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American Morning
Mortgage Crisis: Government Takes Action; IndyMac Reopens Under Government Control; Tweens & Dating; Inbev and Anheuser-Busch Agree to Combine
Aired July 14, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Issue #1. Panic after one of the biggest bank collapses ever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mattress is looking pretty safe these days.
ROBERTS: How to make sure your life savings are safe.
Plus, growing up too fast.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Young girls in my office who in eighth or ninth grade were dating an older boy. And they weren't ready, and they want to please.
ROBERTS: Kids who just got out of grade school talk about the pressures of sex.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's all these people who are saying, "Oh, you should try it."
ROBERTS: On this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And good morning. Thanks very much for being with us as we start a brand new week. It's the 14th of July, and all kinds of news to tell you about on issue #1, the financial front, as well as financial security.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. We have new details this morning also about the attack on a U.S. base in Afghanistan that left nine American soldiers dead and 15 others wounded.
Officials say that more than 100 insurgents breached the outer walls of a small remote outpost near the Pakistani border Sunday and attached U.S. forces form on the inside. More than 40 insurgents were killed in the fighting. It is the deadliest attack against U.S. forces in Afghanistan in three years.
And Tropical Storm Bertha is expected to slam Bermuda with high winds and as much as four inches of rain today. Residents are taping windows, securing boats, and several business owners say they plan to send workers home by noon. That storm also being blamed for kicking up deadly surf and rip currents as far away as New Jersey. In fact, two swimmers were killed at the jersey shore Sunday. A third person is still missing.
An American icon has fallen into European hands. Anheuser-Busch, the family-run beer maker from St. Louis, has been sold to Belgian brewer InBev. It's $52 billion deal, and it creates the world's largest beer maker, which will now gain half, almost half, of the U.S. beer market.
That deal was a sharp reversal for Anheuser, which last month rejected InBev's initial $46 billion offer. Anheuser-Busch's 12 North American breweries will stay open.
ROBERTS: A sense of urgency this morning as Washington tries to avert a crisis of confidence over an economy showing serious cracks. Today the Federal Reserve is expected to announce sweeping changes for how mortgages are issued. This all comes as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is desperately trying to soothe investor panic, saying the government is ready to lend billions of dollars to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two firms which hold the paper on half of the nation's home loans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY PAULSON, TREASURY SECRETARY: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play a central role in our housing finance system and must continue to do so in their current form as shareholder-owned companies. Their support for the housing market is particularly import as we work through the current housing correction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So what's behind all this? Where's it headed? And what should people need to know about?
CNN's Business Correspondent Ali Velshi joins us now.
I guess they're trying to collect about $3 billion worth of short-term credit morning.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
ROBERTS: Is this going to help them do it?
VELSHI: Well, let me tell you, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae -- and people will have been following this probably in the papers or on TV for the last few weeks -- the issue here is that when your bank gives you a loan, eventually they give out a lot of loans. And then what do they do for more business? Well, they sell those loans, and they sell it cheaply to Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
Most conforming loans in this country are sold to them. So what that does is it gives those banks more money to offer you more mortgages. Now, Freddie and Fannie, they allow those mortgages to be held, and they hold, by the way, hold or guarantee, more than $5.2 trillion in U.S. mortgages. So, without Fannie and Freddie, there would just be less money available for mortgages, and mortgages would be harder to come by.
These two companies are government-sponsored entities. They're private companies, they're listed on the stock exchange, but they are really backed by the government, and they have been running into great financial trouble. There has been real fear of those two mortgage lenders failing.
Last night, the Federal Reserve and the U.S. government said they would step in to allow them more credit, a greater credit line. They're going to open the discount window, which is where banks go to the government to borrow money.
They're also going to ask Congress to authorize the Treasury to buy the stock of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to also shore up those companies. They want to have this done by Tuesday, with a bill that could be passed by Friday. So this is very urgent.
The last time we saw the president asking the treasury secretary to gather Congress and congressional leaders together to do something of this magnitude was for the stimulus checks. House leaders on both side have said that they will support some endeavor right now.
So we're -- this is meant to soothe markets, and it is having the desired effect so far. U.S. market futures are up. But this was only one of the major mortgage stories out this weekend.
ROBERTS: Yes. And we're going to be talking with Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd about this in our next hour as well, so...
VELSHI: Yes. OK.
ROBERTS: ... big story to stay on this morning.
Ali, thanks.
CHETRY: Well, the government is reassuring thousands of nervous customers that their money is safe after one of the biggest bank failures in U.S. history. The California-based lender IndyMac Bank is now under government control. It will reopen this morning after essentially running out of money on Friday.
