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American Morning

American Aid Workers Killed in Afghanistan; A Look at Tom Little, the Slain Aid Worker; Gitmo's Youngest Detainee to Face Military Commission; Lemonade Stand Justice; Private Manning's Private Life; Pakistan Floods Kill 1,200, Affect Millions; Mosques in America; Manhunt for Escaped Convicts; Body Scanners for N.Y. Airports; Walking the Amazon

Aired August 09, 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 Monday morning to you. Thanks so much for joining us on the Most News in the Morning on this 9th day of August. I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. We have a lot to talk about this morning, so we get right to it.

First, it's being called a cowardly and despicable act. U.S. officials are condemning the Taliban for killing six American aid workers in Afghanistan. Loved ones are remembering the victims as dedicated men and women on a mission to help poor villagers in a dangerous country. This morning we're live in Kabul finding out a lot more about the murdered volunteers.

ROBERTS: Unless your name is Dorothy, you can't get much closer than this to a tornado. Storm chasers hit the mother lode this weekend when twisters tore through western Minnesota. Rob Marciano tracking the extreme weather for us this morning.

CHETRY: And after eight years behind bars, Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr is finally getting his day in court. The trial is the first real test of the Obama administration's new rules for military commissions. We're going to get a preview and a live report just ahead.

ROBERTS: And, of course, the amFIX blog is up and running. Join the live conversation going on right now. Just go to CNN.com/amFIX.

CHETRY: First though, we begin with learning much more this morning about a mission of mercy in Afghanistan that turned into a massacre. Afghan police say that 10 medical workers, including six Americans, were shot and killed execution style in a remote part of the northern Afghanistan area Thursday.

ROBERTS: The Taliban was quick to claim responsibility saying that the people were executed for spying and promoting Christianity. It's a claim that the head of the aid group denies.

Our Jill Dougherty is live for us in Kabul this morning. She just got out of a news conference there moments ago. And, Jill, what did we learn from that news conference?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, you know, it was a pretty emotional news conference because after all, this organization, the International Assistance Mission, has lost 10 really good people and a couple of them very, very experienced. So what they described were as they put it, not saints but consummate professionals, very experienced people who many of them had worked for years in this country bringing help. And one of the things that they especially do is eye clinics. And this group, it was a team that was trekking over 100 miles into very, very dense forest and going to people who got absolutely no health care and as you said, killed by the Taliban.

They did want to answer at this news conference some of the allegations by the Taliban and other militant groups about being spies, about carrying bibles. The head of the organization, the executive director, Dirk Frans, said absolutely not. They don't carry bibles and they do not proselytize. And he also, after this news conference here was over, we talk to Dirk Frans separately about the leader, the team leader, Tom Little. Let's hear what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIRK FRANS, EXEC. DIRECTOR OF INTERNATIONAL ASSISTANCE MISSION: There was, as far as I was concerned nobody was (INAUDIBLE) I've only been in this country and this position for two-and-a-half years. He had been here 35 years. I was officially in charge, but there are few decisions that I would make that I wouldn't consult Tom about because he just had all the history, all the background. He had the insights that nobody else did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Wow. And we should tell you that we've lost contact with Jill Dougherty. As you can imagine, things are a little sketchy getting back and forth from Afghanistan. Imagine, 35 years he spent in Afghanistan and then runs into this group of people. There are suspicions that they were criminals more than organized Taliban.

CHETRY: Right. There was some reporting that they'd actually been robbed. Definitely they were hurt and that some of the villagers, after they were shot and killed, some of the villagers warned them it was a dangerous area, and they said, no, we're here to help, it will be OK.

ROBERTS: Yes. You would think with 35 years of experience you get a real sense of where to go, so this is obviously something that they had not anticipated happening.

We're learning more this morning about the victims of this horrible attack including the group's leader.

CHETRY: Yes, Tom Little, that was who we just heard from. He was an optometrist from New York who made his home and raised his family in Afghanistan for more than three decades. He treated thousands of poor patients. Allan Chernoff has more on his life and his tragic death.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, Tom Little was passionate about helping Afghanistan. He felt it was his mission in life, even if it put him at risk.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PASTOR STAN KEY, LOUDONVILLE COMMUNITY CHURCH: Tom Little stood right here four Sundays ago and he told us about this trip. And then we were here and he said please pray, there's dangers.

CHERNOFF (voice-over): Optometrist Tom Little knew he was living a life of danger, but it was to do God's work, he passionately believed.

KEY: A lot of us talk the gospel. A few people live the gospel. And Tom lived it.

CHERNOFF: For 33 years, he lived it. He and his wife Libby raised their three daughters in Afghanistan so Tom could provide eye care to the Afghans for free.

