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American Morning

U.S. Negotiating with the Taliban; Duct Tape Theory?; Syria's Assad Delivering Speech; NATO Airstrike Kills Iraqi Civilians; Rory's The Story At U.S. Open

Aired June 20, 2011 - 06:00   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Carol Costello.

With bin Laden gone, the United States goes face to face with the Taliban, trying to negotiate an end to the long, bloody war in Afghanistan.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Duct tape as a murder weapon.

I'm Kiran Chetry.

It's the prosecution's theory in the Casey Anthony trial. But the defense is blasting some holes in that theory using a world-renowned forensic expert to do it -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(MUSIC)

CHETRY: Musical chairs this morning. Good to see you, Carol Costello. Quite a long time.

COSTELLO: My shoe is unbuckled.

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: You know what? That's what happens on 6:00 on Monday morning. We're still not together.

COSTELLO: I know.

But we're here for you, we really are. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Ali Velshi is off. Christine is on assignment. I'm Carol Costello.

CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry.

Up first, the United States in talks with the Taliban, trying to end the war in Afghanistan. Days away from retirement, Defense Chief Robert Gates confirming that negotiations got under way a few weeks ago. He appeared on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" yesterday, calling the talks preliminary but necessary to bring our troops home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Well, I think first of all, we've just killed the guy who was responsible for attacking us on September 11th, and we have taken out a lot of other al Qaeda as well over the years. Look, we ended up talking to people in Anbar province in Iraq who were directly killing -- had directly been involved in killing our troops. That's the way wars end.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Gates cautioned against withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan too quickly. He says he believes the talks with the Taliban won't get results unless we keep up the military pressure.

And coming up at 6:30, we're going to ask whether it's a good idea to be negotiating with the Taliban. We're joined by General George Joulwan., former NATO supreme allied commander.

COSTELLO: Oh, and that brings us to our question of the day. Can you imagine the United States negotiating with the Taliban after killing Osama bin Laden? The Taliban harboring Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.

So, our question this morning, should the United States negotiate with the Taliban? We want to know what you think. Send --

CHETRY: Send us an e-mail, tweet or you can tell us on Facebook. We'll read some of your responses throughout the morning.

COSTELLO: Now to Libya where NATO is admitting an air strike in Tripoli may have resulted in civilian deaths. Libya's government is claiming Sunday's attack killed nine and injured six others, calling it an act of cold-blooded murder. NATO releasing a statement, saying one of Moammar Gadhafi's weapon sites was an intended target, but a system's failure may have sent a missile into the neighborhood.

It is now day 91 of the NATO mission in Libya. All last week, House Speaker John Boehner had been warning President Obama he's violating the War Powers Act by not getting congressional approval for the operation. He wanted a response from the White House this weekend, did not get one. Some Republicans are threatening to cut off funding for the mission. but Republican Senators John McCain and Lindsay Graham are warning against that.

CHETRY: There's growing concern this morning over those multiple wildfires burning across the South. Seven states are under a red flag warning, and that means the weather conditions pose an extreme fire risk. In Arizona, the monument fire is being called the nation's number one priority. More than 1,000 firefighters are battling the flames which have burned through 44 homes now. Also, the U.S. Forest Service is saying there is no evidence that the wildfires were started by illegal immigrants. It is a claim that Senator John McCain made over the weekend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: We are concerned about, particularly areas down on the border, where there is substantial evidence that some of these fires were caused by people who have crossed our border illegally. They have set fires because they want to signal others. They have set fires to keep warm. And they have set fires in order to divert law enforcement agents and agencies from them.

So, the answer to that part of the problem is: get a secure border.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: In Georgia, a court hearing today over that state's controversial new immigration law. It allows police to check a person's immigration status and critics say that the law, which was passed back in April, is unconstitutional and are asking a federal judge to stop the law from taking effect next month.

Attorneys representing the state say that fears the law will lead to a racial profiling are unfounded.

COSTELLO: The defense in the Casey Anthony murder case is using forensic evidence to try to poke holes in the prosecution's theory that duct tape may have been used to kill Caylee.

CHETRY: That's right. And they're using a world-renowned pathologist. They have him on the stand. He says no way. He's testified that tape found on Caylee's body was placed there long after she was dead.

