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American Morning
Air Force Reporting Another Careless Nuclear Incident this Morning; Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has Serious Message for Pakistan; Qantas Airlines Flight Makes an Emergency Landing in the Philippines
Aired July 25, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LANCE ARMSTRONG, LIVESTRONG FOUNDATION: And I said, listen, a lot of your skeptics will say that voting for you is the equivalent of voting for George Bush again. And the record will show that the current administration had shrunk the budget for two or three years in a row now. Well, will we expect the same thing? And he said, no.
So, you know, we have to be optimistic with that. And I know that Senator Obama, I think, holds the same position and understands that we must fund critical medical and scientific research and give the best young scientists the proper things that they need -- the proper tools, the proper morale, the proper leadership.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: What do you think about John McCain's position on cigarette taxes? He said last night that he was against levying a cigarette tax because he didn't trust Congress to spend the money appropriately. But there seems to be plenty of evidence out there that putting hefty taxes on cigarettes does dissuade people from smoking.
ARMSTRONG: Absolutely. No, there's -- there is no doubt that it is convincing and there is no doubt that the evidence is there. It is also -- there is also no doubt that in the younger population that is one of the most important things we can do, the most significant things we can do.
Think about when you were a 12-year-old kid or 13-year-old kid and you are scrapping together a buck or two bucks or five bucks. It is hard. You made, you know, an extra couple of bucks, kids just say forget it. I can't scrap it together.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, we will keep on following this issue. A very important one in this election campaign. Lance Armstrong, thanks for being with us. Good luck at the summit today. Keep up the good fight.
ARMSTRONG: Thank you.
ROBERTS: All right, good to see you.
ARMSTRONG: Thank you.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: A minute past 8:00 here in New York. Some of the top stories we are following today. One person killed after a coordinated attack in India. It happened in Bangalore. Police say five bombs went off within minutes targeting the countries outsourcing high-tech hub. Six other people were wounded.
A Qantas jet heading to Australia makes an emergency landing in the Philippines after this nine-foot hole ripped through the fuselage. Passengers say the jet plunged 20,000 feet in just 30 seconds. All 365 people on board were not hurt. Some, though, became sick after landing.
And asleep at the switch with nuclear launch codes. The Air Force reporting another careless nuclear incident this morning. It says three officers fell asleep while in control of an electronic part and contained old launch codes for nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Air Force stress that the codes had been deactivated before the incident but is still investigating.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has a serious message for Pakistan. She says that the government must do more to control militants crossing into Afghanistan. Speaking to reporters in Australia, Rice said there has been an uptake in violence not just against the U.S. but also against Afghan people.
Also, breaking this morning. In less than an hour, Senator Barack Obama will land in France on the next leg of his European trip. He's expected to arrive just a few hours from now.
And CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is in Paris this morning and joins us live now with the preview.
Good morning, Christiane.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. And this leg has been his European tour really. The Berlin part which we saw yesterday was the centerpiece where he addressed some 200,000 people. He did say he came as an ordinary citizen and citizen of the world. But he really was on a campaign trip.
It was to design to show American voters that he does have some heft on the international stage and that he is popular. And if they want to see an America that works to restore its relations and working relations with the rest of the world, then he is their man.
He talked about rebuilding a transatlantic alliance. He talked about all sorts of issues including asking Europeans to bear their share of the international burden.
For instance, saying to Germans that they would also have to contribute more troops to stabilizing Afghanistan. He did and got a lot of applause and wild cheers. A lot of people, though, wondering, you know, exactly what is it that leads to the sky-high popularity.
This one German political analyst saying that it is really based on high expectations rather than facts and figures when it comes to Senator Obama. And the people, really, around the world are looking for a political redeemer to occupy the White House next time around.
He is coming here to France where he will not meet with any people except the President of France in the Elysee Palace, just to the left of me. He's going to have a meeting this afternoon and then hold a press conference with Mr. Sarkozy. And we should be able to carry that live and hear what the two have to say about what has been over the last seven years in this very prickly relationship between France and the United States.
