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American Morning
Six Die in Georgia Flood; Obama's Critical Talks with Longtime Enemies; Gun Owners Increase Purchases Fearing Gun Restrictions Imminent; Georgian President to address U.N. on Status of Postwar Georgian State; Edwards Might Confess to Fathering Mistress's Child; Woman on her Way to Getting out of Immense Credit Card Debt; Obesity Hitting Hispanics Hard
Aired September 22, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: That brings us now to the top of the hour. It's the 22nd of September, it's a Tuesday morning. Thanks very much for being with us. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry. We're glad you're here with us this morning. We're following several developing stories. And here's what we're going to be breaking down for you in the next 15 minutes.
A real mess right now in the Southeast part of the country. Flooding there killing at least seven people. State officials in Georgia are now urging people who go to work in the Atlanta area to stay home this morning. Schools are closed as well. Our Rob Marciano and Jacqui Jeras are live in Georgia with the extreme weather that at this point is not letting up.
ROBERTS: A 24-year-old man and his cleric behind bars without bail. The feds say an Afghan man living in Denver has admitted to going to Pakistan to learn about bomb-making and that his religious leader wanted to help him bomb New York's transit system. The latest on this terror investigation is still ahead.
CHETRY: The shouting at the town halls, screaming at tea parties -- fury coming from all sides, it seems. Well, today in our special series, "Mad as Hell," we're taking a look at some angry and armed Americans and why they're fired up about the Second Amendment.
We begin, though, with the news of this deadly flooding situation that's been taking place across the Southeast. We have people waking up in shelters this morning, hotels, some of them forced to stay with family and friends after their homes were destroyed.
In Georgia, schools are shut down and state officials were telling people to stay home. They say the roads are not safe. The bridges are not safe. And in some cases, entire neighborhoods are underwater.
At least seven people are now dead in that state, including a 2-year-old boy. Officials say the rising waters tore apart a trailer home and the boy was swept away as his father was trying to hold on to him.
Our Jacqui Jeras is tracking the storm from the weather center in Atlanta. Also, Rob Marciano is live this morning in Austell, Georgia, this morning. And we begin with Rob.
The sun is up now and you're also getting a look at just how bad the damage is. What are you seeing out there?
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we're seeing some receding waters just a little bit. And that certainly is encouraging.
Check out some of this fresh tape we've got into the CNN newsroom. West of Atlanta on the 20, and it's that same route we had to take here, it's actually closed, about 10 or so miles outside of Atlanta, but that's where the Six Flags exit is. Six Flags amusement park completely buried in water this morning. It does flood fairly regularly, but nothing -- nothing -- like the flooding they've seen with this particular event.
And that really has been the theme with this flooding event. And the crazy part of it is that just months ago, we were in a severe drought. But the amount of rain that we got, I mean, we got like 10 inches of rain in about 10 days and then the straw that broke the camel's back was the rainfall that came the night before last, in some cases, 10 inches in a little over 12 hours. This has been a flood in Atlanta of historic proportions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO (voice-over): It's a cruel irony. After months of drought, heavy rains spawning deadly floods. Across much of the Southeast, streets are covered, homes are destroyed, tranquil creeks now on a rampage. In some places near Atlanta, nearly two feet of rain fell.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the highest water that I've seen, and I've been living around here all my life.
MARCIANO: This couple was rescued by boat late last night. In the pitch black, they had to use flashlights to see. And the only thing they could bring with them, their dog, and a few family treasures.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These are our wedding pictures.
MARCIANO: But they were luckier than others -- others who lost something so much more dear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His girlfriend was talking to him at 12:30 last night. He said water is flooding my car. I cannot get it open. He said I've got to call 911 and then his phone went dead.
MARCIANO: In Georgia, right now, 17 counties under a state of emergency. Officials say they're in rescue and recovery mode. But those rescued, especially around Atlanta, have been slow and difficult.
Pictures showing just how crippled some areas of the city are. In the western suburb of Powder Springs, a house is left to burn. Next to it, a fire truck stranded, helpless in the rising floodwaters. These two men had to get around on inflatable mattresses.
And so many people are stunned by what they're seeing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right now, shock. I don't think it's really set in that this is real. This is -- we're flooded out. We don't have a home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: Eight o'clock yesterday morning, fire crews came to this neighborhood, knocked on doors, told people to get out before the water was here. And it has gone down. Just now, the sun is up. Looking around this corner, I can see more cars completely submerged and water that's totally up to the second floor of some of these homes.
This just a small little creek meandering through this part of Cobb County, maybe a little fly fishing in spots, but generally speaking, it was down to only a foot a week ago. When the river gauge stopped recording, who knows what happened to it last night, the river was at 14 feet. You can imagine not only the danger that's involved with these floods, but now the inconvenience. This is disgustingly muddy, muck water that these folks will have to clean up.
And not only that, John and Kiran, but just getting around Atlanta this morning, there are hundreds of roads still closed and even interstates still shut down.
And this all coming without a tropical system. This was not a hurricane. This was not a tropical storm. This was just plain old rain in the South. That part is extremely rare.
Back to you guys.
