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Obama Focuses on Relationship Between U.S. and Europe; Battleground Ohio: McCain Returns to Key State; Foreclosure Suicide; Rapper 50 Cent Suing Taco Bell

Aired July 24, 2008 - 14:00   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kyra Phillips, at the Time Warner Center in New York. And you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Building bridges across the Atlantic. Just moments ago, Barack Obama spoke to a big crowd in the heart of Germany's capital. The Democratic presidential candidate vowed to rebuild the once ironclad relationship between the U.S. and its European allies if he's elected president. And he talked about the challenges that both sides face in a dangerous world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The fall of the Berlin Wall brought new hope, but that very closeness has given rise to new dangers, dangers that cannot be contained within the borders of a country or by the distance of an ocean. Think about it. The terrorists of September 11th plotted in Hamburg and trained in Kandahar and Karachi before killing thousands from all over the globe on American soil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley joins us now live from Berlin.

You know, it's interesting, Candy. We were talking about how much content would be in this speech. Very lyrical, as you pointed out, but powerful.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It was. Listen, this is where Barack Obama excels, is in this kind of speech to this kind of crowd. Certainly, he went over as well here as he did in the arena in Minnesota, or in Austin, Texas.

Listen, this was his campaign speech, not the exact words, but semantically, totally parallel to his campaign. And that is, when you heard him say, "People of the world, this is our moment." That is his catch phrase when he is talking to U.S. voters, saying, this is our moment, this is our time. So this was very much a campaign speech aimed every bit as much to the U.S., as it was to the people in this crowd.

But probably the two meatiest things -- and honestly, as you point out, there was not much meat here -- but telling NATO to step up to the plate in Afghanistan, saying, you have got as much stake in Afghanistan as the United States does, so you need to step up to the plate here. Also saying, you know, despite our differences here over Iraq, you've got a stake in seeing that this country gets back on its feet, that the millions of refugees can return to a home that's been rebuilt.

So, there were challenges in there for Europe. There was, as well, a promise for kind of a new era of cooperation across the Atlantic on any host of things.

I mean, he talked about Darfur. He talked about global warming. He talked about international trade. So he sort of went through a laundry list of the various challenges that are out there and said, listen, no one country, no matter how powerful it is, can do this, so we've got to work together.

And again, that's a parallel -- I mean, a direct parallel to what goes on in the United States when he says, it's not Republicans, it's not Democrats, we can't do anything unless we all come together. So, really, he took his campaign speech and just superimposed it over Europe and delivered it here -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Now, being the political guru that you are, Candy, I want to ask you, this one part of his speech -- and you know -- and it's true -- stood out to me where he said, "The walls between the countries with the most and those with the least cannot stand. The walls between races and tribes, natives and immigrants, Christian and Muslim and Jew, cannot stand. These now are the walls that must tear down."

I was seeing Ronald Reagan and his famous line about, "Tear down that wall" to Mikhail Gorbachev. And then I was hearing Bobby Kennedy and his speech about poverty and race relations.

CROWLEY: And he would be very pleased to hear that, because that's why they picked this particular spot in Berlin, because Berlin and the U.S. do have a history. And he went through a very long list of all the times that the U.S. and Germany, not always on the same side, as we know, have come together.

He talked about when the wall came down. As you know, JFK was also here with the famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" speech. So they chose Berlin and the heart of Europe for a very real reason, and that was that it symbolizes the sort of thing he would like to do.

We were talking to some people over in London earlier, before we came here, who said, you know, "The buzz about him is, oh my goodness, there is so much talk here he's another JFK." Well, the campaign will be over the moon if they come back from this and that's how it's seen back in the States.

But I have to tell you that there is some danger here. We don't know yet how this looks back in the United States to voters because it hasn't had time to sink in because this trip is ongoing. But if -- do people see him as too presumptuous, sort of trying to look like a president? He's now very careful to say, I come to you as a U.S. citizen, but then we hear the campaign speech, so we know obviously that this is also directed very much to people back home.

So I'm not sure how it's going to play overseas -- I mean, I'm sorry, back in the U.S. But I do know that when he is on the campaign trail, in the U.S., one of the biggest applause lines is when he promises to heal rifts between the U.S. and nations overseas. And that's what this entire event, which was very well staged, this entire event was aimed at the U.S., saying, this is what I'm talking about, I can heal these relations.

