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American Morning

Gulf Heat on Obama; Flood Rescue: Oklahoma Teen Plucked from Rising Water; Day 2: Obama in the Gulf; "It's No Excuse. I Know Better"; Golden "It" Girl; Trying to Kill Bin Laden?; Afghanistan: Land of Lithium; Hospital Infection; High HDL Prevents Cancer?; Woman Shoots Own Injured Shoulder

Aired June 15, 2010 - 06:00   ET

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


KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. It's Tuesday, June 15th. Glad you're with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks so much for being with us. And it is a big news day today. A lot to tell you about coming up in the next 15 minutes.

First, gulf heat on President Obama. One week after he said "this is not theater," he's using the most powerful political backdrop there is to send a message about the oil spill. A rare address from the Oval office. Ed Henry tells us what's going on behind the scenes at the White House.

CHETRY: And a dramatic scene in Oklahoma City. Rescuers versus rising floodwaters. They were trying desperately to reach a teenager who had been clinging to trees for two hours trying to keep from being swept away after as much as 10 inches of rain fell in Oklahoma in just 12 hours. More severe weather could be on the way.

ROBERTS: And still golden after all these years. Betty White, now 88, and a half, though she likes to say, is one of Hollywood's hottest stars. So what's her secret? I had a chance to talk with the legendary comedienne.

And, of course, the amFIX blog is up and running. Join the live conversation going on right now. It's CNN.com/amFIX.

CHETRY: First, though, day 57 of the gulf oil spill and maybe the most pivotal day for President Obama. Tonight, for the first time, he'll be addressing the nation from the Oval Office. The most symbolically powerful setting at his disposal to try to convince the American people that he's doing everything he can to manage the worst oil spill in American history.

New poll numbers show that he does have a lot of convincing to do. A "USA Today"/Gallup poll taken over the weekend shows that the president is actually suffering because of the oil crisis, the growing oil crisis. Seventy-one percent of those surveyed says he has not been tough enough on BP and half think that the beaches affected will never recover. Today, there is new evidence that BP put money ahead of safety, allegedly taking cheaper, riskier shortcuts for the well that for eight weeks has been spewing oil from the ocean floor nonstop.

Ed Henry is live for us in Pensacola this morning where the president will start his day. Of course, yesterday as well, he had a chance to talk to locals about the disaster and the effect that it's had on these gulf states.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Kiran. In fact, the president is going to be first here at Pensacola Naval Air Station. He's going to thank some of the troops here who have been helping deal with this crisis. Then he's going to hit the beach and he's going to hear from locals yet again. And I can tell you I talked to some of those people yesterday and they're still very frustrated. They think despite all of the talk in Washington they're still not getting the response they need. They're still not breaking through. So the president does have a lot of convincing to do.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take me to your sand.

HENRY (voice-over): Take a tour with Buck Lee who runs Pensacola Beach and you'll see a picture-perfect summer scene. But Lee knows big gobs of oil are likely to wash up here soon. And he's furious that a month ago he requested four tractors from the federal government to help sift the sand. And only one finally arrived Monday afternoon, just hours before President Obama came to town.

WILLIAM "BUCK" LEE, EXEC. DIRECTOR, SANTA ROSA ISLAND AUTHORITY: Just sitting over there. So finally, the word got through. We raised enough heck that they said, OK, if it will shut you up, we'll get these things for you.

HENRY: Locals are so desperate they're demanding that FEMA, which was once reviled, get more involved so that equipment can arrive quicker. And they're demanding more accountability for BP.

LEE: It's a disaster. OK? And so we need to have BP set up some kind of funding, whether it's $5 billion or $10 billion a year, that everybody, whether you're a government that needs equipment, or you're a business person suffering, that can go to this account and present their legitimate claims and get their money back.

HENRY: White House advisers say such a fund will be announced by the president Tuesday night, but that may not be enough for some here on the beach.

(on camera): You voted for President Obama. What's your trust level on him right now?

BRUCE PARRIS, GENERAL MANAGER, THE DOCK RESTAURANT: Well, you know, I'm starting to think I wish I voted for Hillary. I think she may have more nerve. Might have not put up with this for as long. HENRY (voice-over): Bruce Parris says business is down 40 percent at his restaurant from last year, and he's worried it will only get worse when the oil arrives.

PARRIS: We pretty much know it's going to be here. It's inevitable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HENRY: I spoke to Obama officials who insist that FEMA already is playing a coordinating role, but they cannot take command because that's being handled by the Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen. And basically FEMA can't get in the way to try and take control of the situation. When you talk to the locals here in Pensacola, they think FEMA should be taking on a big role because despite all the talk in Washington, they still don't feel like there is somebody in the federal government that they can turn to who is really in control, Kiran.