CHETRY: Yes. And as you point out, so we're talking about six deaths in Georgia. Most of them were from people driving in the roadways. We have one death in Chattanooga, Tennessee. So, total for the region, seven people have died. And they say it could move higher. You point out, flash flooding and flooding, actually the deadliest water phenomenon.
MARCIANO: Water's a powerful thing and flash flooding certainly the most dangerous thing that we see in the United States. It's a lesson that we often learn the hard way. It's not quite over, as I'm sure Jacqui will point out. There's still a threat for seeing more rain. And any little bit of rain that we get will certainly exaggerate the situation - guys.
CHETRY: All right. Rob Marciano for us, thank you.
ROBERTS: And now, let's turn to Jacqui Jeras to find if more rain is on the way today. She's at the weather center in Atlanta, keeping tabs on all the extreme weather across the country.
And that's a question that so many people in the South want to answer today, Jacqui. And unfortunately, it doesn't look like a good answer.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It doesn't. I wish I had better news. And, you know, rain is in the forecast really for the unforeseeable future. In fact, you know, the next five to 10 days, we're talking at least chances of rain in the forecast each and every one of those.
There are some showers and thundershowers on the north side of the Atlanta metro area, but we have more development back here into parts of Alabama. So, we are expecting to see widely scattered showers and storms today. And any of those individual thunderstorms that develop could dump out an inch, maybe even two inches in a short period of time, and that could certainly aggravate the flooding situation.
Here you can see the big complex of showers and thunderstorms. This is our next weather-maker that we're going to be watching in the week ahead. And unfortunately, this system is cut off in the upper levels of the atmosphere the same way our last one is. So, this one is going to sit here and spin and bring disturbances across the Southeast in the week ahead. So, rain at a minimum through the weekend -- John, Kiran?
ROBERTS: Jacqui Jeras this morning -- Jacqui, thanks.
CHETRY: After you get after the initial danger, I mean, look at the mess. These houses are, you know, to the second story flooded out.
ROBERTS: And a lot of people have damage, too, from trees falling down and more rain goes in the hole in the roof, more damage. Insurance companies are going to be inundated in the next few days, I would think.
CHETRY: What a mess.
All right. Well, the fight over the economy and health care dominating the headlines here at home. But the president has a week of foreign policy challenges ahead of him. He's pivoting from these domestic issues, like health care, churning out a Mideast peace.
ROBERTS: Yes. He's meeting in New York today with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Bitterness on both sides high; even the White House keeping expectations from this meeting today low.
Our Susanne Malveaux here now with a look at the diplomatic hand that the president has to play today. And it doesn't sound like a great one when it comes to the Middle East.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, when the expectations are low, you know that you're not going to get all that much. And this is going into the meeting. And Middle East is just one of the many issues that the president is going to be addressing over the next couple of days as he takes center stage: climate change, nuclear proliferation, trade -- those are others. But all eyes initially are going to be on how does he interact with other world leaders in pressing his agenda?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): President Barack Obama will be tested by friends and foes a like. The delicate dance of diplomacy involves engaging some and ignoring others. His first face-to-face meetings will be with Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestine's Mahmoud Abbas, signaling his administration's priority to jump-start Middle East peace.
JON ALTERMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES: Under those circumstances, he's not going to get a grand gesture from the Israeli side, he's not going to get a grand gesture from the Palestinian side. The president's goal is to show that he cares, he's working on it, he's trying to move it forward.
MALVEAUX: But forward momentum on the specifics regarding Palestinian security or Israeli settlements are unlikely.
President Obama also wants to move forward on tougher economic sanctions on Iran as it continues to pursue its nuclear ambitions. That's why he's sitting down with those most resistant to the sanctions, the leaders of Russia and China.
ALTERMAN: The president has to speak to the leaderships and get a sense for how willing they are to sanction Iran, what they might want in return, and what their real assessment of the Iranian threat is.
MALVEAUX: Iran's leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will also be attending the international summit. The White House aides say Mr. Obama has no intention of engaging him. He's one of several the president will try to avoid.
ALTERMAN: I think he's going to want to avoid President Ahmadinejad, who lives in his own sense of reality. He's going to want to avoid President Chavez. But I don't think the president should give away a handshake or a meeting with President Gaddafi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: The U.S. ambassador to the U.N, Susan Rice -- she says they've already seen dramatic changes in how world leaders are dealing with the United States. Many have been more receptive, eager to work with this president because of his change in tone and some of the reversals in Bush policy. I think the big test is going to be whether President Obama can use his popularity -- enormous popularity overseas and make changes on the world stage.
ROBERTS: As you said, they're looking to see how they can deal with President Obama, is this administration going to be different than the last one. But you also alluded to this idea that they're looking for weaknesses.
MALVEAUX: Oh, yes. They're looking for weaknesses as well. And one of the things is that, when you see these leaders together, I mean, do they get along, do they interact, can they avoid each other, should they avoid each other, should they actually engage? And that's one of the delicate dances that we're actually going to see in the couple days.
CHETRY: And is that possible? I mean, you're walking through the hallways, you know, Hugo Chavez comes up to you and hands you a book. What do you supposed to do?