So what does this massive takeover mean? Deb Feyerick joins us now to explain more about this and why we should be concerned this morning.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of people should be concerned, because really the takeover is significant, because it means that the problems in the housing market and the economy certainly not going away anytime soon. But in terms of the actual affects on people with money in the bank, the majority are unaffected. The FDIC making it very clear, they're coming in, there's a new sheriff running this place.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK (voice over): Many IndyMac customers searching for answers this weekend heard this recording, alerting them someone new was in charge of their money...
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP, FDIC RECORDING)
ANNOUNCER: As conservateur, the FDIC will operate the IndyMac federal bank to maximize the value of the institution while maintaining banking services in communities served by the bank.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FEYERICK: The FDIC was put in charge on Friday after regulators announced, IndyMac could not meet the demands of its depositors, calling the mortgage lender's condition "unsafe and unsound."
BEVERLY GOODMAN, SENIOR EDITOR, "SMARTMONEY" MAGAZINE: The best news is for the individuals that have money at these banks. When the FDIC steps in, their money is then secure. It's much worse news for the economy in general.
FEYERICK: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was created in 1933 in response to the Great Depression when thousands of banks failed. In order to limit the effects on the economy, banks pay insurance premiums to the FDIC, so a portion of your money is always protected.
Beverly Goodman is with "SmartMoney" magazine.
GOODMAN: The FDIC is insurance. It's the government's guarantee that you will not lose your money.
FEYERICK: Experts say the FDIC will run the bank as is. Customers will have access to much of their money and those with loans will still have to pay on time.
DAVID BARR, FDIC SPOKESMAN: This is very manageable. It's an excellent example of how the FDIC operates, that when a bank gets in trouble, how we come in to protect the depositors.
FEYERICK: Meantime, the FDIC will look for a buyer.
CHRIS ISDORE, SENIOR WRITER, CNNMONEY.COM: The FDIC is hoping to sell the bank pretty much as an intact unit to a larger bank, sometime in the next three months. That's going to be somewhat more difficult sale now that it's gone through the failure.
FEYERICK: Ninety banks are on an FDIC risk list, but the agency is confident its fund is large enough to cover any additional bank failures. If not, the spokesman says the FDIC could always raise premiums.
(END VIDEOTAPE) FEYERICK: Now, IndyMac may have been able to survive, but after a strong warning to regulators from Senator Schumer, people really started pulling out their money, some $100 million a day. The bank simply couldn't sustain itself, and that's when the FDIC had to step in. They said there's just not enough money, can't do it.
CHETRY: We talked about problems with nearly 100 banks. Why IndyMac? Why did they go under?
FEYERICK: And that's what's so interesting. It was really their business strategy.
IndyMac was making loans to people with very, very little documentation, or no documentation, for that matter. They were then taking the loans, bundling them up, signing them to investors. Investors were insatiable. But then the foreclosures started to rise, home prices started to go down.
The whole thing fell apart. And they just couldn't get the money to continue making these loans.
CHETRY: All right. Deb Feyerick for us this morning.
Thanks -- John.
ROBERTS: This just into us -- Barack Obama reportedly headed to the West Bank next week. This, according to Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat. He tells The Associated Press that Obama will travel to Ramallah on July the 23rd and meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. John McCain visited Israel last March, but did not meet with Palestinian leaders.
Barack Obama and John McCain are both also reaching out to Hispanic and African-American voters. Today McCain addresses the National Council of La Raza, one of the country's largest Hispanic organizations. Obama spoke to that group on Sunday.
He promised to make immigration reform a top priority if elected president, and he blasted McCain for abandoning his own immigration bill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know Senator McCain used to buck his party on immigration by fighting for comprehensive reform, and I admired him for it and joined him in it. But when he was running for his party's nomination, he abandoned that courageous stance and said that he wouldn't even support his own legislation if it came up for a vote.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: A top McCain supporter says that that criticism is unfair, calling Obama an absolute non player on the issue of immigration. Obama speaks to the NAACP tonight in prime time. McCain addresses black leaders on Wednesday. Meantime, the Obama campaign is slamming "The New Yorker" magazine over the cover that hits the newsstands today. The illustrator depicts Senator Obama in the Oval Office wearing traditional Muslim clothes, fist-bumping his wife, who has an AK-47 slung over her shoulder. There's also a portrait of Osama bin Laden hanging above the fireplace, where an American flag is being burned.
"The New Yorker" is defending the cartoon, saying that the artist is satirizing the use of scare tactics and misinformation in the presidential election to derail Barack Obama's campaign. But an Obama spokesman released this statement, saying, "'The New Yorker' may think that their cover is a satirical lampoon of the caricature Senator Obama's right-wing critics have tried to create, but most readers will see it as tasteless and offensive, and we agree."
