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American Morning

Constellation of Oil: Droplets Spread Across Gulf Floor; Same- Sex Marriages on Hold in California; Fundraiser-in-Chief; New Debit Card Rules; Deadly Plane Crash in Colombia; Secretary Gates Stepping Down; Pakistan Floods Kill 1,400; Disaster Down Below

Aired August 17, 2010 - 06:00   ET

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


KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Thanks so much for being with us on this AMERICAN MORNING, Tuesday, August 17th. I'm Kiran Chetry.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm John Roberts. Thanks so much for being with us. A lot to talk about this morning. Let's get you right to it.

Researchers in Florida discovering oil from BP's gulf spill has spread farther east than anyone thought. But the oil is not on the surface of the gulf. They say it's all over the sea floor in small droplets along with all the dispersants that BP put into the water. The mix, toxic to marine life. You won't this story anywhere else. A CNN exclusive coming right up.

CHETRY: Also for gay couples, wedding vows are on hold again. An appeals court ruling that same-sex marriages will not resume as planned tomorrow in California. Both sides say they're ready to continue the legal fight this morning.

ROBERTS: And cracking down on those unexpected overdraft fees. They have been a cash cow for banks, but new rules this morning could make most of those hefty charges a thing of the past. We'll explain.

CHETRY: Also, the amFIX blog is up and running. Join the live conversation right now. Just go to CNN.com/amFIX.

ROBERTS: But first, this breaking news from Iraq this morning. At least 48 people killed by a suicide bomber in downtown Baghdad. Police say the bomber detonated an explosive vest as a crowd of men were lining up outside of an Iraqi army recruitment center.

CHETRY: More than 100 other people were wounded in that blast. Recruitment centers have been a frequent target of attacks in recent months as U.S. combat troops prepare to leave Iraq by the end of this month. We'll continue to follow the story. We'll bring you any developments as they happen.

ROBERTS: Now a story that you'll see only here on CNN. More than 200 million gallons of crude oil spilled into the gulf. And for weeks the big question has been -- where is all that oil? This morning, CNN may finally be getting answers and the news is not good. University of South Florida researchers tell us they have discovered the oil on the ocean floor well east of the spill site. Here it is in a graphic, just 40 miles south of Panama City Beach.

CHETRY: Researchers say that it lights up like a, quote, "constellation of little dots" when it's hit by ultraviolet light. That chemical mix of oil and dispersant said to be highly toxic to marine life. And we're the first to get this information to you this morning. Our Ed Lavandera live in St. Petersburg, Florida with more on this CNN exclusive.

Ed, what are some of the other details this morning of this discovery?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, John and Kiran. University of South Florida scientists say any suggestion that this oil just because it's out of sight should be out of mind couldn't be any further from the reality of what the gulf waters are dealing with right now. In fact, they say now that they've just return from this 10-day mission out in the gulf waters to study the oil spill, they say for the first time they're finding toxicity levels in the waters that are affecting crucial marine organisms.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: This is the Weather Bird 2, a research vessel that has been used by the University of South Florida for the last 10 days investigating the oil spill. Some 13 scientists have been on-board and they're just now coming home to St. Petersburg.

So what's in these containers right here?

DAVID HOLLANDER, UNIV. OF SOUTH FLORIDA CHEMICAL OCEANOGRAPHER: Water in here has been -- was collected from 50 meters.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): David Hollander was one of the lead researchers on the mission.

(on camera): Did you feel like you were kind of on the verge of really getting a better understanding of what's going on underneath the water?

HOLLANDER: I think we're adding to the puzzle. We're adding to the pieces of the puzzle.

This is where we found the sedimentary oil.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Hollander and another expert on the journey, John Paul, sat down with CNN for an exclusive review of their findings. The USF scientists say they found toxic levels of oil and dispersants infecting marine organisms just 40 miles south of Panama City, Florida. The organisms called phytoplankton and other microscopic bacteria in the ocean are the foundation of the food chain.

PROF. JOHN PAUL, UNIV. SOUTH FLORIDA MARINE MICROBIOLOGIST: What feeds and fuels the ecology of the ocean and if those guys are in trouble, then the ocean is in trouble.

LAVANDERA: So far, federal government scientists have downplayed the impact of microscopic oil making its way up the food chain. This is what the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said earlier this month.

DR. JANE LUBCHENCO, NOAA ADMINISTRATOR: Fish will degrade that oil and process it naturally. And so it doesn't bio-accumulate, so it's not a situation where we need to be concerned about that. Over time it will be broken down.

