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American Morning
U.S. Negotiating with the Taliban; Rory McIlroy wins U.S. Open ; Obama Impersonator Gets the Hook; Food Allergies in Children on the Rise; A Pirate's Story; Syria's Assad Delivering Speech; Marilyn Monroe's Dress Sets Record
Aired June 20, 2011 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: With Osama Bin Laden gone, the U.S. is now trying to end the war in Afghanistan by negotiating with the Taliban, but some question if it's wise to be talking to the enemy on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And good morning to you. Glad you're with us. It's Monday, June 20th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. Ali and Christine are off. I'm Kiran Chetry.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Carol Costello filling in for two, count them two, anchors this morning. Good morning to you.
First this hour, the United States face-to-face with the enemy in Afghanistan. Retiring Defense Secretary Robert Gates confirming negotiations between the United States and the Taliban have been under way for weeks now. He appeared on CNN's "State of the Union" calling the talks preliminary but necessary to bring our troops home.
CHETRY: Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon this morning. So, Gates clearly believes in the old saying, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. What, I guess, would a framework be for any type of deal or, you know, truce with the Taliban?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: I don't know that anybody really has gotten that far yet, because of all of the questions, you know, being raised here about this process. Gates confirmed it, but he also raised the very key question, are the people they're talking to really representing the Taliban, representing Mullah Omar?
The Talibans have very diverse organization these days, and there's an awful lot of different insurgent groups that they're fighting in Afghanistan. And the key question, perhaps, for so many Americans is, why are we sitting down and talking to the group that sheltered Osama Bin Laden and sheltered the masterminds of the 9/11 attacks? Listen to a little bit more of what Gates had to say about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: 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 and Iraq who were directly killing -- had directly been involved in killing our troops. That's the way wars end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: And that's one of gates' key points here, wars essentially, many wars end through political accommodations. The first part of any framework, Kiran, would be for the Taliban to realize they have no option, to fight against them so hard they believe their only option is to come to the negotiating table, disavow Al Qaeda and insurgent activity, support the government of Hamid Karzai.
But that gets to the absolute key bottom line here. Will the government of Hamid Karzai ever be strong enough for the Taliban to believe that's really their only option, the only road out for them is to support the government in Afghanistan. How many troops, U.S. troops, will it take to make them believe that? How much more fighting has to really go on?
COSTELLO: Let's talk about U.S. troops in Afghanistan, Barbara. President Obama is expected to announce his schedule to bring troops home. If talking to the Taliban works and some scenario, could United States troops come home earlier?
STARR: I think that as we await President Obama's announcement really any day now, that's what's really shaking out as the debate right now. Is the government of Hamid Karzai strong enough he would disavow violence, join in with any peace process that could allow U.S. troops to come home faster, perhaps?
But on the other hand, you still have the safe havens across the border in Pakistan. You still have an awful lot of uncertainty about where Afghanistan is headed and whether Hamid Karzai can really govern the country. How do you ensure that happens before you start bringing a large number of troops home?
COSTELLO: That's a big if. Barbara Starr live at the Pentagon, thank you.
That does bring us to our question of the day. Should the United States negotiate with the Taliban? We want to know what you think about this. Send us an e-mail, tweet, tell us on Facebook. We will read some of your responses throughout the morning.
CHETRY: This morning Pakistan's denying reports that it is it tipping off militants at bomb making factories. giving them time to leave before any military raids take place. According to the "New York Times," four bomb making sites were evacuated shortly after U.S. intelligence notified Pakistan of their existence.
Senator Dianne Feinstein spoke to Wolf Blitzer about the latest blow to Washington's relationship with Islamabad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN, (D) CALIFORNIA: When there were joint operations set up on two IED factories, those -- the people making the IED in the factories were warned and disappeared before the Pakistani troops got there. That's a big problem because it says we can't trust you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Let's go live now to Islamabad, Pakistan, and our Reza Sayah. What are you hearing from Pakistan about this situation this morning?
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you mentioned before, Kiran, they're denying it but you continue to wait and see if there's any signs that U.S.-Pakistani relations are improving and it seems all you see are more signs that things are going downhill.
Following this report, more question about Pakistan's military and if they're helping to protect militants by leaking critical information provided for by the U.S. you recall last week, we learned that militants had escaped two suspected bomb making facilities in the Pakistani-Afghanistan border right after the U.S. had told Pakistan's military where these bomb-making facilities were and had told them to raid them.
