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American Morning
Islamic Center on the Move Away From Ground Zero?; Aid to Pakistan Slow; Dr. Laura Schlessinger Done Doing Radio; Blagojevich Guilty on One Count; "A Soap Opera Come to Life"; U.S. Navy Helping in Pakistan; Programming Nemo
Aired August 18, 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. It's a Wednesday, August 18th. I'm Kiran Chetry.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you all. Good to be back with you here on AMERICAN MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes sitting in today for John Roberts.
Back here in New York and back at a time when this fight over that Islamic cultural center and mosque is heating up again, you know the story by now. Well, now, there's a new development. Is it possible that the developers could budge, possibly move it somewhere else? A meeting now in the works with the governor. The new details just ahead.
CHETRY: Also, a victory for former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and an upset for federal prosecutors after they failed to convince a jury to convict Blagojevich on charges including extortion, bribery and attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Obama. So what happened to the government's corruption case?
HOLMES: Also, Pakistan devastated by floods and desperate for help from the rest of the world. International relief aid has been trickling in prompting an urgent appeal from the United Nations. We'll have a look ahead at what the U.S. is doing right now to help and why. That's just ahead.
But up first, want to talk about those new developments in the fight over that planned Islamic cultural center and mosque near Ground Zero.
CHETRY: Yes, this morning there is word that it could be on the move. Actually further away from the site of the September 11th attacks. Mary Snow has details on this for us this morning. And this was something that the governor had talked about before, possibly finding a new site. What's the latest?
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran and T.J. There seems to be movement now in the governor's effort to find another location for the Islamic center. A spokesman for New York Congressman Peter King says Governor David Paterson plans to meet with the developers to discuss plans to move to an alternative site.
A local CBS affiliate here in New York is reporting that the governor may offer them state land at a different location for their cultural and religious center. But the governor's office would only say that a meeting is planned in the near future.
Now so far, publicly the developer of the 13-story building has refused to budge. He insists it will be a center for the entire community that will have things like a swimming pool, performing arts center, restaurant and auditorium. In an exclusive interview yesterday with the affiliate New York One, the developer said it's absurd that so much has been made about the location of the project.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHARIF EL-GAMAL, GROUND ZERO ISLAMIC CENTER DEVELOPER: We are nowhere near the World Trade Center site. It's a really sad day for America when our politicians choose to look at a constitutional right and use that as basis for their elections.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: And developers have at least one powerful ally in this fight, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who earlier this week told one Ground Zero mosque heckler to go to the library and get a copy of the bill of rights.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR MICHAEL BLOOMBERG (I), NEW YORK: It is not the government's business to get involved in religion and religious organizations, where they are or what they say or how they're funded. This is the fundamental right that Americans have to say and pray the way they want to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW: The public opinion is clearly not on his side. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll taken last week shows that two- thirds of the country is against this Islamic center.
HOLMES: And a lot of people are against it because they say we've heard a million times it's hallowed ground, sacred ground down there. What exactly else is in that neighborhood? This hallowed, sacred area people keep referring to?
SNOW: Yes, we took a walk down there the other day because this Islamic center is two blocks away from Ground Zero. One of the things we found just around the corner is a strip club. An OTB, off-track betting site, and this is right in the area near Ground Zero. The strip club is three blocks away. This Islamic center is two blocks away. And you know, a lot of people are also calling it the Ground Zero mosque. It's not exactly at Ground Zero and it does not overlook the site. But we just kind of wanted to give a little bit of perspective since this debate has been spreading. CHETRY: When you also talk about the possibility of state land, I mean, you heard the mayor say this -- the government needs to stay out of this -- the whole separation of church and state issue. If it was on state land and taxpayer money would be potentially used, it opens up a whole other can of worms.
SNOW: It absolutely does. And you know, the governor had floated this idea last week saying, you know, he's not opposed to the Islamic center but he suggested perhaps state land could be offered. We don't know specifically what he has in mind but as you mentioned that is a whole other can of worms that he could open.
HOLMES: We'll see if this meeting actually does take place. Developers keep saying we're not budging anyway.
SNOW: Right.
HOLMES: But we're willing to listen to the governor. Mary Snow, thank you this morning.
SNOW: Sure.
CHETRY: Well, prosecutors say that they're ready to go today if need be to retry Rod Blagojevich after a jury found the former Illinois governor guilty on only one count, lying to the FBI. Jurors were deadlocked on the 23 other counts including racketeering, attempted extortion and wire fraud. Blagojevich could still face up to five years in prison but outside court yesterday, he maintained that he's told the truth from the very beginning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROD BLAGOJEVICH, FORMER ILLINOIS GOVERNOR: Let me also say to the people of Illinois that from the very beginning when this all happened, I told them that I did not let them down. I didn't break any laws. I didn't do anything wrong. The government, the federal government, and this particular prosecutor, did everything he could to target me and prosecute me, persecute me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: It was supposed to be a slam-dunk corruption case. What happened? We're going to get some insight when we talk to Paul Callan, a former New York City prosecutor and criminal defense attorney just ahead.