CHETRY: Yes, and there's been calls for, you know, practically a week after this happened for the military to get involved and take the lead role. That's something obviously that for many reasons has not happened. But, you know, when the president tries to show that he is managing this crisis the best he can, what do we expect to hear from him tonight in his speech?

HENRY: Two big themes when you talk to the president's top advisers. Number one, that there's finally a game plan moving forward. As you noted, there are a lot of different ideas that have been floating around. This is a chance for president, pretty deep into this crisis, to say, look, moving forward here's what you can expect from the federal government. The other big theme -- accountability for BP.

You mentioned those poll numbers, a suggestion the president is taking a hit politically because people feel like he has not been tough enough on BP. They've gotten that message inside the White House. We're going to hear a lot about accountability for BP tonight, Kiran.

CHETRY: All right, Ed Henry for us this morning, traveling with the president. Thanks so much.

And by the way, don't miss the president's Oval Office address. It's happening tonight right here on CNN. Special coverage starts at 7:00 Eastern, followed by reaction and analysis on "LARRY KING LIVE" and live from the Gulf Coast on "AC 360."

ROBERTS: Our other big story this morning. Severe weather delivering a blow to the nation's midsection. Flood watches and warnings up across the Midwest again this morning. The region has been deluged by heavy rains and flash flooding.

In Kansas City, gushing water rose as high as four feet in some areas, washing away sections of roadways and forcing highways to close. In Oklahoma, nearly a foot of rain fell in just 12 hours. Dozens of people had to be rescued from floodwaters, including a teenage girl clinging to tree limbs for dear life.

Our Jacqui Jeras in Atlanta now. She's got that story for us.

Good morning, Jacqui. Wow, this was pretty dramatic to watch yesterday.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it really was. And there were a lot of water rescues yesterday but this one was so surreal, it almost played out like a movie where you're cheering for the main character and really hoping for that happy ending. But this was real life and many touch-and-go moments that could have ended tragically.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JERAS (voice-over): This was Sooner (ph) Road in Oklahoma City until eight inches of rain in just three hours turned it into a torrent of mud-brown water. Caught by the sudden flood, a young woman tries to cling to anything to prevent from being swept away. A news helicopter catches sight of her, but then she disappears under a canopy of trees. For a few moments, no sign of her. But then --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, guys, this woman, I think it's a woman, clinging on to this tree. There is a -- there is a road here. She's going -- she keeps trying to swim but she's going nowhere.

JERAS: And there's little chance of her making it to dry land. Five minutes later, she's still holding on. A rescue air boat is on the way. The woman swims from one tree to the next but appears to be tiring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hang on, girl.

JERAS: By now, she's been in the water for at least 20 minutes. A few minutes later, she manages to clamber out of the torrent and on to a branch. But still, no rescue in sight. And lightning forces the chopper to leave the scene. Forty minutes later, help is at hand but the first rescue boat capsizes. Finally, fighting the current, a dingy gets close enough to pull the woman on-board, as well as some of her rescuers. And after a terrifying ordeal, she's brought to dry land, apparently none the worse for the experience.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JERAS: That's an amazing rescue that played out yesterday and just a miracle that this girl made it out alive. And you could just see the force of that water. Such a deluge across the Oklahoma City area, and we're still seeing some rain on eastern parts of Oklahoma at this hour. They had another complex of thunderstorms that moved through yesterday evening and overnight that brought an additional two inches of rain. You'll see it on the radar here that it is in mostly the eastern half of the state at this time and moving into parts of Missouri as well as into Arkansas.

Here's some of the rainfall totals -- Spencer, Oklahoma had the highest number, 11.34 inches. In Oklahoma City, that was an all-time record for you at 7.62 inches. Flood watches and warnings still prevalent across the nation's midsection.

We'll talk more about what you can expect in your forecast coming up later on in the show. But boy, John and Kiran, you know, that is just -- when you see something like that play out on national TV, it's just really intense, very scary moments.

ROBERTS: Sure is. Sure is.

CHETRY: It was shocking. Actually, she said that she went outside, realized that it was much higher than she thought and was trying to make her way back to her house when she saw another woman who was stranded and she was trying to help her. So, I mean, it was just -- it happened so quickly. You know, a lot of people were just caught off guard.

JERAS: Absolutely. Yes, there were a lot of car rescues yesterday as well.

ROBERTS: People have to remain vigilant again today.

