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American Morning
Economic Worries Sink President's Approval; Thousands Rush for Federal Housing Aid in Atlanta; Charlie Rangel Holds a Fundraiser and 80th Birthday Celebration; India BlackBerry Ban?; Bringing Our Heroes Home; Islam's "Virtual Battle"; No Experience Required?; Local Media Reporting Serial Slasher Caught
Aired August 12, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's Thursday. It is August 12th today. Glad you're with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts. Thanks so much for being with us. Lots to talk about this morning. Let's get you right to it.
It feels like we just went in reverse. Wall Street waking up in the red for the year. The markets and bad economic news from around the world now becoming a major problem politically for the White House, which may have mistakenly said this was the summer of recovery. Ed Henry has got some brand new poll numbers for us this morning.
CHETRY: Ten thousand people were expected. Three times that number turned out, waiting in line for days to sign up for public housing in suburban Atlanta. The crowd surging caused a panic. Dozens of people were injured and police in riot gear had to come to restore order.
ROBERTS: And a CNN exclusive, the search for hundreds of Marines lost in battle. Their bodies left behind after a bloody massacre. World War II heroes forgotten until now. We'll take you to a tiny island in the Pacific, Tarawa, where soldiers have returned to the scene of the battle to bring our fallen heroes home.
CHETRY: And the amFIX blog is up and running. Join the live conversation. Just go to CNN.com/amFIX.
ROBERTS: First, down arrows and bad vibes, a general feeling that we are going in the wrong direction the morning after a dreadful day on Wall Street. The Dow will try to bounce back the day after a 265 point-plunge on Wednesday, a sell-off that put Wall Street in the red for 2010.
CHETRY: Yes, the numbers are sinking President Obama's approval rating as well. Still, he is insisting that the worst of the recession is over.
Ed Henry is live for us at the White House. The problem for the administration seems to be that many people certainly don't feel that way.
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Kiran. A lot of anxiety all across the country and is reflected in this new NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll that's got some really bad numbers for the president. You know, they say here that they do not govern by polls but these numbers can hardly be ignored. For example, finding the president's approval rating at just 47 percent, disapproval at 48 percent, pretty much in line with what recent CNN polling has found.
But more worrisome for this White House perhaps is that six in 10 Americans, including 83 percent of those all important independent voters that went with Barack Obama in 2008, six in 10 now saying that they are only somewhat or not confident that the president has the policies to improve the economic situation. That's why once again yesterday the president was here at the White House trying to deal with this issue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: So, while we have fought back from the worst of this recession, we've still got a lot of work to do. We've still got a long way to go. And I'm more determined than ever to do every single thing we can to hasten our economic recovery and get our people back to work. So that's why I'm pleased today to sign into law a bill that will strengthen American manufacturing and American jobs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: But obviously, they're fully aware here at the White House even signing that manufacturing bill into law, it's not going to have necessarily a major impact in the short term that's going to please a lot of Americans. In this NBC/"Wall Street Journal" poll, for example, two-thirds of Americans say the economy has still not hit bottom. That is obviously very worrisome for this White House, John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: Sixty percent of respondents also said the country is going in the wrong direction. And when you look at this as traditionally being a time when people start to really firm up their opinions of who they're going to vote for in the November elections, how does that bode for the White House and the Democratic Party?
HENRY: Well, it's very difficult. They're trying to get some rays of hope here. When you look at the results from some of Tuesday's primaries, you know, White House advisers keep pointing to Tuesday night's results in Colorado, for example. The Democratic Senate primary there, you had an incumbent in Michael Bennet that a lot of pundits were sort of saying, you know, he's going to lose, he's in bad shape. He had Andrew Romanoff as the challenger in that Democratic primary. Former President Bill Clinton got behind him. President Obama got behind incumbent Michael Bennet.
Bennet in the end pulled it out. And White House advisers believe that's because he had the president behind him saying look, the situation is bad but do you want to go back to the policies of the Republicans that they believe led to all this, or do you want to try to move forward. It's going to take time, but dig out of this. In the end, Michael Bennet did win but that's just one of many, many difficult Senate and House battles ahead. And we're just now just a few weeks away from the midterms. You can feel that intensity just getting hotter by the day, John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: Ed Henry for us in Washington this morning. Ed, thanks.
So what do you think? Is the government doing enough to fix the economy? Join the live conversation going on right now. Just go to CNN.com/amFIX.
CHETRY: If there's any ray of hope for the White House is that people seem just as dissatisfied with the GOP as well in the latest polling.
ROBERTS: Nobody is getting good numbers these days.
CHETRY: Exactly.
