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American Morning
Whistleblower Says FAA Ignored Repeated Warnings and Put Business Before Passenger Safety; NTSB Hears What Happened Inside Captain Sully's Cockpit; Abortion Doctor's Killer Speaks Out in Defense of Unborn; Supreme Court Approves Sale of Chrysler to Fiat; Former National Guard Medic Aids Afghanistan With Ambulances; Iranians Gearing Up for Election; Scholarship Possibilities; Actor Dying for a Living; Mexican Drug Wars Rage On
Aired June 10, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And a very good morning to you. Thanks for being with us on this Wednesday, the tenth of June. Very special day. You know why?
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: It's a birthday?
ROBERTS: Sasha Obama's eighth birthday today.
CHETRY: All right. Happy birthday to her. I didn't know about the birthday you were referring to. But, yes, have fun.
ROBERTS: That is the one. Was there another one?
CHETRY: You never know. Thanks so much for being with us. By the way, we're following several developing stories this morning. We have a lot of great investigative reporting as well to bring you on the show this morning. But one of the big stories today is concerns for your safety in the sky.
Were they silent? In a story that you will not see anywhere else today, a former federal safety inspector tells CNN that he warned Colgan Air and the FAA about flight testing problems one year before the deadliest U.S. crash in seven years.
Well, for the first time, we're also hearing what went on in the cockpit of US Airways Flight 1549 that landed in the Hudson just moments before it made that emergency landing in the New York river. The NTSB looked at lessons to be learned from the so-called miracle flight. We also heard from Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who said that all pilots should undergo training to land in the water.
A CNN exclusive -- one-on-one with a man charged with murdering a Kansas abortion doctor. What Scott Roeder says in a jailhouse interview about the alleged crime and why he's predicting more antiabortion violence to come.
ROBERTS: We begin with a regional reporting this morning on a subject familiar to just about everyone -- flying.
Right now, thousands of people are headed to airports across the country, and it's likely that some of them are giving a passing thought to two major air emergencies in recent months. One of those ended in tragedy in Buffalo, New York. The other, an unforgettable landing on the Hudson River.
Today, investigators and lawmakers will revisit both of those incidents in the hope of making your next flight safer. But it all comes as one inspector at the FAA blows the whistle, accusing his bosses of ignoring serious safety concerns that he brought to their attention. That man is speaking to our Allan Chernoff. And Allan joins us now live this morning from Atlanta -- from Miami, rather.
Good morning to you, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Christopher Monteleon was an FAA inspector in charge of Colgan Air's acquisition of a new aircraft last year. That was the Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, the exact same plane model that a Colgan Air pilot crashed near Buffalo in February. Mr. Monteleon says for years he warned the FAA about safety problems at Colgan and especially when the airline acquired that new aircraft. But he says his warnings were ignored at the FAA.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice-over): A year before the fatal Colgan Air crash near Buffalo that killed 50 people, an FAA inspector reported trouble as the airline tested its first Bombardier Q400 turboprop.
CHRISTOPHER MONTELEON, FAA WHISTLEBLOWER: I've observed the pilots flying too fast for the design of the aircraft.
CHERNOFF: In his report, Christopher Monteleon noted the aircraft exceeded air speed limitation three times, and the pilots failed to note those violations so the plane could be properly inspected.
MONTELEON: If you flew too fast, you could cause the flaps conceivably to fall off the airplane.
CHERNOFF: That did not cause the February crash. But other problems Monteleon alleged that Colgan nearer issues uncovered in the Buffalo crash -- conversation in the cockpit near landing that had nothing to do with flight operations and pilot fatigue. Yet Monteleon says his supervisor told him to back off. He was instructed in a memo from an FAA manager not to have any contact with Colgan employees regarding Colgan Air business.
MONTELEON: My supervisor called me into his office and said, "Stop your investigation." He said that this violation, these violations, never occurred and that you are to erase the fact that you began the investigation from the FAA database.
CHERNOFF: When Monteleon's union filed a grievance, an FAA manager denied the claim, arguing the agency should be assisting Colgan's business plans, an approach that required management to immediately respond to the operator's scheduling needs. That operator, Colgan Air, was about to begin regional service using for Continental Airlines using the new Q400 plane.
MONTELEON: And that's tragedy in the making. That's putting business interests ahead of safety.
CHERNOFF: The FAA later did investigate Monteleon's claim. He made changes in its oversight of Colgan. There is now a new manager in charge of inspections at the airline. But the FAA says it found no violations of its safety regulations.
Colgan Air told CNN, "Mr. Monteleon's claims against us are baseless. We have no control over what the FAA chooses to do and applied no pressure whatsoever to create a situation where he was reassigned. Colgan Air met or exceeded every single FAA requirement necessary to add the Q400 to its fleet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: After Monteleon complained up the chain of command at the FAA, he had a dispute with a lawyer at the agency. He says that led him to be placed on involuntarily leave. The FAA says it does not believe Monteleon's reassignments were retaliatory, but it will not comment further about his case because it is a personnel issue covered by privacy laws -- John.
