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American Morning

Pakistan's Reversal; Floodwaters Rising; Tax Burden, the Lowest in Decades; Underwater Casinos; Cuba Considering New Travel Rules; Obama Ordered Larger Strike Team; Tackling Kilimanjaro

Aired May 10, 2011 - 06:00   ET

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


CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Christine Romans.

New information this morning about a serious risk the president was prepared to take in the raid that killed bin Laden.

And a dramatic reversal by the Pakistani government. It now looks like the U.S. will be able to debrief bin Laden's three wives found in the compound with him.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Here at home -- floodwaters rising.

I'm Kiran Chetry.

Memphis seeing its worst flooding right now. Thousands of people warned to get away from the rising Mississippi River. And there's also new danger downstream this morning.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Ali Velshi.

Political power couple Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver have split. She's already moved out. We'll tell you what they're saying -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(MUSIC)

ROMANS: And welcome to AMERICAN MORNING, you guys. It is Tuesday, May 10th.

A lot going on today, including new information every few hours about that raid on the bin Laden compound and what it's yielding.

CHETRY: It's amazing because it went pretty much picture perfect but they were preparing for things to go wrong. And there's amazing new information about that today that we're going to bring you.

VELSHI: Let's tell you right now. New details about the risk that the president was willing to take. "The New York Times" is reporting that President Obama insisted the assault team that stormed the terrorist compound had to be large enough to fight its way out of Pakistan. That means the president was willing to use force against an important ally to rid the world of bin Laden.

CHETRY: We're also learning that the evidence seized from the al Qaeda chief's compound so far is mostly wishful thinking. They call it aspirational rather than actual planning and execution. Officials say there is more data to decipher.

ROMANS: And new developments, you guys, this morning on the U.S. effort to get access to three of bin Laden's wives. After refusing at first, Pakistani officials now appear ready to grant America's request to interview these women.

Reza Sayah is joining us live from Islamabad, Pakistan, this morning.

Reza, why the apparent about-face by the Pakistani government?

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm not sure if you can exactly call it an about-face at this point. I don't think there was any indication throughout this week after the raid on the bin Laden compound that the Pakistani security establishment, the Pakistani government, made a definitive decision not to give access to these individuals, the bin Laden wives.

I think they were mulling this decision over. They were considering it. This is a critical decision for the Pakistani government. This has already been an embarrassing episode for them.

These women certainly could have some information about bin Laden's support network here in Pakistan. And certainly that information could link that support network to Pakistan's security establishment and that could certainly be another embarrassing episode for them.

So, I think they were mulling it over. And now, according to a report, apparently, they have decided to give the U.S. access --

ROMANS: All right. We've lost Reza. The satellite feed froze up there. So, we'll get back to him.

But what I'm interested in is, originally, they had said they would return these women to their countries of origin.

VELSHI: Right.

ROMANS: Now, suddenly, the government is saying, OK, we will let you debrief them. And I think -- I think there's no question that Reza, if you're still there, I think there's no question that they must have some sort of information about what was going on and how they were able to survive inside this compound because they weren't -- for five or six years, we're not sure how long they were there. And most of the time they didn't leave the place. So, obviously, someone was helping them. That's what American officials want to know about.

SAYAH: Yes. I mean, they could have been with bin Laden for 10 years. So, certainly, they have -- they could have a lot of information, not just about bin Laden, what he did every day, it is plausible. They could have information about al Qaeda operations. Remember, these are women who didn't leave his side.

And as we mentioned earlier, they could have information about a support network here in Pakistan. And what put pressure on the Pakistani government and the security establishment is that information that these wives could have, could implicate the Pakistani security establishment again. So, again, initially, they were looking to repatriate them. They said they would only consider giving the U.S. access to these wives once their countries of origin had been notified and according to a report, apparently, they have decided to give the U.S. access.

ROMANS: Where are they from? Are they from Yemen, Saudi Arabia? Where are these three from? I'm not sure.

SAYAH: One is (AUDIO BREAK) you recall in the compound, officials here also found eight to nine children. It's not clear where they're from. They're going to be part of the process of being repatriated as well. It's not clear if the U.S. is asking for access to those young children either.

ROMANS: OK. Thanks. Reza Sayah, thanks so much.

And in case you couldn't hear that, it was one is Yemeni and two Saudis.

CHETRY: Well, meanwhile here at home. The floodwaters are rising. Parts of Missouri and Tennessee have been declared disaster areas. Ground zero this morning, though, is Memphis.

ROMANS: Where the Mississippi River, the nation's most important waterway, is expected to crest today at 14 feet above flood stage. They've only seen this much water there, one other time in recorded history.

VELSHI: Further south, though, people are bracing for their flood. Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour is warning people along the banks of the river: get out while you still can.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. HALEY BARBOUR (R), MISSISSIPPI: Well, of course, the integrity of the levee system is the critical thing. You will not have very much time -- if the levee fails, you will not have very much time to get out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Rob Marciano live this morning in Memphis. Let's check in with him.

