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American Morning
McChrystal Resigns: Change in Command for Afghanistan; Battlefield Reaction in Afghanistan; Containment Cap Reattached; Know Before You Walk; Meet Ron Wayne
Aired June 24, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good Thursday morning to you and thanks so much for joining us on the Most News in the Morning. It's the 24th of June. I'm John Roberts. Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Carol. Good morning. I'm Carol Costello. One more day until Friday. As you can tell, I'm looking forward to the weekend.
Good morning, everyone. Kiran Chetry is off this morning. Let's get right to it because we have a lot to talk about.
General Stanley McChrystal done in by his own words. President Obama dismissing the commander in Afghanistan and announcing his immediate replacement, General David Petraeus. We're live in Afghanistan and at the Pentagon with what this will mean for the ongoing mission in Afghanistan.
ROBERTS: It was a stunning reversal of fortune. The U.S. soccer team with barely a pulse roaring back to life with only seconds to spare. America's greatest player giving us our greatest soccer moment. Team USA alive and kicking in the World Cup this morning.
COSTELLO: And new information this morning that may help free three American hikers held prisoner in Iran for almost a year now, possible eyewitnesses, information about a rogue Iranian soldier. Claims they were never even in the country until they were arrested. Susan Candiotti will have all the new details ahead.
And the amFIX blog is up and running. We would like you to join the conversation right now. Go to CNN.com/amFIX.
ROBERTS: But first, a change in command for the 94,000 American men and women fighting in Afghanistan this morning. It was a swift decision by President Obama less than 48 hours after an explosive "Rolling Stone" magazine article. General McChrystal, a lifelong warrior, tendered his resignation. The president accepted saying he could not keep a general he saw unfit to lead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I accepted General Stanley McChrystal's resignation as commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. I did so with considerable regret. The conduct represented in the recently published article does not meet the standard that should be set by a commanding general, and it erodes the trust that's necessary for our team to work together to achieve our objectives in Afghanistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: McChrystal's boss, General David Petraeus, has now agreed to run the show in Afghanistan. We have got a team of reporters this morning ready to weigh in on this fast-moving story. Atia Abawi is live in Afghanistan this morning. Barbara Starr is over at the Pentagon.
Let's start with Barbara. And General Petraeus may be a known quantity but is still going to face some tough questions on the hill next week during his confirmation.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, John. Expect to look for those confirmation hearings very early next week. General Petraeus will be confirmed, but he's going to undergo some tough questioning. We're already getting a hint one of the top issues will be that July 2011 troop withdrawal date. Senator John McCain already, not even hinting, saying very bluntly, what's on his mind about all this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: The concern that we have is the -- and the issue that will be raised in General Petraeus' confirmation hearings is exactly what is meant by withdrawal in the middle of 2011. Whether that is, quote, "etched in stone" as the president's spokesperson Mr. Gibbs stated or whether it will be conditions based. Obviously, we feel very strongly that it needs to be condition-based because if you tell the enemy when you are leaving, then, obviously, it has an adverse effect on your ability to succeed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: Just a few days ago, General Petraeus told Capitol Hill that that 2011 date was when the process begins, that the U.S. wasn't going to just pack up and leave. The White House may have a different view -- John.
ROBERTS: Barbara, you've known General McChrystal for some time. What are your thoughts about what happened there?
STARR: You know, total shock because he is one of the most disciplined generals out there. But when this "Rolling Stone" article came out, I think the handwriting was on the wall.
I want to tell one anecdote. Several years ago I ran into General McChrystal in the mountains of Afghanistan when we were at a special operations base. It was a very low-key situation. We weren't supposed to take pictures, show faces. This guy walks up to me, just out of the wilderness, essentially, no uniform, weapon and says, hi, Barbara. Never recognized him. It took me a good 15 seconds to realize it was Stan McChrystal coming up to say hello. He was out in the field with his men on a mission. That's where he wanted to be the most. It may be the fact that this job just wasn't suited to his personality after so many years of working in the dark with his special operations forces -- John.
ROBERTS: All right, Barbara Starr with some personal reflection there for us at the Pentagon. Barbara, thanks.
COSTELLO: Interesting. So, you know, we're wondering this morning how is the change of command being received in Afghanistan?
CNN's Atia Abawi live in Kabul this morning. And you know, what is the government saying about this? Because Hamid Karzai got along with General McChrystal, right?
ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Carol. It seemed at times that General McChrystal was President Karzai's only international friend here in Afghanistan. He seemed to be attacked from all places. People who he thought were his friends, in the end, actually turning their back on him. But General McChrystal stood by his side. They were friends for this last year building a strong relationship. The last couple of months heading down to Kandahar together, heading up to (INAUDIBLE) together trying to gain support of tribal elders and leaders for the upcoming operation in Kandahar and throughout the country for that matter, showing the united front with the Afghan government and the NATO coalition. Basically, a relationship that's seen a lot of strain, especially when you look at the Obama administration and the Karzai administration.
President Karzai and the Afghan government were very scared if McChrystal left that they would have a general that they couldn't work with and that the mission in Afghanistan would be doomed. But that being said, President Karzai's spokesperson yesterday stating that President Obama's choice of General Petraeus to take McChrystal's spot actually is something that they accept. And it's actually softened the blow a bit because they know that Petraeus has a long record of success, whether it be in Iraq, CENTCOM or even in this region -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So will things just continue as normal because you heard Barbara Starr mention that a July 11th, 2011, withdrawal from Afghanistan for American troops. I mean, how does this change affect that date? That's what everybody is wondering here in this country.
ABAWI: Well, they hope that the change in command, because it's General Petraeus, won't have that much of an effect on the mission in Afghanistan. Because General Petraeus worked with General McChrystal in implementing this new counterinsurgency strategy that's being used in Afghanistan, new to Afghanistan, that is. Not new to Iraq or other situations around the world. And he worked with General McChrystal so they believe that with General Petraeus taking over it won't be that much of a hindrance to the mission.
But that being said, also, Carol, I mean it is a change of command. We're going to have to see how the Kandahar operation goes, how the next year goes because right now, it's not looking so good. Marjah is not the success that everyone hoped it would be. And the Kandahar operation is being pushed back a bit. And it's going to take time. Everyone knows it. But right now, there is a timetable and no one knows if they're going to meet that timetable.
COSTELLO: What about all of General, you know, McChrystal's people surrounding him were also quoted in that article. What's going to happen to them? A lot of unanswered questions this morning. Atia Abawi live in Kabul this morning, thanks -- John.
ROBERTS: Well, the new assignment is kind of a bit of a step back for General Petraeus. As the head of the Central Command, he oversees all military forces in the Middle East including Iraq and Afghanistan. Before that, he was the commander of the Multinational Force in Iraq, a favorite of President Bush and the architect of the so-called surge that took place in 2007. He has a long history in Iraq, commanding the 101st Airborne during the 2003 invasion and later leading the training of a new Iraqi army.
He's a graduate of West Point, has a doctorate in international relations from Princeton, 57-years-old but described as having a boy scout's charm and like McChrystal, he likes to keep in shape, apparently running five to six miles a day while he was in Iraq. But he also gave us all a scare last week, as you might remember, fainting during testimony before a Senate panel. He said that later he was dehydrated and skipped breakfast.
Of course, one of my favorite stories is when he was a colonel at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, he was accidentally shot through and through in the chest. Senator Bill Frist who was in an emergency position patched him up and Petraeus said to him, I want to be back at work in three days. I want to be doing pushups in five. And he was.
Coming up at 7:10 Eastern, two veterans of Afghanistan, former Army Sergeant Daniel Bell and former Marine Corporal Rick Reyes will talk about the change in command and how it could affect the troops and the mission -- Carol.
COSTELLO: The bin Laden hunter is back home in Colorado this morning. Gary Faulkner landed in Los Angeles yesterday after being released in Pakistan without charge. Police there say they picked him up near the Afghan border carrying a pistol and a sword. The 50-year-old U.S. citizen says he's been there seven times looking for Osama bin Laden. He spoke to CNN exclusively when he got off that plane.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY FAULKNER, HUNTED BIN LADEN: I got off my butt and I put my life on the line to go out there. I know there's -- I mean, my life is a story that you won't believe. But you know what? It doesn't matter. What does matter is I stood up for what I believe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: I see reality television show in his future, don't you? He would make a terrific character. He is a character. Faulkner wouldn't say whether he felt he ever got close to the Al Qaeda leader but he was out there trying.
ROBERTS: He's got a story to tell. COSTELLO: Yes, he does.
ROBERTS: That's for sure.
It may have been the moment that forever changes the way America feels about soccer. Only time will tell. But for now, Team USA is alive and kicking in World Cup play. This was the moment yesterday. The U.S. hopelessly deadlocked at 0-0 against Algeria when, bam. Landon Donovan puts it in the net. He brings the Americans --
COSTELLO: Do the goal thing, come on. Goal.
ROBERTS: I don't think we're going to do that. He brings the Americans back from the brink. They were looking at potentially an elimination here, propelling Team USA into the next round of play. They're now in the round of 16, maybe headed for the quarterfinals like they were in 2002. He says that it felt like time had stopped when he saw the ball pop in.
