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Summer Swelter; Edouard Heads For Northern Gulf Coast; Gas Prices Drop and Tips To Beat the High Cost of Gas; Eager for the Olympics in China
Aired August 04, 2008 - 15:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Strong tropical storm or weak hurricane? Either way, it's Edouard bearing down on the northern Gulf Coast. We will see how folks in Texas and Louisiana are preparing.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it's not as dramatic, but can be just as deadly, midsummer heat. The middle of the country is baking. And our Chad Myers is watching in the Weather Center for us.
KAYE: Call it a purpose-driven fight against a global crisis. Rick and Kay Warren join us this hour from the International AIDS Conference in Mexico.
Hello. I'm Randi Kaye at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KAYE: A lot of people are feeling it, suffocating heat, in many places, triple digits. Much of Texas looks to be five degrees hotter than normal. It could be twice that in Oklahoma and Arkansas. And, in the very center of the country, folks are bracing for an extra 15 degrees.
CNN's Reynolds Wolf takes a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): It could become one of the hottest summers on record in the Lone Star state. Officials blame triple digits temperatures in the deaths of three people in Dallas and Fort Worth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you notice that you're outside the heat and sweating alone and then you stop sweating, very important that you go inside. That means you're dehydrated.
WOLF: So far, Dallas has had 10 straight days of 100 degree plus temperatures.
PERDRO RUIZ, CONSTRUCTION WORKER: We try to stay cool out here because we know it's hot temperatures.
WOLF: Businesses are trying to cope as best they can. But customers are not taking chances.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We chose to sit inside instead of outside. No one was sitting out on the porch.
WOLF: The mercury reached a sweltering 107 degrees in Dallas on Sunday. 109 in Wichita Falls. And it's not over yet. In fact, parts of north Texas are under an excessive heat warning until later this evening.
Reynolds Wolf, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And, off the coast of Texas, a gathering storm and growing concerns. We have got our eye on Edouard. The tropical storm is churning in the Gulf of Mexico. Edouard could be near hurricane strength when it crashes ashore tomorrow. All those dots that you see there, you see there to right at your screen, all those dots, those represent oil rigs in its path. But analysts aren't expecting any big problems. They don't expect any. Shell oil has evacuated about 40 workers, though.
Between the storm and the heat, Texas could be facing a double whammy.
We turn now to our weather expert, Mr. Chad Myers, in the CNN Severe Weather Center -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, could you imagine Dallas at 102 right now, but with a doubling of the humidity, what that would feel like in a couple of days? Yuck.
LEMON: Yes.
MYERS: Tropical Storm Edouard, this thing is still 45 miles per hour, although it's not going nearly as fast as it needs to get there by morning, which is kind of the forecast. I think this thing is either going to have to, one, going to have to pick up speed to 12 miles per hour or it's just never going to make it, which means, if it never makes it, that means it's going to have more time in the warm water to get stronger. That's why there still is a chance. Even though it's not the forecast, there still is a chance for this to become a hurricane.
It could also turn the north up toward Port Arthur. It could also go down to the south, not quite other about Port Aransas, its path over to the north of there. But even as a 70-mile-per-hour storm, it still could give some headaches to people out there obviously rolling right through.
Here's New Orleans. Here's Houston. Rolling right through this oil field area here. And so far I have been watching the oil prices today, thinking, oh, this is not going to be good. But in fact oil is down about $3. But here we go. Right through all of these rigs, some of them are drilling rigs. Some of them are platforms. Some of them in the shallower water. Some of them actually are attached to the ground. But many of them are not. Many of them are floating platforms, either chained to the ground or else floating around by motors. Set the GPS, and those motors have to keep that thing right over where it's supposed to be or else you get that thing too far off center and it's not attached to the ground anymore. And, obviously, they don't want that. We will keep watching it tonight. It could get stronger.
If it does, it will be obviously need to go to 74 miles per hour to get to be a hurricane. Right now it's not even close to that. This is just kind of a cluster of storms all rotating around, but getting better organized as we speak -- Don.
LEMON: You said Dallas temperatures, yuck. Is that a meteorological term?
MYERS: Yes, we spell it differently than Y-U-C-K.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: All right, Chad, we will check back. Thank you very much.
MYERS: Sure.
KAYE: Very official there.
LEMON: Yes.
KAYE: Near Yosemite National Park, all evacuation orders have been lifted, and the fire is actually almost out. It's about 95 percent contained, and fire crews say they should have it fully surrounded by the end of today.