MALVEAUX: That's exactly. That's what we saw in Trinidad and Tobago, because everybody was looking for Hugo Chavez and what he's going to do with Obama. And the shake turned into kind of like the man hug, which turned into giving him the book the next day.
These guys have huge entourages, Secret Service, security. So, they've got a good distance between them, but if you bump into the hallway, you just got to react. So, we'll see.
ROBERTS: Suzanne, thanks.
MALVEAUX: OK.
ROBERTS: We're looking forward to seeing what you've got to report this week.
CHETRY: Those unscripted moments, right, show so much. Thanks so much, Suzanne.
Meanwhile, coming up in just about 20 minutes, we're going to be speaking with Georgia's president, Mikheil Saakashvili. He's going to be addressing the U.N. General Assembly on Thursday. A couple of things, he had a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
What are some of the things that Georgia and the United States need to talk about? And also, as we hit the, quote, "reset button" with Russia, how does it affect their neighbor? They were just at war in 2008. We're going to talk all about that with him.
ROBERTS: And at the same time that the U.N. General Assembly is going on, new security warnings about mass transit systems across the country in the wake of the arrest of these Islamic militants -- suspected Islamic militants at the very least. We're going to be talking with the ranking member on the House Select Committee on Intelligence, Peter Hoekstra -- coming up next.
It's 11 1/2 minutes after the hour.
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ROBERTS: Good morning, New York City. A shot of Central Park today, where it's partly cloudy and 65 degrees. Later on today, it is going to be cloudy and a high of about 79. So, it shouldn't be a bad day. Some rain is coming on in later on in the day though. So, if you're not coming back home until this evening, bring in the umbrella with you.
Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
A 24-year-old Afghan native and his Muslim cleric are being held without bond this morning. They're at the center of an FBI terror investigation that stretches from Denver to New York, and all the way to Afghanistan. The fed says their target were New York City trains and subways.
It begs the question: Just how safe are we?
For more, I'm joined by Congressman Peter Hoekstra. He's the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee.
Congressman, good to see you this morning. So, what do you make of these arrests and the level of threat that they represent to the United States.
REP. PETER HOEKSTRA (R), MICHIGAN: Well, John, I think you've highlighted exactly the kinds of questions that we're going to be going over, over the next few days and over the coming weeks. You know, we're going to have to first deal with this threat that is out there. Make sure that local law enforcement are doing the things that are necessary to keep America safe.
Then we will step back and take a look and say: Does this give us any insights into what al Qaeda or radical jihadists, when their long-term strategy is in the United States. Have they evolved their strategy? Where has it evolved to?
And then we will take a look at how well local law enforcement has worked with the FBI, has worked with the Central Intelligence Agency, and our overseas intelligence capabilities. You know, that was one of the major problems before 9/11 -- have we fixed those kinds of issues?
ROBERTS: And authorities are painting a picture of a plot against transit systems here in New York City, but not necessarily limited to New York City. Other transit systems across the country, subways, bus systems, might be vulnerable as well. And it really is a reminder that even with all the security precautions we take, Congressman, that these are still considered, quote, "soft targets."
HOEKSTRA: Exactly. They are soft targets. We have all kinds of soft targets around the country.
It still, also, tells us, you know, how little we really understand al Qaeda. For the, you know, the years immediately after 9/11, the speculation was that al Qaeda would want to launch another attack against the United States, but they would want it to be a spectacular attack, bigger than 9/11. The question now is: have they evolved their strategy and perhaps taken a look at easier and more soft targets?
ROBERTS: Have adequate security measures been taken for these transit systems, do you think, Congressman? Or is the best defense against an attack against a target like that -- considering how many people use systems like that on a daily basis -- is to have robust counterterrorism investigations and intelligence operations?
HOEKSTRA: I think you have to be the robust counterterrorism investigations. You know, there are so many soft targets. It's transit systems today. It could be shopping malls tomorrow. You know, you need to continue to be on offense to try to nip these things in the bud before they ever move forward.
You know, we are just a target-rich environment. And if we focused on one set of soft targets, it would be so easy for them to just move from one target to a different set of targets.
ROBERTS: But as former administration officials have said, you know, when you're defending against terrorism, you've got to get lucky every time. Terrorists only need to get lucky once.
HOEKSTRA: You've got to be lucky. You've got to be good. I hope that what we've seen over the last few days is an indication that we continue to be very, very good, and we continue to be lucky. But the bottom line is, you have to be good.
ROBERTS: You know, sources familiar with the current investigation into Zazi and his alleged co-conspirator say that they're still looking for some nine to 12 other people who might have knowledge of this alleged plot. Do you expect, as well, that if there is one terrorist cell -- if indeed this turns out to be a terrorist cell -- operating below the radar in the United States, that there would be more out there?
HOEKSTRA: I would expect that there are more. We should be prepared for -- that there are more and we should be looking for them each and every day. Sure, you know, this is a large country. We know that al Qaeda wants to attack the United States again. We should expect the worst in terms of that there are more than one cell, and continue to be very, very aggressive in looking for them and rooting them out.
