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President Bush Speaks on Energy After Meeting With Cabinet; California Wildfire Threatens Homes; 5.4-Magnitude Quake: Dodging the Big One; Karadzic Extradited: In Custody of War Crimes Tribunal; Obama Town Hall Meeting

Aired July 30, 2008 - 10:59   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get you straight to the Rose Garden now and President Bush after a meeting with his cabinet.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... the economy, amongst other things. And we spent time on high gasoline prices.

One of our citizens who drives to work or runs a small business is feeling the squeeze of rising prices at the pump, and they expect their elected leaders in Washington to take some commonsense action. To reduce the pressure on prices, we need to increase the supply of oil, especially here at home. So, in June, I called on Congress to lift the legislative ban that prevents offshore exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Unfortunately, Democratic leaders in Congress have refused to allow a vote, and now Congress is about to leave for its August recess without taking action on this vital priority for the American people. There is now a growing agreement across our country that the government should permit the exploration and development of these offshore oil resources. Exploration of the OCS would increase our supply of oil here at home.

Experts believe that currently restricted areas of the OCS could eventually produce up to about 18 billion barrels of oil. That's almost 10 years' worth of America's current oil production. Exploration of the OSC would also create jobs for our citizens.

Yesterday, I visited the Lincoln Electric Company in Cleveland, Ohio. It's a business that produces welding products used for offshore exploration. If Congress were to permit exploration of the OCS, it would mean jobs at businesses such as these. American drivers are counting on Congress to lift the ban on offshore exploration, and so are American workers.

Bringing OSC resources on line is going to take time. And that means that the need for congressional action is urgent, and so I've lifted the executive restrictions on offshore exploration.

I've done my part. And that means the only thing now standing in the way between the American people and these vast oil resources is the United States Congress. The sooner Congress lifts the ban, the sooner we can get this oil from the ocean floor to your gas tank. Some members of Congress say they object to exploration of the OCS, but they are in favor of other actions, such as taking oil out of the nation's Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Well, if you agree that we need more oil, it makes no sense to say you're for draining our nation's limited strategic reserve, but against tapping into the vast resources of the Outer Continental Shelf.

America needs to take every reasonable and responsible step we can to reduce pressure on gasoline and energy prices. That's precisely what my administration is doing. We're working to expand domestic oil production, and at the same time, we're working to speed the development of new clean and alternative energy resources, raising fuel efficiency standards, expanding the use of alternative fuels, and investing in next generation fuels such as cellulosic ethanol and biodiesel.

We're investing in new advanced batteries and plug-in hybrids and hydrogen fuel cells. We're working to expand the use of clean, safe nuclear power, solar and wind power, and clean coal technology. These steps were enhancing America's energy security and increasing the supply of clean, safe energy made right here in the United States of America.

The time for action is now. This is a difficult period for millions of American families. Every extra dollar they have to spend because of high gas prices, one less dollar they can use to put food on the table, or to pay the rent, or meet their mortgages. The American people are rightly frustrated by the failure of Democratic leaders in Congress to enact commonsense solutions like the development of the oil resources on the Outer Continental Shelf.

There are now just a couple of days left before Congress leaves for its August recess. Legislation to open this offshore exploration is pending in both the House and the Senate, and all the Democratic leaders have to do is to allow a vote. They should not leave Washington without doing so.

Thank you very much.

HARRIS: OK. There you have it, President Bush and his cabinet.

The president, again, pushing Congress to send -- and here's a quote -- "a clear signal to the world and open more domestic land to oil drilling." He's talking about the Outer Continental Shelf.

The president saying, look, it's going to take some time. In fact, it's going to take years to do that, but that Congress needs to get to work on that right now.

Democrats, as you know, to this point have resisted the president's pressure on expanding drilling. But you know, there's a lot of horse trading going on right now.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is willing to consider more votes on drilling and other energy bill amendments, but there's some trading that has to go on from Senator Reid's perspective. So, a lot of talking going on, maybe some action a bit later.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Kathleen Koch is at the White House with a little bit more on this big issue for the president on the heels of that announcement there.

