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American Morning

Taliban Threatens Pakistan Takeover; Ruling Allows 17-Year-Olds Access to Morning-After Pill; General Motors Planning a Long Summer Shutdown; Fighting Foreclosure as a Community; Reports of Arrest of al Qaeda Top Leader Al-Baghdadi

Aired April 23, 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: And thanks for being with us, as we cross the top of the hour. It's Thursday, it's the 23rd of April. John Roberts together with Kiran Chetry.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: We're working on a lot this morning. Here's what's on the agenda. Stories we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.

Pakistan's army now moving into a district just 60 miles from the capital of Islamabad after Taliban militants from the nearby SWAT Valley started taking over.

Also developing right now, police say that dozens of armed militants attacked a truck terminal burning five tankers carrying fuel for NATO troops in Afghanistan. Those are the pictures now.

And General Motors reportedly planning a long summer shutdown in most of its U.S. plants to clear a massive backlog of unsold vehicles that have been piling up on dealer lots. The struggling automaker will close plants possibly for up to nine weeks this summer.

And 17-year-olds may soon be able to get the morning after emergency birth control pill known as Plan B without a doctor's prescription. The Food and Drug Administration says it will not appeal last month's federal court ruling that ordered the age limit lowered from 18. Those restrictions on over-the-counter access to the morning-after pill were imposed during the Bush administration.

And starting on the other side of the globe this morning, terrorists threatening a fragile nuclear armed nation. Pakistan's army trying to take that government buildings and bridges taken by Taliban militant just 60 miles from the capital.

Secretary of State Clinton speaking out on the crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I think that we cannot underscore the seriousness of the existential threat posed to the state of Pakistan by the continuing advances now within hours of Islamabad that are being made by a loosely confederated group of terrorists and others who are seeking the overthrow of the Pakistani state which is, as we all know, a nuclear armed state. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Ivan Watson is live in Islamabad this morning.

Certainly, a lot of ears perk up when you hear nuclear arms state. What is, though, the -- the -- the threat on the ground right now that these Taliban fighters will actually be able to get their hands on any of the nuclear arsenal?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think we're still a bit away from that scenario right now, Kiran.

In fact, we've heard from the Pakistani military, the spokesman for the military, saying that paramilitary forces are being sent to this district about 60 miles from the Pakistani capital, the district that the Taliban forces claimed earlier this week. He said that paramilitary forces were headed to that district. However, we've gotten reports from the Pakistani police of a deadly ambush by militants of a convoy of Pakistani paramilitary forces. And police with one police officer killed in that ambush, another police officer wounded.

The Pakistani military spokesman went on to issue a warning to the Taliban, Kiran, saying, quote, "The Taliban will either move out or they will be thrown out one way or another."

What's confusing here is we're getting a very different message from the Pakistani government. I attended a foreign ministry press conference today and there, the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry said, "We think it's too early to comment on the effectiveness of this peace deal that the Pakistani government signed with the Taliban last week."

That they still need time to see how that could spread peace across the region.

So two very different messages coming from different parts of the Pakistani state - Kiran.

CHETRY: Yes, and can you tell us a little bit more about this video that we're looking at apparently of the setting fire to these trucks?

WATSON: OK. This incident took place in the western city of Peshawar. Now that has been a major supply route for fuel and other supplies going into Afghanistan, to NATO and American forces there. And what took place before dawn this morning was an ambush on a fuel station there, where six fuel trucks were blown up by rocket propelled grenades.

Now, the supply lines there have come under attack before as the fuel lines go through the Khyber Pass, and that has forced the U.S. military in Afghanistan and NATO to think of alternative routes to bring in their supplies to Afghanistan just because of the threat to those supply lines, Kiran. And they have opened up deals just in recent months with other central agent states to the north of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and more recently Tajikistan, Kiran, simply because Pakistan has become too dangerous.

CHETRY: Wow. Yes, absolutely. And these pictures certainly tell that story as well. Ivan Watson live for us in Islamabad, this morning, following all the latest developments. Thanks.

ROBERTS: This morning, President Obama launching a new offensive to help keep more of your money in your hands. And in just a few hours, he'll meet with executives at major credit card companies to crack down on high interest rates and fees.

At the same time, Congress is considering a credit cardholder's bill of rights. Under the legislation, banks would have to give you at least 45 days before increasing rates. They would have to mail your bill more than three weeks before it's due, instead of three hours. And it would ease penalties from unrelated cards or debts.

CNN's congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar is live for us in Washington.