And of course, most of it, in fact, most of America's issues with the world have stemmed from the Iraq war. And that's what Senator Obama is over here addressing.
CHETRY: Christiane Amanpour for us in Paris this morning. Thank you.
CHETRY: Breaking news this morning. A Qantas Airlines flight makes an emergency landing in the Philippines. A mid-air rupture ripped a hole in the side of the plane and sent the plane plummeting 20,000 feet. But as you can see from this new video inside the plane, relief passengers applauded as they touched down. Amazingly, no one was hurt in the incident.
We got more on the story now from reporter Paul Marshall out of Sydney, Australia.
(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 are safe. 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.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was terrific boom and bits of board and all the debris just flew forward. It bursts the oxygen masks. And we were told that one of the rear doors -- the hole has blown into it. But, in fact, I have since looked at the plane and it is a gigantic gaping hole inside the plane. It was absolutely terrifying, but I have to say everyone was very calm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was an almighty crack. And you could hear something happening. And then, the oxygen masks fell down and you started dropping down. The ears popping. Lots of stuff.
MARSHALL: Qantas has said only that there is a hole in the fuselage but not what caused it. In the 1970s two DC10s lost their cargo doors in flight. They came off completely. One of the planes crashed. But from the photographs, it is not a door on the Qantas plane but a piece of the fuselage that has come off.
The debris flying through the cabin would have been from the deep pressurization. The pilots made an emergency descent, diverted to Manila.
MARINA SCAFFIDI, PASSENGER: My partner was upstairs. I though maybe he's gone. I don't know. I have no idea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We decided that Qantas (INAUDIBLE) now will take the necessary steps to ensure that the rest of the Qantas (INAUDIBLE).
MARSHALL: Qantas is sending another plane to bring the passengers home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: That was Paul Marshall reporting for us this morning.
CHETRY: Something has got to give. Congress gets a warning at the middle class can't keep up. Why many families are now reaching their breaking point.
ROBERTS: And being gay in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kamal (ph), 18, and Rami (ph), 21, when they walk back that street, it's only in brief. Tragic moments, they let their feelings for each other show. We've changed their names and are protecting their identities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: It could mean a death sentence and almost was for one man when kidnapped after the fall of Baghdad.
CHETRY: Mean streak.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 10:00 in the morning on this street that's full of kids, he opened fire?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Escaping from a life most of us can't imagine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you hear that? Somebody banging.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Soledad O'Brien on being "Black in America." You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In Metro Atlanta. In reference to your "Black in America" series, part one, I found I enjoyable, interesting, informative and educational. However, the irony of the whole thing is that's all black existent has become subjects of documentaries, film, historical and scientific research is like we read some type of sociological lab rat. And I, myself, a black man, really feel that pressure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Our "Black in America" series getting a lot of reaction this morning. And it continues now with a look at violence in the black community. We found one man who's helped set up a new program to reduce violence and one man who says the program turned his life around.
CNN's special correspondent Soledad O'Brien joins us live now from Chicago with more.
Hi, Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kiran. Good morning to you. The city of Baltimore, like many urban centers, has a huge problem with violence. Young black men are literally being shot every single day.
And there are many people who are trying to turn pretty dismal statistics around and there are young black men who are also choosing to turn their lives around, too. Meet one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KHALID CARTER, BALTIMORE RESIDENT: In portraying, you know, a gangster. Point a gun out on me, rob me, make me feel little. Come on, now. You're dead.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): And Khalid Carter willingly faced death as a drug dealer in Baltimore, Maryland. At this street corner, someone tried to kill him.
CARTER: It is about 9:30, 10:00 in the morning.
O'BRIEN: 10:00 on the morning on this street that's full of kids? He opened fire?