David Mattingly joins us live from Orlando as week five of this trial gets under way.

Hi, David.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's -- hi. That's right. Week five and expect to hear more about duct tape today. The defense is trying to convince this jury that prosecution and authorities here got a completely wrong when they determined that duct tape found on Caylee Anthony's skull was actually used to suffocate her, evidence of a murder.

Well, on Saturday, we heard from forensic pathologist Werner Spitz testifying for the defense. He said it was his opinion that the duct tape on Caylee's skull was placed there after her body had decomposed and was put there to hold her jawbone in place by someone who was trying to move the body. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. WERNER SPITZ, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: It had to be manipulated. I mean, there's no way that it was not because manipulated means manos in Latin means hand. Manipulated means that hands laid on the skull.

Why do I know that? Because it's positioned on a brown paper for the purpose of taking a picture. Well, the skull didn't walk there. The skull didn't go there. The skull was put there by hands of somebody.

And in the process, the hair had to be rearranged. That's why the hair in the office in the presence of the camera looks somewhat different than the skull with the hair, with the position, placement of the hair, on the skull, at the scene. There's just no other way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MATTINGLY: Now, you hear what kind of detail that the court has been listening to. We're expected to hear more of that today. At times, the testimony has been very clinical, very graphic. In fact, during one time Saturday, Casey Anthony shed some tears as the expert was on the stand going through some of these details.

We're looking for more of that today as the prosecution tries to defend its case, and the defense tries to chip away at that idea that Caylee Anthony was murdered -- Kiran.

CHETRY: David Mattingly for us -- all right, we'll check in with you later. Thanks so much.

COSTELLO: Today is day six of deliberations to the retrial of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. He faces 20 public corruption charges, including trying to sell President Obama's old Senate seat. Blagojevich denies any wrongdoing.

In August, jurors deadlocked on 23 of 24 charges after 14 days of deliberations. He was found guilty on one count of lying to an FBI official. Blagojevich was removed from office in 2009.

CHETRY: Greece teetering on the brink of economic collapse could be on track to get another bailout. European finance ministers say that Greece could get the new round of loans by sometime in July if Athens continues to cut its budget and put the austerity measures into action. The money aimed to prevent the Greek crisis from spreading to Europe and beyond.

COSTELLO: First Lady Michelle Obama makes an official trip to Southern Africa. She'll spend this week in South Africa and Botswana, engaging young people on topic of education and wellness. Also on the agenda: a meeting with South African President Jacob Zuma and a visit to Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was detained for almost 27 years.

CHETRY: President Obama teamed up on the golf course with an unlikely partner, Speaker of the House John Boehner. They played 18 holes over the weekend with Vice President Joe Biden and Ohio's Republican governor, John Kasich. We're told the president and speaker teamed up and they ended up winning the match. Both of them taking home a whopping $2.

Afterwards -- no price on bipartisan, right, Carol?

COSTELLO: No.

CHETRY: The foursome grabbed some cold drinks at the clubhouse and there's no word on any political deals.

COSTELLO: That's because there aren't any.

CHETRY: Right. They were calling it the deficit open. You know, the U.S. Open and deficit open. But who knows if they solved anything.

COSTELLO: Whatever.

Golf may have found its next super star -- speaking of golf -- Rory McIlroy, your 2011 U.S. Open champion. The curly-haired 22-year-old, he's just 22. He's from Northern Ireland. He captured his first major title, shooting a stunning 16 under par, 268, for an eight- stroke victory. That shattered the open record for the lowest score ever by four strokes.

And what a Father's Day gift for Gerry McIlroy. Rory's dad spent years, working three jobs to help his son get to this level. Yesterday, he walked all 18 holes with his son and watched all of that hard work pay off.

CHETRY: Perfect Father's Day gift, right? Good for them. Congratulations.

Well, another year, another crown. Meet the newest Miss USA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Miss USA 2011 is -- California!

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Sorry. They always have the same reaction. OK.

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: The same time this was on, that Sandra Bullock movie was on, kept switching back and forth.

CHETRY: "Miss Congeniality."

COSTELLO: "Miss Congeniality."

(LAUGHTER)

CHETRY: Well, this is Miss California, Alyssa Campanella. She won the 68th Annual Miss USA title last night. She beat out 50 other beauties and earned some big points during the interview segment when asked about the legalization of medical marijuana.

