Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
New Storm Brewing in the Gulf of Mexico; New Information on the 2001 Anthrax Attack Suspect; A Heat Wave From Colorado to Texas; Racy TV Show That Targets Your Children; Protestors Expected to Descend to the Republican Convention Next Month
Aired August 04, 2008 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome. Boy, it's a Monday. I only got one earring in before we started.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: One earring -- you start in (ph) pain medication. Is it that bad this morning that I'm sitting next to you?
CHETRY: It is actually our pleasure to welcome Rob Marciano. He's filling in for John Roberts this week on AMERICAN MORNING. Good to have you with us.
MARCIANO: It's nice to be here. John is taking some all deserved time off. And of course, I fly to New York and now there's something brewing in the Gulf of Mexico.
CHETRY: Exactly. We need you, our resident weatherman/meteorologist to tell us about Edouard. What's going on with that?
MARCIANO: This thing popped out of nowhere. I mean, pretty much. Yesterday, it was just kind of hanging out there, and then boom, all of the sudden, we have got a tropical storm, and National Hurricane Center is thinking it could become, possibly, a hurricane as it moves toward Texas. Of course, we'll talk to Reynolds. He's manning the Doppler down at the CNN weather center.
CHETRY: All right, good. Well, we start off with that and we'll give you a quick look at where we're talking right now. Hurricane watches up along parts of Texas as well as the Louisiana coast. There's the look at the satellite picture this morning. This is the second time in less than a month that this same area has been a target zone of a potential bad weather.
Tropical Storm Edouard is now expected to reach near hurricane strength before making landfall tomorrow morning near Galveston, Texas. Many of the gulf's offshore oil and natural gas drilling platforms are in the likely path of this storm. Emergency teams have been activated. And the storm has maximum sustained winds of near 50 miles an hour right now.
Barack Obama unveiling his new energy for America plan in a series of speeches this week in key battleground states. He'll deliver the first one this morning in Lansing, Michigan, where he'll discuss an energy rebate to help with high gas price, also creating 5 million green jobs and eliminate the need for Mideast oil in the next decade. He'll be speaking in Ohio tomorrow and in Indiana on Wednesday. And, by the way, Obama turns 47 today.
President Bush departs today on a week-long trip to Asia. It includes stops in South Korea, Thailand, and China. The president will attend the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics on Friday. And he will be the first U.S. president to attend an Olympics on foreign soil.
MARCIANO: Back to our top story. Tropical Storm Edouard could pack a powerful punch when it makes landfall across the Texas coast tomorrow morning. Emergency teams have been activated and CNN is your hurricane headquarters, and Reynolds Wolf is tracking the storm from the CNN weather center in Atlanta.
Reynolds, I know the (INAUDIBLE) just came out at 5:00 a.m.
What's the latest?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: The latest we've got for you, Rob, let's go right to the computer and we're going to give you an idea. You know, wind speeds have, well, they've increased just a little bit, currently at 50 miles per hour. However, there have been some gusts stronger, increasing to 65. It is moving to the west around nine miles per hour.
And the storm -- again, it already bringing up some heavy surf along parts of the Louisiana and Texas coastline. Currently, we do have a tropical storm warning in effect from Cameron, Louisiana back over to the mouth of the Mississippi but when you get to the other side, from Cameron to Port O'Connor, Texas, you have a hurricane watch that is currently into effect.
Now, the latest path we have from the National Hurricane Center brings the storm a little bit more to the west then as we get to 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, maximum sustained winds increasing to 70 miles per hour. But, Rob, you know this very well, I mean, the water there right off the coast of Texas is like bath water. It's warm as can be. Every reason to believe that this storm has the possibility of intensifying to a hurricane with winds exceeding 74 miles per hour.
Then the path brings it onshore near Galveston, Texas, just to the south of the Texas Bay, and once it comes onshore, it should be right around, say, 2:00 o'clock or so into the afternoon Central Time, and then it continues to move onshore and as we get to Wednesday, winds decreasing to 35 miles per hour by 2:00 a.m.
Rob, one good aspect about this storm, as you'll remember, Texas is mired in awful drought. So, the positive aspect is knowing they're going to get some beneficial rainfall. The problem is, though, too much at one time, not a good thing.
MARCIANO: And keep those winds below the hurricane mark, that would be a good thing, but 70 is awfully close. You know, Dolly, and last year, Humberto, thought that was going to be a tropical storm, and they popped to be hurricanes.
So, certainly, it bears watching, and we'll be checking in with you throughout the show. Thanks, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet, man.
