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American Morning
Confirmation Hearings for Sonia Sotomayor to Begin on July 13; President Obama Urges Congress to Spend Less; Researchers Developing Cancer Fighting Robot
Aired June 10, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, good morning once again. Glad you're with us on this Wednesday, June 10th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, I'm John Roberts.
We're coming up to the top of the hour and here's what's on this morning's agenda, the stories that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
President Obama pushing for support for tougher pay-as-you-go budgeting rules. Jim Acosta examines why the president's request to Congress to control spending is so controversial.
Inside Iran as voters get ready to choose a president on Friday, our Christiane Amanpour gives us an exclusive look at how the political process is playing out there. It is something that you'll see only on CNN.
Confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor will begin on the 13th of July. Her mentor, Manhattan district attorney Robert Morganthal spoke to CNN and said back in college, no one mess with Sotomayor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT MORGANTHAU, MANHATTAN DISTRICT ATTORNEY: She's incredibly smart, hard working. I mean, she graduated from Princeton summa cum laude. She was on the "Yale Law Journal," which means she was one of the top students. Hard worker. Nobody pushed her around.
WOLF BLITZER, "THE SITUATION ROOM" HOST: So, you got to know her pretty well.
MORGANTHAU: I did.
BLITZER: How many years did she work for you as an assistant D.A.?
MORGANTHAU: She worked for me for five years.
BLITZER: What stood out in your mind about her?
MORGANTHAU: Well, she was always prepared. One of the assistants who came there with her, class of '79, and I said, "Well, she was a half a step ahead of you guys." He said, "No, she was a full step ahead of us."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: In about 10 minutes, we'll break down what could and fierce confirmation battle over Sonia Sotomayor with our political advisors: James Carville and Alex Castellanos.
The numbers are in and they're like nothing that we've ever seen. The federal deficit is now on pace to blow past $1.8 trillion this year, more than four times last year's all-time high. The deficit figures are blamed on the cost of two wars, $787 billion stimulus plan and billions of dollars in bank bailouts.
And this morning, the president is suddenly asking Congress to stop the spending. He wants a pay-as-you-go plan. Simply put, for every dollar spent, he wants a dollar saved. It has some lawmakers scratching their heads. It's also one of the most popular stories on CNN.com.
Our Jim Acosta is live in Washington with more on the controversial plan.
And, Jim, the critics are saying here's a real case of do what I say not as I do.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, John. Despite the fact that the president is very popular, the poll numbers for the president are very high, but on this issue of spending, not so much. The deficit is not just a fiscal problem for the president; it's becoming a political one as well.
Not only are Republicans trying to score points on the issue of spending, one key Democrat believes the president is going to have a tough time keeping a crucial promise: cutting the deficit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Facing a nation drowning in red ink, a record $1.8 trillion deficit, President Obama is vowing to restore fiscal sanity to Washington. He's calling on Congress to adopt tough spending rules that would force lawmakers to pay for new programs dollar-for-dollar with budget cuts. The approach is called "paygo" or pay-as-you-go.
PRES. BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES: Paying for what you spend is basic common sense. Perhaps that's why here in Washington, it's been so illusive.
ACOSTA: But Republicans ask, what about the stimulus? They accuse the president of saying, "Pay as you go, not as I do."
REP. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: When Democrats are talking about paygo, they mean you pay and they go on spending.
SEN. KENT CONRAD (D), BUDGET COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: We're headed for a cliff, a fiscal cliff. ACOSTA: Even the Senate budget committee's chairman, Kent Conrad, doubts the president can deliver on his promise to cut the deficit in half in four years. He says the White House is already waiving big portions of the budget from pay-as-you-go worth $4 trillion over 10 years.
CONRAD: I don't believe you can that way. The budget that I wrote doesn't do it.
ACOSTA: You're saying the president can't do it either.
CONRAD: I don't believe so. I don't believe anybody could.
ACOSTA: The White House concedes pay-as-you-go only goes so far.
PETER ORZAG, OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET: Pay-as-you-go embodies the common sense principle that you shouldn't dig the hole deeper.
ACOSTA: Despite promising to tackle spending during the campaign ...
OBAMA: We know that we have to get spending under control in Washington so that we're not mortgaging our children's future under a mountain of debt.
ACOSTA: ... a Gallup poll finds Americans disapprove of the president's handling of both the deficit and spending. So, Republicans are going with an issue that could pay.
NEWT GINGRICH (R), FMR. HOUSE SPEAKER: I'm quite comfortable telling you, yes, we can balance the budget again if we have a majority and we are in charge.
ACOSTA: Senator Conrad says -- not so fast.
CONRAD: Their record doesn't merit much credibility.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Administration officials are still defend piling all of that stimulus spending on top of the deficit, arguing it was the best approach to get the country out of the recession. And the president is promising that his health care plans will not add to the deficit.
