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American Morning
Tropical Storm Bertha Becomes a Hurricane; Suicide Bombing in Kabul Kills 41 People; Senator Obama on the Defensive Over Iraq; Hurricane Katrina Supplies Given Away
Aired July 07, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: To our other top story this morning. At least 41 people have been killed. More than 100 wounded after a car bomb blast in Kabul in Afghanistan.
Live now to our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. He's in London and recently in Afghanistan.
And Nic, most of the violence that we associate with Afghanistan these days is toward Kandahar, Helmand Province, not in Kabul. How significant is this?
NIC ROBERTSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is significant. The scale of the blast is significant. It's a huge blast. It's targeting a fixed structure.
In the past, we've seen the Taliban in Kabul targeting Afghan security, targeting coalition security, targeting western embassy officials. So it is significant that this attack has taken place in Kabul. The last perhaps significant attack was a couple of months ago.
The Serena Hotel, the biggest hotel in Kabul, attacked a few months before that. But most of the violence as you say in the south of the country. The Taliban strongest in the south have most influence there, but they know because there are more television cameras in Kabul that if they can cause fear and panic in attacking Kabul, it's going to get widespread coverage.
So for them, for their propaganda campaigns, this is important. Also, Kabul is so far away from the rest of the country. This helps instill fear in another part of the Afghan population, John, and that's what they're trying to do.
ROBERTS: And Nic, some officials in Afghanistan pointed fingers across the border in Pakistan. It's not too far from Kabul that those tribal regions are there where the Taliban is said to be reestablishing a presence there. Could this have happened without the assistance of Taliban operatives in Pakistan?
ROBERTSON: It's certainly -- it's certainly a very, very real question that Afghan officials will be asking themselves. They've shown western journalists including CNN prisoners who they say have come to perform suicide bombings in Kabul, have been trained in camps just over the border inside Pakistan. It's unlikely the Pakistani government would have known anything about this. They're incredibly weak right now in that border area of Pakistan/Afghanistan where the Taliban had been going stronger over the past few years. And certainly, Afghan officials have long pointed a finger of blame at Pakistan for interfering in the events in Afghanistan and they will certainly do it again this time. But the Taliban have a foothold in parts of Afghanistan and that border area of Pakistan.
The attack could have been planned and promulgated from either of these places. But those young suicide bombers that come over the border from Pakistan who are Pakistanis, who come and kill Afghans, that is a relatively common occurrence these days, John.
ROBERTS: All right. Nic Robertson for us from London this morning with that. Nic, thanks.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, once the face of terrorism in America, Osama bin Laden doesn't appear to command fear like he once did. What's more, new intelligence suggests that his influence is waning even among jihadists.
International security correspondent Paula Newton is on the story for us -- Paula.
PAULA NEWTON, INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, you're here in Yemen, bin Laden's ancestral homeland. His father came from here. And yet even in this area of the Middle East, it seems that bin Laden and al-Qaeda don't quite have the same popularity they once did.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OSAMA BIN LADEN, LEADER OF AL-QAEDA (through translator): America is filled with fear.
NEWTON (voice-over): At his most menacing just after 9/11, Osama bin Laden's words and warnings were breaking news. 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. But what he did to the Twin Towers maybe he wanted to declare war against America and Israel, then he might find support. But he uses unacceptable methods like killing innocent people.
NEWTON: Bin Laden still commands respect from this young student and others here. Some causes do resonate -- political ones, anti- American, anti-Israel. Yet bin Laden and al-Qaeda's skill at tapping into that anger is slipping.
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, THE CENTER ON LAW AND SECURITY: Suddenly al- Qaeda remains a threat, but this new critique of al-Qaeda coming not just from mainstream Muslim critics but also from jihadists with real credibility among the radical leading youngsters that might be recruiting the organization, is starting to hit home. It's starting to hurt the organization. Al-Qaeda is being thrown on the defensive.
NEWTON: Abdullah Anas fired 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 JIHADIST: 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 school (ph) organization is not popular in the Arab world. It's not popular in the Islamic world.
NEWTON: Officials stress al-Qaeda remains a threat. The ability to launch attacks may be compromised by those it once turned to for support.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Now, we don't want to make the impression that this is going to make any one of us safer overnight. But in terms of a trend that's happening in the Middle East and elsewhere, it's definitely a bit of positive news -- John, Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, of course, Osama bin Laden remains the FBI's most wanted global terrorists and a reward of up to $25 million is offered for any information leading to his arrest or conviction.
ROBERTS: A look now at news across the nation. Firefighters in California got some help from cooler ocean air battling blazes across the state this weekend. The improved conditions allowed some evacuation orders to be lifted near Santa Barbara. But that help is ending as hotter, drier weather is expected to move in later on this week.