HOLMES: And to Pakistan now, the disaster there, a fifth of the country submerged by floodwaters. Millions of people homeless right now. The risk of deadly disease is spreading. The U.S. has committed about $100 million in relief aid for Pakistan, but the overall global response has not been nearly enough. CNN's Barbara Starr following all the developments for us. She's live for us at the Pentagon.
Barbara, good morning and how is the U.S. planning on helping out?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, T.J. As you say, this disaster a growing and epic proportions.
Just consider this. The United Nations says perhaps as many as 15 million or even 20 million people now affected by this. The U.S. military, U.S. aid agencies, the State Department all weighing in with help. Let's look at some very quick numbers on the level of U.S. assistance. So far, about $90 million from the United States in cash and aid and other assistance. The U.S. military helicopters on the ground. They've helped evacuate about 5,000 people. Just over 500,000 pounds of food and other relief supplies. But, you know, evacuating 5,000 people when 20 million may be affected, this is a trickle. The United Nations is appealing to the world for more aid, more assistance.
They say, look, consider this. They need millions of dollars a day just for clean water for the people who are impacted on all of this. Why is the aid not getting in? There's been a very slow worldwide response. The weather there continues to be bad. In many areas, roads and bridges are washed out. They can't even get into the areas where people are affected the most -- T.J.
HOLMES: And we talk so much about humanitarian response, but there's a security issue at play here as well.
STARR: Oh, absolutely. Just as you say, you know, the U.S. is responding on humanitarian grounds first and foremost. There is no question about that but behind the scenes there is growing concern. So many people in Pakistan affected. A very weak central government there. A lot of concern about the possibility of one more time in Pakistan. The military stepping in and taking over. The U.S. has really been pressing the Pakistani civilian government to take care of their people, to provide a strong government, and of course, bottom line, to fight terrorism, Al Qaeda and the Taliban which have racked that country with violence. There is concern that all of that could go by the wayside while they try and cope with all of this -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Barbara Starr for us from the Pentagon this morning. Barbara, thank you, as always.
For more on our military's efforts, we'll have an update about 20 minutes from our Sara Sidner. She's on-board the USS Hallelu (ph) in Karachi. Either ships are being used as a staging area to launch tougher missions. Also, for more on what's still needed and how you can help, stay with us as well. Coming up in just about 30 minutes, 6:40 Eastern Time, we're going to be talking to Carolyn Miles. She's the chief operating officer for Save the Children.
CHETRY: Well, Dr. Laura says she's done with radio. The embattled talk show host insists that she will not renew her contract when it expires at the end of this year. She's taken a lot of heat since repeatedly using the "N" word last week in a heated exchange with a caller. In an exclusive interview with CNN's Larry King last night, she said that she needs to walk away from the microphone in order to, quote, "regain her First Amendment rights."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DR. LAURA SCHLESSINGER, HOST, "THE DR. LAURA SHOW": Well, I'm here to say that my contract is up for my radio show at the end of the year and I've made the decision not to do radio anymore. The reason is, I want to regain my First Amendment rights. I want to be able to say what's on my mind and in my heart and what I think is helpful and useful without somebody getting angry, some special interest group deciding this is a time to silence a voice of dissent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Dr. Laura used the "N" word 11 times in five minutes during a conversation last week with an African-American woman. The caller was seeking advice about how to deal with racist comments she perceived from her white husband's friends and relatives. Here's a snippet of that original conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CALLER: So, the "N" word has been thrown around.
SCHLESSINGER: Black guys use it all the time. Turn on HBO, listen to a black comic, and all you hear is (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I didn't spew out the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) word.
CALLER: You said, (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
SCHLESSINGER: Right, I said that's what you hear.
CALLER: Everybody heard it.
SCHLESSINGER: Yes, they did.
CALLER: I hope everybody heard it.
SCHLESSINGER: They did, and I'll say it again.
CALLER: So what makes it OK for you to say the word?
SCHLESSINGER: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) is what you hear on HBO.
CALLER: So what makes it --
SCHLESSINGER: Why don't you let me finish a sentence.
CALLER: OK.
SCHLESSINGER: Don't take things out of context. Don't double N -- NAACP me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, Dr. Laura also told Larry King that she's not quitting or retiring, that she plans to expand her Internet presence so that she can express her views without living in fear.
HOLMES: Still tough and really exasperating to listen to that exchange. We'll see where she ends up with her First Amendment rights now.