LAVANDERA: USF scientists tell CNN that is a short-sided view of the danger. NOAA officials haven't responded to these latest scientific findings. The 10-day mission in the Gulf of Mexico was a rocky voyage. The scientists were battered with 12-foot seas and strong storms taking them within 25 miles of the Deepwater Horizon spill site. All along the way, they found microscopic droplets of oil on the ocean floor.

HOLLANDER: Here is a sedimentary record from an area that's 1,500 meters water depth --

LAVANDERA (on camera): OK.

HOLLANDER: Right adjacent to the Deepwater Horizon.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Using UV light on the sediment, the microscopic oil stands out easily.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see it all spread out all over. There's no reflection. Some of those weren't before, but this is all speckled. And when you turn off the light completely, it looks like the southern sky.

LAVANDERA (on camera): It looks like a constellation of stars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looks like a constellation of stars.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): But most troubling to David Hollander is evidence that the submerged oil is making its way through a region of the Gulf of Mexico known as the Desoto Canyon. The canyon stretches from just east of the Deepwater Horizon spill site to an area south of Panama City.

(on camera): So the concern is not only that you found the droplets of oil widespread but where you found it.

HOLLANDER: Yes, it's becoming now into these areas that are critical marine protective areas, critical habitats for commercial and recreational fish.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAVANDERA: Now BP officials tell us they want to know everything everyone wants to know about this oil spill and that they've funded some $500 million to study the long-term impacts of all of this. They haven't had a chance to see these specific findings from this recent mission but now scientists at the University of South Florida, as you saw there, are unloading all of that scientific evidence last night here in St. Petersburg. They will begin the process of taking even a closer look at all the evidence that they brought back from this mission -- John and Kiran.

ROBERTS: Do you have any idea, Ed, how long it will take for this oil to break down?

LAVANDERA: Well, you know, that's the interesting thing. They say that other scientists have now come up with a body of work that suggests that the natural occurring microbes in the Gulf of Mexico might not be able to break down this oil as quickly as originally thought, that the depth at which this oil is sitting at this point is breaking down much slower.

So, they worry about the overall time exposure, how long all of this marine life will be exposed to this amount of oil in the Gulf of Mexico and they worry about what the impacts of that will be and they wouldn't be able to see it for another three or four years in the life cycles of the fish and the shrimp that we like to eat out in the gulf.

ROBERTS: All right. Ed Lavandera for us this morning with that. Ed, thanks so much. A CNN exclusive this morning from St. Petersburg.

Drilling for crude in deep ocean waters may soon be a lot tougher for big oil. The Feds are looking to shape the perception that their relationship with the oil industry is too cozy. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announcing the government will now require more intense environmental reviews before drilling projects can be approved.

CHETRY: Also new this morning, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is at odds with President Obama over plans to build an Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero. Reid gave his take on the controversial issue to CNN affiliate KTVN last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: The Constitution gives us freedom of religion? I think that it's very obvious that the mosque should be built someplace else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Well, the Bureau of Land Management plans to investigate this weekend's crash in an offroad race in southern California that left eight spectators dead. Fans fear that review could bring new restrictions that tame or even put an end to the sport.

CHETRY: Also, growing fears this morning about widespread disease in Pakistan. Severe flooding has submerged a fifth of the country now, and there are concerns about outbreaks of typhoid, hepatitis and cholera especially among children. In the past two weeks, the floods have killed more than 1,400 people but they've affected and in many cases displaced some 20 million others. Our Sara Sidner is on the ground and on the front lines of the rescue efforts with the Pakistani military. We're going to check in with her still ahead.

ROBERTS: A federal appeals court has stopped gay and lesbian couples in California from saying "I do" again.

CHETRY: Yes. Many same-sex couples had already invited friends and family to celebrate their weddings booked for tomorrow, in fact. Our Dan Simon has the latest on the emotional fight.

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John and Kiran, we're at San Francisco city hall where same-sex marriages were set to resume on Wednesday even while Proposition 8 is under appeal. As a matter of fact, the city clerk's office was planning to keep its office open longer to allow all the people to come in and apply for marriage licenses but that's not going to happen now. Mayor Gavin Newsom, obviously a huge backer of same-sex marriage had this reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA: If this was someone saying I can't marry someone I love that I've been together 20 years and I was about to marry that person, it's 6:00 this Wednesday, and now you're saying I can't when just last week you said I could? I mean, think about honestly how that hits the heart.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: So here's what happened. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has blocked a lower court's ruling, saying those marriages cannot take place while Proposition 8 continues to make its way through the legal system. This obviously marks a victory for Proposition 8 supporters. A statement from protectmarriage.com, the defendant in this case say, "California voters spoke clearly on Prop 8. We're glad to see their votes will remain valid while the legal challenges work their way up through the courts."

