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American Morning

Search for Missing Air France Jet Ongoing; History of Abortion Doctor's Killer Shows Mission to Kill; General Motor's Next Step After Bankruptcy; Recession Hits Working Moms; Obama Heads to the Middle East to Bring Message to the Arab World

Aired June 02, 2009 - 07:00   ET

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


KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome once again. We're coming up on one minute before 7:00 here in New York. It's Tuesday, June 2nd. I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, I'm John Roberts.

We're following several developing stories this morning. We'll be breaking them all down for you in the next 15 minutes here.

This morning an urgent search under way for a Paris-bound Air France jet that vanished while flying in the thunderstorms over the Atlantic Ocean. Right now, there are new clues into where the flight with 228 people may have gone down.

A murder suspect's chilling past. New details about the man charged with gunning down a Kansas abortion doctor. He may have had an eye-for-an-eye attitude toward those doctors performing abortions. We're live in Wichita with the developing story this morning.

And it's the morning after for General Motors. The bankrupt automaker now beginning the painful process of cutting 1/3 of its hourly workforce and 40 percent of its dealerships. In 10 minutes' time, the company's chief financial officer joins us here live. We'll ask Ray Young why he says this dark chapter in GM's history is a, quote, "Once in a lifetime opportunity."

We begin with a developing story. Right now, American spy satellites are searching for Air France Flight 4447 more than 24 hours after air traffic controllers lost contact with the aircraft high above the Atlantic Ocean. There are still no sign of the plane, no record, not even a bleep on the radar. Certainly no information from the train responders and the so called Black Boxes, the flight recorder and the cockpit voice data recorder.

All 228 people onboard, including two Americans are feared dead. But this morning, new clues may offer insight into where the plane went down.

CNN's Paula Newton is live for us in Paris this morning. What are we learning today, Paula?

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And, John, those new clues that you're talking about, perhaps -- perhaps burning wreckage that was spotted from the pilots, this has become crucial in trying to get this investigation jumpstarted.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON (voice-over): For more than a day now, planes and ships from Brazil, France, and parts of Africa have been searching for Flight 447 and still nothing. The commercial pilot flying over the area has offered new clues, possibly spotting burning wreckage, and that could at least narrow the search.

LT. COLONEL JORGE AMARAL, BRAZILIAN AIR FORCE SPOKESPERSON (through translator): A TAM Airlines flight saw many orange points in the ocean.

NEWTON: Across two continents and beyond now, relatives try to take in the grim details. As they were comforted by the French president in Paris, he offered little hope.

"I told them the truth," he said, "that the prospect of finding survivors is quite low."

Luis Carlos Machado (ph) had a friend on the flight. He says he panicked the minute he checked his voice mail that they're stepping off another flight.

"I landed from Milan," he said, "and had three voice mails. The first saying a plane had crashed. The second saying no survivors, and the third saying my friend was on the flight."

Stories of those who are now feared lost are starting to emerge. Although majority were Brazilian or French, there were more than two dozen nationalities on the flight, including an American, Devon Energy employee Michael Harris and his wife, Ann.

While the starting point in this investigation has been thunderstorms in the area and the violent turbulence that seems to have hit the Airbus 330, that alone could not explain the sudden plunge into the Atlantic. Experts say a controlled landing is possible but unlikely.

JOHN HANSMAN, AVIATION EXPERT: If you had engine failures and you ran the airplane out of gas and still had good control of the airplane, there's a reasonable chance you could land in the ocean although at night in, you know, in heavy seas, it's tough. So that would be a problem. But again, we don't know exactly what happened to the airplane. It appears that it was relatively quick.

NEWTON: Quick and in a single word used over and over now, catastrophic. Piecing together what happened to Flight 447 will now be a painstaking task as the search and recovery continue.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: French government officials here, John, speaking this morning really haven't outlined a much more hopeful prospect even of finding the airplane. And that is really starting to sink in here with friends and relatives -- John. ROBERTS: Yes. The area where it went down, Paula, the water is extraordinarily deep, 9,000 to 15,000 feet, making recovery efforts or even finding it very, very difficult.

Paula Newton for us this morning in France. Paula, thanks so much.

Air France says it's possible the plane was hit by lightning but these jets are designed to withstand a lightning strike. What we do know whatever happened to the aircraft apparently happened very quickly.

Earlier, I spoke with commercial pilot John Lucich about reports that there may have been a de-pressurization of the airplane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Let me zero in on this decompression idea. Would that suggest that an electrical fault in the pressurization system or might it suggest a breach in the air frame?