That, of course, raises the suspicion, raises the question, did the military tip off the militants in order for them to be able to flee? It was an issue raised by the head of the CIA, Leon Panetta, when he was in Islamabad a couple weeks ago. Following this reporting, there are more suspicions about two more bomb making facilities in the same area the Pakistani-Afghanistan border. More militants fleeing bomb making facilities after the U.S. informed the military.
Of course, this raises suspicion in Washington about the military. Today a Pakistani military official vehemently denied the allegations last week and the first set of accusations, Pakistan called them "baseless and unfounded." They're sticking to their position.
And again, we're right back where we started from. These are two countries that desperately need one another. They call themselves partners, but they're certainly not behaving like partners, a lot of finger-pointing and escalating tensions.
CHETRY: Reza Sayah in Islamabad, thank you.
COSTELLO: With the bloody uprising on his hands and more than 10,000 of his people fleeing into Turkey, Syrian President Bashar al Assad made a major speech this morning. He's facing mounting criticism from leaders in the United States and Europe for his violent crackdown on demonstrators.
He says Syrians must solve their own problems and reforms need to be based on legitimate needs of the people and not the demands of saboteurs. Assad's speech coming on the same day the European Union is discussing tightening sanctions against his government.
Day 91 of the NATO operation in Libya. House Speaker John Boehner has been insisting the president is violating the war powers act for not getting Congress's approval for the mission. He wanted a response from the White House but he didn't get it. He didn't get any of the answers he was looking for.
In the meantime reports of a deadly NATO strike in Tripoli killing nine civilians over the weekend. That's according to Libyan officials. Brianna Keilar live at the White House this morning to put this all in perspective for us. Has the White House tried to downplay the disagreement among Obama's lawyers about the war powers act?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You know, they have. What we've heard, Carol, and we should sort of give our viewers a sense of the story we're talking about. "The New York Times" reported a story on Friday night that said the president, the White House disagreed with Defense Department and Justice Department lawyers who said, essentially, that the president's legal rational for not seeking congressional authorization to continue having U.S. troops committed in Libya beyond 90 days, really that it wasn't correct.
So you heard even before this story broke, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney saying there had been a robust debate. Yes, the White House is trying to downplay it. Since this broke on Friday night we haven't had a chance to ask questions of Carney during a briefing. No doubt he'll be peppered with them today.
Here's the breakdown of the calendar. Really U.S. military involvement in Libya began on March 18th. And on the 21st, that is when president Obama notified congress. This is sort of a formal process. Under the law of the war powers resolution, this is really when the clock starts ticking towards 90 days.
Well, 90 days was yesterday, June 19th. And so you have many members of Congress, we're talking Republicans, we're talking speaker John Boehner, but also talking a lot of liberal Democrats, strange bedfellows in this, telling President Obama that they think he should be seeking congressional authorization.
The fact of the matter is, though, Carol, it would be very difficult for the president at this point to get that from the House of Representatives. He wouldn't. That would be the expectation. And we're also expecting that this week the House of Representatives may, as they consider the Defense Department spending bill, that someone may try to attach a measure to it that would defund in some way operations in Libya. And while that may not see the light of day in the Senate, Carol, this would be a very big rebuke, pardon me, of President Obama both from Republicans and Democrats.
COSTELLO: We'll see what happens this week. Brianna Keilar live in Washington, thank you.
CHETRY: There's also growing concern this morning over the multiplying wildfires burning across the south and southeast part of the country. Actually fires in the southwest as well. Take a look right now. Seven states are under a red flag warning meaning weather conditions in those states pose an extreme fire risk.
In Arizona the so-called monument fire is called the nation's number one priority. There are now more than 1,000 firefighters battling the flames which have burned through more than 44 homes. The U.S. forest service says there's no evidence the wildfires were started by illegal immigrants, 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 are 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: And this week, crews along the fire lines should get a small break, forecasters expecting the winds to lessen and the humidity levels to rise.
COSTELLO: OK, let's talk about something good now. Two months after an agonizing final round collapse at the Masters, Rory McIlroy is the U.S. Open champion. He's amazing. He has curly hair, 22 years old.
CHETRY: That's the amazing part?
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: No. He just looks like a little kid, doesn't he? He's 22 from Northern Ireland, and he actually made the rest of the field look like Sunday hackers.
CHETRY: Oh, yes. He set records.
COSTELLO: He did. He set records. He won his first major championship by eight strokes while posting the lowest score in tournament history. That would be the record 16 under par.
CHETRY: Amazing.
COSTELLO: McIlroy's dominant wire-to-wire win set off a huge celebration in his homeland, that would be Northern Ireland. This is the reaction inside a pub at McIlroy's local golf club in Hollywood, Northern Ireland.
