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American Morning
BP's Static Kill is Working; California Judge Hours Away from Ruling on Prop 8; Reports on Iranian President Surviving Assassination Attempt; Win for New York Mosque Developer; Meet NASA'S Robotic Astronaut; Happy Birthday Mr. President; Rethink the 14th Amendment?
Aired August 04, 2010 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's Wednesday. It's the 4th of August. Like to call it Hump Day if you climb up to the top and now slide into the weekend. Thanks for being with us on the Most News in the Morning. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. We also call it Hump Day because we seem to have at least cleared one hurdle in this --
ROBERTS: It's great news this morning.
CHETRY: Yes in terms of killing the well.
CHETRY: It is working. Maybe the best news since the start of this disaster. A long time coming, BP announcing that the static kill, an operation to permanently seal the well that's leaked 206 million gallons of oil into the Gulf, is a success. In just a few moments, we're going to hear from the White House on the latest developments.
ROBERTS: Just hours away from a ruling on Prop 8, a federal judge in California set to decide whether the state's ban on same-sex marriage should be overturned. His decision could set the stage for a showdown in the Supreme Court. Live report just ahead.
CHETRY: And an Islamic center and mosque just blocks from ground zero now a step closer to reality. That's after a commission denied landmark status for an old building on the site, but opponents say that this fight is far from over.
ROBERTS: First, there's breaking news to tell you about this morning. Several reports out of the Middle East that Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, survived an apparent assassination attempt.
CHETRY: Now Iranian officials are trying to downplay it. Reza Sayah is monitoring this for us live from Islamabad, Pakistan. Some conflicting information about what happened and what type of device was potentially used. What are your sources telling you?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kiran. First off, it is raining very heavily here in Islamabad, so you're going to have to bear with the noise. But lots of conflicting reports about this particular incident. We're trying to sort through them.
Let's tell you about the initial reports. Two government-linked websites reporting there was an attack on Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's motorcade. And they described it as a grenade that blew up somewhere near the motorcade.
A short time later, you had an official, part of Ahmadinejad's media team, telling CNN that this was not an attack. And then you had Press TV and Iranian-funded television stations saying this was nothing more than a firecracker.
All the reports are saying this incident happened in Hamadan, the city in central Iran. They say the president just arrived there from the airport, he got in his motorcade and was driving towards a city sports stadium where he was about to address a gathering when some sort of explosive device blew up.
They say the president was not injured and the person who may have tossed this explosive device is in custody. They also say some journalists who may have been in a vehicle in the motorcade may have been injured. The latest reports are saying it's a firecracker. We're working our sources to find out exactly what happened earlier.
ROBERTS: Reza Sayah for us in Islamabad this morning. Judging by the sound of that rain, we may have some more flooding problems there today that Reza will have to look into. Reza, thanks so much.
A senior administration official says White House aides are aware of the conflicting reports and are seeking more information to try to sort out what really happened with Ahmadinejad.
It could be the beginning of the end of the now-107-day-long nightmare for people living and working along the Gulf coast. BP announcing overnight that the static kill operation to seal the leaking well for good is actually working.
Heavy drilling mud was pumped into the well for eight hours, a delicate, risky procedure to drive the oil back down into the reservoir deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico. And if they are right, this disaster really could be on its last legs.
A report in this morning's "New York Times" claims that the oil spill itself is essentially under control now, and 75 percent of the oil that came up through that well has either evaporate evaporated, dispersed, been captured, or diluted to the point where it is just not a risk no anymore.
Meantime on Capitol Hill, a Senate hearing will look at the chemical dispersants that were used to break up the oil.
CHETRY: Well, for more on all of this now, we're now joined by Carol Browner, assistant to President Obama on energy and climate change.
Thanks for being with us this morning joining us from the White House briefing room. So the good news, BP announced overnight that the static kill operation to seal the leaking oil well is working. Of course there is still a ways to go, the company is saying, but what's the administration's take this morning on how all of this is proceeding? Bottom line, are we out of the woods yet?
CAROL BROWNER, ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT ON ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE: Well, we are definitely are making progress. Oil hasn't been leaking for some time. The static kill is going well. But ultimately it's the relief wells we ordered that will be the final kill-kill. Probably in the next 14 days that will be done.
But an important step last night. And as you also noted, our scientists and external scientists believe that the vast majority of the oil has now been contained, it's been skimmed, mother nature has done its part, it's been evaporated. So I think we're going to turn a corner here. We're working with the people of the Gulf coast, working with the communities to make sure that whatever comes ashore is cleaned up and that BP is ultimately held responsible.