And that last statement is the real key here. Proposition 8 continues to make its way through the legal system. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals saying that it will look at this case in an expedited fashion, and you can expect the trial some time in December.

Now same-sex marriage supporters have the option of appealing this recent ruling to the Supreme Court but are choosing not to do so. They've released a statement that says, quote, "We are very gratified that the 9th Circuit has recognized the importance and pressing nature of this case and the need to resolve it as quickly as possible by issuing this extremely expedited briefing schedule."

The bottom line is things will remain the status quo here in California. The future of proposition eight remains uncertain. John and Kiran, back to you.

ROBERTS: An odd day. Also new this morning yet, another problem to actor Mel Gibson's terrible summer. He's already written off his marriage. Now he's written off his high-end 2008 Maserati. Gibson walked away without a scratch after the Italian super car drifted into a hillside in Malibu on Sunday night. Police say the actor was a gentleman and that alcohol was not a factor like it was in his notorious 2006 DUI arrest. They also say he didn't appear to have been speeding. How the car ended up in the hillside is a bit of a mystery.

CHETRY: Well, actor Michael Douglas is saying this morning that he's very optimistic after doctors discovered a tumor in his throat. A spokesman for Douglas says the 65-year-old actor will undergo eight weeks of radiation and chemotherapy and that doctors believe he'll make a full recovery.

ROBERTS: And you probably saw this coming. Steven Slater, the JetBlue flight attendant who plunged down an emergency chute last week to say take this job and -- has about 25 reality show offers on the table. That's according to one of Hollywood's top public relations agencies which is now representing Slater which just happens to be named "15 minutes."

CHETRY: They already have, you know, ads out trying to capitalize on this. I saw a New York sports club ad that says, "Hey, attention flight attendants. You want to be fit when you pull down that emergency slide. Come join our dip." It's unbelievable how this one incident has turned into this whole --

ROBERTS: His name is quickly becoming a verb.

CHETRY: Yes.

ROBERTS: So we still haven't heard the full story, I don't think.

CHETRY: No.

ROBERTS: So we'll see if all of these reality show offers and fan adulation hold up to long-term scrutiny.

CHETRY: Yes, we'll see what happens for sure.

Well, meantime, it's 11 minutes past the hour. Time to get a check of this morning's weather headlines. Our Rob Marciano in the extreme weather center for us this morning. Hey, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning. You know, we're still waiting. There had to be one guy on the grounds crew with the video phone taking --

CHETRY: You think --

MARCIANO: -- showing Slater sliding down with beer in hand. Where is that video? I think we paid a lot of money for it.

ROBERTS: I think the camera got knocked out of his hand when he got hit by the emergency slide.

MARCIANO: Maybe so. Definitely a dangerous business.

OK, guys, listen. This little storm what was tropical depression number five, kind of loop to loop, got back into the Gulf of Mexico. We're a little bit worried about it developing into something more significant. It's -- well, it's significant in the way of heavy rain across parts of southeastern Louisiana and that's going to be the ongoing threat throughout the day today. You kind of see the center of the rotation. It's pretty much over Lake Pontchartrain right now. So it's heading inland and we do not expect it to develop back into a tropical depression or tropical storm. That's good news but heavy rain there.

Some thunderstorms rolling off the east coast of the northeast where cooler air will eventually move in. But kind of a warm day today in New York. High temperatures near 90 degrees. And generally speaking, a little cooler now than it was a week ago in many spots of the U.S.

Little slip and slide. In places like Dallas, 101 there. Maybe Slater can do a little, you know, show-and-tell on how to use a slip and slide properly.

CHETRY: Yes. It's much more fun when you get the water going. Probably he would have gone down much faster. Or he could have opened up one of the beers and pour that one down. All right. Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: See you guys.

CHETRY: Well, you know, we've been talking a lot about eating healthy. And it seems that the more we talk about food labeling, eating healthy, growing your own vegetables, there's always a counterbalance to that and this seems to be it.

Mozzarella sticks smooshed (ph) together in a grilled cheese sandwich. What do you get besides a stent from eating that? Well, it's the newest item on Denny's menu. It's called the fried cheese melt.

ROBERTS: Debuts next week. Four fried mozzarella sticks, melted American cheese, grilled between two slices of sourdough bread, with fries, of course and a side of marina sauce. Denny's has not released how many calories it is, but dietsinreview.com took all of the items by themselves, added them up and estimated the meal comes in at just under 2,000 calories.

CHETRY: Yummy.

Well, his approval ratings are lower than ever but President Obama still pulling in millions for his party. We're taking a look at the success of the fund-raiser in chief. Up next.

