Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Obama's Stem Cell Reversal; U.S. Military Detailing Iraq Withdrawal Plan; Clinton's Global Charm Offensive; Markets in Turmoil; House to the Highest Bidder
Aired March 09, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Crossing the top of the hour now. It's 8:00 Eastern Daylight Time. A lot to cover this morning. Here are the big stories topping our agenda right now. We will be breaking it down for you in the next 15 minutes here.
In just a few hours' time, President Obama will overturn the Bush administration's ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research and while it holds great promise it remains controversial. CNN Suzanne Malveaux is standing by live at the White House this morning.
In Baghdad, U.S. military officials giving the first details about President Obama's plan to get combat troops out of Iraq. They say 12,000 American troops and 4,000 British forces will be gone by September.
Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence standing by with the latest for us from the Defense Department this morning.
And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton back in Washington today but diplomatic business taking a detour for her overseas. The Secretary of State speaks candidly overseas talking about life and even falling in love. You'll see it. Jim Acosta live in Washington with the details of that this morning.
But we begin with major political developments. And in just a few hours with the stroke of a pen, President Obama will undo Bush era restrictions for embryonic stem cell research. Suzanne Malveaux is live at the White House for us this morning.
What's the president hoping to accomplish with this move, Suzanne?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, and speaking with the top White House official this morning, it was clear that this is something that was going to happen. It's just a matter of how it was going to happen. That the president the last couple of weeks grappling over, allowing Congress to enact legislation or an executive order on the president's part. He decided that he was going to take this issue on his own.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): The executive order today, the fulfillment of a controversial campaign promise. OBAMA: If we are going to discard those embryos, and we know that there is potential research that could lead to curing debilitating diseases, Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig's disease. If that possibility presents itself, then I think that we should, in a careful way, go ahead and pursue that research.
MALVEAUX: President Obama's order will direct the National Institutes of Health to develop revised guidelines on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research within 120 days. It will allow scientists to apply for government grants to support any stem cell research.
Under President Bush, taxpayer money for embryonic stem cell research was limited, to be used for just a small number of stem cell lines that had already been created from destroyed embryos.
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Without crossing a fundamental moral line, by providing taxpayer funding that would sanction or encourage further destruction of human embryos, that have at least the potential for life.
MALVEAUX: Obama administration officials say this is a broader effort to end the Bush administration's practice of putting ideology over science.
Critics who oppose the research argue that federal funding could lead down a slippery, moral slope.
REP. ERIC CANTOR (R), MINORITY WHIP: Federal funding of embryonic stem cell research can bring on embryo harvesting, perhaps even human cloning that occurs. We don't want that. That shouldn't be done. That's wrong.
MALVEAUX: Supporters say the new policy opens the door for research that may lead to cures for diabetes, Parkinson's disease and spinal cord injuries.
CLAIRE MCCASKILL (D), MISSOURI: My religion teaches me to heal the sick. And God gave us this intelligence to find cures for the sick. I think it's a great moment.
MALVEAUX: Critics argue it is immoral to use stem cells from human embryos, because it requires destroying them. They say stem cells taken from adult bone marrow, the skin or placenta can also potentially create cells that will lead to curing disease.
The issue crosses party lines with notable Republicans Nancy Reagan, John McCain, and Arlen Specter in support of Obama's plan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And John, you'll actually see some of those Republicans here at the White House for the East Room ceremony.
Also to underscore perhaps the importance of science later this afternoon, the president is meeting with a group of national finalists, a science competition, kind of like the "American Idol" of scientists. It will happen here at the White House in a private ceremony - John.
ROBERTS: It's a day of science at the White House there, and definitely a lot of debate and discussion across America. Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning. Suzanne, thanks so much.
Now the order that the president will sign leaves to Congress the question of whether new stem cell lines can be created with tax dollars. Here's more in an "AM Extra".
Unless Congress decides not to renew the Dickey-Wicker Amendment, researchers cannot use tax dollars to create human embryos for experimentation. The ban first became law in 1996 and has been renewed by Congress every year. Administration officials say the president will not take a position on the issue.
And you can see President Obama sign the executive order this morning live at 11:45 Eastern, right here on CNN. Or if you're not near a television set, but you do have your computer with you, logon to cnn.com/live.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Twelve thousand Americans troops out of Iraq in six months? Well, that's the headline coming from the U.S. military officials this morning. Also, they say that these forces will likely be pulled from Baghdad as well as the Anbar Province. All 4,000 British troops still in Iraq will also be home in September. Let's turn now to our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence.