CHETRY: All right, let's tackle a couple issues. First the issue of the relief well. As you just said, you are waiting for that, as is Thad Allen. He says it is not going to be over until that is completed. Again, what is your assessment on when that will finally takes place and when this well is permanently killed?
BROWNER: We think that's another 10 to 14 days. That is, the relief well is the way to permanently kill this. But in the meantime, there shouldn't be any oil leaking. So good news overnight, but we need to remain focused on the final ultimate kill which should be in the next two weeks or so.
BROWNER: A lot of us were curious, we were asking about this yesterday, about what BP may do next with this well. Clearly there's still a lot of oil under there. Would they in any scenario be allowed to re-drill this well again?
BROWNER: That's a whole separate decision. They have to go through a whole process. I'm not going to speculate about what may or may not happen. What we'll remain focused right now on the people with the Gulf coast.
I'm going to Florida this afternoon to visit communities in the Gulf coast. The president and his family will be vacationing down there in two weeks. There's still a lot to be done in terms of making these communities whole in terms of make being the people of the Gulf coast whole.
CHETRY: But this report out of the "New York times" today on the environmental impact that you referenced, NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issuing its report. Let's put a bit of detail up on the screen right now. Three-quarters of the oil in the Deepwater Water Horizon leak has already evaporated, dispersed, been captured or otherwise eliminated.
It went on to say that about 26 percent only of the oil released is still in the water or onshore in a form that could, in principle, cause new problems. That has some of us scratching our heads, saying 206 million gallons spilled into the Gulf. It seems on its face hard to believe that 75 percent of it is just gone.
What are your thoughts on whether or not that's an accurate assessment?
BROWNER: Well, we do think this is an important assessment. Scientists both in the government and outside of the government looked at this and put forward these assessments.
I think in part it is a testament to the fact that we launched the largest response in the history of our country. We had a nearly 7,000 vessels, more than 40,000 people working to clean this up, to capture it, to skim it, to burn it. And that's why the vast majority of the oil is gone.
In terms of what's left, it will continue to weather in the ocean if it comes ashore obvious it can be cleaned up. But obviously we're seeing far less oil than we've seen. I think that is a testament to the response that the government launched and worked with the governors to ensure its success.
CHETRY: Already there are some fears on the Gulf coast in light of this report and in light of the fact that the well has been capped that we're going to start to pull away, that you're going to see the focus leave the gulf area, and that the lasting effects of the oil as well as potentially the dispersant may not be top of mind anymore.
What can you say to assure them that you are still going to be working this for however long it takes?
BROWNER: We will be there for however long it takes. This administration will be there for however long it takes. We understand that while there is good news today, we have real work to continue to do in communities. We have to ensure that BP is held responsible, that the claims of the states, local governments, the people are honored, and we will make sure that happens. We're not going anywhere.
CHETRY: There is also still concern about the dispersants and the effect that they may have long-term in the Gulf. Ed Markey, we spoke to the congressman yesterday. He's charging BP basically "carpet-bombed," is the term he used, the ocean with these chemicals, that the Coast Guard allowed them to do it, 1.8 million gallons. He says that could be on the low end. Are you satisfied with how these dispersants were used?
BROWNER: First of all, it is important to know that there was a lot of testing done before they were used. Obviously this is a difficult decision. You're talking about oil which is highly toxic in the environment. EPA looked at this issue. A decision was made to use dispersants.
Then a decision was made to dramatically reduce the amount of dispersants being used, a 72 percent reduction. We're going to continue to monitor, continue to test. Right now there's no anomalies. Toxicity levels are not above what you might normally see in the Gulf, but we need to remain vigilant, and we will.
CHETRY: Is the seafood safe to eat?
BROWNER: We have been opening fisheries. They go through a rigorous testing before they are reopened. We'll continue that testing. I'm going to Florida later today. I look forward to eating Florida seafood. And I think the public can eat sea for food with confidence because we only reopen these fisheries after extensive testing with the fish.
CHETRY: We're delighted to see the light at the end of the tunnel with this natural disaster. Carol Browner, thanks so much for joining us this morning.
BROWNER: Thank you.
ROBERTS: A blistering heat wave not going anywhere any time soon across the Midwest and the south, the heat and humidity turning deadly. At least five heat-related deaths reported since Saturday from Kansas to Mississippi.