CHETRY: Also a big Father's Day treat for his dad, Gerry McIlroy. His dad spent three years working three jobs to try to help his son get to that level. After they hugged on the final hole, Rory said "Happy Father's Day." A lot people teared up over that one.
And here it is, the proud pro golfer's moment they dream about hoisting the U.S. Open trophy. There was a bit of controversy at the event, NBC taking heat and apologizing for editing out the words "under god" twice during the taped open of yesterday's broadcast. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROWD: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to the republic, for which it stands --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the greatest golf tournament in the world, the Open championship of the United States of America.
CROWD: -- with liberty and justice for all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: NBC says that the editing error was, quote, "regrettable," and insists that it was not their intent to upset anyone.
COSTELLO: Well, how careful was their intent or not. People on the blogosphere and Twitter went crazy. They edited it out twice. You can say it's an editing error the first time. Not saying NBC is not telling the truth, but I kind of am.
Still to come, and amazing sight in Colorado. June looked like January with hail covering the roads. Bonnie Schneider will be here with your Monday morning travel forecast after the break.
CHETRY: Also, witnesses thrown off the stand, attorneys threatened with contempt of court charges, and there is, of course, what you see, people wait in line for the 50-some tickets, public tickets for the Casey Anthony trial. It enters week five. We have the latest coming up. It's 11 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: It's 15 minutes past the hour. The Casey Anthony murder trial now entering week five -- five weeks of testimony. The defense witness is expected to get another chance to testify after being thrown off the stand on Saturday. We'll explain more about what went down there.
Also, Casey Anthony's attorney was threatened with contempt of court after the witness gave undisclosed forensic testimony.
COSTELLO\: Now, you know why people are fighting to get in -- high drama.
In the meantime, another defense 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.
Sunny Hostin is with us this morning. She's a legal contributor for "In Session" and a former federal prosecutor. Thanks for being with us.
HOSTIN: Thank you for having me.
COSTELLO: OK. Let's talk about the duct tape first because the prosecution alleges that the duct tape was placed over the child's mouth to suffocate her.
HOSTIN: That's the murder weapon.
COSTELLO: The defense said that the duct tape wasn't even on Caylee's mouth. There's no evidence of that. So, did they prove their point?
HOSTIN: Exactly. You know, they really did. And the person they proved it through is a world renowned forensic pathologist. He's name is Dr. Werner Spitz. He has performed over 60,000 autopsies over a 56-year career, including being involved with the assassination of JFK, the O.J. Simpson trial, Phil Spector trial.
We're talking this is the man when it comes to forensic pathology.
CHETRY: So, what were they trying to get at, the lack of DNA on this duct tape?
HOSTIN: Well, a couple things. He said that the -- interestingly enough, the autopsy was incomplete. He says that the remains were -- duct tape was -- were placed on the remains after she was already dead, which means that it could never be the murder weapon.
CHETRY: I know. But why would you place the duct tape on a body long after -- on the child long after she's dead.
HOSTIN: There are a lot of theories about it, Carol. Some people are saying it was staged. Some people are saying it was an accidental drowning, of course, and then she panicked and perhaps staged it to be a kidnapping. The defense theory, Roy Kronk may have done it.
So, it boils down to reasonable doubt, right? And that's what the defense here is trying to show. And I will say --
CHETRY: How does the prosecution counter that?
HOSTIN: They did a pretty decent job and they tried to make it out to be that this guy was just sort of an attention seeker. He gave a lot of media interviews. But I don't know that saved the day because, again, we're talking about a world renowned forensic pathologist.
I thought he did a really, really good job on the witness stand and he certainly poked holes in that defense theory -- prosecution theory.
CHETRY: Also the cliffhanger over the weekend was that the judge threatened basically to hold the defense attorney, Casey Anthony's attorney, Jose Baez, in contempt of court because he didn't disclose to the prosecution what one of the expert witnesses was going to say.
HOSTIN: Yes. That's right.
CHETRY: How common is something like this happening?
HOSTIN: It is rare for a judge to hold an attorney in contempt. As an attorney, you never want that to happen to you. This judge has made it very clear, Kiran, that he does not want trial by ambush, trial by fire. And so, when this trial was being prepared, pretrial, he said to everyone -- defense, prosecution -- when you have an expert witness, I want that expert witness deposed by both sides and I want that expert witness to put all his or her findings in a report, in a pretrial report. That way, everyone knows what all the experts are saying. Well, this expert, Dr. William Rodriguez, got on the witness stand and started talking about the duct tape and the adhesive on the duct tape and the remains and, all of a sudden, you heard the prosecution making the argument, whoa, wait a minute. We didn't hear about this. This wasn't in the pretrial report. And that is, I think, when Judge Perry said, OK, this is not going to happen here.