Rob, what's it looking like there? Have we crested in Memphis yet?

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I would say we're in the process of cresting, guys. This whole event has been painfully slow and getting this river to crest and fall here in Memphis is -- well, that's going to be painfully slow as well.

We are down here at Riverside Drive behind me. Riverside Drive pours into the bottom of Beale Street. This should all be dry land here. Of course, on the other side of that fence is the Mississippi River, which typically would be about a half mile wide. Now, it's three miles wide to give you an idea of the amount of flow that's coming down this river.

We crested or we hit almost 48 feet last night, not quite the record set back in 1937. And the river has kind of -- kind of bit of an ebb and flow. It hasn't fall than much. And we don't expect it to fall rapidly throughout the day today. It will take several days before we get this thing below major flood stage. It will take several more days before we get it below flood stage.

So, we're talking about issues here that go well beyond -- well, is it cresting? Are those homes going to get back into dry land? About a thousand homes have been affected by these floods. A number of businesses and apartment complexes as well. Schools are also affected by this.

And, not just, you know, will the levees hold? Because they have held. But the problem is, with that kind of pressure for that long, you know, these levees really aren't designed for that. The Mississippi governor spoke to that yesterday as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBOUR: We're going to have levels of the Mississippi River higher than 1927, the great flood of 1927. The levees, of course, are so much better today and the work on them is so superior. But, of course, the big issue is, the integrity of the levee system, we're not as worried about the Mississippi River levees themselves as some of the levees on the tributaries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: And that's been the key here in Memphis especially. We've got a number of smaller rivers, tributaries that feed into the Mississippi River. Because this is such extraordinary flood stage, those rivers have not been allowed to drain and that's where we're seeing most of the flooding.

Here in downtown Memphis, we are seeing some flooding. The water that's here, guys, the other thing is, it's pretty nasty stuff. I mean, there's all sorts of stuff floating in this.

So, when it does finally recede out of here, there's going to be a big old mess under this water that they're going to have to clean up, not to mention the health issues as well.

So, this is a far reaching event with a lot of peculiarities. As this river stretches downstream, obviously, we will be following it all the way through Mississippi and eventually through Louisiana. It will be several weeks before we get into the Gulf of Mexico -- guys.

CHETRY: I mean, you mention the health concerns. Arkansas's state health department is warning people about infectious disease, telling them about drinking the water, making sure it's boiled, and all these other hosts of concerns that come with the flooding -- from the mosquitoes to contaminated water, and then, to mold.

MARCIANO: Yes. You know, the more you think about it, the more problems seem to pop up. So, you know, we don't want to paint the nightmare scenario that this could be, but there certainly are things that you don't think about when you get a flood this size.

The good news, the bright side of this is that what he have seen is really extraordinary engineering on the part of the Army Corps of Engineers, from building these levees, beginning in the '30s right through the '50s, we've seen, for the most part, things go according to plan -- guys.

CHETRY: All right. Rob Marciano for us this morning, we'll check in with you later. Thanks so much.

VELSHI: Let's go to Jacqui Jeras. She's in the extreme weather center right now with the big picture of what's going on.

Good morning, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning, guys.

Yes, we heard from Rob that the river is cresting now in Memphis, but take a look at that picture behind me on Google Earth. All of those purple dots there, that's where the river is in major flood, so we don't want to forget about those folks still in the Ohio River valley and up into the boot hill of Missouri. They are still dealing with a lot of high water. So, we're talking seven to 10 days easy that the river is going to stay out of its banks after that crest.

And then take a look ahead of Memphis, look at that -- look at all the purple dots there. So, we're already seeing that water rising all the way down into Baton Rouge. So, this is going to be a very long duration event.

Major flooding in Memphis. Record floods for just about everybody else with the exception of New Orleans, and the only reason why that is, is because we opened up that spillway yesterday. Still yet to be determined if we're going to have to open up the second spillway, potentially, that's just north of the Baton Rouge area.

The best thing I can tell you is that additional rainfall is going to be pretty minimal over the next five days. We should stay well under an inch, all the heavy rain staying to the North and stormy weather across parts of the Plain States. So, a little bit of something to help those folks out who are dealing with such catastrophe. This is the worst flooding you've seen since the '30s.

And such an antiquated system, too, guys. You know, the spillways were built back into the early '30s. So, amazing that all of these things are still working and still holding together, at least for now.

ROMANS: All right. Thank you so much, Jacqui Jeras.

To Libya where it's been the heaviest bombing we've seen in weeks. NATO airstrikes demolish parts of at least two government buildings in Tripoli. Libyan officials showed reporters the damage inside one building that they claim is used by parliament. These fresh attacks came just a few hours after NATO's chief warned that time is running out for Gadhafi.