And Chris, is the Pentagon confident that conditions on the ground are good enough? We heard about that terrible suicide attack that took place over the weekend for this withdrawal to happen?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: They are moderately confident, Kiran. But, again, it's a horrible irony that on the same day that this announcement comes out, a man with a bomb strapped to his chest drove his motorcycle right into a crowd of police recruits, killing dozens of people on the street. This comes just after a month after a female suicide bomber blew herself up in a crowd of pilgrims.
You've also got areas where Kurds and Arabs, the tension between them is getting worse. So there's definitely some concerns there that everything may not be holding together in Iraq. But the Pentagon still does remain moderately confident.
CHETRY: And so what happens now? We'll continue to hear plans for troop draw downs all the way up to August 2010 when President Obama wants all combat troops out of Iraq. How is this process going to be taking place?
LAWRENCE: Exactly. But it's not going to be a situation where you're going to see an announcement like this every other month. You know, spaced out over that time. You may see another announcement before the end of the year. But what the Pentagon wanted to do is keep most of the troops in Iraq through the end of the year, through those parliamentary elections, and then start more of a major draw- down after the first of the year, after they clear those elections.
CHETRY: Chris Lawrence for us this morning at the Pentagon. Thanks so much.
LAWRENCE: Sure.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: Five and a half minutes after the hour. Let's fast forward to stories that will be making news later on today. A full report of the state of religion in America will be released later on today. Here's what we know so far.
The study finds that the number of Americans who call themselves Christian has dropped by more than 11 percent in the past 18 years. The percentage of Americans who identify themselves as Jewish has also has dropped. The number of Muslims while still slim did double to .6 percent. There's also been an increase in the number of people who claim to be affiliated with no religion.
The college student accused of hacking into Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's Yahoo! email and posting the private messages online has a court hearing today. At 9:30 Eastern Time, David Kernell is charged with fraud. He is the son of a Democratic state lawmaker in Tennessee.
And Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is back in Washington today meeting with Lithuania's foreign minister and India's foreign secretary. She's getting back to business after things got a little personal in Turkey. It went from talking smart power to talking tender moments.
Our Jim Acosta live in Washington with the details for us this morning.
Good morning, Jim. Secretary of state talking about love? What's going on here?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, from talking turkey on the trail to talking turkey in Turkey, John. In many ways, Hillary Clinton is back on the campaign trail, but this time, she is trying to win over parts of the world where America's image has taken a beating. The Clinton charm offensive has gone global.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLINTON: That was the last time I fell in love, and it was so long ago with my husband. I'm trying to remember.
ACOSTA (voice-over): When the secretary of state landed on Turkey's talk show version of "The View," it wasn't Barbara Walters or Joy Behar asking the questions, but the subject matter sounded familiar.
So Madam Secretary, tell us about your life with the former president?
CLINTON: We go to the movies. We talk and play games together, card games and board games. We go for long walks. I try to do that every chance I can with my husband.
ACOSTA: When the conversation turned to how much sugar she puts in her coffee, not too little, not too much.
CLINTON: You know, somebody said that-- that I'm always trying to find the middle, which is probably true because I think that, you know, it's exciting to be on both ends, but life is mostly lived in the middle and trying to get along with people.
ACOSTA: She revealed her foreign policy philosophy, smart power, which may taste a little sweeter around the world than the Bush doctrine. Take that reset button she presented to Russia's foreign minister.
CLINTON: We worked hard to get the right Russian word. You think you got it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got it wrong.
CLINTON: I got it wrong.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It should be -- (SPEAKING RUSSIAN). And this says (SPEAKING RUSSIAN) which means overture.
(LAUGHTER)
ACOSTA: Clinton aims to reverse America's overcharged relations. She sent diplomatic envoys to Syria to work on Middle East peace. And dangled the idea of inviting Iran to an upcoming summit on Afghanistan.
DAVID GERGEN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think what Secretary Clinton and the rest of the foreign policy team, I think they've gotten off to an excellent start. They're making important strategic moves.
ACOSTA: A political rock star on a world stage, Clinton has reinvented herself again.
DONNA BRAZILLE, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: As you know, over the next four years, being secretary of state is going to be a very highly visible and a very important position for President Obama.
ACOSTA: A position that sometimes gets personal.
CLINTON: I like, you know -- I like sitting in sidewalk cafes or in coffee shops and watching people. And, you know, that's impossible for me now.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ACOSTA: All right. But so far, the world is only seeing the softer side of smart power. Secretary Clinton has yet to show the grit Americans saw during the campaign, but she will get that chance when the nation is tested by its first foreign crisis on her watch.
And, John, (SPEAKING RUSSIAN), it's all Russian to me.
ROBERTS: And to me, too. Jim, thanks very much for that. Appreciate it.
So do you think, Kiran, that there is somebody at the State Department who is explaining how they got it wrong or, no, it's actually right, he got it wrong?