The McCain campaign says it agrees with that assessment.
CHETRY: Well, Arnold Schwarzenegger blasting the Bush administration on global warming. Why California's Republican governor is talking about a possible position in the Obama White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, tweens and sex.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because they're allowed (ph) to take...
CHETRY: A surprising new survey on kids and dating, and why puppy love isn't what it used to be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They'll slap each other, they'll push each other.
CHETRY: You're watching the most news in the morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is attacking the Bush administration's climate change record and its stance on global warming.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER (R), CALIFORNIA: If they would have done something this year, I would have thought it was bogus anyway.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS, ABC NEWS: Why?
SCHWARZENEGGER: Well, because you don't change, you know, global warming and you don't really have an effect by doing something six months before you leave office
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Meantime, Schwarzenegger, who has endorsed fellow Republican John McCain, is dropping hints that he might consider a position in an Obama administration.
Joining us now from Washington is John Dickerson. He's a CNN political analyst and chief political correspondent for slate.com.
John, good to see you this morning.
JOHN DICKERSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, John.
ROBERTS: You know, Schwarzenegger went on to say in that interview with George Stephanopoulos this week that he believed the Bush administration did not believe in global warming. He's throwing President Bush under the bus in ways that he never has before.
What's going on?
DICKERSON: That's right. He bonked him over the head pretty hard.
You know, he not only said they weren't serious about it, but he said it was a real failure of leadership. And George Bush, of course, prides himself on being a leader who does tough things.
I think what's going on is clearly from a political perspective. Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't have to worry about George Bush, because in his state Bush has only a 25 percent approval rating. But this is a signature issue for Governor Schwarzenegger.
It helped him get re-elected in 2006. He won a big sure of Independents, and even a quarter of Democrats in his state, by supporting this legislation that reduces greenhouse gasses in a way that no other state has done. And so on his signature issue, he is really leading in this country among Republicans. And so he doesn't need to support George Bush on it.
ROBERTS: Yes, he really seems to be tilling new ground for a Republican governor, even going so far as to say that he might consider a position in an Obama administration as an energy czar.
Let's listen to what he told George yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHWARZENEGGER: I'd take his call now, and I'd take his call when he's president, any time. Remember that no matter who is president, I don't see this as a political thing. I see this as we always have to help no matter what the administration is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: So he would still have two years as governor of California, when the next president is sworn in, regardless of who it is. But if it is Obama, do you think he really wants the job? Is he just saying he wants the job? And do you think that Obama would give it to him?
DICKERSON: Well, I think for Schwarzenegger, he's luxuriating in being sort of the West Coast bookend to Mike Bloomberg. You know, a politician that -- politicians in both parties like to quote and sort of curry favor with, and -- particularly on this signature issue of global warming.
So, he's saying, you know, he would take the call. He was also quite full-throated in his support of McCain in that interview. But I think, sure, he would probably be open to it. And Obama has said several that he would like to -- he's not only praised Schwarzenegger specifically, but he more generally has said he would like to build a cabinet that has Republicans in it. And if you're going to pick a favorite Republican, Arnold Schwarzenegger would be a good one to pick.
ROBERTS: All right. And, you know, perhaps with the energy crisis we're facing as well, energy czar is a position that he might create.
John Dickerson, thanks very much. Good to see you.
DICKERSON: Thanks, John.
CHETRY: A new book makes the legal case for charging President Bush with murder over the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Find out how it's moved up the bestseller list despite receiving virtually no attention from the mainstream media.
Also, Tropical Storm Bertha kicking up deadly waves and rip currents along the East Coast as cooler weather gives exhausted firefighters some much-needed help in California. Our Rob Marciano is tracking extreme weather. He joins us in just a couple of minutes.
You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Closing the gap, a new poll shows major gains for John McCain in the past month. See what is behind the big shift.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, tweens and sex.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because there are a lot...
CHETRY: A surprising new survey on kids and dating, and why puppy love isn't what it used to be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They'll slap each other. They'll push each other.
CHETRY: You're watching the most news in the morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: All right. A little talk about sex this morning. It's 6:22.
Parents, listen up. Preteens are doing more than just talking about sex. A survey has found that kids as young as 11 consider sex to be a normal part of dating. And that's not the only eye-opener.
Here's CNN Kate Bolduan with the rest of it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, they're not yet teens, and far from adults. But a recent survey shows tweens are growing up faster than ever, and facing some tough realities.
(voice over): The survey commissioned by Advocates Against Teen Dating Abuse shows nearly half of 11-to-14-year-olds say they've dated. One in four say sex is part of relationships. And of the tweens who say they're sexually active, 69 percent they face some type of verbal or physical abuse.
Dr. Kay Abrams is a clinical psychologist who works with tweens.