And, John, pay-as-you-go, it sounds like a good idea, but you have to face facts here -- that is not the way this country has been run for the last eight to 10 years, and the president has a tough battle ahead of him to try to change the mindset here in Washington, John.
ROBERTS: Jim, just looking at what the Republicans are saying, and I talked to a lot of conservatives during the Bush administration who were none too happy with the pace at which the Republican Congress was spending money either. So, I mean ...
ACOSTA: That's right. And remember, the vice president ...
ROBERTS: Is anybody innocent here?
ACOSTA: Well, remember, Vice President Cheney once said, "Deficits don't matter." So, you know, there is a record preceding the one that began January of this year. So, the Democrats will say that.
But having said all of that, this is President Obama's budget now, this is President Obama's deficit now. And even Democrats, like Kent Conrad. There are blue dog Democrats -- he's one of the bluest of the blues -- are saying he has to get serious. He says this town needs to sober up when it comes to the deficit.
ROBERTS: Yes. And, you know, when you say the words $1.8 trillion, and then follow with the word deficit, it's staggering by any measure.
ACOSTA: It's amazing.
ROBERTS: All right. Jim Acosta for us this morning -- Jim, thanks so much.
ACOSTA: You bet.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Speaking of blue, one person who's probably getting blue in the face right now: Ron Paul.
ROBERTS: Oh, I would think. Yes, Ron's worried about the amount of money that we're printing.
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: And, you know, a lot of people say rightly so.
CHETRY: And spending.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: All right. Well, tensions are rising between the U.S. and North Korea. And this story is getting a lot of hits this morning on CNN.com. The communist nation is now threatening a nuclear offensive against America, claiming it's a response to U.S. aggression.
And the president's special envoy to the region is trying to keep things calm. Stephen Bosworth making it clear to the North Koreans that America has no plans to provoke a fight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEPHEN BOSWORTH, U.S. SPECIAL ENVOY: A North Korean claim to be responding to a threat or a hostile policy by the United States is simply groundless. Quite to the contrary, we have no intention to invade North Korea or to change its regime through force, and we have made this clear to the DPRK repeatedly. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Bosworth made those comments, by the way, last night to the Korean society in New York. He called on the North Koreans also to stop the saber-rattling and start talking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOSWORTH: We are convinced that negotiation and dialogue are the best means available to achieve the goal of complete and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Future negotiations, however, need to establish the irreversible steps that North Korea must take to go beyond the impermanent disablement actions previously taken. In short, we remain ready for serious negotiations with North Korea.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: U.N. Security Council is just days away from sanctioning North Korea for its recent nuclear and missile tests.
And now to a story you'll only see on CNN -- counting down to Iran's presidential election. It's now just 39 hours away. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is feeling the heat. It appears that Iranian voters are motivated for change and the country's women are playing a big part in that. Christiane Amanpour is inside Iran with this exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: With two days left to the vote, and one day left of campaigning, the main presidential candidates are out in various cities around this country while their supporters are really fighting it out on the streets. Not literally but verbally. They're facing off across street corners, they're shouting slogans, they're waving posters -- as each side tries to bring out the vote in what is now a very, very tight race.
President Ahmadinejad, the fundamentalist president of Iran, was considered the very favorite front-runner, a shoo-in for re-election. But now, with the last few days to go, his main reformist rival, Mir Hossein Mousavi is closing the gap in a significant way.
Many Iranian voters who said they would stay home because they say they consider all candidates about as bad as each other now say they're going to come out. Many of them say their vote will be a protest vote against current conditions in Iran, including the state of their own country with respect to the international community. They say they want better relations with the rest of the world, including the United States.
And while the supporters are out in the streets, there is also a growing combat, if you like, verbally, between high-level religious clerics and high-level officials who are both pro and anti the current president, Ahmadinejad. This will all be resolved on Friday. Some are saying it could be over in the first round. Some predict though it may go to a second round -- next week.
Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: A busy day at the White House. Ground crews are grinding up a nearly 70-year-old tree turning it into mulch. Some live pictures there. The pieces of the tree as they're cutting it up into bite-size chunks with the chainsaw. It was knocked down by strong storms yesterday.
The White House says the tree, a European Linden, does not have the distinction of being a commemorative tree there on the North Lawn because it wasn't planted by a president to mark a special occasion.
Happy Birthday, Sasha! President Obama's youngest daughter turns 8 years old today. Reports say that Sasha had seven little girls sleep over at the family's home last year in Chicago for her 7th birthday. No word yet on a White House birthday sleepover or if she'll increase that number to eight.
Does she have, you know, a concurrent number of people sleepover for her birthday?
CHETRY: I don't know, but the 25th birthday party's going to be fun.
(LAUGHTER)
ROBERTS: Yes, imagine 50! There's going to be a lot of them.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Whether she's going to ask for it, and she doesn't need another dog. I got the dog.
ROBERTS: What do you ask for your birthday when you're living at the White House? Interesting.