JERAS: Yes.

ROBERTS: Jacqui Jeras, thanks. We'll check back with you in just a little while.

Coming up at 7:45 Eastern, by the way, we're going to talk live with the woman who was trapped by the floodwaters, 17-year-old Raquel Dawson, and two of her rescuers, Lieutenant Mark Edwards and Corporal Josh Pearcy. They're with the Oklahoma City Fire Department.

CHETRY: Well, Southern California also rocked with, well, what could have been a big natural disaster. It wasn't though. It was two dozen earthquakes though last night. It was centered near the U.S.- Mexican border in San Diego County, the largest one measuring 5.7 magnitude, stopping the San Diego Padres/Toronto Blue Jays baseball game in its tracks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are experiencing a tremor right now, an earthquake here in the ballpark in San Diego. And it's very significant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: There you go. Well, the game continued after a brief delay. There were no reports of any serious damage from the quakes. Probably some scary moments especially if you were sitting in the stands at that game.

ROBERTS: Yes, the way you see that foul pole swinging back and forth. It was obviously making an impact.

New this morning, Pakistani police say they have arrested an American citizen for allegedly trying to cross the border into Afghanistan to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden. He has been identified as 52-year-old California construction worker Gary Brooks Faulkner. Police say he was armed with a pistol, a dagger, and a 40- inch long sword and was carrying night vision equipment. He was also carrying a book containing Christian verses and teachings.

CHETRY: All right. Still to come on the Most News in the Morning, the president, as we know, is continuing his tour of the Gulf Coast. One businessman who we've talked with many times before says he is hoping that the president's visit means he'll start to see some results.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we've got a bunch of pair of boots we're not using over here right now. We'd like to donate it for him to use them because it's time he start kicking butt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Thirteen minutes after the hour now. President Obama is waking up in Pensacola, Florida this morning where the smell of oil and the concern is in the air.

CHETRY: Yes.

ROBERTS: It's day two of the president's fourth visit to the Gulf Coast since the oil began to spill. He spent yesterday in Mississippi and Alabama meeting with those states' governors, talking to the people.

CHETRY: A lot of them say they're happy to see the president actually there, seeing firsthand what it's been like for them. They say that he represents their last best hope to end the disaster but not everyone feels that way.

Chris Lawrence is live in New Orleans this morning. And the spill, as we've seen, has triggered so much emotion and a lot of anger along the coast.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kiran. I mean, here, you know, the oil is not a hypothetical. It's real. It's already affecting people's lives. We really wanted to see what the emotional reaction is to a president's visit. You know, when he leaves, do people actually feel better or are they even more cynical about the government's response.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: You're looking at what's left of Dean Blanchard's shrimping business. Boats are docked, no big catch coming in. After 28 years, the guy's just about ready to give up. So, yes, President Obama's visit matters.

Are you excited to see him back here for a fourth time?

DEAN BLANCHARD, OWNS STRUGGLING SHRIMPING BUISNESS: That's the little bit of hope I got left that really in his heart he wants to do the right thing. That's about the only thing that's keeping me sane right now.

LAWRENCE: And the thing is, the worst the winter, the better the crop of shrimp that comes after it. And after the record-breaking winter they had down here, this could have been the best in years.

BLANCHARD: Well, I was licking my chops. But I should be making $100,000 a day, instead I'm losing $5, so you figure it out.

Everything was perfect, and here comes BP.

LAWRENCE: But you see the other name on these signs next to BP? That says Obama. And we spoke to some oil workers who say their lives and livelihoods amount to more than just what they see as a photo-op.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe politically, you know, he did -- makes him look good or something. But, I mean, this is our way of living, you know? And him coming down here don't help our way of living, you know? So --

LAWRENCE: Well, he says he's coming down here to try to save your way of living.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's coming help clean up the boom -- the oil? I mean that's about all -- that's about all he could do.

LAWRENCE: Now, even Dean Blanchard says he's going to watch the president's address tonight, but what really matters to him is the follow-through, three months, six months, a year from now. In other words, is the president going to walk the walk?

BLANCHARD: Well, he said he's going to kick some butt. Well, we got a bunch of pair of boots we're not using over here right now. We'd like to donate it for him to use them, because it's time he started kicking butt, you know? It's time for him to start doing what he says he's going to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Thing is, the people we spoke with say they're looking at this speech tonight, looking for very different things, some looking for real strong commitment on the money angle, forcing BP to get this money out to some of the businesses that have really been devastated by this spill.