The wildfire has been burning for 10 days, destroying 34,000 acres of land and 21 homes. It was started by someone doing target practice on private land.
LEMON: And, Randi, vacation can wait for a dozen or so House Republicans. They're hanging around the Capitol today trying to pressure Speaker Nancy Pelosi to call the House back into session to vote on offshore drilling, nuclear power, and other energy issues. Here's what they're saying.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: How long will we be here? We will be here as long as we can.
But my hope is that, as the American people see Republican members of Congress standing in the darkness with the microphones off and the lights out clamoring for an up-or-down vote on giving the American people more access to American oil, that they will call their congressmen and women and ask them, why aren't you in Washington? Why aren't you there?
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Well, the congressman says about 40 party faithful will take shifts throughout the week on the largely vacant floor of the House.
T. Boone Pickens, the Texas tycoon who made billions from oil, says he has a solution to solve the energy crisis, but who's going to pick up the $1 trillion tab? Be sure to watch "LARRY KING LIVE" on CNN tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
KAYE: In the race for the White House, both Barack Obama and John McCain say they can solve the nation's energy crunch and save you money at the same time.
Obama unveiled his so-called Energy for America plan just a short time ago in the battleground state of Michigan. Among other things, the Democratic candidate wants to tap into the Strategic Oil Reserve. And after railing against offshore oil drilling earlier in the campaign, Obama now says he could go along with it as part of a compromise the lower energy costs.
LEMON: Well, John McCain toured a label plant and spoke to a small business roundtable in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania. Among other things, McCain wants more offshore oil drilling, expanded nuclear power, and alternative energy, such as wind, solar, and geothermal power.
Later today, McCain -- McCain heads to South Dakota for the Buffalo Chip motorcycle rally. That should be interesting. A bit later this hour, we will hear from John McCain and Barack Obama and their energy policies in their own words.
KAYE: Robert Novak is retiring -- that word from the longtime political columnist and former CNN commentator just days after he announced he has a brain tumor. Novak writes a column for "The Chicago Sun-Times." He says doctors are still working out details of his treatment, but tentative plans call for radiation and chemotherapy. Novak describes his prognosis as dire.
For years, Novak was a regular on CNN's "CROSSFIRE."
LEMON: Case finally closed? Well, there's a question mark behind that because sources tell CNN the government is ready to end its investigation into the post-9/11 anthrax attacks today or tomorrow. After that, we could hear details that have been under wraps for seven years.
Here's what we do know right now. Sources say investigators zeroed in on Bruce Ivins as the main suspect after linking DNA from the anthrax mailings to the Army lab where Ivins worked. Ivins died last week in an apparent suicide at his home outside Washington.
A former colleague tells CNN he believes Ivins was innocent. Ivins' former therapist tells a far different story in audiotaped court testimony.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) JEAN DULEY, THERAPIST OF BRUCE IVINS: That he had bought a bulletproof vest, had obtained a gun, a very detailed plan to kill his co-workers, to that -- because he was about to be indicted on capital murder charges, he was going to go out in a blaze of glory, that he was going to take everybody out with him.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
KAYE: One of those anthrax-laced letters mailed in 2001 was addressed to Tom Daschle. He was Senate majority leader at the time. Today he tells CNN the investigation has been filled with pitfalls, in part because it focused on the wrong man, former researcher Steven Hatfill. Whatever secret details are revealed this week, he says he will take them with a grain of salt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM DASCHLE (D), FORMER SENATE MINORITY LEADER: I'm not satisfied in part because I think they haven't been as forthcoming, not only with me, but with the American people, about the status of this investigation. I also haven't seen the evidence.
And I think that, given their checkered past and the difficulty that they had in getting to this point, the bungling of the Hatfill part of the investigation leads me to be very skeptical.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: We want to take a moment now to remember the five victims of the anthrax attacks, photographer Robert Stevens, two postal workers, Tom Morris Jr. and Joseph Curseen, a hospital worker, Kathy Nguyen, and Ottilie Lundgren, a 94-year-old widow of a prominent judge.
KAYE: Politicians, activists, people from all walks of life all coming together for a global AIDS conference. We will talk to two of them and bring you some sobering new numbers on HIV.