Well, also this morning, perhaps another sign of lean economic times. Thousands of people waiting days to get on a waiting list for federally subsidized housing in suburban Atlanta. And there you see pictures of the crowd. Calm turned into chaos when far more people than expected showed up. Some 30,000, three times more than officials in East Point, Georgia, had planned for.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They should have let us know something, a time, when to be here. Some people have been here since Sunday morning, Monday morning. This is ridiculous.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This was unorganized, completely unorganized.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't have housing for my kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, despite the problems, the East Point Housing Authority says that 13,000 families did receive applications.
ROBERTS: Two days after suspended flight attendant Steven Slater had his now legendary on-the-job meltdown, his possibly soon-to-be former employer is showing that it has a sense of humor. JetBlue issued a statement that reads in part, quote, "While this episode may feed your inner office space, we just want to take this space to recognize our 2,300 fantastic, awesome and professional in-flight crew members for delivering the JetBlue experience that you have come to expect of us." The man of the hour is also speaking out, albeit reluctantly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just what? What do you have to say to all the people that are saying you're a hero?
STEVEN SLATER, JETBLUE FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Oh, it's so encouraging and so special, and there's some really great people out there and I'm getting a glimpse of that. It's a surprise because obviously I've been away for a little while. So to come back to that has been really --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about your mom? Your mom was so sweet yesterday. She talked to some folks.
SLATER: She's a wonderful woman. She's a wonderful woman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She said that you may have just had a little breakdown.
SLATER: I can't go there right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. A lot of people --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you do us a favor, please?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He answered your questions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
SLATER: That's about as far as I can go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Right. But another passenger on the flight is telling "The Wall Street Journal" it was Slater who started the confrontation, not the passenger, whose luggage hit Slater in the head.
CHETRY: Always nice to hear from him, though.
ROBERTS: Yes.
CHETRY: Seems so amiable.
ROBERTS: This is going to go on for a while longer, I think.
New this morning, a memorial service for former Alaska Senator Ted Stevens set for Monday in Anchorage. Investigators still trying to determine why his plane crashed into a mountain on Monday in remote southwest Alaska. An autopsy on Stevens should be completed today. Four people who survived the crash have not been interviewed yet, so it's still not known whether Stevens and four others were killed on impact or if they perished waiting for help to arrive.
CHETRY: A manhunt under way in Arkansas this morning for a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. Law enforcement officials are searching for a couple suspected of robberies after a prison break in Arizona. U.S. Marshals say that John McCluskey and his alleged accomplice, Casslyn Welch, are cousins as well as lovers and that they have likely changed their appearance and are extremely unpredictable.
ROBERTS: Some good news from Louisiana. Officials there have made an arrest in the so-called grand dad bandit case. The FBI says their suspect, 52-year-old Michael Francis Mara, was arrested at his home in Baton Rouge after a six-hour standoff and that a tip led to the suspect's several -- led to the suspect's serial bank robber's arrest. He's wanted in at least 25 bank heists in 13 states.
CHETRY: And a roofer in New Brunswick, Canada had a close call saved by his safety harness. CBC reporting that the man slipped on some rotted wood, fell and was left dangling about four stories above a paved driveway. Thank goodness for that safety harness. He was hanging there until firefighters were able to come, arrived and get him down safely.
ROBERTS: A 70-year-old golf legend Jack Nicklaus opened his newest course on the shores of Lake Michigan yesterday, playing a charity match with Arnold Palmer, Johnny Miller and Tom Watson. Check out Jack on the 10th green showing he's still got it. One more glorious, glorious moment from the golden bear. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There you go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Yes, sir. From 100 feet. Shades of 1986 at Augusta all over again. Afterward, Jack was asked how he managed to sink that long uphill snaking putt. His three-word answer, pure freaking luck. But don't forget, he designed the course, so he knows how the greens are lined (ph). Right?
CHETRY: He was also being humble. That was quite a shot.
Eight-and-a-half minutes after the hour. Let's get a check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano, that's all in a day's work for you as well. Right? You can sink that thing.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes.
CHETRY: Up to --
MARCIANO: Hundred feet -- hit the back of the cup, move it back a couple of feet and then drop it straight down. That's the way we do it, baby.
Good morning, guys. A couple of things. You know what? Remember tropical depression number five yesterday, it just completely fizzled. I mean, not completely. There's still some rain showers and some waves, 12-foot waves out there by the well site so it's slowing things down there. The other issue, of course, is the heat and then the amount of water that Iowa has seen over the past couple of months has really done some damage. And we're looking at record-breaking flooding in some parts of that state.
Ames, Iowa, has shut down the drinking water for maybe as much as seven days for 50,000 people. People having to move to higher ground there. That's about 30 miles north of Des Moines. And then down river from Maine is in Colfax, folks moving to high ground as well.
Not a whole lot of rain expected today but the searing heat as these people wait for the waters to recede there and clean up in their homes. A little bit of relief from the heat in the coming days, but a number of heat advisories and heat warnings out again for the same spots. D.C. almost touched 100 yesterday, guys, so it continues to be a warm summer. We'll talk more weather in about 30 minutes. Back to you.
