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Obama Open to Compromise on Drilling; U.N. Deadline Passes with No Iranian Response; Car or Plane?; One of Four U.S. Bridges Are in Need of Repair; Anthrax Case Suspect Bruce Ivins Commits Suicide, Leaving Questions Unanswered; Senators McCain, Obama Talk About the Economy

Aired August 02, 2008 - 16:59   ET

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

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN ANCHOR: Relief at the gas pump, will it come from offshore oil drilling? Senator Barack Obama seems to be ready to compromise. Why the shift?
And how safe are the bridges you cross maybe every day? You'll want to hear what our expert has to say on the anniversary of the Minneapolis bridge collapse.

And should you drive or should you fly? This may be a vacationer's biggest decision with gas prices as high as they are. So our Don Lemon and Kyra Phillips may help you decide. You'll want to see their test.

Good evening, I'm Susan Roesgen. I'm filling in tonight for Rick Sanchez. And you're in the NEWSROOM.

Different political experts are calling it different things, but Senator Barack Obama has dropped his opposition to expanded offshore oil drilling. Obama now says he would compromise to get a long-term commitment to renewable energy sources. A new CNN poll shows that the American public wants expanded drilling by an overwhelming margin, nearly 3-1. And lately, Senator John McCain has racked up some political pointed on this issue.

And we have more on the story from CNN's Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Right here in Brevard County.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In Florida, Barack Obama was offering change, but this time, it was on his opposition to offshore oil drilling.

OBAMA: We can't allow, you know, partisan bickering or the desire to score political points to get in the way of providing some genuine relief to people who are struggling.

ACOSTA: Obama confirmed he's ready to back a new bipartisan compromise working its way through the Senate that would both raise taxes on oil companies and allow new oil drilling off the East Coast.

OBAMA: This wasn't really a new position.

ACOSTA: The Illinois senator insisted it wasn't a departure from the line in the sand he had drawn on drilling earlier this summer.

OBAMA: And believe me, if I thought there was any evidence at all that drilling could save people money who are struggling to fill up their gas tanks by this summer or this year or even the next few years, I would consider it. But it won't. And John McCain knows that.

ACOSTA: For weeks, John McCain has pounded Obama on the issue of high gas prices, painting his rival as a "Dr. No" on new energy solutions in ads and in his latest radio address.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He believes every domestic energy source has a problem. I believe every energy source needs to be part of the solution.

ACOSTA: If it's a flip-flop, it's one already tried on by McCain, who abandoned his opposition to offshore drilling earlier this summer.

MCCAIN: It's safe enough these days that not even hurricanes Katrina and Rita could cause significant spillage from the battered rigs off the coasts of New Orleans and Houston.

ACOSTA: McCain did not point out that the government found more than 100 rigs were damaged in those storms. As for Obama, his reversal on the issue may further alienate supporters who most left- leaning supporters who felt betrayed earlier this year by the senator's shift on domestic wiretapping.

JOHN MERCURIO, "THE HOTLINE": They need those voters, those young voters, those liberal left-of-center voters to turn out on Election Day. And if there's any degree to which they are discouraged, disenchanted, dissatisfied with Barack Obama's campaign, I think he's in big trouble.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: And Jim Acosta joins us now live in New York.

Jim, what is the McCain campaign saying about Obama's reversal here?

ACOSTA: Well, Susan, this might surprise you. They are not calling it a flip. We got an e-mail from Tucker Bounds with the John McCain campaign. And he sent us a message. And I'll read it to you. It says: "Our position is that Barack Obama still opposes additional drilling," and that is because they feel that this issue is working for them. They point to what Barack Obama said in that piece where he says this is not a new position as far as he is concerned.

And the McCain campaign is sticking with that. That is exactly where they want Barack Obama on this issue -- Susan.

ROESGEN: But, Jim, apart from the spin, each candidate now favors some sort of even limited offshore drilling, right?

ACOSTA: That's right. If you listen to what Barack Obama has said repeatedly, up until 48 hours ago, we had one clip, which we could have put into this piece, in which he described offshore drilling, additional drilling, as a gimmick and compared it to that gas tax holiday that John McCain is still sticking with out on the campaign trail.