Fourteen minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

So far this year, President Obama has been to dozens of fundraisers, racking up millions for Democrats. Just last night, he attended an event in Los Angeles with celebrities like Barbra Streisand and Steven Spielberg, but some candidates are choosing not to be seen with the president.

ROBERTS: The reason, his approval ratings are at an all-time low. The latest numbers from Gallup show only 44 percent of Americans approved of the job the president is doing.

Dan Lothian joins us now live with a closer look at the fundraiser-in-chief. And, Dan, there are some Democrats who might not want the president to campaign for them, but certainly he is still a force when it comes to raising money.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And, you know, the president is right in the middle of a three-day fundraising effort. You folks pointed out, last night he was in Los Angeles. Today, he will be in the Pacific Northwest, campaigning for Senator Patty Murray, who's in a tough re-election campaign.

The president, while some people may not see him as being effective in dealing with the tough economy and the war in Afghanistan, still out there on the fundraising trail, remains a huge draw.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN (voice-over): President Obama is like the Democratic Party's ATM machine, and DNC chairman Tim Kaine is doing the math.

LOTHIAN (on camera): Are you amazed at how -- how effective he has been in -- in raising funds in this short period of time?

TIM KAINE, CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE: I would say grateful, not amazed.

LOTHIAN (voice-over): But not all voters are grateful for this fundraising frenzy.

DAVE LEVINTHAL, CENTER FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS: He is going to fundraisers instead of working on jobs bills or energy bills.

LOTHIAN: While it's part of a president's portfolio to also be fundraiser in chief, Mr. Obama is on an ambitious pace. Since January, he's headlined 36 events across the country, raising more than $22 million. In two separate trips to Boston and Miami in April, the president tapped a total of about $5 million.

KAINE: We'll be able to put more money into the midterms by far than was ever put in, probably north of $50 million. And the presidential events are huge.

LOTHIAN: At the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that follows the money trail, Dave Levinthal says expanded election seasons and more competitive races require this kind of presidential muscle. But with a war and a battered economy, some voters see these trips as a distraction.

LEVINTHAL: I'm sure he would argue that he has enough time to do both, but some people do have concerns that he is one man and he can't be everywhere at once. They would rather have him in Washington doing the business of the people than going out and fundraising for his political brethren.

LOTHIAN: Especially when they see glitzy affairs at the homes of the rich and famous, where guests sometimes pony up the limit of $30,400 each.

Kaine understands the optics (ph), but says small donations like $50 play a big role in a race that's about more than just cash.

KAINE: Raising money is never just about raising money. You're also finding supporters. You're -- you know, you're delivering a message.

LOTHIAN: For those who might be concerned about this big money raised, Governor Kaine points out that they are fundraising under strict guidelines put in place by President Obama where they don't accept money from political action committees and from federal lobbyists -- John.

CHETRY: All right. Dan Lothian for us this morning. Thanks.

ROBERTS: Dan. Thanks very much.

You may not know you're being hit with those hefty overdraft fees if you don't have enough money in your bank account to cover a purchase. We'll tell you why and what you need to know if you want overdraft protection.

It's 20 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back. Twenty-three minutes past the hour now. We're "Minding Your Business".

Big changes this morning in the fees that banks charge on overdrafts. Customers must now opt in to get overdraft protection. It's a service that made the banks tens of millions of dollars.

CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow joins us now to talk more about what these rules mean for you. They're trying to make it a little confusing because it's a huge source of revenue for them.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Hey, here's first. I want folks to look at these numbers on the wall that we have for you. Amazing, but $33.5 billion, on average, is what the big banks brought in just because you were paying those overdraft fees. They're still going to make money on you, and here's why. I want to show you this letter. This is what one of our colleagues gave us. This is a letter that she got from her bank, Sovereign Bank, and it's telling her basically if you want to continue banking the way that you bank, you're going to have to opt in for these overdraft fees. At the bottom it says, ask us how you can enjoy the peace of mind of knowing your checks, debits and payments are automatically honored by setting up an automatic overdraft protection plan.

Now, what does that mean? If you opt in for this, this means that you're still going to have to pay a penalty if you exceed your balance, it just may be a little bit less. If you opt out, if you swipe your debit card and -- and you don't have enough money, you wouldn't be able to make that purchase, but isn't that better than the charges?

I mean, the charges are less, but take a look here at U.S. Bank, folks. This is a good example of the bank that is sort of changing its ways. U.S. Bank used to charge $37.50 per overdraft. Now, if you're overdrawn less than $10, they wouldn't charge you. If you're overdrawn less than $20, they'll charge you $10, but they're going to charge you $33 every time you overdraw your account more than $20.