CHETRY: All right.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Rob, we'll see you then.
MARCIANO: OK, guys.
ROBERTS: Coming up, embattled New York Congressman Charlie Rangel facing a bunch of ethics violations but feeling the love at the same time at a combination fund-raiser and 80th birthday party last night. We'll tell you who showed up to celebrate just ahead.
Ten minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Thirteen minutes after the hour. We're back with the Most News in the Morning.
He is under an ethics cloud that could get him expelled from the House, but last night New York Congressman Charlie Rangel was all about the good times at a combination fund-raiser and 80th birthday celebration.
CHETRY: Yes, you wouldn't know about any of his problems last night. Many prominent Democrats were there to show their support and that included a rather surprising gesture from a former New York City mayor. CNN's Mary Snow is following the story for us. So, it's quite a happy birthday for Charlie Rangel yesterday.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it was. Good morning, John and Kiran.
The big question was would politicians shy away from Congressman Rangel with this scandal unfolding. The answer was no.
Let's set the scene for you though. Outside The Plaza last night, this was a birthday party doubling as a fund-raiser. There were a few protesters gathering outside, some calling on Rangel to resign. When Rangel's long-time friend David Dinkins, the former mayor of New York City was outside, a protester shouted out to him that Rangel was a crook. And at that point, Dinkins turned around, showed him how really felt and raised his middle finger to the protester and he said that, you know, he wouldn't be anywhere else last night, that Rangel was his brother.
Now, inside The Plaza hotel, as you can see, Congressman Rangel looking very ebullient there. He faced a packed House. And this is with New York's top political leaders all in attendance. Of course, a lot of speculation about whether Democrats facing re-election would show up and that included both New York senators, who did attend. Rangel thanked the crowd and made it clear he's not going anywhere.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHARLES RANGEL (D), NEW YORK: This damn sure ain't no funeral, is it? I ain't thinking about giving it up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: Now there was almost no mention of the ethics violations Rangel is facing. Some guests, though, have pointed words for everyone watching.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: Now, I know a few people couldn't be here tonight because, as they tell it, either they had to get a haircut unexpectedly or they were sure they'd have a headache. But Charlie, as you know, they were with you as long as they could be.
REV. AL SHARPTON, POLITICAL ACTIVIST: Charlie Rangel will rise from the ashes and show that we will never fall on such allegations. We will rise as the phoenix and keep on fighting.
Happy birthday, Charlie.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Now, Sharpton there having the strongest words last night. It ended up with Dionne Warwick performing, singing "That's What Friends Are For."
Last night was all about the past. Now, his campaign is saying he's going to be out there campaigning today, and the focus now is going to be on reelection. He said all he has to say about the charges.
CHETRY: All right. Well, you know, as -- it was funny that Michael Bloomberg referred to people that perhaps didn't want to show up --
SNOW: Sure.
CHETRY: -- because there certainly is some liability associated with it for some people.
SNOW: Yes. And for the Democrats running for reelection, of course, they're expecting Republicans to pounce on this. And, you know, some of the -- the politicians leading up to last night were a little cagey about whether or not they'd actually be there. So, of course, that -- you know, they knew that all cameras would be there.
CHETRY: Yes. They've got Governor Pater -- Governor Paterson there, Michael Bloomberg there. So a lot of people did show up.
SNOW: Both New York senators, Andrew Cuomo, who's running for governor.
CHETRY: All right. Mary Snow, thank you.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Mary.
SNOW: Sure.
CHETRY: Well, still ahead, the legal hurdles have been cleared, but the outcry over an Islamic center and mosque going up just two blocks from Ground Zero is not letting up.
There's a new CNN/Opinion Research poll out showing that a majority of Americans oppose building the mosque near the World Trade Center site. Sixty-eight percent say they're against it, just 29 percent are in favor of the mosque being built there.
ROBERTS: India, the world's largest democracy, is a massive growing market for smartphone companies, but will its government issue a ban on the business-friendly BlackBerry? A decision was expected today, but has now been put off. Why? We've got a live update from New Delhi coming right up.
Seventeen minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty minutes past the hour. We're "Minding Your Business" now.
And for weeks we've been tracking possible BlackBerry bans across the Middle East and Asia, and now it's India's turn. Today was supposed to be the day that India's government was to decide whether to put a ban on the business-friendly smartphones.
ROBERTS: Much like a proposed ban in other countries, it would block access because BlackBerry messages are highly encrypted and difficult for security officials to monitor.
Our Sara Sidner joins us now. She's live in New Delhi this morning. You've got a new development to tell us about, Sara?
SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, everyone thought there was going to be quite a big new development, that there will be some sort of statement or something that came out of a meeting that the government had today. The Ministry of Home Affairs met today.