JOHN LUCICH, LICENSED COMMERCIAL PILOT: It could suggest both. And -- but whatever happened I believe happened catastrophically very, very quickly. A lot of the experts are saying the same thing because these pilots did not have a chance to radio anything back to anybody and there was instant loss of communication which is typically not what goes on in a storm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Lucich went on to say that there is no doubt in his mind that this plane was not brought down by a lightning strike -- Kiran.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we're learning more this morning about the man suspected of killing Kansas abortion doctor, George Tiller. 51-year-old Scott Roeder is scheduled to make his first court appearance today in Wichita. Authorities say he gunned down Dr. Tiller at church Sunday. Roeder has a history of protesting at abortion clinics. He also has a criminal past.

This morning we're live on the ground in Wichita following all of the developments. Our Ed Lavandera joins us there now -- Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran. Well, investigators here in Wichita and in Kansas City where Scott Roeder lived are working to piece together the pieces of his life that brought him to this point. But early indications based on interviews with family members and people who knew Scott Roeder say that Dr. Tiller had been in his sights for quite sometime.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please get some information.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): For years, Roeder was a regular at abortion protests like this one. And CNN has learned that the day before Dr. Tiller was killed, a worker at a clinic in Kansas City says Roeder was chased off after trying to glue (ph) the lock shut.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He hit us in 2000, the same thing. He's a regular at our clinic. I know him by face.

LAVANDERA: It's a cause that his ex-wife who didn't want to show her face says Roeder had grown obsessed with.

LINDSEY ROEDER, ROEDER'S EX-WIFE: He was determined that if the abortion doctor killed the baby, then he didn't have any right to live either. It was justifiable.

LAVANDERA: She says he had made plans before. Police arrested Roeder in 1996 after finding explosives in his car. His ex-wife says he intended to blow up an abortion clinic.

At the time, police said he also had links to the Freemen, an anti-government group out of Montana. At his sentencing, the judge called him a threat to the community and scolded him for trying to live by his own laws.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Citizens must conform their conduct to what's been written in the law, not what freedoms they choose for themselves.

LAVANDERA: Roeder spent 16 months in prison and eight months on probation before the conviction was thrown out on appeal. Roeder's family says he has a long history of mental illness and his ex-wife described him as self-righteous and capable of murder.

ROEDER: I think I knew that if he snapped, if he went that far, that he could actually do it.

LAVANDERA: She described a man who put his beliefs above all else, even once spending family money on a gun instead of heart medicine for her. An old landlord said Roeder's view seemed extreme.

BRANDON DOCKINS, ROEDER'S FORMER LANDLORD: I've been exposed to a lot of different, you know, religions but I'd never been exposed to the point of view that was so full of hate.

LAVANDERA: Two years ago someone using Roeder's name posted a threatening message on the Web site of the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue. It said, "Bless everyone for attending and praying to bring justice to Tiller and the closing of the death camp," he wrote. And he also asked, "Sometime soon, would it be feasible to organize as many people as possible to attend Tiller's church (inside, not just outside)?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: Now, Kiran, formal charges still haven't been filed against Scott Roeder. That could happen later today when he's scheduled to make his first court appearance here in Wichita. But as of now, it appears he could be facing charges of murder and aggravated assault -- Kiran. CHETRY: All right. Ed Lavandera for us this morning. Thanks.

ROBERTS: Also new this morning, supporters of same-sex marriage got a real surprise yesterday finding an unlikely ally in former Vice President Dick Cheney. Speaking to the National Press Club, Cheney said he is in favor of gay marriage, but it should be an issue for the states.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Freedom means freedom for everyone. And as many of you know, one of my daughters is gay, and it's something that we've lived with for a long time in our family.

I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish. The question of whether or not there ought to be a federal statute that governs this, I don't support.

I do believe that historically the way marriage has been regulated is at the state level. This has always been a state issue and I think that's the way it ought to be handled today, that is on a state-by-state basis. Different states will make different decisions, but I don't have any problem with that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Well, Cheney's position on same-sex marriage would appear to put him to the left of President Obama who supports civil unions rather than marriage for gays and lesbians.

CHETRY: Interesting stuff.

ROBERTS: Also at odds with Miss California too. So --

CHETRY: That's right.

Well, sit with us. Coming back in just two minutes, we're going to be taking to GM finance chief Ray Young. After a $50 billion bailout, what is the future of this once mighty carmaker?

You've also asked some questions as well. We'll put those to him in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." GM's plunge into bankruptcy is viewed by many as a failure of historic proportions. But this morning, the automaker's chief financial officer says he views it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Joining us from New York now to discuss the timeline for getting out of bankruptcy and also what a new GM might look like when it emergences from Chapter 11 is the company's finance chief, Ray Young.

Thanks so much for being with us this morning. Good to talk to you.

RAY YOUNG, GM CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER: Good morning, Kiran. Thank you.