VELSHI: Right now, the government is ticking closer to the $14.29 trillion debt ceiling and as Congress gears up for a battle over whether to raise the ceiling and by how much, House Speaker John Boehner said what it's going to take to get the party to agree to increasing the debt ceiling. Here is some of what he told the Economic Club of New York last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Let me be as clear as I can be: without significant spending cuts and changes in the way we spend the American people's money, there will be no increase in the debt limit. And the cuts should be greater than the accompanying increase in the debt limit that the president has given. We're not talking about billions here. We should be talking about cuts in trillions if we're serious about addressing America's fiscal problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Talking about trillions of dollars in cuts, getting agreement on trillions in cuts within the next few months before they get -- these will be 10-year cuts but that seems --

ROMANS: How much political pain was it to get $110 billion? Billion in cuts agreed on?

VELSHI: Yes. Even people in a fairly friendly audience at the Economic Club of New York last night were telling me they thought this seemed a bit rich for what they were going to achieve.

ROMANS: In a $14 trillion economy, $2 trillion in cuts is a huge, huge part of the economy.

VELSHI: Yes, that's a big deal.

Boehner went on to say that everything is on the table, except tax increases.

CHETRY: And every economist -- most economists say it has to be a combination of both.

VELSHI: Right. And he said --

CHETRY: Cuts and tax increases in some way, shape, or form for us to get back on track.

VELSHI: Yes, that's right. And he said no to the tax increases entirely.

CHETRY: All right. We'll be talking a little bit more about that coming up.

But, first, some news that surprised a lot of us this morning, you think about this power couple out of California, former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver. Well, they sent out a statement announcing they've split. They said that their separation is amicable and in a joint statement, they say they're living apart while they decide on their relationship's future. They also stressed that their four children remain their top priority.

Shriver has moved out of their California mansion. The two have been married for 25 years.

ROMANS: There was still basketball in Memphis last night, guys -- lots and lots of basketball. How about triple overtime in game four of the NBA playoffs? The Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Grizzlies, winning 133-123, to tie the series up at two games apiece. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook of the Thunder combined for -- wow -- 75 points. There you go.

CHETRY: Well, the iconic photo, by the way, of the Situation Room when president and his team were watching that raid -- there it is -- it's been the stuff of Photoshop, of course. People have been having fun with it. But one orthodox Jewish newspaper actually Photo Shopped the women completely out of the picture. We're going to show you more and talk about why coming up.

It's 13 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Good morning, Kiran.

Let's continue that conversation we were having. I was at that speech by John Boehner last night where he said they will not raise the debt ceiling unless there are massive cuts in spending but he said everything is on the table. Everything is on the table.

He made one exception. No income tax increases are on the table. He said Republicans simply won't agree to any income tax increases at all saying that Americans are overtaxed and tax increases kill jobs.

CHETRY: And it is interesting. We want to just sort of show you the numbers and people can decide for themselves. But the fact of the matter is, Americans are paying, Ali, the smallest income tax that we've paid collectively over the past 50 years and one of the reasons is our deficit -- that is one of the reasons that our deficit continues to grow.

But let's just take a look at some of the numbers. Here's our first chart. The quarter of this year saw Americans paying 23.6 percent of their income to taxes. Now that would be a combination of federal taxes, state, local taxes. Compare that to what we were paying in the '70s, '80s, '90s -- 27 percent is the tax rate.

Let's take a look at the 1990s right now. If we were paying taxes at 1990 rates it would bring in an extra $500 billion a year to the federal coffers, that'd be about a third of the estimated $1.5 trillion federal deficit this year.

So how does it break down per person? We'll let's take a look. Let's say you're making $100,000 a year. Right now you pay $23,600 in taxes on average. What was it like back in 2000? Well, that same person would have paid $28,700 in taxes. So really, we're talking $5,100 less than you pay back in 2000.

Why? Well, of course we're talking about the Bush-era tax cuts and the one-year 2 percent Social Security tax reduction that President Obama signed. Those are two reasons.

And here's a look at what the government expects to spend on each person this year, $18,086 spent per person. In 2001 that figure was $13,552. So you're talking about an additional expenditure of $4,534 per person.

So basically we're being taxed less, the government is spending more and of course that's a recipe that will continue to grow our deficit -- Ali.

VELSHI: All right, Kiran.

President Obama's money man Tim Geithner acknowledging that the U.S. budget does need tightening during high-level talks with Chinese officials who are in town. The meetings between the world's two largest economies wrap up today.

U.S. officials have also been pressing China to stop manipulating its money and keeping their currency, the Yuan, low, in order to give products with that made in China label an edge over American made products.