ROBERTS: Fascinating story for us this morning. Another one, Allan Chernoff, thanks so much.
And to follow all of Allan's reporting on this story, check out his blog on CNN.com/amFIX. You can read more of the allegations that the FAA told inspectors to back off from some investigations.
CHETRY: And also this morning, we're learning more about what went right to that miracle landing in New York's Hudson River. Who can forget those pictures of the US Airways flight? It was 1549. It was forced to ditch in the frigid Hudson after three birds hit the engines in January. Everyone on board survived.
And just released transcripts revealed what was going on in the cockpit as Captain Chesley Sullenberger brought that plane in for a splash landing. Today is day two of a three-day NTSB hearing on that crash. CNN's Mary Snow is following the story for us.
Hi, Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kiran. Good morning.
And one of the striking things is the calmness in the cockpit with Captain Sullenberger asking the copilot at one point to grab a handbook. But he says there was no time to consult that written guidance, that he and his copilot had relied on each others decisions, in decisions, that is, that they couldn't afford to get wrong.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): Minutes before US Airways Flight 1549 would land in the Hudson River, Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger took in the surroundings, saying "What a view of the Hudson today." But some 30 seconds later, cockpit voice recorder transcripts show there was a sound of a thump followed by a shuddering sound. The engines suck in birds that the captain says filled the entire windscreen. The first officer responds, "Oh," expletive. Apparently the only expletive used in the cockpit during the ordeal.
Sullenberger instructed the first officer to get the quick reference handbook, noting the loss of thrust on both engines. Flight 1549 relayed the message to air traffic control.
CAPTAIN CHESLEY "SULLY" SULLENBERGER, US AIRWAYS: We've lost thrust in both engines. We're turning back towards LaGuardia.
SNOW: Sullenberger told the National Transportation Safety Board hearing that, he quickly determined returning to LaGuardia would be problematic. Teterboro Airport, New Jersey, he says, was too far away. He says the only place long enough, wide enough and smooth enough to land was the Hudson River, and he drew upon something he'd observed on his leisure time.
SULLENBERGER: From my previous experience on lay hours in New York visiting the Intrepid Museum, I knew that there was an area of a lot of boat traffic in that part of the river. We're trained in our ditching training to try to land near vessels to facilitate rescue.
SNOW: At 3:29 p.m...
SULLENBERGER: I said, "This is the captain, brace for impact."
SNOW: Seconds later, air traffic controllers received their last contact from Flight 1549.
SULLENBERGER: We're going to be in the Hudson.
SNOW: Inside the cockpit, the first officer asked Sullenberger, "Got flaps two, you want more?" Sullenberger says, "No, let's stay at two." Then asked, "Got any ideas?" The first officer replied, "Actually not."
A warning system is going off. Warning, terrain, pull up. And Sullenberger says, "We're gonna brace." Their first words once they landed on the Hudson...
SULLENBERGER: First Officer Jeff Skiles and I turned to each other and almost in unison at the same time with the same words said to each other, well, that wasn't as bad as I thought.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: And Captain Sullenberger said at Tuesday's hearing that one of the challenge for airline pilots is that flying has become so safe, it's easy to forget what's at stake. He says among the challenges are staying vigilant and alert.
And keep in mind this happened within five minutes, eight seconds from takeoff. Splashdown. CHETRY: Right. And the other fascinating thing about this is obviously as he said it become so safe, having to learn how to actually land in water is pretty rare. But he wants all pilots to be trained in that, right?
SNOW: Yes. And that's one of the things, you know, that he was saying in terms of actual training, even bird strikes, he said the training that he got, the warnings were pretty limited in their usefulness. So those are some of the things that he wants to be revisited.
ROBERTS: Yes. He told us when he met Sully and Skiles and the rest of the crew that they didn't have any training in what to do when both engines go out at low altitude. He says they're trained to do at high altitude but not at 3,000 feet, which is where this happened.
SNOW: And intuition he says is what they really had to rely on between he and his copilot.
ROBERTS: Oh, yes, what do we now? All right. Let's figure it out. Good ad lib, though.
CHETRY: I know.
ROBERTS: Good questions.
CHETRY: It certainly worked out and also smart because of all of those rescued, the boats that rushed in and non-rescue boats as well that ended up saving lives of those passengers.
Mary Snow, thanks so much.
ROBERTS: Also new this morning, the Obama administration right now in talks with the remote South Pacific island nation of Palau to relocate a group of Chinese Muslims now being held at Guantanamo Bay. The Pentagon says the 17 detainees are not enemy combatants and some were cleared for release back in 2003, but officials say they cannot be sent back to China because there are concerns the men would be tortured by Chinese authorities.