There was a lot of confusion about exactly who was in that meeting. And then, to make things more confusing, the government refused to say anything about what happened in that meeting except for the fact that they were not going to hand out some kind of a statement and they were not going to let anybody know what transpired in that meeting, because it was a, quote, "internal affair".
They did, though, indicate that more meetings are expected. So a lot of people are wondering what's going to happen to the little device that they love, the BlackBerry, and some of the services that the government is very concerned about, that they're highly encrypted and that their intelligence agents cannot get access to.
Everything seems to be working right now with BlackBerry as it is for today -- John and Kiran.
CHETRY: So, you mentioned all the secrecy around it, but it's still up and running, still going on and there is this delay. Is there any speculation that perhaps this could mean they're coming close to a deal?
SIDNER: You know, it's really hard to tell, because, for whatever reason, this has been a very secret -- nobody wants to talk. Research in motion says it does not comment on any kind of conversations that it's having with governments over security. It has been very tight-lipped. The government here was very tight-lipped. They didn't even want to say that they were meeting.
So a lot of this is source-based information that we're getting from people who have knowledge of what was going on in that meeting. But no one wants to say exactly what the government is going to do. We do understand that there are certain services like BlackBerry Messenger the government is extremely concerned about because of the encryption and because it is extremely -- nearly impossible for intelligence agents to crack, and they're really worried that if a terrorist organization decided to use that to plot against the country, that the government would be blindsided and -- and not able to try and thwart an attack.
Right now, though, like I said, everything's up and running and we're waiting to hear more information from the government which says it's still going to continue meeting on this.
ROBERTS: All right. Sara Sidner with the latest for us, "Minding Your Business" this morning. Sara, thanks so much.
Hundreds of Marines massacred on a tiny Pacific island during World War II, their bodies left behind. Ahead, a CNN exclusive. Ted Rowlands takes us back to the battlefield where present-day Marines are desperately trying to find these fallen warriors and bring them back home six decades later.
It's 23 minutes after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty- five minutes past the hour now.
More than six decades ago, on a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, hundreds of U.S. Marines were slaughtered in the Battle of Tarawa. To this day, their remains are still there in unmarked graves, World War II heroes who were never brought home.
We take you now to the Island of Tarawa Atoll where present-day Marines are determined to make good on a promise that until now went unkept. Ted Rowlands with a CNN exclusive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GREGORY FOX, ARCHAEOLOGIST: But this seems to be an intact, undisturbed zone.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Archaeologist Gregory Fox analyzed this dirt as military servicemen dig, searching for the remains of U.S. Marines who died in the World War II Battle of Tarawa more than 65 years ago.
This is the first of six sites to be excavated. Historic researchers believe more than 100 marines could be found during this mission.
FOX: If we run into a row of missing individuals that were buried, that's fantastic. We have additional anthropologists on stand-by in Hawaii.
ROWLANDS: This is the U.S. Military unit that specializes in finding the remains of missing Americans around the world killed in battle. The team is made up of members from every branch of the military, but, on this, mission it is almost all Marines.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tarawa, that holds a, you know, a soft spot in Marine Corps' hearts, so it is important that we bring a large Marine Corps contingency here.
ROWLANDS: Tarawa was one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history. More than a thousand men were killed in roughly 72 hours of fighting with the Japanese, many of them gunned down in the water before they could make it to shore.
ROWLANDS (on camera): When you come here to Tarawa, you really understand why there were so many casualties. It was low tide when the Marines came on shore just like it is now, meaning they had to walk onto the beach.
Waiting for them were huge Japanese guns and these bunkers which were so fortified, it gave the Japanese an opportunity to just sit inside and fire at point-blank range at the Marines who were coming onto the beach.
CLAY BONNYMAN EVANS, GRANDSON OF WAR HERO: They were wading ashore for the most part. I can't imagine it.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Clay Bonnyman Evan's grandfather, Alexander Bonnyman, was one of the Marines killed on Tarawa. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his heroics, which included leading a charge on this massive sand-covered bunker. It's now called "Bonnyman's Bunker".
EVANS: This is where the Japanese were --
ROWLANDS: More than a hundred Japanese soldiers were crammed inside what is now a storage facility. Outside, the sand is gone, revealing the cement fortress. We climbed with Clay to the top where his grandfather was killed.
EVANS: Frankly, most of my life, I knew vaguely of the story, but I didn't know much detail. And I feel like I know a lot more now.
ROWLANDS: As these photographs show, Bonnyman and the other Marines killed in the campaign were originally buried in graves all around Tarawa, but because there were so many bodies, including about 4,000 Japanese, Tarawa was bulldozed by the Navy.
Years later, the U.S. government came back to get the bodies, but couldn't find them all. It's estimated the total number of Marines still buried here could be as high as 500.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we're entering (ph) for the record, exchange of U.S. remains on 11 August, 2010.
