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American Morning

Hours Away From Release of Bank Stress Test Results; Bristol Palin as Abstinence Spokesperson; Elizabeth Warren Addresses Leaks, Bank Stress Test Results; Santa Barbara Evacuates Due to Advancing of Wildfires; Zardari Accused of Murder; Lawmakers Wants Erectile Dysfunction Ads Banned

Aired May 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: Welcome. Thanks so much for being with us. It's Thursday, May 7th. I'm Kiran Chetry and we have Carol Costello with us this morning.

Good to see you.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I came up from Washington.

CHETRY: That's right.

COSTELLO: Just the rain and gloom that's in New York that's also in Washington.

CHETRY: It was sunny for about ten minutes yesterday.

COSTELLO: I know, and people were running outside saying oh, my gosh, sunlight. My goodness.

CHETRY: I know. It was. It was a long time coming.

COSTELLO: Yes.

In the news this morning, residents of Santa Barbara County, California are virtually under siege this morning. A wind-driven wildfire burning out of control right now. Expensive homes destroyed. A state of emergency is in effect. Thousands of people have been forced to evacuate. We are on the ground in the seaside community as firefighters desperately try to control the flames.

Developing news about your money. In just a few hours, the government will tell us just how stressed 19 of the nation's largest banks are. In a moment, we'll break down which banks need more capital, how much, and whether your bank is safe.

Ambassador of abstinence - 18-year-old Bristol Palin, the daughter of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin and the mother of a 4-month old baby, speaking out on the subject, telling America's teenagers to avoid having sex. We're taking a closer look at her message and how the messenger is being received.

CHETRY: We begin though with a fast moving story in Southern California. It's a major wildfire burning out of control near Santa Barbara. There are strong winds driving these flames. Hundreds of acres burned and some large homes in the area destroyed. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declaring a state of emergency in Santa Barbara County, and thousands of residents have been told to get out.

CNN's Kara Finnstrom is following the story for us. She is on the ground in Santa Barbara. What's the situation this morning, Kara?

KARA FINNSTROM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just behind me here, you can see the shell of a home. You can see the flames coming through the roof. And if you look down through this window over here, you can see more flames. You know, the flames just continuing. It gut out the inside of this home.

As we've been driving up and down these dark canyon roads, we've seen scene after scene like this one. At this point, no official estimate as to how many homes are destroyed. It will be daybreak before this community gets its first real look at the damage done by this fire.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FINNSTROM (voice-over): It was the fear of firefighters on the front lines in Santa Barbara. High winds gusting to 65 miles per hour suddenly blasting fire through hot, dry canyons. The fire exploded, a black smoke so thick no one could get an accurate count of how many homes were burning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When everything was going down, we couldn't even tell that this house was burning. We couldn't see this far.

FINNSTROM: Another firefighter said he personally saw at least 20 homes burning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the Santa Barbara Police Department issuing a mandatory evacuation for all residents in this area. Gather your personal belongings and leave your homes immediately.

FINNSTROM: By late afternoon, sheriff's officials had to double the number of mandatory evacuations with 2,000 families ordered to leave their homes.

AMY FORD, SANTA BARBARA RESIDENT: We have bottled water, pillows. We've got dog food, and, of course, all the photo albums.

FINNSTROM: Amy Ford has lived in Santa Barbara for 35 years. She's ignoring the evacuation orders for now, but she's packed and ready to go.

FORD: This is as close as it's coming down to the main part of Santa Barbara since I've been here, at least.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FINNSTROM: And the good news, so far with this fire, no deaths reported. Three firefighters did receive some burns and had to be taken to a burn center, but we're told they are all in stable condition.

Kiran, the big factor firefighters will be watching today is the weather and those winds because they are expected to whip up again later on this morning.

CHETRY: Yes. It's really shocking how quickly those flames can jump. We see them right behind you there as well, so be careful there, Kara. Thanks so much.

COSTELLO: Well, a bit of brighter news maybe. We'll see, I guess, you know.

This morning there's a growing anticipation in both Washington and on Wall Street because we are just hours away from the results of the government stress test for the nation's largest banks. But the finding is not expected to be a doomsday scenario. That's the positive point. Instead, the tests are designed to tell America's 19 biggest banks how much they need to raise so that you, the taxpayer, don't have to step in yet again.

It is a sentiment echoed by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. In an op-ed this morning, Geithner writes the tests should help to repair our financial system and "provide a better foundation for recovery."

CNN's Christine Romans joins us now.

And Christine, Mr. Geithner says the results of these tests will be reassuring. And, you know, it's funny how much we already know because so much has been leaked out.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's the worst kept secret, Carol and Kiran, in Washington and Wall Street, isn't it? We're learning more and more every day through leaks and speculation about just what is the financial health of the nation's biggest banks.

