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American Morning

Assassination Attempt on Obama Thwarted in Turkey; Stolen Cessna Leads Air Force on Chase Across Midwest U.S.; Rescue Efforts Continue in Italy

Aired April 07, 2009 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome. Thanks so much for joining us this morning. It's Tuesday, April 7th. I'm Kiran Chetry. We have Carol Costello with us this morning in for John Roberts.

Good to see you this morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: John is lying on the beach still getting a tan, I hope.

CHETRY: That's right. And we are bringing you a lot this morning. In fact, as we speak, President Obama is holding a round table discussion right now with Turkish students.

There's a live look now.

This event is aimed at helping reshape the U.S. image in the world. In a moment, we're going to be taking you live to Turkey to listen in on the final events of President Obama's overseas trip.

COSTELLO: And I believe he's told the students that the image of Americans as crass and selfish is wrong. We're really a giving nation. And a lot of the students have interesting questions and, of course, we'll get to those in a little bit.

But first, some big stories breaking overnight. We're going to cover the next 15 minutes.

New details emerging this morning about a foiled plot to assassinate President Obama during his visit to Turkey. A Syrian man was arrested last Friday two days before the president arrived in the Muslim nation. U.S. officials are taking the threat very seriously. We're live in Istanbul with those developments as well.

And new information this morning about the man who stole a small plane from a flight school in Canada. Two U.S. fighter jets followed the Cessna-172 for seven hours and hundreds of miles across the Midwest. Right now, the pilot is in custody. We have new details on his identity.

And in central Italy, an army of rescuers racing against time to find people trapped in the wreckage after a powerful and deadly earthquake. Aftershocks have hampered the rescue efforts. The death toll now stands at least 179. We're live at ground zero in a town of L'Aquila, Italy. CHETRY: Also, returning to breaking news now, and as we speak, President Obama is reaching out to Turkish students, part of an ongoing effort to change the hearts and minds in the Middle East. This morning's roundtable discussion in Istanbul is the final event on the president's agenda.

Speaking just moments ago, the president's message pretty simple. He said it's time for a broader relationship with the Muslim world.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have to listen carefully to each other. We have to focus on places where we can find common ground and respect each other's views, even when we disagree. And if we do so, I believe we can bridge some of our differences and divisions that we've had in the past.

A part of that process involves giving you a better sense of America. I know that the stereotypes of the United States are out there, and I know that many of them are informed not by direct exchange or dialogue, but by television shows and movies, and misinformation. Sometimes it's suggested that America has become selfish and crass or that we don't care about the world beyond us. And I am here to tell you that that's not the country that I know and it's not the country that I love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: All right. And Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the president. We're going to check in with her in a few minutes from Istanbul. And meantime, this is his last stop before the president heads back home to Washington, D.C.

We're also following developing news this morning regarding the president's security. Word of a foiled plot to assassinate the president while he was in Turkey. U.S. officials say that authorities in Turkey arrested the would-be assassin, a Syrian man last week, actually two days before the president arrived in the country. He reportedly confessed to police that he and three accomplices were planning to stab President Obama during his visit to Istanbul. And this morning, the Secret Service says that the president was never in any immediate danger.

COSTELLO: And we're also following breaking news and new information about the suspect who stole a small plane in Canada and flew over U.S. air space for several hours.

The FBI says the 31-year-old pilot took the fully-fueled plane just before 3:00 p.m. from an aviation school in Ontario. About an hour and 40 minutes later, two U.S. F-16s intercepted the Cessna and escorted it on an erratic southbound flight pattern near Michigan and over Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois, finally setting down on a highway in Missouri.

The suspect was captured within an hour. We're going to have more from Jeanne Meserve. She's been following the story. She'll join us live shortly from Washington. We'll get her as soon as we can.

Defense officials, of course, taking this incident very seriously. Coming up at our next hour, we'll speak with the secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano.

CHETRY: We have another story breaking right now. It's the desperate search for survivors in central Italy two days after a powerful earthquake killed at least 179 people and thousands more left hurt and homeless. Right now, hope is fading with each passing hour that more people will be found alive in the rubble.

CNN's Paula Newton is live in L'Aquila, Italy for us this morning.

All right. So we are going to be checking in with Paula in a moment. Meanwhile, we want to go back to our Suzanne Malveaux who's traveling with the president and joins us live right now from Istanbul.

