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American Morning
Senate Approves FDA Regulation of Tobacco Companies; Hate in America Spreading; Citigroup Gives Taxpayers 7.5 Percent Return; Al Qaeda Shifts Operations to Somalia; Madonna Wins Adoption Appeal; Evaluating Federal Employees' Health Care
Aired June 12, 2009 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And we're coming up on 7:00 a.m. here in New York. It's 4:00 a.m. out West. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING on this Friday, June 12th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Roberts. Good morning to you. Thanks for being with us.
Here's what's on the agenda, the big stories that we'll be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
Big tobacco on the ropes. Congress granting the government the power to change the way that cigarettes are made and sold in America. We're paging our Dr. Sanjay Gupta to find out what this new law means for our health and our health care costs.
The enemy within. Hate groups, hundreds of them spring up all over America. Jason Carroll on the terror threat that all of us are facing inside our own borders.
And a CNN exclusive, is Al Qaeda shifting away from Afghanistan and Pakistan for a new power base in Africa? Barbara Starr reports U.S. officials are keeping a very close eye these days on Somalia.
But first, by this afternoon, the president could be signing a bill into law that gives the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco companies. It's considered a huge step in the effort to snuff out smoking in America. The Senate voting overwhelmingly yesterday to strike a big blow against big tobacco.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The yeas are 79 and the nays are 17. The bill as amended is passed.
ROBERTS (voice-over): With that historic eight-second announcement, a 50-year battle with big tobacco is all but over this morning. The legislation will now go back to the House for final passage then on to the desk of President Obama, himself a smoker, who said he will sign it.
The FDA gaining sweeping powers to regulate how cigarettes and other tobacco products are made and marketed. "Miracles still happen." That was the reaction from Senator Ted Kennedy, the bill's sponsor. He's battling brain cancer and couldn't be there to witness the vote.
Here's what's in the Senate measure. Within three months, candy and fruit-flavored cigarettes banned because of their appeal to children. Within 12 months, new warning labels will be required covering up to half the packaging.
Also in a year, tobacco companies will be banned from making cigarettes branded as low tar, light or mild. And the FDA now gaining the power to force big tobacco to reduce nicotine levels in cigarettes. That could make it a lot easier for the 20 percent of Americans who still smoke to stop.
SEN. RICHARD DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: Joe Camel will be given a life sentence and put away forever.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And at ten minutes' time, we're going to be joined the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. David Kessler. He has been supporting government control of big tobacco for more than a decade now and was the first person to ask the question -- is nicotine a drug? He'll tell us why he believes this bill still falls a little bit short of what he would have liked -- Kiran.
CHETRY: So this morning, we're learning more about the 88-year- old white supremacist charged with murder in the Holocaust Museum shooting. James von Brunn remains in critical condition. He was shot in the head.
Prosecutors say they found a hate-filled note in his car, where in it he called the Holocaust a lie and said President Obama was created by Jews. Von Brunn could potentially face the death penalty.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH PERSICHINI JR., ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, FBI WASHINGTON FIELD OFFICE: It is very important that we send a message that this country does not authorize or approve of any act that's attached to hatred in America. This is not what this country stands for. And we will do everything possible, not only to stop Mr. von Brunn but the other Mr. von Brunns that are around here in this nation today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And as you heard, James von Brunn is by no means alone. There are many people in America thinking those same thoughts, and the ranks are growing. So how are these messages of intolerance spread?
Jason Carroll is here with that part of the story. And you are allowed to have extreme views but whether or not they turn into inciting people to act on them is another story.
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. And it's very difficult to figure out. You know, talk about the timing in all of this, just last month the Department of Homeland Security released a report concluding that the country's first president, along with the poor economic climate are driving forces for extremist recruitment. The Holocaust Museum shooting, a reminder of just how deadly these people are. The question -- how do you track them? How do you find them before they strike?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): James von Brunn made no secret of hiding his hatred publishing a book, "Kill the Best Gentiles!" which denied the Holocaust and praised Hitler, creating an anti-Semitic Web site called the Holy Western Empire. Experts say it's a bitter taste of what's really out there.
BRIAN LEVIN, CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF HATE AND EXTREMISM: The Internet really provides a virtual town square for the hate movement.
CARROLL: Brian Levin is director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. Levin says a key to understanding the problem of identifying extremists is knowing where they spread their message. One study showing the number of hate Web sites have grown from 150 in 1996 to more than 10,000 in 2009. Experts like Levin say virtual extremism has replaced the need for a real leader.
LEVIN: The lack of charismatic leaders like we had in the past has made it such that a lot of these large groups seldom can't keep their members as tightly reined. So these folks go off with their own orbit and start their own hate group.
CARROLL: Small groups or individuals armed with a computer can write and influence without holding a rally, burning a cross, or breaking any laws.
