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American Morning
Much of Ohio Under Flood Warnings; Do or Die for Michigan Primary Today
Aired March 20, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mad river.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't think he was going to make it out of there.
CHO: Floods leave hundreds homeless and more than a dozen people dead. Extreme weather on the move.
CNN exclusive. Drug subs carrying tons of coke. The U.S. military takes on a Navy without a country.
Plus, the Clinton documents. Revelations and secrets from Hillary Clinton's eight years as first lady. The most politics in the morning on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome. Glad you're with us on this Thursday, March 20th. I'm Kiran Chetry along with Alina Cho, Rob Marciano and Ali Velshi this morning. John Roberts has the week off.
Alina is going to be looking into some of those pages, the 11,000 pages released of Hillary Clinton's life as first lady with a look at just really how much we're learning by her calendar.
CHO: Well, the big question is how much are we learning. I mean 11,000 pages. I mean there are some details and some details about Monica Lewinsky and where she was during that scandal. So we'll get into that in a minute, yes.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: Do we really need to know everything?
CHO: Well...
CHETRY: Well, a lot of it is redacted so we won't.
But out top story this morning is the flooding that's taking place right now. It is really, as you talked about yesterday, it's not that unusual for this time of year but so widespread.
MARCIANO: Yes, widespread and the rivers haven't even begun to crest either. So that's the problem.
To Ohio we're going to get to that spot in a second but there's a few spots that really have been getting hammered like Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Arkansas and Missouri. Three people reported missing also in Texas and Arkansas. Missouri the worst of the flood zone there. Some spots of that state haven't seen this sort of flooding in over 100 years. Emergency crews took part in 50 rescues there. And it's just not a good deal.
In Ohio, much of the state there under flood warnings. At least four inches of rain fell in southwest Ohio. We go to Sean Callebs now who's been tracking the flooding as waters continue to rise there. He's in South Lebanon, Ohio.
Good morning again, Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rob. Just a little bit north of Cincinnati where we are now. I'm standing in what is the Little Miami River. Clearly it is just jumped its banks and came pouring across what is a corn field and all this debris here, you can see this was just some of the muck left in the corn field. It has washed against the guardrail, completely swamping this major road here. You can see that turn side down there toward the end. This is just a microcosm of what this area of southwest Ohio is dealing with this morning.
You talked about Missouri. It is a state that simply got hammered by tremendous amount of rainfall. A lot of harrowing escapes. Let's listen to a couple of people who just barely made it out by the skin of their teeth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just knew I had to get out. I was going to try to get out the back window and it was too small, I had the sliding back glass, so I had to force the driver's side door open and push it open and was able to get out. And as soon as stepped up, it swept me probably 50 yards before I could get my feet under me again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nobody knew what was coming. I mean they were calling for a lot of rain and, you know, we've -- that's been right away in the past and stuff. Nobody expected this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: Boy, that's a real tough thing about covering something like this. They know the rain is coming but even as it falls further upriver as that moves down the rivers continue to crest long after the rain has stopped. To give you an idea, Rob, just how thick this muck is here, I'll step out it. I'm basically walking on top of the debris from the corn field out of this water. I'm not going to venture too far because this is where it could get really ugly, fall out, and you know, where that could lead to.
But it is absolutely a mess out here. We talked to some Warren County officials. They hope -- I'll stress the word stress, Rob -- that the rivers have crested in this area and maybe it's as bad as it's going to get. First day of spring, what a welcome for these folks in Ohio, huh, Rob? MARCIANO: You're right about that and you certainly don't want to step on spots where you don't know where you're going. That wouldn't be good for live TV but it also stresses on the point, Sean, that that's a dangerous situation especially in running water. Doesn't take much water for people to be swept off their feet and obviously we have seen fatalities with this storm and, I'll echo that, yes, we hope that the rivers there have crested.
Thank you, Sean.
CHETRY: And another question this morning is where is it headed next and how long is it going to last? Reynolds Wolf has been tracking the extreme weather at our weather update desk in Atlanta this morning.
Hey, Reynolds.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Reynolds, thanks. We're going to check in with you throughout the morning on that.
And meanwhile, in politics today, a new primary in Michigan is in jeopardy. The state legislature has until the end of today to approve a second primary before a two-week begins. Lawmakers are still reviewing a bill that would allow up to $12 million in private donations to pay for a do-over. Another catch, though, is that both candidates have to agree to this.
Hillary Clinton is pressing Barack Obama to support the plan. She says it was, quote, "wrong and frankly un-American not to have Michigan and Florida seated at the Democratic national convention." For his part Barack Obama weighed in on that saying that she's saying it now that it's convenient to her and because she needs the delegates. His supporters are saying the plan is too full of problems. Michigan lost its delegates as did Florida when it voted early against party rules.