LIBBY LITTLE, WIFE OF SLAIN AID WORKER: There was danger. There's been danger at times, rogues, you know, along the way. But it really was what we thought God wanted us to do and we -- I felt it was a privilege to -- and it was a joy to be doing what we were supposed to do.

CHERNOFF: To provide eye care in Afghanistan, where it is badly needed, the Littles endured rocket attacks during war time and numerous hospital encounters.

LITTLE: We've often just stopped everything when they've held us sort of hostage, saying, well, we're not going to let you go any further. And we'll do eye care on them or serve them. That's OK. And then they'd let us go.

CHERNOFF: But after surviving close calls for three decades, tom Little was shot and killed Thursday along with nine other aid workers. An attack for which the Taliban has claimed responsibility.

KEY: It was an act of evil in its rawest, ugliest form.

CHERNOFF: Even in the face of such brutality, Libby and her friends say Tom's murder was not in vain.

TOM HALE, FRIEND OF SLAIN AID WORKER: I think it is going to inspire more people, more people who are on the fence, more people who realize that, you know, staying in a nice comfortable situation in America is perhaps not what God wants me to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHERNOFF: Tom's wife, Libby, happens to be in the United States because the couple is expecting their first grandchild -- John and Kiran. ROBERTS: Allan Chernoff this morning. Allan, thanks.

Violent weather rocked the Midwest over the weekend. A storm chaser capturing some amazing pictures of a twister up close spinning across the countryside in western Minnesota. It ripped apart a farmhouse. You can see pieces of the building being tossed into the air. You can hear the commentary in the background.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Oh, yes. The National Weather Service says as many as seven tornadoes may have touched down in southeast North Dakota and western Minnesota. No injuries, thankfully, reported. Wow.

CHETRY: That picture is --

ROBERTS: Amazing pictures.

CHETRY: I have never seen a funnel cloud look like that before. That was amazing.

Six minutes past the hour. We get a check of the weather now. Rob Marciano in the extreme weather center. Can you believe that? That shot?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, gorgeous stuff. And no injuries, that's always a good thing.

This time of year, the storm track for severe weather typically shifts to the north and you'll often see things in the northern plains and the western Great Lakes. And that's exactly what we saw yesterday. These are the storm reports for Saturday where the most intense thunderstorms and tornadoes were popping up. And that video certainly striking. I'd be happy to take a look at it again just to highlight the forces of nature. It is certainly mind boggling what this storm did.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: Yes, get out of the way there, dude.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no, no, no, no. no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: That is a -- they're going to go out there and do a storm survey on it and see exactly how strong it was. Threat for severe weather today again across that same part of the world, maybe a little bit closer towards the Rockies.

But the heat unfortunately is going to be the main focus again, probably this week. Ten, 15 degrees above average in the highlighted areas you see there. The only cool spot is going to be out on the west coast, so dangerous levels of heat again. We'll have heat advisories and warnings quite frequently not only today but right on through the next few days. So this persistent heat this summer, guys, doesn't want to let up and it will creep up into the northeast as well. So we'll talk more about how to cool off once again in the next few days.

CHETRY: All right, Rob. Thanks so much.

Also new this morning, a belated birthday celebration for the president this weekend while the rest of the first family was on vacation. Some close friends joined President Obama yesterday at the White House for a seafood barbecue. The White House tells us that the shrimp from the Gulf Coast was included on the menu. And in one of the shots you saw that was him being reunited with his youngest daughter Sasha and his wife Michelle Obama as they came back from their trip to Spain.

ROBERTS: Yes. And he had he spent his birthday with some close friends in Chicago. Right?

On Saturday, some friends joined the president for a round of golf at Andrews Air Force Base. And from there the president went to Fort McNair, played basketball for an audience of wounded servicemen. Joining him on the court, an impressive line-up of former and current NBA stars -- LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Grant Hill and Magic Johnson. The president turned 49 on Wednesday and when you're the president, I guess you can get some of your closest friends from the NBA to come for a little pick-up game with you.

CHETRY: Talk about pressure, though, playing against the best of the best in the big leagues.

Well, meanwhile, the first lady's mother/daughter summer getaway in Spain is actually stirring up a bit of a PR problem for the White House. The administration insists that the Obamas paid for all costs associated with the vacation, including the food, rooms at the five- star hotel which can run anywhere from $500 to $2,000 a night, and the cost of two commercial first class tickets. European newspapers have been going to town reporting on the size of the Obama entourage. One New York columnist from the "Daily News" called the first lady a modern day Marie Antoinette.