DR. KAY ABRAMS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: They want to belong. I'll get young girls in my office who are eighth or ninth grade were dating an older boy, and they weren't ready and they want to please.
BOLDUAN: To find out more, we went directly to tweens themselves.
(on camera): The people that you hear having sex, do you think they are too young? Do you think they're mature enough.
ANDREW RUSSO, 14 YEARS OLD: When you're in a serious relationship, it gets harder and harder to do, because there's a lot of temptation. There's always people who are saying, oh, you should try it.
EMILY FORGO, 11 YEARS OLD: Parents say you're too young to date, but it's also the kids' fault, because they will go ahead anyway thinking that they can handle it, when they really can't.
BOLDUAN (voice over): This group, ranging from 11 to 15 years old, said they know kids having sex and have even seen kids being abuse in relationships.
LLOYD BERG, 13 YEARS OLD: It's verbal and it's physical, too. Like, they'll slap each other. They'll push each other.
BOLDUAN: So, what's going on? The peer pressure is great and the influences are everywhere. Television, for one. JABARI DOUGLAS, 15 YEARS OLD: I also think it's that like the music that people listen to.
BERG: I think you can get anything on the Internet. I think it's more destructive and more influential.
BOLDUAN: When it comes to protecting youth, experts say it's a simple but key combination of a watchful eye and an open dialogue. And maybe take some advice from a fellow tween.
FORGO: You're a kid. Be a kid. You won't be it forever.
BOLDUAN (on camera): Now, to address the issue of violence in teenage relationships, the National Association of Attorneys General is now calling on every state to add dating abuse education to school curriculum -- John, Kiran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Kate Bolduan for us this morning.
Kate, thanks.
CHETRY: There's a controversial exhibit that puts survivors of gun violence right in the spotlight. We're going to take a closer look at an art project called "Wounded in America" as part of our series, "Guns in America."
ROBERTS: And a new poll shows the gap between Barack Obama and John McCain narrowing significantly over the past month. We're going to look at what's behind the numbers.
You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Senator Barack Obama clarifying his position on Iraq this morning in an op-ed piece in "The New York Times," reiterating that he would have troops out of the country in 16 months. He also spoke to CNN's Fareed Zakaria about his plan for Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: What I am absolutely convinced of is that to maintain permanent bases, to have ongoing combat forces, to have an open-ended commitment of the sort that John McCain and George Bush have advocated, is a mistake. It is a strategic mistake.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So to talk more about that, joining us now from Washington, Tara Wall. She's the deputy editorial page editor at "The Washington Times."
And Tara, more signs also that the presidential race is tightening as this latest "Newsweek" poll showing Barack Obama with a three-point lead over John McCain. He had a 15-point lead last month.
Will clarifying Iraq help?
TARA WALL, DEP. EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR, "THE WASHINGTON TIMES": Well, yes. I mean, that's the problem with these polls. You're going to see quite a bit of movement from now until Election Day.
Aside from that, I think that the reason you're seeing this narrowing of the gap even more now is because of his changing positions, if you will, on issues like Iraq and Iran and faith-based initiatives and FISA, quite frankly. I think there is some -- you know, he spent a great deal -- Senator Obama spent a great deal of time introducing himself. That was act one. Now he is in a position of having to define what his positions are, and it's a little hard to nail him down on those positions.
Iraq, for example, yes, now he's talking about 16 months, but he's -- you know, he's had surrogates saying that, you know, we're not going to go by a timeline. You know, there seems to be some, you know, inadequacies at times about his position on Iraq.
I think this trip absolutely should help him to redefine or refine his messaging in that regard. He hasn't been to Iraq in about two years. He's never been to Afghanistan. I think it will be interesting to see what comes out of it all.
CHETRY: Isn't this just sort of the routine that happens when you move from a primary race to a general race and you start to refine some of your positions, making sure that they appeal to more people? Is that what's going on here?
WALL: Well, traditionally, historically, yes, candidates do move towards the center more so as they get to the national campaign, the national election. But he's starting -- you know, he's growing -- getting frustration among his own rank-and-file liberals, if you will, who are having problems understanding why he's shifting so much on some of his positions.
So, he needs to certainly move position to the center. I think for him, specifically, because he doesn't have a clear-cut record on a number of issues, it's a little bit easier for him to say, well, yes, I agree with this, no, I don't agree with this, because you can't really nail him down when he doesn't have a very long record to hold him against some of these issues. But I think that at the same time, you have to stay true at least to some of the principles in which you -- you know, you promised your constituency...
CHETRY: Right.
WALL: ... that you ran on
CHETRY: And Tara, I want a ask you about this before we run out of time.