CHETRY: Yes, but the other thing, too, is he is supposed to be the head of diplomacy and he wasn't very diplomatic. She said did I get it right? Nope, it's wrong!
ROBERTS: (INAUDIBLE) about it, but it's like, you know -- it's like, you know, Bloomberg learning a foreign language and your reporting that this morning.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Oh, gosh. We'll read you some of the statements that sometimes get lost in translation a little bit later. What did he say? It's a lot windy out here? I can't remember. There were some good ones, though. Not that my Spanish is perfect either.
Well, Asian stocks taking a big hit overnight. Japan's Nikkei Index now at a 26-year low. So what could it mean for your money when Wall Street opens for business next hour? Well, Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business." She'll break it down for us. It's 10 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 12-1/2 minutes after the hour now. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Let's fast forward to stories that will be making news later on today.
Right now, we're just hours from President Obama reversing a Bush administration policy on embryonic stem cell research. The president will sign the executive order. That will be at 11:45 Eastern daylight. You can see it live right here on CNN or cnn.com/live.
President Obama's auto task force taking a road trip to Detroit. The task force will meet with senior executives at General Motors and Chrysler, as well as union leaders. They will also tour General Motors and Chrysler facilities. The automakers living on $17 billion in government loans approved by the Bush administration and say they need $20 billion more in bailout money to survive.
And if you ended up taking the bus or the train more often last year, you weren't alone. A new report to be released today shows Americans took more than 10 billion rides on public transportation last year. That's a 52-year high. The report found ridership surge during the summer's record high gas prices and it's held steady ever since.
If there is one thing that I can add in New York City, it would be a train directly to LaGuardia or JFK.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I agree.
CHETRY: That would be wonderful. The JFK air train while interesting is...
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: You have got to go out to the end of Jamaica station and jump on it.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: The A line, and then the bus, and then to the train.
CHETRY: Right. And it's also not user-friendly when you're carrying any type of luggage with you.
ROBERTS: I don't want to rant here. But the fact that a city this size does not have a direct train to the airport, shameful!
CHETRY: Exactly. All right.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: John is on the record.
ROBERTS: That was a bit of a rant.
CHETRY: It's 14 minutes after the hour. Christine Romans is minding our business. She joins us now.
We saw Asian markets take a dive. We wanted some good news on a Monday morning.
ROMANS: Well, the good news is the Dow futures are down, but they're not down 200 points. They're just down a little bit. Dow futures are down here. Here's the good news.
People are trying to figure out when, when this thing is going to bottom. And we don't know the answer to that, but we do know that it will bottom once people, the market, the psychology starts to return. The people started to get confident, and we're just not there yet.
A cash and a veteran trader on the floor said -- he said, basically, two administrations now have a bank rescue plan that is ad hoc, neither comprehensive nor cohesive, his words. And that's what the market is telling us. They haven't seen enough yet to believe that there is stability in the banking sector.
So you have this -- this argument going on about whether we should let the big banks fail, and the people who are market participants saying we haven't seen them do enough yet to do it.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Right. You heard some people answer what would it take for the banks to succeed? What do they need right now?
ROMANS: I think that no one knows, and that's the real problem. That there isn't a lot of confidence. There isn't a lot of confidence, and the markets just remain in turmoil. You've got the Dow down to a level since 1997. It has been going lower and lower and lower even as we have had a big bailout of the banking system. We've got a big stimulus. We're talking about huge new budget, and look what happens. Still keeps going down. So confidence and patience. When that comes back, we'll have a bottom.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks so much.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
CHETRY: Fifteen minutes after the hour.
One family's loss, another family's gain. Hold your breath. We're inside the foreclosure auction.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now is the time for us to get into it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Emotional roller coaster over a house, ahead on the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: We talk a lot about the foreclosure crisis here on the Most News in the Morning. And one person's housing nightmare could become another's dream come true.
Auctions for foreclosed homes are cropping up all across America, and the bidding is fast and furious. You can get a house these days for 50 percent to 60 percent off its highest value in some areas.
Our Susan Candiotti is with one family as they ride the emotional roller coaster over a home.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, good morning. Here in New York City, Woodhaven Queens is one of the area's hardest hit by the housing crisis. But for one family, this foreclosed property could be their ticket to the American dream.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): At any foreclosure auction, grab your earplugs, your wallet and prepare for a madhouse. Victor Guevares' family is preparing for much more. VICTOR GUEVARES, PROSPECTIVE HOME BUYER: This is -- this is my dream.
CANDIOTTI: After 12 years of renting and saving, the Brooklyn native is ready to buy his first home in the foreclosure market.
V. GUEVARES: I just have a feeling that within six to nine months I think when we start to see a resurgence in the market, so I think now is the time for us to get into it if we can.