JONATHAN TURLEY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: Well, the Supreme Court has said that violent speech isn't that protected like other forms of speech. The only good thing about some of these groups is that, in fact, they are open, that we know about them.
CARROLL: Some terrorism experts say because there are so many extremists not monitored because they're not appearing to be breaking any laws, law enforcement may not know about the deadly ones until it's too late.
BILL ROSENAU, TERRORISM EXPERT, RAND CORP.: I think a lot more work has to be done to understand the kind of the dimensions of the problem before we decide what's necessary to be -- to do to sort of counter it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Well, von Brunn is probably what experts call a lone wolf, meaning, it appears he acted alone. But terrorism experts say the real threat is probably from very small groups, groups of three or four people who don't have international connections, who don't have connections with other extremists, who operate well below the radar. Those tiny groups are the ones that are very difficult to monitor and catch.
CHETRY: Right. And the interesting thing a lot of security experts at the Internet sort of a double-edged sword.
CARROLL: Right.
CHETRY: People have more access to see others who share their views but at the same time, it is easier to track.
CARROLL: That's exactly what it is. You know, they want to see it out there. Even though as painful as it is to read, but by seeing it out there, it's not hiding somewhere where they can't see it.
CHETRY: Jason Carroll for us this morning. Thanks.
CARROLL: You bet.
ROBERTS: Also new this morning, at about two and a half hours time, the polls will close in Iran and voters will elect a new president. The country's hard-line incumbent, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, faces a challenge from the leading reformist candidate, Mir Hossein Mousavi, who said that he is open to improving relations with the United States.
North Korea may be preparing for a new nuclear test. An American official told CNN that Washington has "indications" that another test is on the way but did not give specific details. This comes as the U.N. Security Council debates whether to impose additional sanctions on the communist state after its May 25th test of a nuclear device.
If your company pays for your cell phone, it could cost you. The IRS is proposing that employers assign 25 percent of an employee's phone expenses as a taxable benefit. Millions of Americans would be affected. The wireless industry is against the idea.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Ten minutes past the hour right now. New this morning. Thousands are without power in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Some residents are actually being asked to voluntarily evacuate. Seventy- mile-an-hour winds, eight inches of rain causing some severe flooding in the area.
The storm has actually cancelled hundreds of flights at Dallas- Fort Worth Airport, disrupted flights nationwide and made for a real mess for thousands of residents living there.
House Republican Eric Cantor comparing President Obama to Vladimir Putin, according to the Associated Press. The Virginia congressman telling the AP that the president's handling of the auto industry reminds him of Putin's Russia. Democrats are calling on Cantor to stop the name calling and to start working with the president to help rescue the economy.
And Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor apparently set to abide by the high court's 2008 ruling that Americans have a constitutional right to own firearms. Colorado Senator Mark Udall says that the nominee confirmed that with him during a private meeting. Some conservatives say, though, they are not buying that -- John. ROBERTS: Well, it could be the biggest blow yet to big tobacco. The Senate voted overwhelmingly to give the FDA greater power over the marketing and promotion of tobacco products. It comes a half a century after the surgeon general first warned about the health effects of tobacco.
Joining us now is Dr. David Kessler. He's the former commissioner of the FDA, and he tried more than a decade ago to do just about the same thing that Congress has done this past week.
I remember covering you when you were on the front lines of the battle to declare that nicotine was a drug and tried to allow the FDA to regulate tobacco. How are you feeling this morning after this battle?
DR. DAVID KESSLER, FORMER COMMISSIONER, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION: It's a historic piece of public health legislation. The real goal from the beginning is to reduce the number of young people who start to smoke and help people who are already addicted. It's a terrific feeling, and especially to Senator Kennedy. He has stuck with this for 15 years.
ROBERTS: He's the one who spearheaded the legislation.
KESSLER: Right.
ROBERTS: Now back in 2000, the Supreme Court was the body that shut you down saying you don't have the power at the FDA to do this. Congress has the power to do this. Are you surprised at where Congress was 10, 11, 12 years ago to where they are now?
KESSLER: It was a very controversial issue 15 years ago, but it shows you how policy can be made. Because underlying that controversy, I always thought there was a consensus. Yesterday, there were 79 votes. So you take an issue that was controversial. But really, I think, the American public was behind it from the beginning.
ROBERTS: So, what does this really mean for the tobacco companies now?
KESSLER: I think the world in which they live is going to change. For the first time, it gives FDA the ability to regulate. It's the most dangerous product out there. Every FDA regulates everything else that comes in contact with the body, everything we put on our skin, everything we ingest, all our drugs. Why shouldn't it regulate the most dangerous product?