CHETRY: When you're 8. I don't know.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: All right.
ROBERTS: Ten and a half minutes after the hour. We'll be right back. James Carville and Alex Castellanos -- coming up. Stay with us.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, TV HOST: Thank you very much for joining us, John Hasselman (ph). Nice to see you. JOHN HASSELMAN (ph), GUEST: Right. No time for pleasantries, Jon. Audience, California is in peril. Unless we act now, the entire state will crumble into the sea. As we all know -- as we all know, Nevada cannot get wet on account of its large --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: All right. Well, welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 13 minutes past the hour.
We have a quick look at the A.M. rundown -- these are stories that are coming up in just a couple of minutes. Skip the condo in Aspen -- why the bonus game on Wall Street may be over.
Also, drug smugglers are going high-tech to move money across the U.S. border. Arizona's attorney general is going to be joining us live.
Also, a robot that fights lung cancer? Dr. Sanjay Gupta checks it out -- John?
ROBERTS: Today, Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor, heads back to Capitol Hill to meet with senators ahead of her confirmation hearing which we now know is set to begin on the 13th of July.
Joining me now to talk about just how much of a fight Republicans have when it comes to this nominee, James Carville, former Clinton advisor, and Alex Castellanos, an advisor to Republican candidates -- both of them CNN political advisors.
So, Alex, let's start with you. Republicans in Congress are saying July 13th, we can't do it, it's just too early, we don't have an opportunity to. Why is it too early? It's still a ways away.
ALEX CASTELLANOS, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: I think Republicans are just asking for a role in the process. I think that's the opening -- the opening bid. Clearly, these days, you can learn anything you want about anybody in just, really, a few minutes on the Internet. So, it doesn't take two months. But Democrats, just because they control the Senate, just because they control the House, just because they control the White House, doesn't mean they can run roughshod over the minority.
ROBERTS: But, James, that's not the argument that Republicans are making. They're saying we got to read 76 cases a day between now and the 13th of July, to make sure that we're read up and more up-to- speed on her record and we just can't do that. They're not saying, "Hey, we want a role in the process." They're saying, "We're going to slow-walk this thing if you insist on making it the 13th of July." James?
JAMES CARVILLE, CNN POLITICAL CONTRIBUTOR: Well, I think that Alex is correct. I think that they're trying to get a role in the process. They're using this as a device to do that.
This is one week less than they had for Chief Justice Roberts. I mean, by this measure, Justice Cardozo, who served on New York Court of Appeals, they would still be reading his decisions. He probably had so many before he got on the Supreme Court. I mean, it doesn't -- in a practical matter, people can read decisions all the time, all these right wing interest groups are out there reading decisions.
I think Alex is correct. They're looking to say, "Hey, wait, include us in what's going on here," and it's pretty understandable. But as I understand it, they want her on the court as soon as they can get her because she's going to have to get up-to-speed on all these decisions they'll be making in the fall term.
ROBERTS: If -- let's just take a look at a little bit of history here. We've got some graphics made up to help folks at home.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg nominated the 14th of June, 1993. Her hearings began five weeks later on the 20th of July. Stephen Breyer nominated May 14th, 1994. His hearings began on the 12th of July. So, that's a couple months.
John Roberts nominated on July the 19th, re-nominated to be the chief justice on September the 5th. He was confirmed on September the 29th.
So, the timeline, Alex, is all kind of similar here. You know, Republicans, again, are threatening to slow-walk this process. You say that they want just a role in it here, but critics are saying, "Hey, you know, they're the party of obstructionism" and does this not play into that stereotype?
CASTELLANOS: Well, first of all, Supreme Court justice is not for a year, not for a couple of years, not for a term -- this is for life. These are decisions that will affect us and our children for a long, long time.
So, taking a good, hard look at this and letting the opposition have a seat at the table, letting the opposition have a voice is important. Look, in a courtroom, you'd have a -- you'd have a right to question the defendant here. She, in effect, needs to be tested. And I think that's all Republicans are asking for.
There are questions that she's said, look, if -- well, I'll be a better judge because of my gender and I'll be a better judge because I'm a Latino woman. She's going to be asked about that. Those are fair things to look at.
ROBERTS: Hey, let's switch gears -- let's switch gears, James, because they want to ask you about what happened yesterday in Virginia. You had State Senator Creigh Deeds, your old buddy Terry McAuliffe. Terry McAuliffe had a big edge on money, had a big edge on name recognition. What happened to McAuliffe and the fact that Creigh Deeds lost to Robert McDonnell back in 2005 when they were battling each other for attorney general? What's that say about the Democrats' potential to hang on to the Commonwealth come the governor election?
CARVILLE: Well, he lost by, how many votes, 325 votes. And, look, he was a serious guy; he's been around for 20 years. Terry, he made a run for it.