I made it clear this was not going to be trial by fire and you're out of here.
CHETRY: He said it was intentional. He said this was not inadvertent. This was intentional.
HOSTIN: He felt that it was intentional and so -- but I will say this, we're he going to hear from that witness. The witness was deposed over the weekend. We'll probably hear from him today on Monday.
COSTELLO: Sunny Hostin, thanks so much. Watching the court trial and be back tomorrow.
HOSTIN: Absolutely.
CHETRY: Thanks, Sunny.
COSTELLO: Let's head to Atlanta and Bonnie Schneider to check out the weather, especially the weather out west.
Hi, Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi, Carol and Kiran.
We've got some very interesting weather video to show you, because it looks like snow, but it's not. It's hail.
Take a look at these pictures out of Colorado over the weekend. It looks like visibility is blinding from a blizzard but it's not. Actually, large hail stones hammered parts of Colorado over the weekend. You can see the size of the hail and when it lands on the grass like that, it really does look like snow. Of course, it melts because it's too warm for snow.
We are seeing snow in other parts of Colorado. I'll get to that in a moment. But look what's happening. Severe weather working its way across Iowa, a lot of storms have been rolling through.
And these are producing frequent lightning strikes. So, be careful if you're driving through the area. We have severe thunderstorm watches posted for parts of Iowa, all the way into Illinois. And a lot of these storms are going to be working further their way further to the east. Some heavy downpours over the Baltimore and Washington area right now.
Let's zoom in right here and you can see there's some heavy rain working its way into that part of the country. We'll be watching for that as we go through the afternoon. We're also talking fire danger continuing through Texas. So, the winds today will be very strong. It will be windy even in Dallas and for those of you flying or connecting a flight, you may have airport delays there.
Keep in mind the fire danger is still critical -- but by the time we get to tomorrow, we are expecting improvements. It will be hot, temperatures heating up, triple digits and remember the heat index in places like Vicksburg will feel hotter than the 96 degrees. So, just try to limit your time outdoors for today.
And, lastly, as I mentioned, where it's cold enough for snow it's snowing in the mountains of Colorado.
Back to you.
CHETRY: Sounds good after the heat you just talked about. Thank you, Bonnie.
Coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING: another video game company hit by hackers. Find out what happened to you and if your personal information is now at risk.
CHETRY: We also want to hear from you. The question of the day: the U.S. and the Taliban negotiating face to face about ending the war in Afghanistan. Is this a good idea?
It's our question of the day and we would like to hear from you. E- mail us, tweet us, find us on Facebook, and we'll read your comments a bit later.
It's 20 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Twenty-three minutes past the hour right now. Minding your business this morning.
Blue chip stocks and the S&P 500 closed up Friday, breaking a six-week losing streak while the NASDAQ was down. Info coming up this week that could impact the economy. The Federal Reserve's two-day meeting, also new data on housing, durable goods and the labor market.
And Wall Street keeping a close eye on the European finance minister's meeting today in Luxembourg and how it could impact world markets. The E.U. members announcing new loans will be given to Greece in July if the country keeps cutting its budget.
And the Japanese game maker Sega announcing about 1.3 million customers' personal information was stolen on Friday. This includes names, birthdays, e-mail addresses, as well as encoded passwords -- all of it hacked from the company's Sega Pass Web site.
The company is reporting credit card information remains safe and was not impacted. And a fresh survey out this morning says only a quarter of Americans have a six-month savings cushion and worse, another quarter have no emergency savings whatsoever. That's according to a survey by Bankrate.com.
And "Green Lantern" winning at the box office over the Father's Day weekend. The action thriller raked in more than $52 million. "Super 8" and "Mr. Popper's Penguins" took the second and third spots.
Don't forget, for the very latest news about your money, check out the all-new CNNMoney.com.
AMERICAN MORNING will be back after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Republican presidential hopefuls strutting their stuff in front of an important audience. The Republican Leadership Conference that wrapped up over the weekend. And a popular theme among Republican candidates: criticizing President Obama.
As expected, Congressman Ron Paul won the straw poll. He tends to do well in these contents, thanks to his passionate base. Former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman finished a strong second, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, rounding out the top five.