COSTELLO: She pulled out a joint and -- no. I'm kidding.

CHETRY: She said she had some reservations, but she believes it is medically beneficial. She will compete in the Miss Universe pageant in September.

Good for her. Always go -- but I mean, maybe I would, too.

COSTELLO: At least they didn't wish for world peace and wants to become a new thinker. Usually --

CHETRY: Exactly. COSTELLO: -- they want both of these things.

Coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING: a comedian is pulled of the stage at the GOP leadership conference. You will hear why.

CHETRY: I can't believe they didn't see that coming. That's a little surprising.

All right. We're going to take a break. It's 11 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A parade of big named Republicans trying to win over an important audience, the Republican Leadership Conference. It was the unofficial kickoff to the 2012 presidential campaign. It wrapped up over the weekend.

And a popular theme among Republican hopefuls: criticizing President Obama.

As expected, Congressman Ron Paul won the straw poll. He tends to do well in these contests, thanks to his passionate base. Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman finished a strong second. That was a surprise. Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Mitt Romney, and Newt Gingrich are rounding out the top five.

CHETRY: Well, also at the gathering, Republican leaders booing a comedian and booting him off the stage -- he's a President Obama impersonator -- for taking one too many shots at Republicans. At the beginning, the funny man, Reggie Brown, was drawing laughs for some remarks he made about the president.

COSTELLO: Didn't he look like President Obama -- I thought it was amazing, the look alike.

CHETRY: He did look a lot like him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REGGIE BROWN, PRES. BARACK OBAMA'S IMPERSONATOR: My favorite month is February, Black History Month. You see, Michele she celebrates the full month. And, you know, I celebrate half.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Hilarious.

COSTELLO: Oh!

CHETRY: OK. Well, those boos -- those laughs then turned to boos when he turned his attention to Republicans mid-way through a joke about Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, the music started playing, and Brown was escorted off the stage. I'm just confused about all of this. Our Senior Political Editor Mark Preston joins us from Washington. What - I mean, what do they - why would they do that?

COSTELLO: Why?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: I - well, you know, look, there's something to be said about pushing the limits and I - I think that's what we saw down there in New Orleans this weekend, but there's something to be said about pushing the limits a little bit too far. That's what I think you saw there.

You know, the idea that they're out making fun of the Republican presidential candidates, also making fun of President Obama, you know, some of the things he said about President Obama were pretty risque, you know, even compared President Obama and Michelle Obama to the two characters from "Sanford and Son."

You know, again, probably pushing the limits a little bit too far and, in fact, Kiran and Carol, he also made a reference to Mitt Romney and polygamy. We all know that Mitt Romney is a Mormon, so, you know, probably it's a good idea to give that comedian the hook this weekend down there.

CHETRY: I never understand those. I mean, what did they think they were going to get? They brought an Obama impersonator.

COSTELLO: Did they not check out his act before he went on stage?

PRESTON: Yes, well, I mean, again, who knows what have could and should have, you know? I'm sure the organizers are saying to themselves. Sure he was going to be risque. I just don't think they thought he was going to be that risque.

COSTELLO: I bet not.

CHETRY: Should have stuck to policy.

COSTELLO: I think so.

Speaking of policy, Republican Governor Rick Perry of Texas, he has many conservative policies under his belt. He's still undecided whether he's going to run for president or not, but he sure sounded a lot like a candidate this weekend.

PRESTON: He certainly did, Carol. And, you know, it was a lot of talk about the Republican presidential field not being quite formed and how Republican voters want to see more people added.

Well, Rick Perry speaking at this conference down in New Orleans, really lit the audience on fire, so to speak. In fact, let's hear what he had to say down there that really drew an incredible amount of applause.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. RICK PERRY (R), TEXAS: Our party cannot be all things to all people. It can't be. And our loudest opponents on the left are never going to like us, so let's quit trying to curry favor with them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: And there's the Texas Governor, Rick Perry, if he does decide to run, expect him to run and try to make an appeal to social conservatives. You know, at the end of that speech there was chants from the audience, "Run - Run Rick Run," so Rick Perry seriously considering running for president. If he does decide to get in expect him to make that decision next month.