CANDIOTTI: He'd like to get his family into this three bedroom, 1,300 square foot home in Queens that once was valued at more than $500,000.
V. GUEVARES: Now, it's asking bid $90,000.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): So the opening bid is $90,000.
V. GUEVARES: Ninety thousand dollars.
CANDIOTTI: How much do you hope to get it for?
V. GUEVARES: Ninety thousand dollars.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Don't laugh. USHomeAuction (ph) says places are going for 50 to 60 percent off their highest values.
ROB FRIEDMAN, CHAIRMAN, USHOMEAUCTION: I hate to say it but take advantage of the marketplace. Get in there and buy. Get, you know, help us turn these houses back into homes for the communities.
CANDIOTTI: Eight-year-old Devon Guevares has his eye on his own bedroom and privacy.
DEVON GUEVARES, VICTOR'S SON: It's like I'm like by myself. It's not like there's people living downstairs.
V. GUEVARES: I feel all this is happening to me is now someone this is the time, Victor. This is your property. You're going to get it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bidders, what do you say now?
CANDIOTTI: Will he get it? Hold on. Guevares is at the auction with a required good faith $5,000 cashier's check but he's competing against who knows? Three hundred seventy-five properties in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are on the block.
After more than four hours, Guevares' dream home comes up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We start the bid at $89,000.
CANDIOTTI: The opening bid blows by. At least two others are challenging him. Guevares wins at $230,000, but he has to bring it up to code before he'll get a loan. He's almost too tired to celebrate.
V. GUEVARES: The first part of my journey I've completed this. Now I'm on my second final stretch.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: For winning bidders who need a loan, auctioneers predict a far better chance of avoiding foreclosure again because banks are getting stingier. But will these properties hold on to their value? Well, that's another issue - John and Kiran?
ROBERTS: You would think, though, that if you've got a house that once listed at $500,000 for $230,000, that yes, it probably would hold on to its value.
CHETRY: Yes. And I mean, it is just such a heartbreaking situation for some people who've just have to watch their houses go, you know? It's nothing they can could do.
ROBERTS: I can't imagine losing a home, but then at the same time if there is somebody out there who thought that they could never ever have a home, then maybe it gives them an opportunity. Maybe, you know, there is some ray of light in all of this.
CHETRY: Yes. Well, the U.S. economy as we've said shedding jobs at a pace that we haven't seen in a generation. So what can be done to brighten the employment picture? Former "Playboy" CEO Christie Hefner will share her ideas with us. She joins us coming up.
It's 21 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: All right. Let's listen to a little bit of "Saturday Night Live" poking some fun at Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Earlier today, I proposed that the Federal Treasury set aside $420 billion. This $420 billion will be place in a special fund and will go to first individual who comes up with a workable plan to solve the banking crisis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So the economic outlook is, in a word, bleak. For three straight months now, the economy has shed at least 650,000 jobs. It's the worst decline since 1975. So what's going to turn it around?
Well, joining us from Chicago is Christie Hefner. She's a former CEO of Playboy Enterprises.
Thank you so much for being with us this morning.
You know, in fact, most economists, Christie, are saying that it's pretty unlikely the economy is going to improve by the end of the year. In today's "New York Times," Paul Krugman who is a Nobel-Prize winning economist says that because we're shedding these hundred of thousands of jobs every month, the president's promised to save or create 3.5 million jobs by the end of 2010 seems underwhelming. So what's the answer?
CHRISTIE HEFNER, FORMER CHAIRMAN & CEO, PLAYBOY ENTERPRISES: Well, I agree that the unemployment increases are going to continue to have a ripple effect beyond what we've seen so far. In a way, they are kind of a lagging indicator, if you will, because they, in turn, create a spiraling as far as demand for goods and services are concerned, as those people are tightening their belts and concerned about jobs.
And I think what we've got is a sort of a perfect storm right now where CEOs are concerned about not knowing where the bottom is, and so they are taking more jobs out now to try and get ahead of that perfect storm. And in a way, it relates back to this factor of confidence that I think, as we can start to see where the bottom is, then we're going to start to see the ability to turn that around and we just aren't there yet.
CHETRY: Right. Well, I want to ask you about this. Because that -- as that "Saturday Night Live" parody sort of was able to capture, it's this feeling that no one really knows what's going on. One veteran floor trader on the stock exchange, Art Cashin says the reason we've seen the Dow down so much and we've seen the markets so shaky is because they don't believe that there is any comprehensive plan.
They don't think that what they've been able to do is figure out exactly what is wrong, and they've been calling some of the government interventions ad hoc and incomplete. And so if there is not that confidence there, does anyone know the answer?