Let's watch this. The keeper, bam. It goes into the net.
COSTELLO: I wanted him to rip his shirt off.
ROBERTS: Well, he -- he did something else. Look, he dove and did the belly slide here.
COSTELLO: Oh, he did the belly slide.
ROBERTS: End of the corner.
COSTELLO: I still would have rather he rip his shirt off.
ROBERTS: We're letting this play out because, as you know, our executive producer Jamie Craft is a real fan of soccer. And at this moment he's writhing in ecstasy in the control room.
Landon Donovan, by the way, you think he's writhing in ecstasy now, just wait.
Landon Donovan joins us live from South Africa in 30 minutes. Many soccer insiders say his goal cements claims that he's America's greatest player ever. We'll ask him how it feels to be part of perhaps the most memorable U.S. soccer moment ever at 6:40 Eastern.
COSTELLO: Some tennis fans also writhing in ecstasy --
ROBERTS: Or agony. Yes.
COSTELLO: You're right. Because no one won. No one has won yet. Sometimes it's not about the wins or losses though, but how long it takes. American John Isner and Frenchman Nicolas Mahut are making history at Wimbledon. They're first round match began Tuesday and it ain't over yet. It's the longest tennis match ever, ten hours and counting. It was actually called off because of darkness twice. They don't have lights at Wimbledon. So they will resume play today. Tied at 59 games apiece. Amazing. Wow. ROBERTS: I guess Isner was explaining to me this morning they don't have tiebreakers.
COSTELLO: Yes. You have to win by two games in Wimbledon.
ROBERTS: Its' Wimbledon, yes.
COSTELLO: Yes.
ROBERTS: So just on and on and on and on.
COSTELLO: It was exciting, though. And that an American was in the fray.
ROBERTS: Can you imagine playing tennis for 10 hours at that level?
COSTELLO: No. No. It's amazing.
ROBERTS: I think they went to the umpire and they said we can't see, we can't serve, can you please call this at least for today?
COSTELLO: And the fans were going, no, don't call it off. Keep going.
ROBERTS: Yes. Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Bonnie Schneider in the extreme weather center for us this morning. Can you imagine playing that level of tennis that long in the heat that you all have had in Atlanta?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No.
ROBERTS: Oh, my goodness.
SCHNEIDER: Not even for a few minutes at that level.
ROBERTS: Yes.
SCHNEIDER: Absolutely, John and Carol. We are looking at the heat finally breaking, eventually, not today, across the northeast. But strong thunderstorms will roll in and that's going to make a big difference. So hot today with high temperatures soaring into the 90s across much of the eastern half of the country and certainly the south as well.
Notice those red areas. That's where we're expecting severe thunderstorms today. And they could be intense with frequent lightning and possibly even hail. Watch out for that.
The heat advisories are in place straight through tonight. And what you're looking at right now is that heat warning for Philadelphia. Highs in the 90s once again, John and Carol. It's going to be a scorcher there. But once again tomorrow, it will be a little bit cooler in the mid to upper 80s. So we'll get through it today and then looks brighter for the weekend.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Bonnie. A little trouble under the water again on the gulf for BP. The oil was really leaking out, and supposedly the containment cap back on. But what does it all mean? How much is leaking out? Will we ever know? We'll keep you up-to-date when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's 15 minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
It is day 66 of the oil disaster in the gulf, and here are all the latest developments for you. The cap is back on the busted well this morning, again collecting oil. Another major setback in the effort to contain the leak. BP says it had to remove it yesterday after a robot sub ran into it, leaving almost nothing to stop the 60,000 barrels a day gushing out.
ROBERTS: Also, the Obama administration has now asked an appeals court to keep the government's six-month moratorium an deepwater drilling in place after a judge struck it down earlier this week.
COSTELLO: And a painful sight along the Florida panhandle. It has arrived in waves, oil washing up a Pensacola beach covering nine miles of their beautiful white sand.
ROBERTS: Our Chris Lawrence is following all the latest developments for us. He's in New Orleans this morning. And, Chris, let's start with the problems on that top cap on top of the blowout preventer, quite a setback yesterday as the oil was running free for about 11 hours.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Half the day, John, and you could just see those images of that oil just gushing freely into the Gulf of Mexico.
The officials are now telling us that they think what happened was a robot, one of those remote-controlled vehicles, bumped the valve and knocked it off, and so what they thought was they saw like a burp in the line and they took the containment cap off just to make sure no - no oil or gas had started to penetrate in there.
The ironic thing is the day before this happened, this cap had collected its most oil ever in a day of almost three quarters of a million gallons of oil. And this isn't the first time we've had a problem in the last couple weeks. There have been two prior shutdowns. Nothing too long, five hours the first time, then 11 hours, and then 11 - another 11 hours.