At least 11 people are dead after a suicide bomb attack outside a luxury hotel in Peshawar, Pakistan. Witnesses say three attackers drove a truck to the hotel's main gate, opened fire on security guards, then drove inside and detonated the bomb near the building. There has been no claim of responsibility, but officials say it fits the pattern of recent attacks by the Taliban in retaliation for the army's defensive against insurgents in the Swat Valley.
And President Obama's Middle East envoy travels to Ramallah in the West Bank today for talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. George Mitchell met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday. He's going to visit Syria this weekend. It's part of the Obama administration's effort to jump-start the Middle East peace process.
CHETRY: And coming still ahead, it's something you will only see here on CNN. The man who is charged with killing abortion doctor George Tiller speaks exclusively to CNN's Ted Rowlands, talking about a possible motive, even receiving fan mail in jail. We'll have more on that interview.
It's 10 minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back. Checking other news this morning. New story, the controversial auto bill is inching closer to becoming law.
The House passing a so-called "cash for clunkers" bill. Well, it would reward consumers with tax credits for trading in their old cars and buying more fuel-efficient ones. That bill now goes on to the Senate. The president pushed for the legislation, which he says could and would boost car sales.
It's a busy day for ground troops at the White House today. They're going to grind up a nearly 70-year-old tree that was knocked down by severe storms yesterday and turned into mulch. The White House says that the European Linden doesn't have the distinction of being a commemorative tree because it wasn't planted by a president to mark a special occasion.
T-Mobile confirming a security breach. The company says someone hacked into company records and posted the stolen data online. "USA Today" reports the hacker, known as the key WN Mobile (ph) claims to have success to "everything in T-Mobile's databases and offering to sell them and sell that stolen consumer information to the highest bidder." The telecom giant is dismissing that claim, saying that whatever data the hacker may have accessed does not put customers at risk.
ROBERTS: Now to a story that you'll see only on CNN -- the man charged with murdering Kansas abortion doctor Dr. George Tiller is speaking out to CNN in an exclusive jailhouse interview.
Scott Roeder talking about a possible motive and, believe it or not, receiving fan mail. This morning, we're live on the ground in Wichita, Kansas, following the story. Our Ted Rowlands was face-to- face with Roeder. He joins us now live.
Ted, I can't imagine what that experience would be like?
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we were given 30 minutes inside the jail here. We were not allowed to bring in any cameras or recording devices, so it's just myself and Roeder, a pad of paper and pen. We talked in a visitation room with a glass partition.
At one point, Roeder said that he was feeling kind of good because he was getting encouraging letters, believe it or not, from people around the country. He also talked about the death of Dr. George Tiller.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ROWLANDS (voice-over): In the same type of maroon inmate outfit he wore here at his first court appearance, Roeder said he didn't want to incriminate himself and didn't answer specific questions about Tiller's murder. But he did say if in the end he was convicted, "the entire motive was the defense of the unborn."
When asked what he thought of the fact that Dr. Tiller is dead, Roeder said, "The fact that Tiller's clinic is closed is a victory for all the unborn children. No more slicing and dicing of the unborn child in the mother's womb, no more needles of poison into the baby's heart."
Roeder said reports from his ex-wife and others that he was mentally ill, suffering from schizophrenia were, "completely false." He refused to comment on what, if anything, he said to Dr. Tiller that day in Wichita and said he feared the responsibility that he may face federal charges in addition to the murder charge he's already facing in Kansas. Afterwards, we asked Tiller family attorney Dan Monnat for reaction.
DAN MONNAT, TILLER ATTORNEY FRIEND: Personally, I'm reluctant to in any way legitimize Mr. Roeder or anything he stands for by directly responding to his statements. Actually, I'm content to let law enforcement determine whether this defendant merits any attention.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: Tiller did the interview with us despite his attorney's recommendation not to do it. At no point during the interview did he give any sense of remorse. And at no point during the interview, John, that he ever say he was innocent.
ROBERTS: Stunning, amazing. What an experience you had there, Ted. Ted, thanks very much. Ted Rowlands for us this morning.
Sixteen and a half minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. A quick check of the "AM Rundown" now, stories that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
Answering the call for help a world away. How a medic from Massachusetts is helping save lives in Afghanistan one ambulance at a time. Plus, inside Iran. Elections in that country just days away, and you might be surprised to see how the political process is playing out this morning.
Our Christiane Amanpour is live in Tehran. Something that you'll only see here on CNN.
And paying for college. We're talking to a kid who did it all with scholarships. It could help your son or daughter do the same thing. You want to stay tuned for that. That's coming right up. CHETRY: All right. Well, yesterday we talked about a little bit of a pause button, I think is how Christine Romans described it yesterday in terms of Chrysler and Fiat, and that sale going through. And she's "Minding Your Business" this morning.
So, it's been OK'd.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's been OK'd. The Supreme Court has cleared the way for Chrysler to be sold, its big assets to be taken over by the government and sold to Fiat, the Italian automaker. And this could happen any moment, really.