CHETRY: All right. Well, also at the gathering, a comedian who is an Obama impersonator. He was --
COSTELLO: And we use that term lightly.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Yes. His act was cut short after joking about the president's race as well as some other Republican presidential candidates. Here's a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REGGIE BROWN, PRES. BARACK OBAMA IMPERSONATOR: We're more than halfway through June already. Now, my favorite month is February, Black History Month. You see, Michele, she celebrates the full month, and, you know, I celebrate half.
My father was a black man from Kenya. And my mother was a white woman from Kansas. So, yes, my mother loved a black man, and no, she was not a Kardashian.
You got your frontrunner, Mitt Romney. Now, don't get me wrong, he might make a great president, along with his first lady, second lady, third lady.
It's unfortunate that Tim Pawlenty couldn't make it here. But cut him some slack. He's having his foot surgically removed from his mouth.
Oh, no. Don't worry. Luckily for him, it's covered under Obamaneycare.
Now, what can I say about Michele Bachmann that she hasn't already said about herself?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: We didn't show the best -- there's the best part.
CHETRY: There it is. He was actually -- once he started with the Michele Bachmann stuff, he was escorted off the stage.
COSTELLO: The music started to play.
CHETRY: Yes. The music started to play and there went the comedian.
COSTELLO: Let's bring in Mark Preston. This comedian, Reggie Brown, where did he come from?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: He certainly -- well from what I understand he came from Chicago, but you know, this is a really interesting case right here, Carol and Kiran.
The fact of the matter is when you're talking about race and whenever you're talking about religion, it's a really difficult task, right? You know, when you have somebody up there talking about this and President Obama and where he came from.
And look at the audience that he's addressing right there. You know, it's a predominantly white audience. When you're making black jokes, you know, it's really hard for it to go over. I think that's what you saw there.
COSTELLO: Not only that, but if you want to attract African-Americans or Latinos to your party, is this a good idea to have this type of comedian at an event like this?
PRESTON: Well, you know, that's great question. In fact, let me read you a tweet that was put out by Doug High. He's a former spokesman for the Republican National Committee.
He said, wonder why many minorities have problem with the GOP. Hiring Obama impersonator to tell black jokes at this conference for starters, it's our own fault.
I think I have to agree with Doug High on that one. You know, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense, as the Republican Party talking about trying to broaden its tent and bring more minorities under it, to have somebody out there making these jokes.
CHETRY: I mean, even the race thing aside for a second, to have somebody come on and rip on the people that are ultimately, you know, the field of candidates, you know, also is not helpful.
I mean, making fun of Romney and -- I guess he started to make fun of Michele Bachmann and then that's when he was escorted off. But I don't see how that necessarily helps either. PRESTON: Well, no, but you know, I mean, look, I'm all for pushing the limits and some of those jokes were probably within line, but you know what, probably not the right audience out there to be making fun of, all of these folks, they're candidates right.
You're talking about Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, and Tim Pawlenty. These are candidates that these folks are looking at voting for president, so probably not a smart idea on the sponsors of conference to hire this gentleman.
COSTELLO: I wonder if the person who brought in the comedian will be fired or something.
CHETRY: They had -- they had a George W. Bush impersonator. I remember seeing him around all the time. He was even with the president at one of the Correspondents dinners.
PRESTON: Yes, no doubt. Again, whenever you have a comedian put into a situation like this, comedians are supposed to push the limits. The question is, when organizing a conference like this, how far do you want to push those limits?
COSTELLO: Well, not that far, as we've learned. Mark Preston, thanks so much for joining us. For all the latest political news go to cnnpolitics.com.
CHETRY: Well, food allergies among children. They are more common than you may think. There's a new study that's been published in Pediatrics, very large study, the largest of its kind.
Finding almost six million children have food allergies in the U.S. This is a much higher number than previously thought. Here to talk more about the study is Dr. Scott Sicherer from the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute. Great to see you this morning at Mt. Sinai Medical Center.
DR. SCOTT SICHERER, CLINICIAN, JAFFE FOOD ALLERGY INSTITUTE: Thank you.
CHETRY: So we're talking about this study and it's significant for a couple reasons. One, it was a very large study conducted. They talked to so many parents about this. Eight percent of American children have some sort of food allergy. That's grown. Why?
SICHERER: Right. So we do think that there's a real increase and we're not sure exactly why there's been an increase.
There are various theories as to why. One of the most common theories is called the cleanliness or hygiene hypothesis that we're living in a different way these days that we don't live on forms anymore. We have smaller families.