ROBERTS: So, this includes new restrictions on advertising, warning labels that could take up to half the package, content, the toxic ingredients that are inside the cigarette. Is it possible that -- you know, it regulates also nicotine content but does not eliminate it because it was determined that if you take all the nicotine out of cigarettes, people may go to the black market to get it. But could this potentially, if the FDA restricts the sale and the content of the cigarettes and not make it impossible for the tobacco industry to create a cigarette that meets those specifications and therefore could you regulate cigarettes out of existence?
KESSLER: From the beginning, the goal was not a ban on all cigarettes. The black market doesn't work. I mean, we saw that at the turn of the previous century. Prohibition doesn't work.
The goal is to reduce the number of people who smoke and especially to reduce the number of children who start to smoke. Three thousand children begin to smoke every day and a 1,000 of them go on to die of their illness. That's the real goal, John.
ROBERTS: Does this bill go far enough for you? One of the provisions in the bill was to eliminate menthol cigarettes. That was taken out. The Congressional Black Caucus said, hey, 75 percent of African-Americans smoke menthol cigarettes. You can't just in one stroke of the pen take that away. So does it go far enough for you?
KESSLER: That's actually a misconception. FDA does have the ability to regulate menthol, but it would have to do that by regulation. This is as strong a piece of public health legislation that I've ever seen or ever could have wished for. It's been 15 years in the making.
ROBERTS: Does it do enough to stop children from being enticed to smoke?
KESSLER: It gives the FDA very broad authority to regulate the access to the product, the promotion of the product, and the product itself. In fact, it gives FDA the tools that I think that we will use over the coming decades in ways that we can't even imagine. It's a very, very, very strong piece of legislation.
ROBERTS: So, do you think, Doctor, that this is the beginning of the end of smoking in America?
KESSLER: I think it's another chapter in the 50-year battle. But I think this is as strong a piece of legislation as any public health advocate could have hoped for. It is a great, great day.
ROBERTS: Dr. David Kessler, it's great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for coming in.
KESSLER: Thank you, John.
ROBERTS: Good to see you.
Fifteen minutes now after the hour.
CHETRY: All right. Well, still ahead, her adoption of Malawi children have come under a lot of controversy and scrutiny. Now, the tide is turning for Madonna. We're going to talk more about whether or not a court there has changed its mind, reversing a lower court decision and whether she will be able to take a little girl home.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Good morning, Fort Lauderdale. We are starting you off today with some sunshine. Eighty-three degrees there right now. Going up to a high of 91 and lots of sunshine, of course. There's always the chance of a thunderstorm in southern Florida this time of the year because it gets so hot. And all that water gets evaporated over the Everglades and comes down in the form of thunder and lightning and rain. But there's nothing like a Florida thunderstorm.
CHETRY: Yes. What did they say? Wait five minutes, the weather will change.
ROBERTS: Exactly, if you don't like it now.
Get a load of this, if you've got a work-issued cell phone, you may soon have to pay the government for it. The IRS is proposing taxing you on 25 percent of your company's cell phone bill. Under a 1989 federal law, personal calls that are made on work cell phones are considered taxable.
Businesses have long ignored the tax because of the tedious paperwork that's required to separate personal and work calls. The IRS wants employers and their workers to comply with the 20-year-old law. But wireless carriers Verizon and Sprint Nextel worry that the tax will force companies to stop issuing cell phones to employees.
They want Congress to eliminate the tax. The IRS says it's going to wait until the fall to issue a final decision.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: They need our money. And they're going to be fighting all the way they can to figure out our money.
ROBERTS: You know...
ROMANS: And this is just another reason why I think...
ROBERTS: They're going to come looking in our mattresses.
ROMANS: Middle-class working families are going to find over the next few months, next few years really, a lot of different ways that they're going to try to get your money because we're spending money we don't have and they've got to figure out how to get tax receipts. They're going to be finding new ways.
CHETRY: Which leads us into what you're talking about today. Christine's "Minding Your Business" this morning. We're talking about the shrinking wealth in America.
ROMANS: For seven quarters in a row, our household net worth has shrunk. That means we have less money. We feel it, we know it. The good news here is that it's slowing. That pace of just evaporating wealth is actually slowing.
But Americans are getting poorer. A federal report shows just how much poorer because of stock losses and because of household income losses. $1.3 trillion of net worth evaporated. Let me put it this in perspective for you. $1.3 trillion, $1 trillion stacked, dollar bills stacked up goes 68,000 miles into the sky or a third of the way to the moon. That is how much money our wealth disappeared, even more than that disappeared just in the first quarter. The good news here, though, is the stock market has recovered a little bit. And so, well, more than a little bit, a lot. And so you hope that it leads to some of that. Evaporating of American wealth is going to slow down.
And Paul Krugman, you know, the Nobel Laureate, the "New York Times" economist, he told an audience this week that he thinks that we're going to look back, maybe in a couple of years we'll look back and we'll find out this summer was when the recession ended. He said it wouldn't be surprised if we find out the recession is ending this summer.