So this is the president's final stop as we said, Suzanne, holding a roundtable discussion with Turkish students. What is the message that he's trying to drive home before heading back to Washington?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, he's been very consistent about this, specifically here in Turkey. He's talking about really changing the nature, the very nature of the relationship between the United States and the Muslim world. He says this is about mutual respect and a partnership, really trying to repair some damage that he believes took place under the Bush administration.

Very interesting that came out of this town hall meeting with these Muslim students. One of the students getting down to the core of this saying that, you know, are you a different face but are you the same core as President Bush? How are you different? You know, how can we really believe what you're saying here?

And President Obama said, well, you know, time will tell. Time will tell here. And that he went on to say a couple of things.

First, that yes, he opposed the Iraq war. He didn't think it was a good idea. But then he went on to say, and he turned the corner, saying that he does have some similarities with the former president as well as the Republican Party, and that is, is that they're going to go after -- the United States is going to go after al Qaeda and terrorists, that this something that is right and just, he said, for the international community to do, and that that is something that is similar with the Bush administration.

So the reason he does this is obviously trying to project a different tone, a different message, trying to repair these relations. But he came to Europe asking for assistance here for this mission in Afghanistan. Obviously, he needs the support of the Muslim world. He needs the support of Europeans because he still says there is a threat against the United States and the rest of the world. Now that that threat has shifted, he says that the new focus is on Afghanistan -- Kiran.

CHETRY: And, Suzanne, speaking of threats, we got word, of course, of this foiled plot to assassinate the president while he was in Turkey. Apparently, this would-be assassin, a Syrian man, was actually detained two days before the president arrived. But did you notice any stepped up security on your travels with the president into Turkey?

MALVEAUX: Well, Kiran, there certainly was a lot of security especially leaving Prague and going here to Turkey. Obviously, the security is tight on every single leg here. But one of the things that's interesting is that, you know, our bags are checked all of the time. We go through mags (ph). We have badges, that kind of thing.

U.S. officials say they were really trying to help the Turkish forces because obviously this is a huge entourage that they're dealing with. It reminds me of a time in the Bush trip that we had. Somebody who actually traveled to Nigeria with us ended up Secret Service carting him away. He had ended up getting into the inner core of the press corps, and that is why they're always really strict with us, checking our badges as well as our bags because essentially, we are traveling in a bubble with the president. If you break that bubble, if you get in the inner circle, that is when there is a problem.

Obviously, we understand that he was using a fake press badge from Al Jazeera. They said that he was posing as an Al Jazeera journalist. So that is why all the time checking our bags and our badges as well because we get pretty close to the president -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Yes, absolutely. All right. Suzanne Malveaux traveling with the president in Istanbul, thank you.

COSTELLO: And you know, a couple of minutes ago, we were talking about that stolen plane from Canada. And I know you're wondering like how could you just get into a plane and steal it and fly off over other country's air space. Well, we do have Jeanne Meserve on the phone. She's going to tell us more about this 31-year-old pilot.

How did this happen, Jeanne?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, he apparently had had a couple of hours of flight time. He walked into this flight school in Thunder Bay, Ontario, gotten the plane, took off, and just headed south.

And when he came over the U.S. border when he was near the Michigan Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin border, he was intercepted by Air Force F-16s who tried to signal to him, radio him, get him to engage with them. He totally ignored them and kept flying south going over Madison, Wisconsin where they were so alarmed by his behavior that they evacuated the state capitol for a time. Went further south to St. Louis and then when he got down around the Arkansas-Missouri line, he finally put down.

He'd been in the air for almost seven hours. Probably only had about 30 minutes of fuel left in the plane, landed it on a dirt road and then took off on foot, and was finally apprehended in a grocery and hardware store in the small town of Ellsinore, Missouri.

COSTELLO: So was it just a joy ride? I mean, and the other question I have, do you leave your keys in your plane at the flight school?

MESERVE: I just -- I don't know the answer to the keys question, and we don't really know the answer to the motivation question either. He is identified as a young man named Adam Leon. He was born in Turkey. Did use the name of Yavuz Berke (ph), and then he immigrated to Canada, became a Canadian citizen in 2008.

I did speak to one law enforcement official yesterday who said that Canadian authorities had discovered information that he was an "unhappy individual" but they didn't elaborate exactly on what that meant.

I will tell you, though, as this progressed through the afternoon and evening hours yesterday, most of the time authorities did not feel that he posed any sort of terrorist threat in part because he was in such a small aircraft. It was only him, and we weren't talking about a major passenger jet loaded with fuel here.

