he is, buried underneath all of that money. He says he feels optimistic that it's not going to last forever, but when it does come to his hard-earned cash, he's steering clear of the stock market and instead he is putting money into a savings account and also CDs.
So, go ahead and let us now how you are recession-proofing your life. You can logon to i-report.com -- Heidi.
COLLINS: All right. Those were great. All right, thank you, Veronica.
DE LA CRUZ: Of course.
COLLINS: Appreciate it.
HARRIS: That thing looked a pacer (ph), but not quite.
COLLINS: Like a backwards pacer.
HARRIS: Backwards pacer.
No you're right. No, you're not going to -- OK. Still to come, in the CNN NEWSROOM, special needs kids, boy, kicked off a flight for boisterous behavior.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER WOODWARD, SISTER: They have this symbol of a heart with wings. They have no heart. And I -- I'm really mad about it. It was horrible. It was one of the worst experiences of my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A family grounded in the NEWSROOM. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Mystery in the air. When a Northwest flight from Detroit to Tampa took off, the was fine. But when it landed, the nose was smashed in. Passengers wondering what happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know if they noticed anything was wrong until they got off, onto the gate and were walking past the windows and saw the plane and the commotion that was happening at the windows.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The plane landed safely. No word yet on what caused the damage. But Northwest Airlines says it is rare and a minor maintenance issue. Airline officials are investigating.
HARRIS: Kids first time on the plane becomes one to remember for all the wrong reasons. Reporter Kyle Moore of affiliate, KIRO, has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYLE MOORE, KIRO REPORTER: Wendy Slaughter and her four kids are just happy to be in Seattle.
WENDY SLAUGHTER, MOTHER: I can't believe we finally made it.
MOORE: Last night they were left stranded at the Phoenix airport.
SLAUGHTER: I am furious about it. I was -- I just couldn't believe they can do something like that and leave us completely stranded with no money, no way to get anywhere.
MOORE: On Friday, Slaughter was traveling with her four children and her 5-month pregnant sister on a Southwest flight from Detroit to Seattle. When the plane landed in Phoenix, the family was met at the gate by police officers, detained and told they were not allowed to take a connection to Seattle.
SLAUGHTER: I was horrified. I was OK up to that point, and then I just -- started crying uncontrollably.
WOODWARD: They have this symbol of a hear with wings. They have no heart. I'm really mad about it. It was horrible. It was one of the worst experiences of my life.
MOORE: Slaughter says this is the very first flight for the children. She admits the kids were loud and kept getting up and walking around the plane.
SLAUGHTER: The children were a little bit out of control on the flight. They were restless and excited and worked up and they are kids.
MOORE: Her 10-year-old, Henry, is autistic with a short attention span. Her daughter, Gracie (ph), suffers from cerebral palsy. The family says flight attendants asked them to quiet the children twice. They didn't expect to be booted off the flight.
BOBBY TUCKER, GRANDMOTHER: I think they should compensate us for what has happened. I think they should make a public apology.
MOORE: Southwest spokesperson Kristy Day (ph) told Kiro 7, "they were being disruptive and unruly on the plane and for the safety of our customers and the flight crew, we decided to not allow them to travel on to Seattle at that time. Typically, if it's a threatening behavior, it's not safe to travel 30,000 feet in the air in a contained environment."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Well, the kid's grandmother says she had to pay $2,000 on another carrier's flight to get the family to Seattle.
COLLINS: Looking for a positive start to the week on Wall Street, we'll check in with our Susan Lisovicz coming up next in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Want to get an update for you now on a story that's actually out of St. Louis now. It wasn't supposed to be that way because there was a bit of a diversion for Senator Barack Obama's campaign plane. You see it there on the tarmac, Lambert Airport there. And the diversion, we're not exactly sure what happened but we do have a producer, Alex Marquardt, who was on the aircraft. And they obviously landed safely. He's going to tell us a little bit more about what is happening.
Hi there, Alex.
MARQUARDT: Hi there, Heidi.
Yes, we're still on the runway, as you can see. Unfortunately, haven't been told that much more. We're still sitting here. We haven't been allowed to deplane. We were hoping to get off and get some shots of the plane if -- and if Senator Obama got off the plane. He's in fact, stayed on the plane the entire time with us and came back a short while ago to talk to us and make sure that we knew that everything was fine. He joked around. He said that obviously when the captain comes on and tells you something's wrong, you tighten your seat belt a little bit.
COLLINS: Yes.
MARQUARDT: But everything's fine. It's gone off without a hitch. I just asked the press secretary what happened, when we could expect to know whether we'll continue on to Charlotte. She said hopefully we'll know something soon on both fronts. But, as of right now, there isn't that much more news except that everything seems to be OK.
COLLINS: OK. Well, we wanted to check back with you, Alex, because we are, and I know you can't see this from where you are now, but we are looking at some brand new video. This taken on board the aircraft and I know that we're also waiting for some more to come through. Actually, where he talked to the cameras and says basically what you were telling us there. So, we appreciate the update. And there's rewinding on the screen.
All right, Alex Marquardt, we sure do appreciate it as you sit there on that plane in St. Louis. We'll wait for an update from you. Thanks.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
COLLINS: Racing in the streets during war times. Speed thrills in Baghdad. We meet the Iraqis who shut them down.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Time now to take a look at some of the most clicked on videos at CNN.com. First off, Iraq's motor heads. Hot rods were illegal under Saddam Hussein. But now, look at this. More Iraqis are pimping their ride. Hey, now.
Also, is bin Laden a has-been? Some analysts believe the terrorist leader and al-Qaeda are facing a revolt.
And a new priority for police in London. Not terrorism, but teenagers and knives. This following a wave of deadly stabbings.
And for more of your favorite videos just go to CNN.com/mostpopular and of course, don't forget to take us with you anywhere, anytime on your iPod with the CNN daily NEWSROOM podcast available to you 24/7 right on your -- OK -- right on your iPod.
COLLINS: Proof dreams really do some true. It happened this weekend. A man who wanted to fly from Oregon to Idaho in his lawn chair finally reached his goal. Ken Couch is not on his couch. He actually landed safely at a farm about 200 miles from his take off point. Total trip time about nine hours. It was this dreamer's third attempt and you know what they say, third time's a charm. If you're into that sort of thing.
HARRIS: I was trying to remember if that was the guy who tried. That's it! And he made if finally.
COLLINS: That's him. Good for him.
HARRIS: OK, all right. Don't give up. Keep trying, I suppose.
COLLINS: Yes.
CNN NEWSROOM continues one hour from now.
HARRIS: "ISSUE #1" with Gerri Willis and Ali Velshi starts right now.