CHETRY: High temperature records also broken across the region. And today heat indices in some places will reach 115 degrees. Our Rob Marciano is live in one of those places where it is going to be quite hot, that's Atlanta's piedmont park. Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. Very soupy and humid, and it is going to be another hot one again today. You talk about hurricanes, you talk about floods, winter storms -- none of those weather events compare in regard to danger and fatalities than does heat.
And this year we're getting a pretty bad heat wave especially across the mid and deep south. So just take it easy out there and take all the necessary precautions.
Look at all the advisories and warnings. There are 13 states right now that have excessive heat warnings out for today, meaning you couple the heat and humidity, it is going to feel like in some spots during the day 120 degrees. That is dangerous levels of heat.
And even at night you can't escape. Look at the current feel- like temperatures. It feels like upper 80s to about 90 degrees. That's why this time of day this is when you'll see Piedmont Park fairly active. If you're going to get your exercise in, this is the time to do it because noon or two 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon is when it gets a little bit dicey. John, Kiran?
CHETRY: Or do it in the gym but, man, you don't want to be out there in this high noon eat for sure. Rob, thanks.
We're monitoring a developing story this morning out of California where a federal judge is about to decide whether the state's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. It is a ruling that will have national implications and we expect it to come down in just a matter of hours.
ROBERTS: It's been two years now since California voters passed Proposition 8. It defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Opponents argue it created two classes of people in California with separate laws for each and they want Prop 8 overturned. Dan Simon is live in San Francisco for us this morning. First of all, Dan, when do we expect this decision to be handed down?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the judge says he will hand down the decision sometime between 1:00 and 3:00 local time. So that would be between 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. eastern time.
That is the federal courthouse behind me where this trial took place all the way back in January. Let's just take a look at how we got here. But first of all, Perry versus Schwarzenegger -- remember the name of that case because some day it could appear in every single American history textbook.
In any event this all starts back in 2004. The city of San Francisco in a very controversial move starts issuing same-sex marriage licenses. It lasts just for a month and ultimately leads to a series of lawsuits and ultimately Proposition 8.
As you said, Proposition 8 defined a marriage between a man and a woman. It was one of the costliest campaigns in state history. More than $80 million spent between the two sides duking it out. Proposition 8 squeaks by a narrow majority, 52 percent-48 percent.
You had the trial here back in January. Ultimately the judge is going to decide whether or not Proposition 8 is constitutional and could have ramifications in terms of whether or not same-sex marriage is legal all across the country. Back to you.
ROBERTS: Dan Simon for us this morning. And Dan will be reporting all day on the prop 8 decision again coming our way sometime between 4:00 and 7:00 eastern time. Dan, thanks so much.
Coming up, a Connecticut community still in shock this morning after an employee with a gun and a grudge opened fire on co-workers, killing eight of them, and then taking his own life. What could have triggered that shooting rampage? It's 12 minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
People who knew the alleged gunman, 34-year-old Omar Thornton, are trying to make sense of the shooting rampage at a Manchester, Connecticut, beer warehouse. Police say that he killed eight co- workers before taking his own life. Thornton had just been fired for stealing beer. The mother of Thornton's girlfriend says he was angry about his treatment on the job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOANNE HANNA, MOTHER OF KRISTY HANNA: He was being harassed racially at work. Supposedly there was -- which he had picture on his cell phone and on his camera, of the cell phone, showing that there was the word "Nigger" written on the bathroom walls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Teamsters officially say that Thornton never filed a complaint alleging racism either with the union or a government agency.
ROBERTS: Republican Senators Tom Coburn and John McCain are shining a light on what they call wasteful stimulus projects. They put together a list they say shows the biggest questionable projects to come out of President Obama's $862 billion stimulus plan.
Among the top 10, $89,000 to replace a new sidewalk in Oklahoma with a newer one that leads to the same ditch that the first one did. And number six, $1.9 million to study ants in East Africa and the southwest Indian Ocean Islands. Coming in at number one -- $554,000 to replace the windows at a shuttered Mount St. Helen's Visitor Center.
CHETRY: Well, if they open it ups someday, there's a view.
ROBERTS: Going to need those windows.
CHETRY: Well, efforts to build a community center and mosque in the shadows of the 9/11 disaster site clear a major hurdle, but the fight over the building only intensifying this morning. We're going to hear both sides of the debate his morning coming up.
Seventeen minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to "The Most News in the Morning." Twenty minutes past the hour right now.
A New York City preservation commission has now cleared the way for an Islamic center and mosque to be built just blocks from Ground Zero. It's after the panel voted against protecting an abandoned building that's standing in the way or could potentially stood in the way of the project.