They've gone through this stress test. This is putting yourself on the financial treadmill, if you will. Banking regulators trying to figure out what would happen if these banks saw - countries saw a 10.3 percent unemployment and 22 percent decline from here in housing prices. And this is what we know.

We know that some of the banks would be given essentially a clean bill of health and others have been told that they have to raise more money. So who would have to raise more money?

Well, the official results aren't out till later this afternoon. But we, through all of these leaks and numerous reports know that Bank of America, Wells Fargo, GMAC, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Regions Financial Corp. and State Street would have to raise more capital. Bank of America could have to raise up to $35 billion in capital if the reports are right.

Who does not need to raise more capital? On that list are bank side, American Express, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, MetLife, Bank of New York Mellon and Capital One Financial. So if you bank at one of these places, I want to be very, very clear, if your bank needs more money, you don't have to do anything. This is not an issue of whether these banks are solvent or insolvent. This is an issue how much more capital buffer they may need to withstand, you worsening of the economic scenario. This is - this is - the results of the stress test is not going to change your banking relationship with these banks.

COSTELLO: I'm just trying to figure out - I'm just trying to figure out how I should exactly feel about this. Bank of America, for example, taxpayers are already given Bank of America - what? - $45 billion. It needs what? It supposedly needs $35 billion more in new capital.

CHETRY: Yes.

COSTELLO: And it's got to figure how to raise that money. But what if it can't figure that out? Does that mean, you know, my bottom line is going to be hurt again because I'm going to have to give them more bailout money?

ROMANS: Well, first thing they have to do is they've got about a month to present a plan to the government to regulators about what they're going to do. A plan, during that time, by the way, the government has sort of laid down the law and said we want to make sure that your management and your boards have the expertise and the leadership to get through this. So that's kind of a shot across the bow from regulators that, you know, they might have to change some CEOs and the like.

After that month, and there's five more months altogether, six months to actually raise the money, how would they raise the money? There are some different things they can do.

They can sell their assets. Some of them have already started to do that. They can raise money from investors. Some have already started to do that too. And then last case scenario, they turn to the government.

Is there more money? Carol and Kiran, yes. There's $110 billion more in the TARP, that bank bailout. And also remember that there could be some money coming in. In fact in weeks, there could be money being turned in, returned from some of these banks, that bailout money. And then that would be available, of course, for other banks if they need it in the future.

COSTELLO: Well, I'll keep all of my fingers and toes crossed. We'll wait for more information.

ROMANS: And keep using your ATM card because it still works, Carol. You can just keep spending. Keep the economy going.

COSTELLO: If I had any money in there, I'd use it more.

Thanks, Christine.

ROMANS: You're welcome.

CHETRY: Well, we're also following developing political news. President Obama is lowering the budget ax, this morning, rolling out plans that could shave billions from the budget by tearing down or eliminating 121 government programs. Already, though, some are saying it may not be enough.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is the only reporter live at the White House this early.

And, Suzanne, so what's the bottom line on this cost cutting?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Kiran, President Obama had promised that he was actually going to go line-by- line with his budget, that he'd be responsible with taxpayer dollars. So here's how it's all breaking down.

Senior administration officials giving us a sense of what they are looking at, $17 billion in cuts for next year. Half of that out of defense, half of that not out of defense. Obviously, taking a look at some programs that administration officials say do not work very well and could be eliminated.

We're talking about 121 different government programs. One of them a long-range navigation system, a radio system that has been replaced essentially by GPS, a savings of $35 million. They say they want to cut out the budget.

Another program in the tune of $66 million that is the Even Start Program for kids. It's a literacy program for children and for their parents. But senior administration officials say a lot of the goals, the benchmarks, they have not been met. That it's not an effective program. There are other better programs like Head Start that work. And so they believe they can eliminate that.

Obviously, Kiran, very controversial some of these measures here. The Even Start Program, Democrats really want to hold on to that. It's something that President Bush has been trying to eliminate for years. They've managed to reduce it. Now, President Obama really coming down hard with the ax saying we want to get rid of it completely, Kiran.

CHETRY: I remember him saying a few months back that, you know, he's going to take a hard look at these programs and if they're not working, they're going to be cut. But $17 billion, even though it seems like a lot and there are programs that people are very attached to, it's really still a fraction of the president's $3.4 trillion budget. Is the White House addressing that angle?

MALVEAUX: You know, you're right. It's absolutely very minuscule when you look at the big numbers here.

Senior administration officials are saying, look, you know, this is just the beginning of the process. They also say what is not taken into account here is all the savings that they believe that they are going to have from the changes and the health care system when it comes to Medicare and Medicaid. They believe about $300 billion in savings, so take that into account.

But make no mistake, this is going to be very controversial. There are a lot of lawmakers on the Republican side. We've already heard from some who say the cuts are not deep enough. On the Democratic side, they say, look, you know, what are you doing with this education program? This is something you've been trying to hold on to for years.