ROBERTS: And Hollywood is mourning the loss of Patricia Neal. The actress died yesterday. She was 84 years old. There are reports that Neal was battling lung cancer. Of course, she was best known for her role in "Hud" and is remembered for making a remarkable comeback after a series of strokes left her temporarily unable to speak and walk. CHETRY: Still ahead, Guantanamo Bay's youngest detainee is about to face a military commission. The trial will be the first test of President Obama's new rules for military tribunals. Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is following developments, and we'll get a live report from her just ahead.

It's 10 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Thirteen minutes after the hour. We're back with the Most News in the Morning.

And on the security watch this Monday morning, the long delayed trial of Gitmo detainee Omar Khadr set to begin this week. Khadr, a Canadian citizen, is accused of killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan eight years ago.

CHETRY: It's the first trial under the Obama administration's new guidelines for military commissions. Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is following the story for us this morning live from Washington. So it's an understatement to say everybody's going to be watching this especially in legal circles and political circles to see how it goes down.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Khadr is the youngest Guantanamo detainee and the only westerner held there, and his trial has drawn international criticism and is also being closely watched because it is the first test of the Obama administration's revised military commission system.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE (voice-over): Omar Khadr, sobbing during an interrogation at Guantanamo Bay in 2003.

OMAR KHADR, GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEE: You don't care about me, that's what.

MESERVE: For eight years, the young Canadian has been in custody there. This week, he is finally slated to have his day in court before a military commission. Khadr was 15 when he was picked up on the battlefield in Afghanistan.

JOHN ALTENBURG, FMR. MILITARY COMMISSIONS OFFICIAL: There's evidence that he was making bombs. There's evidence that he was placing bombs, you know, as IEDs on roads in Afghanistan. And there's evidence that he is the person that threw a grenade that killed an American soldier.

MESERVE: Khadr's attorney strongly disagrees.

LT. COL. JON JACKSON, KHADR'S ATTORNEY: The evidence in this case is clear -- clear -- that Omar Khadr did not throw the grenade that killed Sergeant Christopher Speer. MESERVE: Omar Khadr's attorney says his client, now 23, was a child soldier, that interrogators threatened him with rape to obtain confessions and that his client should be tried in federal court rather than what he calls an illegitimate, illegal and unequal military commission.

JACKSON: Separate is always unequal when it comes to a justice system. If you have a justice system that is set aside for non- citizens, it will never have validity.

MESERVE: Even recent reforms passed by Congress don't give defendants in military commissions the protections they would have in federal court. But a former top Pentagon lawyer believes they are fair and all detainees should be tried there.

ALTENBURG: I don't see the need or -- or have the desire to put those people who are not citizens, who were detained on a battlefield, who were fighting against United States soldiers, I don't see giving them the same rights that United States citizens would have.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Khadr's case is expected to move forward this week and its success or failure could affect the administration's decision on where to try the more notorious 9/11 conspirators -- court or commission.

John, Kiran, back to you.

ROBERTS: Jeanne Meserve in Washington this morning. Jeanne, thanks.

CHETRY: Well, for the first time, a woman will head one of the 16 major U.S. intelligence agencies. Letitia Long will formally accept command of the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency today. Long has spent 32 years in government service, including more than 20 years in the intelligence community.

ROBERTS: Well, the actress whose sexual harassment allegations led to the resignation of Hewlett-Packard's CEO Mark Hurd is speaking out. Hear what she has to say about the relationship and the fact that he was forced out of the company because of it.

CHETRY: Also ahead, an A.M. follow up about a young entrepreneur from Portland, Oregon who had her lemonade stand shut down. You may remember this story.

Well, she's back in business, and sales are booming. Wait until you hear what her mom is going to let her do with all that money.

It's 16 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Nineteen minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. The woman at the center of a sexual harassment claim that led to the resignation of Hewlett-Packard's CEO Mark Hurd is now saying that she's sorry he lost his job. Jodi Fisher, an actress, reportedly worked as a contractor for Hewlett-Packard between 2007 and 2009.

Fisher says that she and Hurd, quote, "never had an affair." Her harassment charge, though, eventually led to the discovery of inaccurate expense reports filed by Hurd that were intended to conceal what the company called a close personal relationship between the two. HP says that Hurd violated its standards of conduct policy.

ROBERTS: At midnight tonight, certain BlackBerry services in Saudi Arabia could be banned, but there are reports the smartphone maker is close to an agreement that would give the Saudis greater access to encrypted information sent by BlackBerry devices.

Saudi Arabian officials are concerned that BlackBerry e-mails and messages pose a security threat because the information is routed through overseas computers, making it difficult for local governments to track the communications.

