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Barack Obama Meets with French President Nicolas Sarkozy; Rising Through the Ranks; San Diego Takes a Huge Lender to Court; One Company's Investment in the Wellness of Its Workers Paying Big Dividends
Aired July 25, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins. You'll see events coming to the NEWSROOM live on this Friday morning, July 25th. Here is what's on the run-down.
Terrifying time in the sky. A big hole in the plane. Passengers tell their stories.
HARRIS: Violent storms strike New England, homes destroyed. At least one person killed.
COLLINS: And activist group says kids who heat hot dogs could get cancer. Checking the dangers in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And at the top this morning, we are getting word from our political unit in Washington that there may be a special Saturday session of the Senate to take place tomorrow to take up a vote on the Frank Dodd bill.
You'll recall that this is the bill that provides all kinds of a package for homeowners who are struggling right now. It's also known as the Housing Bill. Also, in that legislation are provisions that will help Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. And we're hearing now that the Senate may take up in special session this piece of legislation tomorrow.
As you know, the president has decided that he will sign this piece of legislation after initially having some opposition to it. The president will sign it so it looks like this bill is moving forward in an expedited fashion. Maybe a special Saturday session for the Senate.
We will keep you posted on this.
COLLINS: Meanwhile, talk about a frightening flight. Imagine hearing a loud crack and then oxygen masks start falling aboard your flight.
That's exactly what happened on the Qantas jetliner from Hong Kong to Australia. You see the oxygen masks there. The plane lost cabin pressure due to a hole in the fuselage. The jet made an emergency landing in the Philippines.
Reporter Paul Marshall has details from Manila.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL MARSHALL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): This is the Qantas 747 on the ground at Manila airport, all 346 passengers and 19 crew off safely. And these pictures show the hole in the side. That is luggage poking through.
QF30 started in London, landed in Hong Kong, and had left for Melbourne when passengers heard an explosion.
DR. JUNE KANE, PASSENGER: There was terrific boom and bits of wood and all the debris just flew forward. It bursts. The oxygen masks were down and we were told that one of the rear doors a hole has blown in bits, but, in fact, I've since looked at the plane and there's a gigantic gaping hole on the side of the plane.
It was absolutely terrifying. But I have to say everyone was very calm.
OWEN TUDOR, PASSENGER: There was an almighty crack. And you could hear something happening. And then the oxygen masks fell down and you started dropping down. The air is popping. That sort of stuff.
MARSHALL: Qantas has said only that there is a hole in the fuselage but not what caused it.
In the 1970s, two DC-10s lost their cargo doors in flight. They came off completely. One of the planes crashed.
But from the photographs it's not a door on the Qantas plane but a piece of the fuselage that's come off. The debris flying through the cabin would have been from the depressurization. The pilots made an emergency descent and diverted to Manila.
MARINA SCAFFIDI, PASSENGER: My partner was upstairs. I thought maybe he's gone, I have no idea.
STEVE PURVINAS, AIRCRAFT ENGINEERS ASSOCIATION: We just hope that Qantas and (INAUDIBLE) will take the necessary steps to ensure that the rest of the Qantas flights are safe as well.
MARSHALL: Qantas is sending another plane to bring the passengers home.
Paul Marshall, seven...
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: An airplane catches fire during takeoff in India. All 252 passengers and crew had to escape through an emergency exit. Officials at New Delhi's main airport say the Air Mauritius pilot apparently breaks suddenly as the plane prepared to lift off and that may have sparked the fire that spreads to the jetliner's under carriage. Some people reportedly panicked. But no one was injured. HARRIS: Well, homes and lives in shambles in New Hampshire. Violent storms including possible tornadoes ripped through the state yesterday. One person was killed. About a dozen others were hurt.
The property damage widespread, at least six homes were destroyed and many homes were damaged. Trees snapped like twigs and debris is littered all over the streets there, including a couch found wrapped around a tree. OK, live pictures right now, as you can take an aerial view of some of the damage. FEMA crews are on the ground today assessing all of the damage.
And Texas still feeling the wrath of Dolly. The storm, not a tropical depression, is expected to break up today over Mexico. But it is still bringing heavy rains to south Texas. Flash flooding is a threat and isolated tornadoes are possible.
Dolly slams into eastern Texas as a Category 2 hurricane Wednesday. Tens of thousands of people are still without power. President Bush has declared 15 counties disaster area. The estimated property damage -- listen to this -- $750 million.