We use more antibiotics and protecting ourselves from infection. Our immune system might be more prone to attack harmless things like food because it's not chewing on other germs in the environment.
CHETRY: But there are specific foods more likely to be allergenic. One is peanuts. Other is milk and what is the third, seafood, right? These are three of the -- shellfish.
SICHERER: Yes, the common foods are milk, egg, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish.
CHETRY: And why is that?
SICHERER: We don't know. Those are foods probably digested differently and they tend to perk up the immune system and cause these food allergies.
CHETRY: The other thing that really caught my eye is that out of all of these food allergies, nearly 40 percent, it's 38.7 percent, these people who had the food allergy, 38.7 percent had severe reactions.
As a parent that's scary. My daughter has a peanut allergy. It's something that really took us by surprise. Often times you're not sure how you're supposed to deal with severe food allergies.
SICHERER: So this is a very significant part of the study, saying that there are over three million American children who have severe food allergies and that really means potential quality of life issues.
Thinking about the allergy in schools and restaurants, vacations and having to always worry to avoid the food and also to be prepared to treat a severe allergic reaction, for example, with epinephrine.
CHETRY: What should parents know? What should they try to understand when it comes to food allergies, versus food sensitivities? I mean, I notice the challenge was asking the right questions. I thought she was maybe allergic to dairy, but didn't know for sure. How do you really get to the bottom of it?
SICHERER: Well, the most important part is if you suspect a food allergy to really speak with your doctor about it and make sure that it gets confirmed. You don't want to be walking around avoiding the wrong food or foods you don't need avoid if there's a problem.
One of the things that this study showed, a discrepancy, there were people who reported fairly significant symptoms in their child, but hadn't really spoken to their doctor to have the allergy confirmed. If you're seeing symptoms like hives, wheezing, coughing and rashes from foods then it's time to talk to your doctor because you don't want to end up with the worse life threatening reaction.
CHETRY: Can you do anything to lower the chances that they'll have food allergies, you know, questions about what you do when pregnant, questions about what you do when breastfeeding, introducing milk.
SICHERER: Food allergies run in families. They happen for families where other allergies like asthma, eczema, hay fever happens and we do think that breastfeeding is one way to protect if there's a family history of allergy and you're not breast feeding using one of the low allergen formulas.
But after that, having a healthy diet is the main advice and there were old recommendations about avoiding certain highly allergenic foods, but those have fallen by the wayside.
CHETRY: Do kids outgrow allergies?
SICHERER: Well, the good news is that most children will outgrow their allergies to things like milk, egg, wheat and soy. They seem to be doing it later than they used to. So it might take a little bit longer.
Even foods like peanut, which usually will stay as an allergy, tree nuts, fish and shellfish, these are still outgrown by about one in five young children by the time they're school age. So always talk to your doctor.
CHETRY: The problem is you're petrified to take the chance and reintroduce a food that you're afraid could possibly be life threatening to your kid.
SICHERER: And only it that under an allergist supervision.
CHETRY: All right, well, thanks for breaking down the study for us, an important one, 8 percent of kids with food allergy. That's amazing. Dr. Scott Sicherer, thanks for joining us.
SICHERER: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, a ship wreck off the coast of North Carolina. Now archeologists are more certain than ever it did belong to the pirate "Blackbeard."
CHETRY: You are obsessed with this story.
COSTELLO: This is awesome. They found a diamond encrusted wine cup, Kiran.
CHETRY: It had to be old Blackbeard's.
COSTELLO: That's right.
CHETRY: We'll have more on that and also with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates confirming that the U.S. is, indeed, in talks with the Taliban, it's our question of the day.
We're asking if America should negotiate with the Taliban to end the war in Afghanistan. Send us an e-mail, a tweet, find us on Facebook and we'll read some of your responses a little bit later in the show.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: This is the best story of the morning, if I do say so myself. It's so cool.
CHETRY: You love Blackbeard.
COSTELLO: I love Blackbeard. He was a real-life pirate of the Caribbean and now archeologists are 98 percent certain they have found his most prized treasure, his ship. CHETRY: Was it his ship or was it his goblet?
COSTELLO: Whatever. His ship was called "The Queen Anne's Revenge." That was his flagship. It sank after hitting this big sandbar in 1718.
Well, in 1996 the wreck was uncovered off the North Carolina coast in the Beauford Inlet. It was always believed to be Blackbeard's ship, but now they're 98 percent sure, Kiran.
Yes, because divers found a trove of relics including a 3,000-pound anchor, a bronze bell, look at that anchor. Isn't that awesome? They found cannons too and they found that jewel encrusted wine cup.