But big picture, some who support keeping the cap on will say, look, look at these problems. We need to keep that on. Others will say, look, they fixed it fairly quickly, and that crude - there are some advances being made.
COSTELLO: Well, at least it's back on now.
There's supposed to be some kind of court ruling today on the drilling moratorium, too, right, Chris?
LAWRENCE: You know, late last night the government asked the judge to delay his decision on the moratorium. And, really, on the Hill yesterday the Secretary of Interior, Ken Salazar, gave some very mixed messages.
On one hand, he kept talking about the existing moratorium or asking them to keep the moratorium in place, and workers who - who had filed this - this court order against it were saying, wait a minute, it's not in place. The judge ruled against you. There is no moratorium right now.
And so there seemed to be a bit of a standoff. But he did seem to crack the window to perhaps amending this moratorium at some point, perhaps letting the rigs get back to work without drilling down so deeply.
ROBERTS: All right. Chris Lawrence for us this morning with the latest from New Orleans. Chris, thanks so much.
Coming up next on the Most News in the Morning, more and more Americans walking away from their mortgages. You might want to think twice before doing that, though. Christine Romans will tell you why. She's "Minding Your Business", coming up next.
Nineteen minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-two minutes after the hour and Christine Romans here this morning, "Minding Your Business".
Thinking about maybe walking away from your mortgage if you're underwater in your home? Well, here's some reasons to not do that.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Six to seven million Americans are late on their mortgage right now. About 12 percent of those, experts say, can afford to pay. They can afford to pay their bills, but they aren't because they're so underwater and they've decided, you know, the banks got this big bailout, why am I sitting here paying so much of my income on a property that's never going to be worth it?
Others are saying, look, this was just a rental property. You know what I'm going to do? I'm going to keep taking the rent on the condo, but I'm not going to pay the mortgage and I'm just going to - I'm just going to walk away.
This walk away trend is something that's really concerning Fannie Mae - the banks, obviously, but Fannie Mae as well. Fannie Mae, you know, guarantees a whole bunch of these loans and they have said if you walk away, beware. They're going to lock you out from a new loan for seven years now. That is up from five years before. And in some states where it's legal, they will take action in court and sue you for the mortgage balance - for the - for the money that you owe the government. The government backs these loans. Fannie Mae says, look, walking away is bad for borrowers and it's bad for communities. They say you have to prove that you are trying to work this out with your lender, either through a loan modification, through a short sale, or through a deed in lieu of foreclosure. A short sale or a deed in lieu, it's still going to hit your credit, but it's not going to hit your credit like walking away will. I mean, that's going to destroy your credit for a period of years. And Fannie Mae says that they're going to lock you out.
COSTELLO: Yes, but you'll be able to eat and things like that.
ROMANS: That's true, and some people are saying, you know, why am I paying all this money?
Look, there are web sites that you can go to that are incredibly popular where they will coach you on how to walk away and live in the house for eight months and keep - rebuild your cash flow, not pay the bank. Or if you have a condo that you're renting out to someone else, keep collecting the rent but don't pay the bank and leave the bank holding the bag.
This is becoming more socially acceptable, and that's something that is a real concern. And whenever I talk about this, I get all this e- mail that's either complete rage against who would do this to their community, because it hurts everybody in your neighborhood, and then the other side is why are you protecting the banks? The banks screwed us. Why can't we go out and just walk away from them?
So it's a very pulverizing (ph) - very polarizing subject.
COSTELLO: That's cnn.com/amfix. Because we want to know what you think about this this morning.
ROMANS: I really want to know what people think about it. And you know somebody who's walking away? And I talked to a lot of people who are doing it.
COSTELLO: I do know someone. I know someone.
ROMANS: Perfectly reasonable people, but -
COSTELLO: But - but if she didn't walk away, she wouldn't be able to eat. She lost her job. She can't pay the mortgage. Her husband left her. What's she going to do?
ROMANS: But that's different. That's - that's not necessarily a strategic default. We're talking about people who can afford it who are walking away.
So think about that, who can afford it who are walking away.
COSTELLO: OK. Romans' Numeral?
ROMANS: Eighty percent. And I was shocked by this. This is a survey about what people think about walking away. Eighty percent.
ROBERTS: Eighty percent think it's OK?
ROMANS: Eighty percent think it's OK if your lender isn't answering the phone, if your - if your lenders made it hard on you.
And so the lenders are really getting slapped here, because, hey, look, how many people know somebody who - that can't even get the lender to answer the phone?
COSTELLO: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Christine Romans this morning, "Minding Your Business". Thanks.