So, yes, there are changes being made, but when you look at this letter, it comes off as though, at least to her -- she signed up for overdraft because she thought she had to. That's what the banks are doing.

ROBERTS: So -- so what other options do people have if they want some sort of overdraft protection or something like it and they don't want to go to the store --

HARLOW: Right.

ROBERTS: -- and swipe the debit card and finally can't buy whatever they wanted to (ph).

HARLOW: The -- you can do a few things. One of the best options, the experts say, is you can link your checking to your savings account. You might have to pay one fee to do that at the beginning, but then if you don't have enough money in your checking account, you're going to be able to get that from your savings account.

The next thing you can do, you can actually -- I didn't even know this -- apply for a line of credit from your bank. That's going to cost you less in fees, usually, and you can also keep extra cash in your account, easier. Easier said than done.

Those are some tips. You can go to CNNMoney.com for a lot more. But this is a big, big moneymaker for banks and they -- they're sort of changing their ways --

CHETRY: Right.

HARLOW: -- not fully. CHETRY: Yes. (INAUDIBLE). It's small for people to continue to incur those overdraft fees, right? And you're partly --

HARLOW: It's a small group. Fourteen percent of people incur 93 percent of the fees, according to the FDIC. So a small group that keep doing it and doing it and doing it.

ROBERTS: Good tips this morning. Thanks, Poppy.

HARLOW: You got it.

CHETRY: Also ahead, a packed airplane literally ripped apart in a crash that happened in Colombia. But, miraculously, everyone on board except one person survived that crash. The investigation as to what caused this and what exactly happened here coming up.

Twenty-six minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

The National Transportation Safety Board is now sending a team to Colombia to help with the investigation of an airline crash. The pictures make it look just disastrous. The 737 split apart, the nose and the front seats facing one direction, the other seats and the tail another direction. They were trying to land yesterday in bad weather. At the time, the plane was packed. A hundred and thirty-one people on-board and remarkably only one person was killed.

CNN's Brian Todd has more on what may have caused the crash and how a mass tragedy was averted.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Kiran.

While investigators are looking at what role lightning might have played in this accident, pilots are telling us the fact that at least two pieces of the fuselage got through this relatively intact was a real lifesaver.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): Devastating impact. But when this Aires Airlines 737 crashed on in San Andres Island, Colombia, almost all the passengers survived.

We dissected this accident with veteran airline pilot, Mark Weiss.

TODD (on camera): Why weren't there more people killed in this accident?

MARK WEISS, FORMER AIRLINE PILOT: Well, you know, I -- I think what you're going to see if you take a look over here, the chute, the escape slide was deployed. What you also see over here is that a pretty clean break on the fuselage. I think what you're going to -- going to determine is that this aircraft impacted the ground, split apart because of the severity of the impact, there was no fire --

TODD (voice-over): But there were thunderstorms in the area as the plane approached in the overnight darkness, and --

TODD (on camera): It was reported in the area there were about 11 lightning strikes within about a six mile range that were happening all over the place here near the airport. What effect did that have, do you think?

WEISS: Well, I think what you see from -- lightning strikes are not necessarily the reason that this accident happened. What you're going to really focus on is going to be probably the convective activity all around the airport, and what happens is with the terrain over here, you're going to look for down bursts from the thunderstorms, microburst activity, lightning flashes that may have blinded the pilot.

TODD (voice-over): Something that Weiss says might have happened just seconds before impact. Weiss and other pilots tell us planes often get hit by lightning but not brought down by it. Those incidents are common enough that some have been posted on YouTube.

Pilots say the lightning can knock out radios and other instruments, but it often simply goes through the metal skin on the fuselage and out the other side and doesn't threaten the cabin. As for the pilots --

(on camera): You've been in the cockpit when the plane's hit by lightning. What does it feel like?

WEISS: Well, oftentimes, you'll get an explosive feeling but it lasts for just a second or so. It certainly is unnerving. But, you know, with this type of weather, you're almost prepared for something like that.

TODD: We've seen reports that each commercial aircraft is hit by lightning on the average of at least once a year. But the last time a commercial aircraft over the United States was brought down because of lightning, according to Web site WeatherImagery.com, that was nearly 50 years ago.

John and Kiran, back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: Brian Todd for us -- thanks so much.

At 7:40 Eastern, about an hour from now, we're going to be speaking with Jim Tilmon -- he's a retired commercial pilot -- about the plane crash in Colombia and the investigation.

Meantime, we're crossing the half-hour right now -- time for this morning's top stories.