HEFNER: Well, I think it's fair to say that this administration is actually working hard to create a comprehensive plan. I mean, I've talked to people on the Budget and Finance Committees in both the House and the Senate, and I think there is a general acknowledgment that whether it's putting a stake in the ground in terms of reducing the deficits or having more honest accounting in terms of all of the liabilities of the government on the books so to speak, that that is the goal.
But we have to remember that we're seven weeks into the administration, and that the plan, for example, with regard to the banks and the toxic assets, is being developed. And so we are in this sort of interim period where people are left kind of speculating as opposed to being able to respond to all of the details.
CHETRY: Well, the flip side is a growing number of people who think maybe faltering companies should fail. Senator John McCain yesterday saying the government should let GM go into bankruptcy and that maybe some of these banks also have to fail.
Sort of a tempting notion given the fact that we've poured billions of dollars and many feel that we don't necessarily have the results we are hoping for. What's your take about letting companies fail?
HEFNER: Well, I think we've already seen -- yes, we've already seen, you know, the government take a position of letting some companies fail and trying to invest capital in others. And I think that that's going to continue to be. This stress test that's going on now with banks. I think is going to lead to different actions with regard to different institutions and that's a good thing. It shouldn't be a one size fits all.
I think with regard to something like GM, to be candid, that it's going to be left to the government's decision than it is what the facts on the ground are. You know, when you've got your auditors questioning in their opinion whether it's a going concern that may trump anything that the government chooses.
CHETRY: Christie Hefner, former CEO and chairman of Playboy Enterprises, thanks for joining us this morning - John.
HEFNER: Certainly.
ROBERTS: Twenty-nine minutes now after the hour, and here are this morning's top stories.
President Obama preparing to make good on a campaign promise today by lifting Bush administration restrictions on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. Supporter say it could lead to huge medical advances, but some critics reject the practice for moral and religious reasons.
U.S. military leaders giving the first details of President Obama's plan to withdraw American forces from Iraq. They say 12,000 service men and women will be out of Iraq by September.
And a severe nursing shortage in the United States is threatening the quality of patient care. Health expert say an estimated 116,000 nursing positions are unfilled at hospitals across the country. And nearly a hundred thousand nursing home jobs are vacant. The economic stimulus bill includes 500 million to address the shortage of health care workers.
Also developing this morning, North Korea preparing for war making more threats and putting its armed forces on stand-by ahead of a planned launch. North Korea claims that it's setting a satellite into space, but Intelligence officials say that's likely to cover for a long-range missile test. We'll have more news on that in just a minute.
But first, back over to Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Well, we turn now to the tragedy in Maryville, Illinois. Police there listening to audiotapes from the town's first Baptist church after Pastor Fred Winters was gunned down. Officials say the pastor actually blocked the first of four bullets with his bible.
Carol Costello has the latest from Washington this morning.
So, Carol, what are the police listening for in these tapes this morning. CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, they are trying to determine what the gunman said to the pastor before he shot him. There are reports the pastor said, "can I help you"? As the man approached the platform. We just don't know yet. There is some new information however about the suspected shooter. He is 27 years old and is from Troy, Illinois.
According to the "Associated Press," he suffers from Lyme disease. You know the disease that you get from deer ticks. Apparently this young man has had Lyme disease for years. He was even profiled in an article in the "St. Louis Post Dispatch." In that article his mother describes how the disease affected her son's brain causing doctors to diagnose him with mental illness. We're not releasing the man's name because he has not been charged with anything but a red jeep parked outside of the First Baptist Church was registered to this man's address. What we do know is that no one inside that church had ever seen the gunman before he shot their pastor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And at first, we thought that it was confetti, but later, we found that he shot through his Bible and disintegrated his Bible.
COSTELLO (voice-over): The relative quiet among the congregants inside the First Baptist Church in Maryville, Illinois quickly turned to chaos Sunday morning. Police say an unidentified gunman calmly walked down the aisle during the Reverend Fred Winters sermon, exchanged a few words with the well-liked pastor then pulled out a gun and opened fire.
LARRY TRENT, DIRECTOR, ILLINOIS STATE POLICE: The suspect said something to the pastor and the pastor said something back to him. We don't know what that was. It was almost as if the pastor may have recognized him but we're not sure about that at all.
COSTELLO: After the shots rang out, the Reverend Winters ran down the aisle before collapsing. Parishioners dropped for cover, praying and fearing they might be next.
CLAUDIA BOHLEY, WITNESS: They were down on their knees, and on the floor, screaming, praying and underneath on the floor screaming and praying. It was -- it was - it was a terrible thing. Just terrible.
COSTELLO: Police say the killer pulled a knife after his gun finally jammed. That's when two parishioners tackled him to the floor. In the struggle all three men were stabbed. Both the gunman and one of those heroic church-goers seriously injured.