A whole lot of moves being made, Brianna. Do you think we're going to see anything getting done?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is a question. Certainly, though, we're going to be seeing a vote soon in the House, John, and it is expected to pass. These types of changes we're talking about are the kind that would be welcomed by many credit card holders who say they feel taken advantage of by their credit card company.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR (voice-over): Tens of thousands of angry consumers bombarded the Federal Reserve with e-mails and letters when it considered cracking down on the credit card industry. Like this one.

"I had to take out a loan for $25,000 to pay off the card that was generating $900 per month in interest charges."

And this one from a person who said, "A credit card company increased my promotional APR from a very low 4.99 to 28.99 percent, even though I have had no late payments."

The fight to stop these practices is one New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney has lost before, but with an ally in the White House, this time the so-called "Credit Card Holders Bill of Rights" could become law.

REP. CAROLYN MALONEY (D), NEW YORK: When we go to a store and buy a gallon of milk, they don't change it as we're walking out the door. A contract is a contract. If you're going to change that contract, you've got to tell the consumer, you've got to be clear in your terms.

KEILAR: Maloney's bill would require credit card companies to give you 45 days notice before upping your interest rate, force them to mail your bill at least 25 days before it's due, and prevent companies from increasing your rate because of late or mispayments on unrelated cards or debts.

Credit card companies staunchly oppose the changes saying if they can't penalize risky card holders, they may have to deny credit to other consumers and small businesses.

NESSA FEDDIS, AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION: They may also find that the costs are increasing and that some people who manage their credit well will have to pay for those who don't.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: It is expected to pass the House next week. The Senate, though, more of a question mark. That's somewhere where President Obama may be able to exert some influence or he'll need to in order to get this passed to change some minds of people in his own party.

And John, it is important to note this bill of rights would not go into effect until next summer. It's actually the same time when the fed starts enforcing similar regulations on credit card companies - John.

ROBERTS: All right. Brianna Keilar for us, live in Washington this morning. Brianna, thanks so much.

CHETRY: And the credit card practice of jacking up the interest rates while clamping down on credit limits continues to heat up our show hotline. Here's what you had to say about it.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

CALLER: Credit cards is what's running this country. They need to put more green on the streets.

CALLER: I think credit cards should be just stopped, cut out. Because some people, it's just another bill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: And we want to hear what you have to stay about all of this and our other big stories. Call our show hotline. It's 1-877- MY-AMFIX or 1-877-692-6349. You can also get us on Twitter, Twitter.com/1-877-my-amfix. That's 1-877-692-6349.

Also this morning, we're giving you the tools to take control of your home and your money. Just a few minutes, the best way to deal with foreclosure. It's all part of our special series "Money & Main Street," which you can catch tonight, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, on "NO BIAS, NO BULL."

ROBERTS: We're checking our top stories now.

Levi Johnston, the father of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin's grandson spoke to CNN's Larry King last night about the public feud between his family and the Palins. Levi says he has not seen his baby, Tripp, in weeks. Larry asked him if he would take legal action in order to see his son more. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Why wouldn't you hire a lawyer to fight for your rights as a father?

LEVI JOHNSTON, EX-FIANCE OF BRISTOL PALIN: I think we just -- I think we can work things out. I mean, I don't think either one of us want to go, go to the lawyer and try to fight for custody and stuff like this.

KING: But then why can't you see -- why can't you take your baby, it's your baby. Why can't you take your baby for a weekend?

JOHNSTON: I don't know.

KING: But you're not interested in finding out legally why you can't?

JOHNSTON: I am. I think if it keeps going like this, I think we're going to have to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Levi Johnston said he and Bristol Palin have no formal visitation agreement for their baby son.

Julia Roberts won an Academy Award for playing her in a movie. Now the real environmental activist Erin Brockovich is at it again. She's urging northwest Missouri residents to stop a tannery from distributing sludge that's actually tainted with a cancer causing chemicals. The sludge has been used on farmland as fertilizer.

And after five years and 241 shows, it's finally good-bye yellow brick road for Elton John. The singer taking his final bow at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Elton will tour this year with Billy Joel - Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, a controversial ruling on the so-called morning- after pill. Teens as young as 17 can now get it without a prescription. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be with us live about what you need to know about this drug.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Thirteen minutes after the hour. Let's fast forward through the stories that will be making news later on today.

Some key indicators of how the economy is doing. We're expecting first quarter earnings from American Express, Amazon, Microsoft and U.S. Airways. An update on the housing market is due out today with the numbers on home sales in March. And in just 20 minutes, the Labor Department will release weekly first-time jobless claims.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be on Capitol Hill this morning. She's scheduled to speak about State Department budget issues, but you can expect Iran, Pakistan and other world hot spots to dominate questioning.

The national football champions will get a presidential congratulations today. President Obama will meet with the University of Florida Gators at 3:30 Eastern in the White House East Room.

