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American Morning
Shaky Cease-fire between Russia and Georgia; British Television Reporter Roughed Him Up During a Pro-Tibet Rally; Trend in Foreclosures Continues Increasing; Comedian Margaret Cho Returns to TV
Aired August 14, 2008 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Alina Cho is live in our control room with more on the story -- Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Kiran, good morning.
You know, the census report came out at about midnight. And the surprising projection is that by the year 2042, that's eight years sooner than earlier estimates, minorities will indeed become the majority. And eight years after that, by the year 2050, minorities are expected to make up 54 percent of the population.
Now, this is most evident in the Hispanic population which will nearly triple from nearly 47 million today to nearly 133 million by 2050, making up 30 percent of the population versus 15. Now, the Asian population will rise from about five to nine percent of the total and the black population will go up slightly from 14 percent to 15 percent.
The U.S. population overall will rise to more than 400 million, from 300 million today. So what's going on? Now, a couple of factors. The most significant being, of course, immigration and higher birth rates among immigrants.
Another statistics is that the white population is aging. The number of people over 85 will triple over the next 40 years. Baby boomers, of course, living longer these days. America's face, as you mentioned Kiran, is changing. And, of course, that raises a lot of questions about quality of life.
Things like traffic, congestion, social services, education, of course, language issues. And with so many people, how will the U.S. exactly deal with this influx? That is certainly something that our elected officials, a lot of people looking at right now as we see these new numbers -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Alina Cho for us this morning. Thank you.
CHO: You bet.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news this morning on the shaky cease-fire between Russia and Georgia. There are reports this morning of explosions being heard near Gori. But Georgian officials tell CNN those explosions are only to destroy leftover ordinance. And several Russian tanks have moved into the city to complete the job. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is on her way to France, and then on to Tbilisi, Georgia to assess the situation. And humanitarian aid for Georgia has started to arrive on U.S. military planes.
But Russian's foreign minister is suggesting that two separatist regions at the center of the conflict, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, may never be convinced to return to Georgian rule.
Let's go now to CNN's Jill Dougherty. She's live in Moscow.
Was the Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov who made the comment saying the world can forget about any talk of Georgia's territorial integrity, put that in context for us.
JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. That does sound pretty draconian, doesn't it, John? But essentially what he is saying is the situation on the ground now has changed. If before you had two very autonomous regions of Georgia, that's Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Now, after this conflict, they, those regions, he would argue, are even more intent on not going back into the same situation with Georgia.
So what he's saying is, the situation now is very fluid. They are going to have to define what they want to do. But to speak, let's say, de facto of Georgia in this state as a country that has two parts to it, two independent parts to it, is no longer a realistic thing.
ROBERTS: So does that mean -- what's the flip side of that? Would Russia welcome them back into the fold?
DOUGHERTY: Well, that's the question, John. You know, what happens to them? Because if you look at South Ossetia, there's a North Ossetia and there's a South Ossetia. South Ossetia is in Georgia, North Ossetia is in Russia. And they're basically the same people.
So many of the people in South Ossetia would really like to go into alliance and be part of North Ossetia. And that would mean part of Russia. What would happen to Abkhazia, that's another area separate on the coast, and perhaps they would want to simply be completely autonomous. It's unclear. But that's really the nub of this issue right now at least on this level. What's going to happen to them? The Russians are saying, hands off, we're not telling them what to do, but whatever they decide, we're going to support it.
ROBERTS: And what are Russian officials saying about what will be a U.S. and E.U. led effort to try to isolate Russia unless it plays nice in Georgia? Do Russian officials even care about that? Did they think that the E.U. and the United States have any leverage over them considering the oil wealth that they have these days?
DOUGHERTY: Well, you know, if you listen to the comments by the Foreign Minister Lavrov this morning, he was on the radio. And he was pretty cutting. And he essentially said, I'm calm about that. Because after all, what are they going to do? How do they plan to do this, to isolate us? I can't even tell you because he said they threaten that we're not going to become members of the WTO, and then in the same breath he said, yes, but that's not going to happen, anyway, I'm convinced. So essentially he's saying, what more can they do to us?
ROBERTS: Jill Dougherty for us live from Moscow this morning. Jill, thanks very much.
CHETRY: Well, a British television reporter sharing his story this morning of how Chinese police roughed him up during a pro-Tibet rally just outside of the Olympic venues. John Ray of ITN says he was stripped of his shoes, held for half an hour. Here's John's gripping report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN RAY, ITN REPORTER (voice-over): China promised to welcome the world, but today slammed the door in its face. A day that began with a brief moment of protest soon snuffed out.
The banner is illegal, but our presence as journalists permitted by commitments made by Beijing in return for the games. Yet it seems no one has told the police.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: Free Tibet! Free Tibet!