WALL: Sure. CHETRY: This is sure to be talked about today. I want to show you "The New Yorker" magazine cover right now. And hopefully you can get a chance to see it, but it basically depicts Barack Obama in a turban. He's doing a fist bump with Michelle Obama, who is holding a gun, and an American flag is burning in their fireplace.
What was your reaction when you saw this?
WALL: You know, I understand why there is a certain reaction among some that are -- you know, that see this as offensive.
I think that, you know, obviously, it's a little shocking when you first see it. But I am one for freedom of speech. You know, "The New Yorker" magazine, I was surprised it came from "New Yorker" magazine. They, you know, said that --
CHETRY: They say it's a satire of some of the fear mongering that's happened with Barack Obama.
WALL: Right.
CHETRY: How does he counter that and yet not appear to be offended by being called Muslim.
WALL: Yes, I think -- yes, it certainly plays on some of those stereotypes. I think he did the right thing, quite frankly. He and the McCain campaign, you know, said -- you know, it was offensive and moved on.
And that's essentially what he's got to do. He's got to move on from it. And expect, you know, when you have some of the positions that he's held with meeting with, you know, some of these leaders that are questionable, he opens himself up for that, not justifying it, but he does open himself up for that.
I think, unfortunately, you're going to see a lot more to come in the likes of some of these things down the line during the campaign.
CHETRY: Tara Wall, Deputy Editorial Page Editor of the "Washington Times." Thanks for being with us this morning.
WALL: You bet.
ROBERTS: Just coming up on 31 minutes after the hour now. And some of the top stories we're following for you this Monday morning. The search for millionaire adventurist Steve Fossett resumes today.
A team of elite athletes and expert mountain climbers will spend the next week searching the mountains along the California-Nevada border, where it's believed that Fossett crashed his small plane. He disappeared last September and was declared legally dead in February.
The Feds hoping to calm fears on Wall Street this morning by announcing sweeping plans to prop up the nation's mortgage giants -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the plan, if approved by Congress, would expand the credit line to the two companies, and if needed, the Treasury Department would even buy stock in the firms.
Can you say, this bud's for you in Flemish? This morning the Anheuser-Busch dynasty has come to an end. The St. Louis beer maker has been sold to Belgium brewer InBev. The $52-billion takeover creates the world's largest beer maker and ends more than a month of angry words between the two companies. Anheuser-Busch's 12 North American breweries will stay open.
Ali Velshi here now to talk more about the Anheuser-Busch deal. I checked with our London bureau today. Apparently, you said, "dit bud is vor you."
VELSHI: Is that how you say it? Well, InBev -- the new company is going to be called Anheuser-Busch-InBev. Doesn't entirely roll off the tongue, but you'll have Bud and Bud Light. You'll have Stella Artois, Bass, Hoegaarden. This will be the world's biggest beer company.
The problem, of course, in the beer world, this has been a great deal of consolidation over the last -- more than a decade really. It's not a growing business. Everything around beverages has been growing. You know, for a while it was coolers and mixed drinks and this and that.
But beer itself is not a growing business. So, in order to keep the price of beer low and offer lots of variety, these companies have had to join up. Now, right now, as you said, the Anheuser-Busch, the 12 breweries in North America will stay open.
But it's unclear what this means because you don't really need all these different breweries in order to make these types of beers. The issue is how efficiently you can make beer. There was a lot of opposition to this bid in the first place. And then, the bid was increased and, guess what, the deal is done.
The reality is beer companies are amongst the most international companies in the world. People want to know what this means to them. Well, it means two things. It means your beer probably stays exactly the same. You'll buy exactly the same brand.
The issue, of course, is the cost of beer. And that's got less to do with this merger and more to do with the cost of the ingredients that go into beer, all of which have been going up increasingly because beer is made from hops and from grains. And we've seen an increase in those prices over the last of the while. So, very little impact to the average person on this.
CHETRY: Will you still be able to tour the Budweiser plant and enter the Budweiser School --
VELSHI: You absolutely will. And you'll be able to see the Clydesdales, which I got to see a couple of weeks ago. And, you know, I think Anheuser-Busch largely stays the same for the purpose of anybody who thought it was an American cultural icon. It still will be.
ROBERTS: Well, they are Belgian draft horses.
VELSHI: They are Belgian draft horses. And now you will be able to have a Belgian draft with your Belgian draft horse. Good point.
ROBERTS: All right. Thanks.
VELSHI: All right.
CHETRY: Well, Iran confirming it test fired missiles last week near the Persian Gulf. But some experts are saying the technological capability is really not as great as Tehran is claiming. These missile tests come amid growing tensions over Iran's nuclear ambition.