And on the other hand, you've got people saying, you know, they don't want to hear certain things that -- that are going to make it sound like he's going to drive oil out of this area because they really want the oil companies to stay and continue to provide those jobs -- Kiran, John.

CHETRY: All right. They just want them to do it safely so that there's not another accident like this in the future.

Chris Lawrence, thanks so much.

Well, coming up next on the Most News in the morning, it's a video that's gone viral. One congressman's sidewalk confrontation with a college student that turns very ugly. Now he's explaining his side.

Seventeen minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Twenty minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

The parents of 16-year-old sailor Abby Sunderland are now running into some rough seas of their own. The girl's father, Laurence, admits that he was negotiating a TV reality show deal when Abby set sail on her ill-fated around the world voyage.

Last night on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" he was asked pointblank about his motives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Some people say all this was done as a stunt. Was this done -- direct question, to get a reality show?

LAURENCE SUNDERLAND, FATHER OF TEEN SAILOR: That's absolutely ridiculous. My passion first and foremost is for my children and -- and their endeavors, and it's absolutely totally ridiculous and totally unfounded.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So what was the reality show all about, then?

CHETRY: Well, I think he's -- he's trying to say that it -- that they didn't feign her, you know, getting lost at sea and, you know, running into trouble for the reality show, but, I mean, clearly, the reality show would be interested in the fact that both his son and daughter were attempting -- and his son was successful -- solo sails around the world at a very young age.

ROBERTS: You know, life with the Sunderlands. Very interesting.

CHETRY: There you go.

North Carolina Democrat Congressman Bob Etheridge is apologizing after an ugly street confrontation in D.C. went viral. Two men with video cameras claiming to be students asked the congressman if he supports President Obama's agenda. Etheridge reacts by grabbing one by his wrist, briefly by the back of the neck, demanding to know what project he's working on.

Etheridge said it had been a long day, but that was no excuse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BOB ETHERIDGE (D), NORTH CAROLINA: I came here today to do one thing. That was to apologize for my actions. Because, as I said, no matter how intrusive or partisan our politics has become, there's just no excuse. I know better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Well, the students never did fully identify themselves or their affiliation.

Well, here's one person who never has to apologize. Next on the Most News in the Morning, nearly 90 years old and still going strong, strong, strong. We sit down with Betty White to talk about Snicker's, "Saturday Night Live" and her new sitcom.

Stay with us. It's 22 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIE BERTINELLI, ACTRESS: Hi. I'm Melanie. I'm going to be leasing the place.

BETTY WHITE, ACTRESS: I've been the caretaker of this house for 50 years, but you can kick me out.

BERTINELLI: I wouldn't --

WHITE: Well, no worries. If can you escape from the Nazis, you can handle anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: She is 88 and a half years old, as she likes to say, and no one in Hollywood is hotter than Betty White right now. The last surviving "Golden Girl" is thriving these days from her Super Bowl Snicker's ad to hosting "Saturday Night Live" to starring in a new TV Land sitcom, "Hot in Cleveland," which you saw a clip up there.

In this "A.M. Original," something that you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING, I talked with Betty White, legendary comedienne, about being Hollywood's new "It" Girl.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Betty White, it -- it's so terrific to finally make your acquaintance. I have to tell you, I've been a fan for so many years, back to the "Mary Tyler Moore" days and beyond. It's --

WHITE: Well, bless your heart. I -- I'll take all of that you want (INAUDIBLE). You know, I don't have to believe it, but it's lovely to hear.

ROBERTS: You know, if I had told you at the age of 48 that 40 years from now you will be one of the hottest things in television --

WHITE: Oh, isn't that ridiculous? ROBERTS: -- what would you have said?

WHITE: I would say you're dreaming. It's -- at this age, you just don't expect to be working as much, but I'm delighted. And if they want me to quit, they'll just have to stop asking. I'd say yes (ph).

ROBERTS: You know, earlier this year, in the Super Bowl, Betty White -- I mean, you've never left people's psyche. You've always been there. I know you've always been there in -- in my mind when I think among the great comediennes of our time.

But the Snicker's commercial gave you a new lease on life. How did that whole thing come about?

WHITE: I have no idea.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys, come on!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're playing like Betty White out there.

WHITE: That's not what your girlfriend said.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Baby --

WHITE: The last -- gave me the offer to do the Snicker's commercial and they said it would be somewhere near the Super Bowl, and -- which was wonderful. We thought that was great.

It turned out to be not only on the Super Bowl, it was the first commercial on the Super Bowl, before people go wandering away.