ROBERTS: Backers of the center say they plan to use it to promote interfaith understanding, but critics don't buy it, and they have vowed to sue the city.
Jason Carroll's got more on the heated and passionate debate for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Things have gone on schedule. You should have been able to walk along here, look across the way, and see the Freedom Tower rising 776 feet high. Instead, the site of Ground Zero still very much under construction, and the Freedom Tower two years behind schedule.
(voice-over): But the controversy driving debate now has to do with the proposed building two blocks north from here.
(on camera): Just up the street from Ground Zero, where thousands of people were killed on 9/11 in terrorist attacks carried out by Muslim extremists, the plan is to build an Islamic center and mosque, the building that you see right here.
(voice-over): Those opposed to it hope the city's Landmark Preservation Commission would grant historic protection to the building, effectively blocking the plans. The commission did not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disgrace! Sleep well!
CARROLL: Anger from the mosque's opponents, who question, why build it here? Why so close to Ground Zero?
ANDREW SULLIVAN, ISLAMIC CENTER OPPONENT: This hurts everybody. Why hurt people today? Those people were murdered for senseless nonsense.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Emotionally, it upsets me very deeply, because I see the handwriting on the wall. I see what's happened in other countries.
CARROLL: The debate over what happens here has turned to a battle over religious freedom. Those in support of turning this into an Islamic cultural center and mosque say it would represent what is best about this country.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a victory for freedom of religion and our Constitution. People were trying to attack it through the rhetoric of fear and hate, and they did not win. And this is a victory for America.
CARROLL: Developers are planning on a 13-to-15-story building that would also include an auditorium and pool. The developer at Soho Properties hopes it would much like a YMCA. He called the commission's decision a victory.
SHARIF EL-GAMAL, CEO, SOHO PROPERTIES: We are Americans, Muslim- Americans. We are businessmen, businesswomen, lawyers, doctors, restaurant workers, cab drivers, and professionals of every walk of life.
CARROLL: But the developer's critics question who the investors in the project will be and want to know more about the mosque's imam, Faisal Abdul Rauf. Rauf oversees an organization called the Cordoba Initiative. Its Web site describes the organization as trying to improve Muslim-West relations.
New York's mayor says he understands sensitivity on both sides, but says he supports the developer building the Islamic center. MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: I do not think we should be investigating who puts money in the basket when it's passed around and who writes checks at Yom Kippur, or any other ways that a religious organization raises money.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Well, again, opponents of the cultural center and mosque say they may sue the city to try and prevent it from being built. But now that the way has been cleared, the ultimate irony is that it could be completed before the Freedom Tower, now scheduled for occupancy in 2013. And that is an optimistic estimate of its opening.
CHETRY: Yes. All right, well as you told us, this is something that continues even though it looks like all the legal hurdles are clear.
CARROLL: And you can understand the sensitivity and the emotions on both sides of this issue. But you heard what the mayor was saying, that this is about religious freedom more than anything.
CHETRY: Jason, thanks.
CARROLL: Yes.
CHETRY: Also, coming up in the next hour, we're going to be speaking with Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, an organization that promotes religious tolerance but has come out against the Islamic center. We're going to hear why they feel so strongly about this.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to that.
NASA's newest astronaut has a really cool mission, a really great nickname, even a Twitter account. But there's just one thing -- NASA's newest astronaut is also a robot. Meet R2 coming up next.
It's 24 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Top stories just minutes away here on "The Most News in the Morning."
But first, an AM original, something that you'll see only on AMERICAN MORNING.
How about this for proof that the future is now? NASA's newest astronaut is a robot, and a robot that's really up to date. It's got its own Twitter account.
CHETRY: Yes. Maybe it even has a white iPhone. But who knows?
You know, the space agency is planning on spending Robonaut 2, or R2, for short, up to join the crew of the International Space Station in November. NASA hopes it will take over some of the routine tasks on board. But first, our John Zarrella got a chance to meet R2 in this CNN exclusive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Say hello to Robonaut.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: R2, nice to meet you. How is it going?
ZARRELLA: R2, as this humanoid is called, is considered cutting-edge artificial intelligence. There's nothing more sophisticated. With arm, hand and wrist movement, almost human.
NIC RADFORD, ROBONAUT DEPUTY PROJECT MANAGER: I can interrupt the motion of the robot. I can hold it if I don't like something.
ZARRELLA: R2 is also a bit of a ham.
RADFORD: What you're really looking at is probably the most advanced upper body in the entire world.