Well, a North Carolina sheriff's deputy was held hostage for about three hours yesterday. Not by some dangerous criminal he was pursuing, but by 50,000 bees.
Take a look at this brave sheriff's deputy hold up in his vehicle. Well, that's not him. But one of the guys called out to do something with these bees. It started yesterday morning. Brandon Jenkins is his name. He responded to a broken-down truck. The truck was carrying 60 boxes of bees. When he got there, they were swarming and they parked themselves right on his car. There he is. He's not budging. Took about three hours for bee keepers to corral the insects and return them to their hives.
CHETRY: Did he wash his car with Kool-Aid or something? I mean, how the heck did that made bees -- I mean, that's unbelievable.
HOLMES: They said they stick together and they actually --
CHETRY: They sure do.
HOLMES: No. Well, they describe it as though they were hot and bothered yesterday because it gets warmer and that's when they're a little more active.
CHETRY: Did he get stung?
HOLMES: He -- no, he didn't actually. The bee keepers did, but he didn't.
CHETRY: Wow.
All right. Well, it's ten minutes after the hour. We got a check of this morning's weather headlines. Jacqui Jeras in the extreme weather center. I mean, can you just imagine driving your car and then --
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: No.
CHETRY: Wow. A horror movie.
JERAS: That's like it's better than the gator video. Remember that gator video?
CHETRY: Yes.
JERAS: Looked like that gator video to me. Some nasty stuff. Also some nasty stuff in the weather department this morning, guys. We've got some really wicked thunderstorms that are rumbling across parts of the mid-Atlantic at this hour. You can see behind me, Washington, D.C., Baltimore getting hit with heavy downpours and flooded rains expected with this as well. It's moving up towards Jersey and Philadelphia. This is right around the corner for you as well. If you're going to be traveling today, expect to see plenty of delays in the northeast corridor as well as the southeast as our lingering low and stationary front stay parked in that area. Check out some extreme weather in the Phoenix area yesterday evening. Thousands of people without power when thunderstorms rumbled on through. Those thunderstorm winds also kicked up quite a dust storm in the area bringing visibility down extremely low. The one benefit to it though -- temperature dropped 27 degrees in 30 minutes. How about that? Getting on to triple digits for a few minutes there in Phoenix.
CHETRY: Yes. You know what I call that? I call that a sinus headache whenever that happens.
JERAS: Does it?
CHETRY: Yes. Thanks, Jacqui.
HOLMES: Jacqui, thank you so much.
Well, he hit the home run that forever became known as the shot heard round the world. Might be one of the most dramatic moments in all of baseball history this morning. Sports world is mourning the loss of former New York Giant Bobby Thomson who died yesterday at 86 years old.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant! The Giants win the pennant!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The Giants win the pennant. That was his three-run homer in the ninth inning, bottom of the ninth. Decisive game three of the playoffs gave the Giants the national league pennant over the hated Brooklyn Dodgers at the time some 59 years ago sparking that famous call. And again, still kind of gives you chills.
CHETRY: It gave me goose bumps.
HOLMES: It does, still.
CHETRY: All those years later. Good old days. We weren't around yet.
HOLMES: We heard about it.
CHETRY: What do we know?
When they arrested former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, prosecutors said that the crime would have made Abraham Lincoln roll over in his grave. Yet a jury found Blagojevich guilty of just a single charge, making a false statement to authorities. So what happened to the prosecution's case? We're joined by Paul Callan in a moment, former NYC prosecutor and criminal defense attorney.
It's 13 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: (INAUDIBLE) Elvis.
HOLMES: He did?
CHETRY: We think so.
HOLMES: Well, we don't know if Rod Blagojevich will be singing inside of a jailhouse any time soon. The former governor of Illinois claiming victory, and why wouldn't he? He was looking at 24 counts and also up to 20, 30 years in prison. Instead, he walked away with the jury convicting him on only one count in his corruption trial.
CHETRY: Yes. Blagojevich could still get up to five years in prison, but even after yesterday's verdict, the former governor continued to maintain his innocence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROD BLAGOJEVICH, FORMER ILLINOIS GOVERNOR: Let me also say to the people of Illinois that from the very beginning, when this all happened, I told them that I did not let them down, I didn't break any laws, I didn't do anything wrong. The government -- the federal government and this particular prosecutor did everything he could to target me and prosecute me, persecute me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Joining me now to break it down, Paul Callan, former New York City prosecutor and criminal defense attorney. Thanks for being with us.
PAUL CALLAN, PROFESSOR OF MEDIA LAW AT SETON HALL UNIVERSITY: Nice to be here.
CHETRY: So you get 14 days of deliberations, apparently one holdout juror here. And, in the end, all they got was nothing on the corruption charges. The prosecution only got the conviction for making a false statement to the FBI. How surprised were you by the verdict?