CHETRY: The other interesting thing is these conflicting messages when it comes to foreign policy for the GOP. I mean, it's very rare that you - you know, that you - I mean, after the Bush years, you didn't hear a lot of dovish talk. And, you know, of course the criticism of Libya, some of the criticism of what we're doing in Afghanistan, it's very interesting to see how that position may be changing when it comes to the GOP candidates.

PRESTON: Yes, absolutely. This shows you how conflicted the United States is regarding our mission in Afghanistan, after having gone through the whole Iraq War. In fact, we saw John McCain address this issue yesterday on ABC's "This Week." It was brought up because what we saw at the "CNN Debate" this time last week, was Republican candidates, specifically Mitt Romney, saying maybe it's time to get out of Afghanistan. In fact, let's listen to what John McCain had to say about those thoughts.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Well, I was more concerned about what the candidates in New Hampshire the other night said. This is isolationism. There's always been an isolation strain - isolation strain in the Republican Party, the Pat Buchanan wing of our party. But now it seems to have moved more center stage, so to speak.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: So there you have John McCain addressing the whole issue of about whether - how the United States should engage in its foreign policy and whether they should remove troops from Iraq.

You know, before Mitt Romney came out and made these comments last week and then Jon Huntsman as well, someone who is about ready to jump into the race, the only real Republican presidential candidate we heard talk about taking troops out of Afghanistan was Ron Paul. But looks like there's a lot of voices saying that now.

COSTELLO: Mark Preston, it's been fun and you'll be back.

PRESTON: I will.

CHETRY: Thanks, Mark. Well, they captured a funnel cloud on tape in Nebraska, a weekend of some pretty severe weather in places. Bonnie Schneider has a look for us this morning from the Weather Center. Hi, Bonnie.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Kiran and Carol.

We are looking at the threat for severe weather right now and, yes, we did have a tornado in Nebraska and Colorado, multiple reports of tornadoes. Take a look at these pictures and you'll see that fine point at the end of the funnel cloud as it touches down it becomes a tornado. This video shot by storm chasers and some really incredible storms.

Now, the one thing to note about this weather is that most of the tornadic activity was reported in isolated areas of fields. So we didn't really get a lot of reports of damage.

Let's show what's going on right now because we still have the threat of severe weather. You can see the tornado watch box expires, but very powerful storms are rolling through areas of Des Moines, Iowa, and just further off to the east towards Chicago. A lot of this is producing some frequent lightning strikes and that's going to be a problem as we go through much of the afternoon today and into the evening. We're also looking for wet weather into the Baltimore and Washington area this morning. So for those of you that are commuting a little bit of a slowdown.

Fire danger is still a huge problem today into Texas and New Mexico. The winds will be intense and in Dallas, too, which may cause some light delays. But the good news is the weather for fire danger will improve tomorrow. Today it's still bad, but I think tomorrow will get a little bit better. Another hot one today. Look at the high temperatures, extreme heat in the south. And Carol and Kiran, if that's not enough, snow in Colorado. Talk about extreme weather.

COSTELLO: Snow in Colorado?

SCHNEIDER: Yes. Winter weather advisories.

COSTELLO: That stinks.

CHETRY: Rob said they're going to be skiing, you know, on the fourth of July out there, so -

SCHNEIDER: Why not?

CHETRY: Exactly.

COSTELLO: Thanks, Bonnie.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

COSTELLO: Coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING, hackers hit SEGA stealing personal information from over one million customers. Find out if you were one of them. CHETRY: And, you know, everybody likes a bikini with a dual purpose. This one, not only, you know, helps you have fun in the sun, it can also charge your cell phone while you get a tan.

COSTELLO: Well.

CHETRY: We'll explain.

COSTELLO: You can look hot and charge your cell phone at the same time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Twenty-four minutes past the hour. We're "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Investors on edge this morning after the Dow broke a six-week losing streak Friday and on Wall Street this week, the Federal Reserve's two- day meeting and new information on housing, durable goods and the labor market.

Wall Street keeping a close eye on the European Finance Ministers Meeting in Luxembourg today. The EU member announcing new loans will be given to Greece in July if the country continues cutting its budget.