And California commuters can't take Hollywood Boulevard this morning. It's shut down right now for a concert by electro pop band, Depeche Mode, tonight at 8:00 p.m. Local Time. The concert is free and it will take place at the storied intersection of Hollywood and Vine. Los Angeles transportation official say the street will open back up by Friday morning's rush hour commute - Kiran.

CHETRY: Controversial announcement coming out by the FDA. The morning-after pill now available at teens as young as 17 without a prescription.

Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us now from our L.A. Bureau to tell us more about it.

Hey, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.

You know, since August of 2006, Plan B or the morning-after pill has been available to women 18 and older without a prescription. So what we're talking about here is lowering the age at which women can get this without a prescription to 17.

It's interesting, you know, there was a federal court that sent a letter to the FDA saying they should do this within a month. That that letter was sent back March 23rd. So we're at the one-month mark now, which is why this is making news today. The FDA said it's not going to appeal that decision. It's going to send a letter to Plan B saying, OK, you can start marketing this now, Plan B to women 17 and older without a prescription.

Well, what's interesting, as we started digging into the story a bit, Kiran, is that the same federal court judge said, should this be something that is available to women of any age without a prescription? We're not -- he's not saying that that should happen now, but is asking the FDA to look into that as well.

So we may see even a further broadening of the availability of this particular medication without a prescription, Kiran.

CHETRY: And medically speaking, because there is some controversy over this pill, are you terminating a pregnancy when you take Plan B?

GUPTA: Well, you know, this is how it works. You take Plan B and you can think of this as a pill that has a very high dose of progesterone. It's sort of like taking several birth control pills.

Several things could potentially happen when you release this amount of progesterone if a woman has not ovulated yet. It may prevent ovulation, number one. Number two, if a woman has ovulated, it may prevent the sperm from actually entering the egg, preventing fertilization. If the sperm has already fertilized the egg, it may prevent that egg from implanting itself on the uterine lining.

So you can define it how you want, but that's basically how this particular medication works.

CHETRY: The other question, as I remember, when this was available it was very controversial. In fact, when I went to college as well, and one thing that the practitioners would say is that they want women to take a pregnancy test first. So if it's not -- if you don't need a doctor's prescription, how do you take a -- I mean, do you -- does the pharmacist then recommend that you take a pregnancy test first?

GUPTA: Well, I'm not sure there's a sort of across-the-board regulation on that, as to whether or not a woman has to take a pregnancy test first. So, I think you're sort of getting into some of the controversial aspects of this, because there are people who would say you should beforehand. Other people say if there was a concern about unprotected sex, you could take this pill within 72 hours after that, and another pill incidentally 12 hours after that.

So, you know, you probably going to hear different things from different doctors regarding that.

CHETRY: All right. Sanjay Gupta for us this morning on this. Thanks so much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

CHETRY: Also, Sanjay is going to be Twittering this morning, answering your medical questions. So just follow AMFix and you can ask him questions and he'll be answering them for you all morning long - John.

ROBERTS: New this morning. Documents showing Condoleezza Rice and Dick Cheney signed off on torture. We have the latest on who knew what and when.

Plus, presidential photoshopping. We all want to look our best, but did one magazine go too far when they air-brushed the commander- in-chief?

Seventeen minutes now after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

New this morning. Three vials of a potentially deadly virus have disappeared from the nation's top Army research lab in Maryland. The Army's criminal investigation command is now looking for the vials, which were under the control of a senior scientist who retired back in 2004. Humans infected with the virus usually suffer flu-like symptoms and in about one in a hundred cases, it can be deadly. There's another virus causing concern this morning. Mac computer owners generally think they're immune from viruses. But the iBotnet may change that. The harmful computer virus targets Macs through pirated software. Experts say they knew it was going to happen. It was just a matter of time - John.

ROBERTS: Well, you've seen the photo. The leader of the free world on the cover of a magazine shirtless, looking pretty buff. But things are not always what they seem. The photo of President Obama without his shirt was apparently altered.

Carol Costello joins us now from Washington with all of the details on this.

Carol, good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know. It was nice of you to lend you body to the Washingtonian so they can...

ROBERTS: I can only hope, you know?

COSTELLO: I know. He looks good, doesn't he?

ROBERTS: He does.

COSTELLO: But, you know, here's the question. Who knows what's real anymore? You can buy a camera that takes the red out of your eye and enhances your skin tone. And who wouldn't want that? Photoshopping has become a way of life. And some ask what's the harm?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Check it out. America's 44th president on the cover of the Washingtonian magazine because he's hot. YouTube is abuzz. Actually, it's been buzzing about that, well, forever.