RAY: At the entrance to a park close to the Olympic stadium, activists chain themselves together. The authorities are in a fury, as campaigners proclaim the cause of Tibet.
PEMA YOKO NORBU, STUDENTS FOR A FREE TIBET RESTRICTIONS: We're so lucky that we have all these Western supporters to fight for us, because this is a non-violent war, and we will continue, and we will go on, and we will be strong, because we won't give up. This is our right.
RAY: And this is the moment I encountered the Chinese response. Unbundled (ph) away, pushed to the floor, hidden down. For perhaps 15 minutes they hold me, then I'm forced into a police van, a brief taste of Chinese law and order.
(on camera): I'm being arrested. These people are arresting me. I've been arrested by the Chinese police for doing -- just trying to cover the protests here. I was inside the park. I was physically manhandled to the ground and dragged out. And then three or four more police came, wrestled me into the restaurant here, and they've taken my shoes off me. They've taken by equipment back. They've taken all the equipment I've got. And they won't tell me why I've been arrested.
Why are you arresting me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
RAY: It's not a time for cool reflection --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
But a Chinese colleague tells him I'm a journalist...
RAY: I'm a journalist and you're arresting me. Why are you arresting me?
(voice-over): I show my Olympic accreditation, but what good does it do?
(on camera): I'm a journalist. I hope to see you later.
(voice-over): We drove only a few yards. In the back, I was questioned about my views on Tibet. I told them again and again: I have come only to report a protest. Eventually, that won me my freedom.
John Ray, ITV News, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: While many world records are being shattered by the swimmers in Beijing, leaving some people to wonder, is there something in the water? So what is it that is making the Olympic swimmers go so fast?
CHETRY: Short changed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The third of the gas stations have a problem and are not complying with the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Are you getting ripped off when you fill up? We're following inspectors as they put gas pumps to the test.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This pump is no longer got the state seal of approval of being accurate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Nine-and-a-half minutes after the hour on this Thursday morning. And Ali Velshi with us here now, and more bad news on foreclosures, people losing their homes.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes. The trend in foreclosures continues to be higher, but what we're seeing now is a shift in where people are in the foreclosure process. So we've got these numbers in. Let me show you how it breaks down across the country.
The states that had been the biggest in foreclosure continue to be the biggest. The national average is one in 464 homes in foreclosure according to RealtyTrac. Nevada is the highest with 1 in 106, then California which while it's second in terms of ratio, it's the highest number of foreclosures, then Florida, Arizona and then Ohio.
On that list, the first four were all victims of speculation. High prices that have gone up and then collapsed. Ohio which you can see is a big drop into the number five spot is because of the loss of industry in Ohio and the Midwest.
Now, let me tell you how this breaks down. Foreclosure filings are up compared to July. July is up compared to June by eight percent. But when you compare it to last July, it's up 55 percent. That's already a lot. But that's filings. That's anybody from the beginning step of the bank trying to get their money from you, all the way to the end where you could lose your home.
When you actually look at homes repossessed. This is where the big jump has been. Again only an eight percent gain over June. But look at that compared to a year ago, 183,000 more homes were repossessed. About 77,000 homes were reclaimed by the bank in July and about a third of those were in California. So that is the sad part.
We're getting to the end of this. And with people unable to sell their homes to pay what they have to to the bank, they are losing those homes. So that's the concern. Hopefully we are at the end of the trend. It's not good for those of you who have lost their homes. But hopefully we're going to see the end of this.
As I said earlier, there's one bright spot here and that is for the homes have become more affordable for people. At some point, maybe people who couldn't get into a home could, but mortgage rates continue to go up.
CHETRY: All right. Ali, thanks.
ROBERTS: Rob Marciano with the CNN weather center for us this morning. He's tracking extreme weather. And you got a lot to talk about today, Rob. Where are you going to start?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're going to start in the tropics. We'll talk about this thing that continues to show signs of development. So we're going to talk tropics and we're going to talk sea turtles. "Most News in the Morning" will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Thirteen minutes past 8:00 here on the East Coast. And here is a look at some, well, potential weather forming. And there is Rob Marciano there with the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea behind you.
What are you looking at, Rob?
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Strives that are shattering world records. Many of this years Olympic swimmer are going faster than ever. But is it technology or talent that's helping them get their speed.
CHETRY: And comedian Margaret Cho returning to TV. She has a new series out. She's bearing it all as you see there. And this time, she says it's on her own terms. She joins us live with that. And her take on the Olympics, politics, anything else she feels like talking about. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY MCCAIN, SEN. JOHN MCCAIN'S WIFE: I'm absolutely fine. We had a great lunch and fund-raiser, and I shook hands with some very enthusiastic supporter and it got me the wrong way. I'm absolutely great and this is a precautionary thing. So I'll be fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Yes. That was Cindy McCain nursing a minor wrist sprain this morning after an over solace supporter squeeze her hand a little too hard at a campaign event in Michigan yesterday. She was treated in a local hospital. Later return to her husband's side as we saw there. McCain's wrist a little sensitive to begin with. She had some previous surgeries on it for carpal tunnel syndrome.