So that's the message they want to pick up and walk out of Berlin with.

PHILLIPS: Candy Crowley live from Berlin.

Thank you so much.

Now, another day, another battleground state. After campaigning in Pennsylvania, John McCain is paying another visit to Ohio. The Republican presidential candidate's focus today, the economy.

CNN's Mary Snow joins me now with more of McCain's latest stop.

We thought he was going to focus on health care, but he really didn't, did he?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No. You know, he met with small business leaders, and, you know, this has been a week for him trying to gain some attention.

So today, while he was in Columbus, he kept with the German theme, while Barack Obama was over in Berlin, visited a German restaurant, met with small business owners. What he's been trying to do is hammer home domestic issues: the economy, energy. And today, he was supposed to be in Louisiana, at an -- in an oil rig to show his support for offshore drilling. But that had to be canceled because of the weather.

But while, you know, McCain is trying to bring home this message that he is focusing on bread and butter issues in America's heartland, but he also has been very critical, as we've heard all week, of Barack Obama, particularly when it comes to Iraq. So he's been hammering both themes, but clearly having to give up so much of the spotlight this week.

PHILLIPS: Well, it's interesting you mentioned Iraq and Obama's speech in Berlin. When he mentioned ending the war, the crowd just went crazy. I mean, there were certain moments where they got really excited, and that was one of those moments.

Let me ask you -- John McCain, there was talk that he was going to maybe reveal a vice presidential nominee to join the ticket to kind of distract from Barack Obama's speech in Berlin. But we didn't get anything today, did we?

SNOW: We didn't. And you know, he's been asked about it for the past couple of days now, because these rumors had kind of surfaced, would he do that? In each interview, he keeps saying, you know, he doesn't want to talk about it, he can't talk about it just yet. So it's been a bit of a tease.

He is taking on though some high-profile guests along the schedule. Just added the Dalai Lama. He's going to be meeting with him in Colorado.

And tonight...

PHILLIPS: That's a smart move. Bring along the Dalai Lama on the campaign trail. That's like bringing Mother Theresa.

(LAUGHTER)

SNOW: Certainly going to get headlines with that one, right?

PHILLIPS: Yes, he is.

SNOW: And Lance Armstrong tonight. Both of them are cancer survivors, so he's going to be meeting with him in Ohio tonight.

PHILLIPS: All right. Fantastic. We'll follow it.

So maybe, possibly a VP, hint of a VP choice? No. OK.

SNOW: No, not so much.

PHILLIPS: We're going to have to wait a while.

SNOW: He's been a little coy about it.

PHILLIPS: OK.

SNOW: But I think we're just going to have to wait.

PHILLIPS: Mary Snow, thanks.

SNOW: Sure.

PHILLIPS: And we are expecting some video to come in soon. He made himself available to the press there in Ohio. We'll bring that to you as soon as we get it.

President Bush declares a major disaster in south Texas, even before recovery teams and residents can size up the damage. What's left of Hurricane Dolly is still dumping a lot of rain on the region there and spawned a possible tornado in San Antonio, Texas. But the levees appear to be holding along the Rio Grande. That's good news.

Governor Rick Perry plans to take look at that damage next hour. We'll bring that to you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

PHILLIPS: Issue #1: Washington tackles the housing crunch. It's the Senate's turn to consider the housing bill designed to help 400,000 people avoid foreclosure and to prevent the collapse of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The House passed the bill easily late yesterday, and suspected to pass the Senate soon. Once Congress approves, President Bush says he will sign it into law.

Now, San Diego is taking lenders to court to try to stop a wave of foreclosures. The city attorney has actually filed suit against Bank of America and Countrywide to stop foreclosure action. He says that he's planning similar suits against Wells Fargo, Wachovia and Washington Mutual. He says that he wants San Diego to become what he calls a mortgage sanctuary, and he's trying to persuade lenders to negotiate instead of foreclosing.

Now, stick with me next hour. We're actually going to talk to him. San Diego's city attorney will be my guest to talk about his legal strategy to put an end to foreclosures in his city.

