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American Morning
Tropical Storm Fay Eyes Florida; Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf Resigns; Interview with Michael Phelps After Winning His Eighth Gold; Barack Obama on the Verge of Picking a Running Mate. GPS: Is It High-Tech Crime Fighting or an Invasion of Privacy?
Aired August 18, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And we are coming up to 7:00 here on the East Coast. A look at the top stories this morning. Breaking overnight. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says he will step down to avoid an impeachment battle he says is not in his nation's interest. Local media said that he has been granted safe passage out of the nation. Musharraf found himself in the front lines with the war on terror after 9/11 and was a key U.S. ally.
Mixed messages from Russia. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev promises that the troops will -- that invaded Georgia 11 days ago, will start pulling back today. But one Russian lawmaker compares a withdrawal to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, saying that a timetable depends on, quote, "How Georgians behave."
And Tropical Storm Fay expected to turn into a hurricane and hit Florida. As many as 25,000 people are jamming roads out of the Keys.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CO-HOST: The Keys themselves getting the far outer bands right now. Rain associated with Fay. People there could start feeling the brunt of the storm as far as winds going just a few hours.
And a little farther north, Tampa, Clearwater, Fort Myers are all in the path potentially. The storm is expected to head up Florida's West Coast in the next 72 hours and possibly hit the mainland as a hurricane.
We're watching the storms every move this morning. Reynolds Wolf is tracking it from Atlanta and Morgan Neill is live in Havana as Fay pounds Cuba with wind and torrential rains. We'll begin with Morgan.
Good morning again, Morgan.
MORGAN NEILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rob. That's right. Here in Havana, so far, the effect of the storm have been somewhat light as the storm has made its way to the east of us where the biggest rains are being felt. But here in Havana, authorities are warning that because of the direction of the circulation of the storm, there is a risk that I don't know if you can see behind me here on Havana's seawall, we can actually see the ocean come in and flood some of the low-lying areas.
Of course, Cuba is just the last or the most recent of the countries to be affected by the storm that could really (INAUDIBLE) the entire region.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NEILL (voice-over): Tropical Storm Fay picked up momentum Sunday hitting Cuba's southern coast with gusty winds and heavy rains that pushed and swirled closer to the island. Hurricane watches were posted along much of Cuba's central and western coast, including Havana as the storm picked up strength.
Already, Fay has left at least five people dead in its wake after battering Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Nearly 12,000 people were evacuated in the Dominican Republic and power was cut to some 15,000 homes according to local reports. Target now, the Florida Strait, predictions that could reach hurricane strength as it pushes back over water.
BEN NELSON, FLORIDA STATE METEOROLOGIST: The main threats with Fay as the National Hurricane Center and the state emergency response team diagnosis right now are tornadoes and flooding.
NEILL: Forecasters said the storm could hit the Florida Keys Monday night. In the Keys, schools are closed. Tourists are being urged to leave and shelters are being opened. The governor has declared a state of emergency and 9,000 Florida National Guard troops are at the ready.
GOV. CHARLIE CRIST (R), FLORIDA: Florida is prepared and we are ready and we'll be vigilant.
NEILL: Residents rushed to prepare for the incoming storm buying plywood, batteries, generators and candles. In some areas, water sold out within hours of stores opening. And out in the Gulf of Mexico, U.S. oil companies like Shell are already pulling workers off offshore platforms preparing for Fay's arrival. Back here in Cuba, the island must now start to deal with the damage.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEILL: And, of course, the reports of damage have been fairly slight so far considering what the storm has done elsewhere. But the storm is still over Cuba, Rob, so we know it's not done yet.
MARCIANO: Thank you, Morgan. Morgan Neill live for us in Havana this morning.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And there are brand new warnings issued for Florida this morning. Reynolds Wolf is tracking the storm for us right now. He has an update. Hey, Reynolds.
REYNOLD WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, you're right. We've got plenty of watches and warnings but I'll tell you what. Even without any of those, people in Florida would be ready. I mean, you look back at 2004, 2005, and even before then, people in the Sunshine State have really gone through this drill many times before.
Now this is the latest that we have on Fay. You see crossing over parts of Havana, now moving out over the straits of Florida. One thing about parts of Cuba, at least on the western inn is really you don't have the same high elevations that you have in places like say Jamaica and your Blue Mountain, in excess of 7,000 feet or between Haiti and the Dominican Republic where you have peaks there around 10,000 feet. That high elevation can really rip into these storms.
So it's crossing a pretty flat area right now, beginning to move out in the strait of Florida. It's going to start gaining strength again. Right now, winds at 50 and gusts up to 65 miles per hour.
Now the way we expect this storm to go, at least from the National Hurricane Center, is to continue to track to the north and then veer a little bit more, due north across the, let's say, right near Key West at 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday, winds at 65 and increasing to 70, and just going near Tampa at 2:00 a.m. Wednesday. Possibly coming on shores as a Category One storm, and then back into parts of north Florida, into Georgia and into the Carolinas.