CHETRY: New this morning, Barack Obama's most powerful supporter will be watching the Democratic convention from the sidelines. Oprah Winfrey will be in the audience, but you won't see her on stage.
ROBERTS: It's coming up on 19 minutes after the hour. And time to fast forward now to see stories that will be making news later on today. President Bush, a full slate of intelligence briefings today at the CIA headquarters. The president will get updates on the war on terror as well as the ongoing Russian invasion of Georgia.
Super Chef Julia Child, guess what? She was a spy for the United States during World War II. That's just one of the surprising names that we're going to see when the national archives opens up 750,000 pages of documents. Other big names on the secret spy list includes Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg and Chicago White Sox catcher Moe Berg.
In less than an hour's time, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former chief of staff will be arraign on perjury charges stemming from his under oath denial of an alleged affair. The state senior congressman along with an African-American newspaper are both calling for Kilpatrick to resign.
And a hearing today on a deadly crane collapse in New York City back in March. Former Department and building inspector Edward Marquette is accused of faking the inspection records for the crane. Seven people were killed in that incident. If convicted, Marquette faces up to four years in prison.
And that's what will be happening later on today -- Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, with swimmers shattering world records in Beijing, some are wondering there could be something in the water. We're going to take a look at what's really making the Olympic swimmers swim faster than ever.
ROBERTS: Sizing up the candidates.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's now flip-flops.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Talking about flip-flops.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Jeanne Moos checks out some real political flip-flops.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not sure McCain wants me to have him on my toes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Weren't you, like, scared with the whole North Korean like nuclear weapon thing was goes on?
We don't have nuclear weapon. We don't have nuclear, we don't have nuclear.
But then if you keep asking, they get angry. We will use them on you! If we had them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: That's comedian Margaret Cho and she's back with a new reality sitcom, "THE CHO SHOW" and she joins me to talk more about it.
Thanks for being with us.
MARGARET CHO, REALITY TV STAR: Thank you.
CHETRY: I had a chance to look at the first one, which is called "Korean of the Year."
CHO: Yes. "Korean of the Year."
CHETRY: Because you actually won this award.
CHO: Right.
CHETRY: You were honored by this Korean organization.
CHO: That's right.
CHETRY: And you talked about how difficult it was to sort of fit in with both communities. You were too Asian for mainstream and too American to fit in with the Koreans. How did you balance that?
CHO: Well, I mean, it was a difficult struggle. And when I first came on the scene, Korean-Americans were really shocked. It wasn't actually Korean-Americans. It was more of traditional Koreans, who were, you know, like not first generation. They were sort of parents who came here. They really didn't like me.
And Korean groups were threatening to picket me and protest. They really didn't want me because they couldn't control my image. I was somebody that they didn't want to see. I was too outspoken. I was too political. I was too sexual. I was too gay. I was too -- all these things that they didn't want to see.
And so, it was a very difficult thing. I was so unaccepted by the Korean community. Little girls would write me letters saying, you make me ashamed to be Korean. I mean, it was quite difficult. And -- fortunately, I was able to keep just going and survive and I just kept performing. And now, all those people --
CHETRY: You joke you outlived all the people who were criticizing you.
CHO: Oh, yes, everybody died. But kids really love me.
CHETRY: What a turn around, though, because in the first episode of your show, you showed this girl who is such a fan of yours that she had to write down what she's going to say because she was so nervous. She was crying as she said, thank you, you make the world a better place.
CHO: Well, it's beautiful because there are so few Asian- American faces out there. We don't see images of Asians out there at all in the media, in different contexts. We see some, but it's just so rare. So, for me to be out there, I think I represent a lot of dreams for people, a lot that they want to accomplish and do. And if they see me doing it, they feel like, they can do it, too. And that's really beautiful.
CHETRY: Yes. And it's funny when your dad said to you, I hope you're going to cover up those tattoos before you accept that award. Your parents are traditional. How do they balance having an untraditional daughter?
CHO: Well, that's when they use their selective understanding of English and they just pretend that they don't know what I'm talking about. "I don't know. She -- I don't know." So, that's like -- it's like -- for them, that's their -- like easy way out.
CHETRY: We have our own Cho show here, Alina Cho, who's one of our reporters on the show.
CHO: Yes.
CHETRY: She has a very similar impersonation of her mother. I hope I don't get her in trouble.