COSTELLO: He left Apple Computers years ago with 10 percent of the company's worth. The problem - at the time, that was just $800. You've heard of Jobs of Wozniak.
Up next, meet Apple's little-known third co-founder. He's not as rich as those guys. Is he bitter?
It's twenty minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Twenty-eight minutes after the hour.
Apple's iPhone 4 hits the stores today. A lot of diehard fans already have theirs, thanks to pre-orders and home delivery. Industry experts say the smartphone shows all the signs of being yet another huge hit for the tech giant.
And if you know the story of Apple's history, you probably know the names of its co-founders, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs, right? Did you know there was a third?
Our Dan Simon has his story in this "A.M. Original".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RON WAYNE, APPLE CO-FOUNDER: These are from Germany.
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His net worth is mostly tied up in his coin and stamp collection.
WAYNE: I played penny machines, mostly the poker machines.
SIMON: A few days a week he drives himself to a casino, hoping one day he'll hit the jackpot. He's 76, retired, lives in this modest home outside of Las Vegas in Pahrump, Nevada. He gets by off his monthly social security check.
WAYNE: I'll put it real simple. I've never been rich.
SIMON: A lot of people face similar challenges, except how many can honestly say they could have been a billionaire, more than 20 times over? If only he could have seen it. SIMON (on camera): You know that when people hear your story they say to themselves, my gosh. $22 billion. You could have had it.
WAYNE: What can I say? I mean, you - you make a decision based upon your understanding of the circumstances, and you live with it. This is - you know, that's the best you can do. There's nothing you can do about yesterday.
SIMON (voice-over): Ron Wayne is the third founder of Apple. He designed the company's first logo and the first operating manual.
SIMON (on camera): With these signatures right here, Apple computer was formed?
WAYNE: Yes.
SIMON (voice-over): This 1976 legal agreement shows his name alongside the well-known founders, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs.
Wayne, an engineer by trade, had befriended Jobs who he says wanted his help in forming the company.
SIMON (on camera): This is the contract right here?
WAYNE: Yes.
SIMON: And it says Ron Wayne gets 10 percent of the business.
WAYNE: Yes.
SIMON: And you're happy with that?
WAYNE: Of course. I had - I had no investment in it. It was a fascinating thing.
SIMON (voice-over): But only 11 days after Apple came into existence, Wayne had second thoughts.
WAYNE: I felt very honestly that the way these guys were going, they were going to bulldoze their way through anything to make this company succeed. But it was going to be a very rough ride. And if I wasn't careful, I was going to wind up the richest man in the cemetery.
SIMON: He says he was worried about being on the hook for debts the company would occur. At the time, Wayne's 10 percent stake netted him just $800.
WAYNE: As far as I was concerned, it was sound money. And I didn't want to get in anybody's way. And why should I -- why I would possibly do that anyhow.
SIMON (on camera): At the time, you were pleased to take it.
WAYNE: Absolutely.
SIMON (voice-over): Throughout the years, Wayne has held various jobs as an engineer. He's never had a particular fascination with computers.
(on camera): How many Apple products have you bought over the years?
WAYNE: In round numbers? About as round numbers you can get. I never owned an Apple product.
SIMON (voice-over): Wayne says he's not jealous of Steve Jobs or Apple's success, and says it's useless to waste time wondering what if. He last spoke to Jobs 10 years ago.
WAYNE: I don't think anybody could have imagined the success that Apple did become. But I knew that it would be a successful enterprise because the people who were driving it were skilled and capable and dynamic and focused.
SIMON: Wayne is hoping to finally cash in on his Apple connection with a forthcoming book, the title "Adventures of an Apple Founder."
Dan Simon, CNN, Pahrump, Nevada.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: What's most ironic, as you pointed, was he didn't want to gamble on Apple.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: But he gambles in the casino.
ROBERTS: There you go.
Crossing the half hour, that means it's time for this morning's top stories.
Senate leaders are promising quick confirmation hearings for General David Petraeus. The current CentCom commander was nominated by President Obama to replace General Stanley McChrystal as the top man in Afghanistan. McChrystal was relieved of his command after he and his aides made explosive comments to "Rolling Stone" magazine slamming numerous high-level members of the administration.
COSTELLO: Team USA back from the dead. Landon Donovan breathing life into America's World Cup hopes when it looked there was absolutely no hope at all. His stunning goal against Algeria with time running out helping the U.S. advance to the next round of play. Amazing.
Ten minutes from now, he will join us live from South Africa. We will ask him if America is finally ready to embrace the other football, now.