CALLAN: Well, I was very surprised by the verdict. I mean, frankly, for the government to come after the former governor of Illinois, you would expect a strong case and I certainly would have expected more convictions on more counts.
But, I also have to say, although everybody's painting this as a huge loss for the government, in the end, Blagojevich could go to jail for five years. So, you know, who's he going to brag about the win to, fellow inmates in the federal institution, you know?
So it's kind of a -- a peeric (ph) victory for Blagojevich if he has to go to prison for five years in the end.
CHETRY: But is it likely he would get five years on this false statement? CALLAN: Well, he's in front of a very tough prosecution-oriented federal judge in Chicago. Five years is the maximum. He probably would not get the complete five-year sentence, but he's looking at a substantial jail sentence.
HOLMES: OK, he goes to jail, but while he's in jail, possibly, he's still going to be facing -- I mean, how does the prosecutor move forward now? If he does get some kind of a jail sentence, will the prosecutor still go after him on these other 23 counts?
CALLAN: Well, quite surprisingly, the prosecutor instantly announced that he's going to retry Blagojevich. He does (ph) --
HOLMES: Why surprisingly?
CALLAN: Well, because usually at least the prosecutors go home and they look over the evidence and they try to decide is this really worth a retrial? Moments after the jury announced the verdict, the prosecutor said we're retrying him. So it -- I think it makes the prosecution look a little bit vindictive, but none -- which of course is what Blagojevich says at his press conference.
But the next step in this case is, a, he could remain out on bail pending the retrial. The judge could have thrown him in yesterday and did not. Secondly, of course, he can appeal this conviction and maybe he would have a shot on appeal, would have to look at the record. So a lot of things can go on between now and the retrial, which probably wouldn't take place for about another year.
CHETRY: But it's staggering, though, when you -- when you remember how the case first came out. I mean, they talked about having 500 hours of recordings of calls. I mean, we heard some of them. We sifted through many of them. Parts where he said, you know, I'm not going to give this seat away for free.
I mean -- I mean, he was on tape and -- and you heard a lot of incriminating statements. How were they never able to seal the deal with this one particular juror apparently? The other 11 were on-board with some of these other convictions.
CALLAN: Well, you know, what's interesting, Kiran, is hung juries are very, very rare in federal cases. Fewer than two percent of jury trials in the federal system result in hung juries. So this is very rare. And also, having a single hold-out juror, extremely rare, because usually 11 jurors are beating up the other one to change his or her mind and you get unanimity in the end.
So a lot of strange things went on here. And I think when we go back and we look at the evidence, everybody who saw it said, wow, those tapes show that he's -- he's crooked and that he's corrupt and everything else. But there's a difference between looking at that in a general sense and proving it beyond a reasonable doubt in a courtroom and they weren't able to close the deal on this issue, that he was doing more than talking and bragging.
In the end, I think the jury felt that he talks a big game but, you know, in the end, did he really sell the senate seat? No, he didn't, because he was under arrest before a senator was even appointed. So they couldn't really close the deal with the jury.
HOLMES: And you said at the end of the day they couldn't close the deal with the jury, but is it fair to say they really couldn't close the deal with one particular juror? And how confident should the prosecutor be going forward in a retrial if he knows he's got one person he needs to convince, if you will?
CALLAN: Well, statistically, they tend to win more often than lose on retrial. That is, prosecutors. But -- so I would say the prosecutor has a little bit of an edge here.
But, you know, Blagojevich and Chicago and the whole criminal justice system out there is so strange, who knows what's going to happen? I mean, who else could think that we would have an Illinois governor trying to appear on reality television shows as Blagojevich did prior to the trial? I mean his conduct was so bizarre, imitating Elvis --
CHETRY: In one of the late night shows -- yes.
CALLAN: Imitating Elvis Presley.
You know, in the end, I started to think that it was part of the defense strategy that he's so strange and deluded that anything he says doesn't really mean much. And I think, you know something? Maybe that's what the jury thought about in the end. This guy is all talk, no action. He says stupid, funny things. Are we going to send him to prison for that?
I think in strange way his bizarre behavior helped win his acquittal.
CHETRY: A very, very interesting take this morning.
Paul Callan, thanks so much.
CALLAN: Nice to be here.
HOLMES: All right. Well, coming up, you know, Facebook has -- what is it? Five hundred million users? Well, there's a New York guy who says 84 percent of that 500 million belong to him.
Yes. There's a new twist in the legal battle over exactly who owns Facebook. And now this guy says he has a canceled check to prove 84 percent is his.
It's 21 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty- five minutes past the hour now.
How about this, 228 million eggs recalled after a salmonella outbreak. The eggs were produced by an Iowa company, Wright County Eggs, sold under multiple brand names. The eggs come in cartons ranging from six to 18 eggs and are marked with one of three plant numbers, if you'd like to check, P1026, P1413 and P1946.