So make no mistake, Barack Obama was firmly against this proposal all along. But what he is saying is that he is willing to give on this issue as part of this bipartisan compromise that's making its way through the Congress right now.

ROESGEN: OK. Thank you, Jim Acosta, reporting for us in New York.

Now later tonight in the newscast, senators McCain and Obama will talk about "ISSUE #1," which is the state of the economy. You're going to hear from both candidates.

Meanwhile in Iraq, two American soldiers are facing murder charges. A military statement says this allegation, these charges stems from the death of an Iraqi detainee. In addition to murder, Staff Sergeant Hal Warner and First Lieutenant Michael Behenna are accused of assault, of making a false statement, and obstruction of justice. The military says they thought the detainee had been released.

Also in Iraq, a mystery. Why is a major defense contractor collecting its workers' cell phones? Houston-based contractor KBR is demanding its employees give up their personal cell phones for what they say is security reasons. The company has refused to explain it any further than that but says whatever triggered this action is being reviewed.

This order also applies to these KBR employees who are working in Afghanistan and Kuwait. But one of the employees told CNN he's not going to follow it. He says his personal cell phone is crucial to his safety if he's ever in danger.

Today is the informal deadline for Iran to respond to the U.N. The U.N. is offering Tehran incentives in exchange for a freeze on all nuclear activities. So far, no response. CNN's Reza Sayah is live in Tehran with the latest -- Reza.

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Susan, that informal deadline was this Saturday. It is past midnight right now, and no developments when it comes to that deadline. But we do have new developments of nuclear talks in town in Tehran today, was the Syrian president, Bashar Assad, sent by French President Nicolas Sarkozy to perhaps try and persuade Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to expect this -- accept this latest offer by the U.S. and the five world powers.

But we can report in the past couple of hours in the official Web site of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he is quoted as saying: "Tehran will not give up its nuclear rights, and if international talks continue, Iran would push to reinforce those rights."

Once again, this Saturday was the deadline set on July 19th in the nuclear talks in Geneva. That's where the U.S. and the five world powers had offered Iran the freeze-for-freeze package of the world powers, offering Iran a six-week delay in a fourth round of sanctions if Iran would agree not to expand its uranium enrichment program.

But this delay, the deadline was today. And it has gone without any response from Iran. Earlier this week, the foreign minister dismissed the deadline. And also this week in a speech televised to the Iranian public, the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei had said that Iran is going full speed ahead with its nuclear program, reiterating that it is for peaceful purposes -- Susan.

ROESGEN: Well, Reza, how important are these incentives to Iran, that the U.N. Security Council is offering? Do they really need these incentives?

SAYAH: Well, indications at this point are that they're not important enough because Iran is playing hardball. There are a lot of indications that Iran believes its political clout and influence is growing and that's why they're not relenting to these incentives. Those incentives include improved relationships with the U.S.

Recently U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, we are not going to rule out opening up an interest section in Tehran. So that would be the first diplomatic post in Tehran since 1980 when the U.S. embassy was shut down. So there are some significant incentives, but Iran is sticking to its guns, saying we're continuing a nuclear program for peaceful purposes, the Iranian enrichment is our right, and If international talks continue, we will look to reinforce those rights -- Susan.

ROESGEN: OK. Reza, we'll just have to see what happens in the next few weeks. Thank you.

Meanwhile in Turkey, the government has arrested 13 people in connection with this deadly bombing in Istanbul last week, 17 people were killed and more than 150 wounded in two explosions. The Turkish government says it blames a separatist group for this attack, but won't give any details.

Well, the Mouse wants more cheddar from you. It's going to cost you more if you want to take your family to what Disney calls "the greatest place on Earth."

And speaking of family vacations...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: So far not so bad, $32, $33. What's up with all of these gnats?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Security took forever. Now we only have about 20 minutes until our flight.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: OK. It can be a hassle -- both of these can be a hassle, but what is cheaper for your family, flying or driving? Which is easier? Two familiar faces here put this to a real-life test.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROESGEN: And if you were thinking about a trip to Disney, well, it just got more expensive. The one-day ticket prices to Disney parks in the United States went up as much as $4 today. Now that really adds up.