ROBERTS: Did you look at the script for that and just say, wow, I really like this, or --

WHITE: No. I just said -- they said Snicker's, and I've been eating Snicker's all my life. Snicker's and a bunch of young guys on a football field, it didn't sound too shabby.

ROBERTS: That would be something that could be enjoyable for you.

So this, of course, led to the "Saturday Night Live" gig.

WHITE: I'm 90 years old. I like to stand, I like to bend, and I like to sit.

ROBERTS: This is something that you had said no to in the past.

WHITE: Yes, I had said no because it's so New York and I am so California that I thought I'd be like a fish out of water. So I turned it down about three times, years ago. And I was saying a polite thank you very much but no thank you this time, and my agent said you've got to do it. I almost killed my agent, but I didn't quite. But I was panicky -- just panicky. But everybody was so supportive and so nice, and it's such a science. They have that show nailed.

ROBERTS: How does a person of your experience get panicky about doing "Saturday Night Live"?

WHITE: I get panicky walking on the Jay Leno set, and I've known Jay forever. I -- I got a little nervous walking in here, John.

ROBERTS: Well, there's nothing to be nervous about, believe me.

Your humor also has been very much like Carol Burnett's, whom I had the honor of meeting earlier this year.

WHITE: Isn't she a honey?

ROBERTS: She is just amazing.

WHITE: Oh, she's something else.

ROBERTS: You are two women who I've loved so much throughout my life.

WHITE: Thank you.

ROBERTS: But -- but it's -- it's kind of -- it's this sunny, optimistic, self-deprecating, very simple, honest type of humor.

WHITE: But isn't that -- I mean, at this age, who are you going to fool? Whom are you going to fool?

ROBERTS: But so much of comedy is completely the opposite of that. It's negative, it's narcissistic. It's --

WHITE: It's mean.

ROBERTS: Yes.

WHITE: So much of it is mean-spirited these days, which makes me kind of sad because that's not what -- what comedy should be. It should be fun. At least I think so.

ROBERTS: And this show, "Hot in Cleveland" --

JANE LEEVES, ACTRESS: Does anyone else smell pot?

WHITE: What are you, a cop?

LEEVES: No.

WHITE: Then what's it to you?

ROBERTS: This is something else that came along. They said Betty, we'd like you to do a pilot. You said, oh, OK, as long as it's a pilot. Then they said, well, how about three shows? And then it's turned into 10, and who knows where it goes from here?

WHITE: It got picked up in three weeks, John. I mean, sometimes you'll do a pilot in February and it's May before you know whether it's going to go.

Well, they got picked up in three weeks, and they came back and asked if I'd do more. I said, well, that's wasn't the original arrangement. And I'm so firm in my opinion --

ROBERTS: You are.

WHITE: -- the next thing I'm doing all ten.

(LAUGHTER)

ROBERTS: You need to pick up that book, "Just Say No."

WHITE: Just say no and I just haven't -- I haven't learned to do that. I did -- when I was around 18, I could say no very well, but not now.

ROBERTS: Well, isn't -- isn't the age of 18 the time when you don't say no? Unless, it's something --

WHITE: That's right.

ROBERTS: -- but professionally, you don't want to say no.

WHITE: That's right.

ROBERTS: But you still can't say no. What is it about that?

WHITE: Because I love what I do. And it's such fun. Everybody said, well, why don't you retire? Why retire from something you enjoy this much?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: She is -- she is just a treat.

CHETRY: She's adorable. I mean, more than that, she just has such a great attitude. I mean, there's probably so much you can learn from her just talking to her for 10 minutes.

ROBERTS: It had been a long day up until then. She'd been going since about 7:00, maybe 6:00 in the morning. And she still had to do "The Joy Behar Show" after that. And we talked about a lot of other things as well. We'll have more of my interview with Betty White coming up in our 8:00 hour this hour.

CHETRY: We look forward to seeing it. For sure, she's great. She's fantastic.

Well, meanwhile, time for a look at your top stories at 31 minutes past the hour.

President Obama is addressing the nation from the Oval Office tonight on clean-up efforts in the Gulf. It will come after his longest visit to the region since the oil spill began 57 days ago. New poll numbers showing that more than two-thirds of the country think that he has not been tough enough on BP.

ROBERTS: Parts of Oklahoma City under water this morning. As much as 10 inches of rain fell in just 12 hours. There are flood watches and warnings up right now across the nation's midsection with more severe storms in the forecast.

CHETRY: Also, a tense and fragile calm this morning in the former Soviet Republic of Kyrgyzstan. The interim government is putting extra security forces on the streets to keep the peace. At least 170 people have been killed, 1,400 wounded in ethnic clashes that started late last week. U.S. and European nations are now working to rush food aid into the country.