So, that's another thing. I mean, this might be seven quarters of just evaporating household wealth and this, you know, the last dregs of this whole thing.
CHETRY: Oh, we certainly hope for that.
ROBERTS: You know, you look at the price of oil and gas, somebody thinks that the recession is over.
CHETRY: That's right. And that's the irony because as oil and gas goes up, that can threaten the recovery because people have to pay more out of their pockets when you're not really in (INAUDIBLE) stretch budget. So, keep watching.
CHETRY: That's definitely a huge concern for many people as you know from your Twitter account as well.
ROMANS: Yes.
CHETRY: A lot of people writing in about that. But it's time now for "Romans' Numeral." And this is a number that we bring you every day on the program. Christine gives us a number that's driving a story about your money today. So this hour's "Romans' Numeral"...
ROMANS: It's 7.5 percent. And it's nice to know somebody is making money somewhere. This is a return that's someone's getting on their investment -- 7.5 percent.
ROBERTS: What kind of an investment?
ROMANS: It's the investment the American taxpayer made in Citigroup. We are making more on our investment in Citigroup.
ROBERTS: We're making money.
ROMANS: We're making money on that investment with Citigroup. And it just -- it's something I think is important as we have been screaming about the bailouts for months. And we were promised by first the Bush administration and the Obama administration to Treasury Department, that, you know, look, we're going to try to get the maximum return for taxpayers. ROMANS: So, when do we see our little piece of the investment in the mail?
ROMANS: Well, they just take it off our bill, actually, John. So, now we owe a little less than we thought we did. But, no, it is something, 7.5 percent. Citi confirming that to us this morning that yes, indeed, they are paying their return for the American taxpayer, 7.5 percent so far.
CHETRY: They still have not paid back the bailout money. They're still in a little bit of trouble.
ROMANS: They absolutely are. There was a story yesterday saying Citi is the walking wounded, which may need to be, you know, on the dime from Uncle Sam for a very long time, but the taxpayers are getting -- they are getting a return and a better return than they're getting in the stock market.
ROBERTS: Christine Romans "Minding Your Business" this morning. Christine, thanks so much.
Well, first, it was Afghanistan then Pakistan. Now where is al Qaeda setting up shop? We'll tell you coming up.
It's 23 1/2 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. A CNN exclusive now.
Al Qaeda is on the move. There is new evidence the terrorist organization is shifting operations from Afghanistan to the East African nation of Somalia.
Barbara Starr now live at the Pentagon. And, Barbara, this development could pose a whole new set of problems for Pentagon officials to deal with.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, John. Somalia has been a problem for years. But now, there is disturbing new intelligence that al Qaeda is setting up shop there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): As fighting rages in Somalia, CNN has learned the U.S. intelligence community believes the al Qaeda presence in the war-torn East African country is growing. U.S. officials say this American is in Somalia fighting for al Qaeda.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only reason we're staying here away from our families, away from the cities, away from, you know, ice, candy bars, all these other things is because we're waiting to meet with the enemy.
STARR: U.S. officials say the young man who goes by the battlefield name Abu Mansur Alam Riki (ph) recently made this video in southern Somalia. U.S. officials with access to the latest intelligence tells CNN Al Qaeda operatives have set up new training areas there and are teaming up with Somali fighters known as the Al- Shabaab (ph), already designated by the U.S. as a terrorist group.
Peter Bergen is a CNN contributor on terrorism issues.
PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Al Qaeda was running training camps in Somalia in the early mid '90s and was training with Somali Islamist (ph) groups. So if this is now coming back, it is something that Al Qaeda has already done and it's worrisome for the future.
STARR: U.S. officials say Al Qaeda operatives recently have moved from the Afghan-Pakistan border into Somalia some 2,000 miles away. Experts believe after dozens of attacks from U.S. drones along that border, Al Qaeda may see the Horn of Africa as its new headquarters.
BERGEN: The fact that we're seeing some evidence of this already happening in both Yemen and Somalia suggest that a, the drone program in the tribal areas of Pakistan is being affected, but b, you know, it's pushing Al Qaeda into areas where it will build up larger operations.
STARR: Two prime U.S. targets in Somalia, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed and Saleh Ali Saleh Nabhan. Hard core Al Qaeda wanted for previous bombings on western targets in Africa, they are believed to be planning new attacks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: And, of course, that's the problem. That's the bottom line. If you think Somalia is so far away that the U.S. doesn't have to worry about it, the intelligence community is worried this will become a new toehold, a new safe haven for Al Qaeda, and a place that they could plan new attacks against the West -- John.
ROBERTS: It certainly would not be a good thing. Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon this morning. Barbara, thanks so much.
It's 28 minutes after the hour now. And checking our top stories.