For instance, at the park in Orlando, tickets for those 10 years old and older are now $75 each. Tickets for younger kids are a little bit cheaper at $63 each. That makes it a pretty pricey trip to "the greatest place on Earth."

And if you thought going to the DMV, the Department of Motor Vehicles, was a pain, and it usually is, every few years, try standing in line in California, because drivers there are already feeling the pinch of the drastic budget cuts, Arnold Schwarzenegger's --Governor Schwarzenegger's moves. State workers have filed suit to try to stop the governor's budget order, his budget block. He has called for most employees' paychecks to be temporarily cut, for thousands of part- timers as well to be laid off.

Talking about gas prices now, AAA says the national average for a gallon of regular is $3.89 today. That's the national average. It's down about a half a cent. And it's about 22 cents off the record high we had two weeks ago.

Well, have you taken your summer vacation yet? Did you fly? Did you drive? Hope you didn't stay home. With gas prices still as high as they are and the airlines tacking on baggage fees, fees for drinks onboard, fees for just about everything, it's a tough choice. What do you do? Is it more expensive to drive or is it more expensive to fly?

Our Don Lemon and Kyra Phillips put this to a real-life test.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (voice-over): Our trip from Atlanta to vacation destination Orlando, that's about 450 miles. I went by car, Kyra by plane. And for added realism, we both brought along one of those dolls programmed to cry just like a real baby.

(on camera): Oh, the baby is crying. It's 8:45 and the baby is crying.

PHILLIPS: I have a feeling this baby is going to be more difficult than anything else, so here we go.

(voice-over): And flying for the average family can be difficult and expensive if you start adding extra bags per person.

(on camera): So if you're traveling with a family of three and each person has two bags and the second bag costs $20?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. If you do it at the airport.

PHILLIPS (voice-over): But for the families I met along the way, it was still worth it.

(on camera): So whose idea was it to fly?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My mom's.

PHILLIPS: Mom's. All right. And why did you pick flying, mom?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's easier than a 16-hour drive from Ohio.

PHILLIPS: So I'm curious, why fly instead of driving?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gas prices. And I have a 7-year-old. A lot less time in the car.

LEMON (voice-over): Speaking of time in the car, we're back on the road from Atlanta to Orlando.

(on camera): 12:22. And we are in -- I'm not exactly sure where we are. I guess we're getting close to Valdosta, Georgia. When you get on the plane, it's just to go schwooo (ph), it's all about getting there. When you're in a car, part of it is getting there, but a lot of it is what's in the middle.

Hey. I'm shopping for peanut clusters.

(voice-over): For the families I met along the way, driving had some definite pay-offs.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we did have the choice, but we chose driving.

LEMON: Why did you choose -- gas prices are high, why are you driving?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because airline tickets are even higher. And it's educational for the kids.

LEMON: So why did you drive to Tampa instead of fly?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you know, we carpooled. So it was faster to carpool.

LEMON: It's more economical, you think?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes.

PHILLIPS: All right. This is where I get stressed out, not knowing how long the security lines are going to be. I have never seen it like this in a really long time.

(voice-over): But getting through security with a baby, even a fake one, can be a little tricky.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This baby has got a metal head.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, lord. Stop that. Stop, stop.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS (on camera): OK. That was an experience. Security took forever. Now we only have about 20 minutes until our flight.

LEMON: Do you see that guy cut us off? Wienie. We've got a child onboard, mister. Slow it down.

I wouldn't have stopped for a couple of hours, but I think the baby needs changing.

PHILLIPS: OK. Here's one advantage of flying. Don has to drive, right? Seven hours. Well, he can't have a cocktail. Jeff, what do you have there?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got a chardonnay and a merlot.

PHILLIPS: What do you recommend?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The chardonnay.

LEMON (singing): The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round...

PHILLIPS (voice-over): The miles are adding up, so are the costs. So which one was cheaper, flying or driving? Well, for a family of three, our air fare added up to $891. When you add in the $8 a day parking at the airport for a five-day vacation, that tacks on another 40 bucks. Grand total, $931.