ROBERTS: Well, breaking news from Pakistan this morning. Police have arrested an American citizen for allegedly crossing the border into Afghanistan to hunt down and try to kill Osama bin Laden.

CHETRY: Yes. It sounds like the stuff of a made-for-TV movie, but it really happened near the Pakistani town of Chitral, on the Afghan side of the border.

Reza Sayah is live in Islamabad, Pakistan, this more with more.

And, Reza, this would be the first phase, right? I mean, a U.S. citizen is being arrested for trying to capture bin Laden, fight against Islamic militants in Pakistan?

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is. And, frankly, Kiran, when we first heard about this arrest, we thought it may be a joke, but police in northwest Pakistan told us it's not a joke. Police say, a couple of days ago, in the region of Chitral, they arrested a 52-year-old American citizen, Gary Faulkner. And when they questioned him, he told police that he was on a manhunt for the most wanted man in the world, Osama bin Laden.

At first, Pakistani police were skeptical until they looked through his belongings -- among his belongings, a sword, a double- blade dagger, a pistol, night vision equipment and Christian reading material. When police asked him what in the world he was thinking, he said, ever since 9/11, he's been looking for Osama bin Laden, making at least seven visits to Pakistan and at least two visits to this Chitral region. He told police he has sources that have given him information about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden and he's confident he's going to find him because God is with him.

So, a very bizarre set of circumstances. We're trying to find out as much about Gary Faulkner as possible. The American embassy here in Islamabad, they say they've been notified about an arrest of an American. They're trying to confirm his identity and get him counselor access.

ROBERTS: You know, Reza, if one were to be looking for Osama bin Laden, would that be an appropriate place to look?

SAYAH: I suppose it would be. There's been rumors over the past couple of years and these rumors have been fading away, by the way, that he may be in the Chitral area. And Chitral is north of Pakistan's tribal region.

The last solid intelligence, U.S. intelligence, about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden is this tribal region. Intelligence indicates that when U.S. forces invaded Afghanistan after 9/11, Osama bin Laden crossed the border into Pakistan. Chitral is just north of this region. But we haven't seen any solid intelligence about the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden in Chitral or the tribal region in years.

CHETRY: They going to send him back to the U.S. then?

SAYAH: It's not clear at this point. What the American embassy is looking to do right now is get access to him, give him counselor services. Police have him in custody. He's been questioned by intelligence.

Where this goes from here is not clear. And his intentions aren't clear. It could be that this guy is off his rocker a little bit, or it could be that he's on some sort of mission trying to find Osama bin Laden. We're going to look to find out exactly what he was up to.

ROBERTS: All right. Reza Sayah with a very bizarre story for us this morning from Islamabad -- Reza, thanks.

CHETRY: Still to come on the Most News in the Morning: trillions of dollars in minerals discovered in Afghanistan. But there's much more behind this recent announcement. We're going to talk to two Afghan experts coming up next.

Thirty-five minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CHETRY: Thirty-eight minutes past the hour right now.

A trillion dollars worth of useful minerals, things like lithium that we see in batteries now on most of our devices, are sitting under Afghanistan, just waiting to be tapped.

But there are a lot of questions this morning about just how hard it would be to actually get out of there and even some questions about the timing of the announcement. The military didn't just discover it. In fact, even though there was a lot of reporting about it yesterday, the report has apparently been done years ago.

So, here to help us break it all down, Joe Klein, a columnist at "TIME" magazine. He's been in and out of Afghanistan several times, most recently in April. And also, Jack Medlin, a geologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, who also just returned from Afghanistan about two weeks ago.

Thanks to both of you for being with us this morning.

JOE KLEIN, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Good to be here, Kiran.

JACK MEDLIN, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: Good to be here.

CHETRY: So, Jack, let me start with you. You were part of the group that went to Afghanistan. You were documenting these deposits and you issued a report, this was back in 2007. We didn't have the trillion dollar figure on it yet and didn't really get much traction back then.

So, why are we hearing about it, rejuvenated, it seems, an interest right now?

MEDLIN: Well, from our viewpoint, our initial assessment in 2007, at that point, we had taken the study basically about as far as we could take it. And what it needed was some further work on the verification of the results that we had obtained over a 2 1/2, 3-year period and there need to be some business development part of the equation going forward.

CHETRY: I got you.

And, Joe, as Jack said, his group did put out the release. He said they took it as far as they could take it. But this was in 2007. And some say not much has changed other than the dollar figure, the trillion dollar figure put on it by the Pentagon.