CARTER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Nationally, blacks accounts for 49 percent of homicide victims. But in Baltimore that number soars to 93 percent. Surgeon Carnell Cooper is the man who saved Khalid. He believed he has found an answer to street violence. A program known as VIP, the Violence Intervention Project.
DR. CARNELL COOPER, VIOLENCE INTERVENTION PROJECT: If we can get them into a job training program, if we can get their GED, if we can give them the things they needed to move forward, maybe, maybe we could impact their risks.
O'BRIEN (on-camera): So, you're saying it wouldn't just keep them out of the hospital the next time. It would also improve their lives from an income standpoint, family standpoint, parenting standpoint.
COOPER: Exactly.
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Khalid Carter has his second chance at life after a stint in prison, he is now an employed family man.
CARTER: I look forward to my little girl going to that graduation and stuff. It's nice.
O'BRIEN: It's a life not without temptations.
CARTER: When you're on the streets you are making money, you know -- $5,000, $6,000, 7,000 a day, $10,000, you know, going to $300 a week. That is a big jump.
O'BRIEN: Good money. But Khalid says his focused is fixed.
CARTER: I'm looking straight. I'm not going back. Because, you know, the money is good but, you know what I'm saying, it comes with a lot of risk.
Did you hear that? Somebody banging.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Meaning that there is somebody getting shot probably at that moment. You know, it's interesting to talk to young men like Khalid who will tell you they were making up to $20,000 a week dealing drugs. And he says, I really don't miss it because I lived every moment thinking that, you know, I might get killed. And he really wants to focus on his family.
So, getting that message to those young men and changing their lives is really incredibly important to Dr. Cooper and he has had some really great success.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, that's wonderful. Soledad, thanks so much. And also, you can catch a special encore presentation of CNN's unprecedented "Black in America" documentary tomorrow, 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
ROBERTS: And we will be continuing the conversation on "Black in America" a little bit later on this hour. Ahead, a look at the effect in an Obama presidency might have on blacks living in America.
Down-and-out in Hollywood.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, to see somebody who makes millions of dollars have financial troubles, it gets hard for the average person to sympathize. (END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: One-time millionaires who can't pay the mortgage. And a surprising look at who might be next. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It can't buy you love but it buys you a little bit more gasoline today. Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Gas prices down two cents. Can I get a hallelujah here? Oh, my goodness.
According to AAA right now, just about $4 a gallon this morning. Oil holding above $125 a barrel in early trading. But, still, well down from those mid $140s levels that we saw not too long ago.
The middle class is on the edge, certainly. Experts are warning Congress that paychecks are just not keeping up with rising debt and other expenses and something has got to give.
Our personal finance editor Gerri Willis here to break it all down for us. The middle class really getting squeezed.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Yes, absolutely. Let's look at income and expenses. The old balance sheet. To give you some real numbers here on how much the Middle Class is being squeezed, expenses.
And this really a period of 2000 and 2007 here. The decline in income about $1,200 here. You see on an annualized basis. But look at the increase in expenses, up almost $5,000. So, at the end of the day, by the time today's family pays for the basics, pays for housing, health, food -- guess what, they have to come up with $5,800 more.
Now, let's break down the increase in expenses just a little bit so you can see what's really going up here. Starting with gas, up almost $2,000 from 2000. The mortgage is up to $1,700, food up $220. And understand that this does not capture the most recent numbers which would be even higher here.
So, you can see big changes there. And, of course, if you have kids, you are being squeezed even more. Day care is up $1,500 a year. $622 for after-school care. And state college is up over a $1000. So, you can see, everything you want to buy. And we are not talking about special stuff. We are not talking about the Armani suit.
We are talking about basic things the middle class families have to have these days. Their prices are shooting through the roof, their income not keeping pace. Actually, losing ground.
ROBERTS: So, what are families doing in order to try to compensate for this?