COLLINS: Wow. Rob Marciano standing by from the Weather Center to talk a little bit more about all of this.
Good morning to you, Rob.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: We always talk about the matchsticks that the trees have been looking like. And they really do. Just a big crumpled pile of green there. Wow.
MARCIANO: Yes. Exactly. All right, we'll get more information -- I suppose the National Weather Service will be out there later on today to put the official number on it.
HARRIS: Right.
COLLINS: Yes, like they do.
All right, very good. Rob, thank you.
MARCIANO: You got it.
HARRIS: Stocks now look set for a flat start at the open.
Stephanie Elam, "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Stephanie, I guess after today's -- well, I guess, yesterday's big sell-off, my goodness. It's like the Dow fell off a cliff here. Maybe a flat start wouldn't be such a bad way to get the day going.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's true. I do have some good news, Tony.
HARRIS: Great. ELAM: ... but I'm going to tell you that at the end.
First, let me tell you about yesterday. Yesterday we had a couple of things that really affected the markets. First of all, you had the jobless claims come in higher than expected. That did not help. And then on top of it, weak existing home sales, those numbers coming in and bringing the market down.
Let's take a look at the numbers for the close yesterday. The Dow losing 283 points. NASDAQ, off 45, S&P down 29, and you see those percentages there, not a pretty day at all. So that's where we're starting when we look at this last trading day of the week.
Now let's take a look at oil as well. Oil -- we like to usually talk about things being down in oil but not yesterday. Up a dollar.
HARRIS: Yes.
ELAM: $125.49 there so some of this coming back after those several days of going to the down side.
But gas prices -- we talk about gas prices, well, actually, they're going down. Everything's moving all over the place.
HARRIS: Yes, most prices improving.
ELAM: Those are improving, right? So now we're just barely above $4. And when you take a look at gas prices at $4.01 and just -- I mean a smidgen over that. So down two cents, now down over -- almost 11 cents from the record high that we hit on July 17th. So this is the eighth drop in a row for gas prices.
Now the other thing to talk about here, we got a new report from Realty Track taking a look at foreclosures for the second quarter.
HARRIS: Yes.
ELAM: This is not good.
HARRIS: Yes.
ELAM: We're talking about a jump of 120 percent from last year. Nearly 740,000 foreclosure filings. To make it a little bit more comparable from the first quarter, we're talking about a gain of 14 percent. But 48 states had increased numbers of filings and 95 of 100 of the largest metro areas had filings.
So at this point, they're saying the 2008 estimate for the number of foreclosures is going to have to be revised upwards because we're already so close to their target of almost 2 million is where they were looking for that to be.
So these are the things that will be taking a look at. Bank repossessions, too, for the second quarter...
HARRIS: Yes, that's right. That's right. ELAM: ... also up 220,000. So not good news there.
HARRIS: Well, Stephanie, anything encouraging, potentially, with new home sales?
ELAM: Well, we're looking for new home sales. The estimate right now is far to be less than half of a percent. Here that would be of a drop.
Of course, yesterday when we looked at existing home sales they came in weaker than expected. And that was part of the reason why we saw the Dow...
HARRIS: That's right. That's right.
ELAM: ... spiral off. But, you know, there is a little bit of good news today, Tony.
HARRIS: OK. All right.
ELAM: Wait. Let me tell you the good news. It's your birthday.
HARRIS: I got lost with...
ELAM: It's your birthday.
COLLINS: It's your birthday.
ELAM: Happy birthday. That's the good news today, Tony Harris. And it's on a Friday. Hello?
COLLINS: Yes, they were singing to him in the makeup room, Stephanie. It's beautiful.
ELAM: I like that.
COLLINS: Yes.
ELAM: I like that. Why are you making that face?
COLLINS: He is so cranky and nasty.
ELAM: Stop trying to be cranky. No, you -- no. Stop. You've got have to be happy.
HARRIS: Thank you, Stephanie.
ELAM: That's much better. I like that.
HARRIS: Love you, Stephanie.
COLLINS: We're trying to be nice here.
ELAM: I'm sending you love as well.
HARRIS: Thank you, Heidi Collins. COLLINS: Well. All right, Stephanie, we'll check back later on. Maybe he'll be happier by then.