Kathleen, how's it resonating in Washington?

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, if you were listening to what the president said, you know, gee, that sounds familiar, I think I've heard that somewhere before. You would certainly be right.

The president has been almost on a daily basis speaking out about the need for more offshore exploration, the need to drill in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the need to open up public lands in the West for oil shale exploration. They need to build refineries because we haven't built one in the U.S. since the 1970s. And he keeps hammering on Congress to do something.

So, Heidi, this is something, a mantra, we'll hear again. Tomorrow, the president is going to West Virginia. He'll be reiterating it. But he, himself, has pointed out in almost every remark, though not this one today, that he doesn't have a magic wand, and that extends to Congress as well. There's nothing that anyone can do in Washington today, right now, to immediately bring down prices at the pump.

COLLINS: Right.

KOCH: You heard the president make the case, you know, well, we've got to get started on it. But there are many Democrats up on Capitol Hill who would say, if the president had done more, had better energy policies when he came into office, we wouldn't be in the fix we're in now.

Back to you.

COLLINS: Yes. And then the administration probably saying the same about the previous administration, and so on, and so on, and so on.

KOCH: Right. The finger-pointing continues.

COLLINS: Yes.

KOCH: And it will through August.

COLLINS: Yes, I bet it will.

CNN White House Correspondent Kathleen Koch.

Kathleen, thank you.

KOCH: You bet.

COLLINS: Offshore drilling: Democrats and Republicans are divided, but what about the American public? According to the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll, most support an increase. Sixty-nine percent are in favor, 30 percent oppose.

And breaking down those numbers, 46 percent strongly favor more offshore oil drilling, 23 percent say they are mildly in support. And again, 30 percent of those people opposing.

HARRIS: So you just heard President Bush speak on energy policy.

Josh Levs -- Josh, break it down for us. What realistically can we expect?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's what we want to do. I mean, obviously, a lot of promises going out on both sides, and a lot of competing arguments about what should be done.

We have some facts for you to help you be informed as you hear this debate going on. And that's what we're going to start off with.

Tony, let's just jump right into it. I mean, what we're hearing about right now is this whole idea of offshore oil drilling.

We have a graphic here that summarizes for you the fact that a lot of Republicans do support this. They're pushing to make this happen. And supporters say it could really help long term, and that you might get some oil in a matter of months.

The opponents say, look, there'll be no significant amount of oil for years. They're also concerned about possible spills.

I was looking at some reality checks. Let's take a look at this really strong one I found from the Energy Information Administration, straight from the government there.

And what they're saying is that the projections that have been done, these really in-depth analyses, indicate that if you give access to the Pacific and the Atlantic and the eastern Gulf regions, you still would not have significant impact on domestic crude oil and national gas production, or prices, all the way before 2030. So it becomes pretty much a long-term argument.

Let's jump to the other side now. I want to talk to you about the Democrats and some stuff that they are pushing right now.

One of the Democrats' biggest efforts right now is to push a bill in the Senate that would curb speculation. And there's some Democrats who are blaming speculators for the price hike, maybe even half of it -- 20 percent to 50 percent of the price hike being blamed on speculators.

Opponents say, look, it's not that much, and that if you crack down on the U.S., you're still going to have speculation all over the world. You might even get more of it. So you wouldn't even have the effect of cutting back.

Here I'm going to bring you over to something we found in "The Houston Chronicle," Tony, where they did a fact check on this, and this is what they said: "The law of supply and demand remains the prime culprit for high energy prices. OPEC has been holding down supply."

HARRIS: Yes.

LEVS: "And our best estimate is that $20 to $30 per barrel is a premium that's attributable to speculation."

So, look, you're still talking about a lot. I mean, $20 to $30 per barrel is still a lot of money.

HARRIS: Yes.

LEVS: But they're saying it's nowhere near 50 percent. It's not half of it. And the fact is, in their view and from that analysis, you know, you can't make them enemy number one when we talk about this slice of issue #1.