And a need of a nose job, this Northwest Airlines flight from Detroit to Tampa landed safely even though it had a little bump in the nose there. The nose cone completely crushed in. It happened in midair. They don't know how it happened.
Northwest Airlines says the 182 passengers on board were never in danger and they're describing it as a "minor maintenance issue." The cause is still being investigated. The plane will stay grounded for now.
The wife of New York Yankee's third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, will file for divorce today. According to reports, WCBS in New York says Cynthia Rodriguez's lawyer tells them the all-star's extramarital affairs are the reason for the split. Last week several media outlets linked A-Rod with superstar Madonna, though she has denied those reports.
And try this for your morning workout. A 14-year-old Canadian teen swam 12 miles across Lake Erie from Crystal Beach to Sturgeon Point. And to make it even more challenging, Natalie Lambert used the butterfly.
She made the voyage to raise awareness for a program that supports disabled kids and their siblings. Natalie's sister has cerebral palsy.
CHETRY: That's amazing. Can you imagine how sore her shoulders must be after that butterfly? Lake Erie. Congrats.
ROBERTS: Oh, I'll tell you, one lap of the butterfly is enough to kill you. Let alone that many miles.
CHETRY: Well, salt in the wound. Survival supplies kept from people who need it the most.
Coming up at 17 past the hour, a CNN special investigation's unit report. Clothing and cleaning supplies meant for Hurricane Katrina victims kept by the state of Mississippi. How it all happened.
ROBERTS: And at 48 minutes after, the sonic ray, powered pepper spray rifles, the goo gun, not an arsenal from "Star Trek" but from Denver, Colorado, as that city prepares itself for the Democratic National Convention.
CHETRY: And at 48 at the hour -- after the hour, a CNN health alert for you. A cancer vaccine for young girls now under investigation for possible links to paralysis and seizures among other things. Our Elizabeth Cohen is working the story. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Secret plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEATH FLEENER, EXCALIBUR TACTICAL: This is your pepper rounds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Magic goo, sonic ray guns. Is the government breaking out the high-tech weapons to protect the political conventions?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rational (ph) people are not concerned, but we know who is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Oh, we're not running away from a flock of seagulls, but from a pack of angry beasts. It's the first day of the annual Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, Spain. Already nine reported injuries. It's the fifth run of six antagonized caps (ph) on animals wasn't enough, one reportedly became disoriented and took off from the pack today.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Wow.
CHETRY: And that was a John request, by the way, the "Flock of Seagulls" song. It's an all-time favorite.
ROBERTS: The only time you ever run from a flock of seagulls would be in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds," I would think.
CHETRY: That's right.
VELSHI: And that's what I was having. A wild weekend having been up in Calgary with the stampede. No bulls and bucking horses and all that, but this takes the steam out of my entire story.
ROBERTS: And maybe may I just add, our thanks to our producer, Brian Bell, for that musical selection this morning.
CHETRY: Oh, goodness gracious. He's like, wrap it up. Wrap it up, folks, and get to Ali.
VELSHI: Do you really want to talk to me?
CHETRY: Yes.
VELSHI: Well, I don't know.
ROBERTS: You've got good news or bad news?
VELSHI: Yes. Well, listen, oil on Friday hit $145. I'll tell you, that's affected the price of gas. Again, $145.29 a barrel.
It's since come down from there a little bit but we're still around 143 bucks. And that means gas prices are high. You can see the bottom right hand of your screen, $4.11, that's another record.
Now, why has oil come back a little this morning? It's come down a little bit because the U.S. dollar has strengthened a little bit. And really at these prices, there are a number of factors that apply to the price of oil.
Now, what happens now? We are moving toward $150, and here is my prediction. Once we get to $150, one of two things will happen. Oil prices will either go up from there or down. Now, the reason --
CHETRY: While you are on stage.
VELSHI: The reason I say this though $150 is interesting because guys like Jeff Rubin, the chief economist from CIBC World Markets, had put a target of a $150.
ROBERTS: He's a Canadian guy, right?
VELSHI: He's a Canadian guy. ROBERTS: Blame Canada.
VELSHI: Blame Canada. Well, OK, let's blame Americans, too. Boone Pickens had also talked about $150.
Lots of people have said $150 is a target. Now, once you get there does that mean that people who have been pushing the price of oil up think that it might go down again? That's why $150 is an inflexion point. If it keeps going up, now, people are talking about $200 a barrel.
That's not me. I'm just reporting. Don't get mad at me. I'm just saying.
Now here are some of the factors that we think about when we're looking at where we think oil is going. Obviously, the biggest one is growing demand. No matter what anybody says, growing demand for oil is probably the principle factor in why we are paying so much of it.
Production costs are increasing. We talked about the price of a rig, $650,000 a day because of the demand for making oil. A weak dollar is pushing the price of oil up. Then there are concerns about how much of the price of oil is speculation and increasingly this conflict with Iran.