Now, we brought you that speech by Barack Obama in Berlin, that pretty powerful speech addressing everything from nuclear weapons, to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, to the economy, even going back to 1948 and talking about the Berlin airlift. A powerful speech on race relations and bringing that country and Europe allies one-on-one with the United States.

Well, John McCain also hammering it today. He was in Ohio. Let's listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm here with Senator Lindsey Graham. And we just had the opportunity of having lunch at Schmidt's Sausage House. In interest of full disclosure, it is no relation to Steve Schmidt, who is part of our campaign, as we know.

We had the opportunity of having lunch with a number of our small business owners and entrepreneurs, and listened to their views of the challenges that they face in our economy: health care, the price of gasoline, et cetera. And so we continue to talk with businesspeople all over America.

I don't have any additional comments except I'm ready to answer your questions.

QUESTION: Senator, (INAUDIBLE), "Associated Press."

In about half an hour, Senator Obama's going to speak in Berlin. You're in front of a German restaurant. Is this...

MCCAIN: With American voters.

QUESTION: Is this just a happy coincidence, or are you trying to make a point?

MCCAIN: Well, I'd love to give a speech in Germany to -- a political speech, or a speech that maybe the German people would be interested in, but I'd much prefer to do it as president of the United States, rather than as a candidate for the office of presidency.

And so we're going to be campaigning across the heartland of America and talking about the issues that are challenging America today. And I'm sorry we were unable to go to an offshore oil rig, because I think the drilling offshore is a vital step in addressing the price of oil and America's energy needs. And I hope that Senator Obama will change his position and support offshore drilling.

We need to do it. I'm sorry that the Congress is gridlocked again. Again, the Congress is gridlocked.

The speaker has announced they won't even have a vote on offshore drilling. And the majority leader of the Senate has the Senate gridlocked because they won't allow the Republican Party to propose their amendments.

Again, no wonder Congress has a 9 percent approval rating. When I'm president, we'll all sit down together and solve this. We need to do it sooner rather than later.

QUESTION: Senator McCain, Elizabeth Holmes (ph) from "The Wall Street Journal."

MCCAIN: Who else has a question?

Yes, go ahead, please.

QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE), CNN.

Senator Barack Obama said in an interview with Brian Williams that he was disappointed by the language for you to suggest that he doesn't -- for him to somehow suggest that he's less concerned about the safety of his wife and daughter was unfortunate.

Do you have a comment to that? And does that -- is that in keeping with your, you know, cleaner campaign, more -- less personal attacks?

MCCAIN: I think it's very clear that I said at the most difficult times that I would rather lose a political campaign than lose a war. And that's very clear. A lot of people said that it might doom my candidacy for president of the United States or the nomination of my party.

It is very clear that Senator Obama took the far left position. It's very clear that Senator Obama does not understand what's at stake here, what was at stake in Iraq. And his refusal to acknowledge that the surge has succeeded is, again, a graphic demonstration of his lack of understanding of national security issues, but this one in particular.

No rational observer could look at the situation in Iraq today and compare it with two years ago and say the surge hasn't succeeded. So it's pretty obvious that he's taken this position in order to secure the nomination of his party by taking the far left position and being dictated to by MoveOn.org and others, and does not understand that the future of America's security rests on the success of the surge, for having that same strategy employed in Afghanistan, and the future withdrawals of American troops being based on conditions.

So all of us care about our children. I'm sure that every American does. The point is that Senator Obama doesn't have an understanding of what was at stake with the surge, what is at stake in the future, for the security of this nation.

I stand by my comments. And I think the record authenticates it.

QUESTION: Senator?

MCCAIN: Yes, sir?

QUESTION: Jeff Mason (ph) from Reuters.

MCCAIN: Yes, Jeff (ph)?

A question about relations with Europe after the Iraq war, that it hurt relations between the U.S. and Europe a little bit.

How do you assess relations now, and how would you work on relations with Europe as president?

MCCAIN: Well, let me just say that I have very good relations with many of the European leaders. I've had many meetings with Chancellor Merkel over the years. I have visited with President Sarkozy. He has visited with me in Washington. The same thing goes with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and others.

So I know them well. It's not my first meeting with them, or leaders in Israel, and the Palestinians, certainly, Mahmoud Abbas.

