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American Morning
Deadly Tornado Flattens Joplin, Missouri; Lance Armstrong Accused Of Doping; The 2012 GOP Frontrunners; Indy 500 Celebrating 100th Anniversary
Aired May 23, 2011 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Destruction in America's heartland.
I'm Christine Romans.
Tornadoes tear up towns in Minnesota and Missouri. Emergency officials say 89 people are confirmed dead and the search for survivors is now under way.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: There are some new sex claims against former IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
I'm Kiran Chetry.
Three more women now are stepping forward, describing his unwanted attention -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(MUSIC)
ROMANS: Good morning. It's Monday, May 23rd.
A lot of news this morning, weather news this morning. Another very dangerous and devastating storm overnight.
CHETRY: Yes. As we speak, they're conducting search and rescues, trying to find more survivors after a tornado tore through Joplin, Missouri, last night. Up to 30 percent of the town destroyed.
The governor has declared a state of emergency. At least 89 people are confirmed dead at this point.
ROMANS: And there's no telling how many victims may be trapped beneath the debris.
Brian Todd joins us live from Joplin where search and rescue efforts are underway.
Brian, dawn has broken. We know there's 89 confirmed dead, and there's a lot of work to do for search and rescue workers there, isn't there?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure is, Christine, Kiran. We're going to take you around the parking lot here of the St. John's Regional Medical Center, where there's just twisted wreckage of cars everywhere. My photojournalist, John Pearson (ph), and I can at least point out to you some of the cars down here, the twisted, burned out wreckage of these cars. You've got some on top of each other over here to your right, my left. Look at those cars on top of each other over there.
And, John, you can probably swing left a little bit and give them a good sense of the facade of this build and just what was done here. Hundreds of people were inside. We're told they got them all out.
No word on casualties from this building last night. But you mentioned the 89 deaths. I talked One local official, said the death toll is expected to climb.
Significant dangers remain. They're telling people, if you're going to try to go back to your homes, you'll want to reconsider that because there are gas leaks, there are possible fires that could start. There are downed power lines all over the place.
We're walking around some of them right now. You've got to be very careful to walk a few feet. We're told we might have some new aerial footage of the tornado-hit area here.
One thing that was an interesting comment at the news conference a short time ago was that the scope of this tornado was about a half- mile wide, so maybe three quarters of a mile wide in some places.
And we were told that they had about a 20-minute pad of warning from when the tornado alerts first went off to when it hit. Now, one local official says that's about double what they usually get. That may be a very positive thing in the end. It might have saved some lives in this situation.
But as you mentioned, 25 to 30 percent of this city has been completely damaged, and we've got some video earlier that hopefully we'll be able to show you throughout the day of just what we're looking at. Houses completely flattened, trees uprooted, power lines down all over the place.
And city officials here just kind of getting their arms around this whole thing, still coming through neighborhoods, still combing through wreckage.
We're told that there could be some people still trapped. They were working overnight to get people who were trapped in these structures out. They did pull some people out. They pulled a lot of dead bodies out.
But they still say that people could be trapped under the wreckage of some of these vehicles, some of the buildings here, and some of the houses.
ROMANS: Brian, those X's on the cars. That means they've checked out that car and moved on to the next one. They're systemically going from structure to structure, right?
TODD: That's exactly right. That is a premiere indication of what they've done here. X's on a lot of these cars means they've checked it out, no one's been found in there, so they're moving on to the next one. They have to do it really all over the city.
And that's a common practice in any disaster-hit area, whether it's a tornado or hurricane, an earthquake. We covered the earthquake and tsunami in Japan. That was what the search and rescuers did there, they did it to buildings there. You know, buildings here, not many of them standing in this part of town, so, we'll see what they have to do here.
They're also worried about some structural damage possibly in this hospital. I see a responder on the third floor down -- John, I don't know if you can see him -- the third floor down, he's up there. But they are worried about possible structural damage at this hospital.
So, it's some pretty -- it's just kind of a very nervous time for responders, trying to go through that building right now.
CHETRY: All right. Brian Todd, thanks so much.
Rob Marciano's here with us as well, rounding out the picture of this.
We're seeing some of the aerials again. And when you see what it looks like from the air -- I mean, there is nothing quite like the destruction of a tornado. These previously standing structures are literally -- they just look like little matchsticks scattered around.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is. Eerily similar to what happened in Alabama and Mississippi with those EF-4s and 5s that tore through the areas two or three weeks ago. And the National Weather Service will go out there today and they'll take some aerial reconnaissance like our affiliate KOTV is doing, and they'll also get experts on the ground to assess the width of this thing.
Right now, estimates from three quarters of a mile to a full mile in width on the ground for at least six miles, potentially more than that. And judging from this damage, certainly having winds of at least 160, 170 miles an hour --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Right through the center of town. Home Depot or a Lowe's, a Wal-Mart, I mean, schools right in the path of this thing.
CHETRY: He said it was one of the worst possible places to hit.
MARCIANO: Just like Tuscaloosa. I mean, it went through pretty much -- main street Tuscaloosa where there were big box stores, there were mom and pop stores, there were student housing. And this looks just like that, and that is what's making this year so horrible, guys -- over 450 fatalities now for 2011 alone.