New numbers out this morning may help U.S. officials in their demands for faster appreciation of China's currency. China's trade surplus, the difference between what they sell the United States and the United States sells China, surged in April to $11.4 billion. In other words, we bought $11.4 billion more worth of Chinese stuff than the United States sold China.

ROMANS: And the Chinese have an interest on how well the United States gets its own deficits under control because that -- it will directly impact the value of their big investment.

VELSHI: Right.

CHETRY: Of course.

ROMANS: Into treasury bonds in this country.

VELSHI: That's right.

ROMANS: So a very complicated but important relationship between China and the U.S.

Now from the House to the White House, former House speaker the Newt Gingrich will announce his presidential campaign tomorrow. His spokesman says he'll make the official announcement on Twitter and Facebook. Gingrich will then get a chance to test the political waters. He addresses the Georgia Republican convention Friday. In the latest CNN Opinion Research poll, 10 percent favor Gingrich for the GOP presidential nomination. Sarah Palin, Donald Trump and Mike Huckabee all topped him.

VELSHI: An Orthodox Jewish newspaper in New York is getting a lot of unwanted attention for publishing a doctored version of the photo of the president's national security team during a raid on Osama bin Laden.

You'll remember the picture. This is the actual situation room photo in its original form, courtesy of the White House. Pay close attention to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the front and Audrey Thomas, the administration's director of counterterrorism. She's in the back.

Now look at the photo that was published in the newspaper. Newspaper history rewritten. Clinton and Thomas and the only two women in the room Photos hoped right out of the picture.

Rabbi Albert Friedman explains what happens.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI ALBERT FRIEDMAN, DEF TZEITUNG: Usually we don't -- we're not allowed to publish pictures of women.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Why?

FRIEDMAN: Due to Jewish laws of modesty. However, women are very much respected as you've seen in our statement, so the person in charge of pictures did not read the fine print, did not know the White House picture is not supposed to be edited without permission.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: The newspaper has apologized to the White House and admits it should not have published the airbrushed photo.

CHETRY: He says the guy didn't read the fine print.

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: There's fine print that said by the way, you can't airbrush out White House photos.

VELSHI: Right. That was --

CHETRY: Wow.

VELSHI: Interesting story.

CHETRY: It is interesting.

ROMANS: All right. Up next on AMERICAN MORNING, could the fight over Skype finally be over? We're going to detail -- going to give you details on who might buy Skype and what it means for you. CHETRY: You're paying more for used cars now. We're going to tell you how much and why coming up. Twenty-two minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Can we check with the time?

ROMANS: Twenty-four minutes past the hour. And we're "Minding Your Business."

VELSHI: It's actually -- to us, it's -- we're a little earlier. We're all a little bit off on our timing today.

ROMANS: All right. Let me give you some "Minding Your Business" headlines this morning, you guys.

Microsoft reportedly about to close an estimated $8 billion deal to buy Skype. That's the Internet phone company. "The Wall Street Journal" reports the deal could be announced as early as today, and if everything goes according to plan --

VELSHI: We'll be doing this show from Skype.

(LAUGHTER)

ROMANS: This could be one of the biggest acquisitions in Microsoft's history.

VELSHI: Skype has really, really become huge. It's --

ROMANS: Yes.

VELSHI: It's a good one for Microsoft.

CHETRY: It's so --

ROMANS: It's a verb, too.

CHETRY: So essential.

ROMANS: Just like Google.

VELSHI: Yes. Yes.

ROMANS: You know, when you become a verb in tech land you know you've made it.

VELSHI: That's pretty good. Yes.

All right, get ready to fork over even more cash for your new kid's ride or your kid's new ride. Researchers say used prices -- used car prices have jumped nearly 20 percent since January. Twenty percent since January. And they could go even higher. Why? Because of production cutbacks made during the recession. More drivers are looking to trade in their cars for smaller fuel-efficient vehicles.

CHETRY: There you go.

Well, the real face of Facebook, preteens and kids. I don't know if this surprises many but they did finally do a study about it. A "Consumer Reports" survey found 7.5 million Facebook users were under the age of 13 and of those, five million were younger than 10.

VELSHI: Oh, man.

ROMANS: That's not good.

CHETRY: Now this violates Facebook's own age policy as we talked about before and we've had them on the show before to talk about it.

VELSHI: And they didn't -- they were not able to provide any answers to what they can actually do about it.

CHETRY: That's right. They -- they have us -- it's self-monitoring situation.

VELSHI: Ten-year-olds don't have I.D. They don't proof positive I.D.

CHETRY: Right. You can put in your age. You can actually cheat.

ROMANS: You could fake it. And lots of kids do.

CHETRY: Well, the survey also says that most parents seem unconcerned that their children have accounts. Experts find that the social media sites are linked with privacy and malware risks as well as cyber bullying. That goes with the concern.

VELSHI: I think the cyber bullying is the first time parents start to get concerned about.

CHETRY: That's right.