Somewhere above 25 percent of the world's oil goes through the Strait of Hormuz so when Iran -- when tensions go up with Iran, if they decide they want to shut down that Strait of Hormuz, that is going to increase tensions in the Middle East and could affect our flow of oil. You're grimacing.
ROBERTS: No, no. I'm puzzled because you say growing demand is behind the price of oil. But the Saudi oil minister says we're not pumping any more oil because there is nobody buying it. Who's telling the truth?
VELSHI: Eighty-seven million barrels a day are produced. Somewhere between 85 and 86.5 million barrels a day are used.
We know that demand is growing. Not in America but in the world -- in China, in India, Brazil, the Middle East, and Russia.
Demand is increasing. That doesn't mean oil should be at $145.
CHETRY: Right.
VELSHI: It might mean that it should be at $85. But demand is still the underlying reason why oil costs money.
CHETRY: All right. We don't have time for it now, but you can explain to us sometime soon how that demand is growing exponentially just a year.
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: Because last year it was $3 a gallon. VELSHI: That's the point. OK, I will.
CHETRY: All right. Ali, good to see you. Thanks.
Well, food shortages impacting the price of beer? Find out how the food supply is hitting your wallet when you hit the tap. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Sixteen minutes after the hour. The top videos right now on CNN.com. Most popular, Kilauea's fireworks.
The Hawaiian volcano giving its own Fourth of July show this weekend. At times, the lava spewed 150 feet in the air. Kilauea is the most active volcano on the planet.
Also, freighter in flames. An entire ship igniting into a fireball. Where? The Miami River.
The cargo which included 6,000 gallons of fuel, cars, bicycles and mattresses helped feed the flames further. All nine crew members who live on the ship were evacuated safely.
And the drummer from the rock band "Lit" announcing that he has been diagnosed with a brain tumor. 38-year-old Allen Shellenberger now undergoes radiation treatments five times a week.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning." That is your most popular video on CNN.com. We're back in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Right now, there's growing outrage from Hurricane Katrina victims and people trying to help them along the Mississippi coast. They want to know why the state took hundreds of millions of dollars in household supplies and gave them away to other places, including prisons.
It's the latest part of a CNN story that forced Senator Mary Landrieu to act in Louisiana. But a special investigations unit correspondent Abbie Boudreau shows us across the state line, it's a much different story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Howard and Gloria Griffith's home was swept away by the storm. They've been living in this FEMA trailer ever since.
BOUDREAU (on camera): These are pictures are of brand new household items that FEMA had stockpiled in warehouses for the last two years that were meant for you guys, meant for Hurricane Katrina victims.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've never seen none of it. BOUDREAU: Struggling to make it, the Griffiths say they still need the basics.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Essentially cleaning supplies and stuff like that.
BOUDREAU: Cleaning supplies, kitchen supplies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're expensive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bath towels, washcloths.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): Both have full-time jobs and they've spent every penny they've earned to rebuild. But now, they say they're broke. And there's little chance they'll be finishing their home any time soon.
That's the reality for many Katrina survivors on the coast. But when Mississippi had a chance to help people like the Griffiths rebuild their lives, just listen to what happened.
Unlike Louisiana, Mississippi surplus agency told FEMA it wanted the supplies. But it didn't hand them to groups helping Katrina victims. Instead, it gave dinnerware sets, pillowcases, men's underwear and coffee makers to state prisons. Other agencies like the Department of Wildlife became the proud owners of more coffee makers, cleaning supplies and other items. And the state even kept plastic buckets for itself.
State officials did not return our repeated calls and refused our interview request to try and find out how this could have happened. But we did talk to a spokesperson for Mississippi's surplus agency, Kym Wiggins, who told us there may be a need but we were not notified that there was a great need for this particular property.
BILL STALLWORTH, BILOXI CITY COUNCILMAN: These families don't have anything or very little of what they need to have.
BOUDREAU: Bill Stallworth is the director of a non-profit group that helps re-house Katrina victims. He's also a Biloxi City councilman. He says he cannot believe so many state and federal officials are this out of touch.
STALLWORTH: And when I hear people stand up and just beat their chest, we got everything under control. That's when I just want to walk up and slap them upside the head and say, you know, get a grip, get a life.
BOUDREAU: Stallworth and other community group leaders maintain if they had only known about these items they would have begged for them.
STALLWORTH: When somebody comes up and said, oh, you know, we've got it all together. Everybody is taken care of. Hey, have you been down? Have you looked? Have you seen?
BOUDREAU: Abbie Boudreau, CNN, Biloxi, Mississippi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: So why didn't these community leaders get any supplies? Well, it turns out they aren't registered with the state's surplus agency. Most of them say they never knew it existed. Now, they're getting signed up.