Let's take a look at the delegate totals as they stand right now. Barack Obama with 1,621 and Hillary Clinton with 1,479. A difference of 142 delegates. Again, for the Democrats there's 2,024 needed to secure the nomination.
The next big primary is in Pennsylvania on April 22nd where 158 delegates are at stake.
Meanwhile, Alina Cho is here now with more stories new this morning and more of our leaders paying visits overseas.
CHO: That's right. Vice President Dick Cheney. Good morning, guys. Good morning, everybody.
And Vice President Cheney is in Afghanistan today. He flew in from Oman, Jordan to meet with president Hamid Karzai as that country tries to head off a rise in insurgent attacks that usually go up in the springtime. Cheney's visit comes two days after he met with top commanders in Iraq. He says the so-called troop surge there has produced positive results.
Calls for revenge from the most wanted man in the world. A new audiotape posted online is said to be from Osama bin Laden. He's heard condemning European countries for allowing Denmark to publish cartoons that shows the prophet Mohammed wearing a bomb-shaped turban. The five-minute tape makes just one reference to President Bush, calling him a, quote, "aggressive ally who's about to depart the White House." The feds are still trying to confirm whether it's actually bin Laden's voice on the tape.
Even though western media has been reporting it for days, China is now acknowledging for the first time that protests in Tibet are widening to several other provinces. According to Chinese state media, the demonstrations are now taking place outside the capital city of Lhasa. Twenty-four people have been arrested in last Friday's riots. Protesters are calling for Tibet's independence and the return of their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. The protests come just months before the start of the Beijing Olympics.
U.S. health official says they found that mysterious ingredient that contaminated some batches of the blood thinner heparin. They say it's a cheap, man-made chemical compound that mimics heparin and it all came from China. You'll recall that other products like toothpaste, cough syrup, pet food, also made in China were recalled after dangerous additives were found. The Food and Drug Administration is investigation whether the compound found in the heparin was deliberately added.
A three-mile stretch of I-95 in Philadelphia is not likely to reopen for rush hour this morning. I-95, you'll recall, was closed Monday to repair that crack there in a support column. Engineers are still testing the repair to see if it can carry the heavy traffic load. That's going to be key, of course, and this could mean more heavy traffic this morning as that stretch is -- remains close and another difficult commute along I-95 around Philadelphia. Some pre- dawn shots there. Boy, don't look good.
And here's a story that outraged taxpayers in Montgomery County, Maryland, though really taxpayers anywhere. Listen to this. According to "The Washington Post," county executive Isiah Leggett is having a $65,000 bathroom installed in his offices. And guess who is paying for it? You, the taxpayer.
The bathroom apparently will be lavished. It's going to have a small sitting room and a shower. He says he needs the shower because he lives far away, about 40 minutes away, and his aides say he needs his own bathroom, well, because using the public bathroom could expose him to harm.
MARCIANO: Or expose us.
CHO: Go figure. All this comes at a time, by the way, when he's trying to raise property taxes, offered employee buyouts and trimmed spending to close a nearly $300 million budget shortfall in the county. And by the way, he told "The Washington Post," quote, "I don't see this as a big expenditure." You can bet that the taxpayers might at $65,000.
CHETRY: All toilet and shower.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: What's with the sitting room in the bathroom? I never get that. I see these fancy magazines all the time. I live in like a little New York apartment so there's no sitting rooms in my bathroom, there's no sitting room even outside my bathroom.
CHETRY: Because there's sitting in the living room.
VELSHI: But what's with the sitting room in the bathroom? I get the whole expose, you know, harm thing. I think public bathrooms can be a little bit like that. But...
MARCIANO: If I need a spot to, you know, to get close to the mirror so...
VELSHI: There's usually - most I know have a sitting space.
CHO: Apparently there's frosted...
VELSHI: Multipurpose sitting space.
CHO: There's frosted glass in that bathroom and of course, the county employees are quick to joke that there's no transparency. I don't know.
CHETRY: That hilarious.
CHO: Anyway.
CHETRY: That was my home county when I was a little cover reporter in freelance.
MARCIANO: Really?
CHETRY: I used to sit in on those meetings. They always have budget shortfalls but that's a new one.
MARCIANO: All right.
CHETRY: The $65,000 bathroom, that's a new one, yes.
MARCIANO: At least he'll be clean.
CHETRY: That's right. Fresh.
MARCIANO: Ali Velshi with his dirty barrel behind him.
CHETRY: That's Ali's shower.
MARCIANO: That's...
VELSHI: I just shower in there. I kind of live in there some nights actually. $104.48. That is a big discount in the price of gas. Actually the drop of $4.95 yesterday was the biggest dollar drop in 17 years. Just to put that in perspective for you, though, as the percentage drop, that's, you know, that's not as big a deal as when oil was, you know, 20 bucks or 30 bucks a barrel.