The companies say a deal could happen shortly. It could be today, maybe tomorrow. We're not sure, but imminent, we think, is this deal with Chrysler and Fiat to create the new Chrysler corporation, Chrysler group, rather.
The unwanted assets will not go in this new deal. They will be discarded, liquidated eight factories, and all the people who work at those factories, and 780 dealerships. That's one out of every four Chrysler dealerships will be shuttered and will not be selling Chrysler automobiles.
I guess they can stay in business and be a service center if they want or they can probably try to take other brands or make them sell used cars, perhaps. But in terms of their affiliation with Chrysler, it will be severed. So, this is a company, we said yesterday, $69,000 a minute it is losing.
Every moment counted for this to try to get a fresh start outside of bankruptcy and it looks now the Supreme Court has paved the way. This could happen any moment. How successful it will be still remains to be seen.
CHETRY: It's got to be successful -- more successful than losing nearly 70 grand a minute.
ROMANS: That's right. That's right.
CHETRY: That's the hope, at least.
ROMANS: That is the hope.
CHETRY: So, it brings us to our "Romans' Numeral" for this hour, which is a number driving a story about your money. Tell us what it is.
ROMANS: It's 18 and it's months. And it has to do with this whole Chrysler issue, the Chrysler-Fiat deal, the new Chrysler group. Eighteen months.
CHETRY: Quick guesses, John?
ROMANS: No, it's not the gestation period of an elephant. You know, I'm getting a lot of very funny ones on Twitter.
ROBERTS: Well, it is the gestation period of -- but the nine is in this particular case.
ROMANS: This is how long Fiat CEO said. He hopes it will take 18 months for the first Fiat-based cars to be in Chrysler dealership. So you, the consumer, at your local Chrysler dealership if it survives, about 18 months before you see the first Fiat-based small fuel- efficient car there. So big changes coming for Chrysler, folks.
CHETRY: All right. Christine, thank you.
ROMANS: You're welcome.
ROBERTS: Thirteen minutes now -- 13 minutes, what's wrong with me today?
Twenty-three minutes after the hour. I'm going to go wake up and I'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
You get hurt, you call 911. They send an ambulance. Pretty much standard operating procedure in this country, something that we all take for granted. But imagine living in a place where there's no ambulance to send, no one to come to your rescue?
Jason Carroll found that place in Afghanistan and the American who's trying to change it. He's here now to share us with us.
Good morning, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a bit of trivia for you. Did you know that most out-of-service ambulances here in the United States end up being used for scrap metal in South Korea? True.
That is not good enough for one man. It started with a simple idea coming from a guy who found a way to help people in need and build trust between two cultures.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): An alarm sounds, an ambulance calls. Kevin Paicos takes notice but not for the reason one might think. He's a town administrator, and here in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, just west of Boston, sirens here remind him of a call for help he heard thousands of miles away.
KEVIN PAICOS, AMBULANCES FOR AFGHANISTAN: I do this as somebody wants to do something good and meaningful for people that are very deserving.
CARROLL: Two years ago, Paicos was deployed as a medic for a National Guard tour of duty in Afghanistan. Sent on a mission alongside Afghani forces in the western city of Farah (ph), their unit accidentally hit a young boy on his bike.
PAICOS: Somebody called me up at the detachment medic. I got him stable.
CARROLL: Paicos was shocked when he asked the locals to get him an ambulance.
PAICOS: To make a long story short, they said, "What's an ambulance?" And...
CARROLL (on camera): Wait, wait, they said, "What's an ambulance?"
PAICOS: What's an ambulance.
CARROLL (voice-over): The city did not have one. Imagine a city with roughly the same population as Orlando, Florida without an ambulance. Paicos, unnerved by the experience called a friend, Paul Zbikowski, a fire chief back home.
PAICOS: I just gave him this crazy idea and said, "Could you do it?".
PAUL ZBIKOWSKI, CHIEF, ASHBURNHAM FIRE DEPARTMENT: He says, "Hey, can you get me an ambulance?" And knowing Kevin, he might have been only half joking.
CARROLL: Zbikowski found an ambulance going out of service. With the help of volunteers, they refitted it, pushed it through a year of military red tape and sent it to the people of Farah. Pictures with Paicos and Zbikowski show just how grateful they were.
ZBIKOWSKI: They wanted to make a bigger issue of it because it was a gift that was donated from the American Fire Service and the American people to the Afghan people.
CARROLL: Paicos says the gift giving will not stop.
PAICOS: It's good ambulance.
CARROLL: This one is being refitted too. Paicos recruited more volunteers for his new plan -- to find and send more out of service ambulances like this one.
PAICOS: The Afghan people are wonderful, wonderful people. You know, they've been in war for three decades. They deserve a break.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Paicos says his volunteers have raised about $150,000. His ultimate goal is to send an ambulance to every city in Afghanistan and to train the local people there to staff them.
ROBERTS: Wow. What a great undertaking.
CARROLL: Yes, great guy.