VELSHI: We've always talked about privacy issues, we've talked about sexual predators. I don't find most parents I talk to think that's the issue and I certainly don't think malware bothers anybody these days because they think they get it everywhere but when this bullying issue and this anonymity seems to bother most --

CHETRY: Right. Yes, I don't know. I have -- my oldest is only 5 and she's a girl and the thought of her --

VELSHI: And she's on Facebook every day?

CHETRY: No. But the thought of -- you know, just --

VELSHI: She just friended me.

CHETRY: Concerns about predators.

ROMANS: Yes.

CHETRY: No way will she be on Facebook.

ROMANS: All right. Child obesity rates are rising. So chocolate milk could be banned --

VELSHI: Which we have here.

ROMANS: -- from Los Angeles school menus starting this fall. Take a little sip of that, Ali.

ROMANS: Many districts have done it already. Now the superintendent --

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: Feel fatter already.

ROMANS: The superintendent of the nation's second largest school district is saying that he plans to push for this ban over the summer. It will also include, perish the thought, strawberry milk.

VELSHI: Come on.

ROMANS: Many nutritionists are split on this issue, guys. Some say the benefits of flavored milk outweighs the harm that's done by the sugar content because at least you're getting the kids to drink vitamin D, right?

CHETRY: And calcium. Right.

ROMANS: That leads to our question of the day, should chocolate milk be banned from school lunches?

VELSHI: We don't -- we don't want your opinions on -- we don't want your opinions on strawberry milk.

CHETRY: Well, let me just --

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: One thing, though, so for example, a cup of milk I believe. It's a cup or whatever the serving is.

VELSHI: Right.

CHETRY: Has 14 grams of sugar, but these are natural sugars. This comes from -- you know, the lactose. The added amount of sugar is only six more grams. So for chocolate it's 20 and for regular it's 16.

VELSHI: Right.

CHETRY: Does that out -- you know does that give you pause as a parent?

E-mail us, tweet us, go to our blog, find us on Facebook. We'll be reading your comments a bit later in the show. Ali is going to be finishing his milk since you kids out there aren't allowed to have it. And we'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: Welcome back. It's 31 minutes past the hour, time for this morning's top stories.

Before OK'ing he raid on Osama bin Laden, President Obama insisted that Navy SEALs team carrying out the mission had to be large enough to fight its way out of Pakistan. That's according to "The New York Times." That means the president was willing to engage a crucial ally in combat if necessary in order to kill the al Qaeda chief.

CHETRY: NATO is turning up the pressure on Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, launching the most aggressive air strikes we've seen in weeks in Tripoli. Several blasts rocking the capital early this morning. Rebels are also saying that they've launched new attacks on Gadhafi forces as well near Tripoli.

VELSHI: Historic flooding in eight states this morning. Thousands of residents have evacuated in Memphis where the Mississippi is expected to crest at 14 feet above its flood stage today. Danger downstream now, the Army Corps of Engineers opened a spillway north of New Orleans -- with no signs of the river letting up in that area.

ROMANS: You know, there's no money rolling into many casinos along the Mississippi waterfront. In fact, the only thing coming through the doors now is water.

CHETRY: In Tunica, Mississippi, 40 miles south of Memphis, all nine of their casinos closed last week and they may not reopen for six weeks.

Ted Rowlands has more for us live from Memphis.

You know, we talk about the economic impact as well. I mean, those casinos really help keep these communities vibrant.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, absolutely. And actually, we're in Tunica and this is Harrah's Casino and you can look at the parking lot here and you can see why it is obviously closed.

As you mentioned, all of the casinos in this area have closed, which is delivering a major hit to the local economy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's the main entrance into the lobby area for the casino hotel.

ROWLANDS (voice-over): Harrah's Casino in Tunica is surrounded by almost eight feet of water. What used to be the valet drop off now looks like a street in Venice. Harrah's and the other eight casinos in Tunica are expected to be closed for a month.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tunica County has $84 million of gross gaming revenue that's lost for the month of May and what that equates to is about $10 million to the local taxes to the Tunica County and to the local taxes, organizations here. So, it's a big hit. ROWLANDS: State law required that when the casinos here were built, they had to be offshore, that means that the casinos themselves are actually floating on large barges. So, they're dry. But they're dark and empty, which is bad for everyone living in Tunica.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not buying food. We're not buying beer. We're not sending our linen out to be laundered. And so, the effect is far more than just what we're experiencing here at the casino.

ROWLANDS: Osman Samba (ph) says business at his Exxon gas station and convenient store just down the street from Harrah's is way down. Normally, he says, the station makes more than $4,000 a day. Now, it's a few hundred. He says after more than 10 years, it's no longer open 24 hours a day.