HARRIS: I really want to watch what happens to the price of gas if Americans continue the recent pattern of cutting back on driving. Let's see and let's talk to you then in another month or so. But we'll talk to you...

LEVS: It's all supply and demand, yes.

HARRIS: There you go.

All right, Josh. Appreciate it. Thank you.

LEVS: Thanks.

HARRIS: The focus: economic security. Barack Obama holding a town hall meeting in Springfield, Missouri, live this hour.

COLLINS: It was no Hollywood special effects.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Earthquake. What do I do? What do I do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go and get in the middle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: See how she knew what it was, like, right away?

HARRIS: Oh, yes.

COLLINS: I don't think I'd...

HARRIS: Oh, you...

COLLINS: I don't know. The L.A. quake: aftershocks and cleanup today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, we're getting new numbers on the destruction caused by a fast-moving wildfire near the Yosemite National Park. Within the last hour, the state Forestry Department said 50 square miles have been destroyed, 4,000 homes are still threatened.

Kraig Debro of affiliate KTVU is live in Mariposa County, California, this morning.

And Kraig, good to see you. It's been a while.

Give me a sense on where we are in terms of containment and the effort that is ahead for firefighters today.

KRAIG DEBRO, REPORTER, KTVU: It's pretty good news as far as containment in concerned. You can see behind me a lot of the firefighters coming in to the Mariposa County Fairgrounds. This is the incident command center.

Some coming in, some coming out, going up to the mountain now. It's 20 percent contained right now, but they showed us a map at the daily operation briefing, and the red lines typically represent the part that's not contained, the black lines represent the part that is contained. They've got black lines around about 50 percent of it, but they're not calling it 50 percent contained yet because they want to make sure those lines hold before they do that.

Now, yesterday was a key day in fighting this fire. Helicopters pounded a ridge above the Merced River along Highway 140. The reason for that is helicopters are the only ones able to get up there. They couldn't send firefighters in with hoses or shovels because the terrain was too steep, so run after run of helicopters diving down at the Merced River, picking up baskets of 500-gallon baskets of water and dropping it onto the ridge in order to stop the fire from progressing.

It did progress last night, but it progressed northward and parallel to Yosemite, not toward Yosemite. There are still hundreds of evacuees, hundreds of people displaced.

We spoke to one woman yesterday, and she says she lets her emotions go when she's away from her kids.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We did hear from a neighbor this morning our house is still standing. We're about one ridge back from the flames. Lots of smoke, hot amber. And just rolling with it. There's not really much we can do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEBRO: Now, the 3,700 firefighters still out here on the lines, but with all the personnel, they no longer have to be out on those 36-hour shifts. They're down to about 12 -- between 12 and 24.

Temperatures today, high 80s, low 90s. They're expecting 20 percent humidity. So that's going to help. But they do expect more fire activity in the early afternoon. The morning's going to get a little bit of a break though -- Tony.

HARRIS: That's terrific.

All right. Kraig Debro, for us from our affiliate KTVU, live for us in Mariposa County, California.

Kraig, good to see you. Thank you.

COLLINS: Southern Californians back to business as usual this morning after a day they are not likely to forget anytime soon. The 5.4 magnitude quake rattled nerves all over Los Angeles.

In the heart of Hollywood, cameras captured the quake from many angles. Stores like this one, subdivisions, even city council, all felt the rattling. One audience filming a TV show ducked for cover.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He paid approximately -- he took out, I believe, $7.29.99.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stay calm. Stay calm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, earthquake.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: A number of aftershocks, but amazingly, just a handful of injuries. The quake was centered near Chino Hills, about 30 miles from downtown L.A. Some buildings were damaged, but none toppled like they did in the huge Northridge earthquake back in 1994.

LAX though had a mess on its hands, no doubt. Many people have a big cleanup job awaiting them after all of that mess coming up this morning.

California Governor Schwarzenegger says the state was very lucky after yesterday's quake. Will that luck hold though the next time?

Kara Finnstrom (AUDIO GAP) in Pasadena.

So, everybody wondering, is this an indication of the big one, Kara?