What do you make of the timing of this report coming in at time obviously when some people say that progress may not be going as well in Afghanistan?

KLEIN: Well, there was a need for good news, you know, at the Pentagon, I think. You know, it's true, there's a trillion -- you know, there's an awful lot of mineral wealth there. The Chinese are already exploiting copper, I think, in Wardak Province.

But the problem is that the military's game plan isn't going so well in the things that you can see. One part of the military's game plan that's going very well, and that's the counterterrorism where we're rolling up mid-level leaders of the Taliban on an almost-nightly basis -- 121 in recent months according to Stan McChrystal.

But the relationship with Hamid Karzai isn't going very well. The idea that you can do counterinsurgency, which is to secure the population and offer them services, that's not going very well either.

And so, there's a need for good news.

CHETRY: And, Jack, when you talk about good news-- I mean, technically, it seems on the face that this is great news. You know, there's possibly $1 trillion worth of natural resources in the form of minerals just waiting to be mined.

But logistically, how would you run into problems? How would you actually get these minerals out of the ground in terms of an infrastructure, avoiding corruption and figuring out how to best make this happen?

MEDLIN: Well, the challenges going forward are numerous, as you've just stated. There has to be a suitable mining law in place. There need to be infrastructure in terms of roads, possibly railroads. And then there needs also to be an energy infrastructure in place, because you can't do large-scale mining without energy.

So, there are a lot of challenges ahead and I think in this particular case, the mineral resource assessment results offers an alternate pathway forward in terms of economic growth in Afghanistan.

CHETRY: And, Joe, how realistic do you see it? I mean, others have pointed to countries like Nigeria where, you know, they're now the fifth largest producer or oil and, you know, they make billions and billions a year. But most Nigerians live on less than $1 a day and, you know, have fallen to corruption as well as other major problems and haven't really lifted the population.

How could you potentially avoid that for Afghanistan if indeed this mining infrastructure can be put in place?

KLEIN: Well, it's going to be very hard to avoid that because Afghanistan really lives on a warlord system and you're going to have a lot richer warlords if this happens. But I think what Jack said is absolutely important. There is, you know, only one major road in Afghanistan, the ring road. You need all kinds of infrastructure.

Right now, to compare, you know, this is $1 trillion in minerals we're talking about in a country whose GDP is $12 billion a year. So, they don't have the money to really build this infrastructure.

And then you have the second big problem -- unlike Nigeria, Afghanistan doesn't have an ocean. To get the minerals out, they have to go through Pakistan and that's very rough travel or through Iran. And I don't know how pleased we'd be with that.

CHETRY: Yes, there seem to be a lot of logistical things in the way. So, it's fascinating that, you know, there was talk of these minerals all the way back in the '70s, possibly the '80s with the Soviets. And here we are in 2010, and they know it's there. What can be done with it is still a huge question, of course, in this fragile nation.

Joe Klein and Jack Medlin, thanks for your insight this morning. Appreciate it.

KLEIN: My pleasure.

MEDLIN: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Severe flooding in the central plains. Jacqui Jeras is in for Rob Marciano this morning. She's going to have more on the conditions there, plus, this morning's travel forecast -- right after the break.

It's 44 minutes after the hour.

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ROBERTS: Good morning Kansas City where it's 71 degrees and partly cloudy right now. Later on today, thunderstorms, big ones, and a high of 82 degrees.

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Forty- seven minutes past the hour.

Time for an "A.M. House Call." A hospital in San Diego is alerting patients who underwent a colonoscopy or other surgical procedures about possible infection from instruments used in the operations. Palomar Hospital sent certified letters to some 3,400 patients. A hospital spokesman says the risk is quote "very, very minimal."

ROBERTS: Heavy high levels of so-called good cholesterol may be even better for your health than researchers thought. New studies show people with high levels of high density lipo protein or HDL not only have a lower risk of heart disease, they also appear to be significantly less likely to get cancer.

Well, she says -- wow, that was good. That was like in tandem. She says that she shot herself to get medical treatment. Now, she could face criminal charges for firing a weapon inside the city limits of Niles, Michigan.

CHETRY: Yes. Her name is Kathy Myers (ph) where she says it was not a suicide attempt but a desperate plea for health care. She says she's out of a job, didn't have health insurance, and was hoping that she could get better treatment for her already-injured shoulder if there was also a gunshot wound.

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KATHY MYERS, NILES, MICHIGAN: They'll see you and treat you, make sure you're stable, but beyond that, they're not going to do anything. They said that it had to be life threatening, imminent danger for them to do anything, so I was making it be imminent danger that something had to be done.