OSMAN SAMBA, BUSINESS OWNER: We open now 6:00 to close at 10:00. And we're still dead.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROWLANDS: That's the front door of the Harrah's Casino. They're expecting the Mississippi to crest in this area sometime today or early tomorrow. Some of the casinos are hoping to open as early as Memorial Day. You look at all the water here in Harrah's, they're saying four to six weeks before they can get the water levels down and then cleaned up the mess they're going to find inside-- guys.

VELSHI: Thank you very much. We'll check in with you later -- Ted Rowlands in Tunica.

CHETRY: All right. We're going to take a break. When we come back, we're talking a little bit more about the Navy allowing chaplains to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies now on bases.

VELSHI: And -- and the other story I want to tell you about is Cuba, where -- you know, we always talk about traveling to Cuba. Cuba is studying ways to let its people travel outside of the country as tourists. It's not actually prohibited but it's awfully complicated. I'll tell you about that when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Thirty-nine minutes past the hour right now.

There's a preliminary plan that outlines some big changes in the military. Navy chaplains now cleared to perform same-sex marriages in military chapels. This will begin when the "don't ask, don't tell" policy is lifted and only in states that already recognize same-sex marriage. The chaplains will have the power to choose to do the service or not based on their own religious beliefs. Pentagon officials are expected to sign off on the new rules in a few weeks.

ROMANS: Certainly to be controversial.

The Cuban government is considering new policies that will allow its citizens to travel abroad as tourists. Right now, if you're Cuban, right, you cannot just get on a plane and come here --

VELSHI: You can get some kind of a permit, but there's a lot of red tape and a lot of people don't get it, and it's expensive.

CHETRY: Yes, there's no official ban as you guys were saying, but there is a lot of this red tape. It's hard for residents to leave.

Zain Verjee is talking more about this today.

Hey, Zain.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, guys.

Yes, it is one big bureaucratic drama if you're Cuban and you just want to go anywhere out of the country, even as a tourist. Let me give you a sense of what it's like, OK? First, you need to get this thing called a white letter which is basically an exit visa that you need to get from the government. And that costs about $150. You know, a lot of people don't have that kind of money in Cuba.

But even to get that, you've got to get a resident of the country you want to visit to write a letter of invitation and then they have to register it with the Cuban embassy in that country and pay a couple of hundred bucks. And even when you've done that, the Cuban government can look at your official application and go, you know what? You're not going.

So, they can deny it. It's mostly medical practitioners -- doctors and nurses -- that are able to go as tourists a little more easily to other countries, but only if the government allows it. And often, they have to be doing government work to be able to do it. So, there's no green light, but there is this study that they're going to look at to see whether they can make it easier for people to buy a plane ticket out.

VELSHI: What's -- they're going to study it and they're going to do this. What's the goal? I mean, the reason they make it so hard is because they don't want Cubans defecting to other countries.

So, what's the issue here? What are they going to accomplish? It will be cheaper and easier, but they're going to try and make sure you have no chance of defecting?

VERJEE: Well, they're going to try and make sure they look slightly better to their people and the rest of the world. You know, they're saying you know what, we're a communist country, but actually, we're going to take steps in the right direction. A lot of people thought when Raul Castro came to power, that it would really open and things would be easier.

So, I think we need to treat this with a grain of salt. You're totally right about the defections point. That would happen left, right and center. So, they're moving slowly to give the veneer at least in the early stages that they're doing something, but not actually doing it.

CHETRY: Got you.

Let's talk about the royal wedding or the royal honeymoon.

VERJEE: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: Every country in the world wants Kate and Will to be going to their homeland for their honeymoon. What do we know?

VERJEE: Well, we, a short while ago, called Clarence House and they said the couple left on Monday to go to their honeymoon, but they have gone to an undisclosed location. They won't tell us where they've gone.

But there's so much media speculation that they've actually gone to the tropical paradise of Seychelles, just of the East African coast where there are beautiful beaches, nice white long sandy beaches, coconut groves, turquoise crystal blue water. It's about 115-island archipelago there.

So, we're told that they're off, but we don't know for sure they're there. Look at that, guys.

VELSHI: Have you been? Zain, have you been to Seychelles? I hear it's fantastic.

CHETRY: Are those your home videos?

(LAUGHTER)

VERJEE: You know what, I have when I was very young because I live in Nairobi.

VELSHI: Right.

VERJEE: I was brought up there. It's only a couple hours, actually, flight to Seychelles. So, I did go with my parents and my brother and, yes, I can guarantee you, it was pretty amazing, you know? It's a great place.

CHETRY: Right.

VELSHI: Excellent.

CHETRY: The pictures will surface soon enough. It will be interesting to see where they went.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks.

VERJEE: One of the reports is they hired a private chef and their own private island there as well.

VELSHI: Nice.

CHETRY: Nice. ROMANS: All right. Zain, thanks.