A new law giving the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate big tobacco has passed the Senate. It could become law by the end of the day. The measure mandates tougher warning labels on cigarette packaging and bans flavored tobacco on so-called low-tar and light brands.
It's shaping up to be a tough day to fly. Powerful storms in the Dallas-Fort Worth area are triggering flight cancellations and delays there and at airports across the country this morning.
Call ahead if you're planning to fly this morning. Look at that storm cloud coming in. First, they were just happy to be alive. Now, they need their stuff. And passengers of US Airways Flight 1549, the so-called "Miracle on the Hudson" are reportedly having a hard time getting compensated for their lost possessions or injuries. AIG -- yes, that's AIG. And that AIG, it's on the hook for all the claims -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, we all know how much money we gave the banks, right? $700 billion in bailout money. But now, billions are quietly being paid back to the federal government including ten of the largest banks. And they're also quietly getting out from under the government's thumb before there's perhaps a chance for real change to take hold. So is it a sign that our economic troubles are coming to an end, or a sign that we could be bound to repeat those same mistakes of the past?
Here to help us get to the bottom line of this is Diane Brady. She's the senior editor of "BusinessWeek". And Ryan Mack, president of Optimum Capital Management.
Great to talk to both of you this morning.
RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Thank you.
CHETRY: So, break it down for us because on the surface, it looks like great news. Ten of the largest banks are able to give back. Does it mean that they're, you know, out of the woods that they're solvent, that they're able to lend? Or is there more to this?
DIANE BRADY, SENIOR EDITOR, "BUSINESSWEEK": I think one of the issues is that they wanted to get out because of these pay issues. They don't want the government dictating pay.
So one of the biggest issues, I think, is we still have about $500 billion of bad loans in U.S. banks that have not been written down. So there is a lot of concern out there that we put money in, they didn't lend to people. The question now is they're paying the money back, are they lending?
Everybody we talked to says, you know, they're lending to those AAA people, but a lot of small businesses in America are not getting the loans they needed.
MACK: And the question is, did the government miss the chance to overhaul the industry? I mean, I'm hoping lending this money to these banks, it could have been a great opportunity to make sure that we have more regulatory reform and more control. And you know, as Diane said, you know, essentially them taking the money back is now essentially them saying we don't want daddy looking over our shoulders anymore. We want to pay our executives what we want to pay and act as we've acted before. But do we want them to change from how they acted before. We have lost control over that now with these banks through these banks taking these money back.
CHETRY: It's also interesting, there are some newly released documents, sort of highlighting the urgency of the Treasury Department last fall was making and out to be the CEOs of the nine major banks. They wanted them to accept the billions of dollars in this taxpayer bailout whether or not the banks themselves felt they needed to at that point in time, one of them - this was talking points prepared for then Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said "we don't believe its tenable to opt out because doing so would leave you vulnerable and exposed." So did some of these banks not need the bailout money in the first place?
MACK: Well, I tell you, essentially they didn't, and what the problem is...
BRADY: J.P. Morgan certainly did not. And I think one of the issues is that they have to have the united front. There was so much fear, if you remember, in September, Lehman Brothers went under, AIG had to go to the government. So there was so much fear that basically they said we want to put this money in, we want to get capital flowing again. Get those loans flowing. Obviously, that didn't happen. So clearly some of those banks did not need the money to the extent that some did. And some banks still have government money.
MACK: The thing is a lot of these banks were very solvent. But if Bank A is solvent then Bank is on the verge of being insolvent. We need Bank A some additional capital so they can keep lending to Bank B and keep the circulation of capital going around in the economy. And that was one of the biggest causes intended to fix of TARP.
CHETRY: And speaking of TARP, this is the troubled assets - right...
BRADY: Yes.
CHETRY: Relief program. Troubled assets are still out there. This is the problem. We haven't necessarily addressed, I mean, out of the bailout money, a lot more than they expected. In fact, it was not necessarily approved by Congress to go to autos - went to help the auto industry.
BRADY: Right.
CHETRY: And so, now we still have these troubled assets of many of these banks. So what happens next?
BRADY: Well, there was $1 trillion. They've written down more than $500 billion. But that still leaves $500 billion that's written down. We put a lot of money into the banks. People are still worried about those bad loans. The economy is not picking up to the extent people think. So obviously, they're still out there, and that's the concern.
CHETRY: And Ryan, I want to ask you about this. So when we talk about the changing the way that things happen and we ask ourselves how we got into this, are you saying that by having this money be paid back, the banks being out necessarily under the watch of the federal government that the chance that we'll repeat the same mistakes and at the same risk taking is going to happen is much higher? MACK: I do have confidence in the administration. I mean, they essentially allowed these banks to pay these funding back. You know, four of the five nation's largest banks are not allowed to pay this money back, including Citigroup and Bank of America. So I think essentially the stress test actually work in this perspective to say that you know what, we're going to allow the individuals to pay this money back because we feel you're confident enough and able enough to continue under normal operations.