HOLMES: Also, all you can fly. The deal is back. JetBlue bringing it back for $699. You get unlimited travel for a month. That month begins September 7th. For $200 less you actually get the same offer but you just can't fly on Fridays or Sundays. Hurry up if you want the deal, though. It ends on Friday.
CHETRY: Not bad if you fly a lot.
A western New York man who claims that he owns 84 percent of Facebook has produced a copy of a canceled $3,000 cashier's check that may support his claim. Paul Ceglia said that he paid the money to Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerburg, in 2003 as part of a contract agreement that now he claims entitles him to take over the world's largest social networking site. And both sides will be back in federal government in Buffalo for a hearing in October.
HOLMES: Apparently, America just hasn't had enough of Sarah Palin. We need more. Well, whether you like it or not, you're going to get more. Her reality show debuting in November. She's coming to primetime. So the question everybody is asking is, is America ready for the Palin's unplugged? What, they haven't been unplugged yet?
It's 26 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Welcome back, everybody, to the Most News in the Morning.
The moose-hunting hockey mom from Wasilla, Alaska. Boy, she's come a long way, hasn't she? However you feel about Sarah Palin right now, there's no denying she is a force to be reckoned with, and it seems that Americans are just fascinated by her.
But as Kareen Wynter now tells us, Palin's popularity is about to be put to the test in primetime.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARAH PALIN, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA: Oh, my goodness.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What, what, what?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's the kind of unscripted drama that only Sarah Palin can create.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm honored though she thinks I'm a celebrity.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're certainly not.
WYNTER: Americans just can't seem to get enough of this provocative political family. But that could all change when the former vice presidential candidate's reality show debuts this fall.
PALIN: To be part of the political process instead of becoming a celebrity so that you could -- yes. (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And if that is the best you can do, then good for you.
WYNTER: For Sarah Palin's Alaska, the cameras will follow their every move.
ROY SEKOFF, FOUNDING EDITOR, HUFFINGTON POST: A lot of it is sort of just watching this train wreck happen. Oh, my God. What are they going to do next? Oh, no, not that.
WYNTER: "The Huffington Post" founding editor, Roy Sekoff, says the Palins are cashing in on the 15 minutes of fame.
WYNTER: What is it about the Palins' America's obsession? People just can't seem to get enough of this family.
SEKOFF: Well, I think that they are a soap opera come to life. I mean, the stuff that happens to this family, you couldn't put these together if you were a writer for "All My Children."
You have the people who love her. You have the people who hate her. But everybody is talking about her.
WYNTER: And that includes Levi Johnston, the Palin's most famous former son-in-law to be.
LEVI JOHNSTON, FMR. BRISTOL PALIN'S BOYFRIEND: It's tough being in a relationship and a lot of money, you know?
WYNTER: Sekoff says it's that limelight that's propelled the Palins and Johnston to celebrity status. The headlines about Levi and Bristol Palin's love child, their two broken engagements, the buzz about Johnston shopping his own reality show, oh and that music video that Johnston just appeared in that had tongues wagging because many said it puked fun at the Palins which Levi denied.
JOHNSTON: Watch the video. It's going to be hot.
WYNTER: But when it comes to the media firestorm over this family, Sekoff says it's Palin's persona as a political lightning rod that's fueling the public's appetite.
SEKOFF: Right now, she is all about promoting the Sarah brand. There's a reason why Oprah booked her when her book came out. There's a reason why her book was a best seller, why Barbara Walters did a five-parter with her. People are interested in the Palins.
WYNTER: And it's that interest that's creating a gravy train for this family, proving that it pays to be a Palin.
(on camera): As for Levi Johnson's reality show, well, that hasn't been picked up as yet. But producers say they have shot footage here in Hollywood and plan to shoot more in Alaska -- T.J., Kiran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: There you. Set your DVR.
HOLMES: And, you know, a lot of people will. Everybody's curious, no matter how you feel about them. They're curious.
CHETRY: Oh, yes. I'm curious.
HOLMES: Yes.
CHETRY: Thirty-one minutes past the hour right now -- time for a look at our top stories.
Word this morning that the Islamic center and mosque that's planned near Ground Zero may be on the move? Well, a meeting is in the works between the New York governor and the developers of that center. We're told that he may offer up state land that's actually further away from the site of the September 11th attacks.
HOLMES: And BP says it will no longer accept claims from people or businesses that were harmed by the oil spill in the Gulf. However, this is part of the plan. It says, after today, instead, the new claims will be directed to the government's Gulf Coast claims facility headed up by Kenneth Feinberg. He, of course, is overseeing that $20 billion fund that BP is financing.