So I know them. I know their relations. And I'm very happy that a lot of these new leaders in Europe, particularly in France and Germany, are much more pro-American than their predecessors were. That's just a fact.

So I intend to work with them. I know them. We have common cause in trying to prevent the Iranians from acquiring nuclear weapons. And I'm glad to see a lot of European cooperation on that issue.

And so I know them well. I have relations with them for many years standing. And they're important, particularly in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan is a NATO-involved operation. NATO plays a key role. And we need to have more involvement of NATO, as well as greater United States involvement.

Elizabeth (ph).

QUESTION: Senator McCain, you're going to meet tomorrow with the Dalai Lama in Aspen?

MCCAIN: Yes. QUESTION: Curious how that meeting came up and what you're looking to get from him.

MCCAIN: It came up because we arranged the meeting, and a mutually-agreed to meeting. I've been a great admirer of the Dalai Lama, and I look forward to the opportunity of meeting an individual who is a transcendent international role model and hero. And I have admired him and respected him for the efforts he's made on behalf of freedom of the people of Tibet, but also all over the world.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're out of time.

MCCAIN: Thank you very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: You know, it's interesting. John McCain there talking about how he's going to connect with the Dalai Lama. And in the background, it sounds like Tibetan prayer bells ringing. It was sort of hard to hear the senator there. We apologize for that.

But he is actually in Ohio, a key battleground state for him. He's campaigning. He was meeting with small business owners, talking about the economy, but he also addressed reporters about Barack Obama's speech in Berlin. And he was talking about his relationship with European allies, in particular, time that he has spent there in Germany, navigating a relationship with Germans.

And also, he took a moment also to criticize Barack Obama for his policy on Iraq, saying once again, he sees his refusal to acknowledge that the surge has worked, and that goes to show that he is just not ready and prepared when it comes to foreign policy.

So Barack Obama speaking in Berlin. A large turnout.

John McCain working the battleground state of Ohio there, about to connect with the Dalai Lama. Also, he'll be moving on to Columbus for a cancer summit, where he'll be connecting with Lance Armstrong.

So we're keeping track of both presidential candidates.

Also, all the efforts to help people navigate the mortgage crisis, that's coming too late for one Massachusetts woman. And the scariest part? Well, no one knew that she was in trouble until they found her dead body.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, it's a story about financial hardship and financial tragedy. A Massachusetts woman who handled her family's finances killed herself this week, just hours before the bank foreclosed on the family home.

CNN's Deb Feyerick has been following the story for us.

Obviously, desperate times and desperate measures. And they didn't even find her body until they went into the foreclosed home?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, here's what happened.

This poor woman, we don't know what else was going on in her life. We don't know what other issues she had. But they had fallen very far behind that their mortgage payments. They had even filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

What happened is, is that, 2:30, hours before the home was about to be auctioned off at a foreclosure auction, the woman sent a fax to the mortgage company, basically saying that by the time the auction started, they would find her dead. It's not clear how much time elapsed between when the mortgage company found that note on their fax machine, but they immediately alerted police officers.

The police officers went to the home to do a well-being check, and that's when they found her dead, a single gunshot wound. She had killed herself, she had left a suicide note. She also killed her three beloved cats. That's how desperate she was.

We did speak to the police chief. And here's what he told us about the note.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF RAYMOND O'BERG, TAUNTON, MASS. POLICE: They found a suicide note. I won't go into everything. But one of the parts said, take the insurance money and pay the mortgage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And the husband says that he didn't know -- I mean, he had filed for bankruptcy three times, right? And he said he didn't know this was coming?

FEYERICK: Well, he had. But there was also an issue as to whether -- he had handed over the power of attorney to his wife, so it's not clear just how much he knew. What he didn't know, it appears, is that the home was about to be auctioned off.

When the police went into the house, there were no boxes that had been packed. Nothing to make it seem as if, in fact, they were just days away from losing their house.

So whether -- that's the secret she kept. But she did leave a suicide note.

We spoke to the husband and he read part of it to us. And it basically says, "Please give John time to get things together. You wouldn't do it for me."

This is the fax actually that she sent to the company.

She said, "You wouldn't do anything for me. Let's hope you will help him. This has been a long-kept secret of mine. No one was helpful and I didn't understand. Please give him a chance to keep this house."