Today marks two weeks until the July 1st deadline for negotiators on Capitol Hill to agree on a debt reduction framework for the country debt ceiling. Congress needs several weeks to draft legislation and then to push it through by August 2nd, that's when the Treasury says it will no longer be able to pay the country's bills without borrowing more.

The Japanese game maker SEGA announcing 1.3 million customers' personal information was stolen Friday. This includes names, birth dates, e-mail addresses and encoded passwords all of them hacked from the company's SEGA Pass website. The company is reporting credit card information remains safe.

The group that oversees internet development announcing this morning that new web rules for domain names are going to be doing away with restrictions like dot-com or dot-net. Starting in January 2012, you will be able to name your website with any domain name you want, any numbers or letters in any language.

Despite the recession, Americans increased their charitable giving in 2010 by about $10.5 billion. A new survey out today by USA Giving says that donations for international catastrophes were up 15 percent and about a third of all contributions went to religious organizations.

AMERICAN MORNING will be back right after the break. Our top story coming up, the United States face-to-face talks with the Taliban. We'll have more on that coming up.

Twenty-six minutes past the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And good morning, everyone. It's 6:29 A.M. Eastern Time. I'm Carol Costello in for, I guess, Christine and Ali.

CHETRY: That's right.

COSTELLO: Hear, hear. It's time for a check of this morning's top stories.

The United States is talking face to face with the Taliban in an effort to end the war in Afghanistan. Retiring Defense Secretary Robert Gates confirms negotiations have been underway for weeks now and says keeping U.S. troops in Afghanistan a while longer to keep up the military pressure is the only way that talks will succeed.

CHETRY: NATO is confirming an airstrike in Tripoli may have caused civilian deaths. Libya's government claimed Sunday's attack killed nine people and injured six others. They called it cold blooded murder.

NATO has released a statement admitting one of Moammar Gadhafi's weapon sites was the intended target but a systems failure may have sent a missile into a neighborhood.

COSTELLO: It is week five of the Casey Anthony murder trial. Defense forensic expert is blasting claims that duct tape could have been used to kill Caylee. He says the tape found on Caylee's skull was placed there long after her death.

In the meantime, another witness could get the chance to testify today after being thrown off the stand on Saturday. Anthony's attorney was threatened with contempt of court after the witness gave undisclosed testimony.

CHETRY: More now on our top story -- America in face-to-face talks with the Taliban.

Outgoing Defense Chief Robert Gates confirmed negotiations began weeks ago to end the war in Afghanistan. He appeared on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," insisting there's only one way these talks will succeed. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: I think that the Taliban have to feel themselves under military pressure and begin to believe that they can't win before they're willing to have a serious conversation. We've all said all along that a political outcome is the way most of these wars end. The question is: when and if they're ready to talk seriously about meeting the red lines that President Karzai and that the coalition have laid down, including totally disavowing al Qaeda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Joining us live from Washington this morning, General George Joulwan. He's the former NATO supreme allied commander. He's also helped lead successful talks with guerrilla forces in El Salvador during its civil war.

General, welcome this morning.

GENERAL GEORGE JOULWAN, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So, the United States talking with the Taliban. The same Taliban that harbored Osama bin Laden, the same Taliban that -- not very nice people, especially when it comes to women.

Why are we doing this?

JOULWAN: Well, as I think Secretary Gates says, that this, the wars like this, end in a political way. And that's what happened in El Salvador. The difference is, it just isn't the U.S. negotiations that are important, it's what the Afghan government, the Afghan security forces do, that's the credibility that's going to be required in the next months or years to really have an important impact on the outcome of those negotiations.

CHETRY: What do we know in terms of what the Taliban is willing to cede to? I mean, what would be acceptable for that side, as well as for the United States' side for us to be able to actually withdraw troops from Afghanistan?

JOULWAN: Well, I think we're in the preliminary stages of that. What you want to do is how to put pressure on the Taliban to really negotiate in good faith. And as I said before, that pressure needs to come not just from the United States and NATO, but has to come from the Afghan government and the Afghan security forces.

They have to get their act together and demonstrate that they can really raise the level of their professionalism and really inflict the sort of pressure on the Taliban to make them negotiate in good faith.