In the meantime, Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson, who is the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, says what happened is awful. He says he has written a letter to FEMA asking what happened and we're still trying to get someone from FEMA to explain all of it. A spokesman from the agency tells us he doesn't know why all of these supplies were stockpiled for the past two years.
ROBERTS: Barack Obama getting grilled by critics who is saying he is shifting to the center and flip-flopping on some issues. First on Iraq, now on something critics say could weaken abortion laws. His communications director joins us to try to set the record straight this morning.
And magic goo, sonic rays. Is the government really going all "James Bond" to protect the Democratic National Convention? We'll tell you.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 25 minutes after the hour. Pepper ball rifles, goo guns and sonic rays? Well, some of them are just wild rumors but some may not be. And some of those weapons could be used to protect our political conventions later on this year.
Ed Lavandera is at the convention site in Denver, and he's got more on that for us this morning.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, to prepare for this summer's political conventions, Congress is giving the host cities, Denver and St. Paul, Minnesota, $50 million each to pay for security expenses. But what exactly that money is being spent on is top secret here in Denver.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $25 million buys a lot of very interesting things.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Bob Newman is an anti-terrorism consultant helping some Denver companies prepare for the Democratic convention. He's anxious to see what kind of crowd control weaponry authorities will deploy for the conventions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are also these crazy rumors going around.
LAVANDERA: City officials and the police department won't talk about most of the weapons and equipment they're buying.
HEATH FLEENER, EXCALIBUR TACTICAL: This is your pepper rounds.
LAVANDERA: But they have confirmed one report that several hundred thousand dollars worth of high-powered pepper ball rifles will be used to disperse crowds.
FLEENER: So when that hits, the ball breaks, powder expels.
Same exact reaction as pepper spray except it's powder.
LAVANDERA: Congressional testimony revealed there will also be specialized gas detection equipment and biohazard equipment. Then there are the science fiction-like weapons that may or may not be part of the arsenal like the goo gun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It shoots almost like a rubbery gelatinous mass that when it strikes the body and it comes out in a continues stream, it wraps around limbs and wraps around the torso, and the person can't move.
LAVANDERA: It can also make a Humvee spin in place. Then there are the weapons that would make unruly crowds run for cover like a sonic ray gun, a device which emits an ear-piercing sound. And a microwave device that can be focused on an area and makes you feel like your skin is on fire. The ACLU has sued the city of Denver to find out if these weapons are in the arsenal.
MARK SILVERSTEIN, ACLU OF COLORADO: Instead of asking the public, how come you want to know, maybe the question should be posted to the government, why are you so interested in keeping this secret?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rational people are not concerned but we know who is concerned and those are the ones who will be causing the problem.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: In Minnesota, where Republicans are holding their convention, the ACLU says it's also trying to find out how the security money is being spent. But law enforcement agencies insist these weapons should be kept secret so that they have the upper hand in keeping the convention safe.
John and Kiran, back to you.
ROBERTS: Ed Lavandera for us in Denver this morning. And the convention is going to have a huge impact on the city of Denver. Here's a look at how in your "AM EXTRA."
At least 35,000 people are expected in town; 15,000 of them will be media covering the event. The party says 21,000 people have signed up as volunteers, and the city says the convention could bring in up to $200 million.
CHETRY: Well, it's 27 minutes past the hour now. Some stories this morning that we're following for you.
Bertha gets bigger. The tropical storm became a hurricane overnight. Right now, it's still about 900 miles east of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean. Bertha is the Atlantic's first hurricane this year.
And we could hear from three rescued American hostages for the first time today. There is a yellow ribbon ceremony for Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. The army just released brand new pictures of the men and their families. They spent more than five years as prisoners in the rebel-held Colombian jungle and were the longest held U.S. captives in the world.
And back to work for Congress after taking time off for July 4th. The members will head back to tackle Medicare, energy and housing this week. Many have slammed lawmakers for going on vacation without completing a comprehensive housing measure aimed at helping troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure.
And the final section of a northbound lane of the new Interstate 35W Bridge in Minneapolis is now in place. That new span will not open though until at least September. The new bridge replaces the span that fell last August killing 13 people.
ROBERTS: Let's get more on our top story, Hurricane Bertha. It was 12 years ago that another Bertha caused a lot of problems along the North Carolina coast.
Our Rob Marciano tracking this storm to tell us whether or not it could pose similar problems.
Hi, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, John.
A lot of things similar about Bertha back in 1996. It developed pretty much in the same spot. It was an early season Cape Verde storm on the same day, taking a similar track, although the forecast is a little bit different right now.
We have that cloud signature that's typical for a hurricane, so it has developed to a decent one here in the last couple of days. Really motoring along these trade winds. A high pressure here channeling to keep things to the south.