ROWLANDS: On Wednesday, local officials turned over remains to the U.S. military. Over the years, sets of remains like this have been found on Tarawa, something we experienced firsthand while at Bonnyman's Bunker, which is located next to a local police station.
ROWLANDS (on camera): Here at the police station, they've told us that they have some remains and they're now opening them up to show us.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): Police say the bones were dropped off about a month ago.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know where it come from. Yes. But we just keep it in our storage for someone who come and collect it.
ROWLANDS (on camera): OK. OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All you got to do is let the pick do the work.
ROWLANDS (voice-over): The military is planning to spend more than a month on Tarawa, collecting bones that have been found and digging for the rest of the Marines left behind.
FOX: It's basically a promise of the United States government that they will do everything in their power to bring their fallen warriors home. And that's the way we roll.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: And the team from JPAC -- that's the name of the military unit here on the island -- has finished up that first site of the six sites, which -- it's 10:30 at night here. Tomorrow morning they'll start on the second site. They did not find any Marines at that first site.
We should also note that we told the folks from JPAC about the remains we looked at the police station. They're aware of it and plan on going to get them -- John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: It's a fantastic story, Ted. And it's just amazing to see them after this long go back and make sure that no one gets left behind.
Ted Rowlands for us this morning at Tarawa -- Ted, thanks so much.
Crossing the half hour now, your top story.
An economic hangover this morning -- Wall Street now in the red for the year after the Dow dropped 265 points yesterday. New polls are showing voters losing patience with the slow recovery and taking it out on the White House.
CHETRY: An immigration bill modeled after Arizona's but maybe tougher than Arizona's unveiled in Florida. And like the original version of Arizona's law, it requires police to check suspected illegal immigrant status during a traffic stop. This bill also increases penalties for illegal immigrants who commit crimes and also allows judges to consider immigration status while setting bail.
ROBERTS: And by this afternoon, same-sex marriage could be legal in California. Right now, there's a temporary stay in place overturning the state's ban on gay marriage. A federal court in California will rule today whether to make that stay permanent pending all of the appeals that are available.
CHETRY: A group of young and tech-savvy moderate Muslims are trying to turn the tide against the growing number of radical messages online.
ROBERTS: It's an uphill trek to be sure, but one they say has to be done.
Our Deb Feyerick is tracking Islam's virtual battle. And she's here now with A.M. original.
Good morning, Deb.
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, everyone.
Well, you know, the people who are committing acts of terror are really the ones who are getting all the attention while moderate mainstream voices, millions of them, who are vital parts of communities across the country, have really been drowned out by these extremist voices. Well, that's about to change and the target are people they call "keyboard jihadists."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK (voice-over): With wannabe jihadists being recruited online --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're plotting to kill this religion.
FEYERICK: It's radical voices within Islam getting the most attention, a reality not lost on mainstream Muslims.
EDINA LEKOVIC, MUSLIM PUBLIC AFFAIRS COUNCIL: Osama bin Laden or any of the extremist figures can videotape a message in any cave, in any corner of the world, and it will get played on air, translated for free.
IMAM MOHAMAD MAGID: Islam is a religion of peace -- of building community, not destroying it and tearing it apart.
FEYERICK: Now, a new video on YouTube is designed to counter the message of violent extremism.
IHSAN BAGBY: We cannot kill innocent people.
FEYERICK: Edina Lekovic produced the five-minute video titled "Injustice Cannot Defeat Injustice."
LEKOVIC: We realized it's time to step up and -- you know, and engage in that, you know, that virtual battle online.
FEYERICK: Nine influential imams and scholars from across the religious spectrum are featured. All denounce terrorism. Some are converts. Most like, Yasir Qadhi, are well known to American Muslims and popular with younger generations.
YASIR QADHI, ALMAGHRIB INSTITUTE: You have to help the oppressed, and help the poor, and help the weak and --
FEYERICK: We met up with Imam Yasir and other clerics at a recent Islamic Summit in Houston.
QADHI: The senior Muslim scholars that all various stripes of Muslims look up to denounce terrorism and they have denounced 9/11. They have denounced al Qaeda. They denounced Osama bin Laden.
FEYERICK: And it's not just clerics fighting back but young Muslims as well.
(on camera): The biggest reason some Muslim youth get radicalized -- you have 40 percent say lack of general Islamic knowledge.
FEYERICK: Meet the staff of "Muslim Matters," a Web site that answers questions using traditional Islamic teachings, to counters arguments made by extremists.
IFY OKOYE, MUSLIM MATTERS: It can be confusing, especially if you're a young person trying to navigate between your Muslim identity, your western identity, and to find the right path.
FEYERICK: In the last year and a half, the site's creators say they've gotten close to 5 million hits.