But the second reason was that he kept flying past potential targets. If he wanted to harm something, they figured he might do that early in the flight. Instead, he just kept on flying.

COSTELLO: So what if he hadn't landed? I'm just curious. What's the most extreme thing they could have done?

MESERVE: Well, he could have crashed when he ran out of fuel and, in fact, some officials were expressing great relief last night that he didn't do that, either because he went down intentionally or because his aircraft ran out of fuel.

Now, there was at least conversation with the media about shoot down but that was never anything that was seriously on the table because he did not appear to pose any threat, imminent threat to American citizens.

COSTELLO: All right. Jeanne Meserve, thanks for bringing us up to date. We appreciate it.

Very strange story.

CHETRY: It sure is. All right. And back to another breaking story we've been following for you this morning and that is this tragic earthquake that hit in L'Aquila, Italy about 60 miles outside of Rome.

Right now they're saying that at least 179 people are killed, thousands more hurt and homeless, and hope is fading with each passing hour that they're going to be able to find any more people alive in the rubble.

CNN's Paula Newton has been covering this for us from Italy and joins us now on the phone. Paula -- in person, sorry. Hi, Paula.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: And hello, Kiran, and good morning to you. A very chaotic morning here in the mountainous town of L'Aquila. We've had a lot of people returning to this area. Some of them coming here to see the rescue effort behind me. There are still at least four students trapped beneath the rubble of this building.

It's been very slow efforts, Kiran, and very depressing. The last person pulled out of here was not pulled out alive, and that was several hours ago. I can tell you a very unnerving thing as we continue to have aftershocks. Some of them very strong, one as strong as 4.8, Kiran. It means that chunks of debris continually falling off the building.

Authorities getting very concerned about people's safety. At the same time, they have a humanitarian situation. They've been continuing to put up tent cities trying to give people also the care that they need right now here.

This community brought to its knees. There is a lot of help trying to rush here to this community. But still, Kiran, a lot of work to be done just to secure this very historic town -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Paula Newton for us this morning, thank you.

COSTELLO: President Obama reaching out to the world's Muslim students speaking to students now in Turkey. Christian Amanpour is up early. She'll join us live to break down the president's remarks.

It's 11 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

COSTELLO: And welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

Of course, we've been following that breaking news out of Turkey. President Obama, although now finished speaking to those students in Istanbul.

CHETRY: Right. He was holding this roundtable discussion that just wrapped up a few moments ago, and it's his final stop before he heads back to Washington. We're going to play a little bit of what the president said just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: First, I believe we can have a dialogue that's open, honest, vibrant, and grounded in respect. And I want you to know that I'm personally committed to a new chapter of American engagement. We can't afford to talk past one another, to focus only on our differences, or to let the walls of mistrust go up around us. Instead, we have to listen carefully to each other. We have to focus on places where we can find common ground and respect each other's views.

And that's where young people can be very helpful. Because I think old people, we get in to habits and we become suspicious and we carry grudges, all right? You know, it was interesting when I met with President Medvedev of Russia. And we actually had a very good dialogue and we were -- we spoke about the fact that although both of us were born during the Cold War, we came of age after the Cold War had already begun to decline, which means we have a slightly different attitude than somebody who was seeing Russia only as the Soviet Union only as an enemy, or who saw America only as an enemy.

So young people, they can get rid of some of the old baggage and the old suspicions. And I think that's very important.

You know, in terms of my election, I think that what people felt good about was it affirmed the sense that America is still a land of opportunity.

Now, I was not born into wealth. I wasn't born into fame. I come from a racial minority. My name is very unusual for the United States. And so I think people saw my election as -- as proof, as testimony that although we are imperfect, our society has continued to improve.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: All right. So there we heard a little bit of our president just moments ago at that round table discussion in Istanbul, Turkey talking to some students there. And our Christiane Amanpour joins us now as well.

It really has been, you know, a charm offensive of sorts to try to get a dialogue going and to try to turn I guess perceptions, some of the perceptions that have been suffered over the years of how\ Islamic countries view America.

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, in particular here with Turkey. It was a perception change but also a real change of experience.

President Obama was talking to those young people. Very impressively all those young Turkish students speaking fluent English and asking him really interesting and important questions. And he kept saying, look, it's up to you, the new generation, the young generation to do the kinds of things and put pressure, and become politically active in order to get the kinds of changes you will want.

For instance, you say you want climate change, well, it's not just going to happen. Political leaders know that it's expensive. It's going to be very difficult. It's slow. But if you get involved, then it will happen quicker.