So she was just so desperate trying to juggle the family's finances, trying to make everything appear that it was OK, that nothing was going to go wrong. And in fact, it went very, very wrong.

And the husband believes that when people began showing up on the property for the auction in order to put bids on the home, that's what triggered the whole thing, that she had just reached the end of the rope.

PHILLIPS: It's hard to think. You know, you're losing your personal belongings, and it's tough time for people now. They can't get to work because of gas prices, they're losing their homes.

It's a shame, Deb. But I appreciate the report.

Well, stay with CNN. You can see Deb's full report on the story coming up in "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer. That's starting at 4:00 Eastern Time.

Now, straight ahead, Latinos presented him a problem in the Democratic primary season, but Barack Obama has been doing his best to reach out. Is it working? A new poll has the answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Latino voters overwhelming supported Barack Obama's opponent, Hillary Clinton, during the Democratic primary season. Now a shift as Obama battles Republican John McCain.

Our Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider has some new poll numbers to tell us about.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): How important is the Latino vote this year?

OBAMA: This election could well be decided by Latino voters.

SCHNEIDER: That's why Barack Obama and John McCain both showed up three weeks in a row this summer to speak to Latino political organizations. OK, so who's ahead? A new poll from the Pew Hispanic Center shows Obama with a huge lead, nearly 3 to 1 among Latinos nationwide.

Does McCain have problems with Latino voters?

MCCAIN: I will honor their contributions to America for as long as I live.

SCHNEIDER: Latinos have a mixed opinion of McCain. Their big problem is with President Bush.

Bush carried about 40 percent of the Latino vote in 2004. His popularity with Latinos is now down to 27 percent. And Obama? Seventy-six percent favorable, which makes him a little more popular than Hillary Clinton, who trounced Obama among Latino voters in the Democratic primaries.

Is Obama having problems winning over Clinton's Latino supporters? Apparently not. The poll shows Obama doing better with Latino Clinton supporters than with white Clinton supporters.

McCain has made an effort to reach out to Latinos on the immigration issue.

MCCAIN: I and many other colleagues twice attempted to pass comprehensive immigration legislation to fix our broken borders.

SCHNEIDER: Which candidate do Latinos believe would be better for immigrants? Obama, who also supports comprehensive immigration reform. About a third of Latinos rate the two candidates the same on immigration.

Will Latinos vote for an African-American candidate? No evidence of a problem here. Thirty-two percent of Latinos say the fact that Obama is black will help him with Latino voters. Only 11 percent believe it will hurt him.

(on camera): The big factor among Latinos is party. Increasing numbers of Latino voters call themselves Democrats. When asked which party is better for Hispanics, Democrats lead Republicans by 10 to 1.

Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well, the hits keep on coming in Motown, but this isn't the happy billboard chart topping kind. This is the auto manufacturer losing billions of dollars kind.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, Ford Motor Company still working to find its way forward. The automaker posts its biggest quarterly loss ever, but it has a plan to transform its vehicle lineup. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with the details.

Hey, Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra.

And when we talking about ever, we're talking about Ford's 105- year history -- $9 billion in just three months. Lousy sales, had to write down more of its assets. What Ford is going to do is bring six small European models to North America by 2012. And what it's going to do it start making smaller cars in facilities here.

Also, Ford says that not only are sales going to be lousy this year, but through next year. Ford shares are getting pummelled, down 14 percent. GM is down 12 percent. And check out the big board.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

LISOVICZ: We'll have more details about that in the next hour, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Sounds good, Susan. We'll talk to you then.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama is at the head of a swell of positive expectations for Democrats in November. But two prominent party leaders say they need to guard against irrational exuberance.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Leading our Political Ticker, a warning from Democratic leaders to fellow party leaders: watch out for irrational exuberance. Senator Chuck Schumer and the Congressman Chris Van Hollen are the party's campaign heads, and they say Democrats have a lot to be enthusiastic about in the November election. But while they are optimistic, they say many of the congressional races will be in areas that aren't usually favorable to Democrats.

And the Republican National Committee has launched what it calls a victory 2008 tour. It's aimed at building grassroots support to help John McCain and Republican candidates for the House and Senate win in November. The tour focuses on key battle ground states including Michigan, Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania.