(SONG PLAYING) I got a crush on Obama.

COSTELLO: The magazine said it meant no disrespect saying the picture exudes the New Washington, young, exciting, sexy. And critics say, not quite real. The president didn't pose for this cover. It's a paparazzi shot snapped back in December when Mr. Obama was vacationing in Hawaii, and it landed on Washingtonian's May cover with tweaked.

Notice Mr. Obama's swimsuit has magically turned red, and that unsightly hotel background has disappeared.

CATHY MERRILL WILLIAMS, WASHINGTONIAN MAGAZINE PUBLISHER: When you're in the magazine business, you're trying to get across a concept or an idea. And, you know, changing the color of his shorts, one, didn't change the overall image portrayed.

COSTELLO: It's not the first time in news magazine has tweaked someone's likeness. This photo of O.J. Simpson appeared on the cover of "Time" magazine in June of 1994. "Time" made Simpson's image appear darker. This is the same photo on "Newsweek's" cover without the darkness.

Critics say what "Time" did was wrong, just as wrong as it was to alter the color of Mr. Obama's swimsuit.

HOWARD KURTZ, HOST CNN, "RELIABLE SOURCES": While the alterations of this picture might seem to some people to be kind of minor, it is absolutely unethical. It is dishonest. It is not journalism. You cannot present a news photo, particularly of a president, but of anybody and alter it through digital technology without being honest about it with readers.

COSTELLO: But the Washingtonian disagrees. It's featured photo shopped pictures of presidents before -- yes, that's Ronald Reagan. Nope, that's not his body. But this image, like Obama's, was meant to show a stronger, more vital Washington embodied by a new president.

Yet critics say it's OK, and still not OK.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: You're wondering why, obviously, that picture of Ronald Reagan was altered. People know that right away. So that's OK, according to critics.

Howie Kurtz says what's wrong with Obama is that people don't know that's been digitally altered. They think that's a real picture, and there's a real problem with that.

Now, the whole matter of the president appearing on the cover of a magazine in a bathing suit, that's a whole different issue, John.

ROBERTS: It certainly is. People have their opinions on that.

Carol...

COSTELLO: Right. A lot of -- I'm sorry. A lot of people say it's tacky. The president's staff has no official comment. They're sort of laughing it off saying it comes with the territory.

ROBERTS: I guess it does. Carol Costello for us this morning.

Carol, it's always good to see you. Thanks.

CHETRY: Wall Street futures are up this morning. But also expected to be higher, the newest jobless, unfortunately. Analyst say the latest round of numbers could set a record for the 12th straight week. CNN money team is standing by to break it all down for you when those numbers come in, in just about eight minutes.

Also new this morning, documents showing Condoleezza Rice may have signed off on waterboarding. She's denied that before. We have the latest on who knew what and when.

It's 24 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

One of our special series, "Money & Main Street," where we see the real impact of the economic crisis on Americans. Right now, millions of people are still facing foreclosure, but one priest in a suburb of L.A. has found the best way to deal with foreclosure is as a group.

Here's CNN's Thelma Gutierrez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pacoima, California, is a community in crisis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People here were targeted, again, by banks and investors.

GUTIERREZ: This southern California community was a target for predatory lenders. And now, one out of every nine homes is in some stage of foreclosure.

FATHER JOHN LASSEIGNE, MARY IMMACULATE CHURCH: Some of them have fallen behind and live in fear of losing their homes.

GUTIERREZ: So this Catholic priest, who has never owned a home himself, is preaching foreclosure 101 to his block.

LASSEIGNE: The banks be obligated to modify the loans.

GUTIERREZ: It's a twist on the gospel for Juana Rodriguez, who has a high-interest subprime loan, and Juan Carlos Jacobo, whose home is about to be sold off by the bank.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need the communities to be there. United, we can do it.

GUTIERREZ: Father John Lasseigne and community organizers from a group called One L.A. want the banks to negotiate with the families.

LASSEIGNE: There are actually hundreds, if not thousands, of families in my immediate neighborhood at risk of losing their homes.

GUTIERREZ: Over several months, Juana and the others are prepped on finance.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (SPEAKING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

GUTIERREZ: She's being taught the art of negotiation and how to understand stuff in fine print. She didn't know before.

The meetings are standing room only.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They see that we're not alone. That we are fighting for our homes as a community. GUTIERREZ: Three hundred families strong. Father John and his allies convinced a half dozen banks to come to the table. This is where Juana and the others put all they learn to the test.

TOM HOLLER, ONE L.A.: As a result of these negotiations, we're going to have evidence of what the banks are willing to do and not willing to do.