ROBERTS: At least 12 people were killed and several others hurt when they were hit by an express train south of Barcelona in Spain around midnight local time. Officials say they were crossing the tracks after getting off a local train on their way to a late night beach festival. That station is being renovated and overhead crosswalks are closed. But the local mayor says the underground cross walks were open.
COSTELLO: There's new stunning information this morning that could help the American hikers held in Iran.
ROBERTS: New claims that a rogue Iranian soldier may have played a role in this year-long nightmare for the three families. Our Susan Candiotti has been following this story since the beginning. And she's here this morning with the new details.
What's this one all about?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, and we're reporting this first on CNN from "Nation" magazine. What this is new information that could help prove the hikers' contention that they did not cross the border from Iraq into Iran. In fact, it appears to show it was Iranian police who illegally crossed the bored into Iraq to arrest the hikers.
"The Nation" magazine reports exclusively that they found two witnesses, Kurdish villagers, who said they saw the whole thing go down. They watched the three hikers -- Shane Bauer, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal -- hike ago long an unmarked mountain trail in Iraq, not Iran. The villagers were curious watching these westerners. And the witnesses say they saw Iranian police go after the hikers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They fired around in the air. They used threatening and menacing gestures to beckon the hikers over into Iran. And when the hikers hesitated, that's when they crossed the border and picked up the Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now, "The Nation's" five-month investigation also reports that a Revolutionary Guard officer who likely ordered the hikers detained is said to be running a gang over there, he since been arrested on kidnapping, murder, and rape charges. Now CNN could not independently confirm "The Nation's" story.
We asked the hikers' moms, however, what they make of this new information. Remember, when they met with their children last month in Iran, they were never alone with them, monitored constantly and never got the story from them firsthand. Now, they're piecing things together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It really resonates with what I was feeling. I just didn't feel like something was right. You know, again, hearing the story kind of terrifies me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is fresh news to us. And to hear some of this stuff, you know, we have to -- we have to focus and assimilate this. But it's shocking. You know, it's shocking that it hasn't come out in the public, that it happened to these kids, and that this is the reason they're being held.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's certainly a window for them to say this was a mistake on many levels and we're going to release the three Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now, Shane Bauer, one of the hikers, has written for "The Nation" magazine from Iraq about Iraq. It's their hope, "The Nation" magazine's hope, that their story will put pressure on Iran to get the case moving. And, of course, that's certainly what the moms want in this case.
And we're now beginning start to try to get some reaction from the Iranian government to see what they have to say about this.
ROBERTS: Susan Candiotti on the story for us -- Susan, thanks so much.
CANDIOTTI: You're welcome.
ROBERTS: Landon Donovan live from South Africa -- coming up next. It was his toe that delivered the World Cup shot heard around the world -- or at least heard all the way back here in the United States.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SPORTSCASTER: For the USA, can they do it here? Across (INAUDIBLE) Donovan has scored! Oh, can you believe this! Go, go, USA! Certainly through! Oh, it's incredible!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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ROBERTS: Thirty-nine minutes now after the hour. If Americans do not embrace soccer now, surely they never will because Team USA's heart- stopping win in World Cup play yesterday was one of those rare defining moments in sports.
COSTELLO: I liked soccer yesterday. I still liked it. I didn't like it before; I'll be honest for you, because just admitted or so from elimination and a game that would have been remembered for so many missed opportunities. The United States struck America's most celebrated player, giving us perhaps a greatest soccer moment ever.
ROBERTS: Landon Donovan is the heart and soul of this U.S. team. He's going to be joining us live from Irene, South Africa, in just a few minutes.
But first, let's bring in our resident soccer guru Richard Roth this morning.
It was 90 minutes of frustration back and forth. And then, wow, as you saw there, by 15 seconds of absolute excitement and ecstasy.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN "SOCCER GURU": I know. And now, the U.S. plays Ghana. I don't want to move past that thrilling moment. But the U.S. has gone further in the World Cup before. Everyone's acting as if they won the Super Bowl. But they did go further in South Korea and Japan in 2002. But it was a great --
ROBERTS: Wait a second. Hang on. So we have this thrilling moment and Richard comes out and takes his bucket of water and goes -- well, it's not as good as --
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ROBERTS: Can you get excited for a moment?
ROTH: Yes, I'm excited, as much as one can at this hour of the morning. Yes.
Look, I was in the bar, not drinking, yesterday watching with --
ROBERTS: That was your problem.
ROTH: Yes. Hundreds of pulsating, panting, anticipating fans and that was just before I arrived.
But it was great. I mean, the eruptions -- there were people watching all over the United States. And maybe we can talk about it with Landon and others. How many sports can you now enjoy at that hour in the morning, every other big game until midnight?
ROBERTS: Yes. And, in fact, let's bring in Landon Donovan right now. He's joining us live from Irene, South Africa.