LEMON: And as we count down to the Olympics, can we count on more protests like this, people angry at the Chinese government for taking their homes?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: A remote, desolate American beach could hold new clues to a mystery that's been plaguing Canadian police. Why are severed human feet washing ashore?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: A new twist to a year-old Canadian mystery. Police say a sixth sneaker believed to contain a foot has washed ashore. But this time, it happened in Washington State near Port Angeles. The remains in the new shoe are being tested to determine if they're human. The discovery complicates the investigation that has vexed police in British Columbia. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE (voice-over): Take a good look at this sneaker. Investigators say it still has a foot inside it, one of five feet found on Canadian shores in less than a year.
TERRY SMITH, BRITISH COLUMBIA REGION CORONER: I can certainly tell you that I have never run across something like this.
KAYE: Police say two people spotted the foot in the waters between Vancouver Island and British Columbia's mainland. Like the others, it was still wearing a sneaker. Of the five feet, the first four are right feet. This is the only left one.
It's a mystery that has baffled investigators since the first foot washed ashore in August 2007. Now it's getting international attention. Are they linked? How many more feet might be out there? And how did the victims die? There is no shortage of theories. Some have suggested the feet belonged to stowaways on commercial ships. Other think it's the work of a serial killer.
ANNIE LINTEAU, ROYAL CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE: We are reviewing all missing persons files. We are exploring the possibility that it could be people who may have drowned. It could be missing fishermen. It could be the remains of people who may have died in a plane crash.
KAYE: Three years ago, a float plane carrying five men crashed into the sea not far from Vancouver. Only one body was recovered. This woman's brother, the pilot, was never found.
SALLY FEAST, BROTHER DIED IN PLANE CRASH: Fifty yards away is where the boys took off from. And here we are just on the other side of this finding a foot.
KAYE: Relatives' DNA is being compared to DNA from the feet.
Forensic scientist Larry Kobilinsky says, even after all these years in the water, investigators can still get a good DNA sample from bone.
(on camera): Do socks and sneakers slow down the decomposition process at all?
DR. LAWRENCE KOBILINSKY, PROFESSOR OF FORENSIC SCIENCE, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Without a doubt, having the severed part of the body, the foot, encased in a sneaker is going to protect it from decomposition.
KAYE: The sneakers may explain why feet are the only body part that's turned up. We checked with oceanographers, and were told sneakers are so buoyant, they can travel tens of thousands of miles in the water, averaging about 10 miles a day.
(voice-over): Investigators are focusing on the shoes for clues, too.
LINTEAU: The make, where the shoe was produced, when, and where it was sold to shed some light on the identity of these people.
KAYE: So far, the feet do not appear to have been severed, no evidence of foul play. All the answers, though, will take time. And the investigation has already been hampered by a hoax. Police were alerted to what was thought to be another foot in a black Adidas running shoe.
SANDRA MALONE, R.V. PARK MANAGER: Scared to think of, you know, that happening to a person, and their foot is actually sitting here on a beach.
KAYE: This woman says the sneaker was wrapped in seaweed with two bones sticking out of it. turned out to be an animal paw. Investigators call the prank reprehensible.
So, the search for clues continues, as police try to pair up the feet and figure out just how many victims they have on their hands.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And, just recently, investigators were able to match one left foot and one right foot. That was discovered near British Columbia, but it's still not clear who those feet belong to.
LEMON: That is a bizarre story.
And so is this one, Randi -- more details today about a grisly beheading aboard a Greyhound bus in Canada last week. According to police, 40-year-old Vincent Li stabbed, beheaded, then hacked at a total stranger. Li is then accused of trying to eat pieces of his victim.
As this bizarre story continues to unfold, the family of 22-year- old Tim McLean says it wants him remembered for more than just the shocking way he died. Li emigrated from China to Canada four years ago. Former employers describe him as hardworking and reliable. Li is scheduled to appear in court tomorrow.
KAYE: Politicians, activists, people from all walks of life all coming together for a global AIDS conference. We will talk to two of them and bring you some very sobering new numbers on HIV.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, HIV, the numbers were bad before. Now they're even worse.
Federal health officials say more people are infected with HIV every year in the U.S. than previously thought, about 40 percent more, the new estimate, more than 56,000 new infections a year. The old estimate was 40,000.
Now, officials at the Centers for Disease Control say they're now using more precise ways of calculating HIV rates, more precise and hopefully more accurate. The new numbers come as an international AIDS conference kicks off in Mexico City. Pastors Rick and Kay Warren are two of the people attending. And Rick is the author of the best-selling "Purpose Driven Life." He and his wife, they join me now from Mexico City.