ROBERTS: Question, though -- the ambulance is one thing. But then you constantly need medical supplies to restock the ambulance. Do they head those as well?
CARROLL: They do. And, in fact, they've been very good at getting folks to come in and donate medical supplies. So when they send them over, they're fully stocked.
ROBERTS: What a terrific story.
CARROLL: Yes.
ROBERTS: Jason, thanks for sharing that this morning. It's great.
CARROLL: You bet.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, this morning, we've been talking about aviation safety concerns, hearings going on on Capitol Hill. We're just getting the news in right now.
This is from the Associated Press that at the airport -- I believe it's in Madrid -- is saying that an Airbus A320 had to make an emergency landing in the Canary Islands after some engine trouble. The Canary Islands right there off of Spain. We'll have the latest on this developing story in just a moment.
Meanwhile, it is now 29 minutes past the hour. A look at our top stories.
The United States has no plans to invade North Korea or force a regime change. That coming from U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth.
Bosworth went on to call Pyonyang's claims that its nuclear and missile tests were in response to American aggression "simply groundless." He also stressed the U.S. will do what is necessary for the security of its allies.
Well, the Obama administration reportedly ready to roll out far- reaching new guidelines, an effort to rein in bonuses and pay for Wall Street executives.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is expected to push all financial firms not just those receiving government money to use stock rather than cash for incentive compensation. The administration believes the cash incentives contributed to last year's financial crisis. Critics argue the restrictions could drive away talent.
Gas prices inching up further. AAA reporting the national average for unleaded regular now $2.63 a gallon. This means over the past month, we've seen gas prices jump 40 cents.
This morning, we're inside Iran. And we're counting down to the country's presidential election this Friday. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is facing a strong challenge from some reformist candidates, and for the very time Iranian women could play a key role in the political process. Our Christiane Amanpour is live in Tehran. It's a story you'll see only on CNN.
And, Christiane, you've covered past elections there. You're noting something different this time around. A lot more energy on the streets. What is standing out to you about how this one may be very different?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's so different because of the numbers of people on the street on a daily, nightly, and early-morning basis. It has never been like this before. Even in 1997, when they elected the first reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, it still didn't have this amount of street campaigning. And it appears that people have been energized by the last series of debate in which they really saw that there would be a difference depending on which candidate was elected. Whether it's the fundamentalist President Ahmadinejad or the reformist opposition leader there, Mir-Hossein Mousavi.
And that's what's bringing people out. To an extent what's going on is that an apathetic populace who's planning to stay home and not vote and now they say they all are going to come out to vote and it will, by and large, be a protest vote against the current President. According to all these people who now say they are mobilizing to come out on Friday.
Really, people are coming out; they are facing-off across street corners, across public squares. Mostly the supporters of the two main candidates waving, shouting slogans, waving posters and determined to shout each other down and to face each other off at the election.
This is an important election. It comes after four years of bad economy, of higher inflation, higher prices, lower wages and lower oil revenue now after four years of high oil revenue.
So people are saying that the country is headed for a calamity and we've got to do something to stop it -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Fascinating. And clearly the world is watching this very carefully. How do you think that the outcome of this vote is going to impact relations -- let's say -- with the United States and also with the international community?
AMANPOUR: Well, I think it's going to be interesting. Because this will come barely a week after the elections in Lebanon which many thought would be a victory for the Hezbollah-led coalition there but instead turned out to be a victory for the Pro Western March 14th Coalition.
And so clearly, people are watching. People overseas are watching including in the United States to see which direction Iran takes. Most of the people here say they want a different direction, a more democratic direction, a reform direction and a direction which will take them into better relations with the rest of the world including Iran. Most of the people here -- United States rather -- most of the people in Iran that we've spoke and they say they want better relations with the U.S. and they're aware of what President Obama has been saying in terms of wanting a new relationship and dialogue with Iran. So this is something that is making a difference and an impact here.
Now what actually happens is a different matter, whether the U.S. will take steps to improve relations with Iran. Or who is elected here. But by and large, the President does not make foreign policy. Although he is the sort of international face of the country, foreign policy will be made at a higher level and that's the Supreme Leader.
But most people are saying in terms of leadership -- are saying that they do want to see a new way forward with the United States. So this is a very important election. And not the least because if President Ahmadinejad loses, it will be the first time an incumbent has lost.
CHETRY: That's also very fascinating. We're glad we have you inside -- you're in Tehran -- being able to report on this for us. It's something you'll see only on CNN. Christiane Amanpour, thank you.
ROBERTS: Just to update you on our breaking news this morning.
Just a little while ago, I received a report from the Associated Press quoting the Spanish Airport Authority that an Airbus A-320 that was taking-off from Las Palmas on the island of Grand Canaria, in the Canary Islands south of the coast of Morocco -- of course it's a Spanish protectorate -- was taking-off from Las Palmas headed for Oslo, suffered engine trouble and had to turn around and land back again at Las Palmas, according to the Spanish Airport Authority.