Besides his wife and two children, Pastor Winters leaves behind his flock, which had grown to some 1,000 members since he took over the church more than 20 years ago.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He knew your name the minute you walked in the door.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even with over a thousand members?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He knew your name.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Such a sad story. As for the two men who tackled the gunman, one of them Terry Bowlard is in the hospital this morning in serious condition. The other man, Keith Melton, is at home recovering. The gunman is in the hospital, too. He is in serious condition with knife wounds to his neck and, as I said, police will spend the day listening to those audiotapes from inside the church trying to figure out what was said - Kiran.
CHETRY: Such a tragic story. Carol Costello for us this morning, thank you.
COSTELLO: Sure.
ROBERTS: U.S. spy satellites have been watching a launch pad in North Korea for the last few weeks. Wondering just what the heck is going on there. According to North Korean officials, they may be preparing to launch a satellite in their warning that it would be an act of war to shoot down. Our Seoul bureau chief Sohn Jie-Ae has got more for us this morning.
SOHN JIE-AE, CNN SEOUL BUREAU CHIEF: John, Kiran, North Korea called upon its armed forces to be combat ready in response to U.S. South Korean military exercises that kicked off Monday. North Korea says their preparations for an invasion. U.S. and South Korea insist they offer defensive purposes only.
North Korea also cut off any type of military communications with the south, in effect, shutting down the board and stranding some 570 South Koreans in the industrial complex in North Korea. The north also said that any attempt to intercept what it calls the launch of a communications satellite, but what the outside world believes is a long-range missile, would lead to an all-out war. John, Kiran.
ROBERTS: And at 34 minutes after the hour.
Let's fast forward to stories that will be making news later on today.
At 5:00 p.m. the latest on the President's nominees to face tax troubles will have his confirmation hearing, Ron Kirk is up for U.S. trade representative. The Senate Finance Committee says he has agreed to pay $10,000 in back taxes over a three-year span.
The college student accused of hacking into Governor Sarah Palin's yahoo e-mail account and posting the private messages online has a court hearing today at 9:30 Eastern time. David Kernell is charged with fraud. He is the son of a democratic state lawmaker in Tennessee. And happy birthday Barbie. She is 50 today. Wow! She looks good at 50. Still turning heads. Mattel is celebrating her birthday around the globe with a series of pink carpet events in New York, Paris, Shanghai and of course, Malibu. And that's what we're following this morning. I bet you look that good when you're 50.
CHETRY: Yes, but I'm not made out of plastic. I know you wanted me to say yes! I know that's what you wanted to say! I'm still hanging tough! All right.
It's 35 minutes after the hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY (voice-over): Jobless. Some even homeless. When you're this down on your luck, who would expect a cruise line to come to the rescue?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you walk into a place with the help wanted sign, the first thing they are going to look at is your appearance.
CHETRY: Gifts from the ship. What a little shampoo bottle can do. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
Do you ever wonder what happens to those little bottles of shampoo and conditioner that you use on vacation and then leave behind? Often, they are thrown away but now one cruise line is putting them to good use. We get that story this morning from CNN's John Zarrella.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This cruise ship and this Ft. Lauderdale homeless facility are connected in a most unusual way. Lotions and shampoo.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you need to do anything before you take a shower? Like shave...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, ma'am.
ZARRELLA: Every day, hundreds of people line up here for a hot meal and a shower. For many of the homeless, that shower we take for granted is relief from reality.
JOHN NILSON, HOMELESS: You come out of here and you can actually for a second, you can actually feel like, OK, it's not so bad, for that one brief moment. ZARRELLA: But with the tough times and donations slipping, the cooperative feeding program was facing a crisis, how to satisfy both hunger and hygiene.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If we have to decide between people having shampoos and people having something to eat, we're going to opt to have the food for them.
ZARRELLA: It didn't come to that. Holland American Cruise Lines stepped in, expanding on a program it began in Seattle. Once a week, when the cruise ship Noordam pulls in Ft. Everglades, cabin stewards collect shower gels, lotions, and bottles of shampoo left behind in staterooms. Instead of throwing it out, the supplies go to the cooperative.
MARCO VAN BELLEGHEN, NOORDAM HOTEL MANAGER: We have 2,000 guests on board and we collect probably about two to three bins every ten days which is then off-loaded in Ft. Lauderdale.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We also have our crew who heard of the initiative that is donating clothing and books and other stuff that day don't need.
ZARRELLA: The program has been so helpful, every cruise line that calls on the port may soon be involved.
PHIL ALLEN, PORT EVERGLADES DIRECTOR: Plans are already in place to expand the program next year to handle all 56 ships that call up Ft. Everglades.