But we wanted to ask Americans what they really feel. So CNN and Opinion Research Corporation conducted a real poll on how Americans are feeling about gas prices. Here's what they had to say. First of all, we asked whether the rise in gas prices have caused financial hardship to your family. 72 percent of you said yes, 28 percent said no. Then we asked how likely it is that gasoline is going to go up to $4 a gallon. The average right now is $3.27 a gallon for self-serve unleaded. 72 percent, again, that same number, saying very likely it will go to $4 a gallon this year, 20 percent say somewhat likely, and 8 percent of you say not likely at all.
Aren't you optimists?
Then we asked at what price for a gallon of gas would it make a major change in your daily life. And this is interesting, 33 percent, a third of respondents said that they would make a major change to their daily life with gas under $4 a gallon as it is now. 22 percent say at $4 a gallon. There are a few states at least that are already paying $4 a gallon. 9 percent said between $4 and $5 a gallon, 15 percent at $5, and 10 percent at over $5 a gallon.
I suspect that's because that's all that's left at that point. Once you're at $5 a gallon there are only 10 percent of drivers still driving.
So people are changing their habits.
MARCIANO: Yes, I'm seeing that right now. They're -- I assume that they're talking the talk there.
VELSHI: Yes.
MARCIANO: They're changing...
VELSHI: We've seen sales of big pickups and SUVs slow down. And you're going to be talking about hybrids cars a little later on. So definitely there's a trend.
MARCIANO: Good to see you, Ali.
CHETRY: Thanks, Ali.
Meanwhile, the Democratic battle over delegates in Michigan and Florida continues. Can Hillary Clinton still win without them? Is Barack Obama running out the clock as the two states have very little time to decide whether or not they're actually going to be able to hold any redo primaries? We're going to take a look at that story coming up.
Also, it's one of the most important choices a man can make but choosing prostate cancer therapy is getting a little easier. The options and avoiding some painful side effects ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: "Minding Your Business" brought to you by...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, it's do or die for the Michigan primary today. The state legislature has to pass a do-over plan before adjourning today. They won't make the move, though, unless both candidates agree to it and Hillary Clinton is now challenging Barack Obama to back that plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I'm urging him to match those words with action, to make sure that the people of Michigan and Florida have a voice and a vote in this election.
OBAMA: Senator Clinton, I have to say on this, has been completely disingenuous. She said when she was still trying to compete with -- for votes in Iowa and New Hampshire that Michigan and Florida wouldn't count.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Senior political correspondent Candy Crowley joins me from Charlotte, North Carolina. So if there aren't these new votes in Florida and Michigan, can Hillary Clinton achieve a majority in the total popular vote in the primary season or can she do anything to narrow Barack Obama's lead among pledged delegates?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, sure. She can -- there are 10 more primaries and caucuses left. She can rack up victories in some of these places. I mean all things are possible in this election as you know. Obviously Michigan and Florida would really help but it's also an unknown. Remember, Barack Obama was not on the ballot in the first time around in Michigan and there was no campaigning in Florida. Obviously that can change the mix. Current events can change the mix.
So it's -- you know, it's a bit of a gamble, but obviously Michigan and Florida at this point, you would have to say, favor her. It's one of the reasons they're pushing so hard. It would push her up in the popular vote. It would give her more delegates. Nonetheless, there are still 10 legitimate, if you will, primaries coming up where she can rack up some numbers in both pledged delegates and in the popular vote.
CHETRY: Why are the articles today saying it's over then and that some big miracle has to happen for her?
CROWLEY: Yes. It does. I mean, look, the numbers are against her. We've been saying that for some time. The math is against Hillary Clinton at this point when you look at what she has to do, the hurdles she has to overcome. I think it's in the 60, 65 percent -- percentage point wins in these states in order to catch up with him in pledged delegates. It's why we see the courting of the superdelegates as you have heard all along. It' is also why there is talk of maybe the superdelegates getting together in June to try to kind of take the controversy out of this so they can sail into their Denver convention without this still being contested race.
There is absolutely no doubt that in the popular vote and in pledged delegates, Hillary Clinton has a very high hill to climb.
CHETRY: Yes, you alluded to this just now. Tennessee governor, who's one of the undecided superdelegates, Phil Bredesen, is talking about this idea to have almost a primary of superdelegates so they can all get together, hear from both of the candidates and make a call that way sort of in their own primary or caucus if you will. Does that have legs?