Keep in mind, these storms can really deviate. The path may go a little bit more to the east, a little more to the west. Not only that but you could see a lot of changes in terms of the intensity over the next several hours. That is the latest in the forecast. Kiran, let's send it back to you in New York.
CHETRY: Reynolds, thanks. And back to our other breaking story this morning. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says he is stepping down making that announcement live just a few hours ago. He was once considered an indispensable ally in the war on terror.
State Department Zain Verjee joins us on the phone from Brussels, Belgium this morning. Zain, what's been the U.S. reaction?
ON THE PHONE: ZAIN VERJEE, STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, on the part of the U.S., Kiran, this is not a big surprise. The U.S. had anticipated that at some point, this was going to happen and Pervez Musharraf would be forced out of office.
The fact of the matter is the U.S. has moved on and has for a while. They've recognized that there are other players now in Pakistan, other power brokers and they have adjusted that policy accordingly. The real key for the U.S. now is they want to see a focus on the war on terror. They hope that by avoiding this impeachment battle that the new coalition government in Pakistan can focus on fighting al-Qaeda on fighting the Taliban. They've just been worried that they've been distracted with all this political turmoil with Musharraf -- Kiran.
CHETRY: So is the new government that's going to be in place now friendly to the U.S., open to being an ally in the war on terror?
VERJEE: Yes, they are. They are friendly to the U.S. The government had said that they are committed to the U.S.' number one goal, fighting the war on terror.
There was a little bit of animosity at the beginning with the U.S. The new government was feeling that America was only pro- Musharraf, but U.S. officials are saying now to us that there's a lot more familiarity. They're a lot more comfortable with the coalition government.
But the thing is, too, Kiran, the coalition government in Pakistan doesn't want too big a hug from Washington right now because they don't want to be seen as too pro-American, the way that Musharraf was by the Pakistani people. They don't want to be seen as stooges of the U.S. so they're keeping their distance, too -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Zain Verjee for us from Brussels, Belgium today, thank you.
MARCIANO: Let's talk Olympics now. He's the greatest Olympian of all time, at least some people are saying that. Records-smashing Michael Phelps with 16 Olympic medals, 14 of them gold. And after he made history, our Larry Smith spoke to the superstar about how he feels about his race to the top of the world.
This must have been some sort of chat, Larry. Good morning.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: It certainly was, Rob. Very exciting to get a chance to talk with the young 23-year-old from Baltimore.
He was very fresh after a night of celebrating, which was well deserved, a night off. Said he received thousands of text messages and voice mails and Facebook requests just while he slept Sunday night.
Now, I started out by asking him, which is heavier, eight gold medals or the expectations of trying to win them?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL PHELPS, 8-TIME OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: I put them all on for the first time this morning, and they're pretty heavy around my neck. It was hard to sort of hold my neck up straight but, I mean, I can't say enough. It was just an unbelievable experience.
SMITH: I'm curious, now that you've got the eight medals, which is heavier, the eight medals around your neck or the expectations that were put on you to win them?
PHELPS: I don't know. That's a hard question to answer. I've had by no means the perfect four years. But, you know, I was able to get everything done that I wanted to do in the last four years. You know, I was able to pretty much accomplish all of my goals. So it's been a great four years. And I've had a lot of moments and a lot of memories here that I'll never forget.
SMITH: Do you recall the first time that you thought about the Spitz record and when that was?
PHELPS: I don't know when exactly it was. But I think, you know, when -- you know, when I first said I wanted to be the first to do something. You know, I wanted to be the first Michael Phelps. And, you know, I wanted to be somebody who changes this world to something and does new things for the sport.
So I think that's probably the first time I thought about it. I'm not sure when that was but, you know, I wanted to do something that nobody in the sport has ever seen.
SMITH: Were you attempting to do this in Athens four years ago?
PHELPS: I tried. I came up a little short but I was still successful.
SMITH: You saw your mother and sisters just a few minutes all week along and yet, the whole world, we all saw them race after race. What was that like finally to share those emotions with them?
PHELPS: Being able to hug my mother and, you know, hug my sisters, you know, that's what I wanted to do all week when they were on TV. I had friends text messaging me saying, you know, your mom and sisters are getting more air time than you are.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: But that's about to change. Michael Phelps, you can expect his roughly $5 million a year endorsement deals to jump to maybe $30 million. Some estimates even $50 million a year after this historic achievement here in Beijing.
Rob, let's go back to you.
MARCIANO: May he certainly be the man. Larry Smith live for us in Beijing. Nice job, Larry.
And Olympic superstar Michael Phelps joins CNN.com live tomorrow. And here's your chance to be a part of the interview. Go to Ireport.com and submit your own video question for him. Then, don't miss Michael Phelps live tomorrow morning at 8:30 Eastern only on CNN.com/live.