He also said in terms of all the other issues, he said, look, I'm not naive and it's a theme that he said many times on this trip as he reaches high. He said if we don't reach high, we won't get any progress. So on trying to abolish nuclear weapons, as you said in Prague, we've got to stop. Otherwise we can't tell other countries like Iran that they must not have nuclear weapons, and things like that he kept saying that to them.

COSTELLO: Well, even though students were rather skeptical, you know, when he was talking about how the United States and Turkey has to come to a new understanding, how Americans weren't selfish and crass. Really, we're nice people, he said. And some of the students said, how can we believe you?

AMANPOUR: Well, he did say that, look, he knows that there's been a lot of criticism of America over the last eight years but that also there's a lot to talk about in terms of how now Europeans and other people around the world have to step up and understand there's a new administration and have to start cooperating.

And he said, look, for instance, issues like the Middle East peace process. You've got to see it from both side. Turkey has had an exceptionally active role helping between Israel and the Palestinians and Israel and his neighbors. And he said, look, again, people think that we can't do it, that the Palestinians and Israelis will never come together. But I say we can and we must keep trying. And he told the young students there about his new envoy, George Mitchell, former senator. And he said, look, he fixed an impractical problem in Northern Ireland.

And he also said, look, the thing that we Americans have to offer is we are in a newer country. We are a new civilization, for instance, in you. He said sometimes what I see when I'm overseas is how countries get hung up on things that happened 100 years ago or 1,000 years ago. Perhaps what America has to offer is a way to go forward and to look forward.

CHETRY: Very, very interesting to discuss that and also the fact that he brought up George Mitchell who's given some sort of indication that perhaps there is -- there is room for reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah as being a key to at least trying to get one side working together cohesively to try to come to some solution with Israel.

AMANPOUR: Well, that's absolutely true. If they don't come together, it's going to be very difficult to see how that's going to work. But also, there's going to have to be work with the Israeli government because, as you know, the new Israeli prime minister does not believe in the two-state solution with Barack Obama, the president, again brought up in this roundtable meeting.

And he said, look, we know that this is not sustainable. It's not going to be sustainable on the Israeli side, in terms of the demographics, the population, the big exploding Palestinian population. If they don't take the two-state solution soon, it's no longer going to be possible.

COSTELLO: And just a final thought, you know, as charming as the president was, like the more immediate problems for Americans is probably like Afghanistan as it applies to Turkey. And how can Turkey really come through when -- I mean, did Turkey agree to anything tangible that might help the United States out in Afghanistan as in troops?

AMANPOUR: Turkey already has troops. It's already helping in the training of Afghan security forces. All in all --

COSTELLO: But it's a very small number of troops.

AMANPOUR: They're all pretty much small numbers. The biggest numbers are the United States troops and the British troops. The rest of the forces there are in smaller numbers but doing other kinds of jobs, including training Afghan troops and police forces, including some of the development programs.

You know, there are a lot of so-called provincial reconstruction teams all over Afghanistan that are military teams that are dealing with the development issues that President Obama also was talking about today.

CHETRY: Christiane Amanpour for us. For your insight, thanks. Thanks for being with us this early.

And developing news to tell you about right now involving your money? Are we seeing signs of an economic turnaround? CNN's Gerri Willis with the news giving at least some people reason to cheer this morning.

It's 21 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Oh, that brings you back to the times.

CHETRY: You're not supposed to be laughing.

COSTELLO: Look, I was...

CHETRY: You're supposed to be laughing. You're supposed to be crying at this story.

COSTELLO: No, no, Gerri is going to bring us some positive news about the economy.

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: You know what?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: You thought because it was a business story, it was negative.

COSTELLO: No, no, no, no.

CHETRY: Because you guys pulled a bait and switch, we were going to talk about how your poor Michigan State lost. But now, we have -- so that's why I thought you were going to cry.

WILLIS: No.

COSTELLO: And you weren't pulling for UNC? Why? Because Michigan...

CHETRY: Has adopted the state.

COSTELLO: I've adopted Michigan because, you know, I'm a Tiger and Lions fan. I have to revere (ph) a semi-winning Michigan team.

WILLIS: I'm from North Carolina, so you know where my heart is.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, you're happy today.

COSTELLO: Oh, you are happy.

CHETRY: Was that her economic break spot that the Tar Heels won?

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: She might know.

WILLIS: Did I tell you that I was sound asleep through all of it? And I totally missed it.

COSTELLO: But anyway, bring us up to date on that good news about the economy because that's what I've been waiting for.