ZARRELLA: When the next shuttle flies, R2 will be hitching a ride to the space station and waiting, literally with a hand extended when astronaut Cady Coleman and her cremates get there in December.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was going to call you "Jim."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jim? I'm sure Jim would love that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It might be Sheila or Sara.
ZARRELLA: Before Robonaut was boxed up for flight, Coleman and her crewmates stopped by the lab for a preflight demonstration. They'll be among the first to work with it. After it's tested out in zero gravity, R2 will start picking up some of the routine, mundane tasks like replacing screws and moving things, freeing astronauts for more important work.
PAOLO NESPOLI, EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY ASTRONAUT: Sometimes I feel that we are in space and we're just changing a bolt or changing a light or flipping a switch.
ZARRELLA: Eventually, R2 will work in the human-unfriendly environment outside the station.
CADY COLEMAN, NASA ASTRONAUT: Going outside in a spacesuit can be really cool, but it's also more dangerous than staying inside your spacecraft. And so it would be great to be able to send a robot out to do certain simple tasks.
ZARRELLA: Right now, that would be impossible. R2 doesn't have a lower body yet. Just a pedestal. Eventually, he'll get a -- pardon the pun -- leg up. But just one.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you've ever seen astronauts when they work in space, oftentimes the need to be able to stand on two legs really just doesn't have a place.
ZARRELLA: What R2 does have, a heck of a grip.
(on camera): All right, Robonaut.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
ZARRELLA: It's a pleasure to meet you. I know you don't say much, but I do enough talking for the both of us.
(voice-over): As for dress, Coleman thinks, well, pretty in pink.
COLEMAN: I mean, I was here before, and I had kind of a feel for what colors the robot would like. And I'm pretty sure --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pink.
ZARRELLA: Just stay away from the matching shoes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ZARRELLA: Robonaut is a joint venture between NASA and General Motors. Because GM picked up most of the costs, NASA won't divulge the price tag. But, hey, one day we may see Robonaut's descendents behind the wheel, and you won't be able to call them crash-test dummies -- John Kiran.
ROBERTS: It's a pretty amazing piece of technology.
CHETRY: Yes, it is.
ROBERTS: But don't dress up the robot.
CHETRY: Why? They needed to make him look cool.
ROBERTS: It's like people putting clothing on dogs, don't you think?
(LAUGHTER)
CHETRY: That's a whole other ball of wax.
ROBERTS: Crossing the half-hour now. Top stories.
It's working. Good news this morning. BP announcing overnight that the static kill is going as planned and they're watching that well very closely.
A new report in the "New York Times" also says this morning that about three-quarters of the oil that leaked out is gone at this point, either evaporated, collected or diluted to the point where it just isn't a risk inn more.
CHETRY: Well, from the Midwest to the southeast, it's another day of dangerously hot temperatures. Heat index across multiple states is expected to hit triple digits as high as 120 in some places. At least five people have already died from the record breaking heat over the past several days. We're going to get more on protecting yourself and just what's in store, how long it is going to last from our Rob Marciano coming up in just 15 minutes.
ROBERTS: And still developing this half hour, several reports out of the Middle East that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad survived an assassination attempt.
That someone threw a grenade or some kind of homemade explosive device at his convoy and that several people were hurt in the incident. Iran is now downplaying it saying it was only a firecracker.
CHETRY: Extreme radicalization, it can happen anywhere. That's what one U.S. attorney said after a 20-year-old from Fairfax County, Virginia was arrested for his ties to the Somali terror group al Shabab and also linked to fugitive American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki.
ROBERTS: It's a staggering reality that the feds are dealing with so in some communities, Muslim leaders are working with authorities to find at-risk Muslim teens now before they are targeted and potentially indoctrinated.
Our Deb Feyerick is back this morning with our ongoing series "The New Bin Laden." Good morning.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Well, you know, the big question is who is recruiting wannabe Jihadis and who are most vulnerable.
Now, a number of communities are saying, we're not going to let it happen, not to our kids and they're knocking on doors. They're preaching in mosques and when they have to, reaching out to police and federal agents saying, we need your help.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK (voice-over): This soccer field in Columbus, Ohio is a long way from Somalia. Far from civil war, these kids have learned to dream big.
(on camera): What do you want to do when you graduate high school?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be a soccer player.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to be engineer.
FEYERICK: And what about you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to be the president of Somalia.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Pulled between two cultures, many in Ohio's Somali community fear teens like these could be targeted by extremists. (on camera): Who is it in the community who is potentially radicalizing young people? Is it the internet? Is it somebody? Is it an internet imam? Who are we talking about?