This is going to be a very sell on both sides, Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Suzanne Malveaux for us at the White House. Thanks.

COSTELLO: Also making news this morning, same-sex marriage is now legal in the state of Maine. Maine's governor who had earlier opposed the measure signed the bill after it was passed decisively by the state legislature. Massachusetts, Connecticut and Iowa currently allow same-sex marriages. Vermont passed a law making gay and lesbian marriages legal. That bill takes effect in September.

A new study suggests teenagers develop better driving habits when they think their parents are keeping an eye on them. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety finds equipping cars with in-vehicle monitoring devices can help reduce the risk kids often take. The monitors make beeping sounds when the teens drive too fast, break too sharply, or fail to buckle up. And the information is posted on a secure Web site so parents can review.

You like that, don't you?

CHETRY: Can't wait.

COSTELLO: And Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Afghanistan this morning is fighting the Taliban there, quickly becomes America's number one foreign policy challenge. CNN is traveling with the defense secretary and he's getting a sober assessment of the fight ahead.

It's ten minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": The government is now recommending that schools stay open even if they have a confirmed case of swine flu. I love it. One week of swine flu has gone from "the end of the world" to "not as bad as snow." What happened? We were freaking out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, late night having a little bit of fun with the swine flu. Washington is still taking it seriously as we fast forward through the stories we'll be watching on CNN. At 10:00 a.m. Eastern, the House Committee on education and labor will be holding a meeting to ensure that schools and workplaces are prepared for the H1N1 virus.

We'll also get the latest news on unemployment this morning. That's coming out at 8:30 Eastern. The Labor Department is releasing its weekly job report on first-time jobless claims. The pace of job losses is exactly been slowing, but a record number of people are now still getting unemployment benefits.

Also at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet with Russian foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov. This is their second major meeting since ice breaking talks took place in Geneva back in March when they symbolically pressed the reset button turning the page on relations under the former administration - Carol.

COSTELLO: And we're following developing news right now. Defense Secretary Robert Gates saying this morning there are no plans to deploy U.S. troops to Pakistan. He made the comments while meeting with troops in Afghanistan. The warzone about to get more U.S. firepower to keep it from slipping into terrorists' hands.

CNN's Chris Lawrence is traveling with Secretary Gates and spoke to him about the challenges facing U.S. troops in the future.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I spoke with the defense secretary one-on-one just before we arrived here in Kabul. And he was very blunt about the fight ahead.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Taliban leadership has the momentum here in Afghanistan. A position of strength that makes reconciliation with the Afghan government all but possible.

ROBERT GATES, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Until that momentum changes, I think it will be difficult.

LAWRENCE: Gates says the U.S. will still encourage negotiations with younger Taliban who are fighting for the money. And he wasn't surprised when I told him the Taliban spokesman told CNN they will send suicide bombers to disrupt upcoming elections and won't negotiate until American troops leave the country.

GATES: He's leading this insurgency. He's not going to sort of throw down and say well, you know, we're ready to negotiate. We're about done here, whatever. No, I think we have a tough fight ahead of us.

LAWRENCE: Gates is here ahead of 20,000 American troops who mostly fight in southern Afghanistan with the Taliban are entrenched.

GATES: Sad to say, I expect that with the rising level of our activity and operations, there probably will be higher casualties. LAWRENCE: Privately, Pakistani officials have expressed concern to the U.S. that increased fighting in southern Afghanistan will only push the Taliban back to the Pakistani side.

GATES: Well, I think it's just the reality that there are extremists on both sides of that border.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: But the top commander in Afghanistan told me, he sees mostly foreign fighters crossing the border. General David McKiernan says most of the Taliban that would run back to Pakistan came from that area in the first place.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, Kabul.

CHETRY: All right. Chris, thanks so much. And speaking of Pakistan, the president accused this morning of murder by Benazir Bhutto's niece. Does she have any proof? We're going to ask her about that in her stern warning for President Obama?

And just say no to sex. That's the message that teen mom Bristol Palin has for other teenagers. We're going to look at how her new public message of abstinence is being received.

It's 16 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Sarah Palin's 18-year-old daughter Bristol was telling teenagers that abstinence is the only way to prevent pregnancy. Bristol Palin is a teen mother herself, as you know, and her message has some of our CNN iReporters sounding off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID SEAMAN, CNN IREPORTER: I find it more than a little bit ironic that Bristol Palin of all people is going around today advocating abstinence education. Bristol, you're an example of why abstinence doesn't work. OK? With all due respect, for you to be doing this makes no sense at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: That's one of our iReporters' opinion.

Bristol Palin, though, is undeterred taking part at a national campaign to prevent teen pregnancy. Deborah Feyerick is following that for us.

Good morning.