HARRIS: Good-bye.
ELAM: Goodbye.
COLLINS: He's only had cake and everything.
Candidate watch. Barack Obama still in Europe. He's traveling from Berlin to Paris where he will meet with French president Nicholas Sarkozy today. Berlin's police say Obama drew a crowd of about 200,000 for his address in the German capital yesterday.
John McCain heads to Colorado today. He will speak at a veterans' convention and meet with the Dalai Lama.
Last night McCain got his own taste of Germany. He addressed business leaders at a German restaurant in Columbus, Ohio.
Barack Obama, talking about his world travels and foreign policy with our own Candy Crowley. We'll hear from him a little bit later on, in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Well, the race for the White House heightening. CNN's latest poll of polls now shows Barack Obama leading John McCain by only three percentage points. That' within the margin of error, it seems. 44 percent of registered voters say they support Obama, 41 percent back McCain. 15 percent of those surveyed, July 18th through July 23rd, say they are still unsure.
A week ago CNN's poll to poll showed Obama leading McCain by six points.
Is John McCain gaining ground on Barack Obama?
Here's CNN's Bill Schneider, part of the best political team on television.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice over): Where does the presidential race stand? Quinnipiac University has just come out with four new polls of battleground states. They all show some movement towards McCain since last month.
Wisconsin: Obama's lead has shrunk slightly from 13 points to 11 points. Wisconsin continues to lean Democratic. Michigan still close. Obama up by six in June, four in July. Still a tossup.
Colorado: a five-point Obama lead has shifted to a near tie. Also a tossup.
The biggest shift, Minnesota. Last month Obama led McCain by 17 points. Now the race is virtually tied. Minnesota shifts from leaning Democratic to tossup. MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Minnesota is a very unpredictable state. They elected Jesse Ventura to be their governor. You know we have a very competitive Senate race right now. We have the Republican Party pouring a lot of money and a lot of resources in there .
SCHNEIDER: The Pew national survey of Latinos shows Obama leading McCain by nearly 3-1.
PRESTON: New Mexico is heavily Hispanic. And really, Hispanics traditionally have voted for the Democratic nominee. So now that we have the Democratic primary over we don't have a split in that vote.
SCHNEIDER: New Mexico moves from leaning Republicans to tossup. With those two changes, the electoral vote count gets a little closer -- Obama, 221, McCain, 189, with 128 electoral votes in tossup states. Both candidates well shy of the 270 electoral votes needed to win.
(On camera): Most of the interviews to these polls were done before Senator Obama's trip abroad. A national poll by NBC News and the "Wall Street Journal" finds that voters nationwide see Obama as a riskier choice than McCain.
Of course, Obama calls himself the candidate of change. And change always means risks. Obama's trip is intended to reassure voters that the risk is minimal.
Is it working? We'll see in the next round of polls.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And check out our political ticker for all the latest campaign news. Just log on to CNNpolitics.com, your source for all things political.
COLLINS: Did the so-called "Spam King" become a killer? And escaped convict allegedly shoots his wife and daughter before killing himself.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: What do you say? Nice day for a game? Let's go to the ballpark. All right. A little pushing and shoving amongst the -- what was that? Hey, wait a minute. Wait a minute. You call this baseball? Looks more like brawl ball.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: Breaking news, revealing developments, see for yourself in the CNN NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: And we've got new details now about a shooting on a shooting on a college campus in Arizona. Police in Phoenix say it was the result of a long standing dispute between two men. One of them a former student. The gunman opened fire hitting a 19-year-old man and two other students on a computer lab yesterday. The 19-year-old remains in critical condition. The suspect, 22-year-old Rodney Smith, was arrested at his home. His parents and three others were also arrested for interfering with the investigation.
COLLINS: An apparent double murder-suicide. Colorado Police say a convicted spammer killed his wife and young daughter after escaping from prison.
Details now from Kyle Clark of affiliate KUSA in Bennett, Colorado.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KYLE CLARK, KUSA REPORTER (voice over): This is the house of the "Spam King," the man who committed millions of small crimes by mouse click. The man convicted of e-mailing illegal solicitation, apparently, was no fan of unwanted pitches himself.
He made that clear.
Eddie Davidson and his family once lived better than this. Bigger than this when the illegal money from his spam kingdom was still flowing. He moved his family here to this smaller house in Lakewood when it all fell apart. When the feds moved in, the indicted came.