And, you know, people always say, "Why can't we get good people in politics?" Well, here's a guy who's very accomplished that went out and ran his heart out, ran a campaign, he wanted to be governor of Virginia. He ran into a rather formidable opponent, he lost. But I give Terry a lot of credit for having the heart to go out there and give his best.
And, you know, Democrats in Virginia chose someone else. But, you know, but that's their choice. And I can understand that. But let's give Terry some credit for having the guts to go out there and put his name on line.
ROBERTS: You know, Alex, as James said, it was a very close election back in 2005. But do you think the Republicans can put Virginia back in their column this year?
CASTELLANOS: I think -- I think, Republicans have a good shot. You know, the surprising number in this is that less than 10 percent of Democrats came out to support any of these candidates. Ninety percent of Democrats couldn't get enthused about any of these three.
When Barack Obama is not on the ballot, the Democrats seem to have a hard time making their case. We're seeing that. I think that's a matter of concern.
As far as McAuliffe goes, you know, he was -- he's -- I think a lot of Virginians thought he was an outsider, a carpetbagger, new to their state. He wanted to be captain of the team and they didn't even know he was on the team.
ROBERTS: Yes. You know, if I'm -- if I'm not mistaken, I know Terry's lived in Virginia for at least 10 years.
CASTELLANOS: Right.
ROBERTS: So, not exactly an outsider.
CASTELLANOS: But they'd seen him -- they'd seen him more as a national figure. And also people are looking for, I think, authenticity in their politics. And Terry has a ton of energy, no doubt about that.
(CROSSTALK)
ROBERTS: Quick response, James. Then we got to go.
CARVILLE: Yes, he does have a ton of energy. It's a classic match-up, because Deeds is kind of a Virginia Democrat. McDonnell is a Pat Robinson or Rush Limbaugh Republican. And this is going to be -- we're going to see what happens when this thing comes down the stretch.
ROBERTS: All right. James Carville, Alex Castellanos -- it's always great to see you, guys. Thanks for coming in this morning.
CARVILLE: Thank you.
CASTELLANOS: Thank you.
ROBERTS: And a programming note, we were talking about Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Well, coming up in October, CNN is going to take a comprehensive look at how Latinos are reshaping America from politics to business, to our schools and neighborhoods. "Latino in America," coming up in October on CNN.
It's now 19 1/2 minutes after the hour.
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(MUSIC)
CHETRY: Round they go and clam the circle this morning. Another not-so-great day this morning here in New York. It's foggy. It's 60. It's going to be mostly cloudy, high in 74 a little bit later today.
ROBERTS: There are some people saying that this is going to be the year without a summer for the northern tier of the country.
CHETRY: Thanks, John. Now, I'm totally depressed! Now, we definitely need a road trip to Daytona Beach.
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: Well, joining us now is Christine Romans. She is minding your business right now.
This is something you've talked about many times before -- can the U.S. government really limit executive pay? How much, you know, push-back can they put on these banks and other institutions? Is it going to happen?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Should the government be setting pay or regulating pay, first of all, that's something that Timothy Geithner, the treasury secretary, and the White House has been exploring, how to do it. Because look -- here's the fact -- the way that Wall Street was paid for so many years actually helped foster this excessive risk taking. I mean, people were paid millions and millions of dollars for coming up with ways to make money in a very, very short term. And we saw what happened. We saw where that got us.
Well, the treasury secretary and his team and many people in the administration have been trying to figure out how do you -- how do you change the pay structure, how do you get in there and regulate so that people can't be playing with the international economy for short-term benefit. So, what we think we're going to hear today from the treasury secretary and his team is more on what they're going to do to try to persuade the SEC or to get the SEC to have more power over pay, new rules likely coming, probably no to salary caps as they are. That's something the treasury secretary that's testified before; he's no real fan of just hard and fast salary caps.
But limits on bonuses and the way that bonuses can be paid out. And probably a pay czar for the firms that are getting government aid -- somebody who will look out over all of this and make sure that the banks that are taking our money, that those banks are using it in the right way, not to be paying, again, for excessive risk taking.
ROBERTS: "Romans Numeral" for us this hour?
ROMANS: Sixty-eight billion. And this is a number that we've been hearing people screaming about the money that the banks have.
ROBERTS: Oh. That's the amount of money that the banks are going to pay back.
ROMANS: These banks are going to be paying back $68 billion. And one of the reasons, they want to get out from under those congressionally-mandated pay caps and stuff. They don't -- they don't want somebody telling them how much they can pay.
But, you know, the banks, everyone knows that changes are coming, big changes are coming in pay. You're not going to be able to make tens and hundreds of millions of dollars anymore for being a unit of a company that could take the whole international economy to financial ruin. That is just not going to be allowed. And this is what we're going to hear more about today, I'm sure.
ROBERTS: And you'll make sure (ph).