Whenever we get weakness in this high and things will begin to jog a little bit to the north. So that's the forecast eventually for this thing to bend a little bit farther north as we go through time. And hopefully miss the Carolina coastline, unlike Bertha did in 1996.
It's expected to get almost to category two status with winds maybe 90 miles an hour. We have some showers along the coastline of the U.S. From Florida to the Carolinas, we'll look for some more to fire up later on today. And some heavy thunderstorms rolling just west of Indianapolis. So that's the action this morning. Heat will begin to rebuild out west. Right now, it's comfortable and humidity levels are up for the fires that are being fought just north of Los Angeles and just south of San Jose and Sacramento. But as the heat builds, we'll look for excessive heat watches and warnings to be posted over the next couple of days. And, of course we'll watch Hurricane Bertha as it continues to motor west in the Atlantic.
John and Kiran, back up to you.
ROBERTS: Rob, thanks so much.
CHETRY: Ali Velshi joins us now. And we're talking airlines -
VELSHI: Yes.
CHETRY: And another increase in airfare.
VELSHI: This is unbelievable. You know, it's hard to keep track of this because usually you want a few days between airfare increases so you can actually differentiate one from another. We are now facing the 21st attempted airfare increase of this year. It's a $20 round trip increase. And the airlines that have joined this so far are American, Continental, Delta, United and Northwest. As of right now or as of last night, U.S. Airways had not joined the increase. We're waiting to see whether that happens.
When all six Legacy Airlines join an increase, it is considered successful. If it stays for a few days, this happens sometimes they join and then they back out because they see how many people are buying tickets on the new airfare or not. But it is just a reality at this point. We are on track according to farecompare.com for the greatest number of attempted increase in a given year.
Last year, last year 2007, we had 23 increases. We're already at the 21st attempted increase right now. We're expecting 40 for this year. And the advice is these keep going up there because of fuel. They're not going to come off any time soon. So if you are planning a trip for Labor Day, for Thanksgiving, even Christmas, book it now because that same ticket is going up at a rate of $20 maybe even every week. So, right now we've got another $20 round trip fuel surcharge.
We'll keep track to see whether it sticks or not. But again, this is just hitting into your travel plans. So if you are making travel plans and you know where you're going, book the ticket now. It might be worth taking the cancellation fee if you cancel it because these fees are just really hitting people where it hurts.
CHETRY: Wow. More good news from you, Ali. Thank you. Appreciate it.
VELSHI: I'm going to have a total good news day one day.
ROBERTS: Gazola is back. The hairless oracle of the Apocalypse, thanks.
VELSHI: Yes. ROBERTS: See you again soon.
ROBERTS: Thirty-two minutes after the hour. Issue number one, the new focus on the presidential campaign, Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain both talking about it today. We'll get some details on what Senator Obama is saying when we talk with his communications director. Coming up next, on the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Senator Barack Obama facing questions over his positions on Iraq. It began last week when he said he could "refine his policies" and just hours later fought off suggestions that he was making a major shift on Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When I go to Iraq and I have a chance to talk to some of the commanders on the ground, I'm sure I'll have more information and will continue to refine my policies.
I think what's happened is that the McCain campaign primed the pump with the press to suggest that somehow we were changing our policy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Well, has there been any shift in Senator Obama's position on Iraq? Here to talk about this and Obama's economic plan is Robert Gibbs, he's the communications director with the Obama campaign. He's in Chicago this morning. Robert, good to see you.
ROBERT GIBBS, OBAMA CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Good morning, John. How are you?
ROBERTS: Good. Let me come at this issue of Iraq from this angle. What degree of flexibility is there in the Senator's 16-month plan to get the troops out of there?
GIBBS: Let me tell you, John, what Senator Obama has told crowds and told the media throughout this campaign. He believes Iraq was a strategic blunder, that we took our eyes off of the real war on terror in Afghanistan and we focused on a war of choice in Iraq. What he believes what he'll do is on the very first day of his administration is call in his military commanders and give those commanders a new mission. That he believes based on the advice he's gotten, that we can remove safely and responsibly one to two brigades a month and have our combat troops out of Iraq over the course of 16 months.
But he's also said throughout this campaign that he's going to listen to military commanders, especially those commanders that are on the ground. And if the conditions change there's flexibility to change things there.
ROBERTS: Right.
GIBBS: Let me be very clear. Hold on. Let me be very clear. There hasn't been any change in either the wording or the policy. We're going to bring this war to a decisive but responsible end when Barack Obama is president of the United States.
ROBERTS: That's what I wanted to know about the degree of flexibility. How flexible will he be with this 16-month plan?