CHETRY: So under the restructuring plan, the government is going to give the company $30 billion additional in taxpayer money. It amounts to $50 billion so far. It's really the largest amount besides AIG doled out by the government. In a nutshell, can you explain what went so wrong for General Motors?

YOUNG: Kiran, we admit, there has been a errors in the past that we made at General Motors. We had a lot of extra excess costs, excess capacity over the years. We've got effectively a lot of benefit plans, define benefit obligations that have really hurt us in the balance sheet.

But going forward, Kiran, we're going to learn from our mistakes. And we've giving a once in a lifetime opportunity to restructure the balance sheet, to shed a lot of our extra capacity, extra costs, and move forward with a possible new General Motors that's going to be smaller but more focused with four core brands and with the cost structure that is very, very efficient.

CHETRY: Can you explain to the American public just how you're going to do that, how you're going to get back on track? And do you plan on being able to eventually return the billions in taxpayer money?

YOUNG: Well, clearly, with four core brands we're going to be very focused in terms of our product development and our marketing dollars. We're going to shed our extra, extra capacitor or excess capacity in order to bring down to breakeven level of our cost structure. But we're going to be very much focused as a product in customer-oriented company.

A lot of investments in this area in terms of advance technologies, our intent is to return this investment by the American taxpayers both in terms of the loan that they'll be providing to us as well as the shares that the American public will initially own in the new General Motors.

CHETRY: There has been a lot of criticism out there if you read the op-ed pages lately about whether or not GM is really changing its ways. One person, Paul Ingrassia, who's been covering Detroit for years wrote in "The Wall Street Journal" today, in fact.

"Neither billions in losses nor the brink of bankruptcy, it seems, have been enough to change many traditional ways of doing things at GM. Heaven only knows what will be enough. But with a company with a cautious, slow-moving management and a union committed to defending ridiculous work rules won't have a chance of succeeding."

Now how do you convince people who doubt GM's ability to compete and to get people to buy your cars in the future?

YOUNG: Well, if you take a look at the last 60 days after President Obama gave us the June 1st deadline, is an example of how fast the new General Motors could move. In the last 60 days, we negotiated a historic UAW labor contract. It gets to labor costs in the United States close to the transplant levels here in the United States.

We did the same thing up in Canada with the Canadian Auto Workers. We basically negotiated with the bondholders and worked with them and arrive at an arrangement that we could emerge from bankruptcy through the 363 sale process with their support. We negotiated an arrangement over in Europe in MOU with Mag (ph) in order to restructure the European business.

We are able to accomplish a lot in the last 60 days which is indicative of what the new General Motors is all about. We're going to move quickly. We're going to move fast, and we're going to take a lot of risks.

CHETRY: Speaking of risks, one of them could possibly be the Chevy Volt. This is the plug-in hybrid that you guys are touting.

Reportedly the retail price, $40,000. Now if you contrast that with the Prius, the Toyota Prius, that's selling for about 25 grand. And one "Washington Post" columnist said it's a lot to pay for incremental altruism. How do you stay competitive with a car like the Prius if your Volt is going to be several thousand dollars more?

YOUNG: Kiran, we haven't talked about the selling price of the Volt yet. What we're working on is we're still working -- further working on the battery technology to bring down the cost of the vehicle, going through the learning cycles.

We think the Volt is going to be a revolutionary vehicle. It's not a simple -- it's not a hybrid vehicle. It's an extended range electric vehicle.

We have a lot of confidence in this product, a lot of confidence in this technology. We actually think it's going to be revolutionary in both the U.S. and global markets.

CHETRY: All right. We've been getting a lot of e-mail from our viewers, especially via Twitter. And some of the things that they're concerned about is the pain being felt by a lot of these towns and cities where there were so many employees, these plant closures, people losing their jobs. When you start firing up these new cars, these new models, are you going to use these shuddered U.S. plants or are you going to continue to make a lot of the models overseas?

YOUNG: Well, right now, two-thirds of the vehicles that we sell in the United States are built in the United States. We made a commitment in the last UAW negotiations that we would actually reopen one of these stand-by or idle facilities here in the United States in order to build a small car for the United States.

So we have a commitment here to build in the United States. And going forward, we're going to actually see a new small car here. This is an example of our commitment to the United States, a commitment to America.

CHETRY: All right. And we just heard -- we just saw some information crossing the wire about GM announcing a preliminary agreement to sell Hummer to an undisclosed buyer. Do you have any details for us about the sale of Hummer?

YOUNG: Well, we've been negotiating with three potential buyers of Hummer, the Hummer brand and some of the Hummer assets. We've reached an MOU. We're actually very, very pleased with this arrangement because we will be able to continue the Hummer brand with this purchaser and also maintain production of Hummer here in the United States.

CHETRY: Will you tell us who? Will you tell us who bought it?

YOUNG: We're not disclosing the name of the purchaser at this point in time.