LEMON (voice-over): And now let's do the math on the road trip. We spent about $80 round trip for gas. And lunch for two adults was about 30 bucks. If you take your own car, that's pretty cheap, just $110. But if you decide to rent the SUV, that can tack on another $641 more for five days for a grand total of $751.

So it costs more to fly either way. But Kyra's flight took a lot less time. So which is better? Well, it all depends on who you ask.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a lot cheaper today to drive.

PHILLIPS (on camera): So do you like flying or driving better when you take a trip?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Flying.

PHILLIPS: Flying, how come?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because it's faster.

(LAUGHTER) PHILLIPS: It's faster.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: So as you saw there, Don said it took him longer to drive, but he felt that he had more adventure on his car trip to Orlando. And the total cost was cheaper. It took Kyra just a couple of hours to get there. And I don't know, maybe she had too much of that fancy wine, but she didn't say that she had as much adventure as Don did. Either way, you have to ask yourself, what you're willing to spend, your time or your money?

Coming up, it is one of the biggest problems the next president will have to deal with, and it is literally right under our feet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

ROESGEN: Well, rebuilding after a disaster. It is amazing to watch this time lapse video of the repair work to the Interstate 35 West Bridge in Minneapolis. There it is. Thirteen people, you'll remember, were killed when the bridge collapsed a year ago yesterday. It's now almost completely finished, got another month to go. But since that time in the last year, many people have wondered how safe are all of our bridges?

Here's CNN's Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the scene one year ago this week. Rush hour in Minneapolis when suddenly the Interstate 35W Bridge over the mighty Mississippi collapsed.

CALLER: The whole bridge over the river fell down. There are cars all over the place.

911 DISPATCH: OK. Where, sir?

CALLER: I want to say 35W over the Mississippi. Down by the U. What (ph) load (ph) is that (ph)? (INAUDIBLE). There's hundreds of cars down in the river.

KAYE: Before it was over, 13 were dead, more than 100 injured. Can this happen again? Yes. Perhaps it's even likely. The Federal Highway Administration said in 2006 that one-quarter of the nation's nearly 600,000 bridges were rated structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.

Ryan Toohey has studied solutions for the nation's roads and bridges.

RYAN TOOHEY, AMERICA MOVING FORWARD: When I hear that many states have close to a majority of their bridges deemed obsolete or structurally deficient, that scares me. KAYE: A study by the American Society of Civil Engineers suggests it would take $1.6 trillion over five years to make adequate repairs. The problem is the money isn't there. Some of that money comes from the Highway Trust Fund, and you pay for it through taxes you pay for gasoline.

With people now driving less, about 4 percent less in May alone, the Department of Transportation predicts tax dollars will fall far short of what is needed for improvement projects. And that will leave many projects delayed, even canceled.

Toohey is with America Moving Forward, which wants more private investment in road building.

TOOHEY: Nearly every state in the country is facing a budget crisis. And if they don't have that money, they're not going to be able to solve the problems.

KAYE (on camera): The Bush administration projects some time in the next fiscal year, before October 1st, the highway account will hit zero, down from $8 billion at the start of the fiscal year. Payments simply can't be made if the money isn't there.

(voice-over): U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary Peters said in a statement: "Without a doubt, our federal approach to transportation is broken." One short-term solution, she says, may be for the Highway Trust Fund to borrow from Mass Transit's account. But it won't be easy getting Congress to approve that.

One year after that horrific day, no money, still no solution for America's highway crisis. For Mercedes Gordon, who nearly lost her life on the Minneapolis bridge one year ago, that's hardly peace of mind.

MERCEDES GORDON, BRIDGE COLLAPSE VICTIM: I don't understand the delay. People have died. To me that's a no-brainer. I'm not really sure where people's priorities are. I don't know where they think the money is better spent. To me it is obvious. You lose 13 people, that tells you something. That should be an eye-opener. That should be a wake-up call. And if it hasn't been yet, then I'm at a loss for words.