CHO: Well, this is like -- that's how I think Asians become more American is we ridicule our parents for their accents and it makes us feel better about. Because it's like -- when you're a kid and you're growing up and your parents are immigrants and there are foreigners, it's so strangely embarrassing that you have to make fun of them and that's how you become truly Americans.
CHETRY: I know exactly what you're saying. When I was younger, my dad's from Nepal, I use to tell people my name was Karen, because it was very strange to be named Kiran.
CHO: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: You know, (INAUDIBLE). But let me ask you about the Olympics because the big controversy right now is that this beautiful, adorable little girl singing at the opening ceremonies in Beijing, turns out she was replaced by the real singer. And the real singer who replaced by her because she was cuter.
CHO: I know. It hurts my heart. It breaks my heart that this happened. And I didn't even know that China had any little girls left. I thought all the gay men adopted them. So, I was surprised that there was two left. And now I want both.
CHETRY: There's actually six from the Olympic team, as well, a little controversy there as to whether or not they're really 16. They look very young.
CHO: Oh, it's so -- I don't know. China is so different, you know. But the little girl thing, that to me is very Asian. I mean, I grew up and people always told me that I was ugly and they always told me that I was never -- I was never going to be pretty and that I've just got to develop a good personality because I just didn't have the looks. And the thing is, I totally do, so who cares.
CHETRY: You know what is amazing though? You have made a big transformation weight wise. And you talked about some of your struggles with weight. How did you eventually come to a place where you look fabulous and you feel -- you know, you seem like you're much more comfortable. In fact, you did the unthinkable. You went out there totally naked on your show for the entire country to see.
CHO: Well, I think it's important for people to see. When I first did television in 1994, I did a screen test where I wore a midriff shirt and was stomach was exposed and everybody freaked out. The executives freaked out and said, "Never show your stomach in public again. You are so grossly fat. I can never see your stomach in public again. Never show it again."
So now in my show, I'm totally naked in every episode, because I think it's important for people to see what an almost 40-year-old woman looks like who has not had any weird liposuction or any kind of weird diet. I'm just like me, you know.
CHETRY: But you did lose a bunch of weight.
CHO: Well, I'm a belly dancer. That's how. So, I just dance. And to me, that's a celebration. You know, to me it's just like fun because you get to wear a costume and shake around and --
CHETRY: You're a belly dancer on the side or you did this as your cardio?
CHO: This is my cardio. But it's also -- it's also my social life and my fun. And so, you know, all my friends are belly dancers. And so that's a beautiful thing.
CHETRY: Love it. And what does your dad say? What did he say when you walked out there with your air-brushed dress?
CHO: Well, my parents had an issue with it because they thought that it looked Chinese. I mean, that's the weird thing. They didn't care that I was naked. They're just like, oh, she looks Chinese.
CHETRY: They're good sports, I've got to tell you, they're good sports for showing up in all the episodes. And we look forward to the premiere. By the way, "THE CHO SHOW" is going to be on next Thursday, August 24th. It's on 11:00 p.m. So, our viewers are allowed to watch it.
CHO: August 21st.
CHETRY: Sorry. August 21st.
CHO: Thank you.
CHETRY: 11:00 p.m. VH1.
CHO: That's right.
CHETRY: Margaret Cho, great to see you. Thanks for being with us.
CHO: Thank you.
ROBERTS: It's 28 minutes after the hour. We're following breaking news this morning on the shaky cease-fire between Russia and Georgia. Russian troops and tanks have returned to the city of Gori near the break away region of South Ossetia despite the agreement to hand over control of the city to Georgian police. Meantime, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in France for talks with President Nicolas Sarkozy on the Russian-Georgia conflict. From there, she is to travel on to Tbilisi in a show of U.S. support for its Georgian ally.
China estimates that it's going to cost almost $150 billion to rebuild after the horrific earthquake that struck back in May. The government's plan calls for the rebuilding of some 3,400 schools in the heart of Sichuan province and neighboring provinces. Thousands of students died in the rubble when classrooms collapsed during the quake.
More bad news on the housing market. Foreclosure filings up 55 percent during the month of July compared with the same period a year ago. RealtyTrac says more than 270,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice last month. That is one out of every 464 American households.
Here's a look at the latest medal count at the Beijing Olympics. China now leads the U.S. with 35 total medals. U.S. narrowly behind with 34. South Korea and Australia have 16 apiece. And China continues to dominate the race for gold, with 22 gold medals. The U.S. has got 10.
America's juggernaut, the beach volleyball team is gearing up to defend its gold title. CNN's Larry Smith has got the latest for us from Beijing.
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The buzz today in Beijing is the gold medal haul of the Chinese. Now, 21 golds. That number is now more than half of the stated 40 gold medals they were hoping for here in the Summer Olympics through just six days of competition.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH (voice-over): Still perfect on the beach, American beach volleyballers Misty May-Treano and Kerry Walsh defeated Norway in straight sets to advanced to Friday's medal round with a 3-0 record. The victory extends their winning streak to 104 straight matches.