And new concerns this morning about the long-term effects of the Gulf oil spill. Researchers at the University of South Florida say that oil from the broken BP well may have settled at the bottom of the ocean within 40 miles of Florida's Panhandle and that it is toxic to marine life. They say they believe it's the result of the chemical dispersants.

ROBERTS: In Baghdad, a suicide bomber has killed at least 48 people and injured more than 100 others. Police say the bomber detonated his explosives outside of an army recruitment center in central Baghdad. A group of Iraqi men were lined up outside waiting to get in. The attack comes two weeks before U.S. combat troops pull out of Iraq.

CHETRY: And Facebook friends, beware. The "dislike" button is a fake. It's part of an online scam designed to gain access for your personal information. Facebook users were warned of the rogue application yesterday. And the site is now working to disable it. But again, the dislike button, don't hit it.

ROBERTS: Before taking office, President Obama promised to take a cue from Abraham Lincoln and assemble a, quote, "team of rivals." Included in his bipartisan cabinet, former President Bush's secretary of defense, Robert Gates. Gates took the job in December of 2006. Now, he's planning on stepping down by the spring of next year.

For more, let's bring in our Chris Lawrence live at Pentagon.

And, you can kind of understand this, Chris. He's been there an awfully long time.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, if he stays until January, only four secretaries of defense will have been there longer. So, this is a guy who's wanted to get home for some time now. The reason that he doesn't want to wait until 2012 is because: A, he thinks a confirmation hearing for a new secretary in an election year is a bad idea, and, because there's no guarantee that President Obama gets re-elected. The chances of finding a very credible successor who might only serve on the job for 10 months is relatively slim.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE (voice-over): For years, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has been channeling the "Godfather's" Michael Corleone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

LAWRENCE: He was ready to retire two years ago but stayed on to serve a second president. Now, he hopes to leave next year, quote, "I think it would be a mistake to wait until January 2012. This is not the kind of job you want to fill in the spring of an election year."

GEN. JAMES DUBIK (RET.), FELLOW, INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR: I think is he a gentleman.

LAWRENCE: Retired General James Dubik served under Gates during the height of the Iraq surge. He wonders if the next secretary will keep Gates' respect for military leaders in uniform.

DUBIK: He's a genuinely respectful of the military profession and what we bring to the table. He's also a very good listener and a very good question asker.

LAWRENCE: Gates has aggressively cut the defense budget. He stopped the Air Force from spending $65 billion on F-22 planes, and just announced a plan to cut 30,000 contractors and close an entire military command.

ROBERT GATES, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: The culture of endless money that has taken hold must be replaced by a culture of savings and restraint.

LAWRENCE: Some military officials don't like these cuts. Might they consider Gates a lame-duck and try to wait him out?

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell told me there's always a danger but, quote, "I don't think anyone would dare try to play with fire and drag their feet. They do so at their own apparel. The secretary is not afraid to fire people who are not on board."

But if Gates leaves, it raises the question: what will the president do without him?

DANA MILBANK, "WASHINGTON POST" COLUMNIST: President Obama came in particularly after Bush, with sort of an impression that he would be softer on defense and unable to stand up to the Pentagon.

LAWRENCE: "Washington Post" columnist Dana Milbank says whether it was Gates backing the Afghanistan policy or cutting weapons systems, having a hawkish holdover from a Republican administration helped Obama.

MILBANK: He's not just given the president some political cover, he's been an extensive down duvet cover for President Obama's administration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: So, what is he going to do without that blanket around?

Now, I talked to Gates' spokesman and he said, look, this is what the secretary wants to do. But it may be spring, it may be summer, it may be fall. He's got a lot on his plate, including getting the troops out of Iraq, getting the Afghanistan strategy review and getting these budget cuts through Congress.

So, it's what he wants. It may not be exactly what he gets.

ROBERTS: And, Chris, what about a replacement? I'm hearing Hillary Clinton's name being kicked around.

LAWRENCE: Yes, that's right. Our folks over at the State Department put that question out there yesterday. She's been -- her name's been bandied about here in the halls of Pentagon as well, but State Department folks say there's little to no chance of that. She's very focused on her job there at the State Department.

It's really going to depend on when he leaves. You know, if he leaves with two years to go and President Obama's term, much greater chance that you get a strong, credible successor. If he's leaving, you know, not until the end of 2011, going to be hard to get somebody really strong who potentially might only take that job for 10 months.

ROBERTS: Well, we'll see. It will become the favorite parlor game in Washington, for sure. Chris Lawrence at the Pentagon this morning -- Chris, thanks.

LAWRENCE: Yes.