Now, we all go back to our mundane lives where the nicest place two hours from here is Cape May, New Jersey. Thank you. Although Cape May is actually very --

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: You can watch Zain every morning, by the way, 5:00 a.m. Eastern on "WORLD ONE," right here on CNN.

CHETRY: Well, Ali's done it.

ROMANS: He has.

VELSHI: Gone to Seychelles?

CHETRY: Climbed Kilimanjaro. It wasn't easy, right?

VELSHI: No, it's not bad. I mean, I was in pretty good health and pretty fit when I did it.

CHETRY: Yes. Well, we have a former NFL star and wounded warriors taking the challenge climbing Mount Kilimanjaro despite a lot of things working against them. We're going to be joined by them, coming up in just a moment.

It's 44 minutes past the hour.

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ROMANS: A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day.

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ROMANS (voice-over): According to a report in "The New York Times," President Obama insisted the Navy SEAL team that killed Bin Laden had to be large enough to fight its way out of Pakistan. That means the president was willing to risk armed combat with an important ally.

Historic flooding in eight states this morning. The Mississippi River expected to crest in Memphis at 14 feet above flood stage this morning. The water hasn't been this high in more than 70 years.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will announce his presidential campaign tomorrow. His spokesman says Gingrich will make it official on Twitter and Facebook.

Political power couple, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver, they have separated. They say they're living apart while they decide on the future of their relationship. The pair recently celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary.

And it took three overtimes, but the Oklahoma City Thunder tied their playoff series against the Grizzlies early in the morning with a 133- 123 win.

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ROMANS: You're caught up on today's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this.

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CHETRY: They're taking on Africa's highest peak all for a great cause. Former NFL stars, Tedy Bruschi and Chad Lewis will be joined by four injured service members, including Nancy Schiliro, as they scale the 19,000 foot Mount Kilimanjaro. No easy task.

VELSHI: And it's all to raise awareness for the wounded warrior project. They're here to talk about it before they leave, wow, tonight for Tanzania. Are you, guys, excited about it?

TEDY BRUSCHI, FORMER NFL PLAYER: I didn't know it was that high, actually.

CHETRY: Now, you're having second thoughts?

(LAUGHTER)

VELSHI: The good thing is because you start off high, you start at about six or, so, but I've done the climb, and it's fun. It's exciting, but it is physically challenging, and, Nancy, you and some of the other wounded warriors are going in there with some challenges already. Tell us about it.

NANCY SCHILIRO, WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT: Oh, yes. It's all fun and games until you lose an eye, but it's -- you know, we're going in there, and we're doing this -- we're doing this for the veterans out there, for the guys and girls who did on combat. We're also doing this to support the guys and girls that are home that are struggling to make that integration back in civilian life, and that's, you know, the mission that Wounded Warrior Project --

VELSHI: And you did lose an eye, by the way.

SCHILIRO: I sure did.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: You were injured with a mortar round that went off and ended up getting infected. You said that you had a lot of anger. The hardest thing for you was actually reaching out to even ask for help and to even tell people that you were angry and hurt and felt very bad about what happened.

SCHILIRO: Yes. It took me a good three years just to get out of that shell, out of the isolation that I put myself in, and as soon as Wounded Warrior Project came in and reached out their hand, I grabbed it because I knew it was my opportunity to get out there and do something. So, I'm doing this climb for those guys and girls that are out there. And I don't want them to waste three years of their life. VELSHI: Right.

SCHILIRO: As soon as they come on home, get the help you need, let us help you, you know, reach out your hand, and we'll grab it.

CHETRY: How did you, guys, train, by the way, for this? Because you, guys, were talking about how -- you wrote an article that said, yes, you're running bleacher stairs, right, but you needed to up your game a little bit to climb this mountain.

BRUSCHI: I've never done anything like this before. I'm not really a hiker. So, getting experience with it, getting used to my hiking boots, being on a stepper and wearing my boots to break them in because I hear that's the --

VELSHI: That's the big thing.

LEWIS: That's the most important thing, you get blisters and it's over with. So, starting out easy, just doing bleacher steps, things like that, graduating to mountains and getting used to the equipment is something I had to get used to.

CHAD LEWIS, FORMER NFL PLAYER: Yes. Run around the city in my boots, you know

CHETRY: You got them on now.

LEWIS: I think this has broken in. So, the thought of us hiking up with these Wounded Warriors just inspired me. And then, same thing with Tedy, I mean it's such an honor for us and the NFL to shine a big spotlight on the real heroes. So, great to be with you.

VELSHI: You know, the one thing is, no matter who you end up going up with, you're either great friends at the top or you never want to see these people again, but I suspect you, guys are going to enjoy that. Tell us, Nancy, about the other Wounded Warriors. I understand, if I'm reading this right, you're going up with two guys who are right leg amputees.