BRADY: So, one thing, what do people care about in banks? Are they going to give me a loan. And that's not happening to the extent it should. That's what a zombie bank is. You put in money and they don't take money out the door, they just keep it. So the issue is, are they loaning to people, are they getting business going again?
CHETRY: All right. So, it sounds letter in the headline than it's actually in practice. We'll of course keep track of this for everyone. Diane Brady and Ryan Mack, great to talk to both of you. Thanks. John.
ROBERTS: Thirty-four minutes after the hour. And new this morning, next time you're in Venezuela, don't ask for a Coke Zero. U.S. critic President Hugo Chavez ordered Coca-Cola to withdraw its Coke Zero beverage from the South American nation citing unspecified dangers to health. No response yet from Coca-Cola.
Get them while they're low. The airline industry says it will continue to slash air fares in order to get travelers to return to the skies. Airline executives told investors that they are trying to win passengers back in the most difficult economic environment for travel since right after the September 11 terror attacks.
And mercy for Madonna. The pop superstar wins her adoption appeal in Malawi for a three-year-old orphan girl named Mercy. A lower court had ruled that she could not adopt back in April, but now the high court ruled in her favor. We're going to go live to Kenya for the very latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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CHETRY: Good morning, Ft. Worth. This is coming to us from WFAA. Overcast and 80 degrees. But, it's all shaping up. It's going be sunny and 97 degrees. A little bit later today. Enjoy it.
ROBERTS: Mm-hmm.
CHETRY: AC/DC. You should see John rocking (INAUDIBLE). Welcome back to the most news in the morning. Headlines making news across the nation right now. An 83-foot long underground tunnel has been discovered beneath the U.S. Mexico border. This is in Nogales, Arizona. It's believed to be the work of drug smugglers. Border patrol agents say that it is the 16th tunnel they've uncovered in the area since last August. Well, home sales are revving up in the Motor City, thanks to investors swooping in with all the layoffs and plant closings in Detroit. One buyer from California says that he purchased 178 properties, most of them costing less than $10,000 apiece.
Well, look who stopped by the White House for lunch? It was Jon Bon Jovi. He has a chance to meet yesterday with the president's senior advisor, David Axelrod. The rock star explored how he can help the administration's community services program. He was also, by the way, at the correspondent's dinner. A very, very nice guy. Down to earth, sweet, and very cute in person.
ROBERTS: Wish I had been there to meet him. Next year.
A major news for Madonna this morning. The South African country of Malawi has ruled in her favor and is allowing her to adopt a second child after all. Madonna appealed an earlier decision that she could not adopt the three-year-old orphan. We're tapping into the global resources of CNN this morning. We are live in Nairobi, Kenya where David McKenzie has details of the high court's decision to allow her to take Mercy after all. Why the turnaround from the courts, David, it was a big one.
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was a big one, John, and it's a case that we have been following closely over the last few months. A few months ago, Madonna went there to Malawi to try and get Mercy James to come home with her in the States. But the lower court denied her that opportunity. Now the high court of Malawi in the southern capital, Blantyre, of this southern African country has said that Madonna can in fact take Mercy home.
The turnaround -- it's interesting. I think a lot of it has to do with one particular thing, that Madonna has a longstanding commitment to the country. She always maintained with a charitable foundation, the Raising Malawi Foundation. She has helped thousands of children in Malawi and that she should be given - that should be taken into account. You see, John, that was the fact in this ruling by the high court that could set an important precedent, of course, for future parents trying to adopt children in their country. John?
ROBERTS: David, do we know at this point when Madonna will be taking Mercy home?
MCKENZIE: No, we don't, John. It doesn't happen instantaneously. The child will have to get a passport. There will have to be final and legal issues ironed out. There might still be some more twists and turns in this case. We just don't know. The father of the child came, suddenly appeared once the story got rolling and said that he was at first a bit disappointed in the fact that Madonna wanted to take his child to the States. Those complaint seem to have disappeared but there could be, as I said, more twists and turns in this. But if all goes according to plan for Madonna, she could be taking the child home in the next month or two. John.