ROBERTS: You know, another big concern when it comes to terrorism is what's going on in Afghanistan, at least according to General Stanley McChrystal who came out with this assessment, this report for the president, suggesting that if the Taliban gains the upper hand in Afghanistan, it could become again a base for terrorism from which al Qaeda members might launch attacks either in Asia, across Europe, or even here in the United States as we saw in 9/11.
How concerned are you, Congressman, about what's going on in Afghanistan presently?
HOEKSTRA: I'm very, very concerned. I think there's a number of strategies that this administration has put in place that I am concerned about, that create some confusion, create some concern about, you know, are we committed to winning in Afghanistan.
I think the president -- over the coming days, over the coming weeks -- is going to have to put in place a clear strategy that indicates that he is committed to winning not only in Afghanistan, but that he's also committed to making sure that the Taliban, that al Qaeda, that radical jihadists do not have a safe haven anywhere in the planet, that we're going to continue to be on offense. So, I think that we need to look very, very clearly at the strategy that the president's going to outline in the coming days.
ROBERTS: Congressman Peter Hoekstra, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee -- good to catch up with you this morning. Thanks for coming on. Appreciate it.
HOEKSTRA: Good. Thank you.
CHETRY: Well, still ahead: Harrison Ford sits down with our Christine Romans and talks about his new battle. It's actually not new. He's been talking about climate change and the importance of protecting the environment for years. But he's going to talk about why it's even more prevalent and why it's more important today.
It's 20 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Twenty-two minutes past the hour now.
Our Christine Romans is here "Minding Your Business" this morning.
You lucky lady had a chance to talk to Harrison Ford. Big, huge movie star, but he has a cause and he's very passionate about it.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And it's climate change. It's something he's been working on for about 15 years.
Deforestation is something he's worried about. He's worried about, you know, degradation of the environment. He's worried about -- all the things for the past 15 years he's been working on that have nothing to do with acting, but he's used his star power as an actor to be an activist for saving the environment.
And I talked to him yesterday. He was with Starbucks CEO and few other CEOs, the president of Guyana, talking about how you have to cast a pretty wide net and get everyone involved in trying to protect the environment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: Environmentalists have sometimes said that companies are part of the problem. And American (INAUDIBLE). But you're embracing certain companies and CEOs and saying, "Look, let's do this together. This is for everyone."
HARRISON FORD, ACTOR: You know, why deny anybody a place at the table?
ROMANS: Right.
FORD: They may be part of the problem, some of them are, but they are a great part of the solution. Our alliances with corporations have shown us that they feel responsible to their consumers and their employees, and they know that serving the environment is good business. It makes sense.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMANS: And why right now? Well, today is a big Climate Change Day at the U.N. The president will speak about this today, the president of the China will as well. These are the two biggest emitters of greenhouse gases, by the way.
And we are moving forward with the G-20. They're going to talk about climate change at the G-20. And the, Copenhagen, which is the new sort of Kyoto -- remember the Kyoto Protocol? It expires in 2012. There'll be a big, big conference later this year in Copenhagen. Everyone is looking forward to it.
But it's hard. You've got 190 countries with different agendas. Nobody wants to give something up. It's going to cost money. Trying to think long-term, we have a global environment.
So, this is kind of treacherous politics. You're going to see a lot of people staking their reputations on trying to get some momentum going. You can see the whole interview with Harrison Ford, by the way, on "YOUR MONEY," Saturday at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, Sunday at 3:00 p.m. We asked him a lot of questions, including whether if he is going to do another Indy, he said he'd be happy to do it if the script is good.
ROBERTS: It's a good payday for him.
ROMANS: Yes. Well, some people were arguing that the script wasn't very good maybe for the fourth Indy. So, people ought to have a little higher standard for the fifth Indy. Did you see the fourth one?
ROBERTS: I did. But the check still cleared as I understand.
ROMANS: I think that -- I think you're absolutely right. I think you're absolutely.
ROBERTS: Christine, thanks.
Don't move because we got video that you just have to see this morning. Former House majority leader, Tom DeLay, made his long- awaited debut last night on "Dancing with the Stars." He did the cha- cha to "Wild Thing." Have a look.
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ROBERTS: The hammer has got those liquid hips, doesn't he? After it was over, Bruno the judge told DeLay he was, quote, "crazier than Sarah Palin." DeLay will find out if he's staying or going in tomorrow night's show. The knee slide, it was good.
CHETRY: Not bad.
ROBERTS: It's excellent.
CHETRY: And he also didn't have the lowest score. So, he's hanging on.
ROBERTS: That's a knee slide that would make Bruce Springsteen proud.
CHETRY: There you go. Congratulations.
Meanwhile, we're going to be switching gears here. We're going to be speaking with Georgia's president, Mikheil Saakashvili. He's going to be joining us live in just a couple of moments. A lot to get to -- he met and sat down with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. What are some of the big issues affecting U.S. and Georgian Relations? And how does everything that's been going our reset button with Russia factor in? We'll be talking to him live in just a moment.
It's 26 minutes after the hour.
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CHETRY: Well, it's 29 minutes after the hour right now. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
As the recession has raged on, gun sales have actually skyrocketed. "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting that gun sales are actually up by double digits.