From here, it was off to the federal prison in Florence in May, a minimum security prison, minimum enough that when his wife Amy Hill visited last Sunday he just got in her car and left.
Police say that day the couple came back to Lakewood to her parents' house, grabbed clothes, and hidden stash of money. They took off.
Was Eddie's wife a hostage or an accomplice?
Someone who claims to have spoken with Amy, somewhere around that time, says she was being taken against her will. She said Eddie was in charge and apparently intent on returning to the scene of a happier time in their life.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: They do not currently live at this residence.
CLARK: But they used to. Their old horse farm in Bennett, the beautiful colonial on the hill, the house they sold when his scheme fell apart. This is where authorities say Eddie chose to end it.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: Deputies did arrive a short time later.
CLARK: He killed his wife, shot and killed one of their daughters, shot and wounded another, who ran to safety at the neighbor's.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE OFFICER: And she gave us information about what happened.
CLARK: The U.S. attorney who put Davidson away called him a coward, saying that he imposed the death penalty on his family for his own crime.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: A baby was also inside the vehicle where the bodies were found. The baby was not injured.
HARRIS: An Oklahoma man in trouble with law, and here's why. Authorities say the driver of that silver car took off after being pulled over during a traffic stop. He led police on a high-speed chase through Oklahoma City.
Officers eventually spun him to a stop. I think you'll see that here. There we go. And then they eventually took him into custody.
Police say the suspect did hit other cars during the chase. But fortunately -- they take them down, OK -- fortunately no one was hurt.
COLLINS: A summertime favorite gets grilled. A new warning about hotdogs you're your kids. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen explains the risks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: "Making Their Mark" is sponsored by...
HARRIS: How about that, "Making Their Mark" this week, "Batman." Let's talk about the cast, the fans, "The Dark Knight" has broken box office records and generated huge amounts of buzz among movie fans.
The summer blockbuster has already racked up more than $200 million in ticket sales and expected to cruise to another $75 million -- wow -- this weekend.
We will just look past that Christian Bale family dust-up until we have more information.
COLLINS: Yes.
And what kid doesn't like "Batman" and a hotdog? But a beacon group says processed meats put kids at risk for colon cancer.
Take a look at this ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thought I'd live forever. I was dumfounded when the doctor told me I have late-stage colon cancer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Deciding between surgery and radiation wasn't easy. Who knows what sort of side effects I'll have.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's been really tough on my husband, my kids and me. Cancer affects the whole family.
UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: Cancer risks start early. Even small amounts of processed meats can lead to adult cancers. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Whoa.
Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joining us to talk a little bit more about this.
Very sobering ad, makes me wonder exactly what the source is for the information that they are getting. Always wonder about that. But, I mean, even small amounts, they're saying can lead to...
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's talk about who put this ad out.
COLLINS: ... cancer. OK.
COHEN: The group is connected to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. This is a group -- it's an animal rights groups that believes we should all be vegans. OK? So we're just going to put that right out there.
COLLINS: There you have it.
COHEN: So that says something. But, on the other hand, there is definitely some scientific evidence that links processed meats with cancer.
Let's look at the findings of a study that was done a couple of months ago.
If you eat a hot dog a day, you are increasing your cancer risk by 21 percent. Now we picked hotdogs as an illustration because it's about, you know, an ounce and a half or so, but merely, it pertains to any processed meat.
I have a processed meat collection here in front of me.
COLLINS: Lovely.
COHEN: It's lovely. Bacon, hotdogs, sausage...
COLLINS: I can smell the nitrate.
COHEN: Yes. You can definitely -- it is the nitrate. That is exactly what has been linked to cancer.
COLLINS: Yes.
COHEN: Now the American Meat Institute says, hey, these foods have a role to play for children. They are full of protein. They've got some vitamins, some amino acids, et cetera.
COLLINS: Yes. And when you think about the school lunches in this country -- that's another whole topic to be had. And I have to say if my child is eating some of this as opposed to some of the things that are served there, I don't know, I'm feeling better. Not so much the hotdogs, but maybe some of the meats there.
So are we supposed to stay away now from all processed meats?
COHEN: This is what the American Cancer Society says. Reduce how much processed meats you eat as much as possible. And the American Institute for Cancer Research says something similar -- save it for a special occasion. A slice of ham at Christmas, a hotdog at the occasional baseball game.