CHETRY: And the crisis in Pakistan has gone from bad to worse. A fifth of the country is submerged by the floodwaters. The United Nations now says more than 3 million children are at high risk of getting waterborne diseases like cholera, typhoid, dysentery. The U.N. is appealing to the international community for more money now to help the 20 million people affected by the flooding.
And the Pentagon now has a Navy ship, the USS Peleliu, in Karachi. The ship is being used as a staging area to launch chopper missions.
HOLMES: Yes. The Navy is assisting Pakistan's military in both rescue and relief.
Our Sara Sidner is on-board that ship. She has the latest for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're here off the shores of Karachi on the USS Peleliu, with the Expeditionary Strike Group number 5. It is their whole mission to make sure to be available when there is some sort of disaster. They patrol these waters and they were in the area to help those in the flood zone in Pakistan.
They've been able to get about 5,000 people out of those flood zones, rescuing them with helicopters. They've also been able to drop about a half million pounds of aid. They say they will be here for as long as it takes. There are more helicopters coming in. There are more ships coming in.
The U.S. says that it has a humanitarian commitment that they're going to make to Pakistan. They've already given about $90 million in kind.
But the U.N. is continually saying that there is simply not enough aid being offered to this country. And so, about $460 million so far, less than half of that has been pledged. There is still a great deal of need here in Pakistan.
The U.S. military says they'll be here. The United States itself says that it will keep providing lots of help, as much as it can, but much more is needed here.
Sara Sidner, CNN, off the coast of Karachi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: You know, it's very vital as she was talking about because of the fact that so many of these roads and bridges are washed out. They need to be able to launch these chopper missions to get aid to people who need it.
HOLMES: Nobody can get in right now. We're going to be talking about this in a second, but no one can really get a good grasp of just how massive this disaster is. People are calling it their Katrina in Pakistan.
CHETRY: Well, meanwhile, the U.N. is warning that 3.5 million kids are now at risk in Pakistan. As we talked about, 20 million people affected by the worst flooding the country has ever seen. We're going to find out more from one of the aid organizations there, Save the Children, on what needs to happen to try to get more relief to the people who so desperately need it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
CHETRY: Thirty-seven minutes past the hour right now.
We've been trying to give you a picture of just what it's been like in Pakistan after the flooding that took place nearly three weeks ago. Millions of people are still waiting for aid. The flooding is turning into one of the biggest humanitarian crises ever.
We're going to break down the numbers for you right now. So far, more than 1,400 people have died. Some 20 million affected, impacted in some way by the flooding. You take a look at donations -- "Reuters" is reporting that the U.N. is saying today they've secured only $230 million in aid, so far.
HOLMES: OK. So, let's compare that to the earthquake in Haiti. Federal numbers show 230,000 people were killed, 3 million affected. U.N. says $3.2 billion have been pledged or donated.
And the 2004 South Asian tsunami, 245,000 people killed, 5 million affected, according to the "A.P.," and aid $13 billion.
Joining us now, Carolyn Miles, chief operating officer for Save the Children.
Ma'am, thank you for being in.
And is it fair to even try to compare this disaster to the other disasters? And as we try to compare how much money is coming in, is that even fair to try to compare?
CAROLYN MILES, SAVE THE CHILDREN: You know, in a way, it's fair, because obviously, the response is going to depend on how many -- how much funds are raised. So, I think, from that standpoint, it's fair.
But there are a lot of differences. This kind of emergency, this flood in Pakistan, first of all, is much more slow-moving. So, it's different than an earthquake. It's different than a tsunami where you have an event and it's over and it happens. And then people are able to get in and -- obviously, both respond and also report on what's happening.
In Pakistan, it's very difficult to get in to these areas. And just now, I think the scale of this emergency, you know, something like one-third to one-quarter of the country is covered with water. And this is a country that's twice the size of California.
So, this is a huge scale of emergency. But that's just now starting to sink in.
HOLMES: You say to report. Is that a big part of the difficulty? The pictures aren't getting out.
MILES: The pictures are not getting out. I think the media does have a great impact actually on donations. We find that there's a very strong correlation between those stories and how people give. And so -- so, it's really important to do these kinds of stories.
CHETRY: Well, certainly, the pictures that we've shown, even though, as you said, it hasn't been the full picture, are heartbreaking. I mean, you're seeing children, people in chest-high water, water up to their neck, trying to carry their newborn babies through this.
Why has there been such a -- I guess, comparatively speaking, low amount of donations compared to some of these other tragedies? I know that Pakistan is a country that has dealt with corruption, has dealt with instability, concerns about the Taliban. But -- I mean, you look at the numbers, $230 million only. And when we're talking about other disasters that haven't affected as many people, billions were given.