ROBERTS: The reason, experts say, is because Democrats control both Congress and the White House, and the thought of new gun laws has got some people mad as hell.
Our Carol Costello is tracking the debate from Washington this morning.
Good morning, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, you think they wouldn't be as mad, because it's not exactly like, you know, anyone is coming down on gun control in this country. But gun advocates who believe all kinds of guns, even AK-47s ought to be legal are still fighting mad, even though President Obama hasn't made any significant move to ban guns of any kind. And gun control advocates are losing ground because of it.
So, is there any middle ground? I talked to both sides.
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CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Dante Barksdale runs on faith.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to just take a little walk.
COSTELLO: An ex-con, he's fighting to end gun violence. It's not easy. Last week six people were gunned down in Baltimore. There have been more than 300 shootings in the city this year.
COSTELLO (on camera): We like our guns in America. We love our guns in America, don't we?
DANTE BARKSDALE, "SAFE STREETS" BALTIMORE: In the urban parts of, you know, the city, you know, they tell us, you know, the biggest guy, the guy who has the most people are afraid of, the guy with the biggest gun, this is what a man is.
Safe Streets -- we're all we got.
COSTELLO: Barksdale works with Safe Streets, which is aimed at reducing gun violence among 15 to 24-year-olds in Baltimore.
Guns are a part of life in rural America, too, but the aim here -- to keep them and use them. They put food on the table and make many feel safe.
COSTELLO (on camera): There are some people who say that owning a gun is a god-given right. Do you consider it to be that?
IRWIN POLANSKY, PENNSYLVANIA GUN OWNER: Yes.
COSTELLO: Why?
POLANSKY: Because I need to protect myself.
COSTELLO: From?
POLANSKY: From the bad guys, or whoever, or an animal.
BARKSDALE: What we deal with in the urban part of the communities is that people use guns to resolve their problems, and that this is not normal.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Two very different viewpoints reflecting a debate in America that seems to have become polarized.
TOM GLASS, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: People that might otherwise have been in the middle about gun control, gun liberties, have been pushed to polar extremes.
COSTELLO: And in dollar terms, the debate over guns appears, well, uneven. According to the most recent available tax return, the national Rifle Association took in more than $332 million in revenue in 2007. The Brady center/Brady campaign, the largest gun control lobbying groups, pulled in just over $6 million in 2008.
It all depends on where you're coming from.
COSTELLO (on camera): Do you think that you'd feel differently about guns if you lived in a high crime area?
POLANSKY: No.
COSTELLO: Really?
POLANSKY: I wouldn't feel any different.
COSTELLO: You really wouldn't?
POLANSKY: I might even buy more guns.
(LAUGHTER)
Or I might buy an AK-47 just to -- so I'm not outgunned. But no, I wouldn't feel any different.
BARKSDALE: There are people who use guns, you know what I'm saying, to hunt, to do whatever they do. But in my neighborhood, guns are used to resolve conflict.
There ain't going to be no killings in east Baltimore.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: I asked Dante Barksdale if he carried a gun to protect himself on the mean streets of Baltimore. He said, absolutely not. I put faith in god to protect me.
Now, this is not to say everyone in rural America thinks anybody should be able to buy weapons like AK-47s or that urban America wants to ban hunting rifles. It does not.
But the more moderate voices on this issue have been largely silenced by the fear that the government will take all gun rights away -- John, Kiran.
ROBERTS: No question, Carol, it's an issue that ignites passions on both sides of it.
And now it's your turn. Tell us what you think. Where do you stand when it comes to gun rights? Are you mad as hell too? Go to carol's blog at CNN.com/amfix to sound off.
And tomorrow, Carol is going to see if we can heal some of these wounds. With people so polarized, can the country be put back together or will we stay divided? This is an issue that Carol cares very much about and she continues her "Mad as Hell" series tomorrow.
Checking on our top stories this morning, Georgia officials are telling commuters in the Atlanta area to stay home this morning. At least seven people in the southeast have already been killed by raging floods.
Some parts of Georgia getting 22 inches of rain since Friday. Hundreds of roads and bridges in the Atlanta area are closed. A state of emergency declared in 17 counties, and another storm is closing in on the area today.
Police in northern California will do more digging today in Nancy and Phillip Garrido's backyard. They are searching for evidence that could link the couple to two child abductions 20 years ago. The Garridos are charged with kidnapping Jaycee Dugard back in 1991 when she was 11 and holding her captive at their home for 18 years.
And a health care reform bill starts taking shape today in the Senate. The Finance Committee will debate more than 500 amendments to a compromised bill that was introduced last week but Chairman Max Baucus.
Senator Baucus has agreed to change parts of his plan to make required health insurance more affordable for low and middle-income Americans.
CHETRY: It's 34 minutes now past the hour.
Now, since taking office, President Obama has made it a priority to try to improve relations with Russia, to "hit the reset button," as the administration put it.
But you can't discuss Russia without considering its neighbors, especially Georgia, a nation that's still recovering from its August, 2008 war with Russia, and tensions are still high between the two countries.