Barack Obama maintains a slight lead over John McCain. In our latest national poll of polls, 47 percent of registered voters surveyed said that they support Obama, 43 percent back McCain, 10 percent were undecided. A week ago, Obama led by six points.

The poll of polls is an average of three different surveys.

Cell phones are ubiquitous. But some of us don't even have land lines anymore. That's why it's so scary when a leading cancer researcher warns that cell phones could be dangerous. You'll want to hear this report.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: There's a warning out today about the safety of cell phones. Like earlier warnings, it's based largely as supposition. But this one comes from the head of a prominent cancer center. He's telling his faculty and staff not to wait for a definitive study to come out and he says they should limit cell phone use now because of the possible risk of cancer. And he is especially concerned about children and cell phones.

Here's our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: These are some pretty startling recommendations coming out of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. Some of that sort of relies on what has been accepted in the medical community for sometime, that there simply isn't a long-term evidence to say that cell phones are dangerous. Well, there's also not enough evidence to say that they're safe. And that's sort of at the heart of all this. Just how safe are they?

We may not have some definitive answers for sometime. A lot of the recommendations were actually focused on children in part, because they have smaller brains and because -- in part because they have softer brains, and some of this electromagnetic radiation could be more easily penetrate the brains.

Again, this all makes sense, but is very difficult to prove. As we've been doing some research on this, we found an article from "Epidemiology" earlier this year which showed that children who use cell phones before the age of seven risk hyperactivity and other behavioral problems -- their risk of that increase by almost 20 percent.

There are lots of different studies out there. What the industry will say, the wireless industry, they released some statements specifically saying, " ... the overwhelming majority of studies ... show wireless phones do not pose a health risk."

Now there are lots of different suggestions, things that you can do about this. Dr. Keith Black, for example, who is the chairman of neurosurgery at Cedars, suggests always using a wired earpiece, which is something that he does. There has also been concern, for example, for pregnant women for the same reason there are concerns about children. Could an undeveloped fetus be at more risk, specifically to (ph) this electromagnetic radiation?

So what do you do with all this information at home? What do you make of the University of Pittsburgh's new recommendations?

Here are some things that we have been recommending for sometime. Limit your cellular minutes. I think that's always a good idea. Use a headset, or connect to a remote antenna. And put some time limits on children. Try not to sleep with your cell phone underneath your pillow. And also, switch side to side as much as you can, that should limit your exposure as well.

Some people say text. Just text, if you can do nothing else.

We will have much more on this again. Some startling recommendations out of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Center this morning. A lot of responses to it as well. We'll share that with you when we get it.

Back to you for now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: All right. Chad Myers, I understand things are picking up in Texas, that tornado warning. What do we think?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, another one for Bexar County. This is really from San Antonio and the west side of San Antonio Proper. This storm has been spinning for a while now. The Weather Service finally put the tornado warning out.

This is out by the Leon Springs, Leon Valley area on the west. It is not moving into downtown San Antonio, it's actually moving away from downtown. But certainly -- still the rotation on the Doppler Radar of concern.

And now we have some video here of Epsom, New Hampshire. We knew that this town was hit by a tornado earlier and now you can actually see the damage. The tree tops ripped off, power lines down and actually one house was completely destroyed. I don't know the quality of the home. I don't know what it looked like before the tornado. That's how you can't tell if it's an F-0, 1, 2 or 3 because you have to know how strong the structure was in the first place.

This is just brand-new video coming in. And we will see this, we will turn this video, because there are other good pictures of other damage. There you see -- this is how we know it's a tornado. You don't get that kind of damage without twisting the tree tops right off the top of the trees. If it was just going to be a straight line wind damage storm, those trees would just have been knocked over, not twisted off or almost bitten off, like it almost looks like right there.

An ugly scene there in Epsom, New Hampshire. We'll keep you advised. About 50 homes right now have been damaged -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right. Mother Nature is a powerful woman.

Thanks, Chad.

MYERS: Sure.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, HIV has devastated communities all around the world. And in the United States, African-Americans have been the hardest hit. A look at what's being done and what more can be done.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The African-American community faces a real challenge when it comes HIV/AIDS. The Centers for Disease Control goes so far as to say it's a crisis. And according to the data, blacks make up 13 percent of the population, but account for 50 percent of new HIV/AIDS diagnoses. It's an issue on the agenda at the Race Reconciliation Conference that is being held in Washington, and it is an issue that Dr. Helene Gayle has made her life's work. Dr. Gale heads up the humanitarian group CARE and is taking part in that conference.