CHETRY: We also have some new information this morning about the man suspected in the post 9/11 anthrax attacks. We're now learning that a social worker who counseled Bruce Ivins had a restraining order taken out against Ivins shortly before he committed suicide.
And our Brianna Keilar explains how the FBI ended up closing in on him.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran and Rob. CNN has learned from sources familiar with the investigation that there is DNA evidence linking the anthrax used in the 2001 mailings to a flask used in Bruce Ivins' Army laboratory. We've also learned more about Ivins' troubling behavior.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR (voice-over): As federal prosecutors grew closer to charging Bruce Ivins in connection with the anthrax attacks, his therapist Jean Duley told a Maryland judge in late July that she was "scared to death" of Ivins and sought a temporary retraining order against him.
In court tapes obtained by "The New York Times," Duley described a murder plot the troubled scientist laid out during a group therapy session.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
JEAN DULEY, IVINS' THERAPIST: He proceeded to describe to the group a very long and detailed homicidal plan and intention to -- that he had bought a bullet proof vest, had obtained a gun a very detailed plan to kill his coworkers. 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. That he had been roaming the streets of Frederick trying to pick a fight with somebody so that he could stab them.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
KEILAR: After that therapy session, Duley started the process to have Ivins involuntarily committed to a high security mental health facility. She told the court she had been subpoenaed to testify against Ivins before a federal grand jury. As she made her case for a restraining order, Duley also said, Ivins had been "forensically diagnosed by several top psychiatrists as a sociopathic, homicidal killer" -- though CNN has not been able to confirm the diagnoses.
Just days after this testimony, Ivins killed himself in Frederick, Maryland.
Prosecutors were so sure they had their man they have scheduled a meeting to discuss a possible plea bargain with Ivins' attorney last Tuesday, the day Ivins died. Officials planned to reveal some of their evidence at that meeting. But many people are skeptical the FBI has got it right this time, especially after repeated mistakes throughout the seven-year investigation.
Jeffrey Adamovicz, a former bacteriology chief who worked with Ivins for 12 years at Fort Detrick's biodefense lab says it would have been nearly impossible for Ivins to pull off the attacks.
JEFF ADAMOVICZ, FORMER COLLEAGUE OF IVINS: The labs were not equipped, for instance, with a lot of the equipment that would have been required to supposedly dry this material down and create the highly refined state that it was in.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Sources familiar with the investigation say authorities may publicly released their evidence as soon as this week and then go ahead and close the case. According to those sources that would happen after a federal judge unseals grand jury evidence and officials brief the families of those who were killed and injured in the 2001 attacks. Kiran, Rob?
CHETRY: Brianna Keilar for us -- thanks.
Meanwhile, Ivins' former coworker says that FBI investigation isolated him from his friends and family and that may have contributed to the bizarre behavior Ivins was accused of.
MARCIANO: The FBI is investigating two fire bombing attacks on scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz. One researcher and his two small kids had to escape from a second story window after a fire bomb was lit on the front porch. Another had his car destroyed. Police think the attacks are coming from animal rights activists who oppose the experiment the scientists are doing on animals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, KTVU)
CAPTAIN STEVE CLARK, SANTA CRUZ POLICE DEPARTMENT: This indicates a significant rise in the level of violence and the type of -- type of and frequency of actions that they're willing to take. To us, it's pretty unconscionable that anybody would see this as any sort of a reasonable tactic to get your message out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: No one was seriously injured in the attacks. Police describe the bomb as, quote, "a Molotov cocktail on steroids."
The man at the center of a bizarre child abduction case will be arraigned today in Baltimore. Police say the man who calls himself Clark Rockefeller was arrested this weekend after a tip. Clark was the subject of a nationwide manhunt after taking his seven-year-old daughter during a supervised visit in Boston a week earlier. The little girl was found safe. Rockefeller is charged with felony custodial kidnapping and assault and battery. He claims to be related to the famous Rockefeller family.
And, "Thank God it's Thursday," that's what some 17,000 Utah state employees will be saying. They will begin a new 10-hour four- day workweek starting today. Utah's governor says the plan will save energy an estimated $3 million a year and he will reassess the shorter workweek after a year.
And a long time Atlanta Braves broadcaster Skip Carey has died. He called the Braves games for 33 years. Carey was the son of legendary baseball announcer, Harry Carey and his two sons are also baseball broadcasters. The exact cause of death is not known, but Skip Carey had been battling diabetes and other health problems. He was 68 years old and will be missed.