AHMED SHIAKH, MUSLIM MATTERS: Our goal was to be able to present an orthodox voice online and show that you can be 100 percent orthodox and 100 percent American.
FEYERICK (on camera): So, you're trying to counter the radical message by putting out something that's very positive, that deals with real issues. So, if somebody is having a crisis in their life, it's not about building a bomb and taking it into the middle of Times Square. That's not a rational response to having a bad day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.
FEYERICK (voice-over): Iesa Galloway, a convert to Islam, defines the mission.
IESA GALLOWAY, MUSLIM MATTERS: It's to inoculate people so no matter what challenge life comes into, they have enough skepticism and common sense to say, you know what, that's just ridiculous.
QADHI: Our religion is not about violence and terrorism and killing people. The primary purpose of our religion is to establish a relationship between man and God, a relationship of love.
FEYERICK: It's not an easy sell. The moderate message put up on YouTube has garnered less 20,000 views in a month, but the fight back has to start somewhere.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FEYERICK: And another part of the fight, top imams in Canada have issued a fatwa or religious edict condemning terrorists, saying that anyone who attacks the U.S. or Canada attacks all 10 million Muslims living in those two countries. The edict says it is the duty of every Canadian and American Muslim to safeguard their two countries. Mainstream Muslims have turned the tables issuing this fatwa and they're also reclaiming their religion online as well. So, it's a big step forward.
CHETRY: Yes, you talked about some of the ways they're trying to reach young people. What else do they find on these sites that sort of give them a more positive message, the right message?
FEYERICK: And that's what's really interesting. By setting up a counter message, they're also talking about things like marriage, jobs, finances -- when you're having these kinds of problems, these everyday struggles, they become a touchstone so you understand exactly how you're supposed to deal with it. Frustration, anger, politicizing the religion, that's not what the message is supposed to be about.
ROBERTS: You know, right when you said at the end there, where you said that it hasn't gotten that many hits on YouTube. I was wondering, what's the more compelling message, the message of tolerance or the message to come to radicalism?
FEYERICK: Well, it depends who's looking.
ROBERTS: Yes.
FEYERICK: It all depends who's looking. These keyboard jihadists -- they're the ones who are looking online, they're the ones who are going for the more radical revolutionary ideas. And what's so interesting is that the imams that we spoke to said, you know, these are angry young men who are going to sites where they know they're going to get validation. So, what they're trying to do is they're trying to push other people towards this modern mainstream message of what Islam really is.
ROBERTS: We'll see if it works.
Deb Feyerick, great story this morning. Thanks so much.
Coming up on the Most News in the Morning: primary winners all with something in common -- their absolute political inexperience. We'll ask John Avlon about what's shaping up as the year of the outsider -- just ahead.
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ROBERTS: It is now 39-and-a-half minutes after the hour.
No experience required. It's turning out to be a theme for the midterm election cycle with the number of new candidates new to politics scoring big primary victories. Here to help make sense of it all and see where we're going here in politics in 2010 is John Avlon, CNN contributor and columnist to TheDailyBeast.com.
John, great to see you this morning.
JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.
ROBERTS: So, let's take a look at three people who won big the other day, because this really sort of sets an interesting trend. People have asked in politics why don't people who are CEOs of companies, people who are really responsible, they know how to run a company, get involved in politics. Well, now, they are. We've had wins by Linda McMahon, Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina.
Is this finally people who have really good qualifications now throwing their hat in the ring?
AVLON: Well, we are seeing a new trend. I mean, the CEOs are getting in and significantly those three you just mentioned, of course, all female CEOs. That may be, sort of, you know, secret ingredient that the GOP is hoping for this fall.
And it's one of the dominant trends we are seeing in recent years in politics, self-funded candidates. Political consultants, for obvious reasons, love 'em, so do political parties. You know, it lowers it lowers their, you know, bottom line. And in the time of campaign finance reform, it is sort of the secret bullet that allows more money to enter the system.
So, that's one of the dominant trends we're seeing this year. It's self-funded candidates on the GOP versus professional politicians on the Democratic side.
ROBERTS: And the question has also been asked, you know, why don't these people get involved? Well, it's because they don't want to open up their personal lives to the scrutiny.
AVLON: Yes.
ROBERTS: And, you know, we've seen a lot of that certainly with Linda McMahon and as well Carly Fiorina. But it looks like they're willing to play rough-and-tumble here.
AVLON: Well, you know, speaking of rough-and-tumble, I mean, Linda McMahon has chosen throughout her professional life.
ROBERTS: She knows how to rumble. Yes.
AVLON: She knows how to rumble and she's put her -- you know, she's chosen to put her own, you know, personal life out in the public for a long, long time.
But as you say, you know, the rough-and-tumble nature of politics, the fact that this is a full contact sport and a blood sport in many cases these days, has kept a lot of good people out of it. But you're seeing CEOs sort of opting for a retirement package of public service.