WILLIS: It's debt, debt, debt, John. Yes. They're taking a lot of debt. As you know, the big story of the last five to six years, people taking on a lot of mortgage debt, home equity lines of credit, and of course, credit cards. In fact, 10 percent of disposable income these days going to pay off credit cards.
ROBERTS: So, when they take on this additional debt, and yet the prices continue to go up, I mean, that's an impossible equation there.
WILLIS: It's an impossible equation.
ROBERTS: You'll never going to get it paid on.
WILLIS: It's a vice grip, really, because you know the rates on credit cards -- percent. If you're late, 20, 25. Some folks describe this as usury rates out there. There's a lot of complaints about the credit card industry right now. Congress looking into it. Even the Federal Reserve is thinking about new rules. But for homeowners, for families, for mom and dad out there, it's really a tough time.
ROBERTS: It really is. Gerri, thanks so much for that. Don't forget to join Gerri tomorrow for "OPEN HOUSE." It's tomorrow morning, 9:30 Eastern, right here on CNN. She'll also be back at noon today for "ISSUE #1."
20 minutes after the hour. "Black in America." Emmy Award- winning musician Will I. Am. He's produced two songs hoping to inspire young people to become engaged this election. But will they vote come November? Will I. Am is going to join us very soon here in AMERICAN MORNING.
Crowd pleaser.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My home boy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Two hundred thousand-strong. And Jeanne Moos is diving in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mounted on lamp posts, perching on poles, dancing, holding Obamas on a stick. Did we already mention dancing?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: We'll have breaking news right now. An exclusive interview with Senator Barack Obama. He is leaving Berlin. Actually he just did. And he's en route to France.
CNN's chief political correspondent Candy Crowley sat down with the Senator and talked to him about the timing of this overseas trip. And why it matters to Americans. Here's some of Candy's exclusive interview.
(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), 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 controlled 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)
CHETRY: And you can catch Candy's entire interview with Barack Obama later today on "THE SITUATION ROOM." It'll be airing 5 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
We have some breaking news right now about coordinated bomb attack in India. One person was killed. Police say five explosions went off within minutes, targeting the country's high-tech outsourcing hub in Bangalore. Six others were wounded.
A Qantas jet heading to Australia makes an emergency landing in the Philippines after a nine-foot hole ripped through the fuselage. Video from inside the plane shows oxygen masks dropping from the ceiling. Passengers say the jet plunged 20,000 feet in just 30 seconds. They're obviously relieved when the plane finally landed safely.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was an almighty crack. And you could hear something happening. And then the oxygen masks fell down. And we started dropping down, ears popping.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My partner was upstairs. I thought maybe he's gone. I don't know. I had no idea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: 365 people were on board. No one was hurt. Some people did become sick after landing. Australian authorities are investigating the cause. Also this morning, emergency crews going door-to-door after a deadly thunderstorm ripped through central New Hampshire. One person was killed. Nearly a dozen homes leveled and more than 100 more damaged by winds at times as high as 100 miles per hour. A state of emergency has been declared now in five New Hampshire counties.
ROBERTS: It's 29 minutes now after the hour. CNN Special series "Black in America" continues now. And this morning, we are looking at Barack Obama's candidacy and the impact the he's having as the first African-American to lead a major party ticket.
We're joined now by conservative radio talk show host Armstrong Williams. Also, the editor-in-chief of "Essence" magazine, Angela Burt-Murray. And Emmy award-winning musician Will.i.am. His latest CD is titled "Songs about Girls."
Thanks for joining us this morning, folks. It's great to see you.
Angela, let me start with you if I could. Should Barack Obama become president of the United States, what effect do you think that would have on the experience of being black in America? Would making history in effect help to change history?
ANGELA BURT-MURRAY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ESSENCE MAGAZINE: I think it does a tremendous opportunity to see an Obama presidency have an impact on the African American community, but there are so many deep layers of racism that persists in this country. So, it's not like him moving into the White House in January would mean that in February life changes dramatically for African-Americans.