COSTELLO: But, General, how can we trust the Taliban? It's just -- it's kind of a weird thing for me. We're in Libya and we want to oust Moammar Gadhafi because he's the cruel dictator. Yet, the United States is negotiating with the Taliban -- and they're not exactly trustworthy.

JOULWAN: We've negotiated with bad guys in the past. What we want to do is try to bring this war to an end. We've been at it for nearly a decade. I believe that the Taliban has been weakened.

The issue is, how strong is the Afghan government and military? That's the thing we need to see.

We see in Iraq, that Iraq is getting more modern weapons from the United States and, in fact, they're buying those themselves and so, we see a positive change there. We need to see that improvement and President Karzai and his government need to understand that the outcome depends on what they do, not just what the United States does. CHETRY: Right. I mean, the key word seems to be "end." We want this war to end. And I don't know -- there are a lot of questions remain and many, including human rights groups, have questioned at what cost. The Taliban has outlawed education for women. They're recently ordering a public stoning for a couple who eloped.

Again, Mullah Omar, the Taliban chief, saying he would never negotiate with the Karzai government. It leaves a lot of questions as to what exactly it is we're leaving behind.

COSTELLO: Yes. It's kind of like selling your soul, isn't it?

JOULWAN: No. I really don't think so.

Let me go back to what I think that these negotiations required. That you must negotiate, if you're going to negotiate, from a position of strength. I'm not sure we're there yet, both on the NATO/U.S. side, or on the Afghan government side.

And all those things you mentioned are terrible things that need to be corrected. But again, it requires a very proactive, very professional Afghan government and military to do so. We need to work on that.

CHETRY: Do you believe, General, if we left, the Taliban would stop fighting? I mean, would stop attacks, because the United States is gone?

JOULWAN: Right now, no, because there's no incentive for them to do so. How do we create that incentive, is going to be extremely important.

COSTELLO: General George Joulwan, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

JOULWAN: Thank you.

CHETRY: An air show goes terribly wrong in Poland -- a single engine aircraft losing control while performing stunts on Saturday. You can see plumes of dark smoke coming from the back. The pilot was the only person on board. He later died at the hospital. Still have no word on what caused the crash.

COSTELLO: Only took about seven seconds to topple this Florida structure. Check out this amazing video. Yes, they did this on purpose. Official detonated a series of explosions to knock down the Riviera Beach, Florida Power and Light smokestacks, making way for a $1 billion natural gas fired plant.

CHETRY: Well, now you power up while soaking up the sun. New York designer Andrew Schneider created the solar-powered bikini -- to wear on the subway, I guess -- with dozens of fin photovoltaic panels and USB ports -- what I'm looking for in a bikini. The bikini can charge smartphones and other media players, but you'd have to shell out some big bucks because this custom swimsuit is $500 to $1,500. And it has to be completely dry, otherwise it won't work. COSTELLO: So you're sitting there one day thinking, I got to develop a bikini that like powers your cell phone and I'm going to charge 1,500 bucks for it.

CHETRY: Exactly. Free advertising. We're showing it.

COSTELLO: Isn't going to sell any of those.

CHETRY: There's non-solar pieces of his collection as well.

COSTELLO: I'm sure they're beautiful.

Thousands fleeing into Turkey, you know that, as the bloody crackdown in Syria does continue. President Assad delivering a major speech this morning. We'll have the latest developments for you ahead.

CHETRY: Also, singer Amy Winehouse, fresh out of rehab, ended up getting booed off the stage in Serbia because she really was unable to perform. We're going to show you how her 12-city European tour came to a screeching halt.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Forty-one minutes past the hour.

New this morning, with a bloody uprising on his hand and thousands of his people fleeing the border to Turkey, Syrian President Bashir al- Assad delivered his third major speech today since the uprising began back in March.

COSTELLO: He made pretty much on time.

Zain Verjee is tracking the latest developments live from London.

What did he say, Zain?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hi, guys.

He said that Syria was at a turning point after facing some pretty difficult days. But to be honest, this was a pretty rambling speech where he blamed, blamed, blamed. He blamed young protesters for going out there and demonstrating and he said creating chaos and because they created chaos, it wasn't a good environment for him to implement reforms. He also blamed conspirators for what he said, they were plotting against Syria.