CHETRY: All right. Well, it's good to talk to you this morning, Ray Young, chief financial officer of General Motors. Good luck for sure. Thank you.

YOUNG: Thank you very much.

CHETRY: Sixteen minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: If you live in New York City and you're wondering where the heck spring went to, not only did spring arrive today, but we get a good taste of summer.

It's 63 outside right now. Nice and clear. Going up to 80 degrees today. Got some scattered thunderstorms in the forecast, but it's going to be nice and warm.

Stephanie Elam here with us this morning, "Minding Your Business," taking a look at how the recession is hitting working mothers especially hard.

Good morning, Stephanie.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It is indeed. You know, it's something that you don't really think about when you look at the demographics of the unemployment numbers. But you take a look at working women, mothers who are really the sole breadwinners for their homes, and according to the Joint Economic Committee of Congress, they're saying these women are really taking a hit.

I'm sure they're some getting ready right now, getting their kids ready for school. They're like, yes, I know that already.

But they're saying that nearly one million single moms are out of work and these women are getting laid off at a greater rate than in other recessions if you just compare it to 2001. So you take a look. December, 2007, that's when the recession officially began here in the United States. Working mothers were -- had an unemployment rate of 6.9 percent. As of 2009, it's up to 10 percent. Compare that to the national unemployment rate of 8.9 percent for April, we should be getting May's numbers very soon.

So we're taking a look at that. Also the number of unemployed single moms is on the rise across all demographics. But women of color are really taking a hit here for these numbers as well.

If you take a look at black women, the unemployment rate is 13.3 percent for this working mothers. Hispanics, 11 percent for them. And for white women who are the sole breadwinners of their homes, up to 8.7 percent.

So for women overall, the national unemployment rate is at 7.1 percent as far as April is concerned. So these women really fighting to keep their jobs and having a rough time when they are the ones who are responsible for making sure that the kids have clothes, they have food, and all of that. So just disturbing numbers out there.

ROBERTS: Yes. Those numbers hurt minority women, particularly disturbing.

ELAM: Yes. And if you take a look at unemployment for minorities is always generally higher than the average national unemployment rate but these numbers showing for these women who are really working hard is really high.

CHETRY: It is a tough situation. We've also talked about how if you're college educated, you're unemployment numbers are much lower. But what do you do when you're trying to support your family? Going back to school doesn't seem like a realistic option?

ELAM: It doesn't seem very realistic for a lot of people. And if you -- even if you are college educated in your situation and you're a single mom, it doesn't change how drastic the situation is for you.

CHETRY: Right.

ROBERTS: Stephanie, thanks so much for that.

ELAM: Sure.

ROBERTS: President Obama heads to Riyadh Saudi Arabia later on today. A lot of issues on the table. We'll break them all down for you with former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, just ahead.

It's 22 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the "Most News in the Morning." Twenty- five past the hour now. Supporters of same-sex marriage have an unlikely new ally this morning. Former Vice President Dick Cheney saying that he supports legalizing same-sex marriage, but he doesn't believe that the federal government should have any role in deciding the issue. He says it's really up to the state. Cheney telling the National Press Club yesterday that his views about gay marriage have been shaped by personal experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Freedom means freedom for everyone. And as many of you know, one of my daughters is gay, and it's something that we've lived with for a long time in our family.

I think people ought to be free to enter into any kind of union they wish, any kind of arrangement they wish. The question of whether or not there ought to be a federal statute that governs this, I don't support.

I do believe that historically the way marriage has been regulated is at the state level. This has always been a state issue and I think that's the way it ought to be handled today, that is on a state-by-state basis. Different states will make different decisions, but I don't have any problem with that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Cheney's youngest daughter, Mary, and her partner, Heather Poe, have a 2-year-old son named Samuel.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he has a new gift for President Obama. It's a book by Vladimir Lenin, the first leader of the Soviet Union entitled "What is to be Done."

You may recall that Chavez made headlines at the Summit of the Americas in April when he walked over to our president and gave him the book "Open Veins of Latin America." Well, that certainly had an Oprah-like effect. The book jumped to number two on Amazon the next day.

President Obama leaves tonight for a trip to the Middle East. His first stop will be Saudi Arabia where he'll have a private dinner with the king. And then later in the week, he visits Egypt. And that's where he's going to be making a speech that could be key to winning hearts and minds in the Muslim world and repairing America's image in the Muslim and Arab worlds.

Jim Acosta joins us live from Washington. So this visit to the Arab world, it's something that the president has been talking about even before he got to the White House.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This came up during the campaign, Kiran. The White House says President Obama's trip to Egypt this week fulfills a campaign pledge, but that depends on what your definition of the word summit is. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): During the campaign, candidate Obama pledged to fix a battered U.S. image in the Muslim world and talked about holding a summit.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: One of the things I propose is to call a summit in the Muslim world within the first year of my presidency that I would lead and would invite Muslim leaders from all around the world.