But the bottom line is, eat as little as possible. That's what the cancer groups say.
COLLINS: OK, now, wait. Is there some type of meat, not processed, that you can go to the grocery store and you can buy in a package that is ham or turkey or other otherwise that is safe? You just have to look at the label and you have it...
COHEN: Check the label for nitrate-free.
COLLINS: No nitrate. OK.
COHEN: That's not a guarantee that it's not linked to cancer but nitrates are what concern doctors. Nitrate-free, many would say, would be better.
COLLINS: OK. All right. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.
COHEN: Thanks.
HARRIS: A wild night at a minor league ballpark in Dayton, Ohio. Take a look at this. A big argument followed by an even bigger brawl. Look at this. The Dayton Dragons and Peoria Chiefs mixing it up in the first inning. Peoria Pitcher, Julio Castillo, even threw a baseball at the Dayton dugout.
But understand something here. Julio is in class A ball which means he's not a very good pitcher yet, which means he missed. It hit a fan. Fan taken to the hospital but he is OK. Castillo taken to jail now facing a felonious assault charge.
Fifteen players, both managers were given a he-hoe after the 10-minute fight. But the decision was reversed after both teams complained pitchers would have to play the outfield.
COLLINS: It's just disgusting.
HARRIS: That's just outrageous.
COLLINS: That's great sportsmanship there.
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: Dolly's latest stand in Texas and an East Coast storm shocker.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Bottom of the hour. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Heidi Collins. Happy birthday. We're going to say that about 700 times today.
HARRIS: Thank you, Heidi.
COLLINS: Let's get to the opening bell today. Boy, yesterday was ugly, wasn't it? Dow Jones Industrial Average is closed down 283 points and ended up at about 11,350. So, today, that's where we will be starting things off. Today going to be an interesting sort of ringing, if you will, once we get to it here.
FBI will be up on that platform, ringing the bell, in just a moment here, celebrating the bureau's 100th anniversary. Right now, things are to the positive. Oh, so far, this on tape, guys. Here you go. Just a couple of seconds, moments ago. There's the FBI. There you see. 100th anniversary for that organization.
HARRIS: Barack Obama meets with French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris today. We were up, what, 38 points. Did I catch a quick glimpse of that? OK, 38 points at the open. Obama is nearing the final leg of a whirlwind, world tour through Europe and the mid-East. This morning, he sat down with CNN's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Right now, you are about three, four points in the polls. We are a month away from your convention. We're three months away from this election. And we're sitting in Berlin. Why is that?
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESUMPTIVE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: Well, obviously, the priority in this trip was traveling to Afghanistan and Iraq, where we got enormous commitments and we've got to get that right.
Part of getting that right is having the Europeans engaged and involved in the same battle that we're involved with -- against terrorism, to make sure that we're creating a climate where nuclear weapons can't fall into the hands of terrorists, dealing with the situation in Iran, trying to broker peace in the Middle East.
All of those issues are ones where we can lead but only if we've got serious partners. And so it's very important for me to have a chance to meet with Merkel. I'll be meeting with President Sarkozy, France, today, Gordon Brown, tomorrow.
Just to deliver the message that Americans want to partner with these countries in order for us to be successful and also to relieve some of the burden on our fighting men and women in Afghanistan and Iraq.
CROWLEY: But what's the message to Americans? Because if they're sitting back there going, what is my foreclosure on my house, the gas prices, have to do with him giving a speech in Berlin? Does it -- I mean, they don't see any relationship.
OBAMA: Well, it's very specific. If we have more NATO troops in Afghanistan, then that's potentially fewer American troops over the long term, which means that we're spending fewer billions of dollars, which means we can invest those billions of dollars in making sure that we're providing tax cuts to middle-class families who are struggling with higher gas prices.
If we've got serious commitments from Europeans to deal with these energy issues in the same ways that we need to deal with them. That will have an impact on our economy. Issues of trade. Issues of the economy. All these issues are now connected in this globalized economy.
And so -- but I also wouldn't underestimate the degree to which people in Ohio or people in Michigan or people in Missouri recognize that our long-term safety and our long-term security is going to depend on how we can interact with key allies.
And, you know what, it's amazing how often I get questions from people about when are we going to be able to reassert respect in the world and that's part of the message that we're seeing here.