ABDOUL SHMOHAMED, ABUBAKAR ASIDDLO ISLAMIC CENTER: That's something we haven't been -- we leave that for the law enforcement to figure it out.
FEYERICK: That's the problem. No one knows for sure who's recruiting. Persuading young men to get terror training overseas and possibly wage Jihad against the U.S. That worries FBI chief like Keith Bennett.
(on camera): What's your big fear?
KEITH BENNET, FBI, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: Well, the fear is what the -- the unknown. What are the threats that we just aren't aware of.
FEYERICK (voice-over): The threat is very real. In 2007 and 2008, about 20 young men from Minneapolis, most of Somali descent, traveled to Mogadishu to join the al Qaeda-linked terror group al Shabab, which means youth in Arabic.
(on camera): When you heard about the young men from Minnesota, did that just stun you how somebody could throw away their future?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I mean --
FEYERICK (voice-over): As head of the Somali Student Association at Ohio State University, Abdullhi Yusef is working to educate his peers about the dangers of radicalization.
ABDULLHI YUSEF, OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY, SOMALI STUDENT ASSOCIATION: We have people dying back home and to see Somali youth who were given a chance to live in this great nation and gain education, to go back and do such insane actions, I mean it is very frustrating.
FEYERICK (on camera): Here in Columbus, Ohio, there are some 40,000 Somalis, many refugees who fled civil war in their native country. Once here, young men face other challenges like unemployment, possible gaining recruitment and alienation from larger society. All that, authorities say, make them especially vulnerable to potential radicalization.
(voice-over): That fear has spurred the entire community to take action, warning not only children, but their parents, too. This community leader takes his fight door to door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's nothing worse than a young mother or fellow who brought the young one here, go to school, then go out of this country become a suicide bomber.
FEYERICK: Every week he checks in asking things like --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell us who is associating with your kids? Do you know anybody calling your son? Does your kid change his behavior recently?
FEYERICK: So far there's no evidence anyone from Ohio has been recruited and that's just how these Somalis want it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not telling you nothing will happen. I don't know what will happen. But the effort we are doing is making sure that everything stays zero.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: Now there are two parts to this. Law enforcement is trying to deal with the criminal aspects of violence and extremism. When it comes to the religious aspect, the ideology is neighbors and family and friends have to step up.
In fact, there had been some Somali mothers who have come to community leaders and said I'm worried about my child and that leads to an early intervention. One mom told me we didn't work so hard. We didn't escape civil war. Make so many sacrifices just so our kids to come to America and basically themselves and kill other people.
CHETRY: It must be tough, just - you know, tough things actually come to grips with and say to tack this will before it turns into a bigger problem.
FEYERICK: That's exactly right because somebody does something, it reflects on the entire community and so they don't want to bring that kind of scrutiny on to themselves when it is not justified, it is just these individuals.
ROBERTS: Great series this morning. Thanks, Deb for joining us today.
The 14th Amendment, should we change it? The debate over birth right citizenship gains steam. We'll talk to a couple of folks about it next. It's 36 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Thirty nine minutes after the hour, the fight over Arizona's controversial immigration law looks like it's headed all the way to the Supreme Court.
And now some Republicans want to open up a new front. They're calling for hearings on either repealing or revising the 14th Amendment. That's the one that grants U.S. citizenship to any child born here.
They say that it's outlived its usefulness. Their argument that the 14th Amendment was meant for the children of slaves, it is now being used by illegal immigrants to obtain U.S. citizenship for their children.
The White House is calling it a total political play. Joining us now from Washington with more on all of this, Jonathan Turley, law professor at George Washington University and Republican strategist, Leslie Sanchez, author of "You've Come a Long Way, Maybe."
Great to see you this morning. Leslie - let's start with you. Is this really serious? Is this just a political ploy and what do you think about it?
LESLIE SANCHEZ, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Well, I think fundamentally it is not only unconstitutional, but it is un-American. But this isn't the first time this has happened.
If you recall, there were a series of hearings that were held in the early 1990s by partisan Republican, Democrats, coming together talking about the same kind of issues.
As early as 2005, same thing happened again. People have tried to break this apart in many different ways, but the reality is it is coming three months before a political election.
It's coming because of a failure on the federal level to address an immigration problem that is plaguing the states.
ROBERTS: But basically do you think that your Republican colleagues in Congress are making a mistake by bringing this up?
SANCHEZ: will tell you this. There's two clear examples that when Republicans have run on this kind of effort that looks like an anti- immigrant and this is the latest wave of it, we failed miserably.