(LAUGHTER)
ROMANS: It's just -- gosh, you know, the whole pay thing, just being paid for taking some -- when you look at people in the financial products division over at AIG, it just makes you sick. I mean, it's just sickening.
ROBERTS: All right. Minding your business, Christine Romans for us this morning -- Christine, thanks so much.
He testified yesterday on Capitol Hill. Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the guy that was responsible for bringing that A320 down in the Hudson River, saving all those people on board. What are we learning from that particular incident? We'll find out when we come back.
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ROBERTS: New details this morning of the so-called "Miracle on the Hudson." For the first time, we're learning what was going on inside the cockpit just moments before the pilot made the split decision that saved everyone on board.
CNN's Mary Snow has been following the hearings and she joins us now live.
Good morning to you.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, again, John. Captain Sullenberger detailed the quick thinking in the ordeal lasting five minutes and eight seconds from take-off to splash-down and he stressed experience is a key factor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): Minutes before U.S. 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 transcript show there was a sound of a thump, followed by a shuddering sound. The engine sucked in birds that the captain says, filled the entire wind screen. 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.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've lost thrust in both engines, we're turning back towards LaGuardia.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
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.
CAPT. CHESLEY SULLENBERGER, U.S. AIRWAYS: From my previous experience on layovers 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.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to be in the Hudson.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
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 replies, "Actually, not." A warning system is going off, warning "terrain, pull up." And Sullenberger says, "We're going to brace."
Their first words once they landed on the Hudson?
SULLENBERGER: The first officer, Jeff Skiles, and I turned to each other and almost in unison at the same time, with same words, said to each other, "Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Now, one of the things being examined at the NTSB hearings is how to deal with bird strikes. Captain Sullenberger said warnings he received in the past had been general and had limited usefulness. John, day two of those hearings is also looking at the emergency evacuation.
ROBERTS: Yes. He told me when he came to visit us here that they hadn't even been trained for what happens if both engines go out at low altitude. He said, "You know, we've been trained to figure out what to do if, you know, if you' are 30,000 or 35,000 feet, then you got lots of time."
But, you know, this was like, just a couple of minutes to get the plane on the ground somewhere.
SNOW: And one of the things he really stressed yesterday at that hearing is the importance of having flying time, experience, and being able to work with the pilots together.
ROBERTS: Yes. People say when you get on a plane, if the pilot's got gray hair you know you're in pretty good hands. Same principle here at AMERICAN MORNING.
SNOW: Exactly. That's what we all say. Thanks, Mary -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. 30 minutes past the hour now.
We checked our top stories and first details on a developing story, Spain's airport authority confirming that an A-320 Airbus with engine trouble made a safe emergency landing this morning. This jet took off from the Canary Islands, it was bound for Oslo, Norway. It was in the air just 10 minutes when it was forced to turn around because of engine trouble. But a spokesperson says all 189 passengers and crew are OK. And they will be going back to Norway on another flight later on this afternoon.
Well, new video just in to CNN of Middle East envoy George Mitchell arriving in Ramallah. He's meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad - I mean, sorry, Mahmoud Abbas this morning, trying to kick-start Middle East peace talks. He met yesterday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
And a Soviet submarine that sank in 1940 between Sweden and Finland has divers from both countries. It's one of the most popular stories on cnn.com right now. The Swedes and Finns both claim credit for sinking the Soviet S2 submarine with mines during World War II.
Well, the state of Arizona finding itself in the front lines in the war against Mexican drug cartels. And their attorney general will meet this week with leaders of other southwestern states. They're trying to stop the flow of drugs across the border. And to do it they realize they're going to have to stop the flow of cash as well, including a new way smugglers are trying to get past the cash-sniffing dogs and others. Gift card technology is making it easier for the drug lords to move cash across the border undetected.
Arizona attorney general Terry Goddard joins us now from Phoenix. Thanks so much for being with us this morning.
TERRY GOODARD, ARIZONA ATTORNEY GENERAL: Good morning.
CHETRY: So walk us through these gift cards. How have they become so useful to the drug cartels?
GOODARD: Well, this isn't your Starbucks or Best Buy gift cards. What we're talking about here are stored value instruments which have chips in them. Here's some examples. That basically can store fairly large amounts of cash. The total amount is undetermined. It depends on who the depositing bank or financial institution is. And as a result, since they're not considered monetary instruments, they can be taken across the border and you don't break any laws. So it's a huge loophole in our financial crimes observations.
CHETRY: Wow. I got you. So you're talking about gift cards, these blank cards, that can be preloaded with large amounts of cash.
GOODARD: Yes.
CHETRY: How once they get across the border though do they cash it in?
GOODARD: Well, they can be - these basically are your passport for cash. They are your way of getting into a financial institution. So if you're buying coffee with them, obviously your return is not that big. But if you've got a participating financial institution, say in the Cayman Islands or in Central America, then all you have to do is go to a group that corresponds with that financial institution, present your card, and take out your cash.