CHETRY: Absolutely. Rob, thanks.
Well, you know, they're off now. The U.S. Olympic team headed to Beijing. Most of the athletes met in San Francisco and they got their official team gear before taking off. Opening ceremonies are on Friday.
Also, protest in Beijing just days before the Olympic Games. About 20 people demonstrated not far from Tiananmen Square, saying that their homes were demolished to bring in revenue for the Olympics. The area is now a commercial strip. Nike and Starbucks are just a couple of the stores scheduled to open on Thursday.
But one man in China is really excited about the Olympics. Maybe a little too excited.
CNN's Anjali Rao is live in Beijing with the incredible links that he's gone to show he's love of the game.
Good morning.
ANJALI RAO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kiran. Thanks very much.
You know, we've been talking a lot about the progress of the Olympic torch. It has been on around the world epic journey. But this guy that I caught up with has been on an epic journey of his own in a very colorful, albeit rather uncomfortable fashion. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAO (voice-over): Around these parts, they don't come much more Olympic-obsessed than 30-year-old (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This is my Olympic song. I hope you like it.
RAO: The rapping spiritual driver had spent the last year peddling from the east in province of Zhejiang to Beijing, gathering signatures in support of the games. He says he's collected some 300,000 of them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (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, Sam (ph), who relied on the kindness of strangers for life's basic necessities says, it's worth it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I think we must all work hard and enjoy 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: Sam embodies Olympic spirit inside and out. On completing his journey of some 1,600 kilometers, or more than 1,000 miles, Sam rewarded himself with his 36 Olympic-themed tattoos.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): These tattoos are more real, more than 10,000 pens. 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 effort, Sam 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.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RAO: Kiran, he denies that anybody who jabs 10,000 needles in themselves would, you know, want something perhaps a little more tangible after all that. At the very least, an Olympic ticket, just to a single event. But, you know, he's a ritual driver and he's very poor so he can't actually afford one which is pretty sad because he'll actually have to jump back on his bike and peddle back the way he came -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Is there any chance somebody might be generous and get him a ticket?
RAO: One would hope so. Anybody watching this, feel free, I know where he is.
CHETRY: Well, he certainly does not lack for enthusiasm. Thanks for bringing us that story.
Great to see you. Anjali Rao for us in Beijing.
MARCIANO: Well, he's modified his opposition to offshore drilling. Now, Barack Obama is set to unveil his new energy plan for America in a series of campaign events in battleground states.
CHETRY: Also, record high temperatures from Colorado all the way down to Texas and more triple-digit heat is on the way. You're watching the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are talking about airfares soar. Now, I know you're very upset about paying for water, paying for coffee, paying for checked bags -- let me tell you, that's peanuts compared to the increases -- the increases that we're seeing for fares. In fact, fares are rising this year.
Airfare is rising more than they have at any point, during the past 25 years -- on average, about 15 percent. But there are a lot of routes where fares are up 200 percent. We're talking triple the price of last summer.
Let's have a look at just a few examples. If you want to travel from Chicago to Minneapolis, up 276 -- last year, last summer, $108; today, $406. And that's pretty much the number of miles between those two cities, a buck a mile over there. You might as well drive.
If you're going from Chicago to Charlotte -- last year, $132; right now, $432. And, Atlanta to Boston -- last year, $172; today, $560.
I think we're talking about a "stay-cation" for the Chernoff family. Nothing wrong with blowing up that wading pool, putting a few hotdogs...
MARCIANO: Look at you.
CHERNOFF: ... and burgers.
MARCIANO: Look at you hedging your bets there. But you think about long term, it's about time we've seen -- I'm trying to be optimistic, it's about time we saw some prices increase in the airfares. Last 10 years, you know, have done that (ph).
CHERNOFF: Definitely. No question about it. And it's not just a matter of inflation over the past number of years. But we're also talking about billions of dollars of losses for the airlines. So, when we are getting hit in the wallet, we need to understand that the airlines, they are literally fighting for survival here. They will lose billions and billions of dollars this year.
And I can tell you this, even if the price of oil keeps on declining, the airlines are going to try to make these airfares stick. They -- these prices are not going to come down the way we're seeing prices coming down at the gas pump.
MARCIANO: Fair enough. And you know I don't always take a coke, so, you know, some people are paying two bucks for it, that's their problem.
All right, we'll see you a little bit, thanks, man.
The International AIDS Conference is under way. Researchers say prevention is the key to fighting the disease. A surprising new numbers are released about AIDS in the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO (voice-over): The racy TV show that targets your children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is shocking.