Thank you both very much for joining us today.
I have to ask you this right off. All of the people we have had on this show, all the AIDS activists we have been speaking to have been saying, you know what, it's really hard to make inroads into the faith community. Why is it so tough?
(CROSSTALK)
KAY WARREN, FOUNDING PASTOR, SADDLEBACK CHURCH: Well, I think because the faith community has not shown up in really good ways in the past.
But we have really come to say the reason we come, and we have brought 11 people from our church -- I think we may be the only church on the planet that has 11 people here -- and it's because we really want to say the church does care. Christians do care.
And the church needs to be leading the way. So, we have some past to make up for, but I think that we're getting there.
RICK WARREN, AUTHOR, "THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE": We're convinced that, if you're going to end the AIDS pandemic, you're going to have to have to have all three legs of what we call the three legs of the stool, the faith sector, and the private sector, and the public sector, in other words, governments, businesses, and churches working together.
And we're trying to mobilize that one leg.
LEMON: And please pardon me if I call you Rick and Kay, because there's no other way. Both of you are pastors, so there's no other way to separate you.
I have to ask you this, Rick. So much -- so many times in the faith community, there is, again, this stigma when it comes to HIV and AIDS. It is often seen as a gay disease or what have you. And the numbers are showing it is becoming -- that's a different story, especially with the new cases of HIV/AIDS. What is the challenge then for the faith community? What do you say to people?
R. WARREN: Well, one of the things that we believe in is that there are six things the church can do. We actually use a little (INAUDIBLE) church, care and comfort those who are sick, handle testing, unleash the volunteer army (INAUDIBLE) actually is remove the stigma. And, then, the last CH are champion healthy behavior, and help with medications and nutrition. And, so, one-sixth of our strategy is to remove the stigma.
LEMON: Well, people have a misunderstanding. They think that HIV is a gay disease. And it's not. There's about 60 percent of the people in the world that are infected are women. So, there are a lot of myths associated with HIV.
OK. Of course, we're in a political year. And on August 16, at your church, you're going to hold an upcoming faith forum, where you will have both of the candidates there. You will have John McCain, and you will have Barack Obama. What do you have to say about their stance so far, what do you know, about HIV and AIDS?
And because we have this delay, I will ask -- maybe the other person can answer -- what do you plan to ask them to do about it?
R. WARREN: Well, there's been so much emphasis on dealing with people with AIDS overseas. We just had a stunning victory with the reauthorization of PEPFAR and a bipartisan support. We were there at the White House this last week and we are very excited to see both liberals and conservatives together, coming together on an issue where literally it's going to save millions of lives.
The next issue is, now, what about our own country? What about here? AIDS was a big issue on the table in the '80s, but it has moved into the background because we have so many good medicines that can make a chronic problem -- and people have gotten a little lulled into the fact of, thinking, isn't that -- isn't that taken care of? The fact is that it's not. As you pointed out, AIDS is increasing in America, not decreasing.
LEMON: So, you want them to do more here at home, rather than overseas, correct?
K. WARREN: There really isn't a cohesive national policy about AIDS in the United States, about HIV. So, it would be really great if either of those two candidates, whichever one is elected, decided to do something very comprehensive about HIV in the United States.
There are AIDS orphans in the United States, not nearly as many as around the world, but it is a problem still here. There are kids left alone. There are kids that are vulnerable. And this is one of the issues that we want to talk about, not just the domestic, but what are they going to do about the orphans? Because there are 143 million orphans in the world. We want to know, what's the United States going to do about the orphans in the world?
LEMON: Kay and Rick Warren, we appreciate you joining us.
And, again, that conference is on that faith forum August 16 with both of the candidates. It will be happening at the Saddleback Valley Community Church in Lake Forest, California.
Thank you both for your time today.
KAYE: Russian literary giant Alexander Solzhenitsyn has passed away at age 89. He gave the world a window into Soviet labor camps with the "Gulag Archipelago" and other works. The author was able to draw on his own eight-year imprisonment at one of those camps.
Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1970. Four years later, he was accused of treason, stripped of his Soviet citizenship, and deported. He was able to move back to his homeland in 1990.
LEMON: America caught up in an energy crunch. Who can solve it, Barack Obama or John McCain?
KAYE: Life in the fast lane, that's quite all right with Cindy McCain. The potential first lady took a trip to a NASCAR track in Pennsylvania.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: I'm Randi Kaye, in for Kyra Phillips.