CROWLEY: Let me go back a couple days to your visit to Israel. We are learning that the Defense Committee in Israel has now given a green light, has to go through several more steps, but given the green light for 20 new homes in the West Bank. And your advice on that is what? Is that OK as far as the U.S. is concerned?
OBAMA: You know, as you said, we haven't seen the whole process move forward. But as a general proposition, the Israelis sitting down with the Palestinians in Annapolis and in previous agreements have recognized that these settlements are not helpful.
And I think it's important for Israelis to abide by their commitments when it comes to settlements in the same ways that the Palestinian abide by their commitments for cracking down on terrorists in the West Bank and previously in Gaza, now obviously Hamas controls Gaza. So, it makes it more difficult for Abbas to assert himself there.
But the key is for both parties to do what they say and build trust and confidence so they can move forward. And the United States has to be a significant presence in that process.
CROWLEY: So, President Obama would say what to this?
OBAMA: President Obama would say follow your commitments.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: And catch more of Candy Crowley's full interview with Senator Obama on CNN's "THE SITUATION ROOM." Senator John McCain also with Wolf. That's at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, 1:00 p.m. Pacific.
COLLINS: Let's take a moment to check the weather situation now. Rob Marciano standing by in the severe weather center. Sometimes it is the hurricane center, sometimes severe weather center and sometimes just weather center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Yes. No, it was me. It was me.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: That was you.
HARRIS: Yes, that was me.
MARCIANO: Happy birthday.
HARRIS: Yes, yes. I'm getting younger.
MARCIANO: You are looking better than ever.
HARRIS: How about that, huh?
MARCIANO: Like fine wine. It's either that or your co-anchor is sprucing you up a little bit.
HARRIS: Yes, absolutely. Come on now.
COLLINS: There you go.
MARCIANO: Happy birthday.
COLLINS: Thank you, Rob.
Rising through the ranks. The journey of an African-American soldier to the U.S. military elite. A story of struggle and determination. We will hear from them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: 60 years ago tomorrow. President Harry Truman ordered the U.S. military desegregated. This morning, a story of one African- American soldier who rose through the ranks to become a general.
Now, retired Major General Jerry Curry has written a book about his ordeal and the continued struggle of blacks in the military. He is joining us this morning from Washington.
Good morning to you. Thanks so much for being here, Major Curry.
MAJ. GEN. JERRY CURRY, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Good morning. It's good to be with you, Heidi.
COLLINS: Major General Curry, pardon me. I don't want to take away all those four stars, sir.
CURRY: Yes.
COLLINS: Listen, take us back, if you would, for just a moment to your career. You began as an enlisted man and then you rose to the highest ranked of a four-star general.
CURRY: Well, you promoted me. I really only rose to two star but, yes, I did start back in those days. Truman integrated the Army in 1948. The war had started with Korea, of course, a little later than that. And then, I ended up coming in as a private -- enlisting as a private, and worked my way up to major general before I retired.
And had some fascinating -- for example, I was at Fort Benning, Georgia. And I didn't know about segregation in the way they do it in the south. So, I get off the bus and I arrived there and here is this sign that says colored water fountain, Whites water fountain. So, you have two separate lines, you know, to drink your water out of your fountain.
And then, I go across to candidate school. I'm in school. And one of my classmate, white classmate, from -- I think it was Tennessee. He says to me, he says -- look, he said, my papi (ph) told me that the reason you black folks ride on the back of the buses is because you are inferior. And so, I thought about that one. And I said, you know, I can take this guy out permanently, I said. But if I do that, they will kick me out of officer candidate school.
COLLINS: Absolutely.
CURRY: And so, what I did was nothing. I just walked away. I let it go. I didn't say a word to anybody. But two weeks later, I was standing on the same sidewalk when the bus pulled off and my little classmate was on the bus waving goodbye at his other classmates and I waved goodbye. And he had gotten kicked out of school for academic deficiency.
COLLINS: Well, see. There you go. He got his.
CURRY: How sweet it is.
COLLINS: Yes. And you know what, we are looking at some great, great pictures right now of you back in service.
CURRY: Oh, my goodness.
COLLINS: I'm not quite sure if you can see.
CURRY: Yes, I can.
COLLINS: Tell us about this. What are we seeing?