Landon, our congratulations on that amazing goal. How are you and your teammates feeling today? I mean, you look pretty happy after that yesterday.
LANDON DONOVAN, TEAM USA: Yes, I'm obviously pretty happy. A little bit of emotional hangover, I think. We're all kind of spent the emotions of that game from realizing our World Cup might be over and then the sheer ecstasy of what happened at the end.
Now, we have a quick turnaround and we got Ghana on Saturday and we want to do something even more special.
COSTELLO: Landon, can you feel the love of U.S. fans all the way to South Africa?
DONOVAN: Yes. In 2002, when we advanced further in the tournament, we didn't have a real idea -- we're in Korea -- we didn't have a real idea of what was going on back home. But now with the inventions of YouTube and Facebook and Twitter and things like that, I think we all get a pretty good idea. I spent all morning watching all of the reactions in the bars around the country of people watching the game. And it's pretty cool to get to see that.
COSTELLO: I think --
ROTH: Landon, what is the significance of the sport, of the win for you and the team now and the sport in America? DONOVAN: Well, I've been at this for a while. So I understand very clearly that every four years, we have an opportunity to gain some fans and to put ourselves on the map a little bit more. You know, we keep it in perspective because we're competitors and now Saturday is the most important thing. But when all is said and done when I look back on that moment, I think I'll be proud of what we accomplished.
ROBERTS: Why don't you take a couple seconds here and walk us back through that moment. You know, you're in the extra time period. Tell us how that goal got set up and how you felt when you were about to touch the ball with your toe -- because you said time kind of stopped for you.
DONOVAN: Yes. Well, if you think back through the game, the tension had been building so much from the missed opportunities to the goal that got called back wrongly for us. There was so much tension in the stadium on the field. Tim Howard, our goalie, caught the ball, threw it out to me. I wanted to be aggressive with the first few touches. I put it in to Jozy Altidore's pass, he did a good job putting it across the goal.
ROBERTS: Who?
DONOVAN: Clint Dempsey did a good job getting in front of the goalie. And then it fell to me. And those moments, it's instinctive. It doesn't take a lot of thought process. And you just put it where it's supposed to go, in the back of the net.
COSTELLO: Landon, do you feel that -- you know, you mentioned those bad calls. Do you feel that the United States has it a little rougher than, perhaps, other teams do?
DONOVAN: Well, we just don't -- we don't have -- we don't have the history that other teams do for whatever reason. We haven't -- things haven't gone our way from the officiating. It's been a difficult process. But I think it makes it more worth it.
And at end of the day, we still won our group. We haven't lost a game. And now, we have a chance to play Ghana for the opportunity to go to the quarterfinals of a World Cup.
ROTH: How you are going to beat Ghana when you couldn't do it four years ago and they eliminated you. I'm sure that Coach Bradley is showing you some tapes already.
DONOVAN: Yes. We've already started the process a little bit with them. Like we always do, we'll spend a lot of time looking at tape, talking about their team. At the end of it all, you got to get on the field for 90 minutes and perform.
It's not like other sports where you get time-outs and time to talk about things and adjust during the game. You got to play the game that you're used to playing instinctively, and we still think we're a better team and we have a good chance.
ROBERTS: Well, Landon Donovan, thanks so much for taking the time this morning. Congratulations.
And from our executive producer Jamie Kraft to you, thanks for making not just his year but his life. He really appreciates it.
DONOVAN: I'm glad I could help out. Thank you, guys.
ROBERTS: Thanks so much.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Landon.
Hey, maybe if the U.S. wins, we can call it soccer and not football. We'll just take over, Americans.
ROTH: Let's hope the sport grows from this. We talk about this every four years. But this type of win, the thrilling victory may galvanize more Americans. I mean people are watching in offices, restaurants, on the internet at work.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Bars, though not drinking.
ROTH: Yes, bars, not drinking.
ROBERTS: Next time have a beer, then you'll be able to actually cheer.
ROTH: John, I was working. CNN code policy page 52 paragraph 4.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Richard, for joining us.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Forget Newman and the suit Nazi, Jerry Seinfeld has a new nemesis. That would be Lady Gaga. We'll tell you why the funny man won't be taking the pop star out to the ballgame any time soon. It's 45 minutes past the hour.
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ROBERTS: Forty-eight minutes now after the hour. Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Bonnie Schneider in the Extreme Weather Center for us, and a little bit of relief from the heat, thank goodness, Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Finally. I know, John and Carol, days and days of oppressive heat temperatures in the 90s, but those thunderstorms are rolling in from the west, and they'll make a big difference. Right now, we have some heavy rain working its way across upstate New York. And that's one of the hot spots for severe weather today. Notice this area highlighted in red and it goes all the way from Washington, D.C., straight through Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and on up into Northern New England, we're looking for some powerful thunderstorms as a cold front advances on in. It'll tap into all this the warm, moist air.