In 1996, you saw very strong language to this effect in the Republican platform. Lowest percent support among Hispanics particularly. Twenty one percent for Bob Dole, but in 2006, Republicans lost the House and Senate not because of immigration.
People don't go vote necessarily on that issue, but it left a very bad tone. The rhetoric and the heat and this type of immigration debate is very intense and it burns both sides of the aisle.
ROBERTS: Jonathan Turley, what's the sentiment in this country for the 14th Amendment and this idea that, well, maybe in 2010 it's outlived its usefulness?
JONATHAN TURLEY, J.B. AND MAURICE SHAPIRO PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC INTEREST LAW, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: I hope the 14th Amendment has not outlived its usefulness, John. The important thing to remember is that at issue is the very first line of the first section of the 14th Amendment.
And the 14th Amendment was put into the constitution after the Dread/Scott decision, which is a horrible decision that treated freed slaves or escaped citizens as non-citizens. Congress wanted to correct that and they did.
It was also in response to what were called black codes. These were laws put into place by particularly southern states that disenfranchised many recently freed slaves. Some people could analogize that to some laws being applied against illegal immigrants, disenfranchise them in certain public resources.
So there are analogies to be made here. But the constitutional debate itself has largely favored those with the current interpretation.
That is the Supreme Court has indicated in past decisions that they do view the language of the 14th Amendment as granting citizenship upon birth, what's sometimes called law of the ground, as opposed to what's called right of blood which is the standard in some other nations.
ROBERTS: Leslie, you've got some pretty prominent Republicans who are standing behind this idea of hearings to talk about revising or even repealing the 14th Amendment.
Senator Graham from South Carolina and Mitch McConnell, the minority leader, John Kyl, Senator Sessions, John McCain, they all support the hearings. But is there really any broad support in Congress to even talk about this?
SANCHEZ: Nobody's going to take it seriously in an election year. That's the disadvantage. On the left, you can argue that the Democrats have been pandering on this issue of immigration reform, the larger issue here which is what this is all about.
On the right, you can say it is using -- trying to create political heat right before an election. Either way, both parties have mud on their boots on this. And it's a very dangerous, I think, precedent to set to start these kinds of conversations in a very intense election cycle.
Because it looks as if, again, it's anti-immigrant to the latest wave of immigration. In many cases in this day and age it is Hispanic. You're taking what is essentially a problem of 12 million undocumented individuals and making it a problem for 45 million people who are the Latino community in this country.
Everybody is feeling the sting of this. That's the problem with this debate. While there may be merits in a hearing, substantively very little historically has been done on this and again it is more political fodder.
ROBERTS: And Jonathan, you need to have not only broad support in Congress for amending the constitution, but broad support across the country as well.
TURLEY: That's right, John. The framers made it very difficult to amend the constitution. Congress cannot just repeal an amendment. It can't even revise an amendment. They would have to pass a constitutional amendment that would negate the 14th Amendment or change it.
That requires not just a high vote of Congress -- it doesn't involve President Obama, but it would take a high vote of Congress, and then it would take a high vote of the states.
Now, what they could do is pass legislation that adopts an alternative interpretation of the 14th Amendment. There is an interpretation that's been batted around for years. That would trigger a judicial review and take the matter directly before the Supreme Court.
ROBERTS: All right, Jonathan Turley, Leslie Sanchez, great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for joining us. We'll see if this goes anywhere.
CHETRY: John, thanks. Well, still ahead, oppressive heat is baking the south. There is a cold front though in the Midwest. Lot of extreme weather that Rob Marciano's following for us. He's going to check in with us coming up. It's 45 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: It is hot in the city. There's a live look at Atlanta, one jogger out there getting his workout in early. It's the smart thing to do.
Right now, it's 76 degrees, but later on it's going to hit nearly the triple digits today in Atlanta, as well as many other places in the south. So get that workout in earlier or do it in the gym.
ROBERTS: Yes. Rob Marciano's one of those folks who's outside this morning. He's in Piedmont Park, where it's already getting a little bit steamy and will get much steamier as the day goes on. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Morning, guys. I can see that jogger running right past our camera, looking strong, looking good. This is the time of day to get out there and get your exercise in because, as you know, it's going to get warmer come high noon and dangerously hot for - for some folks. And if you are having to work outside, I don't need to tell you what to do to - to stay cool.
Look at these numbers for record highs yesterday, 107 degrees in Little Rock; Wichita almost hit 110; temperatures measured in the shade without humidity, as a reminder; 103 in Memphis for a record high. Seems like six months ago I was standing in that town, talking about the record cold.