Analysts basically said the whole speech was pretty disappointing. It showed that he was totally out of touch with reality, and questioned whether he was really the guy in charge, and was it the guys around him that were calling the shots.

The bottom line is, will it stop the demonstrators? Many analysts say not likely. His last two speeches didn't. And this one gave them nothing.

COSTELLO: So, no surprise. CHETRY: And how is he responding, though, you know, this outcry of this, you know, of the slaughtering of civilians and this humanitarian crisis? I mean, is he denying that that's happening?

VERJEE: No, he says that's happening. He's saying, though, it's the young demonstrators that are creating the chaos that's forcing the security guards. He said sometimes to do things that they shouldn't be doing.

But he's also blaming outside conspirators and he's blaming armed gangs for massacres like in the one border town where a mass grave was found. So, he's squarely laying the blame on everyone else except himself.

COSTELLO: OK. We're going to turn the corner sharply and talk about Amy Winehouse, the singer -- why she was performing in Serbia anyway is a mystery in my mind. But it didn't end well.

VERJEE: No, it didn't. This was supposed to be a major comeback, guys, and she totally blew it. I mean, she was in Belgrade and she came on stage and said, "Hello, Athens!" And it went downhill from there.

Just take a look at this piece of video so you can see what happened. Here she is, yelling at her band before playing a song.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

VERJEE: And from then on, guys, she stumbled around, her speech was totally slurred. And then in many instances during the show, she was clawing at her nose and her face and holding her stomach, almost like she was going to throw up.

So, she was totally booed. They were like 20,000 people. She had to leave the stage. She's just finished rehab. This was supposed to be her big tour. So, she's canceled Istanbul. She's canceled Athens. And it was a pretty disastrous performance by Amy Winehouse.

I feel really sad though. I -- she's so talented and, you know, this was a complete mess.

CHETRY: She's clearly a troubled girl, you know? And I know her family and her close friends and everyone are hoping that this stint in rehab would help turn things around for her.

VERJEE: Yes.

COSTELLO: I guess the lesson here is, don't pay to see Amy Winehouse because she's not there yet.

VERJEE: Right.

COSTELLO: And it's amazing why do they keep putting her on stage? Because, surely, her managers know she has a problem.

VERJEE: That is exactly what everyone is asking, Carol. Like they're saying, isn't there anyone in her managers or entourage that know that right before she went on stage, she would be a total train wreck? So, a lot of people are saying that, you know, they need to shape up a little bit and she shouldn't have been out there in the first place. I mean, look at that.

COSTELLO: It makes me sad.

Thank you, Zain.

VERJEE: Yes.

CHETRY: You can catch Zain every morning, 5:00 a.m. Eastern on "WORLD ONE," right here on CNN.

COSTELLO: Feel like you're working harder and harder just to stay afloat? Well, you are. Up next, America's growing income gap and what you can do about it.

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

The United States is in face-to-face talks with the Taliban. In an attempt to end the war in Afghanistan, retiring Defense Secretary Robert Gates confirms negotiations have been under way for weeks.

NATO confirming an airstrike in Tripoli may have caused civilian deaths. Libya's government claims Sunday's attack killed nine people and injured six others. NATO was blaming a system failure.

Week five of the Casey Anthony trial. Anthony's attorneys threatened with contempt of court last week after a defense witness gave undisclosed testimony. Another witness told jurors that duct tape found on Caylee's skull was placed there long after her death.

Greece is on track to get a second bail out. European Union finance ministers agree to issue new loans in July as long as the Greek parliament continues to make more budget cuts.

And Rory McIlroy is the U.S. Open golf champion. The 22-year-old from Northern Ireland posted a stunning eight-shot victory shattering the best four-round total in tournament history by four shots.

And Miss California, Alyssa Campanella, takes the crown in Miss USA. Yes, she did. She beat out 50 other contestants last night. Campanella will represent the United States at the Miss Universe pageant this September.

You are now caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this.

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COSTELLO: All right. You have heard the expression, the rich keep getting richer. It's never been more true than it is today, but you know that. Since the 1970s, the average paycheck for a corporate executive in this country has quadrupled while your paycheck has remained relatively stagnant. The part of the story that will really sting is who's making all of that money. Now, we all assume it's the fat cats on Wall Street, right?