You know, there are others who say she's the perfect person to talk about it because she lived it and now she's saying don't make the same mistake I did. DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely. And what she's doing is she's putting the focus not necessarily on sex, but on the fact that being a mom is really, really, really hard. And that when you're a teenager, it means delaying your dreams, not hanging out with your friends, putting your baby first. That's really the message she's trying to teach kids as well.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK (voice-over): Swarmed by photographers, 18-year-old Bristol Palin walked the receiving line in her new role, "The Ambassador to Abstinence." Saying her message to teens is...

BRISTOL PALIN, TEEN AMBASSADOR, CANDIE'S FEN.: Teens should just wait to have sex.

FEYERICK: The Alaska governor's daughter, who gave birth to son, Tripp, in December, is taking part in a national campaign to prevent teen pregnancy.

PALIN: Girls now, they think that having a baby is like having an accessory on their hip. And they don't realize that it's such a huge responsibility and it's such just hard work.

FEYERICK: In February, during a FOX interview, Palin's message on abstinence didn't seem so clear cut.

PALIN: Everyone should be abstinent whatever, but it's not realistic at all.

FEYERICK: She now says her comment was taken out of context and that it's the only way to prevent pregnancy. Her ex-fiance, Levi Johnston, with whom she has a strained relationship, had this take speaking on a CBS early show.

LEVI JOHNSTON, FATHER OF BRISTOL'S BABY: I'm telling young kids you can't have sex it's not going to work. It's not realistic.

FEYERICK: In 2006, a total of 435,000 children were born to mothers 15 to 19 years old, slightly higher than the previous year. Thousands more teenage girls chose abortion.

ANN SHOKET, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "SEVENTEEN": Bristol gives a very public face to a real private struggle that 750,000 teenage girls go through every year. It is a tremendous turmoil in young lives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, ADVERTISEMENT)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is nothing to worry about.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing to worry about, huh?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: The campaign sponsored by shoemaker Candie's debuted on what's being billed as National Teen Pregnancy Awareness Day. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, ADVERTISEMENT)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Welcome to reality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Sitting next to Palin at a panel in Manhattan was actress Hayden Panettiere with a somewhat different message about sex.

HAYDEN PANETTIERE, ACTRESS: There's nothing wrong with it. It's human nature. People do it. As long as you're educated, as long as you're safe and you are smart about it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Now Candied says Bristol Palin is not a paid spokesperson, but they do cover her expenses and compensate her for taking part in the campaign. Whether there will be more appearances, that's for you to determine. But Candie's is hoping that she will play an active role.

CHETRY: All right. Very, very interesting that this is all thrust into the spotlight now, you know.

FEYERICK: And you know Candies' Foundation also says that they considered Jamie Lynn Spears as a spokesperson as well for this.

COSTELLO: She declined?

FEYERICK: We're not sure she considered it, but her sister takes part in the ad. So kind of interesting.

COSTELLO: Well, you were telling me before, there was so much press at this Bristol Palin event, it was like, you know, a red carpet event.

FEYERICK: Overwhelming. And I've been to red carpet events and there was more press at this. It was astonishing, astonishing. So that's part of why she's there.

CHETRY: Wow. All right. Deb, thanks.

COSTELLO: Let peace (INAUDIBLE) the Obama administration is depending on to keep the Taliban from tightening its grip on Pakistan. But this morning, Pakistan's president is accused of murder by his own niece. We'll ask her for the proof and why she's sending a stern warning to the White House today.

And new information on the low-flying presidential plane that buzzed Manhattan and terrified New Yorkers. It also continues to be a big topic of conversation on our show hotline, 877-MY-AMFIX. Here's some of what you're seeing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALLER (via telephone): The man responsible for allowing this to happen should have to pay for that $300,000 boo-boo.

CALLER (via telephone): I think we should take those photos from $390,000 flyover, put them on some t-shirts, sell them, let the proceeds pay for some drones to help fight that war in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

This morning we're learning of more banks that reportedly did not fare so well in those stress tests ordered by the government. We won't get the official word for a few more hours, but sources say nearly a dozen of the biggest banks are being told to raise more capital. So just how concerned should you be?

Joining me is now Elizabeth Warren. She's the chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel for the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Thank you so much for joining us.

ELIZABETH WARREN, CHAIR, CONGRESSIONAL OVERSIGHT PANEL: It's good to be here.

COSTELLO: OK, so this is the most non-secret report ever. I mean, so much information has already been leaked out. Was there a purpose to the leak? Because you know, they can control those things.

WARREN: Well, you know, there are a lot of people who had this information. And, of course, there are people who'd like to be able to tell the story at least a little bit their way, however the numbers are coming out. So I don't think the leaks are a surprise.

COSTELLO: OK. So, according to the leaks, these banks need more capital or need to raise more capital, I should say. Bank of America, Wells Fargo, GMAC, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Regions Financial Corporation and State Street Corporation. So they need to raise more capital in case the recession worsens. What does that tell us about the economy?