If you look at a recent poll, African-Americans are saying that over 60 percent believe that racism is still a very persistent problem. So there is going to take a lot of work. But it's definitely a very exciting idea.
ROBERTS: Armstrong Williams, why do you think Barack Obama has succeeded where other black candidates have failed? What's he doing differently?
ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS, CONSERVATIVE RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Senator Barack Obama is not a black candidate. He is an American candidate. He is a candidate that came up with a different value system. He went to different schools. He had different opportunities. He made better choices. When you talk about Senator Barack Obama, if it plays out that he wins the White House, I think it will have little if any impact on that. Because many people, when you look at the series "Black in America," while it's overwhelming - while I think everyone should watch it. You know, even people like myself, it's just not my experience that I grew up.
While we have a shared history, you know, so much has changed. I mean, before the 1960s, there are two-parent households. 81 percent of black families has both parents. And the thing that my parents always taught us was the best department of health, education and welfare that they had grown up especially me was a mother and father. And so Senator Barack Obama is not going to change in four or eight years a mindset of practice, of culture, of behavior that has existed for the last 30 or 40 years until people realize - and the issue is not racism. Racism does exist. But what we're talking about here is what Senator Barack Obama was talking about in his father's day speech when he castigated about the high priest of blackness when he talked about personal responsibility and accountability. That's the only thing that will change the plight that you guys have been broadcasting and airing for the last week.
ROBERTS: All right. I want to talk to Angela about that in a second. But let's bring Will.I.Am in here. Will, you're trying to energize the youth vote. You had that great video we just had a little while ago, called "yes we can." There are a couple of questions. Will young voters come out to the polls? As energized as they might be, will they come out to the polls? Will young black voters come out to the polls in November? And what are they expecting might be the result of an Obama presidency?
WILL.I.AM, EMMY AWARD WINNING MUSICIAN: I know that the youth, both black and white, Latino, Asian, will come out to the polls this year. It is not eight years ago, not four years ago. These kids nowadays are equipped with technology and information. They are blogging. They are not relying upon the news to give them the news. They are out getting the news. They have the tools that I have that was responsible for the "yes we can" and millions of people seeing that in a week. Technology has empowered people this time.
ROBERTS: Right.
WILL.I.AM: The concept of power of the people is now.
ROBERTS: And what, if anything are young black voters expecting should Barack Obama become president? Or are they expecting anything?
WILL.I.AM: They're expecting - that's a good question. I think they are expecting that their voice is now heard. They are - they are expressing their individual power. And how that power is translating when united. We as Americans need to stop. We need to stop talking and raising this race issue because it is not about race at this given time. It is about America. The climate that America is in. I know this is about "Black in America." But it is - it should be about Americans.
ROBERTS: I would take it though, Angela, I saw you shaking your head a little bit. There we're not about to enter a post-racial America with the election of the first black president.
BURT-MURRAY: Oh, absolutely not.
ROBERTS: But let me go back to Armstrong Williams was saying a second ago. We have an African-American candidate here. Married to a very strong black woman. Talks about men taking responsibility and then is accused by one of the biggest civil rights leaders in this country of talking down to black people. How is that playing particularly with women voters and the issues they face every day? BURT-MURRAY: Well, African-American women are telling "Essence" magazine that the Obama candidacy is seeking to - speaking to their core issues which are the same as the general market is talking about as well. The economy, the war. Housing, education. And they know that Barack Obama is speaking to these issues but they are not blinded by the idea that, you know, racism doesn't exist anymore. It absolutely does. You know, you saw in the "Black in America" series the unemployment rate for African-Americans is double what the National average is. We know that people are still impacted by this every single day and while we like to all get together and sing "kumbaya" and thinks that everything is OK, that's not happening right now.