Great to see you again, Dr. Gayle.

DR. HELENE GAYLE, PRESIDENT, CARE: Thank you. Great to be on, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Let's start with -- let's talk about the conference -- the Race and Reconciliation Conference. And you're going to be speaking specifically on HIV/AIDS. Why is it still so prevalent among African-Americans?

GAYLE: I think the issue is as complicated as the issues of race and racism themselves. Clearly we know from the data that African- Americans are disproportionately impacted. And I think it is rooted in many of the issues that we're talking about today. It's rooted in lack of equal access, lack of access to education. I think it's rooted in some of the issues of feeling marginalized and excluded that come with the experience of being African-American here.

I feel like it also comes from the fact that there's been a real neglect of this issue, both within the African-American community itself, but also on the part of national leaders who have a responsibility to the health of our nation. I think we've forgotten about this epidemic at home, we've forgotten about the impact it is having on African-Americans, and I think we've got to redouble our efforts if we want to have an impact on reducing the spread of HIV here at home for all, but particularly for African-Americans who are disproportionately impacted.

PHILLIPS: And how do you do that? How do you get African- Americans -- how do you get these communities where it's so prevalent to pay attention, to do something about it, to act?

GAYLE: Well, I think first and foremost, we've got to get the issue back on the table. We have to have an open and honest dialogue about the issues that lead to risk and vulnerability for HIV, those are issues related to sex and drug use and issues that we don't want to talk about often. So I think we have to have an open and honest dialogue.

We need resources. We need resources that are directed to the right communities and are put in the hands of the communities so that they can find solutions that make a difference. And I think in the African-American community, it means involving the community itself, including all of the organizations and -- civic organizations, faith organizations -- that have such a huge impact on the African-American community.

But it starts with having an open and honest dialogue and having the services, the access to information, the access to all the things that we know can make a difference, like getting tested. We know that most people who are infected with HIV in this country still don't know it. So it means they can continue to spread. It means getting access to drug treatment so that people who are on drugs can get off of drugs. Getting other sexually transmitted diseases treated and access to treatment because that has a huge impact.

It also means dealing with a sensitive issue of sex and sexuality, including same-sex behavior that is poor. We know that young African-American men, particularly men who have sex with men, are really being hard hit by this epidemic. And if we don't talk about that, we're not going to be able to find solutions.

PHILLIPS: I can't think of a better person to be talking about it. The Race and Reconciliation Conference there in D.C. -- it folds in perfectly to our "Black in America."

You're an amazing woman, Dr. Gayle and you have broken so many barriers and done so many great things. We're going to continue to follow your work. Thanks so much.

GAYLE: Thank you. Thanks.

PHILLIPS: It's an unparalleled television event. CNN's "Black in America." Don't miss the second part of this ground-breaking documentary. It is tonight at 9:00 Eastern only on CNN.

Straight ahead, around the world, the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is a burr on the U.S. diplomatic saddle. Both presidential candidates say they would close it. We were granted unprecedented access to the prison complex and Jamie McIntyre will take you inside Gitmo.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: The Olympic games, just two weeks away. One nation that will not be represented in Beijing is Iraq. Its seven Olympic athletes have officially been banned. The reason? Political interference, according to the International Olympic Committee. Which charges the Iraqi government with undermining the sports movement there. This reaction came from an Iraqi Olympic track-and-field coach.

"It's a shame after all the efforts, ambitions, risks and dangers. I wish, I wish, I wish from the bottom of my heart they would reconsider this unjust decision for the sake of the athletes."

In the Iraq war a grim milestone, an Air Force sergeant, a woman, died last week -- the 100th U.S. female service member to die in Iraq since the war began. We're using figures provided by the Pentagon by the way. The latest death comes during what is on track to be the lowest monthly fatality toll in Iraq. So far in July, nine U.S. troops either died or were killed in hostile action there. Of the 100 military women to die in Iraq, 80 of them were members of the U.S. Army.

Now to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. An exclusive look inside Camp Delta. That's where the worst of the worst terror detainees are held.