CHETRY: And here's what we're also working on for you this morning.
Police secretly stash a GPS under cars to track suspects. Find out whether or not you could be followed without a warrant.
MARCIANO: Plus, two men who claim to have the body of Bigfoot. But do they have the proof to back up their big claims? We'll ask them.
CHETRY: Also, countdown to the VP. We're just days away from finding out who Obama's running mate will be. Who's at the top of the list? You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Welcome back to the most business in the morning. Gerri Willis joins us live --
CHETRY: He just made that up. The most business -- she's "Minding Your Business."
MARCIANO: I don't know. Why not? The most weather in the morning. The most business in the morning.
GERRI WILLIS, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: The most business in the morning. The most consumer news in the morning.
MARCIANO: What are you talking about now? A little bit of the dollar?
WILLIS: The dollar. Some good news here. I love to report good news especially when we're having so much trouble economically. But the dollar is gaining some strength here. Eight percent over the last month it's up against other currencies. So let's take a look at some details here though.
For example, right now, that by a single euro, you need $1.47. To buy a pound, $1.87. And I've got to tell you this is the good news because earlier this year, to buy a pound it cost $2.04, for a euro, $1.62. Big changes there. This is important.
The reason that other currencies are weakening against the dollar is because, guess what? Economies across the globe are getting weaker out there. As a matter of fact, in Euroland, second quarter, there was some contraction in the economies there. Very slight contraction.
So the good news, though, is out there for travelers, if you want to travel, U.S. travelers abroad, it will be cheaper to go to Europe and other places obviously. But the real news here is for U.S. stocks and companies that are public in this country, guess what? Curbing stronger dollar means curbing inflation, lowering inflation. That means a better result for EPS.
The bottom line for public companies in this country should look better if the trend continues and we don't know if it will. As a matter of fact, this morning, the dollar looked to be just a little bit weaker. This is bad news for American manufacturers who export overseas because their products are more expensive in other markets.
So some good news. I know that people in Washington are happy to see because the treasury likes this.
MARCIANO: Well, plus, you know, you would have less foreign firms actually buying all of our buildings and companies and things like that.
WILLIS: Possibly, possibly so. But you know, you always want U.S. investments to look attractive and this really helps that.
CHETRY: All right. Gerri Willis, great to see you as always, thanks.
WILLIS: Thank you.
CHETRY: Hi-tech tail.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't put any officers in danger which is a good thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: No car and no warrant necessary. The hidden device that let's police track suspects from their desktop. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Now to the "Most Politics in the Morning." Barack Obama on the verge of picking a running mate. The Democratic National Convention kicks off on Monday. He's expected to announce his VP pick before then.
Ed Henry joins us live from Washington. Ed, Joe Biden is getting a lot of buzz over the weekend. Is he now the front-runner? What do you think?
ED HENRY, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rob, you know, it's interesting. He may be the front-runner among Democratic strategists here in Washington, but nobody really knows for sure whether he is the front-runner with Barack Obama and that's really the key.
Ultimately, this is a gut check. This is a very personal decision for either candidate. Obama is expected to go first that's why we're talking about him now and is really going to tell us a lot about Barack Obama's judgment, this choice. It's also going to tell us where he thinks this race is right now.
There is a wide assumption among Democrats all around Washington and other Democrats around the country close to the Obama camp that this race is a lot closer than Democrats expected. That John McCain is turning out to be more formidable perhaps than Democrats expected. And that is leading some Democrats to believe that Barack Obama may go safer. And a safe pick in terms of a checking a big box on foreign policy would be Senator Joe Biden. He's in Georgia right now meeting with President Saakashvili. He knows his way around the world. That is very important for Barack Obama.
But on the other hand, there's some real downside such as the fact that because he has this experience, Joe Biden has been in the U.S. Senate since 1972. That doesn't quite jive with the whole change message we've heard from Barack Obama. And also think back to 2004, you had two senators on the Democratic ticket. That didn't work out very well and there's also the potential problem of Joe Biden having trouble sticking with the script, Rob.
MARCIANO: I guess for days but, you know, the convention is just days away. When can we expect an announcement from Obama?
HENRY: A lot of Democrats close to the Obama camp say they expect this announcement definitely by the end of this week. Certainly before the weekend. Some even saying the middle of this week.
The idea being that would give Barack Obama a chance to first unveil his pick. But then, also, give them some running room heading into Denver this coming weekend. It kicks off, as you say, next Monday. But give them a little bit of room to run and maybe do some sort of tour around the country. All that to be determined. But that's why the wide expectation is that it will be by the end of this week so that they can really try to get the ball rolling before the convention, Rob.
MARCIANO: Ed Henry live for us in Washington, D.C. Great insight, Ed, thanks.
HENRY: Thank you.