Heat index, 105 to 120. Heat warnings are in effect for 13 states, and about 16 states total have heat advisories out. So a huge swath of the central part of the country up and down the Mississippi River under - under advisories today again.
All right, radar, we do have some severe weather rolling across Northern Illinois. That will clip Chicago in the next hour or two, heavy downpours, maybe some gusty winds with that. But notice, it's all kind of going around the heat, and that's going to be the - the idea for the next day or two.
We call this the ring of fire. You got the hazy, hot and humid conditions, and then all around that is where the thunderstorms pop. So the - the cooling afternoon showers and thunderstorms will be few and far between in the core of the heat, which will be with us probably through Friday.
All right, let's talk about Colin. This was a tropical storm yesterday. It has pretty much ripped - got too - got going too fast for its own good, really, and that kind of sheared it apart. But it will kind of hang around in the Atlantic for the next few days and we'll watch it for potential more development as it drifts towards the United States.
Temperatures will be drifting upwards, especially here at Piedmont Park where the dew on the grass is still very heavy this morning, a lot of humidity in the air, and as you guys know, that makes things feel even worse.
Back to you in New York.
CHETRY: All right. You still look cool as a cucumber out there. Hopefully, they'll let you get back in before noon.
MARCIANO: Yes, hopefully. We'll see, guys.
CHETRY: Thanks, Rob.
Well, your top stories just minutes away.
Defining marriage, whether Prop 8 in California is unconstitutional. The decision out today that could allow gay couples across California to say "I do."
ROBERTS: Plus, the fishermen's dilemma, the waters open again, but working for the guys who shut it down may be more profitable. Are the fish really safe to eat?
CHETRY: Also, this guy put bullet holes in his grade school wall. Now, he's trying to stop other kids from going down that same path. How is he doing it? Boxing.
Those stories and much more at the top of the hour.
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ROBERTS: Well, President Obama's poll numbers may have slipped, but one number going up this morning - his age. Today, the most powerful man in the world celebrates his 49th birthday, one away from the big one.
CHETRY: There you go.
Well, our Ed Henry is live at the White House, and the president's actually headed back to his hometown, right, Ed?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORREPONDENT: He is. He's going to get a chance to see some friends. His family, though, is out of town right now. The First Lady, as you know, is in Spain with her daughter Sasha.
And so, he's going to be meeting up with friends, and Robert Gibbs yesterday was pressed a little bit by some of my colleagues about, you know, how the job is aging the president. He acknowledged there's a lot on his plate, but that he still enjoys it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: There's no doubt that it takes an enormous physical and mental strain on - on making the decisions that you make on sending young men and women off to war, or tackling the greatest economic calamity our country has faced since the Great Depression. But I - I know he greatly enjoys it, and it will just require him to get more frequent haircuts.
Yes, ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a debate -
GIBBS: Likely, I'm going to hear about that, but -
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Robert Gibbs joking that he's going to hear about that from the president, because he's basically saying the president's getting more frequent haircuts, snipping out the gray every - every so often, because you see that in - in every president, basically, in recent years. The job does age them.
What is he going to do in Chicago? He's going to have a little quiet dinner with friends, we're told, but also do some fund-raising. That's - that's always a prime opportunity, a birthday, as some of his fellow Democrats are going to be honoring him, actually, tomorrow in Chicago. He gets there tonight for that dinner, but then tomorrow will have a big fund-raiser in honor of his birthday.
ROBERTS: Robert Gibbs sounded for a second there like he was trapped in the Washington Echo Chamber. But if he's - if he's spending his birthday without his wife and kids today, is there plans for a bigger celebration at some point?
HENRY: Yes. I'm hearing that there's sort of this hush-hush effort to put together another party next weekend here at the White House when the First Lady and the rest of the family is back, and there's going to be just a very tight list of senior staff, some close friends, some family, a chance for them to all come together. It will be a few days late, but I'm sure he'll still be appreciative there, John.
CHETRY: It's a surprise party, so don't tell anyone, Ed.
HENRY: Yes. I think we just did. I don't think it's a surprise. But you - you should keep your schedule open, you know? You know, maybe there will be some invites out.
CHETRY: You never know.
ROBERTS: It's certainly going to be a huge party next year. No question about that. HENRY: Oh, the big five-oh, yes.
ROBERTS: Yes. Thanks, Ed.
HENRY: Thank you.
CHETRY: All right. We're going to take a quick break. Your top stories coming your way right after the break.
Fifty-six minutes past the hour now.
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