MARCIANO: Why these ads have some people outraged.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Teens feel -- hey, I've got to check this out.
MARCIANO: Is your child tuning in?
You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Time now to fast forward to some stories that we'll be working on for you throughout the day.
Before the stock market opens today, Fannie Mae will reveal its second quarter financial numbers. The mortgage giant is expected to report a big loss.
Well, the so-called "food police" will report today on the nutritional values of kid meals at major fast food restaurant chains, in light of the rising numbers of overweight and obese children. The investigation by the Center for Science in the Public Interest will identify some of the worst menu choices and also, some of the healthiest for kids.
We're also keeping a close eye on the tropical storm churning now in the gulf. Edouard is a little less than 400 miles from Galveston, Texas, and could become a hurricane by the time it makes landfall tomorrow morning. Those are some of the stories we're watching, the "Most News in the Morning" is back in two minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning."
You know, there's an old saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure? Well, that's the message at the International AIDS Conference as it kicks off in Mexico City. And while deaths from AIDS fell for the second straight year, infections are on the rise in the United States.
Our Harris Whitbeck is at the conference. HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rob and Kiran, last year, more than 56,000 people were infected with HIV in the United States. Worldwide, 45 percent of all people infected with HIV are under the age of 24. The message at the AIDS conference being held here in Mexico City is that prevention is the best course of action.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITBECK (voice-over): A 12-year-old girl from Honduras addressed thousands of grown-ups about the AIDS virus that lives in her body. She drove home the point that education is still the best line of defense in the fight against AIDS.
KAREN DUNAWAY-GONZALEZ, 12-YEAR-OLD AIDS ACTIVIST (through translator): We want a future with more opportunities for the poorest and most vulnerable, a future without stigma and discrimination. And, we will move forward, certain that we will reach our dreams.
WHITBECK: It was a speech that brought down the house.
This year's AIDS conference is pushing prevention and education. AIDS experts say things are looking up. Infection rates are down, less people are dying. Prevention is the key to avoiding more deaths.
DR. PETER PIOT, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF UNAIDS: If we are going to get ahead of this epidemic, it's time to come to terms with complexity. Whatever you may read in some journals today, even scientific journals, there is no shortcut in HIV prevention. Those who claim that we just need two, or one or two things to prevent HIV, and those who say that we can forget all about involving communities, are playing with fire.
WHITBECK: That prevention work is most difficult in the developing worlds and most crucial, too, because expensive treatments for those infected with HIV are hard to come by. U.N. Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon said more must be done to achieve universal access to HIV medications by 2010.
No announcements on an AIDS vaccine or cure are expected. But for the millions like Karen, the girl from Honduras, the future seems a lot brighter than it used to be.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITBECK: The conference will run all week long here in Mexico City. Again, no major medical breakthroughs are expected to be announced. The key to success in the AIDS fight organizers say is prevention -- back to you.
MARCIANO: More than 22,000 people are attending the six-day conference including rocker Annie Lennox and also former President Clinton.
CHETRY: Well, the presidential air wars, John McCain celebrity ad which compared Barack Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, provoking a lot of debate but it appears to have had an effect on the lines of attacks and in the polls. We're going to take a closer look.
Also, for the 23rd day in a row, Denver is expected to top 90 degrees. And it's not the only city dealing with a blistering heat wave. We've got your forecast ahead on the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most politics in the morning. Their short lists are getting shorter, but the speculation about whom John McCain and Barack Obama will choose as a running mate is growing.
And joining us from Washington to talk about the veepstakes this morning and much more, Jeanne Cummings. She is a correspondent for the "Politico."
Thanks for being with us this morning, Jeanne.
JEANNE CUMMINGS, SR. CORRESPONDENT, POLITICO: You're welcome.
CHETRY: All right. Let's talk a little bit because of these people we've never heard of, at least, most people have (ph) outside of Washington. Let's first talk about Virginia congressman Eric Cantor being vetted by the McCain campaign.
CUMMINGS: It's Eric Cantor. He is a maverick in the House. He hails from the conservative wing of the party. He's been a rising star there. And he's been helping to develop some of their policy responses to the Democrats.
He's very well respected on Capitol Hill, but very unknown nationally. He could help in Virginia but I'm not sure if he could really push that state one way or another. He would be a big risk because he's very untested at the national level.
It's funny, these short lists, they seem to be getting shorter but they also seem to be bringing in a bunch of new people right here at the end, too.