ROBERTS: So, you've got those three and then as well, if you take the results in Colorado with Ken Buck winning, Rand Paul also throwing his hat in the ring, this really is shaping up to be the year of the outsider.
AVLON: It is. And that's another dominant trend you're seeing. It's the self-funded candidates on the one hand, first timers, and the other is the Tea Party-backed insurgents who are taking on the establishment-backed candidates and defeating them in these partisan primaries. Now, the problem there is folks who can do really well playing the red meat crowd in the primary may not translate as well in the general election.
You look at, you know, the states you just mentioned -- Colorado, Connecticut, Nevada. These are Senate seats that big swing districts that look like the GOP could make some gains. But with the anti-establishment candidate makes it a little bit tougher to make that sell.
ROBERTS: Recent poll in "The Wall Street Journal" kind of tells the tale on why this is happening. Take a look at this number, 60 percent of people polled say that the country is going in the wrong direction, 45 percent hold a negative view of the Republican Party, 44 percent hold a negative view of the Democratic Party. So, if you're an outsider, you probably got a pretty good chance this year.
AVLON: You do, especially if you throw the messages that both the Republicans and Democrats have failed us in the past. That taps into the anger, the disaffection out there, the feeling that Washington is broken. That message, especially in economic downturn times, is always a good time for angry voters to make their feelings felt by voting for the outsider.
ROBERTS: But who's more disaffected, though, Republicans or Democrats?
AVLON: Well, what we're seeing this year, no question, is the outsider candidate, both self-funded and insurgent, is doing much better in the Republican side of the aisle than the Democrat. You know, we had Michael Bennet, an incumbent senator appointed, never run before, defeat Andrew Romanoff in Colorado. We had Blanche Lincoln, labor put a lot of money trying to elect her opponent but she held on in Arkansas. Two very notable examples.
So, we've seen more incumbents being taken out in primaries on the Republican side this year than Democrats. It's a decisive shift.
ROBERTS: How much of that with the Republican Party is Tea Party influence? Maybe not direct influence because they're not behind all of these candidates that we talked about this morning, but they have sort of permeated -- there has been sort of a general attitude that has permeated the Republican Party that, hey, you know, status quo is just not acceptable.
AVLON: That's exactly right. And, look, with many of these candidates -- first-time candidates have surfed the Tea Party wave to victory, Rand Paul being among them, Sharron Angle in Nevada, Ken Buck against Jane Norton in Colorado. So, it is really a significant factor, especially in those Republican primaries. That Tea Party anti-insurgent, anti-establishment anger has what propelled a lot of these folks, unlikely candidates in some cases, to a general election.
ROBERTS: So, how do you think it's going to play out in November?
AVLON: Well, look, you have self-funded candidates that can do very well in the primary, but there's a history of them famously imploding in general elections. See, you know, Michael Huffington, for example.
Second this, these Tea Party insurgent candidates have really played to the base and very effectively, but they've done it sometimes with rhetoric or policies that don't translate so well to independent voters in the center and those are the folks who ultimately decide who wins or lose elections. Colorado, Connecticut, states where independents outnumber Democrats or Republicans.
So, to make that sale, to make that switch, that's a broader thing. You can't just play to the base and win a general election.
ROBERTS: All right. With two-and-a-half months to go, we'll see how they do.
John Avlon, it's always great to see you. Thanks so much, buddy.
AVLON: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: All right, guys. Thanks so much.
Forty-five minutes past the hour. Flooding and extreme heat in the Midwest. Rob Marciano is following all of that. He'll have this morning's travel forecast for us, right after the break.
Also coming up in just 10 minutes, Jeanne Moos, it ain't easy being Steven Slater these days.
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CHETRY: Forty-seven minutes past the hour right now. You may remember this sketch. A manhunt was on for a serial killer, a serial slasher who stabs his victims to death. It looks like that manhunt is over this morning. According to our local affiliates in the Detroit area, police have a suspect in custody. Authorities say that this suspect appeared to be targeting African-Americans and lured victims with a plea for help.
They also say he may be behind attacks in three states. It was a stabbing spree that began in Flint, Michigan, in May, the most recent attack Friday in Virginia. Again, Detroit affiliates reporting that police do have someone in custody now in connection with this serial slashing case. We'll update you as soon as we learn more details.
ROBERTS: Now, forty-eight minutes after the hour, let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center, and we've been waiting for the storm to develop in the Gulf of Mexico. What's going on with it?
MARCIANO: It dissipated yesterday officially as far as, you know, it being a tropical system. It was competing with something that was bothering at the upper level, but it's part of an overall circulation that continues to bring heavy rain to the New Orleans area. This is pretty much the area of disturbed weather. The center of which is pretty much right over the new Orleans area.