And deep concern in Washington over Pakistan's tribal region, where many believe Osama Bin Laden is still hiding. A top diplomat in Pakistan says the U.S. cannot hunt for Bin Laden on its soil. He says the country's new government has a sufficient number of forces and does not need foreign help.
Well, Miss U.S.A. falling down on the job. For the second year in a row, America's beacon of beauty and grace tripped over her gown during the Miss Universe Pageant. There you see it. The slip comes after the judges named Crystle Stewart one of the top ten contenders for the crown.
And then, I don't know if something's jinxed for them. Because last year, Rachel Smith, there she is, also fell during the Evening Gown portion. She fell right on her behind, a little harder than this year's.
But anyway, despite the fall, Smith made it into the top five. So, if you fall, is that it? I mean, you can't really win?
ROBERTS: It's difficult to come back from. But who put the banana peel there in the first place? That's what I would like to know.
CHETRY: Nice. Somebody sprayed Pam on the bottom of their shoes.
ROBERTS: Poor things. A powerful look at the impact of gun violence in America. We're going to show you a new exhibit in California that is drawing lots of controversy.
CHETRY: Living the dream.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's definitely an I-love-my- job kind of day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Rob takes a spin on the track where dreams come true, if you're willing to pay the price. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning." (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 38 minutes after the hour. Over the past few weeks, we have been investigating the impact of guns in America from a number of different viewpoints.
Today, a stark look at the impact of gun violence on display in a new photo exhibit in California.
CNN's Brooke Anderson takes a look as part of our "Guns in America" series.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, the Supreme Court's recent historic ruling supporting the Second Amendment right to own a firearm has turned the spotlight on the gun debate. A photographer and writer duo are now featuring gun violence survivors in an exhibit here in California, a pointed and poignant display but not everyone thinks it's fair.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON (voice-over): August 1999, a gunman walks into the North Valley Jewish Community Center near Los Angeles and begins firing.
MINDY FINKELSTEIN, SHOOTING VICTIM: Shot off 70 rounds of ammunition, shot five of us, me, was 16 at the time, a 65-year-old woman, and three 5-year-old kids.
ANDERSON: Mindy Finkelstein, then a camp counselor, was hit twice.
FINKELSTEIN: He walked in through the front door and shot me exactly where I'm standing in this picture.
ANDERSON: Finkelstein consented to be photographed at the site of her shooting for art project called "Wounded in America," now on display in the San Fernando Valley.
It's the work of Chicago photographer, Robert Drea, and his wife, writer Stephanie Arena. They say their purpose is to document the impact of gun violence, especially on survivors.
STEPHANIE ARENA, WRITER: This is a humanitarian statement. It's saying that guns in the hands of people hurt other people.
ANDERSON: The exhibit contains photographs of people shot in criminal acts, gun accidents, and suicide attempts. They come from all walks of life.
ARENA: She was shot in the temple and in the hand. This man was shot twice at two different times.
ANDERSON: According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 71,000 people in the U.S. were injured by firearms in 2006. The most recent year for which statistics are available. Drea and Arena argue it's a public health crisis. They deny a political motive to their exhibit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We tried to approach this very even-handedly.
ANDERSON: But the local exhibition is sponsored by a chapter of the Brady campaign. The gun control advocacy group.
ALAN GOTTLIEB, SECOND AMENDMENT FOUNDATION: Obviously, when anti-gun groups are sponsoring it, it really politicizes it.
ANDERSON: Alan Gottlieb founded the Second Amendment Foundation, a pro-gun rights groups. At CNN request, he reviewed the exhibit's companion Web site, woundedinamerica.org.
GOTTLIEB: Obviously, the Web site is not balanced. It never talks anything about people using guns for self-defense successfully. One thing this Web site really does point out is that criminal prefers unarmed victims.
ANDERSON: The recent Supreme Court decision affirming an individual's right to own firearms has reignited the debate between proponents of gun control and gun rights. Drea and Arena see their exhibit as a plea for common ground.
ARENA: We don't want to see injuries from guns. We don't want to see death. And I would really hope both sides could work together to accomplish that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Stephanie Arena asserts that most of the survivors who took part in the exhibit found the experience cathartic. As for Mindy Finkelstein, the former camp counselor who was shot at age 16, she occasionally makes appearances on behalf of the Brady Campaign speaking out against gun violence.
John?
Kiran?
ROBERTS: Brooke Anderson with that for us this morning. Brooke, thanks. You can get a closer look at the gun debate and hear compelling argument from both sides by going to our Web site at CNN.com/am and clicking on in focus "Guns in America."
CHETRY: Brand new today, Barack Obama's plan for Iraq and why he thinks withdrawal could be Messy. The exclusive interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria ahead.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
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MARCIANO: You're going to feel like speed racer.