LEMON: And I'm Don Lemon live here at the CNN Headquarters in Atlanta.
It's very nice to work with you.
KAYE: Nice to be here.
LEMON: Yes, it's been great.
You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
KAYE: It is coming up on 3:30. Here are some of the stories we're working on in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Warnings and watches are being expanded along the Texas-Louisiana coast as Edouard takes aim. The tropical storm could reach hurricane strength and spawn tornadoes as it gets closer.
He allegedly kidnapped his daughter, sparking a nationwide manhunt. Now, Clark Rockefeller has agreed to be extradited back to Massachusetts. The FBI arrested Rockefeller in Maryland and safely recovered the 7-year-old girl. She was taken during a supervised visit in Boston.
Another one of O.J. Simpson's co-defendants is pleading guilty in an alleged armed robbery last year in this Las Vegas hotel. He's become the fourth man to take a plea deal in the case, which involved a confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers. That leaves Simpson and another man to face trial next month.
LEMON: Well, have you noticed it's not quite as painful at the pump lately? Gas prices are continuing to slide. Did I just say that? I feel like I'm dreaming.
Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange. I never thought I would say those words again -- gas prices on the decline.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They -- and they, and, you know, it's a really dramatic trend. But, you know, $3.88 a gallon is still no bargain. AAA...
LEMON: It's cheaper than it was, though.
LISOVICZ: Yes. LEMON: Cheaper than it was.
LISOVICZ: Absolutely.
AAA says the national average for gasoline has declined for 18 straight days. The national average, $3.88 a gallon. But still, 23 cents from the record high hit just last month. One analyst says the price could drop even more. The decline, of course, tied to the recent drop in oil prices.
Yes, let's keep it in perspective. The price is still more than a buck above the levels this date last summer. And one analyst I spoke to said oil prices would have to drop another $40 to get to those levels -- Don.
LEMON: OK. I'm going to ask you a crystal ball question while I ask you to fix your collar up on the left side there.
LISOVICZ: Oh, thank you.
LEMON: Yes.
LISOVICZ: Yes.
LEMON: There you go.
LISOVICZ: That's what happens when you slide into the chair.
LEMON: I'm going to ask you, so it's probably unrealistic to think about $2 a gallon gas.
Will that soon return? And I don't know, is it even possible? How low can it go in this environment?
LISOVICZ: Well, the $2 gallon gas is probably gone for some time, Don. But as long as oil prices continue to fall, so will gas. Oil prices have fallen more than 17 percent over the past few weeks. And today crude dropped more than $3.50, hitting the lowest level since early May.
However, we're in hurricane season. Everybody knows that it's a very volatile time. One oil company is already evacuating its platforms in the Gulf of Mexico as a safety precaution with Tropical Storm Edouard headed into the region.
But the big drop today came on expectations that we've dodged a bullet because the storm appears unlikely to threaten those oil facilities in the Gulf. Of course, that sent oil down.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
LISOVICZ: It's not just a phenomenon involving Kevin Bacon. A new study proves just how connected we really are, Don.
LEMON: Yes, I saw that. I'm not going to give it away, but I saw that story. It's very interesting. It's true, huh?
LISOVICZ: Very interesting. Yes. The world is shrinking.
LEMON: Yes.
OK.
Thank you.
LISOVICZ: See you then.
LEMON: See you.
KAYE: Looking to beat the high cost of gasoline?
Poppy Harlow has tips that are Right on Your Money.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Americans are driving less, as gas prices rise. But there are many ways to save fuel, even when you're on the road.
PETER VALDES-DAPENA, SENIOR WRITER, CNNMONEY.COM: The biggest thing you can do is just take it easy on the gas pedal. When the light turns green, accelerate gently away. If you're approaching a red light or a stop sign, take your foot off the gas earlier and let the car coast to that stop sign and stop gently. When you're on the highway, slow down.
HARLOW: When you need to stop your car for more than a few seconds, consider turning the engine off -- though not if you're in traffic.
VALDES-DAPENA: People waste an awful lot of gas just idling for no reason. Also, if you're running errands, don't wait and run one errand at a time. Plan what you're doing. Run your errands in a line. Give your engine a chance to warm up and stay warm, so as you turn it off and on, you're not wasting a lot of gas turning the car off and on.
HARLOW: Still, you can't believe everything you hear.