ROBERTS: Armstrong Williams, let me look at the conservative side of the coin here, republican side of the coin. Because you are a republican. There are some black conservatives who are considering voting for Senator Obama because they believe that he best represents the ability to address some of the fundamental issues that they think need to be addressed. You are one of those people who is considering it. Take a look at John McCain. Two percent of African-Americans in this country, according to a recent "New York Times" CBS News poll say they would vote for him. 89 percent would vote for Barack Obama. What can the republican party and John McCain do to attract some of those black voters?
WILLIAMS: Well, you know, John, that's not unusual. And every presidential election, whether it is Clinton or it was Kerry and others, they do very well with that poll. Sometimes 95 and 96 percent of the vote. John McCain does not have to win the black votes to win the White House. He has appeal to independent and he has appeal to conservative democrats and liberal republicans. However, it is important in terms of symbolism that Senator John McCain did go to the National Advancement of the Colored People Convention. And it was heartwarming to see many people surrounding him, hugging him, kissing him, embracing him because they are not threatened by him.
He saw that they feel he is not against the progress that they made in this country and those were not the kinds of policies put in place. But I want to say this. I think, Angela, the editor of "Essence" magazine means well. But I think what you are listening to from her is part of the problem in America. If you have a situation where you don't have a mother, father in the household, Children take on certain behaviors. Mothers' having babies out of wedlock. The drug culture. The mother pass these behavior on to their children. The children pass this on to their children. No father in the household. They resort to crime. They resort to a certain behavior. If you were to put that in the white community, the Latino community, or the Asian community, the results would be the same. That's not about race. That's about a culture that has been perpetuated by bad policies from the '60s.
So there was a time a black mother had to choose between having a father in the household and getting a paycheck. Social workers would look under the bed and, therefore, break down of the family.
ROBERTS: Right. Well, certainly there are a lot of issues and a whole lot of time where we will be discussing this heading towards the November election. We are out of time this morning, folks. But thanks very much for being with us. Armstrong Williams, Angela Burt- Murray, Will.I.Am, appreciate you coming in this morning. Good to see you all.
WILLIAMS: Thank you.
WILL.I.AM: Thank you.
BURT-MURRAY: Thank you.
CHETRY: Great discussion. Well, in the closet in Iraq. A place where being gay could get you killed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Khamal, 18, and Robby, 21. When they walk Baghdad streets, it's only in brief. Just for a moment they let their feelings for each other show. We've changed their names and are protecting their identities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: We'll tell what you happened when one man's kidnapper found out he was gay.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, coming out closet is not easy in any country. But doing so in Iraq could mean torture or worse. In a CNN exclusive, Frederick Pleitgen talked to one gay couple with two frightening stories.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kamal, 18, Robby, 21. When they walk Baghdad streets, it's only brief. Just for moment they let their feelings for each other show. We've changed their names and are protecting their identities and here's with why.
PLEITGEN (on-camera): What's the worst thing you have ever experienced?
KAMAL (through translator): After the fall of Baghdad, I was kidnapped for money, Kamal tells me. When they found out I was gay they started raping me by force. They did it almost every day.
ROBBY (through translator): I met a man and he became my lover, Robby adds. Later he told me he had weapons and was in a terror group, the Mehdi Army. And he started threatening me.
PLEITGEN: No one knows how many people have been killed in Iraq for being gay. But aid organizations say even an allegation of homosexuality can be a death sentence. It's only in internet cafes that Kamal and Robby dare keep in touch with other gay men through chat rooms. Even then there is the risk of entrapment. ROBBY (through translator): I would rather commit suicide than let my family find out I am gay, Robby says.
PLEITGEN: What's the cover story you usually use to stop people from knowing?
KAMAL: When I'm with a group much friends I tell them I've met girls. Kamal says I also have to be careful the way I dress. I can't look gay.