ACOSTA: Then in 2008, he told a French magazine, "I want to organize a summit in the Muslim world, with all the heads of state."

The White House now says Mr. Obama misspoke in using the word summit, and points to this statement from August, 2007.

OBAMA: In the first 100 days of my administration, I will travel to a major Islamic forum and deliver an address to redefine our struggle.

ACOSTA: When the president travels to Egypt this week, he says look for a speech, not a summit.

OBAMA: The main thing for me to do is to project what our values are, what our ideals are, what we care most deeply about.

ACOSTA: Whatever you call it, James Zogby with the Arab American Institute describes the president's trip as critical.

JAMES ZOGBY, ARAB AMERICAN INSTITUTE: Listen, eight years have taken a real, heavy toll in that region. Attitudes have become hardened. And even where there's some hope, it's tentative.

ACOSTA: Even though the president has been dubbed by some as the new King Tut in Cairo, polls show Arab opinions of the U.S. are overwhelmingly negative.

Congressman Keith Ellison, a Muslim, who recently toured the war- torn Gaza Strip argues the president should use some of his popularity in the region to broker a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.

REP. KEITH ELLISON (D), MINNESOTA: Unless we can convert that capital into some real substance and political change that it could dissipate. And I don't think we have a long time. I'm glad that this president is focusing, but it's time to really start getting down to business.

ACOSTA: The only other Muslim member of Congress, Andre Carson, is advising the White House on issues in the Arab world says the president is making a necessary first step.

REP ANDRE CARSON (D), INDIANA: You must get a conversation going. We can't make assumptions. We can't be some imperialistic power that forces our opinions down the throats of other nations. We have to open the doors of dialogue.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And during the campaign, Mr. Obama insisted he is up to the challenge he once referred to as Kenyan father in his childhood years and Indonesia as proof he knows Islam better than any U.S. president.

And, Kiran, we should point out that during the campaign, the president said he wanted this trip to happen within his first 100 days. This is not happening within his first 100 days. But who's counting? He's got a lot of things on his plate, Kiran.

CHETRY: Yes, some things changed. We got a little busy.

ACOSTA: That's right.

CHETRY: Jim Acosta for us this morning. Thanks so much.

By the way, for more on the president's visit to the Middle East and the expectation in the Arab world, you can read about it on Jim's blog. Go to CNN.com/amFIX.

John?

ROBERTS: Thirty minutes now past the hour and checking our top stories this morning. New developments in the search for a missing Air France jet.

Relatives of the 228 people on board now being told to expect the worst. Brazil's air force is investigating a report by commercial pilots who claim they saw what looked a fire in the Atlantic Ocean yesterday. And we're learning that two Americans are among the possible victims.

Students in the crossfire in the war between the Pakistan and Taliban; Pakistan's army says its troops have rescued dozens of students and teachers who were abducted yesterday by Taliban militants. According to military officials, the Taliban kidnappers fled after a brief exchange of gunfire. We're told none of the kids were hurt.

And getting leaner and greener already. General Motors saying this morning that Hummer has a buyer. GM has announced a preliminary agreement to sell the gas guzzling brand to an undisclosed buyer. It's not revealing the price - at least not yet.

President Obama is hoping his visit to the Middle East this week will begin to change the conversation between the U.S. and the Muslim world. He'll be trying to win over the hearts and minds of millions who are still very suspicious of America's motives. Joining us from Washington now to talk about the challenge facing the president and the stakes involved is the former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

Madam Secretary, good to see you this morning.

MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, FMR. SECRETARY OF STATE: Good to be with you, John

ROBERTS: Madam Secretary the president wants to improve the relations with the Muslim world. He has himself admitted that one speech is not going to do it. But is there something you think he could do, or say, in that speech he's going to give Cairo to get things off to a good start?

ALBRIGHT: I do think this is a very important speech. I think what he has to do, and I believe will do, is to in fact make clear that the West, us, we are not at war with Islam generally. That we have to understand what Muslims believe. That they also want to get rid of extremism and people that kill, and to really begin that dialogue. But he has a complicated job because he has many audiences to which he has to speak. Those in Egypt specifically, then within other parts, of the Muslim world. He has to also speak to the American people. He's got a big job. If anybody can do it, he can.

ROBERTS: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, of course, is going to be at the heart of matter. Many Arab countries are looking to the president for a detailed plan. It looks like one is not forthcoming, at least not yet. But what can he do to assure Arab nations, and Muslims around the world, looking at the broader perspective, that the U.S. in fact is on the case and that this administration may try to accomplish - or not try to accomplish, but may actually accomplish what other administrations have not been able to.