MILES: Yes. I mean, I think part of it has to do with the slow onset of this emergency and the word getting out. I think part of it is there is some fatigue out there. You know, a lot of people gave to Haiti and so, particularly, Americans were very, very touched by that emergency and have given large amount of money. And I think Pakistan is a harder country for people to feel a connection with, frankly, than Haiti.
CHETRY: But we're not just talking about individual donations. I mean, countries pledging support.
MILES: Yes.
CHETRY: I mean, countries have gathered together in sort of come together. Others, you've heard the deputy prime minister of Britain saying that more needs to be done. France's president as well. And so, it just seems that -- is the world body as a whole not doing enough?
MILES: I think the world body isn't doing enough. I think the recent announcement by the U.S. is to try to help spur more of those donations from countries and that's where the vast majority of the funding comes for the rebuilding efforts which are going to be huge in the case of Pakistan -- absolutely huge.
So, I think that does have to happen. I think there are worries about corruption. I think, you know, organizations, like Save the Children, have been working there for 30 years. We have a lot of experience in making sure that the aid actually gets to where it needs to go.
And I do think countries have to kind of put those concerns aside because, as you said, there's 8 million of those 20 million are children, and they are being extremely affected by this. They have no food. They have no water. They have no capability to even get to dry land in a lot of cases.
HOLMES: You said you have been to Pakistan several times.
MILES: Yes.
HOLMES: Yourself as well. Tell us now, what is -- if we don't get on this and get on this now, what is going to be -- I guess, what is the most urgent need right now certainly?
MILES: Yes.
HOLMES: But also, what is going to be the threat not just next few months, but down the road in years where a lot of their ability to make a living, have a living, the farming, the industry, the agriculture is going to be affected?
MILES: Well, I think right now, the real emergency is around food, clean water. So, we're trying to distribute water purification tablets, for example, to people so they can just use the water they have to be able to drink because that's the most important thing, and medical services. So, being able to get to people -- kids in this kind of situations, diarrhea can be a huge killer of children. And so, trying to get to those areas that are affected.
And so, we're using donkeys and boats and helicopter and any thing, and any other in tracking, any other way that we have to get to people. But in the long term the real impact here will be on the food supply in Pakistan because these areas that are now underwater are the agricultural lands that supply all the food for Pakistan, for the 150 million-plus people that live in Pakistan. So, the food aid issue is going to be a huge one going forward.
CHETRY: Well, savethechildren.org is a great organization. I know we've linked to your Web site as well and people do want to help.
MILES: Yes.
CHETRY: Carolyn Miles, thanks so much for joining us this morning.
MILES: Thank you.
HOLMES: Thank you. Good to see you this morning.
And a full list of all the charities taking donations for Pakistan's flood victims on our Web site: CNN.com/Impact.
CHETRY: Forty-three minutes past the hour.
We have storms rolling through the nation's capital right now. Jacqui Jeras has a look at the travel forecast for us right after the break.
HOLMES: Also, coming up in 10 minutes, next time you go fishing, don't be surprised if you pull out a fish with a microchip in it. We'll explain this little guy and how he could help lead real fish to safety one day.
It's 43 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Forty-seven minutes past the hour. Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Fish, as we know, they're some of the most vulnerable animals in the Gulf oil spill, but now researchers are working on a robot that could lead schools of fish out of harm's way. Gary Tuchman has the story in today's "Edge of Discovery."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There are plenty of fish in the sea. But this one could help us understand how they communicate. So, what makes this fish so special? It's a robot.
MAURIZIO PORFIRI, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR, NYU-POLY: We can control the speed as he moves and then we can make it go in circles.
TUCHMAN: It's powered by batteries and a motor. And while it might lack intricate details and shiny scales, researchers focused on one special feature, the tail.
PORFIRI: The main thing is that what we try do is to get the same type of flow between the robot and the animals.
TUCHMAN: Researchers say the fish they studied didn't mind that the robot wasn't the same size and shape. The fish determined the robot was safe based on the way it moves. So by programming the robot to accurately mimic natural swimming motion, real fish will follow it.
PORFIRI: My specific goal as a scientist are to understand more how the fish swim together.
TUCHMAN: In the future, robot fish could be used to help to lead schools of fish away from dangers like pollution or underwater turbines.
Gary Tuchman, CNN.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: OK, that makes sense.
CHETRY: I don't know. I mean, couldn't they made it look a little more realistic? It looks like one of my kid's bath toys.
HOLMES: It's not the point.
CHETRY: Pull the string.
HOLMES: Jacqui, help, please. It's not the point.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's kind of cute! Don't you think it's kind of cute?
CHETRY: It doesn't look like a fish.
JERAS: Not so much.
CHETRY: It's all right.
JERAS: If it walks like a fish, if it talks like a fish, right?
CHETRY: Exactly.