CHETRY: Yes, right. And there, we see a picture of Eric Cantor, who we're talking about right now. And then also, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the weekend shows, mentioned another little known congressman. This is a congressman out of Texas, Chet Edwards. What is his deal?
CUMMINGS: Well, Chet Edwards is a conservative Democrat. And so, that would balance out ideologically perhaps a Barack Obama ticket. He is young, relatively young, and so he would help emphasize the new generation message of the Barack Obama campaign. He is very smart.
He has experience with foreign affairs, so he would bring those things to the ticket. But, here again, unknown, untested. He's a congressman from a big state. He can't -- I can't imagine he could bring Texas along. So, I'm not sure if plusses and minuses that he would add to the ticket. CHETRY: Now, Jean, would you say it's safe to say that Senator Hillary Clinton is not going to be the potential running mate for Barack Obama?
CUMMINGS: All indications are that those two will work together on the campaign, campaigning together but not on a ticket together.
CHETRY: Now, your site had a story today saying that there still is a lot of residual anger out there. People say, look, she's earned it. If you're going to give it to a woman it should be Hillary Clinton. And in fact, I think it was one out of five who voted for Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary still say they're not going to vote for Barack Obama. How big of a problem is that for him?
CUMMINGS: Well, it's definitely a double-edged sword for Barack Obama if he wants to choose a woman. Hillary Clinton's fans clearly believe that if he's going to pick a woman, she's the best woman to pick. And for that reason, I think that explains why we're not hearing a lot of women on the short list. I think it's pretty clear that that's the path he would have to go. And so, if he has decided not to choose her, then I think we're going to be seeing two men.
CHETRY: All right. Well, it looks like Barack Obama will likely make his announcement first because the Dem convention is first. But we'll have to wait and see as to whether or not any of these names that have been vetted about are actually going to make it.
Nice talking to you this morning. Jean Cummings, senior correspondent with Politico. Thanks.
CUMMINGS: Thank you.
MARCIANO: Just crossing the bottom of the hour now. Here's a check of some of our top stories.
New information about the man suspected of carrying out the anthrax attacks in 2001. A social worker got a restraining order against Bruce Ivins shortly before he committed suicide. She reportedly said Ivins knew he was going to be charged by the FBI and may have been planning to kill his co-workers to, quote, "go out in a blaze of glory."
The FBI was able to link Ivins to the worst bioterrorist attack in the nation's history by using DNA from a flask in his lab.
And for the second time in less than a month, the Gulf of Mexico is bracing for another possible hurricane. Tropical Storm Edouard is gaining strength and could become a hurricane when it makes landfall tomorrow somewhere along the upper Texas coast. Emergency teams in Texas have been activated.
And a heat wave from Colorado to Texas. Temperatures set to top 100 degrees in many places again. Dallas could see triple digits for the 11th day in a row. Reynolds is tracking it all from the CNN weather center in Atlanta.
Tropical storm to record breaking heat. Hello again, Reynolds.
WOLF: Rob, what has Texas done to deserve this? I mean, really --
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: I think it's all the bravado. You know, people from Texas have this -- they like to brag about it, and eventually got to pay the price for that I suppose.
WOLF: Yes. Maybe there's something to that, who knows? But right now, Rob, there's no question a good part of the country is going to be dealing with extreme heat today. Much of the cross parts, the central plains, across parts of say Kansas and back in Oklahoma. But there's no question that Texas has been extremely hot.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF (voice-over): It could become one of the hottest summers on record in the Lone Star State. Officials blame triple digit temperatures in the deaths of three people in Dallas and Fort Worth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you notice that you're outside in the heat, you've been sweating a lot, and then you just stop sweating, very important that you go inside. That means you're very dehydrated.
WOLF: So far, Dallas has had ten straight days of 100 degree plus temperatures.
PEDRO RUIZ, CONSTRUCTION WORKER: We try to stay cool out here, because I know it's hot temperatures, and so I don't know what could happen.
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.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No one is really 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 the north Texas are under an excessive heat warning until later this evening.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: Rob, check out some of these temperatures that I've got for you behind me. These are some of the records that fell just yesterday. In Dallas, Fort Worth, 107, 106 in Oklahoma City. Shreveport, 104. And triple digits in parts of Arkansas, El Dorado and also north Little Rock.
Looks like the heat is going to hold on through much of the week. Let's send it back to you in New York. MARCIANO: Ouch. And measured in the shade. And you know, it's not exactly a dry heat in Dallas. People think that's the case, but it's --
WOLF: Very true. Smoking hot.