CHETRY: Now, when it comes to landing a job, being pretty is not always a plus. Researchers at the University of Colorado's business school in Denver found that attractive women face discrimination when applying for certain types of, quote, "masculine jobs."

What would those be? Well, research manager, finance director, mechanical engineer and also blue-collar jobs like tow truck driver and hardware sales person. But the study also found that attractive women are generally preferred in, quote, "every other kind of job."

ROBERTS: And an A.M. follow up for you now. You may remember the little girl near Portland, Oregon we told you about last week. Her lemonade stand was shut down because she and her mom didn't have the appropriate $120 permit to open up such a stand.

Well, now she has an apology from county officials and she set up shop again, and mom says business is booming.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARIA FIFE, DAUGHTER'S LEMONADE STAND BACK OPEN: I am very overwhelmed. I don't know what to think, and we're so appreciative. This means so much for us as a family.

Some people have just driven by and given $10 and not even wanted the lemonade. It looks like we're going to Disneyland, because we were going to use the money for Disneyland souvenirs, so I -- that's probably what we'll do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Going to use the money for Disneyland souvenirs. Now they can pay for the whole trip. This time, seven-year-old Julie Murphy and her mom put the stand up at a tire shop. A local radio station also pitched in to help out. So -- I mean, we talked about this last week and this was just one of those, can you believe that they would do something as stupid as that? Shut down a little kid's lemonade stand because she didn't have a permit?

CHETRY: Yes. They did that in Central Park a couple years back, too, and the public outcry was like this. So, congrats. Have fun at Disney.

ROBERTS: Don't they have something better to do?

CHETRY: Apparently not.

Well, he went from an unknown intelligence analyst in the army to the man suspected of the largest military leak in American history. So who is Private Bradley Manning? Our Pentagon team takes a look, coming up.

Twenty-two minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Twenty-five minutes past the hour.

You know, a lot of activity this weekend outside of the Marine base in Quantico, Virginia, protesters lining up, many rallying to support Army Private Bradley Manning. Military officials suspect Manning of leaking tens of thousands of pages of Afghan war documents to the website wikileaks.org. Well, just a few hundred yards away a handful of counter protesters held signs with bloody hands calling the leak treasonous.

So how does a computer savvy 22-year-old go from an intelligence analyst in Iraq to the man accused of the biggest military leak in history? Well, Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence is investigating the private life of Private Bradley Manning.

Good morning, Chris.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kiran. Yes, we had CNN teams fan out from the Great Plains right here in the states all the way to Great Britain trying to get a handle -- a better handle, really, on what makes Private Manning tick.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): Private Bradley Manning's small town life ended at the age of 13. His parents separated and his mom moved them out of Oklahoma, overseas to Wales. There in the U.K., CNN tracked down old friends who told us Manning didn't back down from school bullies.

TOM DYER, PREP SCHOOL FRIEND: He would always stick up for himself and for others. Even if he knew he couldn't particularly win the battle.

LAWRENCE: And how he loved computers.

JAMES KIRKPATRICK, PREP SCHOOL FRIEND: He was doing hardcoding as a programming hardcodings or the most complicated stuff from the ages of 14, 15. And he's really an intelligent guy (ph).

LAWRENCE (on camera): Now, eventually, Manning's skill with computers would get him in trouble. He'd end up here at Quantico locked up in solitary confinement. But there were other steps along the way.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): We know Manning moved back to the states five years ago.

LAWRENCE (on camera): One night he came to this gay bar here in D.C., met another young man who had been in the Army, but this man had a very positive experience about being gay in the military and he talked to Manning about the discipline and everything else he had learned.

"TIM", FRIEND OF PFC. BRADLEY MANNING: I would say that it started out as a physical relationship that turned into a friendship.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): We'll call him Tim to protect his privacy.

LAWRENCE (on camera): What did he tell you about his background?

TIM: He was, you know, very hurt as a person. He felt verbally, emotionally abused because of his sexuality. And so I thought maybe the Army could do for him what it had done to me.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): It didn't. Tim says Manning was verbally abused right from boot camp.

TIM: Brad just took the harassment as, well, he's making fun of me, you know, and that's not right and I feel bad about it.

LAWRENCE (on camera): What did he write or -- or say to you about the fact that the army put him into that -- that MOS?

TIM: He said I can't believe I'm an Intel analyst. I can't believe they made me an Intel analyst.

LAWRENCE: So you last saw him two years ago. And at that point, he -- he had just gotten into a relationship with someone that -- that you told us had sort of a profound effect --

TIM: Yes.

LAWRENCE: -- on his outlook.