CROWLEY: We'll see. I doubt it. You know, the Democratic Party is trying to find a way to accommodate everybody including Florida, Michigan and the superdelegates without breaking the rules, without going one way or the other in the direction that would benefit either candidate Clinton or candidate Obama. So what it tells you, I think, the message there is how worried the Democratic Party is becoming. That this thing will not end, that neither one of them will give up because they'll be so close, and that they will spend the summer arguing about this, talking about how this is all going to work, tracking those superdelegates, and meanwhile John McCain is out there with his message and collecting money and talking about both of them.
So they really want to try and wrap this up, and I think that proposal, which is not a new proposal, the DNC has heard it before, is just really indicative of how, you know, a little bit desperate...
CHETRY: Right.
CROWLEY: They're getting to get this to a close.
CHETRY: I'm also curious when you guys, like, you were out on the campaign trail this whole time and they had talked about punishing and not seating Florida and Michigan, did you guys have any type of inkling that it would come down to this?
CROWLEY: No. I thought we would come down to the rules. I mean here's what we thought. I mean from -- you know, depending on how far back you go. Originally you looked at Florida and Michigan , you thought, you know, it's not going to make any difference. Whoever the candidate is they will get to the convention and they will seat them. So the assumption was that somebody would have the number needed to achieve the nomination and then they would go, of course, we're going to seat Florida and Michigan.
But now they count and, obviously, neither candidate wants to give the other the advantage. So you're right, going in we looked, we just thought, OK, so they're not seated but obviously no candidate is going to ditch Florida and Michigan. So they'll seat them. But now that really the nomination could be in the hands of Florida and Michigan. Well, it's a whole different thing.
CHETRY: Sure is. That's why you can't take your eyes off this for a minute. And that's why we rely on you every day.
Candy Crowley, CNN senior political correspondent. Thank you for being with us.
CROWLEY: Thanks, Kiran.
MARCIANO: Well, it looks like we're finally changing our driving habits. High gas prices are leading to fewer fill-ups. Gas consumption dropped 1 percent over the last two months. It may not seem like much but gas consumption usually goes up by 1 percent every year. More people are carpooling, using mass transit and buying hybrid cars.
That leads us to our "Quick Vote" question. Would you buy a hybrid vehicle? Right now the votes are in. At least 68 percent say yes, I'd buy a hybrid. 32 percent say no, hybrids cost a little bit more.
Keep casting your votes. Go to CNN.com/AM. We'll tally your votes throughout the morning.
Well, a new study to help people pick the best treatment for prostate cancer and new information to help husbands and their wives cope. That's coming up.
And the first lady files. What do the newly revealed documents say about Hillary Clinton's years in the White House? That story ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: AMERICAN MORNING brought to you by...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Well, prostate cancer treatments vary but which is best for you? A new large study compared side effects from different treatment options.
Elizabeth Cohen joins us now live.
Elizabeth, what are the options and was there actually a clear winner?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: There was not actually a clear winner. But there's some really important information, Rob, in this story for men and for their families because prostate cancer can be very confusing. There are several different options out there and it's not always clear which one men should be choosing.
So let's take a look at the different options that this study looked at. They looked at radioactive seeds, surgery, radiation, and the seeds are the ones that are put right there in the prostate, and hormone therapy. And what they found is that all of them cause some pretty significant side effects that can really change a man's life. Many of them were associated, for example, with impotence, some with other sexual problems, also, sometimes with a man having low energy and also incontinence and other urinary issues.
So what the bottom line of this study is that a patient really needs to talk to the doctor not just about which approach is going to be more effective at fighting the cancer but which are going to be the least likely to cause those problems and what this study found is it really varies man by man, cancer by cancer. They did have one warning. They said when hormone therapy, which is a completely different kind of approach, when hormone therapy is combined with any form of radiation, that appears to be particularly problematic for some men -- Rob?
MARCIANO: And none of those side effects are good, obviously...
COHEN: No.
MARCIANO: ...Elizabeth. But which one of these treatments works best to actually save lives?
COHEN: You know, that's another interesting finding that other studied have had, which is that different approaches work differently for different men depending upon the stage of their cancer. So this is another one that is tough to figure out. You have to talk to your doctor. How big is my cancer? What stage am I at? And that's going to dictate which approach you take. But the -- what the study is really trying to say is don't forget about the side effects. They're not small. They can really change your life. That needs to be a part of the discussion.
MARCIANO: Serious discussion indeed.
Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much for that update.
COHEN: Thanks.
MARCIANO: Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, you're watching the most news in the morning. She says she has the experience to lead. Now the pages are out that could prove it. An inside look at Senator Hillary Clinton's work as first lady.