MARCIANO: All right, Reynolds, we'll be back with you. Thanks.
WOLF: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, the "Most News in the Morning" now. And as we've been telling you, we're playing longer excerpts of each presidential candidate so that you can hear what they're saying to voters in their own words. It's part of our commitment to helping you make an informed choice in the presidential election now just three months away.
So, here's John McCain addressing questions about negative ads in the campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
QUESTION: Please tell us the thinking behind this new Web ad that mocks Obama as a messiah-like figure.
MCCAIN: We were having some fun. We were having some fun with our supporters that we sent it out to. And we're going to display a sense of humor in this campaign.
I noticed a couple of days ago that Senator Obama challenged me to a duel. Well, light sabers is my weapon of choice.
But seriously, if we have differences, we should have appeared at the Urban League convention today. I've asked him time after time to appear with me on the same stage so we can discuss the issues that are important to the American people.
So, I look forward to people across this country saying, appear together, appear in town hall meetings, and discuss the issues that are important to the United States of America -- Kelly.
QUESTION: Can I just follow up on that, Senator?
The political video today does use religious imagery. Some people might have questions about that. And where does mocking, as it has been described by some of your critics, no longer include a respectful campaign? Where is the line for you?
MCCAIN: This is a very respectful campaign. I repeated my admiration and respect for Senator Obama. That clip is of Charlton Heston. It's a movie. It's a film -- movie.
So, I really appreciated the movie, and I appreciated Charlton Heston's magnificent acting skills as I saw it. But it's a movie.
Yes? QUESTION: Senator, are you going to steal our governor for vice president?
MCCAIN: I think that your governor has earned a place in the Republican Party not just in the state of Florida, but nationally. He's a great leader, and I think that obviously he has a major role to play in the Republican Party and this nation in the future. We aren't talking about the process, but everybody knows the respect and appreciation I have for him.
QUESTION: Sir, you're receiving a lot of criticism of late for making this campaign go negative. Have you -- are you at fault in making this campaign negative? And why not keep the discussion focused on the issues, as opposed to Obama's character?
MCCAIN: Well, I don't think it's negative. I think we're drawing the differences between us.
I think that the video that we had was about taxes and about energy. That's what we want this campaign to be about, is the differences in our positions.
And why don't we -- why don't we stand together at a town hall meeting? That's what we offered and asked for. His answer was that he would have one additional debate, and that would be on the Fourth of July.
So, I don't think our campaign is negative in the slightest. We think it's got a lot of humor in it, and we're having fun and enjoying it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And in about 20 minutes, we're going to hear from Barack Obama in his own words. He talks about oil and the energy crisis.
And Allan Chernoff talking about that as well.
CHETRY: In his own words.
MARCIANO: In his own words. Some good news maybe? Gas prices?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: I have some good news for you. I'm going to tell you where people got gas yesterday for 99 cents a gallon. Coming up on the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Did you hear what he said about 99 cents a gallon?
CHETRY: I have a too-good-to-be-true feeling about it.
CHERNOFF: It was true. But first, let's tell you the reality for most people. Right now, the national average for gasoline is pretty good. It's improving. Down to $3.88 a gallon. That is the 18th consecutive decline. Remember, the peak last month was $4.11 a gallon. So, things are getting better. Gasoline is following the decline that we've seen in oil prices.
Now, let's talk about that 99 cents a gallon. Yes, it did happen yesterday in New Jersey. A church called the Liquid Church that normally has its services at the Hyatt Hotel in Morristown, New Jersey. Well, yesterday they moved over a few blocks to the Exxon station, took it over for four hours, and they pumped 5,000 gallons of gas at, yes, 99 cents a gallon. The pastor said this was all out helping everyone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PASTOR TIM LUCAS, THE LIQUID CHURCH: We have no agenda. We are not trying to convert people. We're not trying to, you know, make a political statement or anything. We literally are trying to say whether you drive a beat up Honda or showroom Hummer, God loves you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: Can I have an Amen?
MARCIANO: Hallelujah, brother. Hallelujah.
(CROSSTALK)
CHERNOFF: Let's give a hand to the Liquid Church for pumping that gas at 99 cents a gallon.
CHETRY: Love it. What did the chart that you had - it was $2.83 or something a year ago. We were complaining back then. My! How things have changed.
MARCIANO: Now we're celebrating.
CHERNOFF: Exactly.
CHETRY: Now we would just, you know, dance for joy if that was the price of gas.