TIM: Through him, Brad was able to really sort of discover in himself, you know, that it was wrong, the discrimination, and how "Don't Ask, Don't Tell", for example, sort of created an atmosphere in which that could happen because of -- of, you know, silence, because of your required silence.

LAWRENCE (voice-over): On Manning's Facebook page, he did take stands, supporting the repeal of California's ban on gay marriage and ending the law "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

TIM: In my opinion, I feel that sexuality -- his own sexuality and what had happened to him in the military, coupled with the policy of the military played a significant role in the reason as to why he did what he did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: Oh -- oh, really, what he's accused of. Absolutely nothing has been proven. In fact, we mentioned that Manning is in prison right now but that's because he's accused of leaking a secret military video also to WikiLeaks. He has not been charged with leaking those Afghanistan documents, but a Pentagon spokesman did tell us that he is the main person of interest right now, Kiran.

ROBERTS: And -- Chris, as all of this swirls, as well, we're hearing that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange may be preparing to release some more documents that he has in his position -- in his possession. What do we know about that?

LAWRENCE: Yes, John. If you go on WikiLeaks' website, there is an encrypted file and it is labeled "Insurance." It is 20 times larger than the Afghanistan dump that we just saw. One official told me that these may be intelligence reports. They could be diplomatic messages.

And I talked to a Pentagon official who reads the word "Insurance" to mean intimidation. They think that WikiLeaks is trying to get the Pentagon to sort of back off some of their demands. The Pentagon official just told me that the Pentagon is not going to do that, they still want those documents back, John and Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. We'll see where it ends up. Thanks so much, Chris Lawrence.

ROBERTS: Crossing the half hour now. It means it's time for this morning's top stories.

American officials are condemning the Taliban for the execution of 10 medical aid workers in Afghanistan, including six Americans among them. U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry calls last week's massacre a, quote, "cowardly and despicable act."

This morning, the head of the International Assistance Mission denied the Taliban's claims that the victims were missionaries trying to preach Christianity.

CHETRY: The Obama administration is putting on a full-court press to show that they don't think that the Gulf oil disaster is over. The president's point man on the coast, Admiral Thad Allen, was on "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley. He stresses that this is still a catastrophe despite the well being capped and the kill operations on that well working. Many beaches are also looking a lot better.

ROBERTS: The 23-year-old Omar Khadr, the youngest detainee being held by the U.S. military in Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, is set to be tried before a military tribunal this week. He is charged with terrorist acts and killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan. It's the first trial under the Obama administration's new military commission system that adds protections for defendants and limits on the kind of evidence that can be used against them.

CHETRY: Rescue workers are digging through mud and sludge with shovels 10 feet deep in some areas after landslides swept away homes, cars and bridges in northwest China. They were triggered by torrential rain over the weekend. There's more rain in the forecast. It is the worst flooding that China has seen in a decade. Authorities there say that 1,300 people are missing and at least 127 are dead.

ROBERTS: And in Pakistan, the United Nations says millions of people are suffering and billions of dollars may be needed to help that country recover from the worst flooding in its history. Aid agencies are boosting their relief efforts in almost every part of Pakistan right now.

CHETRY: The suffering is said to be on par with the grief caused by an earthquake that devastated the country five years ago. Pakistani officials say, about 1,200 people have died.

Dan Rivers is live for us this morning in Pakistan.

And, Dan, update us now on the conditions today.

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this huge volume of water continues to push down the Indus River and it's causing massive problems further south now in Punjab and Sindh. Up here in the north of the country, well, the weather is still a big problem. It's still hampering flights, there's still been downpours, and they're still picking through the debris in the Swat Valley, which is one of the hardest hit areas.

The latest figures we have are that officially confirmed dead 1,203 people. Twelve million, the Pakistan government says, are affected in one way or another by these floods. Thirteen hundred and seventeen people are wounded and 278,000 people have been rescued.

And there have been further landslides overnight caused by rains which are further hampering the effort to get into these areas and help the people there.

ROBERTS: And you were supposed to go on a relief mission with the U.S. military. It turned out that that mission was scrubbed. What was the problem?

RIVERS: It's just the weather. And the problem is visibility. There's been a lot of fog and haze hanging around the airfield and that area into the Swat Valley, which just means those Chinooks just can't get off the ground. They managed to get some supplies in last Thursday. They said they delivered 33 tons of supplies and got 824 people out of the area, rescuing them and bringing them back down to a safer area.

We're being told in the last hour that the weather is clearing again now. So, they might now be able to get off the grouped for one mission perhaps this afternoon, but they've only got what may be three hours of daylight left here.