ALBRIGHT: Well, I think he has already put an awful lot of things on the table and made clear that he believes in a two-state solution. That he thinks that they, the Israelis, have it to be more forthcoming, that the Palestinians have to be more forthcoming. He has also first going to Saudi Arabia and talking to King Abdullah, who has been a really important part of presenting an Arab plan that could move the whole region forward.

So, I think that while there might not be detailed aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian issue, he will clearly place it within a regional context and show the importance of the U.S. being actively involved in bringing the parties together, and that the parties have to make the difficult decisions.

ROBERTS: So, when we look at that upcoming visit with King Abdullah, and it will be the second time that the two of them have met, this time on King Abdullah's turf. The president is going to be looking for an overture from Saudi Arabia to talk about this idea of normalizing of relations with Israel - potentially normalizing relations, at least. Giving more support to the Palestinians. The Bush family was very close with the Saudi royal family. They couldn't get it. What makes you think that President Obama might be able to get those concessions?

ALBRIGHT: I do think that there are various aspects that are different. I think there's a different approach by an American president. I think what President Obama already did in his meetings with Prime Minister Netanyahu points out how firmly he believes in the two-state solution. He also has said that there has to be a settlement freeze, or the ending of the settlements. And also the fact that I think he is a president -- President Obama, that is reaching out to a variety of Muslims, understands the importance of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, specifically, in trying to find a solution. And, so, I think this is a very important part of his trip.

ROBERTS: Didn't President Bush say just about the same things in terms of two-state solution and freeze settlements?

ALBRIGHT: No. He was definitely different on the settlements. And he had said they were unhelpful. But I also think that it took President Bush a long time to get the Bush administration involved in being actively on the ground trying to get the Israelis and Palestinians talking together.

President Obama has Senator Mitchell out there already as an envoy working the issues and seeing it much more as a regional approach. I think that's another part that's different. And the fact that President Obama has made so clear his understanding of Islam, his respect for Islam, and his desire to develop this dialogue, which would show that we are not at war with the so-called Muslim world.

ROBERTS: You probably heard what Congressman Keith Ellison had to say in Jim Acosta's piece, which ran just a couple of minutes ago. That it is time to get down to business. New Gallup polls show that opinion of U.S. leadership, in the Muslim world and Arab countries, has grown substantially in the past year, up by double digits in eight out of 11 countries surveyed.

But does he have finite amount of time to try to use that goodwill, put it to good measure, actually get something done before it could potentially turn against him?

ALBRIGHT: I do think he has to get something done, which is why he's doing this. And I think that he has been to Turkey where he spoke about the fact that he's the only president that has ever had this kind of a strong relationship and understanding of Islam. He also has gotten started much earlier on the Middle East peace process.

I agree. There are windows of opportunity. This is a time when it's going to be important for the U.S. to be involved, and to have the president and Secretary Clinton and Senator Mitchell all really working this issue.

ROBERTS: Madam Secretary, it is always great to catch up with you. Thank you for joining us this morning. We sure do appreciate it.

ALBRIGHT: Thank you, John.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: All right, well, here's a fish story for you. You're on a motor boat trip and the motor dies. You plunge 50 feet, you're dangling from a dam? What happened next? It's 37 minutes past the hour.

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ROBERTS: Top videos, right now, on CNN.com. The most popular -- holding on to a dam for dear life. A Virginia fishing trip nearly turned deadly for two men after their motorboat died and plunged 50 feet over the dam in Virginia. They jumped out as the boat went over and grabbed onto the dam itself until rescue teams showed up.

And who needs a hybrid when you can get gasoline for 75 cents a gallon. They're lining up down the highway in both directions outside one Miami station. It was part of a grand opening promotion. But you only had 75 minutes to get in on it.

Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor meets with senators on Capitol Hill today. And one controversial ruling that she made against white firefighters is sure to come up in her nomination or confirmation hearings. Before she gets in the hot seat, the Supreme Court itself could pass judgment on her judgment. Jason Carroll is here to explain. It's the New Haven firefighter case.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're going to sort this all out.

It is really a case that has left bitter feelings on both sides. It centers on a group of firefighters. Judge Sotomayor's ruling on the case, heavily criticized by some, now legal experts are waiting to see if the Supreme Court will reverse the ruling and what effect it may have on her confirmation.

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CARROLL (voice over): It was a controversial decision. As an appellate judge, Sonia Sotomayor siding with the city of New Haven, Connecticut throwing out results of firefighter promotion exams because none of the black applicants qualified. Some white firefighters say it was a case of racial discrimination. Mark Marcarelli says he worked hard to do well on the test, but it was hollow victory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was robbed from me on the basis of my race.

CARROLL: Marcarelli may still get his victory. Some legal experts are predicting the Supreme Court will overturn that ruling, if only to allow the white firefighters lawsuit to continue.