So there's nothing at the border that you have to display. Under U.S. law, these cards, however much they may be worth, are not considered financial instruments. Therefore, the border patrol, customs agents when they see them, there is no violation because they're not part of the money that you're required to declare, and they can't read them. Which is a big problem. Basically we need to have transparency so that if a law enforcement agency looks at one of these cards, he or she knows how much it is worth.
CHETRY: I got you. So you want Congress to take up this issue. You made some recommendations about this situation. What do you hope to achieve and are they listening to your concerns about this? GOODARD: Well, they finally are. This is not a new concern. The Treasury Department report over three years ago said here's a loophole that is causing large amounts of money to go across the border undetected. And my goal and our goal in law enforcement is to cut off the flow of cash to the organized criminal cartels that are bringing drugs and people into the United States.
CHETRY: Right.
GOODARD: And this is one way we can do it.
CHETRY: I got you. So it's these gift cards or the instrument, as you've been saying, but it seems the other big problem is these banks and these largely unregulated countries like the Cayman Islands, they don't have mechanisms in place that, you know, that follow suspicious transactions, large amounts of money. Is there any way that the U.S. government or you know, the state attorney general can do anything about that?
GOODARD: As a state attorney general, I cannot. However, the U.S. government being involved in international financial money laundering observation and interdiction can play a major role. But this is an international problem. You put your finger on it. There is huge amounts of money being electronically transferred across borders throughout the world. Not just to Mexico. And so we need to play a much more observant role if we're going to cut off this flow of illegal cash.
And that's a big, big problem. But start with these gift cards. They're a huge loophole in our currency transaction regulation.
CHETRY: And how big of a dent do you think you're going to be able to put in the drug trafficking situation by being able to get these -- this gift card loophole closed?
GOODARD: Nobody knows, because nobody knows how much cash is going, because it's not reported. So how much is going across the border into Mexico? I cannot tell you. But it is one source of money that is completely below the radar screen. It's not being observed. It's not - as your lead-in said, it's not being sniffed by cash- sniffing dogs.
CHETRY: Right.
GOODARD: It is an entirely different way to smuggle money. And let's bear in mind that organized crime depends on money. They're not in it for the love of the game, they're in it for the cash.
CHETRY: All right.
GOODARD: If we can cut off or restrict the cash we'll go a long way to cutting down the cartel violence in Mexico.
CHETRY: Got you. All right. Well, you made these recommendations to Congress. We'll see what action, if any, they're prepared to take for the situation. Attorney General Terry Goddard of Arizona, thanks for being with us.
GOODARD: Thank you. I hope they take action soon.
CHETRY: 37 minutes past the hour.
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ROBERTS: I should have worn the big suit today. The man who invented the super sucker is now helping others to re-invent themselves. His team is taking kids from poor communities and teaching them teamwork by building robots. As part of our special series "Black in America," Soledad O'Brien shows us why the sky is the limit for one group of kids from the inner city.
SOLEAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John. Hey, Kiran. Every year an organization called F.I.R.S.T., For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technologies is what it stands for holds the mother of all robotics competitions.
This year at Atlanta's Georgia dome, a very special group of kids was competing, and we were there.
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O'BRIEN (voice-over): Each year hundreds of high school teens are challenged to build robots that accomplish certain tasks. This year's competition honors the 40th anniversary of the first lunar landing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole point of the game is you have to get these moon rocks on this trailer in order to get points.
O'BRIEN: It's a first for this team from Atlanta.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A rookie team down here on the blue side, machine right here, we've got team 3091.
O'BRIEN: These robo rookies are here because of a program run by 100 black men of Atlanta. It is an organization providing opportunities to kids from underprivileged communities. The robotics program goes beyond teaching these inner city teenagers how to build robots.
MILTON JONES, CHAIRMAN "100 BLACK MEN OF ATLANTA": They're learning about teamwork. They're learning about ways to innovate and how to overcome obstacles. All of these are just important life skills beyond the science and engineering base.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got one thing to say to you all - I'm proud of them.
O'BRIEN: Former NASA engineer Lonnie Johnson is a team mentor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never thought (inaudible) about as a reason for stopping.
O'BRIEN: Johnson provided the kids lab space at his own company.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It brings back a lot of fun memories of building robot myself and overcoming obstacles.
RAY SINGER, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, 100 BLACK MEN OF ATLANTA: They don't have these type of opportunities in their neighborhood. Just having this opportunity to work in a tool shop, work with someone and mentor, Dr. Johnson. You show them, it can be done if you put the work in.
We've seen our kid's math, science and reading scores go up which is ultimately going to get them into better universities.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm thinking about Georgia Tech right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm starting to look into maybe understanding programming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to build machinery to benefit everyone. Not the rich class, not the low class, not the middle class, but everyone as a whole.
O'BRIEN: And they're learning dedication pays off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rookie all-star award goes to team 3091.