Our CNN senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, got an unprecedented inside look and gives us a tour of the U.S.-run prison.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Down a cool, dim hallway, behind a remote-controlled steel door --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Open, Bravo 111. I repeat, Bravo 111.

MCINTYRE: -- is a prison cell that holds what the Pentagon likes to label the worst of the worst. (on camera): I'm actually inside a high-security cell in Camp 5 (ph). This is the kind of cell detainees are kept in. This one set up for display purposes. It's 12 feet by 8 feet. You can see it has a sink and a toilet.

Behind me, you can see a window that you can see light through. But it's not the kind of window you can actually see outside. It's been made opaque (ph). And behind me, these are the items you get if you're in compliance -- prayer rug, a couple of sets of shoes, a light brown uniform, extra blanket.

These are the items you get if you're not in compliance -- prayer rug, some religious items, pair of flip-flops and the famous orange jumpsuit.

(voice-over): This is the recreation yard, where even the hard core cases get up to three hours of outside activity. With a exercise mat, a soccer ball and Gitmo's version of a treadmill. There's even an arrow pointing to Mecca. But you won't see any prisoners in this video. The military restrictions on photography are draconian. All images must be digital so military censors can delete the ones they don't approve of. That includes any faces of detainees and any security measures, including locks towers. So any glimpse into the shadowy world of Gitmo, is just that. Only a glimpse.

Jamie McIntyre, CNN, inside Camp Delta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Well new estimates on the amount of oil sitting under the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, could reframe the argument.

Poppy Harlow will tell us all about it in today's Energy Fix. .

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well it's a hot topic about a very cold place. A new government report says that the arctic has enough oil to supply the U.S. for 12 years.

CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our Energy Fix from New York.

Hey, Poppy.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hey, Kyra.

Well, we've been talking a lot about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR. So, it's easy to get this confused.

But, today, we're talking about the entire arctic, not just ANWR, which is U.S. property. What we know now is that the arctic contains more potential energy resources than previously thought. There's an estimated 90 billion barrels of oil, or 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil there. And there's even more potential for natural gas. New report from the U.S. Geological Survey estimates about 30 percent of the world's undiscovered gas is in the arctic. And Kyra, most of those resources are actually off shore, which you know can present quite a problem.

PHILLIPS: All right. So the problem, I imagine, is that these resources are not easy to access, right?

HARLOW: Not easy to access at all.

Plus, a lot of the resources are not even in U.S. territory, but in the areas off the shores of Canada, Russia, Greenland and Denmark. As you can imagine, there's a lot of dispute over who actually owns what's up there.

If you take a look here, here's where Santa Clause is. Let's just point to that. That's the North Pole, right? So this is the whole arctic. A lot of it is not off U.S. shores. Here is Greenland over here. And we have Canada here, the U.S. Here. But this green area, right off of Alaska, is where a lot of the oil supply is. That's the focus here right now. Most of the natural gas though, Kyra, that is off of Russia.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, when you use the words drilling and Alaska in the same sentence, it's bound to spark a lot of controversy?

HARLOW: Of course. There's a lot of controversy.

Just also beyond the territorial disputes here. Ironically, one of the reasons there's more access to this oil now is because the ice shelves have been melting, something many blame on global warming because of oil consumption. And of course, the biggest concern is that producing more oil may even make us more reliant on fossil fuels, meaning some more environmental damage. So, it really all comes full circle here. But it's interesting, this report coming out last night saying, hey, there might be a lot more oil then we think.

We have more of this on our web site. You see it at the bottom of your screen, CNNMoney.com -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Poppy, thanks.

HARLOW: You're welcome.

PHILLIPS: Well, a $4 million lawsuit over small change. Why is rapper 50 cent so upset that Taco Bell suggesting that he change his name? 79 cent? That's kind of catchy, right.

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PHILLIPS: So, how much is rapper 50 Cent worth? He says $4 million and he's filing a lawsuit to prove it. The performer, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, claims that Taco Bell is illegally using his name in its new "Why Pay More" ad. The ad is promoting new Taco Bell fast food items that cost less than a dollar. It urges 50 Cent to change his name to 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent. Taco Bell claims it's within its rights.

The next hour of NEWSROOM starts right now.