CHETRY: You know, they see that these artifacts state a day among other evidence offering compelling proof that this would be "Queen Anne's Revenge." So amazing, I mean, for divers, do you do that?
COSTELLO: No, I'm too scared.
CHETRY: Me too. I have sinus problems. I can't do it. I snorkel, but can't go that far under.
COSTELLO: That's a good excuse. I have sinus problems.
CHETRY: I wish I could. I mean, it's amazing, but people who love to do that. Can you imagine getting down there and a chance to see that ship?
COSTELLO: For that I would probably --
CHETRY: Learn?
COSTELLO: Right. I would overcome my fear and go down there because who knows what else is down there.
CHETRY: I know, well, that's the part that scares me too.
COSTELLO: Including sharks.
CHETRY: No, I'm talking about terrifying sea creatures. That would eat me. You're looking for treasure.
COSTELLO: I'm looking for treasure.
CHETRY: Well, Syrian's embattled president addressing his people this morning. There had been increasing pressure on Bashar Al Assad to resign because of the violent crackdown on protesters.
COSTELLO: Zain Verjee tracking the latest developments live from London. Zain, he didn't really say anything jolting or surprising, right?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: No, he didn't. He blamed everyone else except himself. He blamed young generation of Syrians saying that they're out on the streets, they're protesting, and creating all this chaos.
So how is he supposed to do any real reform with all this chaos in the streets? He said it's just not a good environment for him. He also blamed the outside conspirators with what he said was plotting against Syria.
He insisted Syria will solve its own problems and there has to be a national dialog, he said. Analysts, though, weren't too happy with this speech. They said it was totally disappointing. He was out of touch with reality completely and one said who's really in charge here?
It's unclear if he is calling the shots. The big question is, is it going to get demonstrators off the streets? Many people say that that's totally unlikely. His last two speeches didn't do that, so why should this one be any different?
COSTELLO: Zain Verjee, many thanks.
CHETRY: We want to ask --
COSTELLO: How could I have forgotten this?
VERJEE: Wait, wait, wait.
COSTELLO: I know.
VERJEE: Enough Syria --
COSTELLO: Involved in Blackbeard, sorry.
CHETRY: Marilyn Monroe's dress, the white one where she stood over the subway grate?
VERJEE: Yes.
COSTELLO: Who has the money to buy this thing?
VERJEE: Well, it was $4.6 million, that's where it went and look at that dress. You remember the line, right? Do you feel the breeze from the subway? Isn't it delicious?
Well, that was from the 1955 movie "The Seven Year Itch." You know, this was at a time when a dress blowing up like that with a little bit of wind under that vent, would drive people to the movies in flocks.
But it is an iconic dress and it was auctioned in California by Debbie Reynolds so for $4.6 million, guys.
CHETRY: Thought it was only going to get $1 million or $2 million. That's amazing.
VERJEE: Yes, it was a really big one. You know, she said that she couldn't get anyone to open up a museum for all of this stuff and it was too expensive to maintain it so she decided to part with the wardrobe that she has. CHETRY: And let's show the picture one more time. Do you know if you following history, I follow -- I read a lot of Joe DiMaggio stuff. This was a huge point of contention in their marriage. He was irate about this. I mean, this was being shot on the streets and, you know, basically he's seeing all of these men line up to gawk at his wife --
COSTELLO: Yes.
CHETRY: -- who's a movie star in her underwear in the streets.
COSTELLO: He was a very jealous man, Zain.
CHETRY: Well, he was very conservative and he picked a unique woman to marry for being so conservative.
COSTELLO: I can't believe she married Joe DiMaggio anyway.
VERJEE: That dress is pretty amazing. You know, I don't know if anyone thought that they would get $4.6 million, for that, guys. But yes, it's pretty amazing and it was pretty major for its time to be seen in shots like this and everywhere -- nowadays, little bit of underwear and some legs, you know, no one's going to the movies for that like they did back then.
COSTELLO: You have to be naked now.
CHETRY: Even that's not a big draw.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: That's sadly true.
CHETRY: Zain, thank you.
VERJEE: Thanks, guys.
CHETRY: You can catch Zain every week day, 5:00 a.m. on "WORLD ONE" right here on CNN.
Still ahead, Nebraska's bracing for severe storms. A tornado touching down last night. Bonnie Schneider has details for us.
COSTELLO: And then U.S. and the Taliban negotiating face to face about ending the war in Afghanistan. But is talking to such an enemy a good idea? A live report from the Pentagon at the top of the hour.