PLEITGEN: Being gay was hard enough under Saddam Hussein. But at least they could have small, private gatherings like this one. This photo, we were told, was taken in the '90s. Now with militias roaming the streets, showing any sign of being gay is impossible. And when we asked Iraqis, we found widespread intolerance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I consider gays to be criminal and terrorists, this man says.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We, as an Islamic society, consider it to be against the law, this man adds. So they should be punished by law.
PLEITGEN: Why do you think people here hate gays so much?
ROBBY (through translator): I don't know, Robby says. So many people here have gay tendencies but still they hate us. Maybe it is just jealousy.
PLEITGEN: Even with all the oppression they face, these two men say they cannot change the way they are.
Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: It's 42 minutes after the hour. Lose weight and get a free vacation. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes us to a factory that is offering incentives for staying fit.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: This morning, a number of foreclosures surging, 121 percent this quarter from a year ago. And it means more than 739,000 homes, about one in every 171 households in some stage of foreclosure. Bank repossessions were also up by more than 20 percent from last quarter.
ROBERTS: Well, this is the last weekend to nominate someone you know as a CNN hero. Ordinary people having an extraordinary impact around the world. Today, a man changing lives by giving away bicycles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): For 20 years I walked with a little wheelbarrow selling house cleaning products for six or seven hours a day. With the money I earned I buy food for my family, and medicine for my wife who has cancer. The situation is tough. A bicycle can really help me.
DAVE SCHWEIDENBACK, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: My name is Dave Schweidenback. I'm the founder of Pedals in Progress. I collect bikes for people in the developing world. When I was a Peace Corps volunteer down in the Amazon basin, everybody walks everywhere they go all the time.
I knew that a bicycle could change someone's life for the better. I decided to run bike collections and send them to people to help give them a better life. We break them down, load them into containers, and when the containers arrive overseas, the bicycles are sold at low cost to the local people.
(through translator): Now things are better. I sell more because I do my runs quicker. Because of a bicycle my life has changed.
SCHWEIDENBACK: My goal is to continue to collect as many bikes as I can and ship them to as many places as there are poor people that need them.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: July is the last month to nominate someone you know as a CNN hero for 2008. Go to CNN.com/heroes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: And CNN NEWSROOM is just minutes away now, our Heidi Collins is at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead. Good morning, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Kiran. That's right. Here is what we are working on in the NEWSROOM today. "Issue #1" on our radar yet again. Will Wall Street bounce back after yesterday's big drop? New economic numbers out this morning.
And jumbo jet with a big hole in it. Dramatic emergency landing. Plus, Viagra for babies. Parents say it saved their children's lives. Tony Harris joins me and we get started at the top of the hour right here on CNN. Kiran.
CHETRY: Heidi, thanks.
Will exercise pays off. Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes us to a factory that keeps workers in shape, saves bundles on health care and also shares the wealth.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Crowd pleaser. Two hundred thousand strong. And Jeanne Moos is diving in.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mounted on lampposts, perching on poles, dancing, holding Obamas on a stick. Did we already mention dancing?
ROBERTS: You are watching the most news in morning.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta is on his coast-to-coast "Fit Nation" tour. This week he is focusing on a company wide fitness effort that's really paying off. Sanjay joins us now with more details. Hey, Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, we love these stories. Because it actually shows how as you say, fitness can pay off. This is a medium-sized assembly plant. It's in Nebraska. And they said we are going to make a commitment to our employees' wellness. We are going to have to give them some sort of reward, some sort of gift, for investing in their own health. Take a look at what they did.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA (voice-over): Lincoln Industries looks like an old- fashioned blue collar plant. Making motorcycle and truck parts. At this Nebraska company, they are also going to find massages and stretching before every shift.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And shoulder rolls back.
GUPTA: All 565 employees, also undergo mandatory quarterly medical checkups. That's right. Mandatory.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hamstring stretch.
GUPTA: Employees are tested for flexibility, blood pressure, weight, body fat. And they're given annual blood tests. Workers receives 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 INDUSTRIES: And 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Curl upward.