WARREN: Well, obviously, that's a big list. I think what it tells us is that we are at a real moment in treasury's policymaking, kind of pushing a lot of chips on the table at once.

And here's what it's about, where they've done this stress test. If the stress test is tough and if they're really transparent about what they've got here, treasury has a moment to be strong, to be forceful. To say, OK, here are the numbers, let's get some real credibility behind the system. These are the ones we're going to have to deal with. These are doing OK. And we have a clear plan that has lots of accountability in it to deal with these particular financial institutions. And that means the banking system is really on the road to being...

COSTELLO: OK. So part of their plan, let's take Bank of America, which it supposedly needs what, $35 billion?

WARREN: That's a leak (ph).

COSTELLO: According to the leaks. And regulators are giving Bank of America - what? - a month to figure out how to raise that capital and five months to put a plan into place. But what if it can't put a plan into place? What happens then? Does Bank of America go to the taxpayers again and say give me more, give me more?

WARREN: Well, you know, that's what I said. This is actually - think about it as the moment for the banks. This is really the moment for treasury because we've gone through two phases already.

The first phase, Secretary Paulson said $350 billion, here, take it. No strings attached.

The second phase, Secretary Geithner came in and he said, oh, wait a minute. We're going to have start putting some restrictions. We're going to do different programs that are directed in different ways. One for dealing with the mortgage foreclosures. Now, he's in front of it. And he's going to have to figure out the third phase.

When you have clearly identified, publicly identified the problem, how exactly is he going to respond to this? Are we really going to see a new approach here?

COSTELLO: OK. So, bottom line, should I feel - should I, as a taxpayer, feel good about this?

WARREN: You know, I'll tell you what, I feel better about it. I feel better. I hate to say it through leaks, but it looks like we're going to have much more transparency in this system if we keep moving in the direction of knowing more about what's going on. What we need next is some accountability and some clarity in the government's response.

COSTELLO: That's a tall order.

Elizabeth Warren, thank you so much for being with us this morning. We appreciate it.

WARREN: All right.

CHETRY: It's coming up right now on 30 minutes past the hour. We check our top stories this morning.

An about face by the White House over last week's controversial photo-op in New York City, involving one of the president's planes. Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said a photo will be released along with details of an internal interview. The White House was originally not planning to release pictures from last week's event which cost nearly $329,000.

Well, the Fed is terminating a pilot program to detect a biological attack in a New York City subway. "The Washington Post" reporting that the sensors had technical problems. They were installed back in 2007 to check the air hourly for harmful bacteria and viruses. Officials, though, say that in the past three to four months, the sensors started to malfunction. An alternative system was expected to be put into place by next year. That has now been delayed until 2012.

With a controversial talk radio host who has infuriated many with some of his outrageous comments, now Michael Savage is the one who's incensed. He was just put on the banned from Britain list. He's now talking exclusively to AMERICAN MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SAVAGE, CONSERVATIVE RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I was astounded when I saw this. I thought it was some bizarre joke. I said this can't be real. She lumped me in with known murderers and terrorists. People who have been in prison for killing people.

I am a talk show host and an author. I have a family. And when I leave the Earth, I want to leave my name in good standing. In the way it really is. My PhD is from Berkley. I did great research, I've written great books. I'm a family man. I love my country. And I want to clear my name. I want my name off that list, and I want a letter of apology from this Jacqui Smith.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, stick around. My full interview with Michael Savage is coming up in our next hour at 7:20 Eastern.

He's the man the Obama administration is depending on to keep the Taliban from tightening its grip on Pakistan. Now Pakistan's president is being accused of murder by his own niece. She claims that her uncle Asif Ali Zardari orchestrated her father's death and she is fighting to reveal the truth surrounding his murder.

Fatima Bhutto is the niece of slain Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto who was married to Zardari. She's also a columnist for the Dailybeast.com. And she joins us on the phone now from Karachi.

Fatima, thanks for being with us this morning.

FATIMA BHUTTO, NIECE OF BENAZIR BHUTTO (via telephone): Thank you for having me.

CHETRY: So you say that Pakistani President Zardari conspired to kill your father, and he was indicted for this. But in October of 2007, all of those charges were dropped by then President Pervez Musharraf. You still believe that your uncle did this.

Why?

BHUTTO: When you look at the evidence, my father was an elected member of parliament and he was known for speaking out against Asif Zardari and his wife, Benazir Bhutto's immense corruption, which at the time was rumored to be somewhere in the realm of $2 billion to $3 billion stolen from the state. And the trial was proceeding - it's a trial that Asif Zardari had tried continually to circumstance by not appearing before the judge, by - by doing - to deal with the dictators, General Musharraf, which cleared his name. In the middle of the proceeding, and it's not - it's not just my father's case. At the time that this deal was made with General Pervez Musharraf, Asif Zardari was standing in trial in four murder cases dealing with the deaths of 11 people, including a high-court judge, including known bureaucrats and a philanthropist. So this is a man with a record.