ZARRELLA: And you probably never think about it this way. For the homeless, something as simple as a shower might lead to a job.
SAMUEL BROWN, COOPERATIVE FEEDING VOLUNTEER: When you walk into a place with a help wanted sign the first thing they are going to look at is your appearance.
ZARRELLA: lotions and shampoo from the ship. When you're homeless, it is literally the little things that count.
Officials at Fort Everglades are so enthused with how the program is paying off, they've been talking with fellow port directors around the state encouraging them to get with the program.
John Zarrella, CNN, Ft. Lauderdale.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Makes you think though if you just in the places where you notice that there is just so much waste and it's so pointless. If there was some way to figure out how to get that to somebody else.
ROBERTS: You know, there were so many little things people can do to help other people as we saw in our last hour here that the fellow who has made the shopping cart with a tent on it for homeless people. CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: So get the idea and run with it.
CHETRY: Very true.
Well, we're watching some dangerous weather on the move this morning. It's a storm that ended up - check out this picture, tossed a school bus into a building in the Midwest, the northeast under the gun right now. Our Rob Marciano is tracking all of it for us.
It's 41 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It is 44 minutes after the hour.
And a quick look at some of the most popular videos on cnn.com right now. It's an ode to the commode. A new spin on the poo-poo platter. A new restaurant in Hong Kong is making it OK to do something you've always wanted to do. We know it. Eat out of the toilet. Food is serve in a minihopper, drinks in a mini urinal and while you're dining you sit on a toilet lid down, of course. These are all the rage in southeast Asia, there is one in Hong Kong, one in Taiwan and I guess they will make it to America at some point, too.
Also, officials are looking for a third passenger after a plane crashed into a Georgia lake. So far, officials have recovered two bodies. Witnesses say they heard the plane's engine sputtering before it went down.
And mega auction, hammering home the foreclosure crisis. Bargain hunters now hitting up foreclosure auctions hoping to capitalize them as fortunes of homeowners who lost their properties. Officials say some places are going to 50 percent to 60 percent off their highest values. Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks so much, John.
Well, we're watching extreme weather on the move right now and severe storms cutting power to thousands, destroying homes in the midwest. In fact, take a look at these pictures. They are out of Columbia City, Indiana. We're going to show them to you in just a second here. The national weather service says that a tornado ripped through the area yesterday. Thankfully though, just minor injuries reported.
Our Rob Marciano is tracking all of this for us from the CNN Weather Center in Atlanta.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Forty-seven and a half minutes after the hour. CNN NEWSROOM just minutes away now. Heidi Collins at the CNN Center with a look at what is ahead. Good morning, Heidi. Happy Monday.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Happy Monday to you, too, John. That's right. We are working on these stories in the NEWSROOM today. Separating science from politics. President Obama reversing a Bush era stem cell policy today. How research will change?
And they fought for their nation. Now they are fighting for a job. Helping veterans on the home front. It's today's snapshot across America.
And home builders sleep in a unique sales job in this struggling economy. We get started at the top of the hour right here on CNN - John.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to it. Heidi, thanks so much. Glad to see Heidi got the purple memo today. Always good to be coordinated.
CHETRY: Oh, I didn't. I got the red one.
ROBERTS: What is on Bill Clinton's iPod? A little Fleetwood Mac maybe? We will tell you what he listens to and how you could own his Nano.
Forty-eight minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Have you ever wondered what is on a president's play list now? For the right price you can own President Clinton's iPod and hear it for yourself, all in the name of a good cause, of course. Our Carol Costello joins us live from Washington with all of the details on this. And so we're all wondering what is on the president's play list?
COSTELLO: I have the goop, John. Talking about President Clinton's musical taste. We all know he is fond of music. He even likes to pull out the sax and play a few notes every now and again. But while his wife is on diplomatic missions overseas, what does he unwind to on his iPod?
Well, let me tell you. Carly Simon's "I get along without you very well." That was probably on there before his wife took the top diplomatic post. Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" is on his iPod. Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water." "A Song for you" by Willie Nelson and perhaps to reminisce about the gold old days, the president's own U.S. Marine Band playing "Crown Imperial."
Now, the rest of the former president's play list is available for a price. He is auctioning an autographed version of his iPod to raise money for music rising to help musicians whose instruments were lost or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. If you want to bid on Mr. Clinton's red iPod Nano, go to tonic.com and the last bid we saw, by the way, was $900.
ROBERTS: It should go for a lot more than that, I would expect. I think probably $5,000 to $10,000.
COSTELLO: Well, there is still time.
ROBERTS: Yes. So what is on your iPod?
COSTELLO: Not Van Morrison's "Brown-eyed Girl." I try to remain current. Gold Frap. Do you love Gold Frap?