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that seems to be the big question. Caltech, the seismologists here, have been studying all of the aftershocks overnight to try and reassure people of what may be coming next.

And the big question I'm getting here, first off, is, is this an indicator that there could be something more coming? What have you been able to learn from everything you've seen overnight?

KATE HUTTON, SEISMOLOGIST: Well, any time we have an earthquake that's any size in California, we have a five percent chance that it's going to be followed by something bigger. But after we get 24 hours after the main shock, it's down to one percent.

You can see on this map here, this is the actual probability of feeling an earthquake in the next 24 hours. And it's still a little elevated around this area because of the 5.4 earthquake from yesterday. It's not high.

FINNSTROM: Yes. And it's something kind of neat that folks here locally have been able to log on, and you keep updating it to see what that 24-hour forecast is.

For folks especially on the East Coast who don't realize the real risk we live with every day here in California of having a bigger quake, you know, that 7.8, that big one, talk to us about the difference that we would see between the quake we had yesterday and what that 7.8 would be like.

HUTTON: OK. Well, the amount of energy that's released by a 7.8 would be something like 10,000 times larger, or 100 times larger for the Northridge earthquake, which was a 6.7. OK?

Fortunately, those larger earthquakes are rare. I mean, they're much more rare than the 5s are. But when they do happen, they release the bulk of the strained energy, and they also cause the bulk of the damage.

FINNSTROM: So, Heidi, these seismologists here very busy today, but they're also hoping to learn some new things out of this earthquake. They say they have a lot of new tools that they didn't have about 10 years ago, when the last significant quake struck here.

COLLINS: Yes. Obviously helping them out quite a bit on that front.

All right. Kara Finnstrom, thank you.

HARRIS: And new pictures we want to show you right now of Alaska Senator Ted Stevens on the job this morning. As you know, he has been indicted for a number of counts here.

The case revolving around hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts from a company that he was doing work for in Washington. The arraignment for Ted Stevens is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. And here he is, again, on Capitol Hill, meeting with friends and staffers, of course, supporters, as the corruption probe continues.

Again, his arraignment scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. We will of course keep you posted on developments on this front.

Closer to a war crimes trial, the so-called "Butcher of Bosnia" taken from his home country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: A Qantas jet lost the use of critical flight instruments after an oxygen bottle exploded in the cargo hold. That's the latest from the Australian officials who are investigating the weekend emergency. Investigators say a bottle like that one exploded, blasting a hole in the plane's fuselage. Tank fragments were found in the passenger cabin. The London to Melbourne flight made an emergency landing in the Philippines, 365 people were on board.

You see the hole there. Unbelievable. They were all OK.

HARRIS: Radovan Karadzic, extradited. The former Bosnian/Serb president now in the custody of a war crimes tribunal.

CNN Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson has more on what's next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's taken just over three and a half hours for Radovan Karadzic to leave Belgrade and arrive here at the detention facility in The Hague, the detention facility for the International War Crimes Tribunal to former Yugoslavia.

Two helicopters coming in above the detention facility. So while that helicopter has brought Radovan Karadzic into the detention facility, has landed inside the detention facility, the other helicopter still circling around.

We do understand from officials here that Radovan Karadzic will not be expected to go to the court, just a few minutes' flight from here, today, Wednesday. That will likely happen in the next few days.

The judges will decide 24, 48 hours, for Radovan Karadzic to go to the court to face the indictments, those charges against him, including genocide, complicity in genocide, murder, willful killings, exterminations. Those are some of the charges that will be put before him by the prosecutor.

He will be able to enter a plea, guilty or not guilty. He'll also have the opportunity to enter a deferred plea, up to 30 days he will have to enter a plea.

But during that time, he will be brought back here to the detention facility. This is where he's going to be held inside the detention facility. It could be several months before the trial begins. That will give time for the prosecution and the defense to prepare their cases.

Analysts say that the trial could last several years, but if the prosecution is successful, Radovan Karadzic could receive a sentence in decades, as many as 40 years. He is already in his early 60s. That would effectively amount to a life sentence.