GUTIERREZ: Evidence One L.A. and Father John say they will present to Congress. But, for now, Juan Carlos had his foreclosure temporarily postponed. Juana negotiated her way out of an adjustable to a 30-year fixed loan. For her, it's a fresh start and an answer to her prayers.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, McCoy (ph), California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: And you can see more "Money & Main Street" with Roland Martin tonight, 8:00 p.m. And a new "Money & Main Street" every Thursday, here on AMERICAN MORNING.

ROBERTS: And we're coming up to the half hour. Here's what's on the agenda. The big stories that we'll be covering for you in the next 15 minutes.

More trouble for General Motors. According to reports, the struggling auto giant will temporarily close most of its U.S. factories for up to nine weeks this summer.

New developments on the case against the alleged Craigslist killer. The Associated Press is reporting investigators recovered items belong to the women attacked, including the woman who was killed in Philip Markoff's apartment. The AP source is an unnamed law enforcement official.

Meanwhile, ABC News is reporting items found included the victim's underwear.

New documents from Capitol Hill show that Condoleezza Rice verbally approved waterboarding in July 2002. At the time, she was the national security adviser. The paper is from the Senate Intelligence Committee give the clearest timeline so far on the CIA's harsh interrogation program.

CHETRY: We have some breaking news out of Baghdad. We're receiving word that one of the top al Qaeda leaders in Iraq is now in custody. This is from Iraq state TV quoting a general.

Let's bring in our CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen on this story.

Peter, are you with us?

So we're hearing from Iraqi security officials that al Qaeda insurgency leader Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi was arrested. What do you know about him?

PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST (voice-over): Al- Baghdadi, of course, is sort of not his real name but as the name would indicate he's an Iraqi who became the head of al Qaeda in Iraq after Abu Zarqawi was killed. The reason they put this guy in charge of the organization was that they were concerned that the organization appeared to be too foreign. Abu Musab al Zarqawi you may recall was a Jordanian. And a lot of those leaders of al Qaeda in Iraq have been foreigners, Egyptians. So they wanted to put an Iraqi face on it.

It was at some point that the U.S. military even said that Al- Baghdadi might be a fictional character and now of course in the last year or so, you know, they concluded that he is a real person. So this guy while he is important is more of a figure head, I think, than the real leader of the organization. The real leader of the organization is somebody by the name of al-Masri who is in fact an Egyptian. So while this is significant, I don't think it's the end of al Qaeda in Iraq which obviously has been suffering a great number of reverses over the last couple of years, Kiran.

CHETRY: What is the status of al-Masri, getting a hold of him?

BERGEN: You know, I really don't know. He has gone underground and that is all I really know.

CHETRY: The other question also is just the state of security in general in Iraq. I mean, at the same time that we're getting this news, we're getting wires saying there is a major bombing. Apparently 45 people killed and 28 others wounded in a suicide bomb attack. This was targeting, apparently, Iranian pilgrims in Iraq, the Alah (ph) province, according to the Interior Ministry. So we're still seeing daily violence there. How much of a handle does the Iraq military have on trying to calm things down?

BERGEN: Well, I think, Kiran, you're right. There has been a real up tick of these kinds of attacks. I think it demonstrates that Al Qaeda in Iraq which, of course, is a very anti-Shia organization, and might well be behind this attack on these Shia pilgrims. Al Qaeda in Iraq, you know, used to be an organization that held significant amounts of territory that controls a great number of people's lives. That is basically over. As an insurgent organization, they are dead but as a terrorist organization they can interrupt Iraq's fragile peace. Unfortunately, they remain viable.

CHETRY: Right. And as you pointed out, it's interesting that they wanted al-Baghdadi to put an Iraqi face on the organization which largely was being run by outside leaders, leaders at least coming from other countries in the area.

Peter Bergen, thanks so much for putting this in perspective for us this morning.

ROBERTS: We turn you now to a developing story out of Washington. New documents from the Senate Intelligence Committee show Condoleezza Rice verbally approved water boarding in 2002. That was back when she was the national security adviser to the Bush White House. The new timeline is the most detailed to date laying out how the CIA's harsh interrogation program was conceived and then given the OK.

Our Zain Verjee has got the details on that for us this morning.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPARTMENT CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, documents show that Condoleezza Rice had more of a role in authorizing torture than she previously admitted. Secret memos declassified by the Obama administration show that Rice approved a CIA request to subject terror suspects Abu Zubaydah to waterboarding while she was the national security adviser.