TOM GOLDSTEIN, CO-FOUNDER, SCOTUSBLOG.COM: It is either going to be very close, 5-4, or the Supreme Court's ruling is going to be relatively narrow and it will say, we don't know who wins or loses in this case. We just think you need a harder look at the evidence.

CARROLL: Even if the high court reverses the ruling, it wouldn't be the first time a Supreme Court nominee wound up in that kind of spotlight. John Roberts and Samuel Alito both had cases pending before the high court when they were just being considered. All nine justices came up through the appeals court.

JEFF TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: All appeals court judges have their opinions reviewed by the Supreme Court. And most appeals court judges, at some point, have their views overturned by the Supreme Court.

CARROLL: Attorney Tom Goldstein has argued 21 cases before the Supreme Court and examined Sotomayor's legal record.

GOLDSTEIN: She has had 3,000 cases while on the court of appeals and has gotten reversed in only a handful or so. That's a pretty good record.

CARROLL: For Sotomayor, it may be more a problem of timing.

TOOBIN: The Supreme Court may reject her interpretation of the law just on the eve of her confirmation hearings. That could be embarrassing. It probably isn't enough to sink her nomination, but it's not something you want.

CARROLL: If Sotomayor is confirmed, she's not likely to alter the ideological imbalances of the high court. She knows all of the justices and joining them is not expected to be a difficult adjustment.

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CARROLL: Legal experts say if you look at Sotomayor's records, she has a history, of by eight to one, rejecting discrimination claims and favoring employers, in many situations, siding with judges appointed by Republican presidents. And you know, we may end up hearing from the Supreme Court on this sometime this week.

CHETRY: All right. The timing is certainly interesting. We'll see what happens.

CARROLL: The timing, yeah.

CHETRY: Thanks, Jason.

CARROLL: You bet.

ROBERTS: Relations between the United States and Cuba beginning to thaw ever so slightly. Well, it is leading to a flood of tourism. We'll go live to Havana to check out the situation coming up in just a few minutes. It's 44 minutes now, after the hour.

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CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning. It's 46 minutes after the hour now. A quick look at the AM rundown; stories coming up in the next few minutes.

The U.S. military taking Afghanistan's mission on-line. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. The new sellout destination from Miami? Cuba, thanks to a brand new tourism boom. And the Beatles are rocking on in a video game - John.

ROBERTS: Coming up now on 47 minutes after the hour. Let's "Fast Forward" through the stories that will be making news later on today.

We're keeping an eye on Wall Street. Will stocks continue Monday's rally? The Dow now near the break even point for the year, raising hopes that a global economic recovery is booming. And the auto industry recovery tour begins. The Obama administration officials will travel across the Midwest today to discuss federal auto recovery efforts in communities that need it to survive. First up, hard hit areas in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.

And Hollywood's Annual Black Film Festival starts in Beverly Hills today. It is the 10th anniversary of the event, sometimes called the Black Sundance. There will be more than 100 screenings over the next six days. Stars like Sydney Poitier, Forrest Whitaker and Spike Lee have all been part of it in the past.

Time now to check on the weather today.

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CHETRY: The Fab Four coming to a video game console near you. The Beatles' Rock Band will be available on Microsoft's Xbox 360, Playstation 3 and the Nintendo Wii coming up in September. Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Yoko Ono were on hand in Los Angeles yesterday to promote this thing. Sort of like a Guitar Hero meets Abbey Road, I guess.

Hey, they look pretty good, don't they? Still rocking after all these years. Well, gamers will be able to take on the role of John, Paul, George, Ringo, you can strum the guitar, play the drums, and sing along with the group's most popular tunes.

ROBERTS: He's playing the base backwards. What's going on with that?

CHETRY: Uh-oh. Let's listen.

(BEATLES MUSIC)

"Back In The USSR."

CHETRY: There's something very disconcerting about that whole thing.

ROBERTS: It's interesting that the Beatles licensed that stuff.

CHETRY: I know.

ROBERTS: That actually Paul and Ringo licensed that.

CHETRY: There you go. Would you play it?

ROBERTS: I'm just not a video game guy. I'm not.

CHETRY: Me either.

ROBERTS: You're not a video game girl. CHETRY: I'm not a video game guy, either, last time I checked.

ROBERTS: I'm definitely not a video game girl.

CHETRY: It's 50 minutes past the hour.

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CHETRY: We will be talking to RNC Chair Michael Steele coming up in just a couple of minutes here.

First, the U.S. military taking its Afghanistan mission online to Twitter, to Facebook, even YouTube. Officials say the plan is aimed at delivering an unfiltered view of the war from the troops on the ground. The military's Facebook page already has some 5,000 followers after two weeks of testing and it's official launch yesterday.