Therefore, that means now Radovan Karadzic is inside the detention facility here at The Hague. He may never leave this building, this place as a free man ever again.

Nic Robertson, CNN, The Hague, The Netherlands. (END VIDEOTAPE)

COLLINS: Gay couples from anywhere in the U.S. may soon be allowed to marry in Massachusetts. State lawmakers have voted to repeal a 1913 law that bans couples from marrying in the state if the unions would not be legal in the state where the couples live.

The governor says he'll sign the repeal bill. It would put Massachusetts on par with California, which allows same-sex marriages without a residency requirement.

HARRIS: The focus: economic security. Barack Obama holding a town hall meeting in Springfield, Missouri. A live picture there. We'll check in later this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Fast approaching the half hour.

Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM.

I'm Tony Harris.

COLLINS: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.

Quickly want to get to you straight to Springfield, Missouri, where we've been telling you that Senator Barack Obama would take the stage. He has got two town hall meetings, actually, in the state of Missouri. And then a barbecue that comes up after that.

We're going to go ahead and listen in for just a moment.

(JOINED IN PROGRESS)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: ... that put us in the situation that we're in right now. It was also irresponsible decisions that were made in Washington and that were made on Wall Street.

(APPLAUSE)

And part of what we've learned is that you can't separate what's good for ordinary American families and what's good for the economy as a whole. You can't have Wall Street doing well and Main Street doing poorly and think that the economy is going to move forward. That's not how it works.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, even when the economy was going well under George Bush, when it was growing, and productivity was increasing, and people were working harder, you know what? The average American wage, the average American income for a family, was either flat-lined or going down.

The average American family has lost $1,000 worth of purchasing power over the last seven, eight years. Think about that. The economy was growing, corporate profits were up, the stock market was high. But most families, when it came to actually what they could buy with their paychecks, they were buying $1,000 less worth of stuff. And that just shows you that when wages are flat and prices are rising and more Americans are mired in debt, the economy as a whole suffers.

When a reckless few game the system, as we've seen in the housing crisis, where banks were giving out predatory loans, engaging in deceptive practices, inducing people to purchase homes with no money down and interest rates that looked like they were low, when it turned out that, in fact, they were going to increase in a few months or a few years, when people gain the system like that, everybody suffers. When special interests put their thumbs on the scale a little too heavily and distort the free market so that you have got tax breaks to companies that are shifting jobs overseas, everybody suffers.

When the government fails to meet its obligations for basic oversight to make sure that the system is working in a way that's fair and transparent for all Americans, then everybody suffers. America pays a heavy price.

So we've got a choice in this election. We can either choose a new direction, or we can keep on doing the same things that we've been doing. We can keep on doing the same things we've been doing.

Now, my opponent, John McCain, thinks that we're basically on the right track. He does. You know, he said that our economy has made great progress in the last eight years.

(LAUGHTER)

He has embraced the Bush economic policies and promises to continue them. The same policies of George Bush. He wants to continue the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy and he wants to put another $300 billion worth of tax cuts on the table for corporations.

Well, why not small businesses? Because he thinks it's OK the way things are going right now.

(APPLAUSE)

Let me tell you, we can't afford to keep on doing more of the same, and that's why I'm running for president of the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

COLLINS: There you have Senator Barack Obama speaking to a friendly crowd there in Springfield, Missouri, now on their feet. This is one of two town halls he'll hold in the state.

Interesting stuff here. Missouri's actually 11 electoral votes. Bush won the state both in 2000 and 2004.

Being seen now as sort of a tossup state. So interesting there. Also, Senator John McCain will be speaking later today. He's in Colorado. That will happen around 12:45, my note says, Aurora, Colorado. Then he's going to actually head to Missouri.

So there you have it.