CHETRY: Well, a high school in Dearborn, Michigan has found a creative and interesting way to fit football in with the Muslim faith. The coach estimates the team's about 95 percent Muslim and, of course, Ramadan is happening right now, you cannot eat or drink from sunrise to sunset. So, he's doing practice at 11:00 p.m. (INAUDIBLE) graveyard shift so that his team can rehydrate and refuel during Ramadan and still fast during the day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER ZABAN, COACH, DEARBORN FORDSON FOOTBALL TEAM: Just kind of figured let's try this, let's see how it works. Ultimately, this is what we're trying to do. It's for the health and safety of our student athletes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: There you go -- starting practice so late allows the players and the coaches to eat, drink, complete their meals, and then get an hour before practice starts. And it also allows the players a side bonus as to practice during the coolest part of the day.

ROBERTS: It looks like they're adapting just fine.

CHETRY: He said it was hard to get used to the hours at first.

ROBERTS: I would think. Just a little bit. But they seem to be doing all right.

Severe flooding in Pakistan is leaving one-fifth of the country under water. And this morning, new fears that all that water could be bringing with it a wave of deadly disease.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Forty-one minutes past the hour.

Desperate pleas for help in Pakistan as officials fear the severe flooding may lead to outbreaks of diseases like typhoid, hepatitis and cholera, especially among children.

And the statistics from weeks of flooding are just shocking. The torrential rains have submerged a fifth of the country. More than 1,400 people have died. That number could go much higher. And some 20 million people have been affected, displaced in some way.

Joining me now to get a sense of what it's been like on the ground with the rescue efforts, Peter Biro. He's a senior communication officer at the International Rescue Committee. He's in the Swat Valley in Pakistan. He joins us on the phone.

Peter, thanks for being with us this morning.

PETER BIRO, SR. COMM. OFFICER, INTL. RESCUE CMTE. (via telephone): Thank you.

Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. secretary-general, has called this flooding the worst natural disaster he's ever seen. He went there to witness it firsthand. As I understand it, you have worked in and around that area over the past 30 years.

Describe what the situation on the ground is like today.

BIRO: Well, the fact (ph) is simply astonishing. You know, as you pointed out, 20 million people are affected by this disaster.

And I was just coming in this morning from an area here in Swat where entire houses have been wiped out, you know? Big houses that are collapsed, big concrete slabs fallen into the water, smaller poor dwellings from clay that are simply gone. Just bricks left, mattresses sticking up, debris sticking everywhere up out of the mud, you know, pools of stagnant water, you know? That's terrible.

And, of course, there's an issue of livelihoods as well. You know, people are trying very hard to get by, to get back on their feet, you know?

I spoke to a woman the other day called Zubabyah (ph) and she -- you know, she was just walking around the rubble of her former house and she was looking for clothes because her kids had nothing to wear and there was nothing left. Her husband makes a living from selling ice cream and the cart was broken and her sewing machine was broken. She used to make a living from stitching holes in clothes.

It was just a tremendous disaster that's going to kind of take a very, very long time to recover from.

CHETRY: Yes, you just have to see the pictures -- look at pictures we're showing to see just how dire the situation is there right now. What are the most pressing concerns? We're seeing pictures of people chest-high in water walking. Where are they even being housed right now? Where are they even going?

BIRO: Well, a lot of people are taken in by neighbors that have still houses on higher ground. A lot of people are living in the tents. I was in a camp for Afghan refugees -- Afghanistan refugees have been sheltering here for three decades.

And there's one camp that was completely erased, 50,000 people homeless. And they're sort of squatting, most of them, by the side of the big highway under tents. And, you know, out in the open, more or less.

Other people are moving into schools where they're taken care of by government. They get some rations and that. But it's a very dire situation.

CHETRY: I understand that the world body, the United Nations, appealing for nearly $500 million to provide relief. We understand that a little more than half of that has been given. The U.S. trying to help with Navy helicopters and other things like that, but is the need versus the aid -- is it enough or is it not filling the need right now?

BIRO: No, no. It's staggering the level of need, the immediate need. You know, there's -- I don't have the numbers right here, but I know that the human appeal (ph) has been met by almost nothing yet. So, we are urgently asking for funds to start this job in earnest which is just a tremendous task.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: What can people do? People watching at home saying, you know, what can I possibly do to help? What do you need?

BIRO: The International Refuge Committee is contemplating on preventing, you know, spreading of disease which is the big problem right now, water borne disease as we try to do just to do this quickly as we can and (INAUDIBLE) clean wells and truck out fresh water to people. We, obviously, need money. The general aid community needs more funding and that's the best thing. For instance, go to our website, IRC.org and donate. That's what we need.