CHETRY: Well, a GPS helps you get around. But did you know the police can secretly stash one under a car to track a suspect's every move? And you could be followed without a warrant. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: 21 minutes after the hour. Time to fast forward about stories we'll be watching all day long.
Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, says he will resign. He made that announcement on national television just a few hours ago.
Also, we're watching the latest forecast coming out of south Florida. The National Hurricane Center, Tropical Storm Fay eying western coastline of the Sunshine State after battering Cuba overnight. And right now for that matter, we'll be getting the latest storm advisory in the next hour.
And later this morning at 10:00 Eastern, the State Department holds a news conference debuting its new passport. There it is. Check it out. It looks like a driver's license.
It can be used on land or sea travel between the U.S. Mexico and Canada, the Caribbean and Bermuda. The new card is in response to people who just want something a little bit smaller to put in your pocket. That's what we'll be watching all day long -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Rob.
Well, it's a pretty common item for drivers these days -- the GPS. It has also proven to be a secret weapon for police departments. Officers are using them to keep tabs on suspected criminals. So is it high-tech crime fighting or an invasion of privacy? Here's CNN Kate Bolduan.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, Rob, police don't often discuss the tools they use on the streets to catch the bad guys. And this one is no different. But critics say this tactic threatens to trap innocent people as well.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, UNITED ARTISTS)
NARRATOR: Genius and useful too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN (voice-over): What once could only be seen in James Bond movies is now a real life crime fighting tool for law enforcement, global positioning systems, GPS. Mike Brooks is a former D.C. police detective.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN SECURITY ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: It's a good use of resources. It doesn't put any officers in danger which is a good thing.
BOLDUAN: It's a high-tech version of trailing a suspect. But because investigators often track without a warrant, critics label it a "Big Brother" tactic.
NORMAN REIMER, NATL. ASSN. OF CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYERS: Law enforcement has a legitimate right to try to solve crimes and track suspects provided that there are protections so that the innocent are not improperly snooped upon.
BOLDUAN (on camera): So how does this work? Well, it's pretty simple and made to be so. This is one of the devices law enforcement use. You simply put in the batteries, attach it to the car and off they go.
Police easily along for the ride tracking their suspect in real time from their computer.
(voice-over): Court documents show that is what Fairfax County Virginia police did to follow David Lee Phelps Jr. in February without a warrant. Phelps, who served time in prison for rape, is now facing trial for abduction and sexual battery. His attorney won't discuss the case but tried to get the GPS evidence thrown out of court. He says it constitutes illegal search and seizure, a violation of his client's Fourth Amendment right.
CHRIS LIEBIG, ATTORNEY: Before an intrusion of this magnitude, of this tracking, a judicial officer should make the final decision on who can be tracked and for how long.
BOLDUAN: The police involved would only say there is an internal review before GPS tracking can be used. Privacy advocates say that's not enough as police departments across the country begin utilizing this virtually undetectable device.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: The Supreme Court has yet to address warrantless GPS tracking. So the legal standards vary from state to state. Most allow it or haven't ruled on it. But Washington and Oregon, for example, have ruled that police need a warrant before using GPS -- Kiran, Rob.
CHETRY: Kate Bolduan for us, thanks. Well, actually even scarier is that virtually anyone can buy and use a GPS tracking device to secretly track someone else's whereabouts. And that's to give you a lot of information if you're planning to do it but apparently, on line, they're as low as 200 bucks.
MARCIANO: Amazing how online --
CHETRY: All I'm thinking is teenagers. You give them the driver's license, give them the keys to the car.
MARCIANO: Just a matter of time before your kids are teenagers. You have that to look forward to.
CHETRY: Yes, right.
MARCIANO: Well, a dramatic search and rescue going on right now at the Grand Canyon. Hundreds trapped even as the dam gives way. Evacuations could resume this morning. We'll have the latest on this dangerous situation.
Kareen Wynter looks at the changing face of black face.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think when black people and white people can laugh at each other, they can be a healing thing. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: 28 minutes after the hour now. Well, two guys who claim they found Bigfoot's body in the Georgia wilderness were supposed to be here this morning to tell us why it's not a hoax. But so far, they, themselves, are no-shows. They never did produce a Bigfoot corpse either, just still pictures. And they won't exactly say where they found the creature though they claim they saw a band of other Bigfoots watching them.
Breaking news, there are aliens in the CNN studios at this moment.
CHETRY: Right. But those guests canceled as well. Can't figure that either.
Well, it's 28 minutes past the hour. The top stories we're working on.
We have breaking news overnight. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf says he is stepping down. He's been granted safe passage out of the country, according to local media reports. This stems as Pakistan's ruling party was about to make its case for impeaching him. Musharraf found himself on the front lines of the war on terror after 9/11 and was a key U.S. ally.