So, it's just incredibly frustrating for these guys. They come over from Afghanistan at the invitation of the Pakistan government. They are very keen to help, they're desperate to get up there and deliver the tons of food and supplies and medical equipment and stoves and so on that they have sitting at the airport. But it's the weather -- it's just holding them back.

CHETRY: Well, hopefully we'll get a break in the weather and get a chance to get up there today. Dan Rivers for us in Pakistan -- thank you.

ROBERTS: Coming up on the Most News in the Morning: far from the fight over an Islamic center and mosque near New York's ground zero, opposition to the building of the mosque stretches clear across the country. And some of the protests have been downright ugly. We'll talk with an Islamic scholar about all of this coming right up.

It's 35 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

ROBERTS: Thirty-eight minutes after the hour. We're back with the Most News in the Morning.

We've been reporting on the heated controversy here in New York City over a planned Islamic center and mosque near ground zero, and it appears opposition to Muslim houses of worship is growing nationwide.

Akbar Ahmed is a professor of Islamic studies at American University. He's also the former Pakistani ambassador to the U.K. He just completed a year-long study of Islam in America, visiting 100 mosques in 75 cities. His findings are included in a new book, "Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam." And he joins us now from Washington.

Mr. Ambassador, great to see you this morning. Thanks so much for being with us.

AKBAR AHMED, AMERICAN UNIV., PROF. OF ISLAMIC STUDIES: Good morning, John.

ROBERTS: Why this opposition to mosques in America? We're not just talking about the one that's in proximity to ground zero. We're talking about another mosque in Nashville that has been heavily protested, and one clear across the country in Temecula, California. What's going on?

AHMED: John, it's a very important and interesting question because the focus has been entirely on the New York mosque and I can understand the cultural sensitivities around that one. But over the last few years the gap, the chasm, that we thought had closed between Muslims and non-Muslims after 9/11, we found in the field that that had not happened.

And there are many reasons -- the continuing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the failure of the Muslim leadership to really explain Islam and its identity to Americans, the failure of Americans to see Muslims as genuinely legitimate citizens. And then, of course, the role of the media which tends to emphasize the negative or the more violent aspects of Muslim culture and society, and all this has combined to really create a kind of negative atmosphere around mosques.

There's almost an atmosphere of hatred and intolerance. And what we're seeing, as we saw in the field, some mosques being attacked in terms of broken windows, some just graffiti and some being firebombed.

ROBERTS: You mention, Mr. Ambassador, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. What about recent terror attacks here in the United States -- or attempted terror attacks?

AHMED: Well, John, those terror attacks, the homegrown terrorists, I maintain in this book of mine -- and we have incredible data, really rich data, I don't think people have been to mosques and talked to people like we have talked -- that these homegrown terrorists are really emerging from this chasm that has opened up, and we need to watch these because these youngsters that are Americans. They are suspended between two cultures, which are pulling them in different directions.

Who do they turn to for advice and guidance? Their relation with the older generation of immigrant parents are not always very good and cordial. Who they turn to? The imam? The imam is often from Egypt, the south Asia -- they know little about American culture.

ROBERTS: Yes.

AHMED: Who do these boys talk to in terms of dating, drugs, drinking -- all the issues that concern a lot of the young? And in reaction to this, they're very often turn toward what they think is a definition of Islam, which is sometimes violent and sometimes extremist.

ROBERTS: A recent study, Mr. Ambassador, by Duke University found that mosques in this country, as well as community organizations, can actually turn people away from the fundamentalist or radical version or perception of Islam at the very least. But you say it's a lot more complicated than that after visiting all these mosques across the country?

AHMED: John, it's very complicated. And I as a scholar, I'm not going to simplistic analysis.

Take the Muslim community, it's tiny but it's so very -- the entire Muslim world is here.

Then we have the African-Americans, very exemplary. These are very marvelous people. They are American and they are Muslim at the same time.

Then we have Indonesians and Pakistanis and Moroccans, but they have different cultures, with the different languages, traditions.

And then the tensions in the mosque -- in the boards of the mosque, running the mosque, for leadership between these particular groups.

So it's much more complicated than seeing a community and saying this is a monolith. And most important, the point I'm trying to establish in my book, that there's an interconnectedness with what happens here with what is happening over there in the Muslim world.

So, what happens there in Afghanistan and Pakistan makes an impact here -- like this dreadful, terrible, unacceptable killing of these doctors in Afghanistan. And I know their value there. And the impact here on the American public and that feeds into the sense of Islamophobia which in term puts pressure on people in mosques and pushes people more towards, I would say, a radical position than the one they want (ph).