Also a Web site that spreads gossip on college campuses in the cross hairs of the New Jersey attorney general. We're going to ask her what she can do to stop JuicyCampus.com. That story in today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROB MARCIANO, CNN, ANCHOR: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. It's half past the hour. I'm Rob Marciano. John Roberts has the day off.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN, ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry here along with Ali Velshi and Alina Cho. And we're talking about weather again, extreme weather and flooding that's taking place across the Midwest. Two days of heavy rains hitting many states including Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Arkansas and Missouri. The storm has moved on but the flooding is expected as rain water raises the river levels even higher. Days after the rain stopped you can still be dealing with a lot of problems and the storms killed at least 13 people forcing hundreds to leave their homes. Missouri seeing some of its most extensive flooding in more than 100 years. Emergency crews say that they attempted some 50 water rescues. Five deaths being reported in Missouri. Five in Kentucky. Two in Illinois. One in Ohio. And three people still missing in Texas and Arkansas.
MARCIANO: We want to get you right to Reynolds Wolf who is tracking the extreme weather at the CNN Extreme Weather desk. A bit less on the radar scope I'm hoping this morning, Reynolds. What do you have?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You're absolutely right. Things are getting better in terms of precipitation but however the ground is still saturated. WE still got all that runoff to deal with. And take a look at this Google Earth image behind me, Rob. Any place you happen to see reds and the purples and in the case on this map where you happen to see reds or purples indicate areas we have extreme flooding. Certainly, Texas is in that, parts of Arkansas, Missouri.
Let's continue the movement as we make our way into places like the Ohio Valley. You'll notice that it extends to South of Indianapolis and back into Cincinnati, and even Columbus. So, we've got still plenty of issues even though the moisture has begun to move off. Now, we're well aware this morning that there are many of you out there that are without power. Some of you may be listening through satellite radio in your car. We got some pointers for you if you're in these flood ravage areas. One thing you want to remember, the road beds may be washed out under these floodwaters. You never want to drive through flooded road ways. Also, you want to avoid areas that are already flooded especially if water is flowing fast. And be specially cautious at night when it is harder to recognize the flood dangers. This is all information from the National Weather Service.
Now, the good news that we are talking about is a lot of the moisture is working out. Now, we still have some scattered showers from Waterloo southward to St. Louis. Not a whole lot of precipitation. However, on the eastern seaboard, switching gears a bit from Baltimore northward to New York and back into Boston, we're seeing that moisture is beginning to move back out over the Atlantic. However, still plenty of delays from airports in New York back to Boston and even Philadelphia all due to not precipitation but rather all of the wind. That's the latest we've got for you, Rob. Back to you in New York.
MARCIANO: Turn around and don't drown. Great advice, Reynolds. Thanks, buddy.
WOLF: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, it's 32 minutes after the hour. Ali Velshi is here "Minding your Business." We're talking about gas and we're talking about oil and we're also talking about maybe people's habits are changing when it comes to driving.
ALI VELSHI, CNN, SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. I'm about an hour from leaving for the New York auto show where we're going to see what the automakers are trying to do for the upcoming yesterday. The U.S. automakers are really in their fifth year of really big problems and that's manifesting in the amount of cars, the number of cars that's going to be sold this year. We're expecting a record low in terms of the numbers. The numbers of cars being sold in the United States have been in decline particularly those large SUVs and trucks. Most of the car companies in the U.S. are talking about the fact that it's going to be a rough year. So, what are they going to do? What are you going to expect from this year?
Well, look, people have more debt than they've had before. They're concerned about their jobs and that sort of stops people from making major purchases. Many people finance their car buying purchases with home equity loans and that money doesn't tend to be available anymore and of course, these gas prices are causing people to wonder about whether they are going to buy a car that maybe, might be more fuel efficient. So, you're going to see fewer of the SUVs and trucks being sold. You're also likely to see more incentives being offered this year perhaps tying themselves to the rebates that are coming out starting out on May 2nd. Those rebates coming from the government. We've already seen some retailers talking about making it easy for you to go and you know, just sign over your check for purchases.
You probably will see advertising in terms of cars and maybe take that rebate check and make it a down payment on a car. So, we'll be talking a little bit more later on. I'm going to be speaking to the vice chairman and president of Chrysler, Jim Press. He was very successful for many years with Toyota in the United States and he has moved over to try to help Chrysler out and I know you'll be talking about hybrid cars.
CHETRY: Tough with Chrysler too with their Dodge as well a lot of those pickups not selling.
VELSHI: That's a big deal. Those are nice pickups but when gas prices are where they are now, that affects people.
CHETRY: Ali, cool. Thanks you.
MARCIANO: New information this morning from recently released documents about Hillary Clinton's time as first lady. Alina Cho has been looking through them. Alina, good morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN, CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Rob. Good morning to you. You know, Hillary Clinton is one of the most scrutinized figures in American politics and some believe she's also one of the most difficult to read. Now, 11,000 pages of documents have been released detailing her time in the White House on foreign, domestic and intensely personal matters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHO (voice-over): The papers offer a glimpse into the public and the private. The policies and the pain. They show only three days after her husband's inauguration First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton dove into meetings on health care reform. Later, appointments that backed up some campaign claims. Earlier this month, she told AMERICAN MORNING how she was involved in foreign policy.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I helped to, you know, bring peace to northern Ireland. I negotiated open borders to let fleeing refugees into safety from Kosovo. I've been standing up against, you know, the Chinese government over women's rights and standing up for human rights in many different places.