ROBERTS: All right. David McKenzie for us reporting from Nairobi, Kenya this morning. David, thanks so much. CHETRY: Here's a look at the "A.M. Rundown," stories we're going to be covering in the next 15 minutes. Rob Marciano joins us at 7:45 Eastern time on the powerful storms that have been forcing evacuations in Dallas neighborhoods. Also delaying and canceling flights at the nation's airports. Also at 7:50 Eastern, Brianna Keilar will us what the new law governing big tobacco could mean for our health and also the cost for our health care. And at 7:55 Eastern, election day in Iran. Christiane Amanpour is live from the polls in Tehran. There's certainly an atmosphere of change in the air. It's 42 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Forty-four minutes past the hour. We're going to fast forward now to the stories that would be making news later today. Millions of Americans could wake up to static on their TV screens today. The dawn of digital TV only is here. At minutes past midnight, broadcasters shut down their analog signals. (INAUDIBLE) the rabbit ears, you're not going to get any channels and they make those switches to digital transmission only. So again is you use those rabbit ears or in an apartment building antenna, you need that converter box to keep watching free television. The FCC has 4,000 operators in place. They're waiting for calls from viewers who did not know about that switch.
Vice president Joe Biden will be in Kalamazoo, Michigan today. He is continuing his Road to Recovery tour. At 11:45 Eastern he will be attending a groundbreaking ceremony for the widening of Interstate 94. Afterwards, he'll be making some remarks on communities that have been affected by the auto industry.
And today is also former President George H.W. Bush's 85th birthday, and the former president plans to celebrate as he usually by jumping from a plane near his Kennebunkport, Maine, summer home. He's going to be skydiving with the Golden Knights parachute team this afternoon at 1:00 Eastern. And one of our buddies here at CNN family, Robin Meade, is going to be actually taking the dive with him as well. Better her than me.
ROBERTS: Not actually with them. The two of them will not be attached together.
CHETRY: Not tandem flying together.
ROBERTS: No.
CHETRY: Hey, how about it.
ROBERTS: Although that would be a great birthday present. You can get that for me if you like.
Rob Marciano...
CHETRY: Let me write that down so I don't forget.
ROBERTS: Rob Marciano down there at the weather center in Atlanta. Good morning, Rob, what's on tap for today?
CHETRY: Let me guess, Rob, you want that too?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, no comment. May keep them going well to his 90s. Who knows?
ROBERTS: There you go.
MARCIANO: Can face quickly, too.
ROBERTS: Sounds like you he may be doing that again 10 years from now. Stay alive.
MARCIANO: I tell you this, the weather there not ideal, actually. They got to get a little drier air at Kennebunkport to make that dive happen. Look at what happened in Dallas yesterday. My goodness, big time storm clouds. These are aerial footages. This is aerial footage of the storms that rolled through Dallas as we had winds gusting over 50 mile-an-hour in the city near 70 and 80 miles an hour outside of the city. Power outages for thousands. Most of that has been restored.
All right. Fast forward to some flooding, not only Dallas but Ft. Worth. Dallas recorded over eight inches of rainfall in a 24-hour period. This is some flooding out of the Ft. Worth area. In west Dallas, the Trinity River had issues there. They got to get the pumps our here, obviously, the rescue crews are trying to get in via raft and paddle, the old-fashioned way. That was a nasty go of it yesterday. We are dry right now in Dallas but a severe thunderstorm watch just north of Oklahoma City for the next couple of hours with hail and certainly some heavy rain there.
Speaking of rain, not so much heavy, but certainly a nuisance across parts of New York City with JFK already reporting a ground stop until 8:15, Newark in to it as well. And Philadelphia reporting some delays. I'm sorry about the rain again there, guys. Looks to be a drier weekend for you, tomorrow and Sunday. Back to you.
ROBERTS: Rob, thanks so much for that.
Well, here's a story that everyone is going to be talking about today, sometimes even a note from the doctor won't get you excused from school. But what about the note from the president of the United States? A Wisconsin dad let his 10-year-old daughter skip school so she could attend President Obama's town hall meeting yesterday. When the president found out about it, he immediately offered to try to smooth things over with her teachers.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm fortunate enough to be here with my 10- year-old daughter who is missing her last day of school for this - I hope she doesn't get in trouble.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Oh, no! Do you need me to write a note? No, I'm serious. What's your daughter's name?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her name is Kennedy.
OBAMA: Kennedy, all right. That's a cool name.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Kennedy, that's a good name standing in front of the Democratic president with. Well, sure enough, President Obama wrote a note to Kennedy's teacher excusing her absence. He's walking up in there and there's the note right there: "Please excuse Kennedy's absence. She was with me, signed, Barack Obama."
Not bad. Still no word on whether the president's note got Kennedy out of hot water at school. Although, it was her last day. And she was probably forgiven anyways.
CHETRY: There you go. She probably learned a lot more by getting to experience that than signing yearbooks.
ROBERTS: Basic civic lesson, health care debate. You can catch Kennedy by the way, her father and the teacher this afternoon on NEWSROOM with Kyra Phillips. That's this afternoon, 1:30 Eastern and you do not want to miss that.
CHETRY: Has she framed it?