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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 has been 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 underway for weeks now.
More than 1,000 firefighters battling Arizona's monument fire. It's being called the number one priority. Wildfires burned across seven states. Calmer winds and rising humidity are easing relief efforts.
Nebraska facing for more severe weather today. Several funnel clouds spotted over the weekend. At least one tornado touched down. Large hail and heavy rain pounded the state. Possible thunderstorms expected today.
Week five in the Casey Anthony trial. Last week a defense pathologist criticized the autopsy of Caylee Anthony. He said duct tape found on her skull was placed there long after her death.
And former governor Jon Huntsman didn't even show up for this weekend's Republican leadership conference but surprisingly he placed second in the presidential straw poll. Representative Ron Paul came in first.
Rory McIlroy didn't just win the U.S. Open, he destroyed, breaking the record for the lowest score ever by four shots. The 22-year-old finished with an eight-stroke victory overall.
You are now caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back in 60 seconds.
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CHETRY: Fifty-one minutes past the hour. You may not know him by name but chances are you know the story. Chris Gardner is the man behind the Pursuit of Happyness and before all the fame and money, he was a homeless, single dad trying to teach his son valuable lessons.
Here's Christine Romans.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL SMITH, ACTOR: Don't ever let somebody tell you you can't do something.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): You'll recognize him, perhaps, played by Will Smith in the movie "The Pursuit of Happyness."
SMITH: You got a dream, you got to protect it.
ROMANS: It was based on his best-selling book of the same name. But even after the Hollywood ending, Chris Gardner did not rest on his laurels. Every day, he's hoping to pass on what he's learned.
CHRIS GARDNER, AUTHOR, "START WHERE YOU ARE": You know what? I learned so much about money from my mom, who often said, son, I have done so much with so little for so long that I can do anything with nothing. And it wasn't just something catchy that she said. I got to see her do it.
ROMANS: And that also means learning to manage expectations.
GARDNER: I think one of the most important things that I have taught both of my children about money is that more money, more problems. Just because you do acquire money does not mean that you're not going to have problems elsewhere in your life.
ROMANS: According to a recent survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 42 percent people polled say they learned the most about personal finance from their parents.
GARDNER: I think right now, again, after the dinner table conversation of, how was school today, a very good place to start is, let's talk about money. Let's talk about what we're going to do to try and save money. Let's talk about the stock market. How is that affecting our retirement plans?
ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: And there's some more information about teaching your kids about personal finance. It's in Christine's new book, "Smart is the New Rich."
All right. Well, back to our top story this morning. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates confirming over the weekend that the U.S. is meeting face-to-face with the Taliban, in an effort to bring to an end the war in Afghanistan. That brings us to the question of the day.
COSTELLO: Which is, should the United States be negotiating with the Taliban?
This from Charles. "The United States should never negotiate with terrorists. How could we begin to think they would honor any agreement ever made?"
This from Daniel. "Absolutely not. Whatever happened it to we don't negotiate with terrorists? Just because the war has become increasingly unpopular doesn't mean we should change our core values and negotiate with militants who are killing Americans."
CHETRY: And Sean on Facebook. "Yes, we should. The Taliban are not al Qaeda. The groups have been treated as the same since the war but they are not. At the end of the day the Taliban are part of Afghanistan. And the sooner we realize that and try to transition them into a positive situation, the sooner we can bring our troops home."
Also Joshua. "Talking to the Taliban feels like an admission of the failure of not only our mission but of the Karzai government because it is too corrupt to govern."
COSTELLO: Keep your comments coming. Send us an e-mail, a tweet, or tell us on Facebook. We'll read some more of your thoughts a bit later.
OK. Here's the video of the morning. One young boy becoming quite a YouTube sensation.
CHETRY: It was very cute. He was caught on camera showing off serious dance moves while playing the X-Box Kinect. Check it out.
(VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So cute. Not only cute, but good exercise for these kids, right?
COSTELLO: He's dancing to "Disturbia."
CHETRY: It's better than a Jazzercise class, I guess.
The video was shot at a Microsoft store in Washington State.
COSTELLO: At least it kept him busy while parents looked for -- you know, technology.
CHETRY: What, more video games?
COSTELLO: Yes, whatever.
Is there so much thing as too much homework? Because that kid's not doing it. Most kids would say yes, we have too much homework, but surprisingly some school leaders are also saying, yes, your kid has too much homework. Schools across the county are cutting back on homework.
Coming up in the 8:00 hour, CNN education contributor Steve Perry will tell us why.
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