O'BRIEN: A life lesson they'll never forget.
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O'BRIEN: The team you just saw is in New York this week at the annual convention of the 100 black men organization. Trying to get more robotics teams started for kids in other cities around the country. So not only is the program helping improve academics, it's also helping to create leaders. John. Kiran.
ROBERTS: Soledad O'Brien for us this morning. Soledad, thanks so much. CNN's special "Black in America" part 2 is coming July 22nd and 23rd, stories of people stepping up, taking charge and creating solutions. "Black in America 2," only on CNN. It's 43 minutes now after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Good morning, hotlanta. Where it's mostly cloudy at 71 degrees right now. Later on today, isolated thunderstorms, a high of 89. Going to pretty much be that way for the next few days. Saturday is looking like the best day, it's going to be partly cloudy and hot, high about 90 degrees.
CHETRY: Well Uncle Sam wants to put you in a new car. It is a so-called cash-for-clunkers bill. It just passed the house and it provides money to trade in that gas-guzzler for a new, more fuel- efficient car. It is designed to boost sales of U.S. automakers and the bill is now going to the Senate.
CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis is breaking it down for us to figure out, you know, if it is a good deal, if it works for you.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Exactly.
CHETRY: Trying to figure that out. What do you need to know?
WILLIS: Devil's in the details here obviously. As you said, this hasn't passed Congress yet so things could change but here's what we're looking at right now. Here are the details. First of all, you'd have to have a car that gets 18 miles per gallon that you're going to trade in. That's your old clunker. That's the one that you want to get rid of. And you have to be trading into a new car, a new car that gets 22 miles per gallon.
All right. You have to own that car and have it registered for at least a year. That means, hey you can't go get a junk yard dog, OK and say, hey, I've been driving this car. That's not going to work. The car has to cost less than $45,000. So you get the idea here. You're trading into a car that's more fuel-efficient.
CHETRY: All right. So there you go. And as you said, it's not necessarily passed yet but this is sort of what they're laying out so far. So what are the biggest criticisms of this?
WILLIS: Well, you know, hey, 22 miles per gallon is just not that green at the end of the day. I mean, I think a lot of people out there are thinking shouldn't we have higher standards in this. And secondly, you know, a lot of people are not going to be able to afford new cars. Let's take a look at some of the models here that will probably be part of this program that will get traded and dumped.
The Cadillac Deville, the Dodge Grand Caravan. I mean, who drives these stuff, right?
CHETRY: And then you have the 2004 Chevy Tahoe. That's not that old. I mean -
WILLIS: That's not that old but let's work through the numbers here for just a second. The average car in this country costs $28,000. You give folks a $4,500 credit for that. Think about this. They're going to finance $24,300. At the end of the day they're going to go from a situation of owning a car outright, having no payment, to having a pretty hefty payment. This program, as I'm being told by experts in this field, is probably not going to help a lot of people out there. It's going to be a pretty narrow group of people who actually get assisted.
But if you want to be part of this program, go to fueleconomy.gov to find out if the current miles per gallon rating is for your car right now. So you can see if you qualify. And can I just mention here. You don't get that $4,500 in cash in your hot little hands. It goes directly to the dealers. CHETRY: I got you. Well, and so, you're right, so you're right, you probably have to spend it under a narrow set of circumstances. But if you were going to do it anyway, if you're going to turn in your car anyway, this could help you out with a little bit more cash to go.
WILLIS: It could help you out with a little bit more cash and obviously you probably will already be in the marketplace to get that car, not somebody who's kind of not even thinking about it right now and you know, if you're on a fixed income obviously those people will have difficulty taking advantage of it.
CHETRY: All right. Well, thanks for filling us in on the details. Thanks, Gerri.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
ROBERTS: All right. A lot of things being done by robotics these days. They're making our cars. They're operating on us. Soledad O'Brien showed us how robots are being used. Well, could a robot be used to fight cancer? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be right out to tell you. Stay with us.
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ROBERTS: It's our high tech music.
You can always tell something high-tech is coming when we play that music. Imagine having a robot save your life. It sounds like the plot of a Will Smith movie but researchers are actually developing what they call a cancer-fighting mini-robot in real life. Since that sounds pretty incredible, we're Paging Dr. Incredible, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, to explain. He's with us this morning. Wow! This sounds like real science fiction stuff. But almost, you know, ready for prime time here.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's early, it's still in development, John, but it is fascinating and it is a glimpse of the future. I find this really, really interesting. It's called the virob. Take a look here, John. This is it, really quickly. You can see how small it is. That's on the tip of somebody's finger. It is about a millimeter in the diameter, 14 millimeters in length, that's made of silicone and metal and it can get into some of the smallest areas in the body. Completely biocompatible.
What's sort of fascinating about this, you just saw some of those video. Imagine this little robot as you can see there, making its way through a blood vessel, through your trachea, through your digestive track, delivering medicines, doing its work, somehow trying to cure disease. This comes from the Israel Institute of Technology.