WILLIS: Hey, hey, you have got to -- this is very exciting, OK? You know, a minority -- I have to tell you - - economists are saying that the economy could pick up much faster than we anticipated. That a recovery could be on the horizon as early as four months from now. Most folks out there have said it's going to take till the end of the year at least.

Let me give you some numbers here that you're going to want to take a look at. Here's the evidence, this piling up.

First of, stocks are up 22 percent from a 12-year close low back in March. OK. Housing activity has picked up. We've seen existing home sales up in February. New home sales up as well.

That's really impressive. And, you know, comes despite the fact that housing prices, of course, have come down 19 percent.

COSTELLO: Oh, no.

WILLIS: But you know, think about it, affordability is much improved. Mortgage rates are at 4.63 percent. There's a spark in the housing market that's coming and I have to tell you, I talked to some of the smartest economists who looked just at the housing market, they're getting a little optimism, not a lot, but some.

Of course, you know, we talked about job losses. You know, these are easing off as well. They may have peaked in January when the economy lost 741,000 jobs.

February losses, 651,000. March, 663,000. You're going to see slowing down just a little bit. And, of course, jobs are the lagging indicator in the economy. They're the last thing that are going to turn around and they are critical, of course, to economic health. But I have to tell you, a lot of Americans are starting to be optimistic as well. Twenty percent in the recent poll think the economy is getting better here.

COSTELLO: And this is before, you know, these big stimulus plans go into effect.

WILLIS: Right.

COSTELLO: And before the government buys up the assets from those toxic assets from banks. So what does that mean?

WILLIS: Well, exactly. That's why some of these economists are saying, you know, there's going to be fast, explosive, big growth coming because not only are you coming out of a very deep recession and out, but you're going to add all of this money at the same time so that there could be a real jump in the economy here. And as a consumer, one thing you might want to think about in the back of your head is sort of what will this do to interest rates, mortgage rates. If you're waiting to refi, maybe you shouldn't be waiting. Maybe you should be jumping onboard right now.

CHETRY: Meanwhile, some people looking for -- to make up some of those job losses could also benefit when those programs get under way.

WILLIS: I've got to tell you, that is one of the keys. One of the housing economists tells me that if the housing situation doesn't improve instead of being a lagging indicator, it's going to take us back down yet again. So, some good news maybe on the horizon we can hope for people out there who have lost their job or maybe even lost their homes.

COSTELLO: OK, so I'm going to go do the happy dance now.

CHETRY: Exactly. Until the next...

COSTELLO: Until the next very bad news.

CHETRY: Now, let's start talking about basketball. All right, Gerri, thanks so much.

WILLIS: My pleasure.

CHETRY: Well, President Obama wrapped up his European tour with the final message to Muslims -- America is a friend. We're going to take a look how his message played in the Muslim world.

It's 28 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Just about a half hour past the hour, checking our top stories now.

New satellite photos reportedly show North Korea's rocket in flight. A Washington think tank obtained the images it says were taken on Sunday. The communist nation staged the launch despite international warnings against it. The U.S. says it demonstrated Pyongyang's ability to deploy a long-range missile and violated U.N. Security Council resolutions.

And what could be a possible warming of relations with the Castro government -- yesterday, seven members of the Congressional Black Caucus met with Cuban President Raul Castro in Havana. The delegations of Democrats also met with the head of parliament and the foreign minister. The meetings come amid speculation the Obama administration plans to allow Americans with relatives in Cuba to visit them and to send them money without limits.

Large bird strikes like the one that forced the U.S. Airways plane to crash-land in the Hudson River are on the rise. According to "USA Today," government data shows the dangerous collisions have surged 62 percent since the 1990s. There were reportedly 524 crashes in 2007. But despite the increase, the Federal Aviation Administration says the risk large birds posed to planes remains very low.

Also...

CHETRY: Breaking news: President Obama is just wrapping up his final event in Turkey. It was a town hall meeting with students. Within the hour, the president is expected to be wheels up on Air Force One heading back to Washington after an eight-day, five-nation European tour that the White House says was enormously productive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: One of the issues we discussed there was how to help peoples and countries through no fault of their own are being very hard hit by the current world economic crisis. We took some important steps to extend a hand to emerging markets and developing countries by setting aside over $1 trillion to the International Monetary Fund and by making historic investments in food security. But, there's also a larger issue: How Turkey and America can help those who have been left behind in this new global economy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Stanford (ph) -- and Suzanne Malveaux is traveling with the president.