Here's what she said before about torture.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The United States does not engage in torture, doesn't condone it, doesn't expect its employees to engage in it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Bush administration officials say that the information obtained from Abu Zubaydah led to the capture of the Kahlid Sheikh Mohammed, the architect of the September 11th attacks. Last fall, Rice told the Senate Armed Services Committee that she had only been present, had only attended meetings where CIA interrogations were discussed. She said that she didn't remember the details - John, Kiran.

ROBERTS: Zain Verjee for us this morning.

A big resort town threatened danger at Myrtle Beach. The latest on the Winfield wildfire that has already destroyed 8,000 acres on the South Carolina coast. And if you find yourself out of work in this economy it might be easy to get overwhelmed but don't freak out. We're going to tell you how to keep your head when you lose your job.

Thirty-five minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Just in to CNN. Latest numbers on jobless claims that came out moments ago. Our Christine Romans is running them down for you. She's "Minding your Business."

Good morning.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: And the numbers are running up. 640,000 people filed for unemployment benefits for the very first time in the most recent week. That is more than people thought, an increase from the prior week and even that week had been revised upward.

John, here is the big number that, frankly, having covered these numbers for so many years, 6.137 million people are continuing to collect jobless benefits. That's a record high. We have never seen that many people in this country continuing to get jobless benefits, getting a jobless check because they are having trouble finding a job after being laid off.

So if you're out there and you lost your job and it's taking you time to find a new job you're not alone. These numbers are bearing out exactly what you're feeling. That is, companies are nervous about what's in store for the next six months or so. They are continuing to lay off workers and laying them off in very great numbers and that means they are heading for the unemployment line to get unemployment checks. Six point one three seven million people continuing to get jobless benefits and we'll see this, John, feed into the foreclosure situation, too.

ROBERTS: I'm sure.

ROMANS: I think we're heading into something here where people are losing their paychecks. That means they're going to be defaulting on their mortgages. It was the mortgage problem. Remember, it was a bad mortgage that started this whole thing and a bubble in the housing market and now you will see the unemployment situation feeding into the housing situation.

ROBERTS: Christine, thanks for the update.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

CHETRY: All right. In this economy there are a lot of big things to worry about, of course, as just highlighted by what Christine was saying. Worries about losing your home, worries about finding a job. Well, maybe it's time to even take a risk, start your own business.

Our next guest says all problems can be tackled if you think small and you start small. Linda Kaplan-Thaler is the co-author of "The Power of Small: Why Little Things Make All the Difference."

It's a great book. It's your follow up book to "The Power of Nice," which was also a wonderful book. A lot of things can be learned from both of these.

But first of all, when we talk about starting small in our society, of course, we've always been taught bigger is better. I mean you take a look at the average home.

LINDA KAPLAN-THALER, AUTHOR "THE POWER OF SMALL": You're correct.

CHETRY: Compared to the 1960s to now. We want everything to be big but you say take a step back and think about why smaller may be better, especially in this economic environment.

KAPLAN-THALER: You know everything is super size me. Everything is a big home, the big car, the big mortgage and the big debt. You know, that has gotten us into a big heap of trouble. So we like to say, you know, Robin Kovall and I who wrote the book together, you know what, thinking big is so 2008. Thinking small is the new black. It is those details. You do have to sweat the small stuff and it will make a huge impact on your life and your career.

CHETRY: All right. So, for example, let's pretend that you're somebody who is searching for a job right now. Actually, we don't have to pretend because a lot of people that are in that situation. It all seems so overwhelming. You think you have this big goal, I have to find a new job. How do you break that down into ways you can sort of deal with it and manage it?

KAPLAN-THALER: You know what, it's too huge so what we tell people is take baby steps. Call three people up. You know, celebrate the small victory of just saying, you know, maybe there is a reference there. Make small talk. You have no idea. The person who is next to you, you know, when you're getting your coffee in the morning might be somebody that is looking to hire somebody. Go that extra inch. Make sure that resume is spelled correct. If you're looking to get a job in the medical technician factory, spell medicine correctly!

CHETRY: You're right. It's those small little things that can trip you up as well.

KAPLAN-THALER: And if you're going in for an interview, don't just bring coffee for yourself and make sure there is one for the interviewer as well. The little things mean so much.

CHETRY: That is a good tip, actually.

KAPLAN-THALER: That is called the Starbucks rule.

CHETRY: Bring one for someone else, right.

KAPLAN-THALER: For someone else.

CHETRY: And hope that you got it right what they like in their coffee. All right. Let's talk about some small business start-up tips. Because a lot of people say it's in these recession, in these downturns where people sort of start to think outside the box and start to say maybe there is another path for me. How do you even begin that process of figuring out, a, what you're good at and, b, how to get it going?