JERAS: Anyway, you can almost go fishing in the streets today, speaking of which, guys. Today, across parts of the mid-Atlantic, the rain coming down really, really heavy. In fact, one to two inches per hour easy with this cluster and complex of thunderstorms that's rolling on through. We'll zoom in to Washington, D.C. where a flood advisory and warning has been issued now.
Baltimore, you're getting in on the heavy downpours as well. You might want to give yourself a few extra minutes to get to where you're going this morning. They could see a live picture of the capitol and the foggy conditions to go along with the rain, and we think it's going to be pretty consistent throughout the day today. The one good thing out of all of this is that it's going to keep your temperatures down a lot. In fact, today should be the first time since June that you haven't had an 80-degree temperature. How about that, D.C.? There you can see the flood watches and warnings in effect all the way down through the Appalachians, and then we're also watching it through the Mississippi Valley here. That's the remnants of TD-5 that tried to make a secondary run. If you do have travel plans today, yes, we're going to have some delays at the airports, too, 30 to 60 minutes, New York City.
You're not going to get as much rain, New York, but you are going to be overcast. D.C., Philly, delays in the southeast as our stationary boundary along with that low continue to push on in. So, watch for action to kick up here particularly late in the day and then a slight risk of severe thunderstorms across the upper Midwest.
The heat really pushed to the south today, guys. So, some great news for you, Minneapolis, Chicago, D.C., as I mentioned, and Atlanta, but still smoking hot, Dallas, 103 degrees this afternoon, and the air quality is bad to go along with that. T.J. and Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: So, take it over. I love it. It's 59 in San Francisco and everywhere else in the west we've been talking, you know, talking triple digits.
JERAS: It's the one place you can go.
CHETRY: There you. Your respite. Thanks, Jacqui.
HOLMES: Thanks, Jacqui.
CHETRY: This morning's top stories just minutes away, including the latest on the controversy over the Islamic center and mosque planned near ground zero. Perhaps, construction could be moving. We're going to get the latest on a meeting in the works between the developers and New York's governor and reports of a possible offer to build somewhere else.
HOLMES: Also, cheaper usually doesn't mean better. You certainly wouldn't want cheaper when it comes to your medical care, would you? But one hospital says it's saving you money with almost every baby it helps bring in to the world.
CHETRY: Also, what's America's favorite fast food burger? Is it the whopper? Is it the Big Mac? Is it the Belly Bomb? Is it none of the above? We're going to look at the latest rankings. Those are bubba burgers. I can tell by the way they're shaped. Fifty-one minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Fifty- five minutes past the hour. Time for the Moos News in the Morning with Jeanne. How do you get rid of a swarm of cameras?
HOLMES: OK. Apparently, she's going to tell us. This is about the same way you get rid of a swarm of bees. Jeanne Moos shows us the latest way now to repel the press.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You may think we, in the press, are obnoxious pests. That's no excuse to aim a can of wasp and hornet spray at us. Cameraman got it, all right. Next thing you know, the insecticide was being sprayed all over the web. The WTIC cameraman did get first aid at a nearby fire station.
The guy who was later arrested for doing the spraying outside a Connecticut courthouse was Shawn Quail. The media were chasing Quail and his wife because they were already charged with allegedly receiving stolen beer from none other than the man who went on a shooting rampage at that beer distributorship two weeks ago.
MOOS (on-camera): Now, normally, when people want to get rid of us, they usually cover the lens and shove technique.
MOOS (voice-over): A technique demonstrated by model, Naomi Campbell, on an ABC crew. Usually, the press is pelted. With things like tear gas canisters. Occasionally, someone throws water at a reporter. And uses the empty bottle to battle the press.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's not appropriate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
MOOS: There was even a Florida grandmother --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, don't put that camera in my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) face! Get out of (EXPLETIVE DELETED) right now.
MOOS: She chased the media wielding a hoe. And though camera crews are sometimes subjected to tear gas, at protest, we protest when hit by bug spray. A poster on Gawker quibbled with the choice of insecticide. "I think you're supposed to use roach spray on Fox cameramen, wasps and hornet sprays for CBS."
The sprayer was arrested and charges of reckless endangerment and third degree assault. At least, he followed instructions and shook (ph) the can. I guess I'd rather be sprayed than hoed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please get out of my (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
MOOS: We sure do bug (ph), people.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: We can be annoying, though.
CHETRY: Huh?
HOLMES: The press. We can be annoying.
CHETRY: Yes, I know. But -- I know. But man.
HOLMES: I don't think (ph) that was necessary.
CHETRY: Hornet spray. I love how the guy took the top off. He's like looking at it first. You have to sure as why you think it is.
HOLMES: Worked on reporters.
CHETRY: Man. We're going to take a quick break. Top stories coming up.
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