VALDES-DAPENA: Probably the biggest myth about saving gas is people think that things like, you know, changing your air filter and things like that, changing your oil, are going to have a big impact in fuel savings. You should absolutely maintain your car, keep your car drivable and keep it safe. But, the reality is, you're not going to see a huge impact on your fuel economy. So, the big thing is, quite simply, change how you drive.
HARLOW: And that's this week's "Right on Your Money."
(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: Well, two mountain climbers are recovering in a Pakistani hospital after Saturday's avalanche on K2 that killed 11 other people. The Dutch survivors were rescued from the base camp today. One reportedly has severe frostbite and isn't out of the woods yet. An Italian climber is trekking down to an altitude where rescuers can reach him.
K2 sits at Pakistan's border with China. It is the world's second highest mountain after Everest, but considered a more challenging climb.
KAYE: Security at the Olympics is a huge concern for Chinese authorities. An attack today on a police station has prompted even tighter measures. Chinese state media reports two attackers drove a truck into a group of police out jogging and then lobbed explosives into the barracks and slashed at people with knives. At least 16 officers were apparently killed. It happened in the Western Xinjiang Province, a region with an ethnic Muslim population that has seen violence from radical separatist groups.
Some angry unusual protests in China today. A group of neighbors came out to criticize the government for evicting them. Their land was seized for redevelopment to spruce things up for visitors to the Olympics. The demonstrators say they're victims of Olympic fever. Police swooped in on the protests near Tiananmen Square and broke things up.
LEMON: It is not just the government feeling that Olympic fever, by the way. With just a few days until the Games begin, our Anjali Rao met one of the many Chinese ready and raring to go.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANJALI RAO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Around these parts, they don't come much more Olympic-obsessed than 30-year-old Sun Ding Hua (ph).
SUN DING HUA (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): Here's my Olympic song. I hope you like it.
(VIDEO CLIP)
RAO: The rapping rickshaw driver has spent the last year peddling from the eastern province of Zhejiang to Beijing, gathering signatures in support of the Games. He says he's collected some 300,000 of them.
HUA (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I quit my job to do this. I missed the opportunity to find a girlfriend and I gave up the chance to see my family. I think my sacrifice just shows the Olympic spirit.
RAO: That wasn't his only sacrifice. Imagine living for about a year in this tiny, dark cabin on wheels. Stretching out isn't an option. Neither is cooking, washing or anything else, really. Yet, Sun, who relied on the kindness of strangers for life's basic necessities, says it's worth it.
HUA (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I think we must all work hard and endure hardship to promote the Olympic Games. It would be meaningless for us to just stay in our homes or hotels to promote the Olympic spirit.
RAO: Sun embodies Olympic spirit inside and out. On completing his journey of some 1,600 kilometers, or more than 1,000 miles, Sun rewarded himself with his 36 Olympic-themed tattoos.
HUA (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): These tattoos are all real -- more than 10,000 pins. I drew them in my hometown. I got "one world, one dream" when foreign media suggested that I draw some sport symbols. "Long live the People's Republic of China," "long live the great unity of the people of the world." I didn't draw these by machine, either. That wouldn't show the Olympic spirit.
RAO: As to what he hopes to get for all his efforts, Sun says just to present Beijing's Olympic organizers with his banner, showing thousands of signatures -- nothing more. That's sportsmanship even Olympic athletes would have to admire.
Anjali Rao, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And you know what?
You can follow all the Olympic action on CNN.com in a special section called Fan Zone. You'll have all of CNN's global resources right at your computer. Just.
Go to CNN.com/fanzone.
KAYE: You don't want to miss this -- no shoes, no shirt, no pants. At least he's wearing sunglasses.
Why is this naked man so angry? But here's a better question -- why is he so naked?
LEMON: Oh.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Three entertainers with health concerns to tell you about today.
KAYE: First up, Morgan Freeman. The Oscar-winning actor is in serious condition in a Memphis hospital. His car reportedly went off the road last night in nearby Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. Those on the scene say rescuers had to use the Jaws of Life to cut the 71- year-old Freeman out of his car.
LEMON: Man.
Actress Christina Applegate is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Her publicist says the disease was caught early and the 36- year-old star of ABC's "Samantha Who?" is expected to make a full recovery.
KAYE: And actor/comedian Bernie Mac is in a Chicago hospital recovering from pneumonia. His publicist says the 53-year-old entertainer is responding well to treatment and should be out of the hospital soon.