We are watching Russia so is Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who's meeting with NATO allies today in Europe. The West is waiting to see if Russia makes good on a promise to pull troops out of Georgia today. Russia's deputy chief of staff says the withdrawal has begun.
And right now, Cuba getting drenched as Tropical Storm Fay marches toward Florida. Forecasters say Fay could strengthen into a hurricane by the time it makes landfall somewhere over the Keys later today. That storm has killed at least five people in the Caribbean.
Reynolds Wolf is tracking the storm right now. And this is a tricky one. It appears that it keeps changing.
WOLF: Oh, absolutely. Yes, I mean, the computer models on this have been all over the place, as Rob will tell you. It hasn't been just the last couple of hours, just in the last couple of days.
What we're seeing right now is Fay trying to make its way across parts of Cuba. What's interesting in terms of water temperatures, which, again, warm water is really one of the big power sources of these tropical systems. Right off of the Dry Tortugas, you've got water temperatures at 86 degrees. Now on Molasses Reef, right up near Key West, or right near Key Largo, you've got water temperatures around 86.1 degrees. So it's warm on either side. We're seeing deep convecting, an explosive convection, just south of Miami at this time and that seems to be where the heaviest precipitation is at this time.
Now, what we're going to be seeing though is winds at 50, gusting at 65, increasing as the storm moves over to open water. And The latest path we have from the National Hurricane Center shows the storm still moving in a west-northwest pattern at 12 miles per hour, possibly increasing in forward speed and gaining a little bit more power too.
As of 2:00 a.m. Tuesday, winds of 65 miles an hour. Again, that will just be north of I'd say Key West, which I'm thinking right around midnight tonight. That's when the center of the storm should be pushing through. Near Tampa, as we get to midnight or 2:00 a.m., into Wednesday, then moving into Florida and back into the Carolinas. But still so much can change. We got another update that is going to be coming up around the top of the hour from the National Hurricane Center. It's going to be very interesting to see where they put this storm next. Let's send back to you in New York.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: Reynolds, thank you.
WOLF: You bet.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: Also new this morning, rescues in the Grand Canyon, crews are expected to resume searching for as many as two dozen people after a dam burst putting hundreds in danger. Helicopters lifted more than 170 people to safety before evacuations ended when it got dark. Chris Lawrence is live for us this morning in Peach Springs, Arizona. They expect to resume those operations today, Chris? CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, in just a couple hours. Rob, right now, there are about two dozen people sleeping in the shelter behind me. And even with everything that they went through to get out of that canyon, they are the lucky ones this morning because they are here safe and sound, while nearly two dozen people are still unaccounted for. So, as of now, rescue crews have safely airlifted about 170 people out of the Grand Canyon. Now, this area of (SOUP High) in the Indian nation that is nearby only gets about nine inches of rain a year.
But, a lot of it comes all at once in August. They have been getting heavy rains that have been pounding that area for days. And then first thing Sunday morning. The Red Lands dam burst. And sent wall of water rushing into the Canyon. In fact, the current was so strong at one point that it washed away five or six rafts that a group had been using for a boating trip. So, more than a dozen people were stranded on a ledge without supplies until helicopters were able to make their way over and fly them out one at a time to the other side of the Colorado River. Campers, hikers, kayakers, all of them caught in the middle of this flood. Here is what it was like for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we heard, I mean, we heard people yelling. We heard a lot of screaming. I mean, we thought, man, this is going to be a bad situation with a lot of people dying.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You could hear this amazing amount of water coming at us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was just water everywhere. There are people in trees, on tables.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: Now, some sheriff deputies stay down in the Canyon overnight to monitor the water level. As soon as the sun comes up in a couple of hours, they'll re-evaluate the weather conditions and hopefully then resume the search and rescue operation. Again, a number of people still unaccounted for this morning. Rob.
MARCIANO: Dramatic pictures coming to us from the Grand Canyon, near the Grand Canyon. Chris Lawrence live for us. Thanks, Chris.
CHETRY: Well, looking for the value voters, both candidates hitting the campaign trail today after sharing their views from everything on abortion to what they consider evil, to what they consider their greatest mistakes at a faith forum over the weekend.
Jim Acosta is taking a look at the impact this morning.
It was very fascinating because they were in the same setting -
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.
CHETRY: If you will, and they had different ways of sort of delivering what they were trying to say.
ACOSTA: It was a lot more revealing than people realized it would be. And John McCain has often clashed with the religious right. Many of Rick Warren's questions over the weekend were tailor-made for a republican trying to reach the party's evangelical base.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): It was back to the pulpit for Rick Warren.
REV. RICK WARREN, SADDLEBACK CHURCH: Pray, consider, think about the character of the leaders and vote.
ACOSTA: The mega church pastor and author who conducted what seemed at times like a presidential job interview with Barack Obama and John McCain. In his Sunday sermon, Warren offered up what he described as the bible's qualifications for a commander in chief. Number one, being integrity.