Behind it, look for windy conditions across much of the western states and the plains, so the breezes will pick up. It will still be pretty warm despite that. All right. I got a lot of heat advisories to tell you about. They go straight until 8:00 tonight and it's westward from Oklahoma through Memphis and the mid south, Charleston, South Carolina up through Richmond, Virginia, and if that's not enough where high temperatures will be in the 90s, it'll feel like it's 105. Philadelphia has had a string of days of hot weather. Some excessive heat warning continues starting off this morning at 82 in the Philadelphia area, ending up in the mid 90s.
But note, the heat index will be 100 degrees. So, if you don't have to be outside today would be a good day to be inside. High temperatures across much of the country in the 80s, some in the 90s, 97 in Dallas today, 83 in Minneapolis, that is behind the front. So, we'll get some cooler conditions there. And for those of you that are traveling, watch out for those thunderstorms in Northern New England. They will cause delays into Boston, New York City, Washington, D.C., and in Philadelphia. We are looking at delays also into Atlanta, Miami, Houston, and finally in Seattle off to the west.
We're also looking at delays. One other thing we're watching is the tropics, a broad area of low pressure. This could develop into something in the next couple of days. We're monitoring it for you. So far right now, it has had not developed, but we'll see. A lot of the models are saying it will do that. So, I'm keeping an eye on it. Back to you.
ROBERTS: Bonnie, thanks so much. Talk you to again soon.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
ROBERTS: This morning's top stories just minutes away now including the man who turned around the war in Iraq now in command in Afghanistan. Can General David Petraeus do it again? We'll have reaction to the president's decision from the Pentagon and the halls of Congress.
COSTELLO: And did the soccer bug finally bite Max? Richard Roth tries to convert our sports guy, and boy, did he pick a good game to do it. We'll ask Max Kellerman whether soccer is more evolve than it was yesterday. Those stories and more at the top of the hour.
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ROBERTS: Fift6y-four minutes after the hour and time for the Moos News in the Morning with Jeannie. So far, it's been a good year for celebrity feuds, Leno versus Conan, Heidi versus Spencer supposedly, Jesse James games versus Hollywood and pretty much the rest of the bunch.
COSTELLO: Now, it's Jerry Seinfeld, and he has a bigger nemesis than Newman. Our Jeannie Moos has the play-by-play in the biggest celeb showdown ever. Not really. Seinfeld versus Gaga.
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JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): OK. Maybe it's not a showdown on the scale of president versus general. But Seinfeld versus Gaga ain't exactly chopped meat.
VOICE OF JERRY SEINFELD, COMEDIAN: Oh, she's a jerk.
MOOS: It started politely enough.
SEINFELD: I wish her the best. You know, you take one "a" off of that and you got "gag."
MOOS: Jerry started to rag on Lady Gaga during a WFAN sports radio interview when talked turned into these pictures. Lady Gaga at a Mets game dressed in a skimpy outfit giving photographers a certain finger. To get her away from the paparazzi, the Mets gave her a new seat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They escorted her to your luxury box.
SEINFELD: You know, I changed my mind. You're right. This woman is a jerk.
MOOS (on-camera): Seinfeld's box was empty when Mets management moved Lady Gaga into it. He only found out later that she'd been there.
SEINFELD: I hate her. I can't believe they put her in my box.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They did.
SEINFELD: That I paid for. This is what you give people the finger and you get upgraded? Is that the world we're living in?
MOOS (voice-over): The Mets apologized, but Seinfeld evidently felt stung. And here you thought Lady Gaga had a monopoly on outrageous outfits. As for that upraised middle finger --
SEINFELD: What is she giving the finger? Speaking of interesting and new, how old is the finger?
MOOS: It was an action Lady Gaga had defended earlier by tweeting, I guess I'm just a Bronx cheer kind of girl.
MOOS (on-camera): But even while dissing Lady Gaga, Seinfeld did put his finger on something interesting about the anatomy of the hand.
SEINFELD: Now, the thumbs up is a good finger, right? So, you really one finger from a compliment.
MOOS (voice-over): Jeannie Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: I love the way he put that, too. Flip somebody the bird and you get upgraded.
COSTELLO: I like to read between the lines.
ROBERTS: No, why don't you share?
COSTELLO: Just saying.
The top stories are coming your way after the break. Did you know that?
ROBERTS: Yes, I did.
COSTELLO: OK.
ROBERTS: I read between the lines.
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