CHERNOFF: I think that's exactly what they were doing at the Exxon station yesterday.
MARCIANO: All right. Good on the Liquid Church there. Thanks, Allan.
CHETRY: Well, the "Gossip Girl" is at it again. It's a controversial show and now it's turning a negative into a positive, using critics' words in a new ad convincing teens to watch the show. We'll show it to you coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: And it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day in Cincinnati. There it is, the Queen City, the river. You got it. Sun coming up. Temps in the mid 60s. 91 degrees and sunny. You know, Reynolds, I always wonder where these bankers up here get their information from and I still don't know. CHETRY: From you.
MARCIANO: I still don't know. I just kind of read that. I hope it's accurate. Otherwise, my credibility is shot.
WOLF: Oh, never, man. It sounds fantastic. You're dead on.
MARCIANO: Thank you for the back-up.
WOLF: Dude, you're always right in my world. Hey, Rob, it's going to be a pretty nice day around much of the nation. However, you know that three-piece suit -- if you have that three-piece black suit you're thinking about wearing it to a business meeting in Dallas today, probably not the best choice to go with that.
It's going to be 106 degrees. That's the expected temperature there today. In Kansas Cit, 101, 92 in Chicago. But in Chicago, you're going to be dealing with something else.
At both of the airports, you might have some major delays because we're going to have strong storms into the afternoon. The daytime heating, the high humidity and this frontal boundary combined with this area of low pressure is going to provide that lift, plenty of instability and make a very loud and very rough afternoon. So be prepared for some delays in the airport.
Pretty calm in parts of the four corners. The West Coast in fine shape. And as we make our way from today and into tomorrow, pretty much the same story. But we're going to see that rough weather begins to move into parts of the Eastern seaboard, including portions of the Ohio Valley and possibly into New York and Washington, D.C. before the day is over.
And looking at this, very little -- no change, whatsoever, in terms of temperatures for north Texas. However, we will be seeing that tropical system make its way onshore someplace possibly towards Texas. This is the latest forecast map. Could bring some much-needed rainfall to parts of Texas. So, a little bit of ray of sunshine there for you.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: And always good advice not to dress your kid in a three-piece suit on the way to summer camp (INAUDIBLE).
WOLF: I know like Angus Young of AC/DC. You know, you don't want to have, you know, the velvet kind of suit in the hot weather.
MARCIANO: Doesn't breathe quite as well.
WOLF: Exactly.
MARCIANO: Thank you, Reynolds Wolf. We'll see you later, buddy.
WOLF: You bet.
CHETRY: Yes, that's the last thing the kid needs on the way to camp.
MARCIANO: I agree.
CHETRY: Well, there are some new evidence this morning. It's connecting a researcher to the anthrax letter case but not everybody thinks that the Feds have the right guy.
Coming up, we'll talk with a former co-worker of Bruce Ivins, who says there is no way Ivins could have sent those anthrax letters.
MARCIANO: The racy TV show that targets your children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is shocking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Why these ads have some people outraged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Teens feel, hey, I've got to check this out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Is your child tuning in? You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's the racy teen drama that some parents say goes way too far. But the popular show "Gossip Girl" is taking all that criticism and using it to its advantage. It has some people even more irate.
CNN's Brooke Anderson brings us the show's latest ad campaign.
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Kiran and Rob, a new round of steamy ads for the TV show "Gossip Girl" is igniting a fire storm of criticism.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Very bad for you, mind-blowingly inappropriate, denouncements of the racy television series "Gossip Girl."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lifeguard is like Kleenex, use once and throw away.
ANDERSON: The show itself which airs on the CW Network is risque with teenage talk of drinking, drugs and sex. But it's the marketing which uses the words of critics that now has people talking.
TIM WINTER, PARENTS TELEVISION COUNCIL, PRESIDENT: This is shocking. It's a slap in the face to parents. ANDERSON: The Parents Television Council, a TV watchdog group, is outraged by the images and feels the CW is hungry to boost ratings for "Gossip Girl," which averaged only 2.3 million viewers last season.
WINTER: This type of campaign shows the desperation that the executives are feeling. It's wholly unconscionable in terms of corporate responsibility we believe.
ANDERSON: The network which is partly owned by CNN's parent company Time Warner launched the campaign just three months after taking heat for these provocative promotions. Defending its actions, the CW says, quote, "We wanted to create a provocative, unconventional campaign that resonates with Gossip Girl's sophisticated, media savvy young adult fans."