In the Olympic pool, the focus for a change was not on Michael Phelps. Alain Bernard of France won the 100-meter freestyle, beating out Australia's Evan Sullivan who set the world record in a semi-final heat. American Jason Lezak tied for the bronze. Bernard's victory was revenge of sorts after Lezak came from way behind to edge the Frenchman on the thrilling anchor leg of 400-meter freestyle relay.
The U.S. women failed to win gold in the 800-meter freestyle relay for the first time since the event began in 1996. They took the bronze medal. The Australian team won gold and the Chinese took the silver.
And a dramatic turn of events in the women's 100-meter freestyle semis. The world record holder Australia's Libby Trickett would have not have qualified for the finals, but she got in when a Chinese swimmer who had won her semi-final heat was disqualified for a false start. As for Phelps, two preliminary races on this Thursday as he returns to the pool Friday morning Beijing time for a run at his sixth gold medal. Again, turning it a record eight gold medals. This time, it's in the men's 200-meter individual medley.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Also, the U.S.A. basketball team is playing Greece looking for redemption after Greece beat them two years ago in the World Championships. Let's go back to you.
CHETRY: All right. Larry Smith for us this morning from Beijing. Thanks so much.
You know, this year's Beijing Olympics, 18 world records in swimming have been broken so far. The U.S. men's swim team has won seven of those world records. So what is making the swimmers swim so fast? Some say the technology. But Alina Cho has the real answers to put it in perspective for us.
CHO: Hey there, Kiran. Good morning.
You know, Michael Phelps broke another world record Tuesday night in the 200-meter butterfly. That means 18 world records as you mentioned and counting in swimming this year in Beijing. And what is so incredible about this is that the records are not just being broken, they're being shattered, in some cases by more than four seconds. That's a lifetime in swimming where many races are decided by hundreds of seconds.
So what's going on? Well, there are three factors. Those swim suits you've been hearing so much about, modified training techniques and there is literally something in the water. We're talking about pool design. Now, first the pool. The Olympic pool in Beijing is close to 10 feet deep. That is three feet deeper than pools of the past and the pool has 10 lanes versus eight. All of this serves to lessen resistance and minimize waves. Now, there are also nonskid starting blocks, similar to those you see in track and field. And that can shave valuable seconds off a swimmer's total time.
Second, that new swimsuit which is really a body suit as many of you know. it can take up to 30 minutes to put it on and it pretty much shoe horns the body into a more streamline position. Now, some believe it creates buoyancy and of course, that can ultimately boost performance.
Third, there is the training, swimmers used to focus more on endurance. Now it's all about the technique, especially kicking. Michael Phelps has a special advantage. His feet are so big and they have such a range of motion that many say his feet are actually like flippers. And let's not forget the good old fashioned adrenaline and determination. Those are factors too, of course. And Kiran, with three left to go in Olympic swimming, it's a pretty good bet that more world records broken perhaps with Michael Phelps leading the way.
CHETRY: Wow. He's the human dolphin. Did you see the - they did some stories about just how much he eats a day? 12,000 calories. CHO: Yes. 10,000 to 12,000 calories a day. I mean, you need a lot to fuel that body, certainly. And when you consider the average person eats about 2,000 calories a day. Wow, it's a lot.
CHETRY: I would take up swimming just so I could eat the whole pizza and I don't have to worry about it. Go, Michael Phelps. All right. Alina, thanks.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, an erotic novel about an Islamic woman pulled by Random House. We're going to find out why they fear a backlash.
Shortchanged.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gas stations have a problem and are not complying with the law.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Are you getting ripped off when you fill up? We're following inspectors as they put gas pumps to the test.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The pump no longer has the state seal of approval of being accurate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up on 37 minutes after the hour, Ali Velshi is monitoring issue issue No. 1 for us. Earlier in the week, it was all good news.
Today, though, Ali, not so much.
VELSHI: Yes, inflation still with us. We just got the inflation report for the month of July, and we got inflation running at an annual rate of 5.6 percent. That is the highest that we've seen since July of 1991. That's 17 years. So we've got inflation. This is the food prices that we've been paying, the energy prices that we've been paying. It's still hurting you in your pocket.
Remember, I always say when you want to understand how this is relevant, that's 5.6 percent that you're paying for the same stuff. You probably haven't had a 5.6 percent raise in the last year, your investments haven't given you a 5.6 percent return. So that's how you have to look at it. Unless you are keeping up, unless your investments and your income is higher than inflation, you are falling a little back in your standard of living. That's why we're concerned about this. 5.6 percent, not a great number. It's substantially higher than what we thought we were going to get. So, inflation is still a major concern for us. John.