Joining me now is Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili. He's here in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly in two days. And thank you so much for being with us, Mr. President.
MIKHEIL SAAKASHVILI, PRESIDENT OF GEORGIA: Great to be on your show.
CHETRY: Great to speak to you. We spoke to you live...
SAAKASHVILI: Absolutely, under different circumstances.
CHETRY: ... right in the middle of a real mess back in 2008. What is the status right now? You were at war with Russia. How is Georgia today?
SAAKASHVILI: Well, on the one hand, Russia still continues all the nasty things. They still occupy two regions of Georgia. More than half a million Georgians and other ethnic groups, they're all Georgian citizens, are refugees from those areas. There's a mass Russian military buildup.
On the other hand, everybody expected Georgia to fall and disappear last year. And look at where we are now. Our economy is still in good shape, and it's doing better than most of the regional economies. Our political system is going well.
I mean, we have countries really moving. We are one of the top investment destinations for the region, one of the top -- the first one, according to the World Bank.
We are one of the at least corrupt countries in Europe, according to, again, to international organizations. We are one of the most performing institutions, performing countries of the region.
So in many ways Georgia is winning peace. I mean, you cannot win with Russia. They're 150 times bigger. You cannot win because they are brutal, because they go for it, they came with more than 200 planes to bomb us, more than 2,000 armor, more than 100,000 people strong army. We are a small country.
However, when you are a small country that is determined to win the peace, you can succeed. If you look at the neighborhood, (INAUDIBLE).
You'll see all the countries that are much more independent- minded, all the people are much more self-confident because Georgia is surviving and doing well. And basically, look at who is on Russia's side.
CHETRY: Mr. President, I want to ask you about that. I want to get your thoughts on this special U.N. commission. They were working on a report to be released next week about how this escalation happened and who is to blame.
A German newspaper is reporting that the commission will say Georgia is at fault, that Russia actually has some responsibility as well, but that your country started the conflict with military action.
SAAKASHVILI: Look, look, nobody takes this kind of newspaper quote seriously, because everybody who was there, and there were serious people there, everybody knows what happened.
You know, there is no way Georgia was small, Georgia would start a conflict with Russia. We are not crazy in any way. Every time big country attacks small country, they claim to be, you know, the weak think of the small country (INAUDIBLE).
But look who's on whose side. Russia has on its side Hugo Chavez, I don't believe he even know where is the Caucuses is. He simply believes he's fighting against the U.S. the same way that Russia believes it was fighting against the U.S. and that's what they were telling their own people.
And on the other side, today, in all major European newspapers, once you mention European newspapers, France, Korea, Italy, a number of others -- in Germany, in Spain, you just named them -- there is a big letter signed by Vaclav Havel. Vaclav Havel and a number of very important European politicians and intellectuals saying we are on Georgia's side, Georgia is a moral case.
And when you have Hugo Chavez on other side, and on this side what you have -- when we know we are right. And it makes lots of difference. Vaclav Havel fought communists almost alone.
CHETRY: And Mr. President, this is what I want to ask you about then. Are you concerned, when we talk about the United States, pushing the reset button with Russia, trying to normalize relations, trying to get -- to become more allies, does that make you nervous as Georgia's president?
SAAKASHVILI: Look, nobody wants (INAUDIBLE) in the world. We are fully aware of that. And I had a very good meeting yesterday with Secretary Clinton.
CHETRY: What did she tell you about that?
SAAKASHVILI: She is a very solid supporter and she clearly gets it. President Obama was also very supportive. He had a very good visit to Moscow. (INAUDIBLE) his body language was right.
It always matters with like former KGB people in Russia, because they know to look at what you say, and Obama said all the right things, but the way you behave, the way you are. And I think he did an excellent job and that spared us some Russian aggressiveness this summer.
Now, of course, good relations between big states are very important, and we fully support that.
Now, the point is, and I think this administration sense this very well, that when you are talking about missile defense problems, the other side, which I think they're handling very well.
The other side, in this case the Russian administration, is trying to sell it to their own people and there is propaganda there to brainwash peoples (inaudible) in the regions that it is their victory.
CHETRY: That's what I want to ask you, because, Mr. President, Russia's acting as though this is a victory, that the Obama administration announced plans to scrap the long-range missile plan for Eastern Europe. Do you think that's a mistake?
SAAKASHVILI: I think we clearly understand what the Obama administration did. They went for better program.
They also clearly understand what's at stake here, and they've shown it many times during a summer possible crisis this summer in our region between Russia and Georgia, they supported and we just coordinated a diplomatic victory at the U.N. calling for the return of our half a million refugees and the territorial integrity of Georgia.
So the U.S. has been very supportive, the administration, the people, and the Congress. So I don't have any doubts and fears about it. I think they clearly get it. Yesterday's meeting with Secretary Clinton was amazing.
However, of course, you have the other side of it. The other people always try to sell the other part to their people. But, as Lincoln said, you can fool some people for some time, but not all the people all the time. And I think in long-term, this kind of Russian propaganda will fail and I think it's all about values. It's not about Georgia.