CHO: And among the 11,000 plus pages, glimpses into a public scandal. They show Mrs. Clinton was in the White House on at least a half dozen days when her husband had sexual encounters with Monica Lewinsky. January 21st, 1998, when the scandal first broke in the national media. Mrs. Clinton starts the day at a private meeting in the White House and then an appearance at a college in Baltimore until late afternoon and back to the White House for a black tie dinner. Carl Bernstein who wrote a biography of Hillary Clinton says much more was going on behind the scenes.
CARL BERNSTEIN, AUTHOR,M "A WOMAN IN CHARGE": She was on the telephone with her aides. She was trying to learn more about what the press was doing. She did not want to give the impression of a firestorm that was raging outside.
CHO: On the day that her husband made his first public admission.
PRES. BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: I did had a relationship with Ms. Lewinsky that was not appropriate.
CHO: The calendar shows a trip to Martha's Vineyard and for days after that, simply no public schedule for days after that, simply no public schedule. But what might be most remarkable is what the documents don't show. Thousands of pages are marked by redactions, blacked out information like the names of people who attended meetings.
BERNSTEIN: This is not about someone who is eager to shine a light on her full record. That's the point. At the same time, some of this is understandable for, you know, when you are running for office, the slightest thing can be misinterpreted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Now, as we alluded to in the piece is what's really interesting about this is just how much is redacted in these documents. Those 11,000 plus pages, also the pages reveal that Hillary Clinton was much more involved in policy of the health care reform though it failed, in the first two years of her husband's presidency. After that she took on a much more traditional role as first lady. Of course, state dinners, Rob, and Kiran, and the like and also a Sheryl Crow concert. MARCIANO: Who knows maybe eight years from now, we'll be releasing the first gentleman's itinerary, all 11,000.
CHO: Well, they're writing book so some of it is coming out, right.
MARCIANO: We'll see. Good report. Thanks, Alina.
CHETRY: Thanks a lot. You know, we wanted to talk a little bit about what impact these papers will have on Hillary Clinton's campaign. "Time" magazine's senior political analyst Mark Halperin joins us now. Both campaigns are going to spin it one way or the other. So, first of all, anything surprised you about this?
MARK HALPERIN, "TIME" MAGAZINE, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: There's nothing. There's no huge bombshell in here. There's nothing that I think that will cause voters to think in brand new way about Hillary Clinton's candidacy. Two basic issues. One is what did she do as first lady positive? Has she overstated what she has done? The record there, I think, is inconclusive and then the question is are there any controversies in here? Are there any smoking guns and on that score, there don't seem to be.
CHETRY: The other question too is just how does just showing a schedule really factor into either argument that she has a ton of experience or from Barack Obama's side that perhaps there is something that was happening that shows she didn't have experience.
HALPERIN: The Obama campaign saying there's at least one meeting where seemed to be very outspoken and supportive of NAFTA and behind the scenes she claims she opposed it. There's a little bit of ambiguity there. The big issue is things that don't show up. The dog that doesn't bark. The records don't show she worked extensively on issues like children's health care and family and medical leave. The Obama campaign is arguing that conclusively showed that she overstated her role and same with a lot of foreign visits.
The Clinton campaign says look, these are not perfect line by line records of everything she did and there are other evidence they claim that shows that she did work on those issues. So, it's a little ambiguous, I think, you will continue to hear both campaigns talking about it. It don't think either way it's going to have a big impact on this election.
CHETRY: All right. Mark Halperin, good to see you. Thanks.
HALPERIN: Thanks.
MARCIANO: A website that promises juicy gossip on college campuses now under fire. How and why juicy campus is being investigated. That story ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, a CNN exclusive. Dramatic new video of drug subs on the run. ADMIRAL THAD ALLEN, COMMANDANT, U.S. COAST GUARD: They're very low profile. Very hard to pick up.
CHETRY: A rare up close look at what's quickly becoming the transport of choice for drug runners. Ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: This morning the U.S. Coast Guard is dealing with a new threat on the battle on the war on drugs. Smugglers on the high seas around central and south America are moving tons of cocaine in what's being described as almost submarines. They're fast and they're hard to spot. Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve joins us now with an exclusive look at how the Coast Guard is trying to contain this threat. Good morning, Jeanne.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rob. These used to be viewed as an oddity, a novelty but now they are seen as a real and growing problem.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice-over): A high speed chase on the high seas. In this video obtained exclusively by CNN, coast guardmen on a navy boat chase a semi-submersible. A vessel that rides almost completely under water. It's suspected cargo, tons of cocaine. This incident three weeks ago in the Pacific far off the coast of South America, part of a growing trend. Between 2001 and 2007, there were 23 known smuggling cases involving semi-submersibles.