And his wife, government at the time, was known actually for empowering the state agencies and security agencies and the police force to attack residents, to attack opposition members. And they killed him in what we know here as police encounter killings of extrajudicial murders.

CHETRY: These are some very strong claims that you're making against your uncle and the sitting, you know, head of state in Pakistan.

Are you - you're in Karachi right now. Do you fear for your open safety? For your own life?

BHUTTO: Well, I think as I said on the piece that was up on the Daily Beast, I think that it's not just me that fears for their life as long as this man is president. I think a great number of Pakistanis are worried about their safety, about their ability to live peacefully with the advent of this Pakistani Taliban. That he's not even empowered by this government in name and position of the sharia law. And the amount - the sorted amount of money that this government is receiving, not only from Barack Obama's administration, essentially carrying on George Bush's policy in Pakistan, but from the EU, from 10 Downing Street, and from the IMS.

CHETRY: You know, you recently wrote in the year that Zardari has been president, Pakistan has become a third front in the war on terror. We are not safer. Our neighbors are not safer. And we've not made any strides towards fighting fundamentalism.

And President Obama met with President Zardari in Washington this week, and basically said we support you.

So do you think that's a mistake?

BHUTTO: It's an absolute mistake.

And you know, the time that Asif Zardari has been president, under a year, we've not only managed to grow an indigenous Taliban that didn't exist before, but the government essentially capitulated to this Taliban force, imposed sharia law in their region. We've seen now YouTube videos coming out of the Swat Valley that includes sluggings of young girls, you know, women being put to death, in the same way that we saw happening in Afghanistan in the late 90s. You know...

(CROSSTALK) CHETRY: All right. Sorry, we're having a little bit of delay back and forth.

BHUTTO: ... and the number is meant to rise to two million in the next few days.

CHETRY: Yes. All of these things that you talked about are certainly troubling. So what should the U.S. do if it's not to try to support this regime?

BHUTTO: Well, the U.S. has an uncomfortable history of pumping up dubious leader across the world. And this man - his record is not only one of financial graft in the billions. I think it would be - it would be positively foolish to entrust him with more money, when before he became president he was fighting corruption cases of England, Switzerland and Spain, as well as in Pakistan. To fund this government, essentially the American administration, is pumping up a compliant ruler, but not a democratic one.

Asif Zardari is not elected. He did not stand for elections in 2008. He does not have a constituency. And the choices that he made, if Pakistan is going to fight terrorism, which is absolutely in our interest, and if Pakistan is going to fight fundamentalism, it's got to do so empowered by the people. And the people of this country have not - have chosen this government. They do not have a say in this government and they don't have any agencies.

CHETRY: Fatima Bhutto, we want to thank you for joining us this morning on the phone from Karachi.

And for people who want to read more about this, CNN.com/AMFix. You can check out the link to her article.

Thanks so much for joining us this morning.

COSTELLO: This morning, wildfires raging on the hillsides of southern California. Firefighters trying to get the upper hand as flames race through one home after another. We'll check in with Rob Marciano to see if conditions for firefighters can improve today.

You know them, you don't love them. And it seems you cannot escape all of those ads for Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs.

There, I said it, and it was not nice. Anyway, we're going to tell you what a Virginia congressman wants to do about it.

It's 37 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We're following a developing story. A state of emergency right now in southern California. Wildfires burning out of control. A number of very expensive homes in Santa Barbara County reduced to ashes. Thirteen thousand people evacuated as the winds continue to stoke the flames. So, when will those winds die down?

CNN's Rob Marciano live in the Extreme Weather Center.

Word?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The word is that - basically, the pattern, Carol, is such that the winds aren't going to die down. Unfortunately, I don't see a huge change right through Friday. And the deal with this is that it's pretty much secluded to the Santa Barbara area. You kind of see the current wind speeds here looking at north-northeast winds at about 15 miles per hour.

Oxford, less than that, but Los Angeles, Santa Ana, pretty much calm winds. The pressure grading in such where with the winds will be shooting down these canyons anywhere from 10 to 20, and sometimes 30 or more miles per hour, not only today but tonight. And I don't see much of a pattern shift until at least through tomorrow night.

So the firefighters, certainly, are going to have their hands full for sure. So not the best of scenarios there. No rain in sight certainly in the low levels of humidity and the winds will be cranking up, I think, a little bit later on today.

All right. The rainfall is going to continue across parts of the East Coast. We do have some storm damage from parts of Alabama and Arkansas yesterday and some rainfall across parts of the northeast right now.

So this is going to - this is going to give us some flight delays. I believe that Boston, New York, Philly, D.C., you're going to see that.

And then the overall pattern, guys, keeps it wet on the East Coast, and then keeps it hot and dry out west, and especially in that area right where those fires are in Santa Barbara. The winds are going to continue to be north-easterly anywhere from 10 to at times 30 miles an hour. So, firefighters will have their hands full, I think, at least through tomorrow.