Why Vaclav Havel and others are on this side and Hugo Chavez on the other is because Georgia is not only a very important region of power, a small one, but transitory, important symbolic for all the countries of the region. But Georgia is an idea, an idea of freedom and democracy in the part of the world that it was unthinkable before.
The idea that the small country can only defy big interests, very nasty interests, you know, corrupt, anti-democratic regimes and try to survive on its own and be successful on its own merits.
And we are not doing bad job. We still have a long way to go. It's still an uphill battle, but we'll make it.
CHETRY: Well, you'll be addressing the United Nations on Thursday to talk about these issues, including the refugee issues.
I want to thank you for your time. Always great to have you on this show.
SAAKASHVILI: Thank you for inviting.
CHETRY: Georgia's President Mikheil Saakashvili, thanks so much.
SAAKASHVILI: Thanks so much.
CHETRY: John?
ROBERTS: John Edwards still in the hot seat over his affair with Rielle Hunter, but can he make a comeback? If history is any guide, he has a least a fair chance. We'll take a look at how coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A political bombshell this morning. Former senator and presidential candidate John Edwards may soon admit to another lie. "The New York Times" reports that Edwards may soon admit he did in fact father a child with his former mistress Rielle Hunter.
Edwards has already confessed to cheating on his wife, Elizabeth, but said he did not have a love child with Hunter. The little girl is now 19 months old.
CHETRY: Cheating politicians, can they ever make a comeback? President Clinton is still hugely popular. But before a sex scandal can be forgotten, it has to end. And it seems now that there's even more to the John Edwards story. Jessica Yellin has that for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Remember when John Edwards admitted to having an affair with Rielle Hunter? He did a mea culpa on "ABC News."
JOHN EDWARDS, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In 2006, two years ago, I made a very serious mistake, a mistake that I am responsible for and no one else.
YELLIN: But now he's getting front page "New York Times" treatment. The paper cites a book proposal from former Edward's staffer Andrew Young alleging that Edwards may have not have told the full truth when asked if he fathered the mistress' new infant here, again, on "Nightline."
EDWARDS: I know it's not possible that this child could be mine because of the timing of events. So I know it's not possible.
YELLIN: Whoops. The article alleges he's likely the dad. Another ugly charge -- that Edwards promised his mistress a wedding after Mrs. Edwards, who has cancer, passes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the wife's forgiveness is very important.
YELLIN: Culture watchers say if the allegations are true, Edwards could redeem himself if he follows the accepted script.
LEONARD STEINHORN, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS PROFESSOR: He has to apologize, he has to repent. That's this Calvinist framework our society works under when crisis hit.
YELLIN: That worked for Louisiana Senator David Vitter, who's seeking reelection after a prostitute scandal, and for Nevada senator John Ensign, who's still in office after an affair with a staffer/friend's wife.
Another model, there's Newt Gingrich, who had an affair while impeaching a president for the same, or the former president himself. Both men moved on only after enduring public punishment.
But then why do other politicians fail to win forgiveness, like South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford, who has apologized endlessly?
GOV. MARK SANFORD, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: I want to apologize to good friends.
YELLIN: Or New York's Eliot Spitzer, who had to leave office, and John Edwards, who has all but disappeared from the public stage?
STEINHORN: There's an unseemly factor to what they did that sort of disgusts people, that makes people think that there's something fundamentally wrong with them. And I think that's why they may never recover fully the way, let's say, Bill Clinton did.
YELLIN (on camera): Representatives for both John and Elizabeth Edwards declined CNN's requests for an interview, and John Edwards' spokeswoman also says the former candidate does not plan to issue a statement responding to "The New York Times" article.
Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: All right, well, there you have it. Maybe we'll get some more information on this coming up soon.
Meanwhile, imagine this. Having, I think, it was 15 to 17 credit cards, being drowning in debt, trying to find a way to get yourself out of it. One lady was able to do it, and it took a lot of time and a lot of diligence. How did she get herself in the mess and how did she get herself back out? We're going to find out more, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 51 minutes past the hour now.
Many of you probably have credit card debt. You might have even have quite a lot of credit card debt. But the woman you're about to meet can really offer hope for anyone out there. She was $80,000 in the red. In this "Money & Main Street" report, Allan Chernoff shows us how she's managing to dig her way out even in this tough economy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: A few years ago, Dawn Warfield was drowning in credit card debt to the tune of $80,000, nearly ten times the $8,300 the average American family owes on their cards.
DAWN WARFIELD, IN DEBT: There was about 17 credit cards at that time.
CHERNOFF: Dawn was dealing with several factors against her -- high credit card interest rates, a divorce, and using her personal cards for the high expenses of opening up a second location of her video store.
WARFIELD: Every month, I was writing out 17 checks and the interest rates, they ranged from like 6 percent to 33 percent. Quite honestly, living beyond my means, is another part of it. I'll own up to that.
And just, you know, there's always unforeseen expenses. And when you're making the minimum payments on these credit cards when you can't afford to make more than that, they just -- they don't go down.
CHERNOFF: So Dawn took matters into her own hands. She sold the second store location, stopped using her cards, and called for help.
WARFIELD: I sat down one day and I called each credit card one by one. And I asked all of them to work with me to lower my interest rate.