ROBERTS: As you mentioned at the beginning of this, Mr. Ambassador, of course, the reason why everyone is talking about this across the country is the opposition to the mosque at ground zero. It does have its supporters, Mayor Bloomberg among them. But you are of the mind that, maybe it's not a great idea to put it there.

AHMED: You know, John, I'm completely for a mosque being built as a house of worship or any house of worship. This is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. It's a place of worship.

ROBERTS: Sure.

AHMED: You think of God, you think of the divine, you uplift yourself. But again, Muslims have to be much more culturally sensitive. Ground zero, the World Trade Center site, this has -- this has become a symbol to Americans and the wounds are still not healed. The wounds are quite raw.

And to many Americans -- I would say, to most Americans, this is almost like putting salt in the wound. So, I think both Muslims and non-Muslims have to be much more culturally sensitive to each other. We're living in difficult times. Whites and non-whites, Muslims and non-Muslims, everyone is feeling under siege.

ROBERTS: And at the same time, Mr. Ambassador, the flip side of that coin is the reaction among non-Muslims in this country to what's going on with not only the mosque at ground zero but as we mentioned Nashville, Temecula, California. There's a pastor in Florida who is leading the idea of a Quran burning to mark 9/11. Some of these protests against these mosques across the country, people brought dogs with them to these protest as a direct insult to the Muslim faith.

You know, when you look at -- and you said, freedom of religion is enshrined in the Constitution, when you look at that this sort of protest, against the establishment of a mosque in certain communities, what does that say about America to the rest of the world?

AHMED: You know, John, this frightens me because I've had the pleasure of meeting General David Petraeus, who was the commander in Afghanistan. Now, his entire philosophy and policy are based in winning hearts and minds of the Muslim world so that the militants are marginalized and our troops are safer.

Now, this kind of fanaticism and intolerance, I would say, against the minority religion in America feeds into exactly the propaganda in Afghanistan, Pakistan, where the local people are saying that America is an enemy of Islam. These images fit into this perfectly, therefore the lines for drawing the militants are unending precisely because of this. It is undermining our efforts abroad and weakening, not strengthening America abroad.

And I would implore people like Pastor Terry Jones in Florida to think about the consequences, both as a good Christian, as a good American, and as someone concerned with America's image abroad.

ROBERTS: Well, there are some terrific insights in your new book. And, Mr. Ambassador, we thank you for coming on this morning. We really appreciate it. It's great to see you again.

AHMED: Thank you so much, John.

ROBERTS: Kiran?

CHETRY: Forty-five minutes past the hour right now.

Still to come on the Most News in the Morning: there are some severe storms in the Midwest part of the country. Rob Marciano is going to be along with the travel forecast this morning right after the break.

Also, coming up in just 10 minutes, the hikers of the Amazon -- a 4,000-mile journey is nearing completion. We're going to find out how they did -- coming up.

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CHETRY: Seventy-four degrees right now in New York City. Clear. Looks a little hazy from that picture, but you know, you never can tell. Ninety-two degrees for a high today. Another pretty hot one. Pretty muggy one today for August.>

ROBERTS: Yes, the heat is back on again.

New this morning, a manhunt for two escaped killers and their accomplice now focused in and around Yellowstone National Park. Authorities say, John McCluskey and Tracy Province, who escaped from an Arizona prison ten days ago may have split up. They say evidence links them to a double murder in New Mexico. Police describe the two as very dangerous and very desperate.

CHETRY: Also, controversial full body scanners now coming to New York's three major airports. The screening device which produces near-naked images of passengers will be installed next month at LaGuardia, Kennedy, and New York Liberty airports. Passengers who don't want to be scanned can opt for a pat-down instead and walk through the standard metal detector. Full body scanners are now in use at over 40 airports. The TSA plans to have more than 450 in place by the end of the year.

ROBERTS: Get the (ph) bug spray and the Calamine lotion ready. A British hiker was set to complete a historic journey this morning. A treacherous walk that started back in April of 2008. That's when Ed Stafford set out to become the first person to walk the entire length of the Amazon River, more than 4,200 miles. The explorer is on a mission to raise awareness for the disappearing rain forest and is also raising money for five charities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED STAFFORD, BRITISH EXPLORER: (INAUDIBLE) and deforestation is a subject interesting for school kids. Following a (ph) British explorer down the length of the Amazon is actually quite a fun way, and we had such a positive response.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Stafford is a former army captain and has faced some danger along the way like pit vipers, piranhas, anacondas, locals with bows, arrows, machetes and shotguns, but he says the worst part has been the damn mosquitoes! You can imagine.

CHETRY: Right. The mosquitoes more troublesome than the anaconda.

ROBERTS: You know, the mosquitoes in the Amazon are big enough that they got a business class section.