The Coast Guard projects 85 this year. 120 the year after that. Because they do the job for the traffickers.
ADMIRAL THAD ALLEN, COMMANDANT, U.S. COAST GUARD: They are low profile and hard to pick up with radar. They go very slow and don't leave a wake.
MESERVE: And they are sometimes camouflaged with blue paint. Built in the jungles of Colombia for about $1 dollars a piece, new models can travel hundreds of miles without refueling at speeds as high as 12 knots and carry as much as 12 metric tons of cocaine. Once made of fiberglass, many are now made of steel making them more sea worthy. Some can even be navigated by remove control.
FRANKIE SHROYER, DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMIN.: The traffickers are always trying to outwit us. They've got a lot of money. If these become successful or more successful, they will use it until we get handle on it.
MESERVE: Authorities say they often get good intelligence about semi-submersibles but don't always have the resources to respond. When they are successful, the crew of the semi-submersible usually bails out, scuttling the vessel and drugs making prosecution difficult but that could change.
ALLEN: We're actually working with the Congress right now to pass legislation to make the operation of these vessel in itself illegal.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: Right now these are used to move cocaine from Colombia to central America or up to Mexico. Authorities fear that some day they could sail directly to the U.S. with cocaine or other dangerous cargo. Rob, back to you.
MARCIANO: Jeanne, this all sounds pretty crazy. You covering this Homeland Security beat, I mean, were you at all surprised when you got word of this stuff?
MESERVE: Well, we've seen pictures of these for a couple years but they've been very occasional. What was surprising to hear is that the numbers are increasing so significantly that's an indication that these really are working. They are very expensive to build. As I said, about a million bucks but they carry many millions worth of drugs so even when they lose these things, it's a worthwhile investment for the traffickers.
MARCIANO: If there's a way, I supposed, they'll find it. Jeanne Meserve, thank you, Jeanne. Kiran.
CHETRY: A website that spreads gossip on college campuses now in the cross hairs of the New Jersey attorney general. Coming up she joins us and we're going to ask her what she can do to stop juicy campus.com or maybe get juicycampus.com to change the way that it operates when it comes to gossip that some people claim is ruining their lives. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, we've been following controversy surrounding this website that seems to be exploding in popularity. It's juicycampus.com where it allows college students to post anonymously about each other. And while the postings are at times mean spirited and untrue, they may not be illegal. In fact, our Sunny Hostin spoke with a student who said that on the site she was called ugly and a racist. She didn't want to reveal her name or show her face.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNNY HOSTIN, AMERICAN MORNING, ANALYST: What would you say if you could say something to the founder of juicycampus.com.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: Thank you for screwing up my freshman year and making everybody think these things about me and they've never even met me because obviously it's going to taint in the next four years.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: The owner of juicycampus.com has been subpoenaed now by New Jersey's attorney general Anne Milgram. She joins me now from Franklin Township, New Jersey, to talk to me about this now. How did this get your attention in the first place Anne? ANNE MILGRAM, ATTORNEY GENERAL, NEW JERSEY: Good morning. Well, the way it got our attention was we had a complaint that was brought to us by a parent of a student, basically saying that the student was being terrorized at a university and that raised our attention. And then we got investigators on the website to see what was happening.
CHETRY: Yes. And some of the things that you see here, first of all, right when you log on to the site, it says post anonymously. Your identity is going to be protected. There are -- people are named. One of the postings says if you would like to have unprotected sex with so and so because she's such a such and such. Here is her number and it actually goes to post a number. Where do you draw the line between free speech and harassment?
MILGRAM: Well, there's a huge public safety issue here. Because you do have people whose personal information names, first names, last names, dormitory addresses, telephone numbers as you just said is actually being posted. And along with that, there's no way right now and this is one of the issues that we have under the Consumer Fraud Act. There's no way right now for people who are being maligned to actually contact the site and have the abusive or offensive material that the site promises it's not going to post be removed and that's one of the issues we have under the Consumer Fraud Act.
CHETRY: Right, that's how you try to go about this as you subpoena juicycampus.com's owner which is Lime Blue LLC, by the way, to get some information on these requests. You're saying that the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act talks about these misrepresentations so where do you see that on the site?
MILGRAM: Absolutely. If you go to users, there's users code of conduct and there's also terms of use. Both of those are areas where the website makes promises to consumers about what type of material can be on the site. They promise that, they basically say no abusive, no offensive, no invasion of privacy materials and then they say that that information can be removed. They also make certain representations about, you know, age verification for people who are under the age of 18.