ROBERTS: Ali, thanks very much for that. And don't forget Ali's going to be monitoring "Issue number one" all day and we've got the "Issue number one" program today at noon. He'll have more on all that. Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, here's a little bit of good news, on the economic front, the price of gas falling again overnight. The current national average $3.78 a gallon. It's fallen now, every day for four weeks. And while the price of gas is falling, complaints about gas stations are not. Our Allan Chernoff joins a couple of gas station pump inspectors in Suffolk County, New York who makes sure that consumers are getting what they're paying for.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Inspector Bill Bell is checking for tampering. If the state seals are missing, he knows the pump is suspect.
BILL BELL, INSPECTOR: As long as it's on the pump, we know, no one has been tampering with the inside of the pump.
CHERNOFF: It's rare to find such a violation, says Bell. More common, a mechanical problem that could shortchange consumers. So from every nozzle, Bill and his partner Joe Wood, pump five gallons into a precise five-gallon container.
BELL: So he is giving a little bit of gas away?
About a teaspoon full.
CHERNOFF: How often do you find that a five gallon pump here is not really five gallon?
JOSEPH WOOD, SUFFOLK CO., WEIGHTS & MEASURE INSPECTOR: I would probably say one in a 100 and it's probably over than under. Under is even more rare.
CHERNOFF: It did happen in this Mobil station in Texas last month. Inspectors found every single pump was short changing motorists by just a bit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This pump is no longer got the state seal of approval of being accurate.
CHERNOFF (on-camera): The inspectors are also checking for pump jump and pump creep. Pump jump is then the price at the pump starts climbing before you even start pumping. And pump creep is when the price keeps on going up even after you stop pumping.
(voice-over): It's most common, says inspectors at no name dealers who sometimes do a poor job maintaining their machinery. Inspectors also take samples to be analyzed in the lab for quality. After water was found a few weeks ago in the gas of this station in Port Jefferson, New York, the owner is shut down. And New Jersey inspectors recently found 350 violations in the 1,000 gas stations they checked.
ANNE MILGRAM, NEW JERSEY ATTORNEY GENERAL: That obviously concerns us enormously because that means that a third of the gas stations have a problem and are not complying with the law and that's bad for consumers.
CHERNOFF: To avoid problems, Bill and Joe say buy brand name gas, and if possible, pump your own. Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: So beware.
The new Islamic book that is so hot that Random House shelved the release all together. What the company feared could happen.
CHETRY: Hey, you've heard of political talking heads. How about political walking heads? There they are, Jeanne Moos on the new face of flip-flopping.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Seventeen minutes to the top of the hour. Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Random House Publishing has reversed a decision to put out the "Jewel of Madina." It's a historical novel with Islamic themes. The book was supposed to be released on Tuesday. So why did the publishers cancel the release? Our Lola Oguinnake joins me now to explain.
So why reverse the position here?
LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, the book was all set to be published, John. They actually sent it to a professor at the University of Texas, an Islamic studies professor to have her contribute a blurb, a glowing recommendation. She read the book and thought to herself, no way. Not only do I not like the book. She called up Random House and essentially said, if you publish this book, you'll have another "Satanic Verses" on your hand.
ROBERTS: I mean, the Salman Rushdie?
OGUNNAIKE: The Salman Rushdie book. Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa and they said Salmon had to go underground. Random House said they took her advice into consideration, but also reached out to their own independent scholars as well as security experts and decided upon speaking to those groups of people that they were not going to publish it.
ROBERTS: This person in Texas didn't just say, I think you'll run into some problems if you publish this. She thrashed it.
OGUNNAIKE: She essentially told the "Wall Street Journal" that she thought it was soft core pornography. But Random House issued this statement, they said that "the publication of this book might be offensive to some of the Muslim community, but also it could incite acts of violence by a small radical segment." So for the safety of their employees, the author as well as the other publishers that might be involved, they decided not to touch this book at all.
ROBERTS: You mentioned the Salman Rushdie book, the "Satanic Verses," of course. We saw the Danish cartoons, the prophet Mohammed created such an outcry. Is it possible to write about Islam in anything other than a factual and textual way without getting into trouble here?
OGUNNAIKE: Well, that's the question here. Because this woman's book, she's arguing, the author is, this book hasn't even come out yet. People even haven't had an opportunity to read it yet. It's just the fear that there could be potential violence surrounding this book that has prompted Random House not to publish it. She is saying that she is not given opportunity, given a fair share at all. Random House is saying, we have to err on the side of caution, we cannot take the risk.
ROBERTS: So, is this ever going to be published?
OGUNNAIKE: It is going to be published. It's actually coming out in Europe. They don't have a problem with it. It's coming out in Europe in the spring. And other publishers in the U.S. are actually speaking with this woman's agent right now as we speak. And so, I spoke with the agent the other day and she said the book could come out as early as this fall. So it will see the light of day.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, we'll see what the reaction is when this comes out in Europe.