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CHETRY: The go-cart track for grown-ups.
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MARCIANO: Time for the Porsche.
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CHETRY: Rob takes a spin at the newest play ground for the rich. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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CHETRY: Well, driving the car of your dreams -- the Porsche, the Lamborghini, Ferrari, whatever it may be. One raceway in New Jersey is giving you the keys to some of the world's most exotic cars for a small price.
Our Rob Marciano hit the speedway, shut up and drive.
MARCIANO: Yes, so the song goes.
CHETRY: How was it?
MARCIANO: Well, listen, you know, there had been rumors swirling around the country that racetracks that are set up like this where you could actually do this kind of thing. So, we decided at CNN to do an investigative report on this.
CHETRY: Is this part of the "SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT"?
MARCIANO: It is, yes.
CHETRY: OK.
MARCIANO: I'm not sure they are aware that I'm a part of that unit, but we did the report, anyway. Take a look.
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DARIUS GRALA, RACE DRIVER AND LEAD INSTRUCTOR: The Porsche 911 Turbo. Second, we've got the Lamborghini Gallardo Super leggera version. We've got the Mercedes Benz AMG black. The Ferrari F-430, the standard. The last and certainly not least is the Aston Martin DV9.
MARCIANO (on-camera): I'm going to feel like speed racer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And complete the pass.
MARCIANO: Nice.
How to drive Lamborghini.
Pit lane. Can I get a double-decker cheeseburger with a biggie size (INAUDIBLE). What kind of clientele do you have?
JAN OTTO, FOUNDER, "SUPERCAR LIFE": People that have never had a chance to drive a car like this. You have a group of people that maybe own a car like this or they own one of these cars, or they're thinking about buying one of these cars. You have a group of people that are just in it for the thrill.
MARCIANO: Definitely an I-love-my-job kind of day. It feels so good. Time for the Porsche. There is no substitute. Thank you. 140, not bad.
Oh, baby, come home with me just for one night. Just for one night, come home with daddy. That is almost better than you know what.
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ROBERTS: Almost better than what, driving the (INAUDIBLE)?
MARCIANO: That's the first actually I've seen the complete piece here. So that was the Porsche 97 -- 997 -- I don't know. I can't keep all the numbers straight.
CHETRY: How much does it cost to do that?
MARCIANO: $5,000. It's a one-day experience. And you get to -- unlike a lot of other driving schools you get to drive different types of cars, which -- and each car drives differently as you can imagine.
John, you would have been in hog heaven, my friend.
CHETRY: It's like buffet but for cars.
MARCIANO: It is.
CHETRY: What if you wanted to buy one of those?
MARCIANO: Well the, you know, bring your check book, obviously. They are anywhere from $120,000 to $180,000.
But the -- you know, they can get 20 miles to the gallon if your going 40 miles an hour. If you're going that speed, you get about 8 or 9 miles to the gallon.
CHETRY: Right.
MARCIANO: Anyway, according to that investigative report, it's true. You can actually do that and it's a lot of fun. Thank you.
CHETRY: Love it.
ROBERTS: In this economy, some people are still willing shell out the cash?
MARCIANO: Yes. It's definitely a niche markets.
ROBERTS: Wow.
CHETRY: Any women do it?
MARCIANO: No, but there are some nice ladies there to help you in and out of the vehicles. Just as a little added bonus.
ROBERTS: Terrific. Rob, thanks so much.
MARCIANO: See you guys.
ROBERTS: 48 minutes after the hour. Setting the record straight. Barack Obama putting out his plan for Iraq after critics said he's flip-flopping. The exclusive interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria. That's ahead.
CHETRY: Well, his book makes the case for holding President Bush criminally responsible for the deaths of U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Find out why it faced a virtual media blackout. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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CHETRY: He's a best-selling crime author and former prosecutor but Vincent Bugliosi's new book which makes the case for charging President Bush with murder for the war in Iraq has faced a virtual media blackout. So how did the book become a best-seller?
Here's CNN's Chris Lawrence.
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CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a true crime author, Vincent Bugliosi has tackled everything from JFK to O.J. It sold 7 million copies of the book that described how he prosecuted murderer Charles Manson.
VINCENT BUGLIOSI, AUTHOR: This one won Edgar Allan Poe Award. This one is number one in the "New York Times."
LAWRENCE: But L.A.'s former D.A. says no one in the mainstream media would review his new book "The Prosecution of George W. Bush For Murder," presents Bugliosi's legal case to hold the president criminally responsible for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq.
BUGLIOSI: My book was completely rejected across the board by network and cable.
LAWRENCE: Enter the Internet. His publisher posted ads on liberal blogs and they started buzzing about the book.