CURRY: This in Vietnam. I was the commanding officer for an airplane reconnaissance company called the 220th Aviation. There are some of the airplanes we flew in combat right behind us. And I was decorating my soldiers for a very heroic action that we have participated in. And you are looking right now, this is the flight line back. See all those planes and all the tail? And all my little companies are all lined up. This was a great time. Let me tell you.
COLLINS: Well, I can hear it in your voice, certainly. When you look back at video like this and of your pictures in service, what do you think today?
CURRY: I just wonder how -- how great America is. We have come so far in this period. You know, when I came on active duty, we had all black units. All -- except in Korea, in the war. They were integrated.
But in Germany where I was, we had all black units and all white units. And now, we are at the point where integration is just normal, nobody thinks anything of it. When I came on active duty, there wasn't a single black general in the United States Army. In fact, the history of the country had only had one. And now, today, we've got at least a dozen of them. I think we made great progress. Not as far as some of us would like to go, but we've had a great time in this country and we got a lovely, lovely wonderful group of people in this country.
COLLINS: In fact, you know what, I want to talk about those numbers real quickly because we have a little statistic to put up for people to see. African-Americans and the U.S. Armed Forces in general, so not just the Army here. But 17 percent of the total force, nine percent of all officers, less than six percent of generals with one to four stars.
And you just said it. You know, we could do better here. What would you say to some of the people who are making these selections, making these promotions about the promoting of African-American officers?
CURRY: In the Army we've done rather good. Air Force, Navy, as you know, have not done well at all in terms of the percentages of black folks, especially those in leadership and the general.
If the Army really wants to improve the number of generals, it's very simple. You just simply turn to the Secretary of the Army, and you say -- listen, we want to get this number up. And the way you do that is you take promising officer, as everybody can't be a general, but those who have the ability, you identify them early, rank them captain, major, and then you tailor their assignments.
You put them in assignments where they have increasing levels of responsibility and as time goes on, they will get to the point where they can become generals. And that's the assignments that led you up plus the performance in the assignment.
COLLINS: And you know what I like about you? Is that, to you, and everything that we have written or read in the notes that you have given us here, it is about hard work. And I know you learned that from your parents. It is about the hard work and you said then life will reward you.
CURRY: Oh, absolutely. Mom and dad were very forthright with me. They said life is unfair. You are not going to get a fair treatment in the United States. You are black. Most of America is white. But you have got to understand something.
They said, you've got to play the cards that you are dealt. Whatever they are, you've got to play them. And if you play them right, if you work hard, if you do good, if you are successful, the America will reward you. You will be promoted. And you work your way up, do the best you can, and in the end, hopefully, you made the top.
COLLINS: Well, we sure do appreciate your time here today. Thank you so much. And, you know what? We will give you the two extra stars. I'm sure they wouldn't mind a DOD, right?
CURRY: I think that's great.
COLLINS: Thank you so much, General Jerry Curry. Again, I appreciate the pictures as well. We didn't even have a change to say that you served in the Carter administration, Reagan administration. Just a fascinating story and the book as well. Appreciate it. Once again, thank you.
CURRY: My pleasure.
COLLINS: And also a quick reminder, CNN presents an encore presentation this weekend of "Black in America." You can see for yourself what everyone is talking about, tomorrow night at 8:00 and 11:00 Eastern.
HARRIS: Oh, boy. That was terrific. That was --
COLLINS: Great man.
HARRIS: That was terrific.
A city takes a big lender to court trying to create a foreclosure-free zone. What is that? Gerri Willis tells us what it could mean for homeowners.
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HARRIS: A foreclosure sanctuary? San Diego takes a huge lender to court. Personal finance editor Gerri Willis is with us now.
And Gerri, first of all, good morning to you.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good morning, Tony.
HARRIS: Tell us about the lawsuit?
WILLIS: Well, the filing, this lawsuit claims that Countrywide, now Bank of America, engaged in predatory lending by selling borrowers loans they could not repay and not explaining the risks of adjustable rate mortgages.
Now, foreclosures are a big problem in San Diego. It's the 11th highest in the nation. About 20,000 homes have been served with notice of foreclosure within the past year in San Diego County and analysts say that number will double to 440,000 by the end of the year.
Now, for their part, you should know Bank of America said they have not seen this lawsuit and cannot comment on the claim. The attorney plans on suing other lenders with the same allegations like Washington Mutual, Wells Fargo and Wachovia.