HARRIS: President Bush calling out Congress at the top of the hour. The president came out of a meeting with his cabinet. Their topic, reigning in gas and energy prices. President Bush says his administration has taken steps to lead, now Congress has to follow.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: The time for action is now. This is a difficult period for millions of American families. Every extra dollar they have to spend because of high gas prices, one less dollar they can use to put food on the table or to pay their rent or meet their mortgages. The American people are rightly frustrated by the failure of Democratic leaders in Congress to enact commonsense solutions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: So, President Bush wants the Democrat-controlled Congress to approve more drilling offshore and in the Alaskan Arctic.

COLLINS: Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, it is at the center of debate over expanded oil drilling. And there's little common ground, even among the few people who live there.

CNN Senior Business Correspondent Ali Velshi went to Alaska looking for answers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm in Kaktovik, Alaska. It's a town of about 300 people. It's the only human settlement in ANWR, in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Now, some people say this poor place could do well economically if they bring oil drilling to ANWR. But opinion in this town is split down the middle.

(voice-over): Kaktovik is a busy place for the Arctic, but most folks here still lead a traditional life. They hunt caribou and other game, and the village is allowed to catch three whales a year. Some of the locals worry that if the oil drills and pipelines come, the wildlife could go.

But long time resident Myrtle Soplu thinks oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, for short, will bring jobs to this part of Alaska.

MYRTLE SOPLU, RESIDENT: Me, I've got three jobs right now to take care of myself. So, if I think if ANWR opens, we can stick to one job for a long time. VELSHI: She's seen those jobs. They have been drilling for oil in other parts of Alaska for 30 years. Nearby, but never actually in ANWR itself.

(on-camera): This is all part of the North Slope oilfield where 700,000 barrels a day are pumped out of here, shipped by pipeline to Valdez, Alaska, where it is then sent to the rest of the United States.

(voice-over): But production here has been declining for 20 years. There is more oil in ANWR, no one knows exactly how much, and it's off limits. And these days talk of drilling in ANWR is growing, along with worldwide demand for oil.

Supporters of the idea point out the Arctic tundra is flat, treeless land. Not the forest and wilderness that many may picture. No one is advocating opening up all of ANWR. The potential drilling area is about the size of the state of Delaware. The amount left untouched? About the size of South Carolina.

But drilling opponents say that's not the point. ANWR was set aside as a refuge for animals in 1960, and they say it should stay that way.

So the question is, how much oil is there in ANWR and what impact would it have on prices? The Department of Energy says the U.S. imports more than 60 percent of the oil it uses.

MICHAEL SCHAAL, ENERGY DEPARTMENT: An increase of production from ANWR would reduce that somewhat, perhaps by two percent, out to 2030. And that really is not enough to significantly alter world oil prices.

VELSHI: While residents' opinion is split, the Kaktovik local government is officially in favor of drilling. Resident Mike Gallagher figures the animals will be OK, but he's not sure that opening ANWR to drilling will give him much of a break at the pump.

MIKE GALLAGHER, RESIDENT: You can open today and you're not going to feel nothing for five to 10 years down the road. How is that going to change that?

VELSHI (on camera): So there are a couple of questions. What effect will drilling for oil in ANWR have on the wildlife, on the culture up here, and ultimately on the price of a barrel of oil or the price of gasoline? Even the Department of Energy's best-case estimates right now suggest that it may not bring prices down all that much.

Ali Velshi, CNN, in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: A stroke of a pen and help may be on the way for thousands of troubled homeowners. This morning, President Bush signed a massive rescue plan into law. It provides a safety net for mortgage giants Fannie Mae and cousin Freddie Mac, and throws a lifeline to many homeowners at risk of foreclosure.

Some 400,000 homeowners could benefit from the rescue plan. The new law goes into effect October 1.

Airline passengers, pack light or pay up. Delta is doubling its charge for a second checked bag. The new cost, $50, is designed to offset near-record fuel prices. The fee will apply to domestic coach tickets bought after today, and for travel beginning Tuesday. No word if other airlines will follow suit on the fee hike.

COLLINS: Rockin' and rollin' in southern California, your reaction to the 5.4 L.A. quake.

Veronica De La Cruz has your iReports.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: You know, it was no Hollywood special effect, but the show must go on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Earthquake. What do I do? What do I do?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead, get in the middle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Isn't that a great question, "What do I do?" "What do I do?"