ROBERTS: But she should definitely frame this as soon as possible. 49 minutes now after the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most Politics in the Morning. The Obama administration's plan to overhaul health care is taking on new urgency this morning. So, we're looking at the quality of the medical coverage that federal employees get right now and whether you should have the same options that they do. CNN congressional correspondent Brianna Keilar is taking a look at both sides.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, you've probably heard Republicans and Democrats say that Americans should enjoy the health care options they do. But we want to know, what are they and why are they so great? So we asked a member of Congress who has become very familiar with her insurance plan.
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KEILAR (voice-over): Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, a mother of three, spent last year battling breast cancer.
REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D), FLORIDA: The first major surgery was my double mastectomy. The submitted charges just for my double mastectomy was $15,000. KEILAR: But she only paid a few hundred dollars for that surgery. Her first of seven, she estimates the total cost of her care is close to $100,000.
WASSERMAN-SCHULTZ: We are a middle-class family, and there is no possible -- that would have been the beginning of a mountain of debt. I mean, I can easily see just from having gone through my own health experience in the last year how very quickly a family could be bankrupt.
KEILAR: Wasserman-Schultz's Blue Cross Blue Shield basic plan is one of 10 nationwide plans and hundreds of smaller regional plans, members of Congress, and other federal employees can choose from. The government pays two-thirds the cost of premiums, and federal employees pick up the rest, from about $1,300 a year up to $2,400 a year depending on the plan. Sounds great but could this kind of care be extended to the nation's 47 million uninsured?
BETH MCGLYNN, RAND CORPORATION: It does let people pick coverage that is what they think they need. And what they're willing to pay for that coverage.
KEILAR: Beth McGlynn, a top researcher for the nonpartisan Rand Corporation says another advantage is the program is already up and running nationwide. But there's a rub, the cost to taxpayers. McGlynn says perhaps the only way to pay for the change or any health care reform is to tax benefits employees now receive through their employer.
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KEILAR: Now I should point out that Congresswoman Wasserman- Schultz is a Democrat, and like most Democrats, she thinks there should be a government-run insurance plan as part of health care reform. Republicans disagree with this, and they point out when you look at the options members of Congress have, they are all private insurance options -- John and Kiran.
CHETRY: Brianna Keilar for us on Capitol Hill, thanks so much. Stay tuned. Christiane Amanpour is live on the streets of Tehran. She is covering this monumental elections that are taking place there and has more on what it could mean for U.S. relations with the Iranian country. Fifty-four minutes past the hour.
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ROBERTS: And we're back. It's 56 minutes after the hour. We are following the elections in Tehran today. Our Christiane Amanpour is there. We should be hearing from her in just a couple of minutes' time.
In the meantime, James von Brunn, the 88-year-old suspect in the Holocaust Museum shooting, has been charged with murder and could face the death penalty. And this morning, federal agents are considering hate crime charges, as well. Right now, he remains in critical condition with the head wound. And Wednesday's crime is a shocking and deadly reminder that hate in America is still very much alive and well. CNN's Jason Carroll has got more on that.
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JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): James Von Brunn made no secret of hiding his hatred. Publishing a book, "Kill the Best Gentiles," which denied the Holocaust and praised Hitler, creating an anti-Semitic Web site called the Holy Western Empire. Experts say it's a bitter taste of what's really out there.
BRIAN LEVIN, CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF HATE AND EXTREMISM: The Internet really provides a virtual town square for the hate movement.
CARROLL: Brian Levin is director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism. Levin says that the key to understanding the problem of identifying extremists is knowing where they spread their message. One study showing the number of hate Web sites have grown from 150 in 1996 to more than 10,000 in 2009. Experts like Levin say virtual extremism has replaced the need for a real leader.
LEVIN: The lack of charismatic leaders like we had in the past has made it such that a lot of these large groups, some of them can't keep their members as tightly reigned. So these folks go off into their own orbit and start their own hate groups.
CARROLL: Small groups or individuals armed with a computer can write and influence without holding a rally, burning a cross, or breaking any laws.
JONATHAN TURLEY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAW: While the Supreme Court has said that violent speech is in fact protected like other forms of speech. The only good thing about some of these groups is that, in fact, they are open, that we know about them.
CARROLL: Some terrorism experts say because there are so many extremists not monitored because they're not appearing to be breaking any laws, law enforcement may not know about the deadly ones until it's too late.
BILL ROSENAU, TERRORISM EXPERT, RAND CORP.: I think a lot more work has to be done to understand the kind of the dimensions of the problem before we decide what's necessary to do to sort of counter it
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CARROLL: Well, von Brunn is probably what experts call a lone wolf. Meaning it appears he acted alone. But terrorism experts say the real threat is probably from very small groups, three or four people who do not have international connections, who do not have connections with other extremists, who operate well below the radar. Those tiny groups are the ones that are very difficult to monitor.
ROBERTS: Certainly are. Jason Carroll for us this morning. Jason, thanks so much.