Suzanne, is the White House feeling like it accomplished what it hoped to, especially in terms of dealing with Afghanistan in Turkey?

MALVEAUX: Well, I think what you're seeing here is that President Obama really wants to set a different tone with people here in Turkey, with the Muslim community as well as Europe, that he really wants to differentiate himself from President Bush. In that sense, I believe that he believes that he has been successful; White House aides are saying the same thing here.

He talks about a relationship of mutual respect and he came here to listen, to learn as well as to lead. That he is different from President Bush.

It was interesting in this kind of town hall with Muslim students -- one of the students really got to the heart of the matter, asking him, "Look, maybe you're a different face, but are you the same core as President Bush?" Asking him essentially, "Are you for real here?"

And we heard President Obama say, you know, in time -- time will tell just how different he is from President Bush. He said, first, different in the sense that, yes, he opposed the Iraq war. He thought it was a bad idea. But that he has now to move out troops responsibly.

But he says similar to President Bush and the opposition party, Republicans, say, that look, al Qaeda is still a threat to the United States and to the rest of the world. That's an important message -- he says, it's just and right to go after them because, as you had mentioned, he came here to make the case that this war with al Qaeda and the Taliban is now in Afghanistan. And he wants the kind of support and aid that perhaps President Bush didn't get in Iraq in Afghanistan.

Did he get more troops? Well, he got trainers. He got some troops from European countries, about 3,000 or so that will help at least for Afghan elections, about $100 million to help funds with the Afghan army and police.

Those are tangible things that he takes back home, didn't get everything he wanted. But he certainly did get some things and he stresses that this is really just the beginning of trying to renew relationships and repair some damage -- Kiran?

CHETRY: And he did mention that on numerous stops about this just being the beginning of hopefully new relationships. Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning -- thanks so much.

And the president trip also has a lot of our viewers sounding off on our show hotline. It's 877-MY-AMFIX. Here's what some of you are saying this morning.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CLAIRE (ph), MASSACHUSETTS (via telephone): Hi, this is Claire (ph) from Massachusetts.

And I just want to say that I don't think he accomplished anything at all over there except what he wanted to do and that's being a rock star. You know, he's in the wrong business if he wants to be a rock star. It seems like that's all that matters nowadays.

JOHN CULLER (ph), SOUTH CAROLINA (via telephone): John Culler (ph) from Landrum, South Carolina.

I think President Obama is doing a magnificent job. He's turning our efforts and our image around and moving them forward throughout the world. I'm very impressed.

DR. JERRY CROSS (ph), NORTH CAROLINA (via telephone): Dr. Jerry Cross (ph) from Waxhaw, North Carolina.

In my opinion, Obama is the worst president in his first two or three months that I have ever seen in my 66 years.

MARYANN BENITEZ (ph), FLORIDA (via telephone): Hi, my name is Maryanne Benitez (ph). I'm calling from Miami, Florida.

I think Obama has restored -- is restoring and has restored a lot of respect towards Americans. I think he's doing a fabulous job and it makes me proud to be an American once again eight years later.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CHETRY: And we want to hear more from you. Give us a call, 24 hours a day, ask a question or sound off on the story. We'll try to get your calls on the air. And again, the number is 877-MY-AMFIX.

COSTELLO: Some of those were straight to the point, weren't they?

President Obama's message to Muslims is reaching out to Turkish students this morning in the final event on his European tour. Is the president's message being heard in the Muslim world?

And despite a recent wave of multiple shootings that have claimed dozens of lives, you'd think there would be a call for greater gun control. But there's not. We'll take a look at why.

It's 36 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

Rebuilding bridges to the Muslim world -- that's the message President Obama brought with him to Turkey; the same one he tried to deliver in a roundtable discussion this morning with Turkish students. He told those students not to believe everything they hear about Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Sometimes it suggests that America has become selfish and crass and we don't care about the world beyond us. And I'm here to tell you that that's not the country that I know and that's not the country that I love.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Joining us from Istanbul, Middle East analyst, Reza Aslan, author of "How to Win a Cosmic War."

Good morning, Reza.

REZA ASLAN, MIDDLE EAST ANALYST: Good morning. COSTELLO: Oh, good, you scared me there. I thought you couldn't hear me for a time because, you know, we had those audio problems yesterday. I, first, want to ask you about ...

ASLAN: Yes, we did. No, we're fine today.

COSTELLO: Yes. I, first, want to ask you what President Obama said about America to those students. Did it resonate with them?