This is a clip from a taping of the reality show "Big Brother," shot during yesterdays 5.4 magnitude earthquake. The quake rattled nerves all over Los Angeles.

Veronica De La Cruz joins us now with your iReports on the story.

Veronica, I bet there were some pretty interesting iReports.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what would you do, Tony?

HARRIS: Well, I've actually lived through one. So you go to the door jam, that's the first thing you do. You don't want to be in a high- rise as this is going on.

And then you just try to find a space outside on the street somewhere where you're not prone to getting, you know, articles, big chunks of things, falling on you. That's all you do, because there's not much you can do when the earth starts to move.

DE LA CRUZ: OK. All right. OK, OK, OK. You've got a point.

HARRIS: Yes.

DE LA CRUZ: And that obviously is the question here, what happens when a 5.4 quake hits L.A., California, the entertainment capital of the world? Well, apparently, Tony, you stop for a second. But then you eventually continue filming.

HARRIS: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HEATHER P., "THE COSMOS GAL": Avoid going OPT (ph) in your pursuit of that special someone. The stars have your back, so you can keep your cool.

There's an earthquake. Oh, my god.

Get in the doorway, Andy. Holy (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I think that was the first earthquake I've ever experienced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DE LA CRUZ: And there you go, Tony. She knew the correct answer, you get in the doorway.

This is Heather P. She's known as "The Cosmos Gal."

She was shooting her daily horoscopes, Tony, when the quake struck. There you see her in front of the green screen. She says there was actually so much construction gong on the area, that she thought it was a truck outside digging up the earth.

HARRIS: Oh.

DE LA CRUZ: But she had it right, Tony. She said, get in the doorway.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

DE LA CRUZ: So she did the right thing.

This next iReport is from Chaya Van-Essen. She sent us this from Beverly Hills, California. That's where she was when the quake hit.

She was at home. She said a few things in her house broke, including this picture frame with her grandfather's picture. She says at first, it felt like a truck hit the building, then she felt this sideways movement. And then she saw her chandelier swinging back and forth.

And I want to show you this, another mess in Kathy Hoffman's home. She said everything came crashing down off her mantle. And the quake emptied out both of her medicine cabinets.

And then take a look at this, Tony. Watch as Tina Sanborn (ph) in Yorba Linda, California, gives us a tour of the damage to her office.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now I'm in our office. As you see, our office took a big beating. The jolt knocked the drawers open, stuff out the cabinets, out of the shelves. Again, it felt like someone just kind of took the house and just pushed it over, and kind of knocked everything down. For a 5.8 earthquake, normally we don't feel it, or feel it that much, but this one had a huge impact.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DE LA CRUZ: Wow, 5.8 earthquake. I don't know, I've been through that, and I definitely felt those.

HARRIS: Oh yes.

DE LA CRUZ: You know?

HARRIS: Yes, there's no forgetting it. Once you've been through it, there's no forgetting it.

DE LA CRUZ: Yes, yes, yes, absolutely.

But we're still going to go through those iReports, so if you do have pictures and video, please send them to us. All you have to do is log on to our Web site at ireport.com -- Tony.

HARRIS: All right, Veronica. Good to see you.

And you know, it's a reminder that's worth giving to you once again. When the weather becomes the news, remember -- or any kind of event like this -- just go to CNN iReport and type ireport@cnn.com into your cell phone. Always, we remind you, to be safe.

A bit of breaking news here. American Airlines is having problems sorting baggage right now. And it's causing some pretty major problems.

Here's the explainer here. The software that controls the baggage sorting conveyer belt at JFK has malfunctioned. And when we talk about flights impacted, it's a serious situation at this point.

Approximately 20 flights have been delayed by at least an hour to 90 minutes because of the problem, and American Airline staffers are having to sort through the bags manually. But the truth of the situation is that a lot of the bags just aren't making it on to the flights before departure. So this is a situation that's going to cause headaches and all kinds of delays throughout the day until this problem is fixed at American Airlines.