There were no injuries onboard. Not saying what was wrong with the engine; would not comment on some reports that there might have been a fire in one of those engines.
Of course, an Airbus 320 we saw last January landed in the Hudson River after it hit a bunch of birds when it took-off from LaGuardia airport. Of course, that emergency landing has been the subject of hearings on Capitol Hill over the last couple of days. We saw Captain Chelsey Sullenberger testify.
And that's the Airbus A-320. It's not the plane, but it's a plane just like it. But again, from Las Palmas and the Canary Islands on the Island of Grand Canaria, headed for Oslo and had to turn around and land again after suffering some engine problems. As far as we know, nobody onboard was hurt.
We'll keep you updated in this story just as soon as we get more information. Thirty-five minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Thirty-eight minutes past the hour right now. Welcome back to THE Most News in the Morning.
And we're getting a quick check now, the "A.M. Rundown." Stories we're going to be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
Did you ever wish you had a second pair of eyes? Well, we're going to introduce you to a rolling robot that can make that happen on the edge of discovery.
Also, playing dead -- we're going to meet a Hollywood actor who has made really a career out of playing dead. He turned it to an art form really. Our Alina Cho takes a look at that.
Also the drug war next door -- violence in Mexico now spreading to a popular tourist destination. We are live on the ground in Mexico City -- John.
ROBERTS: Well, for today's high school senior, getting in to their dream school is only half the battle. Figuring out how to pay their college tuition can be just as tough. According to a study, 71 percent of high schools report an increase in students passing on their dream school because of the economy.
But there is help out there. Joining me now is Ben Caplan; he's the founder of CityofCollegedreams.org. He won $90,000 in scholarships when he was in high school enough to cover virtually the entire cost of his degree, from -- we should say Harvard University.
Ben, it's good to see you this morning.
BEN CAPLAN, CITYOFCOLLEGEDREAMS.ORG: Well, thank you for having me on the show. And few people get as excited as me because I personally lived this experience and it changed my life.
ROBERTS: And you've got some great tips for people at home; parents or students, people looking for money to get to college. Maybe they can actually get to their dream college. You did this in the summer before your senior year at high school. How did you do it?
CAPLAN: Right, I was a competitive athlete -- I always -- I go to school on a tennis scholarship, and I got an injury. All of a sudden, I needed a different way to get to school. So, I found out those corporations, foundations, associations, community groups that give out about $6 billion to $8 billion in scholarship every year.
So, I started applying. I applied for three dozen of them. I won two dozen of them and accumulated $90,000 in scholarships. That's why my parents were very happy with me, actually.
ROBERTS: I'm sure you got two-thirds of the scholarship for your life?
CAPLAN: I did -- I was very blessed with them. And what I discovered was that, you know what, there's a snowball effect. Sometimes people apply for one or two and they stop. But if you stick with it, there's a learning curve. You get better and don't neglect the small local scholarships because I start out -- sometimes they're only a couple of hundred dollars but they add up and they lead to bigger ones.
ROBERTS: Yes, now you did this over the course of the summer. And you say -- you've got this new DVD that's out there "How to go to College Almost for Free." And you say that summer is the perfect time because you can leverage activities and other things you might be involved in over the next eight weeks into scholarship applications and material. How do you do that?
CAPLAN: Sure, the busiest time for scholarship deadlines is actually the fall "back to school" season. Everyone misses out on those deadlines because they're getting in the flow of back-to-school.
So one, doing some of the Internet research for this; there are this 12 to 14 Internet scholarship databases. Essentially what you do is you fill-up these questionnaires, these databases sort of match up with the scholarships that fit your profile. And it's a nice way to start and you can do that over the summer. So if you go to the Web site I help with cityofcollegeofdreams.org; that's a great place to start.
And then secondly, leverage what you're already doing this summer. So a big thing, summer trips, right? Well, if you're going to -- first of all go to a place of historical significance. Say you're going to Gettysburg. You can do a little research while you're there because there's a lot of historical theme scholarships by groups like the American Legion or the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
ROBERTS: Really.
CAPLAN: So, you are doing an interview, you do a little research; you turn it into a project.
But let's say you want to go camping. Well, you do a little ecology project and then send in that project for the Young Naturalist Award sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History.
Or finally, if you just -- you don't want to do any of that. You just want to curl up by the pool with a good book, you could pick the "Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand because there happens to be the "Ayn Rand" Scholarship essay contest. So, a great way to leverage your summer.
ROBERTS: And you know you say it, too -- you we're going to school on athletic scholarships, as you say. Think about athletic scholarships, you think about scholarships for people with extraordinarily high GPAs.
But you say there's some quirky stuff out there as well that people might not know really about including nude sunbathing and Star Trek?