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 programs and says it saves more than five times that much.
HANK ORME, PRESIDENT, LINCOLM INDUSTRIES: We would like to have a return on investment like this in anything that we did because of the return is extraordinary.
GUPTA: Health care costs here are under $4,000 per employees. That's about half the regional average. What's the payoff for workers?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, gang. Great job.
GUPTA: Well, if you are in the fittest platinum category, you get a company paid trip to climb a 14,000-foot peak in Colorado.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just a beautiful view up here. It's a great feeling to make it to summit and especially the entire team.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: You will be happy to know, Kiran, that all 70 employees, the ones that actually qualified for that trip, made it to the summit. 14,060 feet, Mt. Virstat (ph). That was a huge sense of accomplishment for them. Some of them especially given where they started.
CHETRY: I have to laugh though because it's like you work really hard to stay fit and your reward is you get to hike for hours at 14,000 feet.
GUPTA: It's fun.
CHETRY: It's wonderful. And congrats to all of them. Are there some employees who may be don't want to be bothered with the wellness stuff?
GUPTA: Yes, there are. We saw some images there of people who were exercising. There are a few that choose to abstain and there is no specific pressure or penalty if you will if you don't participate. You just don't qualify for these awards like the trip or the rewards to your own body.
CHETRY: Great motivation. And thank for bringing us to it, Sanjay. Good to see you.
GUPTA: Thanks, Kiran. All right. Thank you.
CHETRY: Well, for more "Fit Nation" and the week's medical headlines tune in to "House Call" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, 8:30 a.m. Eastern, Saturdays and Sundays.
ROBERTS: Rock star welcomes thousands of people turn out to greet Barack Obama in Berlin. Our Jeanne Moos is taking a look at Germany's Obama-mania. Or do we call it Obama-fest. Of course, the would Barack-wurst. You are watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: Senator Barack Obama leaving Germany just minutes away now from landing in Paris. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is going to be meeting with the senator.
CHETRY: Yes, but will it be anything like that rock star welcome he got in Berlin? Jeanne Moos has her unique take on how warmly the senator was received.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here comes a walking O-B-A-M-A and here's the real thing. Flying to Berlin, Barack Obama had called his speech a crap shoot. A reporter wondered if a million screaming Germans might show up.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I doubt we are going to have a million screaming Germans. Let's tamp down expectations here. If we get to a few tens of thousands...
MOOS: Which he did. Around 200,000 say German police. Mounted on lampposts, perching on poles, dancing, flying balloons, waving flags. More dancing. Holding Obamas on a stick, displaying the nerdiest of Obama photos. Eating and did we already mention dancing?
Back in his hotel - Senator Obama was getting the star treatment. Obama was staying at the Hotel Adlon where Michael Jackson once dangled his baby. But the Senator made no balcony appearances. Saving it for the stage. It was an entirely serious speech.
OBAMA: Muslims who reject the extremism that leads to hate instead of hope.
MOOS: Not a single intentional laugh line.
OBAMA: My father grew up herding goats in Kenya. His father --
MOOS: There was clapping and chanting and yelling.
Obama!
OBAMA: We know these walls have fallen before.
MOOS: But compared to the reaction of some Obama speeches -
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I wouldn't want to say they were euphoric.
MOOS: Hard to know if there was a JFK moment.
JOHN F. KENNEDY, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: The proudest - is ich bin ein Berliner.
MOOS: Yes, well ich bin ein New Yorker. And that line had been (INAUDIBLE) to mock Obama.
Ich bin ein beginners getting big play as a poster on conservative blogs but beginner or not, Obama ended with the usual adulation expressed in hungry hands, begging to be touched and not necessarily washed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'll never wash my hands.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: What do you say to that? You just sort of smile.
ROBERTS: Please do at some point. Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. Have a great weekend. And we will be back bright and early on Monday morning. See you then.
CHETRY: And right now...
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