ASLAN: I think it did. One of the students said something remarkable. She said that she had an American friend in Istanbul who, for the last eight years, was very quiet about her identity, and would not tell people that she was American. And that over the last couple of months, she's been proud of her American identity.

And I think that that's precisely the message that Obama was trying to give, not just this morning but throughout his stay here in Turkey, that this is a new America. This is the America that you expect, the America that you wanted. And that his presence here as a president of the United States is proof that, well, America is back.

COSTELLO: Well, you know, some of the things that President Obama said really aren't that much different from what President Bush said a lot during his term as president. I mean, Obama said the United States is not and never will be at war with Islam. President Bush said that a lot. Didn't he? I mean, how is it -- how is Obama much different than Bush is?

ASLAN: You know, that's a very good point. Of course, the difference is that actions speak louder than words. And for most of the Muslim world, it was impossible to differentiate Bush's words of comfort to the Muslim world about Islam being about a religion of peace, et cetera, with the actions in Iraq and in Afghanistan and the larger war on terror. And more especially the sort of clash of civilizations mentality -- the "You're either with us or you're with the terrorist" mentality that was so much a part of Bush's message.

You know, it's not for nothing that unfavorability (ph) ratings of the United States in Turkey had reached almost 90 percent, which is remarkable when you think about how much Turkey and the United States have in common. I think Obama's message over these last couple of days has been precisely not just a renewal of Turkish-U.S. alliance, which, as you know, is incredibly important. There is really no more important country in the Muslim world when it comes to American interests in the region than Turkey. But also to use this alliance, to use this new relationship with Turkey as the foundation for reaching out to the rest of the Muslim world -- and, frankly, I think it's working.

COSTELLO: Something else President Obama said that was kind of politically dicey for him back here in the United States. He mentioned his Muslim father. He said that family members who are Muslim enrich our lives. How did that resonate? Because I know that all of the Muslim world was watching the president's speech, and he said that when he spoke to the Turkish parliament.

ASLAN: You know, yesterday ...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The focus will be on what we can do in partnership with people across the Muslim world to advance our common hopes and our common dreams. And when people look back on this time, let it be said of America that we extended the hand of friendship.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: OK, we heard a little bit more about what President Obama said. But I want to go back to the president saying -- you know, what he said about his father being a Muslim. How did that resonate to the wider Muslim world?

ASLAN: You know, yesterday, the Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan began the opening session for the alliance of Civilization Conference which is taking place here in Istanbul in which Obama did take part in a little bit last night. And he talked about Obama in the most amazing way.

He said, "This is the man, Barack Hussein Obama, the son of a Muslim father from Kenya and a Christian mother from Kansas who perfectly embodies the city of Istanbul."

This city which is both east and west which literally straddles the two continents and which in its flavor and its customs, its traditions is that one deeply Christian and deeply Muslim.

And so, in many ways, Obama was a breath of fresh air here. And it's precisely the fact that he can say that this is an American president who can say with confidence, look, I know the Muslim world. I have Muslims in my family. I am not part of this so-called clash of cultures between the west and Islam that has become so much a part of the dialogue, that I'm a new face, and that I want to be the bridge between these two cultures.

Well, I have to tell you, that at least here in Istanbul, those words are being greeted with enormous, enormous happiness.

COSTELLO: Reza Aslan, thanks for your input this morning. We appreciate it.

CHETRY: And still ahead, the mass shootings in New York, Pennsylvania, and Washington State. It reignites the long standing debate about gun control. So far, though, Congress and the White House are staying clear of the issue. We're going to take a look why -- after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

There are dramatic and new developments in Binghamton, New York, this morning in the shootings that took place there. There's a local TV station in Syracuse, New York, says that it received a two-page letter from the gunman. The letter was postmarked Friday, the same day that police say Jiverly Wong murdered 13 people at an immigration center before taking his own life.

Now, the letter lays out a litany of paranoid complaints. He claims he was being persecuted by undercover cops, saying they watched him and touched him while he slept. He claims that they stole money from his wallet. And the letter ends with a chilling sendoff which reads, quote, "Have a nice day."

Now, that Binghamton shooting was followed by two more tragic shootings over the weekend. A man killed three police officers in Pittsburgh; and in Washington State, a father shot his five children and killed himself. The rash of multiple shootings is reigniting the gun control debate. But right now, the Democratic-controlled Congress seems unlikely to touch the issue.

CNN's Jim Acosta is following the story for us live in Washington.