Back over to you.

CHETRY: That's a cruel trick of Mother Nature because if you could just swap that, everybody will be happy. They need the rain out west and we need a little bit of sun here.

COSTELLO: Yes. When will the sun shine again on the East Coast? Because, seriously, it has been raining in parts of the northeast for two weeks straight.

MARCIANO: I know, I know. It will - the sun will come out - tomorrow? Maybe.

COSTELLO: Give us some sun, Rob.

The sun will come out tomorrow. CHETRY: There you go. Thanks, Annie. We appreciate it.

MARCIANO: All right, guys.

CHETRY: You know, ads for Viagra. You see them all the time on TV. One lawmaker now wants to ban them. You're going to hear both sides of the debate.

It's 43 minutes after the hour.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: From the silver screen to the jet stream in this week's "Road Warriors."

BRIAN WHITE, ACTOR: Hey, my name is Brian White and I'm an actor. I travel about 150 days at each and every year.

I've been very blessed this year. And, of course, "Fighting" is in theaters now.

I do a lot of my own stunt work. He's supposed to be the bad guy. He's supposed to be able to take it.

You know, when I come home at night, bath salts. I can't go anywhere without the bath salts.

You know, I'm always trying to ask could they put me somewhere that has a kitchen because I like to take everything fresh, to give myself the vitamins and nutrients and minerals that I need to survive some of these more challenging physical days on set.

Emerald (ph), watch out, because your boy B. White is coming.

Bring one week's worth of clothes. It's about conserving space. It's about - you know, I stick my socks and my underwear inside my shoes so that they lay flat on the bottom.

I got my lady right there. She got me all packed up, but she tells me she misses me so I am on the way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: So wrong on so many levels - the choice of songs which you'll understand in just a minute.

CHETRY: Yes. But they have nothing to do with the stories. It's just, you know, it's a - I think a random selection.

COSTELLO: Yes, sure.

CHETRY: All right. Well, welcome back.

Do you ever catch yourself humming that "Viva Viagra" theme? Well, it seems like you just can't escape this TV ad for erectile dysfunction, and you're not alone. Virginia Congressman Jim Moran has reintroduced a bill to ban the ads between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., hours when kids are presumably watching television.

Carol has the story for us this morning.

COSTELLO: You know, I talked to Congressman Moran. The first thing he said, he said, I know there are more important things going on in the country, but - you know, he isn't going to save the world. But these ads, he says, are intrusive and it's time they're regulated.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice over): Surely, you've seen them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, VIAGRA ADVERTISEMENT)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Levitra works fast. And it gives him the quality response that he wants.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The sultry commercials that regaled viewers with a satisfying end to erectile dysfunction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, VIAGRA ADVERTISEMENT)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that guy, he is back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The ads run so often between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m., Virginia Congressman Jim Moran has had it up to here.

REP. JIM MORAN (D), VIRGINIA: Especially a sporting event, if you're sitting down with your kids and your grand kids, invariably they're going to ask you, you know, what is ED, why do you have to go to the doctor if you last longer than four hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, VIAGRA ADVERTISEMENT)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the rare case an erection lasts for more than four hours, seek immediate medical attention.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Frustrated, Moran has introduced House Bill 2175. If passed, it would ban any commercial mentioning of erectile dysfunction from being broadcast on any day between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m.

Some people are all for it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These ads should be banned.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think that's a great idea.

COSTELLO: And some, not so much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's clearly unconstitutional.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My opinion is you ought to be able to run them 24 hours a day.

COSTELLO: It's not like ED has never been mentioned on television before. Remember Senator Bob Dole?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, ADVERTISEMENT)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like erectile dysfunction, ED.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That ran back in 1999. But Moran says ED commercials have gotten much more sexually explicit. In fact, he says, other commercials that run during primetime are inappropriate, too.

MORAN: I don't want to censor the airways. I just want to work with these folks and ask them to look at the impact upon young kids especially if it was their child or grandchild.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: I did call the FCC and people do complain about commercials and the FCC has the power to fine networks for broadcasting indecent content, even if it's in a commercial. But nobody we spoke with at the FCC can actually remember instituting any fine like that.

As for what Pfizer's says about its Cialis and Viagra commercials, it says and I quote, "In line with our policies and the policies of our industry, Viagra advertising is aired in shows most likely to be reached - most likely to reach men suffering from erectile dysfunction. ED can be a signal for other serious medical issues including high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease."

And I guess that only makes sense because, you know, these ads air a lot during sporting events. That's when men watch. And that's these drugs are...

CHETRY: Right. But then the congressman said you're watching with your kids and your grandkids, what do you do? But there are some other ads that are out there now for other products and I just - I mean - really sad.