WARREN: Honest Abe or George Washington, I could never tell a lie. I think today a lot of leaders don't know the difference.
ACOSTA: The influential minister didn't tip his hand on his choice in the 2008 race but his civil form crystallized the candidates differences on critical evangelical issues. Take the question on when the rights of the unborn begin.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Answering that question with specificity, you know, is above my pay grade.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: At the moment of conception.
ACOSTA: After the event, Obama complained to the Christian Broadcasting Network that his abortion stance is being twisted.
OBAMA: It's one thing for people to disagree with me about the issue of choice. It is another for people to out and out misrepresent my position repeatedly.
JACQUES BERLINERBLAU, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: I think what no one is discussing is the degree to which Senator McCain has the home field advantage.
ACOSTA; Professor Jacques Berlinerblau who has studied the rise of evangelicals in American politics believes that McCain connected with religious voters. And says Obama missed an opportunity.
BERLINERBLAU: Barack Obama for want of a better term looked Dukakis-y. This is the first time I have seen Barack Obama back on his heels.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: It has been said time and again that Obama's performance with evangelical voters just may determine who wins the presidency. One of the questions following Rick Warren's forum is whether Obama helped or hurt the cause. Kiran.
CHETRY: Very fascinating. As you said, you really got to look at the candidates and they really answer questions in a way we haven't seen before.
ACOSTA: A lot of people think can McCain did much better than expected and Obama may need to sharpen his knives for the next time these two guys meet.
CHETRY: All right. They hugged halfway through.
ACOSTA: They did. That's true.
CHETRY: Jim Acosta, great to see you. Thanks.
ACOSTA: You bet.
MARCIANO: Gerri Willis is on the business beat this morning. Gerri, what do you have coming up?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, I'm going to tell you why chocolate prices are going up and why your sugar fix will cost you more and why maybe you shouldn't trust your coworkers with your chocolate bar.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Check out some of the best i-reports coming in to CNN this morning. An amazing shot, i-reporter Michelle Caperton's uncle, a huge ball of ice - Hi, Uncle, in August.
CHETRY: He looks like an uncle.
MARCIANO: He does. Freak hail storm battered the outskirts of Dallas on Saturday. The hail - now, come on, I'm not sure I believe that. Anyway, Michelle -
CHETRY: What you don't believe it was still frozen by Sunday morning? You don't?
MARCIANO: Michelle said this is the third time this summer they have seen hail like this. And into Massachusetts and picture from a hail storm there. I-reporter Vern Schwanke snapped these pictures just outside his home as the storm passed over Merrimac, Massachusetts. That looks a little bit more real. And from that same storm, i-reporter, Scott Moore, got some amazing shots of the black storm clouds in Salem, Massachusetts. These are shots over the Essex Court House and the Salem Harbor looking towards Marblehead.
And if you see news, send us an i-report, just logon to our web site ireport.com and follow the directions on how to submit your photo or video. And remember, to put in your name there and also, well, stay out of harm's way. Any sort of hail stone that would be larger than, you know, a bottle cap would be dangerous.
CHETRY: You don't believe that was a big chunk of ice. You don't believe in big foot? I mean, you are very skeptical.
MARCIANO: Was it the size of a pizza?
CHETRY: It was huge.
WILLIS: There is no Santa Claus.
MARCIANO: I still don't believe that.
CHETRY: Hershey bar size hail.
MARCIANO: Yes. And there is an Easter bunny.
WILLIS: What happened to my Hershey bar?
MARCIANO: I did not eat that. I don't eat. Well, maybe I had a little bit.
CHETRY: He broke into Gerri Willis' chocolate bar. And the reason is it is more of a problem because it is costing you more to get one of those, right?
WILLIS: That's right. It is very, very expensive. Let me tell you how expensive. Hershey Company says they are going to raise prices 11 percent. That's to the store that sell those and it's going to affect everything you want to buy, Kisses, Almond Joy, Kit Kat, Milk Duds, Mounds, you named it, event the old-fashioned Hershey bar which I use to have. This is because cocoa corn, sweetener sugar and peanuts, those prices are up 20 to 45 percent this year alone. So they are having higher prices to make those chocolate bars so they are passing it along. Of course, they hedge some of this risk with fancy Wall Street products but it's not enough. They say it is going to affect just how well they do at the bottom line.
But here's another story about -
CHETRY: He is eating it now as you speak, Gerri.
WILLIS: Do you have something that you want to say?
MARCIANO: If I have to do the time, I might as well commit the crime. It is hard to talk when you are eating chocolate. Go ahead, I'm sorry.
WILLIS: We will continue with the sugar theme here. Mrs. Fields will file bankruptcy. That company probably the only cookie company that you usually see in the mall, they are going to file bankruptcy. They say fewer people are in the malls, they are having a hard time with franchising right now, very competitive industry. So, lots of problems on the sugar front. You know, if you rely on a sugar high to get through your day, it's going to cost you more, you may have a tougher time finding a place to do it.