KAYE: Randi Kaye, CNN, Minneapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: Well, it is an eye-opener, especially because the experts are predicting that another Minneapolis-type bridge collapse will happen again. Where, they don't know. But a new study on bridge safety has just been released. And Pete Rand's (ph) organization wrote this study. We're going to get his take on our safety, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: It was somber in Minneapolis yesterday. It was the one-year anniversary of the I-35 West bridge collapse. You remember that this tragedy in Minneapolis, the tragedy that killed 13 people, really got us thinking about the infrastructure of all of our nation's bridges, our major bridges. And a report has just come out, a national report, that warns that one out of every four bridges in this country needs some kind of repair.

Pete Rahn spearheads the non-profit group that put those facts together. He's here with us now.

You're also the head of the Missouri Department of Transportation. If one of every four bridges needs repairs, how likely are we to see another major bridge collapse like the one in Minneapolis?

PETE RAHN, ASSOCIATION OF STATE HIGHWAY TRANSPORTATION OFFICIALS: Fortunately, the Minneapolis collapse is a very rare occurrence. But we have to realize that nationally we have baby-boomer bridges that are on average 43 years old. They were designed for 50 years of life. And we need to make a major investment in our bridge inventory if we're going to make sure that they can continue to be safe and support our national economy.

ROESGEN: Well, you know, Randy Kaye pointed out, in her piece just now, that fewer people are driving because gas prices are so high and yet this country depends on the tax from gas revenue to repair bridges. What does that mean?

RAHN: Well, the DOTs are really being squeezed right now because fuel taxes are producing less money available for us to support the system. We are seeing astronomical inflation in our construction materials. And there's a big cloud out there as to what's going to happen with future federal dollars. So we are in a very difficult position. And certainly we -- we are not facing less needs on our transportation system. We're in a global economy and our competition is going to require that we invest more.

ROESGEN: Well, you know, Randy pointed out that there's also some talk of maybe getting higher taxes from mass transportation since more people are taking mass transportation now with gasoline prices so high. Could that happen? Could the feds make that happen and disburse this money to bridges all over the country?

RAHN: The most likely scenario in the next highway bill is that there is going to be that there's going to be more highway dollars shifted to transit. It's probably going to be the opposite occurrence of what you've just described.

The bottom line is that we desperately need to rectify three decades of underinvestment in our transportation system. And the political powers, both at the national and state levels, are going to have to find a solution to this underinvestment if we're going to have a safe transportation system.

ROESGEN: OK. Before I get on a major bridge tomorrow, which states have the worst bridges? Do you know that? And which states have the safest bridges? Can you tell us that? RAHN: You know what? Those numbers are available in various charts. But they're not listed that way. And the bottom line is there is not a DOT in the country that would allow you to drive over a bridge that they thought were unsafe.

But if you want to know which bridges are structurally deficient, look for the little white signs that approach the bridge that tell you that there is a weight restriction on that bridge. And that's the indication to you that that bridge has a structural problem, and if it just simply can't carry the weight that it was designed for originally.

ROESGEN: OK, Pete. We will look for those. I see those all the time. Now I'll know. Go around or take the ferry. Thank you, Pete Rahn. Appreciate it.

RAHN: Thank you.

ROESGEN: In another story this week, that broke this week, a very intriguing story. We now know who the chief suspect was in the anthrax attacks seven years ago. Bruce Ivins was an anthrax researcher at a government facility and he killed himself this past week. That means the Justice Department may soon close the book on that case. But there's still a lot of questions about Bruce Ivins.

CNN's Brianna Keilar is outside Fort Detrick in Maryland with more on the story -- Brianna?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Bruce Ivins lived right down the street here Fort Detrick here which houses the biodefense lab that he worked at for decades. His older brother, Tom Ivins, basically has said he wouldn't put the 2001 anthrax attacks past his brother. Tom Ivins said that he was questioned by federal investigators, but he couldn't disclose much about what he told them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM IVINS, ESTRANGED BROTHER OF BRUCE IVINS: They asked me about personal things, my brothers, I told them. That was it. We had a very nice chat for about three to four hours. Wow. They left and went to a restaurant. And they -- and they bought me a sandwich and a beer. I came back home. That was it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: We should tell you that Tom Ivins was estranged from his brother, Bruce. The two haven't spoken in quite some time. And Tom Ivins said that he'd never spoken with his brother about the anthrax attack investigations.