GIBBS: Well, look again, John, we're going to listen to commanders on the ground, but we're also going to tell commanders that there's a new mission, that we're going to be as careful getting out as we were careless getting in. That's something that Senator Obama has said since the very start of this campaign.
ROBERTS: Yes. We all know that very well. Has he spoken at all with General Petraeus about the situation on the ground there, about the possibility of withdrawal and has he gotten a sense from General Petraeus through direct conversations as to what the situation is there and how his plan could be achieved?
GIBBS: Well, as you know, we last talked to General Petraeus when he testified in front of the Senate.
ROBERTS: Right.
GIBBS: As we've talked about, we'll head to the Middle East in --
ROBERTS: Has he talked with him at all one-on-one?
GIBBS: He hasn't talked to him since we've been in - since he testified in front of the Senate. But we've talked to military commanders, we've talked to people who have been in and out of the region, we've talked to people that know Iraq and know what our engagements and our commitments are. There are a lot of people that we receive information from. You know, I think it was reported just last week we spoke a few weeks ago with General and former Joint Chief of Staff and Secretary of State Colin Powell.
ROBERTS: Right.
GIBBS: So we receive information from a lot of people about what's going on in Iraq.
ROBERTS: And to what degree will commanders on the ground dictate the pace of withdrawal? How much say will they have in this whole thing?
GIBBS: Well, look, I don't want to prejudge a lot of these stuff. We're going to get to that point on the first day of this administration. Again, I just want to be clear that our policy on this has been clear, that we have talked extensively about ending this war responsibly, bringing our troops out as carefully as we were careless getting in. And I think that's the policy that Barack Obama will have next year. ROBERTS: Let me switch to a different topic if I could, Robert. Late-term abortion. In a recent interview with "Relevant Magazine," the Senator prompted some concerns that he may be favor tightening restrictions on late-term abortions.
He said, "I think it's entirely appropriate for states to restrict or even prohibit late-term abortions as long as there is a strict, well-defined definition for the mental health of the mother. Now, I don't think that mental distress qualifies as the health of the mother."
What did he mean by that?
GIBBS: Well, look, throughout the debates that we've had on choice and on late-term abortion there have been debates about exceptions. And some people have seen exceptions as ways around restrictions. What the Senator talked about was that we need carefully, well-defined restrictions on abortion that mental distress certainly doesn't fall into that category but as the Supreme Court has recognized, as courts throughout this land have recognized, that Senator Obama believes that its right to take the health of the mother into account and if doctors do, both the physical and the mental health of the mother. And I think that there's no difference in that. There's no difference in the settled law of the land.
ROBERTS: He last expanded on those remarks to seem to suggest clearly defined mental illness. But in Doe v. Bolton which is a companion decision to Roe v. Wade in 1973 which determined the parameters to some degree for late-term abortion, the justices wrote "medical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors, physical, emotional, psychological, familial and the woman's age relevant to the well-being of the patient." It doesn't say anything in there about clinically-diagnosed mental illness. It clearly says emotional and psychological.
GIBBS: Well, look, John, I'm not a lawyer. I don't play one on TV. I know what Barack Obama's position is. It's what I just stated. We're going to take --
ROBERTS: Would his --
GIBBS: We should take the health of the mother, including the physical and mental health of the mother into account, but any exceptions should be well defined.
ROBERTS: So would his position on late-term abortion actually indicate a restriction compared to this Doe v. Bolton ruling?
GIBBS: Again, John, I'm not a lawyer. I don't know what - I can't interpret Supreme Court cases. Again, let me just explain to you quite clearly what I think, what I know is his position, and that is that he believes in a woman's right to choose but he also believes that exceptions for the health of the mother should be taken into account. Those are both physical and mental health.
ROBERTS: Robert Gibbs, communications director for the Obama campaign. Thanks for being with us this morning.
GIBBS: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: Good to see you. And don't miss it tomorrow, republican presidential candidate John McCain will join us live at the 8:00 hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
CHETRY: Keeping your kids healthy is something every parent wants to do. But now a new study says they may actually need a pill from mom and dad's own medicine cabinet. We'll tell you what it is, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, a family takes in a boy others didn't want. A look at their long journey home.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bye-bye!
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ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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CHETRY: Millions of older orphans have a hard time finding a place to call home, but now one special program is spanning the globe helping bring new families together.
Our Kate Bolduan has followed one couple's journey to parenthood, all the way to Taiwan -- Kate.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, UNICEF estimates there's as many as 133 million orphans worldwide. Of those older children are typically much harder to place but one group is taking on that challenge. They're trying to find homes one child, one summer vacation at a time.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi.
BOLDUAN (voice-over): We first met Zach and Angela Smoot a year ago.
ANGELA SMOOT, PARENT: Peek a boo. Yes. That was nice.