MARCIANO: I'm shaking already.
CHETRY: Cinnabon's still around. Don't worry. Thanks, Gerri. WILLIS: My pleasure.
CHETRY: Well, it took Robert Downey, Jr. in black face to topple the reign of "The Dark Knight" at the box office. Since when did a white actor made up as a black person become socially acceptable. We will see what has changed in Hollywood. You are watching the most news in the morning.
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MARCIANO: Welcome back to the most politics in the morning. John McCain will be talking to voters in Orlando today. And over the weekend, McCain - he came face to face with Barack Obama at a church forum on faith. Here is what McCain said about what he thinks is America's greatest moral failure in his own words.
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SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think America's greatest moral failure has been, throughout our existence, perhaps we have not devoted ourselves to causes greater than our self-interest. Although, we have been the best at it than anybody in the world. I think after 9/11, my friends, instead of telling people to go shopping or take a trip, we should have told Americans to join the Peace Corps, the military, expand our volunteers. Expand the great missions that you are doing, that you are carrying out, not only here in America but throughout the world.
WARREN: Give me a good example of something that was 10 years ago you said, that's the way I feel about it and now, 10 years later, it's different. That's not flip-flopping, it's just sometimes growing in wisdom.
MCCAIN: Offshore drilling. We have to drill now and we got to drill here and we got to become a part of it. I know that there are some here in California that disagree with that position. Could I also mention very seriously about this issue. My friends, you know this is a national security issue. We are sending $700 billion a year to countries that don't like us very much, that some of that money is ending up in the hands of terrorist organizations. We cannot allow this greatest transfer of wealth this in the history and our national security to continue to be threatened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Coming up in our next hour, John McCain on same-sex marriages.
AMERICAN MORNING is your convention headquarters. First, the democrats starting next week in Denver. The best political team on TV brings you everything as Barack Obama makes history.
CHETRY: And here is what we are working on for you this morning. T. Boone Pickens, the Texan oil tycoon, turned wind energy magnet. He is trying to sell John McCain and Barack Obama on his plan on eliminating America's dependence on foreign oil. He met with both of them. He's going to tell us what he thinks.
Also, sniffing out cell phone, the newest tool to stop phones from being smuggled into prisons. You are watching the most news in the morning.
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CHETRY: "The Dark Knight's" reign at the box office is over after four weeks. "Tropic Thunder" wrestled the top stop away this weekend, taking in $26 million. And it did so despite a little controversy. The movie features a white actor in black face. An art form long considered taboo.
CNN's Kareen Wynter has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (on-camera): Rob, Kiran, good morning. Taboo, that's been the final word on black face for decades. But it would appear pop culture has reopened the issue for debate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean, you people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean, you people?
WYNTER (voice-over): It was a performance that could have spelled disaster. "Tropic Thunder's" movie within a movie stars Robert Downey Jr. as a white actor playing a black man in a film.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Their word has kept us down.
CORI MURRAY, "ESSENCE MAGAZINE": There are a couple of parts on this film that where I did cringe, but what I like about it, you have a real African-American actor Brandon T. Jackson there to kind of say what, you know, what audiences are going to probably be saying back to the screen.
WYNTER: According to the film studio, the NAACP gave "Thunder" the thumbs up. In fact, there have been a number of recent black- faced performances to receive essentially no backlash from the black community.
MYRRAY: When Fred Armisen on "SNL" plays Barack Obama, you know, to me he looks like Barack Obama so I don't, you know think about that. Or when Tracey Ullman does, her mini characters.
WYNTER: Not everyone has been so lucky. Performance artist Charles Knipps is best known as Shirley Q. Liquor, a role who blasts southern black woman who speaks ebonic and has 19 children. A character based on Knipps' childhood caregiver.
CHARLES KNIPPS, "SHIRLEY Q. LIQUOR": She had 18 children. I used to be so fascinated with the way she spoke. She was from Louisiana. Oh, lordy.
MURRAY: Talking about welfare checks and 12 days of Kwanzaa, all of that is like, stop. No. Charles Knipps has crossed that line.
WYNTER: Packed with mostly gay racially mixed crowds, Knipps' shows sell out nationwide. He says only someone who believes in white supremacy would be offended.
KNIPPS: If you think that white people are supreme or better than black people, then it really is exclusionary, but at the same time, nobody in the audience believes I'm a black woman. Everybody's in on the joke. I think when black people and white people can laugh at each other and their foibles and the silliness that we do, all of our hidden prejudices, it can be a healing thing.
WYNTER: So if there is a new playbook on black face, the rules are open to interpretation.