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CHETRY: Doctors did treat the bullet wound, but instead of fixing her injured shoulder, they gave her some anti-inflammatory drugs and sent her home.

ROBERTS: So, all in all, probably not worth it, you know.

CHETRY: No, but, I mean, that just shows you how desperate some people are. That's really sad. ROBERTS: Yes. it is a tragedy when somebody thinks they have to resort to something like that in order to get treatment.

Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Jacqui Jeras is in the Extreme Weather Center for us this morning. And we got a lot of moisture across parts of the country today that have already kind of had enough.

JERAS: Yes, absolutely. I mean, the ground is just so saturated across the nation's midsection. Unfortunately, yes, we got more wet weather out there. And this is going to be really widespread, guys. Even well into the weekend. Now, the best thing I can tell you across parts of Oklahoma where you've had such extensive flooding in the last 24 hours as we think the last wave of the heavy showers and thunderstorms has pulled out of there.

Now, we do have thunderstorms in the forecast, probably later again this afternoon and into tomorrow, but the probability is maybe about 30 percent for you and a much drier weather can be expected later into the week.

But flood watches and warnings widespread, even from Wyoming all the way into the Virginias. That's where we have flood watches in effect, and the bright green area is where flooding is already current or is imminent. Now, we are expecting another complex of thunderstorms to develop this afternoon and this evening, and this time, we're going to be watching the Middle Mississippi River Valley into the Ohio River Valley. And we expect linear thunderstorms or storms that kind of line up and can cause some extensive wind damage in addition to that flooding.

So, places like Indianapolis and Cincinnati need to be on alert for that later on today and tonight and also expect travel delays as a result of that. Chicago and St. Louis, some delays because of thunderstorms as well as parts of South Florida and Atlanta. And that's going to be thunderstorms more in the vicinity we think than anything else. The heat continues to be out there across the southeast. We dropped those advisories, by the way, for New Orleans, but still sticky, pushing 105 for your heat index. So, that's kind of borderline if you asked me and then to the Carolinas.

And last but not least, we told you, guys, yesterday about that little area of disturbed weather out in the Atlantic. Not looking nearly as impressive on satellite for today. This thing got maybe 24 hours to get itself together or it's not going to happen as it moves towards stronger winds. John and Kiran, back to you.

CHETRY: All right. Jacqui Jeras for us this morning. Thanks. Our top stories coming up in just a couple of minutes.

Meantime, from the seat of power, the president trying to take control of the Gulf oil disaster. He's going to be speaking from the oval office tonight. We're going to be joined by Ed Henry in a few minutes with a look at what's been going on behind the scenes as the White House prepares. Breaking news this morning, an American citizen said to be on a mission to kill Osama Bin Laden Arrested in Pakistan. The details of a wild story just coming in to us.

And an "A.M. Original," the changing of what we call smart perhaps, whether street smarts is something that you can teach in a classroom and why your little class clown may be a great leader one day. Those stories and much more coming up at the top of the hour.

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CHETRY: Fifty-five minutes past the hour. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. We want to show you a new initiative that we've been doing at CNN.com called "Home and Away," a tribute to our fallen war heroes in Iraq and Afghanistan. When you take a look at the wall, this is the same thing that you'll be seeing on the website. And you can hit Iraq, one of the countries where we are at war right now, and you can see where the casualties happened in country and where they correspond to the home towns.

And if we take a look at who we're honoring today, it's Lance Corporal Andrew Patten. He was just 19 years old, hometown of Byron, Illinois. He was killed in Fallujah, Iraq back in December of 2005.

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VOICE OF GAYLE NASCHANSKY, MOTHER OF SOLDIER KILLED IN IRAQ: Playing on the jungle gym at school and he fell, face-first into the wood chips. And he was a pretty rough and tough kid. Dust himself off and be right back at it. My son, Andy, was your typical small- town all-American boy. As a young boy, he loved nature. Like most other boys, he enjoyed sports. Be it baseball, soccer, football, wrestling. He pretty much tried them all.

Andy did love the boy scouts. And I think that was, you know, fed into his desire to be into the marine corps. He was always willing to stand up for what he believed in. And now, we're very proud that his home church is building a Christian leadership center which will bear his name. Andy only lived 19 short years, but they were an awesome, amazing years. He loved his God. And he loved his country. And he served them both well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: You can learn more about the brave men and women who've paid the ultimate price for America in Iraq and Afghanistan by logging on to CNN.com/homeandaway.

Your top stories coming up after the break.

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