CAPLAN: Yes. That is right. The big myth is that this is for students with high GPAs. But there's actually a Nude Sunbathing Society. I did not win the scholarship personally. You write an essay on "What Nudism Means to Me" for that scholarship. And I've never been to the award ceremony; I'm guessing it's very casual attire. I'm guessing. Star Trek fans, the Klingon Language Institute has a scholarship where actually -- you don't have to speak Klingon but you do have to write about your love of language. And so tens of thousands of scholarship providers all want to recognize different things; there's truly a scholarship out there for everyone.
ROBERTS: And as we said, you did this in the summer before your senior year in high school. For kids who have already graduated high school, I would assume it's too late for this fall, but is it too late at all?
CAPLAN: No, ok, well for this fall, it's going to be a little challenging because it's not too much lead time. But for next semester, certainly and throughout college, especially if you choose an academic major or a career path, there's more scholarships, grad school, there's more.
Adults going back to school something called the OSHA re-entry scholarships, for adults going back. The thing that surprises people, if I could do this all over again, I would start as early as 7th or 8th grade...
ROBERTS: Really.
CAPLAN: ... because there are learning programs that have scholarship money attached often you form like a savings bond or a cash rewards for younger kids. So never too late but certainly great to start now, start right away.
And by the way, a great way to start -- I have a free workshop coming up June 18. It's a national workshop and it's called a Pajama Workshop because you can watch online from home in your pajamas, and it's free. And the site is at cityofcollegedreams.org.
ROBERTS: Cityofcollegedreams.org all right sounds like a great place to start.
CAPLAN: Ok, that's the Web site.
ROBERTS: Ben thanks very much for coming in.
CAPLAN: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Congratulations, good work to you.
CAPLAN: Well, and congratulations to you're dad as well. And I'm sure there's ones graduating, so congratulations to you.
ROBERTS: Yes, my daughter graduates from high school and is headed for college on Monday.
CAPLAN: Oh. Excellent.
ROBERTS: More money to spend. All right, thanks Ben.
CAPLAN: Thank you. ROBERTS: You can read about Ben Caplan's workshops and his tips on how to pay for college in these tough times by going to our blog at CNN.com/amfix.
It's 43 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: There you go, Sheryl Crow's "Soak Up at the Sun," that's one of the choices that our Twitterer sent in about what should be our AMERICAN MORNING theme song for this summer. Well, somewhat uplifting. Sheryl Crow. That's the shot of Nashville, by the way.
From our friends at WKRN, it's 72 right now in Nashville going up to 85. But yet again, we've got some thunderstorms in the forecast -- John.
ROBERTS: Yes, well, what else is new? It's was raining everywhere across the nation these days it seems.
It's got three wheels, a tiny camera and can help you be in two places at once. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout explains this week's "Edge of Discovery."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ever wish you had an extra set of eyes? Meet the WowWee Rovio, a $300 camera on wheels that's bringing spy-like technology into your home.
(on camera): What is unique about the Rovio?
DAVIN SUFER, WOWWEE: The most unique thing about Rovio is that anyone can quickly and easily set up a robot in their house. Anyone can have a robot at home.
STOUT (voice-over): All you need is an Internet connection to sync Rovio with a computer, smart phone or even a video game console. Then you control where it goes and see what it sees from anywhere in the world.
(on camera): What are the applications that you've heard of the Rovio at home?
SUFER: Well, one thing it would be to keep an eye on your loved ones or your kids when you're not home.
STOUT: Or your pets.
SUFER: Or your pets definitely. Pets are fun, they'll really love the Rovio.
STOUT (voice-over): Rovio might work as a digital watchdog but it does have limitations. It can't climb stairs and has a restrictive range of movement unless you add extra sensors. We checked out Rovio in action at WowWee headquarters in Hong Kong. And after a long day when this hardworking gizmo gets low on batteries, it could find its own way back to the charging station...
(on camera): I'm going to get in its way.
... even if there's an obstacle in the way.
Nice one, Rovio.
Kristie Lu Stout, CNN, Hong Kong.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: There you have it.
Well, we'll have a quick check of some of your "AM Pix" as well; some of the shots that caught our eyes overnight.
President Obama does his best Indiana Jones impersonation. This is a White House photo from his trip to Egypt. Pretty cool. The hat was given to him on his tour of the pyramids.
In China, a coast guard man shows off his flying side kick. How about that? You learn how to do that by the way when you take Tae Kwon Do, it's pretty impressive? Some exercises for the military. Looking good.
And in India both elephants and humans need a break from the heat. So why not enjoy the water together? In this picture a Hindu holy man actually gets tossed by his bathing partner.
And those are you're "AM Pix."
Right now, it's 48 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to THE MOST NEWS IN THE MORNING.
The job market is tough these days. We found a man who is dying to make a living. You know how you can tell that the hero in the movie is the one who survives everything thrown at him, right? This is the other guy in the movie, the guy who unfortunately never makes it.
Alina Cho has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Some actors have the trademark line.
CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR: Go ahead, make my day.
CHO: Others a trademark scene. Actor Mike Doyle, his trademark is dying over and over again.