As of today, Brett Favre once again is a Green Bay packer. Favre's reinstatement by the NFL took effect at noon. And he's expected to huddle today with his former head coach, Mike McCarthy. Favre's return caps months of drama that began with his tearful retirement, followed by second and the Packers' refusal to take him back. It's a bit unclear whether Favre will be competing for his longtime role as starting quarterback.
LEMON: We have some sad news to tell you about. A fixture in Atlanta, a voice heard round the nation, part of a broadcasting dynasty -- Skip Caray was all of those things. And the longtime Atlanta Braves broadcaster died yesterday at 68. He called Braves games on TV and radio for 33 years. Caray's father was legendary baseball broadcaster Harry Caray. Harry used to say "holy cow!" We remember that. But, you know, Skip, he had his own thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SKIP CARAY: Tension. The runners lead. A lot of room in right center. If he hits one there, we can dance in the streets. The 2-1. Swung line, drive left field. One run is in. Here comes Reed (ph). Here's the front of the plate. He is safe! Braves win! Braves win! Braves win! Braves win! Braves win!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, Caray's sons, Chip and Josh, are also announcers for the Braves organization. Their dad had worked only home games this year because of failing health. Skip Caray dead at the age of 68. And we said a broadcasting dynasty. That family is a dynasty. I remember working at NBC in Chicago. And there was a Harry Caray statue right outside on the plaza, right next to "The Tribune" building and folks would go by and take pictures in front of that.
KAYE: And he was great to listen to. I mean even in a boring game...
LEMON: Yes.
KAYE: He -- Skip Caray could make it exciting just like that.
LEMON: Braves win! Braves win!
KAYE: Exactly. When it wasn't that exciting.
LEMON: He will definitely, definitely be missed. Again, he was 68 years old. Skip Caray. KAYE: America squeezed by the oil crunch -- John McCain and Barack Obama both say they have solutions. Well, you're about to hear both state their cases.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, take note -- she's behind the wheel of this car. We're talking about Cindy McCain. She shows off her love of the fast lane -- auto racing, we're talking about.
Check this out. The potential first lady and big NASCAR fan took in part of the Pennsylvania 500 yesterday.
Man, she's moving, huh?
KAYE: Look at her go!
LEMON: She did that last week. She attended the Brickyard 400.
Go, Cindy.
KAYE: They want to solve America's energy crunch and save you money at the same time. Barack Obama and John McCain talking energy today in two battleground states -- Obama in Michigan, McCain in Pennsylvania.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If I am president, I will immediately direct the full resources of the federal government and the full energy of the private sector, working with state and local governments, to achieve a single overarching goal. In 10 years, we will eliminate the need for oil from the entire Middle East and Venezuela -- in 10 years' time.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Ten years is how long it's going to take.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Ten years is how long it's going to take.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Now, to do this, we will invest $150 billion over the next decade -- $15 billion a year. And we'll leverage billions more in private capital to build a new energy economy that harnesses American energy and creates five million new American jobs.
There are three major steps I'll take to achieve this goal -- steps that will yield real results by the end of my first term in office.
First, we will help states like Michigan build the fuel-efficient cars we need and we will get 1,000 million 150-mile per gallon plug-in hybrids on our roads, made in America, within six years' time. We can do that.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We can do that.
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We can do that. We can do that. And I know how much the auto industry and the autoworkers in this state have struggled over the last decade or so. But I also know where I want the fuel-efficient cars of tomorrow to be built. Not in Japan, not in China -- here in the United States, right here in Michigan.
Now, when I arrived in Washington, I reached across the aisle to come up with a plan to raise the mileage standards in our cars for the first time in 30 years, a plan that won support from Democrats and Republicans who had never supported raising fuel standards before. And I also led bipartisan efforts to invest in the technology necessary to build plug-in hybrid cars.
So as president, I'm going to accelerate these efforts to meet our urgent need.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to solve the energy crisis that's affecting businesses like National Label Company. And we need an all of the above approach. We need to aggressively develop alternative energies like wind, solar, tide, biofuels and geothermal.
We also need to expand our use of existing energy resources here at home. That means we need more nuclear power. It means we need clean coal technology. And that means we need to offshore drill for oil and natural gas and we need to drill here and we need to drill now. And anybody who says that we can achieve energy independence without using and increasing these existing energy resources either doesn't have the experience to understand the challenge we face or isn't giving the American people some straight talk.