Neighbor here in this neighborhood, very surprised. They say they are saddened by the news of their neighbor's death. They say he was very devoted to his community and very involved in his church, but it was obvious to them that federal investigators had been keeping their eye on Ivins for some time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BONNIE DUGGAN, NEIGHBOR: We started noticing the surveillance probably a year ago. And it was -- I guess the reason we noticed it as much as anything was because of the inconvenience. They'd often be parked in front of our house when we would need to park our car there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Ivins' lawyer maintains his client was innocent and it was the stress and suspicion of this investigation and not guilt that prompted his client to take his own life.

There were signs recently that Ivins was a troubled man. At the time of his death, he was under a temporary restraining order brought against him by a female therapist who accused him of stalking and harassment within the last 30 days. That woman was scheduled to testify before a federal grand jury on Friday, a proceeding that was canceled in light of Ivins' death.

Brianna Keeler, CNN, Frederick, Maryland.

ROESGEN: Many twists and turns in that case.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government admits that it has underestimated the AIDS epidemic in this country for the last 12 years. Better tests, they say, and new statistical methods show more than 56,000 new HIV infections in 2006. That's a fairly typical year according to the Centers for Disease Control. But it is much higher than the CDC's previous estimate of about 40,000 new cases annually.

And in a week when we learned that one in every two new HIV cases in this country is black, it's appropriate that our "CNN Hero" is someone who is working to change that. Bambi Gattis is battling on the frontline of the AIDS epidemic in the Deep South.

ANNOUNCER: This is "CNN Hero."

(CNN HERO)

ANNOUNCER: Get involved -- cnn.com/heroes.

ROESGEN: So here's how you do it to get involved with Bambi's organization or to find out more about any "CNN Hero." Go to cnn.com/heroes. Those heroes will be honored at an all-star tribute Thanksgiving night here on CNN.

Caught on tape. A New York City police officer hitting a man with a baton. Are we watching police brutality or is this the impact of our video culture. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROESGEN: Boy, this is hard to watch. This is amateur video taken on the 4th of July, but it has just come out this week. Look at this. It shows a New York police officer beating a man with his baton. Now, according to several reports, the police say the man was drunk and he swung at the officers with an umbrella. The man says that's not the case. He says he hadn't been drinking. The officer who was swinging the baton is on desk duty now while this incident is investigated.

Chicago is also dealing with controversial headlines. Every time you open the paper you see another one. The largest city in the Midwest has terrible violent crime, especially among teenagers. Recently, there's been a big spike in murders. Chicago's top cop says more than half of those homicides his force investigates are gang- related.

Four months ago, this man, Ruben Ivy, was gunned down as he walked home from school. He's one of 29 students killed so far this year, all caught in this violence of what seems to be a much bigger problem.

Ruben's mother says her son did not belong to a gang.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMILY GREEN, MOTHER OF RUBEN IVY: He was no gang banger at all. He was just a young boy. You know, young man. Go to school, do what he's supposed to do.

LAWRENCE BENSON, RUBEN IVY'S FRIEND: It's so easy to get a gun now. I mean, everybody's got a gun now. There's little babies out here shooting at people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROESGEN: Isn't that the truth? The governor of Illinois says Chicago's crime problem is out of control. Now the mayor of Chicago disagrees with that, but we'll look at those numbers. Is it something wrong with the policing? Is the problem that bad? Tonight at 10:00 eastern.

And from taxes to gas prices, it seems your money is "Issue Number One" for the presidential candidates. What's their plan for the economy?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROESGEN: You know, you always like to hear what the candidates are saying in their own words. No spin, just what they have to say. It gives you a chance to make an informed choice in the presidential election for all of us.

So here are Senators John McCain and Barack Obama on the campaign trail talking about the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I'm elected, I will put a $1,000 tax cut into your pocket. 95 percent of Americans will get tax relief under my plan. I will -- I will provide a mortgage interest deduction for people who currently don't qualify so that homeowners get a little bit of relief. We're going to eliminate income taxes -- we're going to eliminate income taxes for seniors who are making $50,000 a year less so they get a little bit of relief.