But it turns out it's most likely your boss. Peter Whoriskey wrote a fascinating article in "The Washington Post" about what this means for our economy. He joins us this morning. Thanks for being here.

PETER WHORISKEY, REPORTER, THE WASHINGTON POST: Good morning.

COSTELLO: And it's not just Wall Street CEOs making those obscene amounts of money. It's more mundane managers. In fact, you found that 41 percent of the top earners are executives and managers at all kinds of companies. Tell me why this matters?

WHORISKEY: Well, some people say it doesn't matter, that it's perfectly fine for the chief executives around the country to make a lot of money, that they're worth it, that it's a good thing because they're creating jobs and making businesses stronger. On the other hand, for a long time, at least since the 1980s, most Americans have said they're concerned about the level of inequality, of income in the U.S.

COSTELLO: No, but more than concerned, right? At the same time workers' wages have stagnated or declined, even in union shops, and you cite Dean Foods, that's the company you highlighted. Executive pay there increased, what, tenfold from the 1970s to today, and union workers' wages actually declined by nine percent. Is that because workers have become less important and executives more important?

WHORISKEY: I think that's one of the arguments that people make, that, you know, if you're a relatively uneducated worker, you're competing now against people around the globe of similar skills, and you're going to be beat out in the job market. If you ask too much, the job is going to go overseas.

COSTELLO: So, is it -- is there a perception among executives that the worker bees, the people who do the work, are interchangeable parts, and it doesn't matter if you pay them wages or give them increases in wages over the years?

WHORISKEY: Right. I mean that's exactly what's going on. On the other hand, there's very few people thinking -- the defenders of the CEO pay would say, look, if we can get a guy in here who will, you know, do a bang up job, he's worth every dime. If we get another guy who can make a widget, we can find lots of people like that. So, we don't need to pay them that much.

COSTELLO: Now, I can hear people saying, you got to be kidding, that's really depressing. How does that affect the economy as a whole, I wonder? Because you have the top tier, the executives, the managers of your companies making these extreme wages, and then everybody else, I mean, even if we create jobs in this country for the 14 million Americans without jobs, if pay remains stagnant, the economy is still going to hurt, right? WHORISKEY: Well, overall, I mean, the growth will still go up. It's a question of who gets the benefit of the growth, and I think that's the thing that has people a little bit worried is that, if you have a country that's growing but the benefits of that growth are all going to one small segment of the population, then, you're going to have -- it's going to be -- you're going to make people mad among other things.

COSTELLO: Yes, more than mad. I say pretty angry. Peter, thank you. If you want to read Peter's article at the washingtonpost.com, you can go to the website. Peter Whoriskey, thanks for getting up early and talking with us this morning.

WHORISKEY: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Kiran.

Actually, it's me. Our top story this morning, Secretary Defense Robert Gates confirming over the weekend that the U.S. is meeting face-to-face with the Taliban to bring an end to the war in Afghanistan, and that brings us to the question of the day. Should the U.S. be negotiating with the Taliban?

This is from -- oh there you are. Thank goodness you're here finally.

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COSTELLO: Donna says to this question, "Bring our soldiers home and let the country that propagated the Taliban to begin with to deal with them. Enough money and soldiers' lives have been lost. It's time for the U.S.A. to deal with its own issues at home."

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Mary O'Grady writes, "Talking is not negotiating. Talks were held with the Germans and the Japanese. The only way to move forward is to talk or sit in a stalemate forever."

COSTELLO: And this is from Daniel via Twitter, "I think that's a question for the people starving and the family --

CHETRY: Serving.

COSTELLO: Serving, I'm sorry. "that's a question for the people serving and the families waiting for the knock on the door.

CHETRY: Sailor7 on Twitter, "It's a very hard question. The Taliban wants the U.S.A. dead now, so how can they help us? That's the question."

We welcome all your comments. We like to hear from you again. So, send us an e-mail, a tweet, tell us on Facebook, and we'll read some more of your comments coming up a little later.

Meantime, our top stories are next, and we've been talking about this all morning. The U.S. in talks with the Taliban. Is this wise? Is this a smart move? And what's the alternative? COSTELLO: Plus, a desperate situation in the south. Winds fanning flames that are threatening homes and livelihoods. We'll have the latest for you. It's 54 minutes past the hour.

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