CHETRY: So, they stay away from the anacondas. They avoid them. They scare them. Congrats, guys. I mean, quite a hike.

Fifty minutes past the hour right now. Let's get a check of the morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center. That was pretty extreme, huh, hiking through the Amazon. I can you see you doing it.

MARCIANO: Yes, maybe an afternoon stroll, but I wouldn't do it for two days or two years, that's for sure. Hats off to those guys, and yes, bring the bug repellent next time, I supposed. I want you to check this video again that's striking out of Minnesota. Actually, this is a tornado that went across two states, started in North Dakota and across the border over to Wilkin County, Minnesota. This rated in the EF-3 by the National Weather Service. The winds may very well have been 165 miles an hour or more. You see the -- just how strong that storm was and just how close these guys got to it. However, they report no injuries, but obviously, but quite a bit of damage as some of the farm structures in around the Wilkin County, Minnesota. It wasn't the only tornado in that area. There was one a little bit weaker down farther to the south, and we got a cluster of thunderstorms that now rolling across parts of the Western Great Lakes. Here's Chicago up through Sheboygan, Milwaukee and through Milwaukee, some rough weather this morning, but it's quickly crossing the southern part of lake Michigan and will be diminishing later on today, but mostly heavy rain and maybe some lightning with this.

The big story again is going to be the heat. I mean, and it will last at least through midweek today so much similar to last week. This pink showing up on the map meaning heat warnings are up and that heat indexes will make it feel like 105, 110, maybe as much as 120, and that crazy heat and humidity will be pumped up into the middle part of the country and also into the northeast. Ninety-five degrees expected for a high temperature in Washington, D.C. and 92 degrees in New York City. So, stay cool up there.

I wanted to point this out. We got a little something that's going on just off the coast of Florida. National Hurricane Center is watching this for potentially developing, but it's so close to land and it's close to some unfavorable winds. I don't think it will develop into much, but it's the time of year. So, we'll keep an eye on it. I just want you to be aware of it, and the heat is going to be the bigger story, I think, over the next few days. You got to stay cool. John, Kiran, back to you.

ROBERTS: Actually, the storm system -- the storm season, rather, the hurricane season has been remarkably quiet given the forecast that we have.

MARCIANO: True, but when we go from an El Nino to a La Nina over history, things really start to pop in the second two weeks of August and can go right through -- for whatever reason. We don't know why that is, but the time we've had El Nino go to La Nina like we had this year have had incredibly active years, and they all started late. So, keep your guard up.

CHETRY: That's Rob saying, just you wait. Perhaps, you spoke too soon.

ROBERTS: Thankfully, they got that oil well plugged before the hurricane season really cranked up in the Gulf. Thanks, Rob.

This morning's top stories just minutes away now, including stopping the college slide. The president addressing education in Texas today and why we have fallen from number one to number 12 in getting our diplomas. Is it a lack of focus, money, preparation or all of the above? Education secretary, Arne Duncan, joins us live.

Also, Toyota recalls helped free a man. He spent three years in prison for a deadly crash. Well now, all the charges have been dropped. He's going to join us with his story and his message to the victims' families. Those stories and much more at the top of the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back. Fifty-six minutes past the hour right now. Hard times have hit the Mountain Lake Hotel. It's west of Roanoke, Virginia. Does it ring a bell? You may know it not by its real name, but if you loved 1980s movies, you'll know it is Kellerman's from "Dirty Dancing."

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(SINGING)

CHETRY (voice-over): I could listen to this song all day. The "Roanoke Times" reports that the owners of the Mountain Lake Hotel have cut their staff by more than half trying to make ends meet. They blame the bad business on two things, the economy, and the resort's famous lake is down 50 feet because of a natural cycle drains every few hundred years.

ROBERTS (voice-over): Wow. That's amazing. A natural cycle that drains it down every -- wow --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS (on-camera): How do you prevent against that?

CHETRY (on-camera): That's really sad.

ROBERTS: It really is. Don't cry. She's all tearing up. Wow.

CHETRY: I'm sorry. When you see that movie, you long for the good old days.

ROBERTS: Wow. I didn't realize it.

CHETRY: I'm not crying about that. I'm sorry. Just the movie, man. Just loved it.

Anyway, speaking of movies by the way, this weekend at the box office, everyone is raving about "Inception" got knocked off by Will Ferrell's newest vehicle (ph) "The Other Guys,"

ROBERTS: Have you seen the "Inception" yet?

CHETRY: No.

ROBERTS: You give me, I think the DVD (ph). No, you better go and see it.

It's about two-and-a-half minutes to the top of the hour. Top stories coming your way right after the break. Stay with us.

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