Today is the first day of confirmation hearings for the top commander picked to run and to, hopefully win, the war in Afghanistan. General Stanley McCrystal has already helped turned the tide in Iraq. But as Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr found out there is still a lot we don't know about the general.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, Stan McCrystal is a man of many secrets, but will that help or hurt him win Senate confirmation as the next commander to win the war in Afghanistan?

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STARR (voice over): Behind this door, every day at 6:30 a.m., Lieutenant General Stanley McCrystal chairs one of the most secret meetings in Washington. Senior military officers gather to discuss what has happened in the world overnight. McCrystal has never let a reporter inside; he's rarely spoken publicly in recent years. After leaving the Pentagon in 2003, he headed a joint special operations command at Ft. Bragg, leading covert commando units. It was a tour that would be controversial.

Many of the collateral damage incidents, in which Afghan civilians have been killed, have been associated with special forces operations in parts of the country were we didn't have a large ground force present.

STARR: The parents of slain NFL star Pat Tillman say McCrystal's record should be reviewed. The general approved a silver star for Tillman even while suspecting that he had been accidentally killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004.

A senior congressional staffer tells CNN there were also concerns that McCrystal's troops mistreated prisoners in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Senate Armed Services Committee questioned last year and cleared him on both matters.

McCrystal has gone after the military's most high profile targets, Saddam Hussein and his sons, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq. And he's been hunting the world's most-wanted man. Former Homeland Security advisor Fran Townsend worked with him closely on delicate security matters.

FRAN TOWNSEND, FMR. ADVISOR, HOMELAND SECURITY: I view General McCrystal as crucial. I mean, as a critical player in the hunt for bin Laden.

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STARR: The question now is, a man who spent his career leading other men in hunting the world's most wanted terrorists will be able to command a war which focuses on rebuilding a shattered Afghanistan. John, Kiran.

CHETRY: Barbara Starr for us, thanks.

You can continue the conversation on any of today's stories. Go to our blog cnn.com/amfix.

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ROBERTS: Potentially significant move today in Honduras. The Organization of American States is expected to vote on whether to readmit Cuba and end a 47-year-long ban. The U.S. is opposed to Cuba's membership unless it makes changes regarding democracy and human rights, but admission only requires a two-thirds yes vote.

Oh, yes, membership aside, the island nation is already seeing the benefits of the Obama administration's decision to lift travel restrictions on Cuban Americans who want to visit their homeland.

Shasta Darlington is live in Havana where the global recession can't seem to stop a tourism boom that has exploded in Cuba.

Good morning, Shasta.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

That's right. The United States is going to come under pressure from Latin American nations that want Cuba, the only country that's been excluded, reinstated in the regional block. Now there may not be a consensus today but already there are signs of a thaw between the U.S and Cuba.

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DARLINGTON (voice over): Hugs, tears, and shrieks of joy. At the airport in Havana family reunions are played out in public. Ariel (ph) meets his baby son for the first time. His girlfriend Eglaise (ph) lives in Miami and was barred by U.S. law from visiting when Kevin was born.

"We haven't seen each other for a year and a half," he says. "Our son was born and I couldn't even see him."

But thanks to U.S. President Barack Obama, families divided by the Florida Straits are getting reacquainted.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Mommy!

DARLINGTON: Washington has eliminated restrictions on Cuban Americans traveling to their homeland. But they are also helping Cuba's tourism industry stay afloat. This is the first sign that the tourism in Cuba isn't going to be as hard hit as its neighbors that is because thousands of Cuban Americans are coming. Under President Bush they could only visit their families once every three years. Now they can come as often as they want, as long as they can afford it. One charter airline that connects Miami and Havana with daily flights says business is taking off.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd say the traffic will probably double.

DARLINGTON: Once on the ground, Cuban Americans are helping make up for a decline in European tourism. They rent cars, eat out, and take their families to beach resorts. The tourism minister wouldn't comment on the impact of Cuban Americans, but said the sector is holding up.

"Despite the crisis, Cuban tourism continues developing," he said. "It grew 2 percent this winter."

Cuba is still off limits for the broader American public and many who can come are critical of both governments. Jose says he won't take his family to any hotels or state-run restaurants.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want my money to go to the government. You see?

DARLINGTON: For Ariel (ph) and Eglaise (ph) it is all about family. They're getting married. Hoping tearful embraces at the airport will soon be a thing of the past.

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DARLINGTON: In fact, even over the weekend the United States and Cuba agreed to resume talks about immigration, something that was actually canceled in 2003.

They even said that for the first time in decades they could resume a direct mail service -- John.

ROBERTS: Well, the times, they are changing. No doubt about that.

Shasta Darlington, for us this morning, from Havana.

Shasta, thanks so much for that.