PAUL KURNIT, FOUNDER PS INSIGHTS: The new "Gossip Girl" campaign is really smart.
ANDERSON: Advertising and youth marketing expert Paul Kurnit praises the strategy.
KURNIT: It's forbidden fruit. It's basically the kind of thing that suggests that your parents aren't going to like it, your parents don't want you to be involved with this, don't go there. And it becomes something that teens feel, hey, I've got to check this out.
ANDERSON: But Winter asserts success can come with a price.
WINTER: Do we say that Joe Camel was successful in terms of getting children to smoke cigarettes?
ANDERSON: "Gossip Girl" star Blake Lively featured prominently in the steamy ads is unconcerned claiming she hasn't seen them.
BLAKE LIVELY, SERENA WAN VER WOODSEN: I don't see them, then I don't have to talk about them.
ANDERSON: But millions of kids will see them, displayed on TV, online, in print and on billboards in plain view of unsuspecting parents and their children. Some say potentially creating, as stated in the ads themselves, every parent's nightmare.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: The PCC has sent a letter to every corporate sponsor of "Gossip Girl" asking them to rethink their association with the show which is popular with young girls ages 12 to 17. The CW will premier the second season of "Gossip Girl" next month -- Kiran, Rob.
CHETRY: Gold medal boot camp.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The young people, they don't enjoy it. They must play more. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: China's children pushing to the limits to ensure top spots on the Olympic podium. We'll talk with one coach who had enough.
And new evidence in the anthrax letters case, but not everyone says the FBI has the right man.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The labs were not equipped for instance with a lot of the equipment that would have been required to supposedly dry this material down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The co-worker of the suspect who killed himself as the feds closed in, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Time to take a look at the "Political Ticker" for this Monday. Politics and delegates are not the only ones getting ready for the upcoming party convention, so are the protestors.
Tens of thousands expected to descend on St. Paul, Minnesota for the Republican convention next month. Police and demonstrators expect the biggest numbers on the convention's first day when the anti-war march is planned.
Well, even with Congress in recess, the GOP leadership says more than a dozen Republican representatives are going to be coming in today to talk about high gas prices.
It's the second day after a five-hour talk fest on Friday. The Republicans have been doing this to call attention to what they say is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's refusal to bring Congress back for an emergency session on the issue.
And for more up to the minute political news, just head to CNN.com/ticker.
MARCIANO: Well, today is August 4th. That means we're exactly three months from it finally being Election Day. Three months away. And we want to give you all the best information before you make a choice in the voting booth. So, every day we're planning on playing extended clips of the candidates in their own words talking about the issues.
Here's Barack Obama talking about oil, energy and new legislation being discussed on Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This wasn't really a new position. What I'm saying is that we can't drill our way out of the problem, that every energy expert I have spoken with, every scientist, every engineer, will tell you that with three percent of the world's oil reserves and 25 percent of the world's oil utilization, we can keep on drilling all we want. But the long-term trend is for flat or decreasing oil supply and increased consumption.
And so what that means is, is that if we want to have true oil independence, if we want to have true energy independence, then we're going to have become much more efficient in terms of how we use energy. What I said was that the gang of 10 bill, what I've seen so far, and we haven't seen final legislation, has some of the very aggressive elements that I've outlined in my plan to move us in the direction of genuine energy independence.
You know, a good example is their goal that in 20 years, 85 percent of the cars on the road are no longer petroleum-based. That, I think, is the kind of bold step that we need. The fact that they're willing to put in $7 billion to help the auto industry retool, so that those new energy efficient cars are made in America, I think, is a positive step.
So, there are a whole bunch of good things that have been proposed by this bipartisan group. I remain skeptical of some of the drilling provisions. But I will give them credit that the way they crafted the drilling provisions are about as careful and responsible as you might expect for a drilling agenda.
And what I don't want to do is for the best to be the enemy of the good here. And if we can come up with a genuine bipartisan compromise in which I have to accept some things I don't like or the Democrats have to accept some that they don't like in exchange for actually moving us in the direction of energy independence, then that's something I am open to.
Obviously, this is very preliminary. These are early details. But I wanted to, you know, send a strong signal that 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.
QUESTION: Following up on that. A lot of your opponents are going to say that the softening of your position and that this was just one in a line of things -- Iraq war timeline, FISA. How would you respond to that, that you're soon to be shifting ever so slightly and softening in your position?
OBAMA: Guys, what I'm interested in ultimately is going to be governing. And what that means is, is that we're going to have to try to get things done. That's what the American people are looking for.