Whenever we have a rash of shootings like this, again, people talk about the gun control debate. But it's very interesting with this Democratic-controlled Congress, there hasn't been much coming out about it.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kiran. You'd think with a Democratic president and a Democratic Congress, gun control bills would be on their way to the White House for the president's signature. But times have changed and so have Democrats on gun rights. As one southern Democrat recently said, the way the votes are shaping up these days, gun control is, quote, "dead on arrival on Capitol Hill."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): In Pittsburgh, the man accused of gunning down three police officers was afraid the government would take away his firearms, so says his friend.

EDWARD PERKOVIC, FRIEND OF PITTSBURGH SHOOTING SUSPECT: He just believes in his rights to bear arms. He believes that in hard economic times we're going to, you know, put forth, you know, gun bans and that sort of thing.

ACOSTA: But here's the reality: Despite mass shootings that have left more than 40 people dead in five states over the last month, Congress is in no hurry to pass new gun control laws.

ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON (D) DELEGATE, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: The whole world thinks we are gun crazy. It's time for some sanity.

ACOSTA: Take Washington, D.C. delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who has a bill that would give the district its first member of Congress with full voting rights. Pro-gun lawmakers are trying to attach a measure to the voting rights bill that could scrap nearly all of the district's top firearms laws. NORTON: If gun bill is attached to it and this blowback from somebody getting hurt in this city, they're going to look to see who let this get passed.

ACOSTA: And when Attorney General Eric Holder recently dangled the idea, bringing back the Clinton-era ban on assault weapons.

ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: There are just a few gun- related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons.

ACOSTA: The president of the National Rifle Association sounded the alarm.

WAYNE LAPIERRE, NRA PRESIDENT: Our divine rights -- they might have been endowed by a Creator but they're preserved by mortals -- if we mortals have the means and the will to make it stick.

ACOSTA: Since then, 65 pro-gun House Democrats have fired off a letter to Holder urging him to abandon the assault weapons ban. Many Democrats like senators Mark Warner and Jim Webb of Virginia are getting elected with the help of NRA supporters.

STU ROTHENBERG, POLITICAL REPORT: I think if you step back and look at gun control as a political issue, you have to conclude that the NRA and opponents to more gun control have won.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Gun control advocates say all of the recent shootings show current laws aren't stopping gun violence and they aren't stopping firearms purchases either. The FBI says instant background checks on gun buyers are up, an indication weapons sales are soaring across the country - Kiran.

CHETRY: Jim Acosta for us this morning in Washington -- thank you.

Coming up in our 8:00 o'clock hour: A heated discussion over a Texas bill that would allow people 21 and older to carry a licensed concealed handgun on to college campuses. We're going to bring you both sides of that debate as well - Carol.

COSTELLO: And look, Kiran, he was almost done -- Sarah Palin's son-in-law. But I bet she's glad he isn't now. The father of Bristol Palin's baby goes on national television and he spills some family secrets. Hear what the ex revealed.

It's 52 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's 54 minutes past the hour.

(WEATHER REPORT) COSTELLO: A man accused of stealing a plane from a Canadian flight school is captured after leading two U.S. fighter jets on a seven-hour chase. Who is he? And why did he do it?

It's 56 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: No, you go.

COSTELLO: No, you go.

CHETRY: Welcome. We are coming up on about two minutes before the top of the hour here in New York. It's Tuesday, April 7th. I'm Kiran Chetry. Carol Costello is in this morning for John Roberts.

Good to see you.

COSTELLO: Nice to see you, too. I'll be back one more day tomorrow and then back to Washington.

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: Enjoy it while you can. We love -- we love having you up here in person.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Kiran, I appreciate that.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO:P Big stories breaking overnight we'll be covering in the next 15 minutes. New details about a foiled plot to assassinate President Obama in his visit to turkey. U.S. officials say the suspect is Syrian. He was arrested on Friday posing as a reporter two days before the president arrived in the Muslim nation. Turkish officials telling the Associated Press the man posed no threat to the president. We're live in Istanbul with new developments.

A small plane stolen in Canada penetrating air space and landing in Missouri. The pilot took off on foot. F-16s were on his tail. He forced the evacuation of the Wisconsin state capital. Jeanne Meserve has more on the pilot and whether he was a real threat.

And new satellite images show North Korea's rocket in flight. A Washington think tank obtained the images it says were taken on Sunday. The communist nation staged the launch despite the international objection. It demonstrates the ability to deploy a long range missile and violate U.N. Security Council resolutions.