HARRIS: I got to ask you, I'm just curious how this might help homeowners.
WILLIS: Well, a San Diego attorney told us he wants to set up what he calls a settlement forum. This would be an event, where borrowers and lenders get together, and try to settle or reconfigure the mortgage debt.
Now, this is the kind of forum clusters of delinquent loans could be worked out at the same time in public. The idea isn't new. NACA, that's the Neighborhood Assistant Corporation of America, recently tried this at a hotel in Washington, D.C. And during five days they did this. NACA said that 10,000 people from around the country were helped, given new loans.
And, of course, as we've been talking about there may be more help on the horizon. The Senate may pass the housing bill as early as this weekend. And that would give distressed homeowners the ability to write down the balance of their loan due and refinance. Of course, we'll bring you all the developments as they happen.
HARRIS: That would be terrific. And Gerri, we're going to see you again next hour. We're going to do some viewer go through some viewer e-mail, correct?
WILLIS: That's right. I'm very excited about that. I hope you are, too.
HARRIS: Absolutely. CNN's Gerri (INAUDIBLE). Thanks.
WILLIS: OK.
COLLINS: They've got a lot of work to do. Texans cleaning up after Dolly. New Englanders have their own storm woes now.
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HARRIS: OK. We are loading up a pretty special podcast for you later today. You know to catch us weekday mornings from 9:00 a.m. until noon, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. But you can take us with you anymore on your iPod. We call it the CNN Daily Newsroom podcast. And it is available to you 24/7. What you do is you go to cnn.com, and you click on podcast.
COLLINS: One company's investment in the wellness of its workers is paying big dividends. Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a closer look in this morning's fit nation report.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lincoln Industry looks like an old-fashioned blue collar plant. Making motorcycle and truck parts. But at this Nebraska company, you're also going to find massages and stretching before every shift.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And shoulders rolls back.
GUPTA: All 565 employees also undergo mandatory quarterly medical checkups. That's right. Mandatory. Employees are tested for flexibility, blood pressure, weight, body fat, and they're given annual blood tests.
Workers receive ranks like platinum and gold, down to non-medal. They also set goals for themselves. Seven years ago, shift leader Howard Tegtmeier was in the non-medal category. The 49-year-old smoked, he drank, he was overweight, he took 12 pills a day to treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
HOWARD TEGTMEIER, SHIFT LEADER, LINCOLN INDUSTRY: I just made the decision that it was time for me to change my life and the wellness program showed me the ways to do that.
GUPTA: Tegtmeier says he no longer smokes or drinks. His weight is down from 230 to 180. Thanks to diet and exercise. His cholesterol and blood pressure are also down. And he no longer needs any medication.
TONYA VYHLIDAL, WELLNESS DIRECTOR, LINCOLN INDUSTRIES: There's a way to engage everybody, even those that are really resistant.
GUPTA: The company spends $400,000 a year on the wellness program and says it saves more than five times that much.
HANK ORME, PRESIDENT, LINCOLN INDUSTRIES: We'd like to have a return on investment like this in anything that we did because the return is extraordinary.
GUPTA: Health care costs here are under $4,000 per employee. That's about half the regional average. So, what's the payoff for workers?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, great job.
GUPTA: Well, if you're in the fitness platinum category, you get a company paid trip to climb a 14,000 foot peak in Colorado.
TEGTMEIER: Just a beautiful view up here. It's a great feeling to make it to summit and especially with the entire team.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Peace. We made it.
GUPTA: To qualify for the climb, you have to be a non-smoker. Maybe one reason the percentage of smokers at the company has been cut by more than half.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoo!
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Good morning once again, everybody, I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here's what's on the rundown for you.
Wall street opened slightly higher but will it continue climbing back after yesterday's big fall? New economic numbers could have an impact.
COLLINS: Creative way to pay for college, win a scholarship based on your name or your hobby.
HARRIS: And too little too late. Beijing's smoggy skies put pre- Olympic pollution plans in question. It is Friday, July 25th. And you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Homes and lives in shambles in New Hampshire. Take a look at these pictures. Violent storms, including possible tornadoes, ripped through the state yesterday. One person was killed. About a dozen others were hurt. The property damage, as you can see, widespread. At least, six homes were destroyed and many more were damage. Trees snapped like twigs.