We've got a CNN crew on its way to JFK right now, and we'll get you some more information as soon as it becomes available.

COLLINS: Even better than the dollar menu. Gas, 66 cents a gallon. We'll show you where.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS REPORT)

HARRIS: Is your cell phone putting you and your children at risk? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta with the latest on the debate.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: In today's "Daily Dose," could using your cell phone less actually save your life? And are your children at risk from the devices? New concerns after the director of the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute sounded the alarm last week.

CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is following the research. We talked about it earlier this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There's been a lot of evidence that say that these cell phones are dangerous. A part of the problem is, there's not a lot of evidence to say that they are safe either.

That formal advisor that you're referring to from the University of Pittsburgh, the first of its kind, really, from a major cancer institute to say, look, we need to be careful here with how we use cell phones. And you're right, they talked about children specifically.

Tony, sometimes a picture's worth a thousand words. Let me show you a couple here that might sort of illustrate this a bit.

HARRIS: Oh, great. Great.

GUPTA: When you talk about the amount of radiation that a young brain sort of absorbs, this is a 5-year-old child here. You can see this is a brain and this is the radiation plume sort of going into the brain. Use a different -- over here for a 10-year-old child, you can see it's slightly smaller, and compare that to an adult, and even less radiation actually being absorbed by the brain.

Now, it's fair to say, as Dr. Brawley (ph) said, this is not ionizing radiation. That's the stuff that's in x-rays. Everyone agrees that's bad for you.

This is non-ionizing radiation. The question is, what does it do to the brain? And what about all that heat that is generated close to the brain as well?

HARRIS: Yes.

GUPTA: These kids are going to use these phones for 60, 70, 80 years. We just don't know what the impact of that is.

HARRIS: And that gets to the next question here, Sanjay. Even if there was, let's say, stronger research published tomorrow that says, yes, it is more likely that cell phones cause brain cancer, look, we are so dependent on them.

What can we do?

GUPTA: Yes, I mean, I'm certainly very dependent on mine.

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

GUPTA: And, you know, the wireless industry will say, look, you know, if you look at all the studies out there, the overwhelming majority of studies show that wireless phones do not pose a significantly and increased risk. And they've stood by this statement despite all these other discussions.

HARRIS: Yes.

GUPTA: What they also say, and if you even read some of the small print that comes with your cell phone, they'll say don't hold it right next to your ear. I think an ear piece, which you and I have talked about in the past...

HARRIS: Yes. Yes.

GUPTA: ... is a good idea. A wired ear piece, you have that, you put the cell phone, the radiation source away from you head. That seems to be a pretty good idea.

And limit the amount of time that your kids spend on the phone, as well. We just don't know what the impact of that's going to be. Text message.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Yes, I was just going to say, Sanjay also adds another option, is text messaging.

COLLINS: Marijuana bill. Democratic Congressman Barney Frank pushing what he calls the Personal Use of Marijuana by Responsible Adults Act of 2008. It would take away federal, not state, but federal penalties for personal possession of 100 grams or less.

We want to know what you think. Should the feds turn a blind eye to limited pot use by responsible adults? E-mail us, cnnnewsroom@cnn.com. Kyra Phillips and Don Lemon will read some of your responses on NEWSROOM p.m.

HARRIS: So you think gas under $4 a gallon is a bargain again? Try 66 cents a gallon. We'll show you where.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Let's talk about gas. Dirt cheap, just 66 cents in Alabama. It was a short-time promotion, to be sure, by a car dealership. Here's how it worked.

The first 350 drivers in line were allowed to fill up with 15 gallons. But it only cost them about $10 instead of the usual $60. The dealership, in turn, says all of the money will be donated to local schools.

So where did the idea for 66-cent gas come from? The owner of the dealership says he wanted to put a spin on a 99-cent promotion. So what did he do? Yes, yes, he flipped the numbers. Smart guy.

COLLINS: That's creative.

CNN NEWSROOM continues just one hour from now.

HARRIS: "ISSUE #1" with Gerri Willis and Rick Sanchez starts right now.