KAPLAN-THALER: Well, you know, we have a billion dollar ad agency, Robin and I. And we started very small. And what we tell people is look out there for small problems that you can solve. And start a niche business. Niche businesses are growing at a rate of 20 percent every year. Find a small problem, something that people need. Even if it's a small - you think it's a small community you get out in the digital area and there's probably a million people out there that want that little sweater that you just made. That is the beauty of the internet age. And you know we tell people when you think small, you're going to make it big.

CHETRY: You're right! And it's funny. I was just thinking about the one thing. You know how they drive in the shopping carts, they put babies in those - I don't know - KAPLAN-THALER: Yes.

CHETRY: To keep them out of the germ world. So it's like a little blanket. I thought who the heck would want that? I turn around everywhere. I should have thought of it!

KAPLAN-THALER: There's something for everybody.

CHETRY: I should have thought of it first! All right. Also about real estate. How do you figure this one out? There are people who are thinking maybe it's time for me to downsize, maybe move out of my house. There are people who are saying what is my strategy? Every home is on the market. How do I make mine different?

KAPLAN-THALER: You know, people don't have a lot of money to make these changes. If you're looking to sell your house and you have to clean out the basement that is a huge task. We tell people go like this, just clean out the area that you can see right here and then move on to the next one. It's not about multitasking. It's about mini tasking. That's the way that you get to your goal. And stop thinking about these insurmountable things that we need to do! Maybe it's just painting one wall to make things look better or adding a vase. It's those little touches, really.

CHETRY: It's a good idea. It's great. "Power of Small." A lot of good advice in here. Linda Kaplan-Thaler, always great to talk to you. Thanks for joining us this morning.

KAPLAN-THALER: Thank you.

ROBERTS: I'm inspired. I don't know about you guys.

CHETRY: See that. If I went like this and tried to clean out my basement it would still take me 10 years!

ROBERTS: We have the latest on the raging wildfires that are threatening the South Carolina coast. The wind is fueling the out of control blaze near the resort area of Myrtle Beach. We'll show you what fire fighters are dealing with right now.

And this morning, it's not just what Michelle Obama is wearing that's intriguing, it's the possibility of what she could wear that has designers inspired. We'll explain.

It's coming up on 44 minutes after the hour.

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ROBERTS: All right. It's 46 minutes after the hour.

Let's fast forward the stories that will be making news later on today.

Some key indicators of how the economy is doing. We're expecting first quarter earnings from American Express, Amazon, Microsoft and U.S. Airways. Sasha and Malia live at their parents' office and today a lot of other kids will get to see where the Obamas work as well. Michelle Obama will welcome children of executive office employees to the White House in honor of "Take your child to work day."

A fierce wildfire spreading out of control on the South Carolina coast. It's threatening Myrtle Beach during peak season for tourists with golf clubs. Dozens of homes have been destroyed. Dozens more in danger right now.

Let's check in with Rob Marciano who is at the weather center down there in Atlanta for what is going on.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Well, first lady Michelle Obama is quickly becoming a fixture in the fashion world. She is inspiring designers high-end and low-end and Madison Avenue is paying attention.

Forty-eight minutes after the hour.

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ROBERTS: Time now to dig into Dr. Sanjay Gupta's mailbag as we do here every Thursday. Sanjay is in Los Angeles this morning to answer your medical questions.

Hey, Sanjay.

Let's dive into our first question. It's from one of our Twitter followers. She's got a follow-up to a story that you covered earlier in the week about a urine test to see who is at risk for developing lung cancer if you smoke. SnarkySharky asks. "Can you still take this test if you quit smoking? I quit about three and half years ago?"

Well, what do you say?

GUPTA: SnarkySharky, well first of all congratulations for quitting 3 1/2 years ago. A lot of people got a lot of interests. This particular test to try and figure out if you might be at increased risk for developing lung cancer, if you're a smoker. In a nutshell what the test is all about is if you're a current smoker you're releasing all sorts of different things in your body, including a particular carcinogen which is a cancer-forming element called NNAL, and that can be measured in the urine.

If those levels are high, at least according to the early research, you have an 8.5 times increased risk of developing lung cancer. But keep in mind this is for current smokers. If you quit smoking 3 1/2 years ago you are not going to be able to measure those carcinogen levels but again there's a lot of good reasons to quit smoking, two weeks after you quit smoking, your lung function starts to improve. As you can see there, a year later your risk of heart disease starts to go down and within five years, your stroke risk, another concern, is about the same as a nonsmoker and within 10 years, the lung cancer a lot of people paying attention to also key decreased.

So a lot of good reasons to quit. But you can't get this particular test or it's not going to mean anything unless you're actively smoking.

ROBERTS: It decreased but doesn't go away. I mean, if somebody who smoked is always at an increased risk of developing lung cancer over the course of their lifetime?