CHERNOFF: But that didn't go anywhere. Instead, she was directed to the debt management program of the not-for-profit Consumer Credit Counseling service.
Counselor Eric Jackson helped Dawn analyze her bills and expenses and created a plan to help her get lower interest rates. Now she makes a single monthly payment.
WARFIELD: I don't even have to think about it, which makes it a lot easier for me, because when you have a lot of debt, it's not just financial, but it's emotional, you know, even physical. You just think about it all the time.
ERIC JACKSON, CONSUMER CREDIT COUNSELOR: She's making her payments on time. They're posting to her creditor accounts. You know, she was very low interest rates. That was one of the benefits. And she's definitely doing well. So she is on track to get her debts paid off in full within the five years.
CHERNOFF: Today, Dawn is less than $40,000 in debt.
WARFIELD: I'm about halfway. Yes. It hasn't been easy, but we're getting there.
CHERNOFF: Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: All right. Well, good luck to her.
And for more on digging out of debt, including tips on how you can cut your payments, go to CNN.com/moneyandmainstreet. Also, while you're there, if you want to, you can test a test on your financial health. You plug in your age and your salary and then how much you're saving and spending to see how you score.
ROBERTS: The obesity epidemic in America, what role does economic status have to play in it? We're paging Dr. Gupta, who's coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: And some live pictures right now just into CNN. This is President Obama arriving at the United Nations, doing some handshaking. As we know, it's going to be a big day. He's going to be talking to more than 120 different heads of state and government.
Some of the issues that they're going to be talking about, besides climate change, that's the summit that's being hosted today, also, Middle East peace, and as Suzanne told us, loose nukes around the world. So a lot of big challenges.
ROBERTS: Yes. He's certainly got a lot on his plate today and he's got the meeting with Netanyahu and Mahmoud Abbas, and even the White House saying not a lot of expectations for that meeting.
But a big weak for the president. We'll be following it closely to see what he can get done.
CHETRY: All right.
And meanwhile, there are more than 35 million Hispanic Americans according to the 2000 census, and they continue to be the country's fastest-growing minority population, but unfortunately, in more ways than one.
ROBERTS: Fastest growing is not always a good thing, as we find out. Chief Medical Correspondent Sanjay Gupta joins us now from Atlanta. And Sanjay, we're talking about waist lines here in terms of fastest growing. What's up?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: We definitely are. And there are certain demographics, there are certain communities that are just hit harder when it comes to the obesity epidemic. Is it a question of access to health care? Is it a question of education? Why are some of these communities hit so much harder? We really wanted to take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Vista, California -- it's just 50 miles from the Mexican border. Its population, largely Mexican immigrants and Hispanic Americans. Many of the families are low income and many don't have access to fresh fruits or vegetables.
Add to that a diet high in fat and a lack of safe play spaces, and in some ways it's the perfect recipe for obesity.
CHERYL MODER, DIRECTOR, SAN DIEGO COUNTY CHILDHOOD OBESITY INITIATIVE: I have children as young as five or six in my practice that are now starting to develop diabetes.
GUPTA: But a partnership of more than 100 local businesses, schools, health care providers, and county officials is coming together to find a solution.
DR. KELLY MOTADEL, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, VISTA COMMUNITY CLINIC: We are working in two major areas. One is healthy eating to assure that all families no matter where they live have access to fresh, affordable, healthy foods, mainly produce, fruits, and vegetables, and that, likewise, all families have access to safe, affordable opportunities for their kids to be physically active.
GUPTA: And although there is still work to be done, doctors like Kelly Modell say that they're making process.
MODER: There are days when you feel like you've said the same thing over and over and you're not sure that it's making a difference. But when you see those kids who have come back and they haven't gained weight, and sometimes that's the only goal is just for them not to gain weight, you realize they are hearing what you're saying.
GUPTA: And parents are certainly looking for the help.
YOLANDA CRUZ, VISTA AREA PARENT (through translator): Sometimes we don't know that much about how to feed our kids correctly. I've learned a lot in this program and my husband has too.
GUPTA: With the community's involvement, there's an opportunity to change course and to change lives.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUPTA: Two things that really struck me here. One is that, obviously, you have a group of private organizations coming together to try and address this problem.
The second thing that we kept hearing from a lot of the experts that we talked to is that, you know, getting a health card alone, health access alone, may not be enough if you can't have transportation to get you to the doctor's offices and have education to know when you should go.
So there's a lot sort of going on here when you look at these specific communities.
ROBERTS: You know, the good thing too about healthy eating habits is you instill them at an early age and sometimes they last a lifetime.
Sanjay Gupta this morning. Doc, great to see you, thanks.
GUPTA: Thanks, John.
ROBERTS: Coming up in October, by the way, look for CNN's "Latino in America." We're going to explore how Latinos are reshaping our communities and culture.
CHETRY: And meantime, continue the conversation on today's stories. Go to our blog at CNN.com/amfix.
That's going to do it for us. Thanks so much for being with us today. Hope to see you back here tomorrow.
ROBERTS: And here's "CNN NEWSROOM" now with Heidi Collins.