Unfortunately, Senator Obama continues to oppose offshore drilling. He continues to oppose the use of nuclear power. These misguided policies would result in higher energy costs to American families and businesses and increased dependence on foreign oil.
We're not going to achieve energy independence by inflating our tires. I'm going to lead our nation to energy independence and I'm going to do it with a realistic and comprehensive all of the above approach that uses every resource available to finally solve this crisis.
As a lot of Americans know, the Congress, doing nothing, decided to go on a five week recess, without addressing the energy challenge that's affecting Americans every single day in their ability to go to work, in their ability to do their jobs, in their ability to keep inflation down, as they're trying to do here at the National Label Company. And they need a Congress that will act.
Congress should come back into session. Congress should come back into session and I'm willing to come off the campaign trail. I call on Senator Obama to call on Congress to come back into town and come back to work, come off their recess, come off their vacation and address this energy challenge to America and don't leave until we do, Republican and Democrats joining together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: And remember, for the very latest on the presidential race, log onto our Web site, CNNPolitics.com, 24/7. It is the most politics on the Web.
LEMON: Speaking of politics, Randi, what do you say we check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer.
KAYE: Yes, let's do that.
He's standing by in THE SITUATION ROOM to tell us what is coming up at the top of the hour -- hi, Wolf.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, guys. Thanks very much.
We're going to have a lot more on Senators Barack Obama and John McCain. As you see, they're talking about energy, the economy.
Which plan is better?
We're going to get an assessment from experts. Stand by for that.
Also, new details on that barge collision that spilled 400,000 gallons of oil and stopped traffic on the Mississippi River. You're going to hear the audio recordings, as the Coast Guard tried to warn a barge to get out of the way.
And the former president, Bill Clinton -- for the first time since the primaries ended, he's now talking extensively about the presidential contest and his wife. And he admits he made a mistake on the campaign trail.
All that, guys, and a lot more coming up right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM" -- back to you.
KAYE: All right. Thank you, Wolf.
LEMON: The closing bell and a wrap of all the action on Wall Street just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Some things really just don't need to be Caught on Camera, because he came in wearing only shorts. But moments later, not a stitch. Police were called to a gas station in Twinsburg, Ohio... KAYE: Oh, boy.
LEMON: Yes -- that was on Thursday -- after a naked man allegedly began grabbing toiletries off the store's shelves. He scuffled with police. He was tasered. And the police say the man claimed -- he claimed to have had a bomb in his car. But the bomb squad didn't find any explosives. The man is undergoing psychiatric tests.
KAYE: He did have his sunglasses on, though. That was something.
LEMON: To say the least, yes.
KAYE: Can we move on please?
LEMON: Yes.
KAYE: OK. Good.
They're angry about America's hunger for foreign oil. And they're naked, or nearly so.
See the theme here?
Check out the scene in St. Louis on Sunday. Hundreds of bicyclists, some scantily clad, others baring all. Their goal, aside from avoiding chafing, is to raise awareness about society's dependence on oil. The so-called World Naked Bike Ride Protest -- that's official -- has been staged in 70 cities worldwide over the past four years.
LEMON: Maybe we should call the segment Nakedness Caught on Camera.
KAYE: Absolutely.
LEMON: Naked.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Randi -- Randi's (INAUDIBLE)...
KAYE: I don't think we need anymore of that.
LEMON: Susan Lisovicz joins us now from the New York Stock Exchange with a final look -- the naked truth, I should say, about Wall Street.
LISOVICZ: The naked truth.
LEMON: Yes.
LISOVICZ: You know, I think you're more aerodynamic when you have fewer clothes on. And, you know, you want to conserve your energy.
KAYE: Yes. I never thought about that.
(LAUGHTER)
KAYE: All right...
LEMON: Reduce your carbon footprint, so to speak.
LISOVICZ: Exactly.
I teased this story, so I want to tell you about it. Everybody knows the six degrees of Kevin Bacon theory. LEMON: Yes.
LISOVICZ: You can connect anyone in the entertainment world back to him in six steps through his movies.
Well, a Microsoft study this year says any two people in the world are separated by 6.6 degrees of separation. That is, they could be linked by that many acquaintances or less.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
LISOVICZ: See you, Randi and Don.
LEMON: All right. Have a --
KAYE: See you, Susan.
LEMON: Yes. Have a great evening.
Now let's turn it over to "THE SITUATION ROOM" and Mr. Wolf Blitzer.
BLITZER: Thanks very much, guys.