SCHILIRO: Sure, Ben Monique (ph) and Brian Rasnick (ph) are both right leg amputees, and they're rearing to go. We've been through training in Colorado and New Mexico, and these guys are just -- they're awesome to watch.

VELSHI: Is that a disadvantage or advantage they can't sprain their ankles?

SCHILIRO: I think it's more of an advantage. They use it to their advantage, I'll let you know that much.

CHETRY: And are you, guys, prepared -- I mean, do you have a team going with you of medics or anybody else that's sort of guiding you, guys, along and making sure that -- I mean, even if you don't have already a challenge from an injury --

VELSHI: Right. It's challenging, anyway. CHETRY: How to make sure that everything goes smoothly.

BRUSCHI: We do have guides. We do have quarters that will be carrying up some equipment for us and aiding us in that aspect, but I think the whole challenge, the biggest challenge is the altitude, the 19,000 square feet. I think our mission is being called 19K for the KIA. Yes. So, that's something that I think the inspiration of Nancy and Ben and Brian. Everyone that's there will give us enough to get to the top.

VELSHI: Your trail will take you about five days up or six days up?

LEWIS: Five days up, two days down.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: What is the part that gives you the most trepidation if you had to think?

LEWIS: Oh baby. Just that elevation. I know once we get up there, we're going to be sucking air.

VELSHI: Yes.

LEWIS: So, I think of that time we're just going to pull together as a team just like you had to and just like we had to, and I think that strength is going to help us at the very top, and our goal is to get to the top.

VELSHI: I'll tell you about what you're going to love is when you wake up in the morning, and the clouds are way below you.

BRUSCHI: And you said you hiked this mountain.

(CROSSTALK)

BRUSCHI: Any advice for us?

VELSHI: I did the same trail that you did, the five up, two down in the Machame trail, and it is really fantastic. You, guys, are going to love it, and you're going to end up really relying on each other and really enjoying it because, at some point, everybody on that hike feels a little bit like, why did I do this?

CHETRY: You're not going to tell them the truth that you went up on a sled. They pulled him the entire time and you did have to walk it.

VELSHI: It is going to be a great feeling of achievement when you're up on the top and you're looking down. If it's clear sky, you can see the towns below. You're going to love it. It' a little bit different from what you, guys, have done, though. You're both guys who have been at the top shape of your life at certain points. How are you feeling now?

BRUSCHI: I think the whole training was different, actually. I mean, we've trained it for explosive-type of movements on a football field where --

VELSHI: This is sustained.

BRUSCHI: Yes. The maximum play is probably eight seconds of physical activity, and it's fast, and you get 40 seconds of rest. You don't really get those breaks or halftimes going up Kilimanjaro. So, like you said, more of us is sustained sort of exercise, and it's a different type of training, but --

CHETRY: I hope you, guys, are doing some videotaping and some pictures.

BRUSCHI: Sure.

CHETRY: We'd love to see them. The Wounded Warrior Project also is just a wonderful organization. If people want to find out more, we're going to link it with our website as well.

VELSHI: And we're tracking you, right? We can see this on the --

SCHILIRO: If you go to www.believeinheroes.org, you can actually track what we're doing throughout the whole seven days that we're hiking.

CHETRY: Nice. We'll be reading (ph) for you. And good luck and I hope you, guys, have a lot of fun, as well.

SCHILIRO: Thank you.

CHETRY: Nice to meet all of you.

VELSHI: I'm excited for you.

CHETRY: Me, too. And as we said, you can track every day of their journey into the clouds as she said believeinheroes.org is where you can check it out.

VELSHI: Christine.

ROMANS: All right, guys. You don't train to climb Kilimanjaro by drinking lots of chocolate milk. Top stories next, including news of a potential chocolate milk ban. We're going to tell you where it is and what if it's the only way your kid will drink his milk. Should the schools be getting rid of these drinks? Your thoughts next hour.

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DANISHA BROWN (ph), ENTERTAINER: Hello. My name is Danisha Brown (ph), and I spend about 250 days on the road every year. The best advice I would give is to really travel light. Pack like you're going to fit everything in a wallet and have enough money (ph) to fit into a suit case. This is probably my favorite thing to travel with. It's called a circle scarf. You can tie it around when you're cold.

It's a blanket when I'm on the airplane. Also, when I go out at night, it can be a shawl. I know people who travel a lot often find that they can't work out, so I carry around insanity and P90 X tapes so if there isn't a gym available, I can still get a really good workout. One of the easiest places to get involved in the places that you visit is the internet.

You can always find volunteer opportunities there. Quick solutions are actually food banks. Even if you don't have time to volunteer, buy a bag of food and then drop it off. We have a lot of programs that we do in the communities, and today, we're going to the children's hospital. We always feel very blessed that people come to see our show so any way that we can give back to that community that keeps us working we really, really want to do.

Thanks for spending the day with me. And hopefully, I'll see you at stomp in a city near you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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