Again, as you mentioned not ready for prime time yet but I just find this absolutely fascinating, to imagine a thing like that coursing through your body, being able to do some pretty life saving work. We put together this animation, John, just to give you an idea.
Imagine attaching all this chemotherapeutic agent to the end of this really tiny silicone and titanium robot, stick that down somebody's trachea, this could be a patient with lung cancer for example, making its way through these various airways, eventually through remote control finding the specific tumor over here, getting into the tumor slowly and starting to release its chemotherapeutic agent. It gives targeted therapy, John, a whole new meaning.
You know, I just find this really, really interesting. Just imagine being able to have that as part of your arsenal.
ROBERTS: So, my question is, how do you get it back out?
GUPTA: That's actually a really good question. It's not perfect yet. Let me give you a few limitations. One is that it hasn't been tested in humans yet. This has all been in animal studies. It is going to be expensive, probably tens of thousands of dollars. Maybe five to 10 years away. And they don't have a reverse button on it yet, John. So, you need a reverse button. You either get to turn the thing around or you got to somehow figure out how to get those whiskers moving in the opposite direction. So it's not quite ready yet.
But this is sort of the, you know, when you talk about minimally invasive therapies, this is a good example that people are talking about. I mean, they talk about the Da Vinci robot, for example, for doing certain types of operations. But if you could just have this tiny robot, stick it into somebody's blood vessel, you can clear a shunt for example that's become clogged, clear a stent in somebody's heart artery. You know, I find this fascinating. Again, it is going to be a while away but this is what the future might look like.
ROBERTS: Or you could just take a whole bunch of doctors, put them in a submarine, shrink it all down and inject it into your blood vessel, right?
GUPTA: That's about another 10 years down the road after this.
CHETRY: Honey, I shrunk Dr. Gupta.
ROBERTS: No. Fantastic voyage. All right. Doc, thanks so much for that.
CHETRY: what about though, I mean, I'm just thinking here. Clearly I'm not coming up with any of this stuff, but couldn't they make it biodegrade eventually? Because it has to be biocompatible to be biodegradable and sort of -
ROBERTS: OK.
CHETRY: After maybe five years?
ROBERTS: Get the patent on that.
CHETRY: I hope no one was listening. All right. Coming up, Alina Cho talks to an actor who's been killed so many different ways in so many different movies. He finally reveals whether or not he's actually going to live through one of the movie scripts.
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CONAN O'BRIEN, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH CONAN O'BRIEN": John Stamos is trying to put together a feature film based on the TV series "Full House." Yes. It's true. Yes, the movie will be called "Full House" and the theater showing it will be called "Empty House."
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CHETRY: A popular show. Playing dead. You're about to meet an actor who's turned the death scene into an art form. So much so that his screen credit could have a chalk-out line around it. CNN's Alina Cho has this story. But things could be changing for this guy.
ALINA CHO, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: That's right. He hasn't always died in his roles. Good morning, guys. Good morning, everybody. You know, most actors make a living out of playing a living person. But here's a guy who is actually made a name for himself as the person who dies all the time. So what exactly is it like to get killed off so often.
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CHO (voice-over): Some actors have a trademark line.
CLINT EASTWOOD, ACTOR: Go ahead, make my day.
CHO: Others a trademark scene.
MEG RYAN, ACTRESS: Yes! Yes!
CHO: Actor Mike Doyle. His trademark is dying. Over and over again.
MIKE DOYLE, ACTOR WHO KEEPS GETTING KILLED ON SCREEN: The first time out I thought, oh, interesting, it would be fun to die. And now when I turn that page, I'm like, oh, 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've got to figure out how the bullet's hit you and you know, whether you're going to fall back or fall forward.
CHO: Stabbed.
DOYLE: When you're stabbed, you just kind of, you know -- clutch, then drop out of frame. CHO: Even electrocuted on a fence. Then there's the 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 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, Frank. I'm so cold.
And when I was watching it, my friends were like, oh, my god! They did not write that. And I was like -
CHO (on camera): They didn't.
DOYLE: No. They didn't. I improved it.
CHO (voice-over): 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 to see if you were 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.
CHO (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: So cute. Isn't he? Playing a living character is more fun. Doyle says he's also had a great time dying on the set. 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, guys.
And he was a swimmer in high school so he can hold his breath for a really, really long time. So that's always a good thing too when you're dying on the set.
CHETRY: How about it? All right. Well, hopefully he'll live on.
CHO: Yes, he will.
CHETRY: Alina, thanks so much. And by the way, you can you continue all of our conversations on today's stories. Go to our blog, CNN.com/amfix.
ROBERTS: That's going to wrap it up for us. Thanks so much for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. We'll see you back here again for Friday eve, Thursday.
CHETRY: Right now here's "CNN NEWSROOM" with Heidi Collins.