GUPTA: Well, in 10 years, you decrease it significantly. There are some studies that say over even a longer period, several decades you may eventually be eventually be able to bring that down to almost zero. So always a good time to quit.

ROBERTS: You know, you were on "Dancing with the Stars" earlier this week as well, Sanjay. And we've gotten dozens of e-mails and tweets regarding your appearance, talking about the dangers of dancing. Susie in North Carolina writes to say "I saw you in "Dancing with the Stars" this week. It was great. Congratulations. I started dancing about three months ago. I lost 10 lbs. I'm having fun with the program but do worry about getting injured. What can I do to lower my risk?"

GUPTA: Well, it's worth pointing out that I did not actually dance on "Dancing with the Stars" just answered a few questions. That would have been bad for everyone, I think. You know, dancing is a form of exercise. We did a lot of research into this. It's a real sport and you can burn a lot of calories with some of the fast dancing moves, some of the things you watch there, up to 360 calories an hour. So it's a real sport.

Two concerns. One is inadequate training. And the second is overuse. If you were inadequately trained, as you were to be inadequately trained for any sport you could potentially injure yourself and if you overuse a particular muscle or ligament, you're more likely to injure it. For a little bit of scale of reference, we were investigating this a bit, a typical 90-minute dance class, for example, you're likely to use the same joint or step on the same leg about 200 times, oftentimes with a lot of force. The key is to give those ligaments and those muscles a significant rest after a dance class like that.

ROBERTS: All right. Sanjay Gupta for us this morning in Los Angeles, thanks very much. And of course, we'll check back in with the doc next week for our mailbag and you can send in your inquiries to either our website at cnn.com/amfix or Twitter us as well. Either way. It still works. Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Well Michelle Obama is bringing her own style to the White House and now high-end designers are taking notice and they are trying to copy her style as well, hoping it will draw in more customers.

Fifty-five minutes after the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Nearly 100 days into her role as first lady, Michelle Obama is a one woman stimulus fashion package, at least for the fashion industry.

Our Alina Cho takes a look.

Hey, Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Kiran. Good morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO (voice-over): In a matter of months, Michelle Obama has become one of the most photographed women in the world and an overnight style icon.

MIKKI TAYLOR, "ESSENCE" MAGAZINE: Anything that she puts her stamp on, women are going to buy. It's the most incredible kind of branding.

CHO: So much so, some designers are taking note, creating collections inspired by the first lady.

TAYLOR: She's just so for real, you know? There's no pretense. There's no distance between her and between real women.

CHO: Even when she misses, some fashion insiders say every woman can relate to.

ELIE TAHARI, DESIGNER, ELIE TAHARI: She's like a woman. She's curvy.

CHO: Elie Tahari is unveiling the Michelle dress.

(on camera): How did you come up with this?

TAHARI: Well, I noticed when I saw her that she wear bare shoulders, and she got great arms.

CHO (voice-over): Ah, those famous arms. The reason why the Michelle dress is one shoulder, in plum and floral, a not so subtle oh image (ph) to Mrs. Obama.

TAHARI: She's got great style. And what's great about her is because she is dressing like everybody else can dress.

CHO: Designers are making the most of it, J. Crew, Jason Wu, and now Talbots. After she wore this Talbots dress on the cover of "Essence," 300 of them sold in just four days. Talbots tells CNN the first lady is someone we refer to when designing clothes.

Fern Mallis who runs New York's Fashion Week says Michelle Obama has the Midas touch. FERN MALLIS, IMG FASHION: I think designers have to be nuts to not be clicking in to her site, guys, right now and saying, OK, what is she doing? Let's make more dresses. Let's make more sleeveless dresses.

CHO: And it's not just fashion. There's the first lady lip gloss, a gym class called Michelle Obama defined arms and Michelle style, the book.

Elie Tahari is looking ahead to fall.

(on camera): Is your greatest hope to have her in this?

ELIE TAHARI, FASHION DESIGNER: It will be a great dream -- a dream come true.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: I'm going to sign up for that class by the way. Sixty minutes in Central Park. By the way, Tahari says he is going one step further in his collection and designing his clothes with a little more give in the hip. The cut is a bit more generous. All inspired by the first lady he says. It's something every woman in America, in fact, the world, guys, can appreciate. The editor of "Essence" called Michelle Obama, the ultimate aspiration body. Look at that Talbot's dress, sold 300 in four hours. To date, they've sold 3,000.

CHETRY: The key is it's affordable now.

CHO: That's right.

CHETRY: Alina, thanks so much.

ROBERTS: It's going to wrap it up for us. Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We will see you back here again, bright and early tomorrow.