COSTELLO: And Congressman Moran agrees with that because I asked him specifically about Victoria's Secret. And, you know, he laughed at first, then he goes, but you know, you have a point. Maybe they should just temper their ads and realize when these ads are playing and who's watching them.

CHETRY: How do you explain to the kids when they say, what do you mean it's four hours - I mean, some of that stuff, you just don't want to talk about, you want to watch the game.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Carol.

Well, after Elizabeth Edwards' candid interview about her husband's infidelity, there are some new questions about the way that Josh Edwards tried to manage the crisis. Did it backfire?

Also, it's not a failure until the cat plays them. A keyboard- playing cat goes viral. A look at the new Internet sensation.

Fifty-one minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

If sea lion tickles the ivories, not to mention some funny bones. The keyboard cat has really become an Internet sensation. The newest viral video out there that people love to share.

Here's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This kind of keyboard meets this kind of keyboard...

MOOS: ...to produce the latest Web sensation. The keyboard cat has become a recurring theme...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do it right.

MOOS: ...tagged onto the end of some of the web's classic videos.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE LANGUAGE) sucks.

MOOS: Be it Bill O'Reilly's rant or a break dancer who kicks a kid...

(VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: ...or the TV salesman whose ladder collapses.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So really, do you think...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, God.

Harold, are you OK?

(VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: The videos tend to be captioned "play 'em off, keyboard cat." (on camera): How's the cat?

CHARLIE SCHMIDT, OWNER, "KEYBOARD CAT": The cat, actually, unfortunately, is dead.

MOOS (voice-over): Charlie Schmidt is an artist and inventor from Spokane, Washington. He videotaped his cat, Fatso, 20 years ago. Suddenly, people are taking his cat video and adding it to other videos.

(VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Tagging videos with the keyboard cat somehow highlights their absurdity.

(VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you want to sit down?

MOOS: For instance, a guest fainting on the air.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll be back. We'll be back in just a second.

MOOS: Charlie thinks keyboard cat works especially well with news video.

SCHMIDT: That's what the news is. It's sort of a frame for weird behavior.

MOOS: Like a car chase.

(VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Keyboard cat could replace news anchors.

SCHMIDT: We don't need these guys, necessarily. Don't tell Wolf I said that, though.

(VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: We added the cat to this one ourselves.

(on camera): In case you're wondering how he did it, Charlie dressed his cat Fatso in an infant t-shirt and manipulated the cat's paws with his own hands under the t-shirt.

(voice-over): Actually, there's a cat that really does play the piano - sort of.

(VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: But the keyboard cat isn't really playing.

Who says cats and dogs don't get along?

(VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: It's easy to make CNN keyboard cat moments.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, nice melons behind you there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ooh.

(VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Thank you. You were in - oh, my God.

(VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: We asked Charlie for his favorite keyboard cat video.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: South Africa and the Iraq - everywhere like such as.

(VIDEO CLIP)

MOOS: Sometimes the cat should get your tongue.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Why does it make us giggle so much?

It really does.

It's hilarious.

COSTELLO: Just say the cat is really (INAUDIBLE).

CHETRY: Well, he had a good long life. Some 20 years ago.

COSTELLO: Think how much money that guy could make on the cat if the cat was still alive.

All right. On to other topics now.

Controversial talk show host Michael Savage just put on the UK's do not enter list along with Muslim extremist and Nazi skin heads. He's ban from Britain, but not AMERICAN MORNING.

His exclusive interview is coming up.

Fifty-six minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Let's go there right now. That's Daytona Beach. And look how nice the sunrise is there. 70 degrees. Later, it's going to be 94.

CHETRY: And there's your sunshine you were asking for. That's where you've got to go.

COSTELLO: Some of the top videos right now on cnn.com.

Spring is well underway and with that comes college spring break. And this woman was definitely feeling the groove. Find out how not to dance when you go on spring break by checking out the offbeat section of CNN.com.

CHETRY: The offbeat section. I love it.

She's on the beat.

COSTELLO: She's sort of like Elaine on "Seinfeld."

CHETRY: I know. Goodness gracious.

COSTELLO: Also, what's on...

CHETRY: Let's cut before we had an accident - we have an accident here.

COSTELLO: Yes, becoming a little nauseated by that. Anyway, it was almost the one that got away.

But Bucky Dennis of Port Charlotte, Florida, did not give up. And after a two-hour fight, he reeled in this monster, a 13-foot hammerhead shark.

It could be a world record, Kiran. The shark weighs in at a whopping 1,000 pounds.

CHETRY: I hope they eat it.

All that works.

COSTELLO: Good Mako shark.

And imagine sending your child to a day care center with all of this just lying around in the basement. An arsenal of automatic weapons, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, even a bulletproof vest all found at this Long Island day care center.

You can't make this stuff up. The owner was indicted on felony weapons charges. And those are some of the most popular videos on CNN.com.