OGUNNAIKE: Yes.
ROBERTS: To see whether Random House is right or wrong? Lola, thanks so much for that.
OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: CNN NEWSROOM is just minutes away. And Heidi Collins at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead.
Good morning, Heidi.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Kiran.
That's right. The developing situation in the republic of Georgia. We'll follow it all day, right here in the NEWSROOM.
Conflicting signals out of Georgia. Are Russian troops pulling out of the strategic city of Gori? We, of course, will keep our eye on that.
And perjury arraignment for Detroit's mayor, next hour. Kwami Kilpatrick accused of lying about an affair. And this photo of the Spanish basketball team raising a fuss at the Olympics. We'll talk about that.
Plus, need a morning jolt? How about this, chef Julia Child, a World War II spy? Hmmm, we'll explain it all in the NEWSROOM, top of the hour on CNN. Kiran.
CHETRY: Heidi, thanks so much. Well, we know eating food left unrefrigerated is probably not a good thing, but how long can you leave foods out before they go bad?
Dr. Sanjay Gupta answers your question, still ahead.
ROBERTS: Voting with your feet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's almost like you're stuffing the candidate that you are bored.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Jeanne Moos on how some people are wearing their politics on their feet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can squeeze the head. They're light, they're hollow and they look so real.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning."
A new study says that your birth control may actually make you pick the wrong man. A team of researchers say that the contraceptive could skew a woman's hormones, disrupting her sense of smell. The scientists think that smell plays a key role in signaling compatibility between men and women, genetic compatibility even that could lead to trouble when a woman either goes on or off the pill during a relationship. Pretty wild.
ROBERTS: It's incredibly scientific, isn't it?
CHETRY: I think I'd look into that a little more.
ROBERTS: I didn't think there was anything scientific about relationships. It was just kind of like every woman thinks every woman is gorgeous and every woman thinks every man is an idiot. Isn't that the way it works?
CHETRY: Well, there has to be something in between because people do get married. Well, it's a Thursday and it means the CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is reaching into his mailbag to answer your questions this morning. We won't grill you on that study yet but we would like further research.
ROBERTS: Definitely.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I will have to go back and look and see what my wife was taking a few years ago, for sure.
ROBERTS: And what you smelled like too.
OK. Let's leave that and dive right in. Our first question, Sanjay, comes from Kayla in Washington. she's asking about the death of actor and comedian Bernie Mac. Let's listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
KAYLA, QUESTION ABOUT BERNIE MAC: I'm very sad that Bernie Mac has passed away from pneumonia at such a young age. I wonder if Dr. Gupta could speak about the dangers of pneumonia and how to protect ourselves.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
ROBERTS: What about that, Doc? What about the dangers of pneumonia and how to protect yourself?
GUPTA: Well, you know, I think it's surprising. Bernie Mac was relatively young, still, 50. He did have this underlying problem of sarcoidosis which is a disease of the lungs. But his doctors say, look, that really had nothing to do with this bout of pneumonia, which goes to show how deadly pneumonia can be even at a relatively young age. There are about 60,000 people who die of pneumonia every year, which is an infection of the lung, which causes inflammation of the lungs.
People most at risk are people who have had pneumonia before or people who have weakened immune system, people who are diabetics. There are things you can do, especially for the elderly people. Get a flu shot, for example, every year. Wash your hands. We talked about this. I almost sound silly saying it over and over again but it makes such a difference. Avoid cigarette smoke and exercise regularly. It's hard to say whether if any of that would have helped Bernie Mac. It sounds like he was pretty sick by the time he got to the hospital.
ROBERTS: Remember back in 1990, Jim Henson died, a similar age. He was 53 years old from what they called galloping pneumonia.
GUPTA: That's right. A very aggressive sort of pneumonia. You start to actually accumulate fluid within the lungs and becomes very hard to breath and even with a breathing machine, hard to get out of that situation.
CHETRY: Sanjay, it seems that we hear about it a lot in hospitals. In fact, when I went in to have my baby, after, they made me breathe into some sort of tube, I guess, a few times an hour and they said that was to prevent pneumonia from lying in a hospital bed.
GUPTA: That's right. And if you think about it, Kiran, the worst infection of all occur in hospitals because that's where sick people are. In fact, they called those hospital-acquired infections, trying to keep relatively healthy people from getting sick while they're in the hospital is a key part of this.
CHETRY: Wow. All right. We're going to head down to the south for our next question. This is Susan in Texas. She writes: "My question is, if I overeat this weekend, how soon will that additional pound or two show up on the scale?"