WYNTER (on-camera): Knipps tells us next he's headed out on the road to Georgia, Louisiana, California and Nevada. Rob, Kiran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): Bone sniffing dogs looking for cells inside cells.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Found them inside boxes of food and cutout books, in shoes, in hollowed out soles, under mattresses, inside mattresses or pillows.
CHETRY: Canine cops unleashed inside jails.
And Michael Phelps. One on one.
MICHAEL PHELPS, OLYMPIAN: It's fun for me to have people say it's not possible and be able to come out and do it.
CHETRY: The winning -
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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CHETRY: Well, gas prices headed in the right direction this morning. AAA reporting the national average for regular, $3.74 a gallon. That's a penny less than yesterday. Gas prices have now declined for 32 straight days. Meanwhile, the price of oil is currently at $114 a barrel. that's up a quarter from Friday's settle of $13.77.
Legendary oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens is on an energy crusade and he's taking it directly to the presidential candidates. Pickens met with John McCain and Barack Obama one Friday, one Sunday, sharing ideas for ending America's dependence on foreign oil. The Pickens' plan calls for investing in domestic renewable resources. A big emphasis put on wind and solar power and also switching from oil to natural gas as a transportation poll. T. Boone Pickens also has a new book titled "The First Billion is the Hardest." I should say so. He joins us from Dallas this morning. Thanks for being with us.
T. BOONE PICKENS, CREATOR PICKENSPLAN.COM: Yes, Kiran. Good morning.
CHETRY: All right. So, let's start by talking about how your meeting went with both of the candidates for president. Who of the two were most receptive to your plan?
PICKENS: You know, their personalities are a little bit different but I talked to two very serious men. McCain on Friday and Obama on Sunday and questions were somewhat similar, but they're very - they're interested in the plan. And you know, the plan now, we have - we've had over four million come in on, visitors on the web site, the pickensplan.com and second that over 250,000, we call them the army, have signed up with us to work. And that's key in this mission that I'm on, because the national poll came out over the weekend that said 74 percent were for the Pickens' plan, but in the poll they also said 65 percent were going to - that Congress would block the plan.
Now, I don't see Congress blocking the plan. I see maybe the fact they can't function or can't get something done, but I don't think it's any move to block, but it also tells me that I've got to get that 250,000 army up to a million, and we've got to keep the pressure on Congress to pass the Pickens' plan.
CHETRY: Yes, it's very interesting. I was reading an op-ed in the "Wall Street Journal" about it and it says anyone who's trying to put out this wind and solar plan is going to face a familiar obstacle, as they put it, environmentalists and many democrats and they say even in states like California where they're mandating that there are clean energy used for at least a portion of the energy in that state, it's being blocked. They don't want to build transmission lines. They don't want to build wind farms in certain areas. So how do you get over those hurdles?
PICKENS: Well, there's no question the wind farms, the land owners in the Midwest want them. So that's - that's behind us there. As far as the Audubon Society on, for instance, birds, I understand the Audubon Society is for them also and then Carl Pope who heads the Sierra Club, he also has come out and endorsed it. So we're getting a great amount of support, but I do know there's some on the coast that don't particularly want the turbines.
CHETRY: They also say, another potential problem is, "transmission gap." What they're saying is you need to build these transmission lines to connect the energy, both wind and then solar, to the places and communities that use it. They're talking about a $1 billion joint venture just to build 240 miles in Indiana. Where were are you going to get that initial money to make that switch and to make this happen in communities around the country?
PICKENS: There's no problem as far as the money's concerned. We can do that. It will cost you $200,000 megawatts in the central part of the country will cost you about $500,000 million, but that all can be done with private finding. And as far the transmission lines, if you can get them - that's a big if, too but Congress is going to have to give us transmission borders from the central part of the country to the east and west coast. And that's the biggest obstacle I see. The money is no problem. Now, we will have to have the Congress renew the protection tax credit, which I think that's a forgone conclusion. I think both parties want that.
CHETRY: OK. Let me just ask you a quick question. Do you think that one or the other out of McCain or Obama is going to be better at implementing this? Where do they stand in terms of their energy policy and how committed they are to trying to find these national alternative sources of energy besides foreign oil?
PICKENS: Listen, I'm not going to grade these candidates. I said this was totally non-partisan and I will work with either one of them, both of them, and so I don't have any - I didn't see any difference there. They both have deep concerns about foreign oil, just like I do, and so no problem there. We're going to get this done. I'm fully committed to it, and I think they are, too.
CHETRY: Now, you've been a long-time republican supporter. Why have you not endorsed Senator John McCain at this point?
PICKENS: Well, I've got have a non-partisan deal here. I've said to elevate this as the number one campaign issue, we've got it elevated to the number one campaign issue. I don't think there's any question about that, and we want to solve the problem and I can't let politics get involved.
CHETRY: All right. T. Boone Pickens, founder and chairman of BP Capital Management. Thanks so much for being with us this morning.
PICKENS: Thank you, Kiran.