And I'm going to support parents who are struggling right now by expanding the child care credit and making sure that families have paid sick leave because a lot of folks don't. And we're going to make sure that we have equal pay for equal work so that every woman in America is being treated the same way that men are being treated because that's just the right thing to do.

Now, I don't want to wait until I'm president to do it. I want it done now. So yesterday I announced a two-part emergency plan to help struggling families make ends meet and get our economy back on track. The first part of my plan is to tax the windfall profits of oil companies. And to use some of that money to help you deal with rising gas prices by getting a rebate to you right away.

Now, this is an area where my opponent and I disagree. He opposes using that money to help you pay your bills. The other day we learned that Exxon-Mobil made nearly $12 billion in three months. To put it another way, they made $1,500 every second. That's more than $300,000 in the time it takes you to fill up your gas tank. Senator McCain actually wants to give oil companies like Exxon another $4 billion in tax cuts. I don't know about you, but I don't think we should be giving tax breaks to oil companies at a time that they're doing better than they have ever done before, and you are doing worse.

I think it's time to use some of those record profits to help pay for your record prices at the pump by putting $1,000 emergency energy rebate into your pockets right now.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Obama and I have fundamental differences on economic policy and many of them concern tax rates. He supports a proposal to raise top marginal rates paid by small business and families, to raise tax rates on those with taxable incomes of more than $32,000, raise capital gains taxes. Raise taxes on dividends, raise payroll taxes and estate taxes. That's a whole lot of raising. And for me, it's the families, individuals and small businesses, it will mean a lot less money to spend, save and invest as they see fit.

For my part, I believe that in a troubled economy when folks are struggling to afford the necessities of life, higher taxes are the last thing we need. The economy isn't hurting because -- my friends, the economy isn't hurting because workers and businesses are under taxed. Raising taxes eliminates jobs, hurts small businesses and delays economic recovery.

Under my plan, we will preserve the current low rates as they are so businesses, large and small, can hire more people. We'll double the personal exemption from $3,500 to $7,000 for every dependent in every family in America. We'll offer -- we'll offer every individual and family a large tax credit to buy their health care so employers can spend more on wages, and workers don't lose their coverage when they change jobs. We'll lower the business tax rate so American companies open new plants and create more jobs in this country, not going overseas.

Now, there are honest differences, as well, about the growth of government. But surely we can find common ground in the principle that government cannot go on forever spending recklessly and incurring debt. Government has grown by 60 percent in the last eight years because the Congress and the administration have failed to meet their responsibilities, and Americans are angry about it. And they should be.

And next year, total federal expenditures are predicted to reach over $3 trillion. That's an awful lot for us to be spending when this nation is already more than $9 trillion in debt or more than $30,000 in debt for every citizen of this country. That's a debt our government plans to leave for your children and mine to bear. And that's not only a failure of financial oversight, it's a moral obligation.

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ROESGEN: There you have it, both candidates in their own words in the past week. And remember, the November election is getting very close. If you want to get the latest on the candidates, what they're saying about the issues, logon to our web site, cnnpolitics.com. 24/7, it is the most politics you'll find on the web.

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ROESGEN: You know, they always say that getting in shape is easier if you've got somebody to do it with, the buddy system. And our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has one couples' amazing 190-pound weight loss in today's "Fit Nation."

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ROESGEN: In the ever-changing world of medicine, the world's first double-arm transplant has been performed in Germany. Surgeons fitted a farmer with two new arms during a 15-hour operation. The farmer had lost his arms in an accident six years ago and he had been using artificial arms. But the human donor died shortly before the surgery last weekend to give him human arms for this transplant. Doctors say the biggest problem now is establishing blood flow between the farmer's body and the muscles in his new arms. If his body doesn't reject them, it could be years before they're fully functional.

Last March, a small army of exiled Buddhist monks began trekking from their home in India to the Tibetan frontier. Their goal was to press for Tibet's independence. Our chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, met these marchers and their leader as they began their journey. She shares their story in the "CNN Special Investigations Unit" report "Buddha's Warriors." Catch it tonight and tomorrow night at 8:00 eastern only on CNN. And we'll be back at 10:00 eastern tonight with the latest on the anthrax investigation surrounding the scientist in Maryland. We'll see you at 10:00.