GUPTA: Susan, you don't need to overeat this weekend. You know, look, it's going to show up right away, but maybe not for the reasons you think. If you overeat by, you know, a few hundred or a few thousand calories for that matter, you're going to gain weight. But a lot of that, the good news is mainly water weight. You know, I saw this question. I wanted to give you a little bit of math here.
Because it is important. When you overall think about your eating, you eat 2,300 calories, which is a relatively normal diet. You burn 1,800, you got to put on 500 extra calories. The reason I point that out is because 3,500 calories means a pound. You do that every day for a week, you're going to gain a pound. That's how it works. It's pretty simple math here. So you got to burn more calories than you're taking in. Susan, have fun this weekend and try not to over eat.
ROBERTS: Hey, we got time for one more question. Tiffany in Phoenix writes: "I've got a family member that always eats food that's been sitting out for hours. How long does it take for bacteria to grow on food left unrefrigerated?" I guess it all makes a difference whether you're talking about an apple or a piece of sushi here.
GUPTA: That's right. Different types of foods different types of climates, as well. A general rule of them, inside the house, about two hours. You're going to start to accumulate bacteria right away. Kind of an icky thought when thinking about your food. But within two hours, that bacteria gets to the point where it could potentially make you sick. If you're outside, I noticed you're in Phoenix, it's particularly hot outside, about an hour. So try to keep around as much ice as possible. I think not only to keep your food cool but to keep it safe as well. Think about doggy bags, as well. You take that home from the restaurant, make a couple of stops on the way home, that food may be no good by the time you get there.
ROBERTS: All right.
CHETRY: Opps. Guilty.
GUPTA: Something to think about, guys. I'm trying to keep you healthy and safe.
ROBERTS: Sanjay, thanks so much for that. We'll do this again next week. Appreciate it.
GUPTA: All right.
ROBERTS: Political walking heads, our Jeanne Moos on the new face of flip-flopping. The candidates hit a new low, literally.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Well, the term flip-flop can be fighting words in the world of politics.
CHETRY: Right. But as Jeanne Moos reports, it doesn't have to be a candidate's Achilles heel.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For the days when fish, he's now flip-flopped.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He now flip-flops.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're talking about flip-flops.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Flip-floppers are all over the world.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The only person who has flip-flopped on this issue is John McCain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John McCain has flip-flopped. This is the ultimate flip-flop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Worse than a flip-flopper.
MOOS: No. This is worse than a flip-flopper. It's the Obama flop and the McCain flop, the latest in political footwear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE; Where would I wear them? I'd wear them in the shower.
MOOS: Nine of your favorite or least favorite candidate's heads on a flip-flop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's almost like you're stepping on the candidate that you are for, though.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm not sure McCain would want me to have him on my tees.
MOOS: The once lowly flip-flops have been upgraded in recent years with everything from a hidden flask to a nip to a bottle opener. The flip flop peaked as a political weapon when republicans shook them to try and stigmatize John Kerry. And this campaign -
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Barack Obama flip-flops.
MOOS: Flip-flops have been drilled into us. The time was right to politicizing right and left feet. VOICE OF LINDA SPANN, HOTFLOPS CREATOR: How many products do you know that instantly make you smile when you wear them?
MOOS: That's creator Linda Span. She patented the one-piece mold that featured everything from grapes to footballs and now heads.
SPANN: You can squeeze the head. They're light. They're hollow and they look so real.
MOOS: Don't tell the candidates their heads are hollow. The voting is already under way on hotflops Web site. You can vote with your feet. But who is winning so far?
Obama is leading in sales, two to one. Which is fitting because since he's a guy who seems to wear flip-flops. But is wearing these flip-flops an insult or a compliment? Listen to the president of Hotflops and their creator flip flopping.
VOICE OF SEAN JACKSON, HOTFLOPS, CEO: Am I supporting him or are they saying he's flip flopping on some issues but I think if we see -
SPANN: Everybody, you wear these because you support your candidate.
MOOS: Or you can mix and match.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, that would be good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, that's very bipartisan.
MOOS: Online is where you can buy them for $30 a pair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not $30, $9.95.
MOOS: Or better yet, try to get them free for modeling by a news crew desperate for footage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you're not going to get fired, we're going to keep them.
MOOS: Go ahead. All hail to feet. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Another piece of campaign memorabilia.
CHETRY: How about it? She says she has the patent on that type of design. I guess it could be anything. It just happens to be Barack Obama and John McCain's heads on there.
ROBERTS: Maybe Crocs though. What are those little things you put on Crocs?
CHETRY: Gibits.
ROBERTS: Maybe they will have some of those for political - CHETRY: Exactly. Maybe we need them. Well, thanks so much for joining us. We'll see you right back here tomorrow.
ROBERTS: Right now, here is CNN NEWSROOM with Tony Harris and Heidi Collins.