MIKE DOYLE, ACTOR WHO KEEPS GETTING KILLED ON SCREEN: The first time I though, interesting, it will be fun to die. And now when I turn that page, I'm like, "Man, again."
CHO: During his decade-long acting career, Doyle says his characters both in film and TV have been killed off seven times.
Shot.
DOYLE: You have to figure how the bullets hit you, whether you're going to fall back or fall forward.
CHO: Stabbed?
DOYLE: When you're stabbed, you just kind of -- you know, clutch and then drop out of frame.
CHO: Even electrocuted on a fence.
Then there's double whammy: shot then blown up on a boat.
(on camera): What is this?
DOYLE: I don't know Alina. I think I'm getting a little bit of a complex here. You know, let the guy live.
CHO (voice-over): His worst first performance? Doyle says hands down, this one -- fireballed on a submarine in the movie "Phantom Below "where he got a little carried away and said this...
DOYLE: I'm so cold. I'm so cold.
My friends were like, "Oh, my God. They did not write that." And I was like...
CHO: They did.
DOYLE: No, they didn't. I improv'd it.
CHO: So what does mom think about it all?
DOYLE: She'll call up and she'll say, "Mike, it's Mom. I know it's not real but I just had to call and see if you're OK."
CHO: He's more than OK. Doyle is just starting production on a new movie with Nicole Kidman. And guess what -- there's a new ending.
(on camera): So, in this latest project, you actually get to live. What is that like?
DOYLE: It's a new great wonderful feeling.
CHO: It's about time?
DOYLE: It's about time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: About time is right. While playing a living character is more fun, Doyle says he's also had a great time dying on the set. And it's not as easy as it looks. He says after an unfortunate fluttering eye incident, he decided dying with your eyes open is the best course of action. And it certainly helps that he swam in high school because holding his breath for a long time, guys, is not a problem and that's key when you are dying in a role.
CHETRY: He has a good attitude about it, though.
CHO: He does. And listen, as I said in this economy, at least you're working.
ROBERTS: I love that one movie in which he was shot, stabbed, poisoned, ran over by a tank and then blown up.
CHO: I thought he was going to make it the first time, then the second time, then by the third time I knew he was gone.
CHETRY: Well, he's a cutie. And he has a nice personality.
CHO: He does.
CHETRY: Now as you said, he starts a new chapter. He survives the movie.
Good for him.
Alina Cho, thanks.
CHO: You bet.
ROBERTS: It's 54 1/2 minutes after the hour now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
For the most part, Mexico's escalating drug violence has spared its posh ocean resorts, but no longer. In Acapulco, gunmen killed three police officers earlier this week in attacks on two police stations. Tourists had to be evacuated when a bloody gun battle broke out.
Live now to our Ed Lavandera. He's covering the story from Mexico City. Good morning Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. You know, as we've talked so much about the drug violence in Mexico. It's really focused heavily on the border cities with the U.S. But in this case, that's far from where this incident happened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LAVANDERA (voice-over): Bursts of gun fire echoed through the Mexico's streets. It's the sound of a drug war but this time it's different.
RUSTY FLEMING, AUTHOR, "DRUG WARS": You are seeing a new level of the war on drugs in Mexico. Now, of course, you've got an administration that is taking the war to these guys. You're going to start seeing them in places that we never thought they existed.
LAVANDERA: But it seems no place is immune. This gun battle took place in the tourist Mecca of Acapulco.
The battle started over the weekend when Mexican troops raided a suspected safe house of the Beltran-Levy drug cartel. When the smoke cleared, more than 3,000 shots had been fired, 50 grenades exploded, and 17 people killed, including two soldiers and two innocent bystanders.
Terrified tourists fled from the area. And then yesterday, another rampage of gun fire and explosion; two police stations were riddled with bullets and pounded with grenades in a coordinated near- simultaneous attack. Three policemen were killed and one wounded.
Reports say state officials were investigating whether it was retaliatory attack while Mexican soldiers in trucks and helicopters kept watch over a nervous resort town.
Some 2,300 people have been killed just this year in Mexico's drug violence.
The U.S. State Department has a travel alert, warning Americans of the increased levels of violence. The Mexican government says its resort towns are safe, but Fleming disagrees and says open warfare in places like Acapulco is only just beginning.
FLEMING: All of those drugs have to come in in shipping lanes. And those are shipping ports. So, of course, they have a presence there. Of course you're going to see as, you know, these guys their operations become uncovered by the military and the military begins to pursue them, you're going to see more of this kind of violence.
LAVANDERA: A new front in the war on drugs, another town gripped with fear.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: And of course, John, for Mexican officials what concerns them is that this will drive away tourism, this coming on the heels of this country just recovering from what has been going on here with the swine flu. They're very worried that this will have a grave impact on the tourism industry here in the country -- John.
ROBERTS: It's certainly something that would scare a lot of tourists coming from this country, that's for sure.
Ed Lavandera for us this morning in Mexico City. Ed, thanks very much.