BOLDUAN: They had fallen in love with Yen, a five-year-old Taiwanese orphan who spent a summer with them as part of a program called Kid Save. Kid Save finds homes for orphans between five and 15 years old, older children from around the world who are typically harder to place. Kids come to the U.S. for a five-week stay while potential parents get to know them.
SMOOT: Are we going to go sweetie? BOLDUAN: Yen went back to Taiwan. The Smoots then started months of paperwork to formally adopt him. They chronicled their adoption journey from Warrington, Virginia all the way to Taiwan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say bye-bye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bye-bye.
BOLDUAN: And back again.
SMOOT: Amazing. He remembered us. He had all of his stuff from last summer and it's just amazing.
BOLDUAN: The Smoots can finally call Yen their son. As their story ends, many others begin. Just this weekend a new group of kids arrived in the Washington area to meet their American hosts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our plan to try to keep things simple to start because I know it's just going to be - just the language itself can be exhausting for them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just thought to be a good chance, you know, to give a kid a chance.
BOLDUAN: A chance at the life they've always wished for, one with a loving family, something Yen and Smoots have already found.
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BOLDUAN: The organization hopes this year's group is just as successful as last year. Every child that came for a summer visit is in the process of being adopted -- John, Kiran.
CHETRY: Wonderful news. It sure is.
Well, children in the program range in ages as she said from five to 13. This year the summer miracles program will get kids from both Colombia and Taiwan a chance to spend time with parents here in the U.S.
ROBERTS: The Salmonella scare hits the border. Coming up at 54 minutes after the hour, the hunt for the cause of the infection. And it might not be the tomatoes after all.
Then at 13 minutes after, California burning. An area the size of a half a million football fields charred. We're on the front lines with the firefighters.
And in about an hour's time, Lyme disease, difficult to diagnose and a mystery to cure. Find out why many of its victims say the medical community is letting an epidemic go untreated.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning."
A new study just released today says kids as young as eight may need cholesterol medicine to help future heart problems, help prevent them. Given its strongest statement ever on the issue, the American Academy of Pediatrics says there's more and more evidence that the factors leading to heart disease start early on. The Academy also recommends wider cholesterol testing and giving low fat milk to one- year-olds.
ROBERTS: At 49 minutes after the hour, it's the vaccine that's been given to millions of women, teens and pre-teen girls. Gardasil helps protect them from HPV, the human papilloma virus. It's a sexually transmitted virus that can lead to cervical cancer. But recently filed legal cases claimed that the vaccine can be dangerous. So is it doing more harm than good? This is an important question, one that we're putting to our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen this morning.
First of all, Elizabeth, what happened to these girls?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: John, I was on the phone last night with Laura Parsons. She says that her daughter, Jesalee was a perfectly healthy 13-year-old girl when she got the Gardasil shot and within hours started feeling sick, developed pancreatitis which can be a very dangerous illness, had to have two surgeries, spent weeks in the hospital and now more than a year later, is still sick and often missing school.
She's the first person to file a case in federal court about Gardasil. A second one followed shortly thereafter. But lots of people have complained about this vaccine to the FDA. In fact, as of April, there have been nearly 8,000 complaints adverse event filings to the FDA, people saying they got sick from Gardasil. Now, it is important to say that just because someone gets a shot and then gets sick it doesn't mean that it's the shot that causes it. And Merck, the company that makes Gardasil, stresses it could be just be coincidences that people are getting sick after getting this shot. John.
ROBERTS: Has anyone established a direct relationship yet between this vaccine and these adverse events that these people are talking about? What should a parent do? Should they allow their child to get the vaccine or should they wait until there's more evidence? The way that it works is that people make complaints and then the FDA and CDC investigate them.
There have been 10 confirmed deaths of girls and women who got this shot and the CDC says none of those deaths were related to the vaccine. Now, as for what parents can do, talk to your pediatrician. You don't have to give your daughter this shot. You can only get this disease if you're having sex. And some parents are saying, my 11- year-old daughter's not having sex, she doesn't need the shot.
At CNN.com/empowerpatient we have lots of good advice about how to talk to your doctor about vaccines.
ROBERTS: Important information for any parent. Elizabeth Cohen for us this morning. Elizabeth, thanks.
COHEN: Thanks.
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. Poison on your plate. The FDA expands the search for the Salmonella source.
Plus, Indiana Jones and the hidden Afghan treasure.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 2000-year-old pieces of gold.
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ROBERTS: We crack open the safe.
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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CHETRY: First we heard it was tomatoes, now investigators are say that some other ingredient possibly in salsa, like jalapenos or maybe cilantro could be the cause behind a massive Salmonella outbreak. Whatever the source, more than 900 people have been sickened. Despite public warnings and a search, the outbreak is a mystery. For more now, I'm joined from Washington by Caroline Smith- Dewaal. She's the director of food safety at Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Caroline, good morning. And thanks for being with us.