So, here's the radar picture. And you can see all this moisture swirling across the Lake Pontchartrain area, and there's actually flash flood warning out now for Jefferson and Orleans parish here. For the next couple of hours, these thunderstorms are going to continue to dump heavy, heavy rain across this area. So, certainly some street flooding and small stream flooding and the drains that aren't working well are going to have issues here throughout the rest of the morning.
So, flood watches and warnings have been posted for not only the Mississippi delta but right on through Mobile, Alabama, for what's left over of tropical depression number 5. All right. We do have flood warnings still out for parts of Iowa. Historic flooding there for Des Moines back to Ames. As mentioned earlier in the program, Ames water supply has been shut down four to seven days. It's contaminated because of heavy flooding there. It could be the worst since 1993, may go above that as well.
105 to 115 heat indexes across this area. So not only flooding but record-breaking heat in some of these areas. West plains, Missouri hit 103 and D.C., 97. A little bit cooler expected today. Jackson, Kentucky hit 97 degrees, 91 in Blacksburg, 101 in Kansas City, 82 in New York, not too shabby, and 92 degrees in Minneapolis. Record-breaking July on the cool side for California. Talk about how cool southern California has been? They've had one of the coldest Julys on record. So, again, fly out west if you're a little tired of the heat. John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: Hey, Rob, quick, quick question. I know it's still early in the season, but we've had a number of these systems that begin to develop and then they just kind of peter out and blow away. What's going on?
MARCIANO: It's just the way the upper level wind pattern is. We've had bad sheering winds at the upper levels. That pattern is going to change I think in the next couple of weeks, and we'll probably see the systems when they do develop hold together a little bit better, unfortunately.
CHETRY: At least for now, we've been dodging bullets right and left.
ROBERTS: Which is a good thing. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: All right, guys.
ROBERTS: This morning's top stories now just minutes away. Red arrows on Wall Street and the desperate need for housing turning into a dangerous situation. We'll talk about whether we just took another turn for the worse. Your money still issue number one just ahead.
CHETRY: And was it the pedal or the driver's fault? New questions about Toyota's runaway cars and whether people were really hitting the gas when they meant to hit the brakes.
ROBERTS: And who started it? Questions about the fed-up flight attendant, Steven Slater. Is he really the hero or the guy on the plane that you love to hate? Those stories and more coming your way at the top of the hour.
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CHETRY: Six minutes to the top of the hour. It's time for the Moos News in the Morning with Jeanne. You've seen him everywhere from the homepage of TMZ to the White House briefing room. You can't avoid Steven Slater.
ROBERTS: Now the flight attendant who because a folk hero is finding it hard to exit in an orderly fashion. Here's Jeanne. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Run! Run for your life! It ain't easy being a hero. One minute, you're telling passengers to buckle their seats belts. The next thing you know, you're being shoved into a van like a kidnap victim. Reporters are begging you to roll down the window.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One more little bit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One more please.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just one. Just one. Just one. What do you have to say to all the people that are saying you're a hero?
STEVEN SLATER, JET BLUE FLIGHT ATTENDANT: Oh, it's so encouraging and so special.
MOOS: Oh, it's special all right, to be followed into an elevator by "The New York Times" and asked if you'd planned to deploy that emergency chute.
SLATER: We all thought about it for 20 years. We thought about it. You never think you're going to do it.
MOOS: Probably never thought he'd be pursued through a parking garage, either.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any regrets? They said it all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that scar on your head, is that from the suitcase falling? Is it?
MOOS: And when the press is swarming in front of your house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do me a favor. Just leave, leave, leave.
MOOS: It's enough to make your significant other significantly annoyed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a medical condition and each and every one of you is causing me to have my arrhythmia, and I will pass out.
MOOS: On the other hand, it's nice having a Facebook fan page with 150,000 or so fans. Exiting the plane via the emergency slide were so popular, someone posted cats going down a slide in tribute. It's entered the political lexicon, the president's spokesman denying that he's --
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Added an inflatable exit to my office.
MOOS: When your magic wall isn't behaving magically --
ROBERTS: Having problems with the magic wall this morning. This thing wants to cooperate, and it doesn't. I'm going to pull a Steven Slater in about three, two, one.
MOOS (on-camera): JetBlue is giving every passenger on Steven Slater's flight a $100 voucher.
MOOS (voice-over): The company says that's what it often does when customers experience a disruption or abnormal circumstance.
(SINGING)
MOOS: Underneath this latest ballad to Steven, his boyfriend posted, this is the best. We love you. Slater finally arrived home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome home, Steven.
MOOS: The press was waiting. If we keep this up, he'll be pulling a Slater on us. This microphone needs an escape chute.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
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CHETRY: Just keeps getting better. The medical condition, every one of you, you, you and you're going to cause me pass out.
ROBERTS: Makes your heart go pitter, pitter, pitter, pitter pat. Top stories coming your way right after the break. Stay with us.
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