CHETRY: You say it may take decades to help return some order and semblance of normalcy to the country. It is such a tragedy. Peter Biro with the IRC, thanks so much for joining us this morning and good luck.

BIRO: Thank you.

CHETRY: Also, to get more information on how you can help provide relief for the flood victims in Pakistan, help avoid some of the concerns about widespread disease, visit CNN's website, impact your world, cnn.com/impact.

Forty-seven minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Fifty minutes after the hour. The sun's coming up in New York City where right now it's 74 degrees. It looks like it's going to be a very nice day. Sunny but the heat returns, 91 degrees. Enjoy it while you can because most of the rest of the week's going to be a bit of a washout. So, if you can do something outside, today's the day to do it. CHETRY: Plus, taking on a summer in general, too.

ROBERTS: When you hit August, it's like the pedal goes to the metal and --

CHETRY: Fifty minutes after the hour. Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano is in the Extreme Weather Center. Went by like a flash, probably, for you too. You were down in the Gulf most of the time.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I just think about that, you know. I try to get out west in the summertime, take in some of that high-mountain air and haven't done it. Yes, boom, it's already getting close to September. And then, we have these things to worry about. It is hurricane season, and although, you know, it's been a relatively slow start, but we'll take it, right? This is tropical depression number 5 or was. And it's what's left over of it after it did its loopy loop.

And guess what? It's not going to develop any further, but in the folks who live in New Orleans back through Baton Rouge, and certain Lafayette, you're going to see heavy rain at times here for the next really couple of days. So, three to six inches possible, and flash flood watches are out for a good day or two because of that heavy rainfall that's expected. Good news here, the extreme heat advisories have shrunk and have been pushed down to the south.

So, just Dallas and Houston really back to Corpus Christi and Brownsville under heat advisories for today. If you are doing some travels and low clouds, rain potentially is slowing down traffic in Atlanta. Houston 30 to 60-minute delays there and Denver, some low clouds, windy conditions across parts of the Great Lakes and the northeast, as John mentioned. Not all that shabby after a couple of showers last night. That's a quick check on weather. AMERICAN MORNING is coming right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Six minutes now to the top of the hour, and it's time for the Moos News in the Morning. You know the saying, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade?

CHETRY: When PETA complained about a monkey being used in a car commercial, the company didn't Dodge the issue, instead, they got creative. Here's Jeanne.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the story of what happened when Dodge got a tongue lashing from the animal rights group PETA using a chimp in their commercial. This is the spot before PETA complained.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This event could not be more amazing. Wait, there's a monkey. I stand corrected.

MOOS: And this is the re-edited after-PETA-complained version.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, wait, there's an invisible monkey. Unbelievable.

MOOS: Monkey see, monkey do. Do not see monkey.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, wait, there's an invisible monkey.

MOOS: OK, it's a chimp, not a monkey. But those who hate PETA were thrilled. Finally, someone stood up to those morons at PETA. Genius Dodge. Genius. Even if the genius who wrote this couldn't spell it. We read some of the praise to the CEO of Dodge. Good on Chrysler for giving PETA the finger. I mean --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my gosh, no, definitely not the intent.

MOOS: Some people are interpreting this as Dodge poking PETA in the eye.

AMANDA SCHINKE, PETA: That is not at all the case. The response has been completely enthusiastic.

MOOS: Not only did Dodge change the commercial, it pledged to never again use great apes.

SCHINKE: We are absolutely delighted.

MOOS: Dodge's CEO said he was touched when PETA told him baby chimps are torn from their mothers to be trained as actors, often kept in deplorable conditions, sometimes whacked, as this PETA video seems to show.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, we're Dodge. We learn from our mistakes.

MOOS (on-camera): This is all great for Dodge because it turns out the invisible monkey is getting greater visibility than the original monkey.

MOOS (voice-over): All glory to the invisible monkey, posted one fan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Action.

MOOS: The invisible monkey saga became a Taiwanese animated recreation that ends with PETA and Dodge toasting the invisible monkey.

Whoever came up with the invisible monkey is the hero here, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's my agency, WNK. They're awesome.

MOOS: To get from this --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, wait, there's a monkey. MOOS: To this --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, wait, there's an invisible monkey.

MOOS: They had to have the voiceover retract (ph) by the actor who plays stereokiller (ph), Dexter, no less.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not joking. I kill people.

MOOS: People maybe but at least not monkeys.

Jeanne Moos, CNN --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Make them a funny face.

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: But the monkey's still there. You just can't see it.

CHETRY: But they learned their lesson. They're not going to use monkeys anymore.

ROBERTS: At least not monkeys you can see.

CHETRY: We're going to take a quick break. Your top stories in just three minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)