BUGLIOSI: I'm very, very encourage and very grateful to them because without them the book would not be a "New York Times" best- seller.
LAWRENCE: In about six weeks, it sold 130,000 copies with no major TV exposure. ISABEL MACDONALD FAIRNESS & ACCURACY IN REPORTING: There was a decision that was made by the media that was actually really out of sync with the demand.
LAWRENCE: Isabel Macdonald works for the watchdog group Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting. She says TV appearances and book reviews used to be the main way authors promoted their work.
MACDONALD: But with the rise of the Internet and the blogosphere, we've really seen books take off without any reviews very rapidly.
LAWRENCE: Bugliosi claims he's the victim of a media blackout.
(on-camera): You don't choose that title without knowing that you're going for some shock value, and with that shock value, a lot of people will say, this is just a sensationalistic book that talks about something that will never happen.
BUGLIOSI: I've had national coverage for every one of my other books. This is the first time. People are extremely interested in this book, but they're terrified of it.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): But is it fear or fatigue? A long list of writers have done media tours while taking their own shots at the president. Most recently, former White House spokesman Scott McClellan.
But Bugliosi is the first mainstream author to publicly accuse President Bush of murder.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Pasadena.
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CHETRY: Back in May, CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" was pitched on interviewing Bugliosi about his book. The show did pass on the offer.
ROBERTS: Going to the mattresses. Fallout from the IndyMac failure as the Feds put it back in business this morning.
Plus, CNN exclusive -- in the pace car with Cindy McCain.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's my pleasure.
CINDY MCCAIN, JOHN MCCAIN'S WIFE: So much fun for me.
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ROBERTS: The possible first lady on one of her first loves.
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MCCAIN: I'm just like everybody else. Certain things excite me. Racing is one of them.
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ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
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ROBERTS: Just four minutes now until the top of the hour. Breaking this morning, word that Senator Barack Obama will visit the West Bank during a swing through the Middle East next week. That is coming from the Palestinian official.
Obama is also expected to visit Israel. The senator is also laying out his plan for Iraq. In a "New York Times" op-ed this morning, he says the same factors that led him to oppose the surge still hold true.
Obama talked about troop withdrawals with CNN's Fareed Zakaria for Fareed's new program "GPS."
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FAREED ZAKARIA, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": If we were to leave Iraq entirely, would that not cede the field to them and allow Iran to consolidate its gains in the region and in the country?
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think so. Look, the -- first of all, I have never talked about leaving the field entirely. What I've said is that we would get our combat troops out of Iraq. That we would not have permanent bases in Iraq.
I've talked about maintaining a residual force there to ensure that al Qaeda does not reform in Iraq. That we're making sure that we are providing logistical support and potential training to Iraqi forces, so long as we're not training sectarian armies that are then fighting each other, to protect our diplomats, to protect humanitarian efforts in the region.
So, nobody's talking about abandoning the field.
ZAKARIA: That might be a large force.
OBAMA: Well, it -- you know, I'm going to make sure that we determine, based on conditions on the ground, how we effectively carry out those limited, temporary missions.
This is going to be a messy affair. There's no elegant and easy solutions to what I believe has been an enormous strategic blunder by this administration.
We're going to have to work our way through it. There are going to be -- there's going to be progress in some areas. There is going to be slippage in others.
What we do have to make certain of is that, by creating a phased withdrawal in Iraq, that we are mounting the sort of diplomacy and reaching out to our allies in ways that actually strengthen our ability to isolate Iran, if it continues to pursue what are unacceptable foreign policy decisions by their leadership.
ZAKARIA: But you could imagine a situation where, if the Iraqi government wanted it, 30,000 American troops are still in Iraq 10 years from now.
OBAMA: You know, I have been very careful not to put numbers on what a residual force would look like. What I am absolutely convinced of is that, to maintain permanent bases, to have ongoing combat forces, to have an open-ended commitment of the sort that John McCain and George Bush have advocated, is a mistake.
ZAKARIA: If U.S. forces in Afghanistan captured Osama bin Laden, what would you do with him, and you were president?
OBAMA: Well, I think that, if he was -- if he was captured alive, then we would make a decision to bring the full weight of not only U.S. justice, but world justice down on him. And I think that -- and I've said this before -- that I am not a cheerleader for the death penalty. I think it has to be reserved for only the most heinous crimes. But I certainly think plotting and engineering the death of 3,000 Americans justifies such an approach.
Now, I think this is a big hypothetical, though. Let's catch him first.
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ROBERTS: And a reminder that you can catch "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" every Sunday at 1:00 Eastern here on CNN.
CHETRY: Well, there are new details this morning about the attack on a U.S. base in Afghanistan that left nine American soldiers dead and 15 others hurt.