ROBERTS: Gold frap?
COSTELLO: The Killers. How about the Killers?
ROBERTS: Oh, yes, the Killers. I got everything from Third Day to the Killers to the new U2. I mean, all kinds of stuff on my iPod.
COSTELLO: Good. It's good to be varied.
ROBERTS: It is. Diverse, shall we say.
COSTELLO: Yes.
ROBERTS: Thanks so much, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
ROBERTS: Ffity-three minutes now after the hour.
CHETRY: Retro toys and the recession. Old toys make a comeback.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP))
LINDA KAPLAN THALER, MARKETING EXPERT: There were hits once. There's no reason why they shouldn't be hits again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Trying to sell toys in a bad economy the old-fashioned way. You're watching the Most News in the Morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: All right. Welcome back to the most news morning. After two decades in the making it was a triumphant opening weekend for the superheroes movie "Watchmen."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch her. One of us die tonight. Somebody knows why. Somebody knows.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: They are even working for the government.
CHETRY: The film adaptation of the 1986 graphic novel took in nearly $56 million in ticket sales between the U.S. and Canada. That's the biggest opening weekend for any movie so far this year. And Hollywood movie makers aren't the only ones going retro in tough economic times. Toy makers are actually turning to tried and true, hoping that nostalgia will equal sales.
Alina Cho has that story for us this morning.
And you know, you brought up a good point last time we talked about this, they don't have to spend money on research and development.
ALINA CHO, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
CHETRY: They already have these toys and they know people like them.
CHO: That's right. The marketing - they save on marketing as well because they are not introducing a new toy. They are just remarketing an old one, right? Good morning, guys. Good morning, everybody. You know, it has worked for songs. It has worked for movies and why not toys?
Toy companies are hoping the classics will help them get through these tough economic times and they are banking on the idea the old will work for a new generation of kids.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It all started at the dance.
CHO (voice-over): In 1959, Barbie looked like this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Think of the fun you'll have.
CHO: Now she's 50. Look familiar? Mattel is bringing back Barbie's original face with a two-piece twist.
This is something that is tried and true.
NEIL FRIEDMAN, PRESIDENT, MATTEL BRANDS: Yes, it is and when you have a tried and true classic brand or a brand that consumers really knows and loves, there is much less risk.
CHO: Take Candy Land...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you don't have to read the page.
CHO: The most popular toy of the 1940s is back. This time with a customized board. Hasbro is launching a new GI Joe and an update on a classic that has more than meets the eye.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Transformers. Robots in disguise.
CHO: And who can forget Cabbage Patch dolls, that sparked a generation of parents to act like children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is it that has left 10 people injure and two arrested?
CHO: In a bad economy when toy sales are down, nostalgia sells.
THALER: The toy companies, I think, are going back to classics because this is the most profitable way to run their business right now. They are losing money.
CHO: Launching a new toy can be risky. Take Flava, a hip-hop doll Mattel introduced in 2003 to go head to head with the Bratz dolls, an expensive flop. Tried and true saves on research and marketing.
JOHN FRASCOTTI, HASBRO CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER: We're able to pull on a lot of that memories that parents have and really we're delivering a lot of those great same experiences to those parents' children today.
CHO: This vintage Fisher Price garage was part of my childhood.
And this is my favorite little doll, the blue one here. The new Fisher price barn looks the same as the original but open it up and there's a DVD. There's a retro fabulous Barbie camper, a new townhouse and guess who's making a comeback?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And here's Skipper.
CHO: Barbie's little sister.
THALER: They were hits once, there's no reason why they shouldn't be hits again. These toys feel familiar and there's a certain amount of comfort in knowing that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Seeing all of those toys from my childhood was like a bad flashback by the way. You know today is Barbie's 50th birthday and to celebrate toy stores across the country are hosting Barbie parties and Toys 'R Us, by the way, are selling the new version of the original doll at what it calls the 1959 price, three bucks.
And here it is, guys, this is the new version of the original Barbie. Same face but as can you see, two-piece for the new one and one piece for the old one. But definitely sort of retro look with the sunglasses and earrings there. And they are also taking the opportunities of the 50th anniversary to sell Barbie through the ages. So here is a '60s version. Here's a '70s version and by the way, the old and the new Transformers, that's to tie in with the movie that comes out this summer, the Transformers movie, also a G.I. Joe movie, too.
CHETRY: How about it?
ROBERTS: Everything old is new again.
CHO: That's right.
CHETRY: Blagojevich Barbie.
ROBERTS: I love that. Alina, thanks so much.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: That's going to wrap it up for us. Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We'll see you back here, bright and early again tomorrow.
CHETRY: Right now, here's CNN NEWSROOM with Heidi Collins.