CAROLINE SMITH DEWAAL, AUTHOR "IS OUR FOOD SAFE?": Good morning, Kiran.
CHETRY: First of all, what is the latest advice for people when it comes to making sure they don't get sickened from whatever it is we're still looking for the cause of?
SMITH-DEWAAL: The government's advice still covers tomatoes. So I think that still is a leading suspect in this outbreak. But the bottom line here, Kiran, is that almost a thousand people across the country have become ill. And the investigators haven't nailed down the cause because if they had, people would stop getting sick.
CHETRY: Right. And because they put out these mass warnings and people have stopped eating the certain types of tomatoes that are still in question. What about jalapeno peppers and cilantro at this point, should you throw those out if you have them at home?
SMITH-DEWAAL: Well, jalapenos, cilantro, all of these are under investigation as well as some other ingredients that are served in Mexican cuisine and some other cuisines that may be implicated. The bottom line here is that they don't know the source and we have to let the investigators do their work. Now, consumers always should be washing their fruits and vegetables. But if you are worried that you may have a contaminated ingredient, you might want to just cook it, steam it, that will get rid of it, the bacteria. It will also change the nature of what you have. You won't have a raw salsa anymore, but you may have a safer dish.
CHETRY: All right. So what is the status or how do they go about, why is it taking so long, I guess to locate and even discover what ingredient we're talking about?
SMITH-DEWAAL: This is a complicated system involving officials at the local, state and federal level. And we've got two different agencies involved. The CDC coordinates with all the state and local investigators. And then the FDA's responsible for tracking back the food. The bottom line is, they are using the best tools they have available. But they're still not certain they've identified the source. FDA, meanwhile, is the agency that needs to actually test the food and try to check it.
The Gold standard here is that they will find hazard that's showing up in the human illnesses. They'll find it in the food and even with the spinach outbreak, they went back to the farm fields. But that's really rare. Right now, just locating the right food and giving people the right advice is complicated enough. So I'm not sure we'll ever be able to go back to the actual field that is the source of this problem.
CHETRY: Right. What does it say about our food supply? Is it naive to believe it's as safe as we want it to be that we simply wash off the fruits and enjoy salads at the dinner table without worrying about this type of stuff?
SMITH-DEWAAL: It's clearly troubling that we're having so many outbreaks linked to produce. CSPI has documented over 700 outbreaks linked to produce and produce dishes and several dozen linked to tomatoes. The bottom line here is that the FDA should be doing more. They should develop regulations that start on the farm and follow items all the way through to the retail sector. And especially right now we need better systems of tracing food products back.
CHETRY: So what's the main problem? There's not enough resources, there's not the will to do it? Why haven't we seen more measures like that in place?
SMITH-DEWAAL: The FDA has really resisted putting regulations in place, although they've been clearly needed for at least several years, since the spinach outbreak. FDA has delayed, they've issued guidance, they've said they are still researching questions. The bottom line is, growers have a responsibility to have a written food safety plan.
And we think the government should put that in place for all growers. It's used today widely in the retail sector as are processes of tracing fresh fruits and vegetables. If it's good enough for some segments of the retail sector, some of our grocery stores and supermarkets and fast-food chains it should be good enough for everybody.
CHETRY: All right. Caroline Smith-Dewaal, thanks for being with us this morning.
SMITH-DEWAAL: Thank you.
ROBERTS: It's coming up on 59 minutes after the hour. And here's some of the top stories that we're following right now.
Breaking news out of Afghanistan this morning. A car bomb explodes near the Indian embassy in Kabul. At least 41 people killed and 139 injured in the attack. The bomb exploded on a crowded street during a busy time in the morning. The blast sent smoke into the air, and was heard for miles across the city. Authorities say the attack was the work of a suicide bomb.
The three American hostages rescued from Colombia will be speaking out later on today. Here's some new pictures of them reuniting with their families at the Brook Army Medical Center in Texas. Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Keith Stansell were among 15 hostages freed last week in a daring mission by Colombian commandos. They were held by rebels for more than five years after their plane went down in the Colombian jungle while doing drug surveillance work.
And gasoline prices hitting a new record this morning. Well, the pain in the pump just keeps on happening, just below $4.11 a gallon now according to AAA. 37 states now paying more than four bucks.
Breaking news today what was tropical storm Bertha is now a hurricane. That hurricane is the first in the Atlantic season. Right now, winds are roughly 75 miles an hour, expected to strengthen somewhat as the storm heads northwest. CNN's Rob Marciano is live in the CNN Weather Center.
Rob, questions people are asking this morning, how strong will it get? Where is it going?
MARCIANO: I think it's going to stay at a category 1 status, but you know, a couple of days ago, we didn't think it would get to a hurricane status or be this far west.