Then when we put investigators on the site we found that none of those representations seem to be accurate and that there is no enforcement. There is no removing of offensive or abusive material. There's no way for people to report that there's offensive or abusive material. And there's no age verification process that's going on. So, there's a host of things that we found where the website wasn't actually being true to its word.
CHETRY: The founder of juicycampus.com Matt Ivester told the Associated Press that like anything that's even remotely controversial, there are always people who will be demanding censorship. Do you think this violates free speech? Do you think this crosses with the realm of censorship if indeed the site is shut down?
MILGRAM: What I think is that any business and this is under the Consumer Fraud Act, there is something called () business practices and misrepresentations, any business has got to abide by the terms it sets. And if you make certain representations to the public, the attorney general's office, the state of New Jersey is going to hold you to them. So, I think it's wrong to say it's about censorship. I do have additional public safety concerns about what this website is doing but right now we stepped in on a consumer fraud basis and already the advertiser ad has pulled out of advertising with juicycampus.
So that's another avenue that we're looking at here and whether or not juicycampus not only misrepresented to the users about what would happen to the site but also misrepresented to the advertisers about what was actually going on. So, I don't think this is about the first amendment or censorship. I think this is about, you know, if you make certain commitments as a business, you better believe that you will be held to them.
CHETRY: So, do you think that if the website does make a change perhaps allows some way for this misrepresentation to be alerted so that people who go on the site say something about themselves that is not true can get it removed and if they make some other concessions, do you think they can stay up and running? I mean, would you be comfortable with them staying up and running or would you like to see them shut down in general?
MILGRAM: You know we've issued subpoenas and subpoenas will come back March 31st. But obviously we do want to engage in a dialogue with the company. We think that the way it's doing business right now is simply not appropriate right now and potentially violates the state's laws. So, there are a host of things that I think we would look for them to do if we're not going to proceed with litigation in a case like this. Obviously, there has got to be enforcement. There has got to be a way for people to report problems.
One of the things we find all the time with Internet safety issues is that there have to have meaningful ways for people to report abusive or offensive content and particularly on a site like this where you're talking about anonymous postings that can only be removed by the poster and with the Web site not stepping in, that's truly problematic. So, I think that there are a number of areas that you would see us active if we engage in negotiations with the company.
CHETRY: All right. Keep us posted on how it goes. Anne Milgram, New Jersey, attorney general. Thanks for being with us this morning.
MILGRAM: Absolutely. Thank you.
CHETRY: You know, this story was first brought to our attention as well by out own legal analyst Sunny Hostin who has been following this as well.
We did reach out, by the way, to juicycampus.com and they have told us that they have no statement at this time. But we did hear what they said to the Associated Press regarding censorship. Sunny joins us now. What do you think of the avenue with which the attorney general is trying to hit this from -- a consumer, you know, a consumer fraud angle.
SUNNY HOSTIN, AMERICAN MORNING, ANALYST: You know, I think it's creative absolutely. Will it stick? I don't know, Kiran. I think that it's an uphill battle. It's going to be pretty difficult. But the bottom line is the Internet is sort of the wild, wild west but this Web site is not unlike, let's say a newspaper or another sort of publication. I think the Web site is certainly going to come out in defense of itself saying that this is censorship and the first amendment provides free speech and protects the Web site. And there is a federal law that does protects the Web site. So, while New Jersey is certainly being creative and they're charging this, I just don't know that it will be successful.
CHETRY: Perhaps not blanket shutdown but do you think they might have to maybe add some safeguards if you will, ways that people can report things that they find offensive or perhaps dangerous a publication of people's phone numbers and have some way for that type of stuff to be taken down?
HOSTIN: Absolutely. And I think that that would be a wonderful avenue. The problem with this type of Web site is that you've got thousands of people looking at it. Thousands of people posting and how really do you expect a Web site or any sort of business to monitor that sort of thing. I think there is very offensive material on there. There are lies on there. The problem, I think is that these posters are anonymous. If the posters were made to, you know, put their names there, I think that that would be the easier avenue because whoever gets maligned or defamed could just go after the poster as opposed to the Web site that's hosting it.
CHETRY: All right, we'll be following this, Sunny. Thanks a lot. Good to see you.
HOSTIN: Thanks.
MARCIANO: A deadly and chaotic scene. A driver plows into a crowd in reverse and then once more going forward. What went wrong?
And a new look at sleep walking. Who does it and why? The mysteries of your sleepless nights ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY (voice-over): The rising.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn't think we were going to make it out of there.
CHETRY: flood waters, clearing out entire towns, washing away homes, and leaving more than a dozen people dead as extreme rain moves east.
Less filling. The SUV of the future.
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