And yes, we've had an extraordinary amount of tornadoes that have touched down, an extraordinary amount of larger tornadoes as well, but they have hit populated areas like Joplin, like Tuscaloosa, like Birmingham, and that's what's had the most damage as far as injury and death toll.
OK. We'll come back to this in just a sec. I do want to include our friends up in Minneapolis, parts of Wisconsin, Kansas. They all got hit over the weekend as well. And there was one fatality in Minnesota.
I want to show you the extent of the number of tornadoes yesterday during the outbreak -- 48 of them from extreme southwestern Missouri up through Wisconsin and Minneapolis, which had 30 injuries and that one fatality; and in Kansas on Saturday had one fatality as well.
All right. Here's what's going on as far as the radar last night. There it is. Blows up across southeastern Kansas and then just hammers Joplin and continues on a southeasterly track. That's a little different than what we saw in the last outbreak.
Nonetheless, a massive super cell structure that had hail, had rain, and obviously had that tornado that ripped through Joplin proper. And now, we've got another thunderstorm that's heading towards Joplin.
Severe thunderstorm watch has just been posted by the Storms Prediction Center out of Norman, Oklahoma, and look at how this cell has blown up to the west of Joplin. At this point, the winds aren't quite as set up as they were yesterday for this to begin rotating, but that's not completely out of the question.
This obviously is intensifying and we're going to be watching this very, very closely. I suspect it will hit Joplin or just north of Joplin in the next 45 minutes to 60 minutes. And so, folks there are obviously going to try to find whatever cover they can and let this storm roll through. And that will take about 20 minutes to do that.
ROMANS: Lightning, rain, the whole nine yards?
MARCIANO: Lightning, gusty winds, and potential -- here's the thing: with all the debris that's on the ground, if you get winds just gusting 30, 40 miles an hour, that alone is going to be a dangerous situation.
ROMANS: It could fan the fires, too.
CHETRY: And you're just thinking about all those search and rescue crews out there trying to clear debris, but also look for survivors. Hopefully, it there go through quickly.
MARCIANO: Go through quickly. But if you listen to us on satellite radio or the crews on the ground, please tell the responders there to take cover in about 45 minutes because it's going to get a little bit hairy.
ROMANS: Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: Thanks, guys.
CHETRY: Well, after an all-out manhunt, Los Angeles police now have a suspect in connection with the brutal attack of a Giants fan back on opening day. Police say 35-year-old Giovanni Ramirez is one of two assailants shown in those billboards. He's charged with assault with a deadly weapon and being held now on $1 million bail.
Meantime, the victim, Bryan Stow, pictured here, remains in critical condition. The vicious beating left him in a coma.
ROMANS: Fresh allegations against the former head of the IMF. Officials say Dominique Strauss-Kahn harassed two other hotel staffers the day before he was arrested. He invited one receptionist to his room for champagne and asked another hotel worker to join him for drinks. They both turned him down. A flight attendant also claims he made lewd comments to her on the airplane.
Kahn is charged with sexually assaulting a maid in the upscale Sofitel Hill in New York City last weekend. He's been released on bail. In an e-mail to the funds' staff, or at least last night to others, Kahn wrote of his, quote, profound sadness to have to resign, quote, "under these circumstances."
CHETRY: Well, our president's on a whirlwind one-week trip to Europe. His stop today is in Ireland, where he's also in search of his roots.
ROMANS: And Lance Armstrong denying fresh doping claims, but dramatic claims made on "60 Minutes" that seem to portray an industry, an entire sport that is tainted. We'll have more on that.
And how about an exciting sport, Indy 500 racing? Well, they're revving up to play -- or to race, rather.
Danica Patrick, Dario Franchitti and Helio Castroneves all joining us here in studio. Can't wait to talk to them. That's coming up as well.
Ten minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Thirteen minutes past the hour.
Another volcano erupting in Iceland, shutting down all of the country's international airports. So far, flights across Europe have not been disrupted. But airlines were told to prepare for cancellations.
And the pictures are amazing, aren't they?
The clouds expected to hit Scotland tomorrow, could reach France and Spain by Thursday.
ROMANS: Remember the last night, we didn't think it was going to be a big deal and, suddenly, international air travel shut down, people stranded at Heathrow. So, we'll watch this very, very closely, so it doesn't mess up your travel.
President Obama is getting back to his roots and traveling. He touched down in Ireland this morning, the first stop in the week-long tour of Europe. The president has already met with the Irish prime minister and president, and he's on his way to Moneygall, a village -- it's a village that was home to his own ancestors.
CHETRY: White House correspondent Brianna Keilar is traveling with the president, joins us live from Dublin.
It's always exciting, of course, for that country when they can trace our president's roots back there. I know they did that with former President Clinton as well.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they're very happy to claim him here, Kiran and Christine, and the president has a lot of work to do over this week. But this is really going to be one of the lighter moments. This expected visit to Moneygall.
And the president, as we said, traces his Irish roots back here. He is only 1/32 Irish. While he was running for the presidency, genealogists determined that through his mother's side, if you go back to his great-great- great-grandfather, his name if Paul Kearney, that he brought here -- he moved from Moneygall, Ireland, to Ohio in 1850.
And so, what you have here is a very small community that is very excited for the president's expected visit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR (voice-over): Moneygall is the tiniest of places, a village between Limerick and Dublin, home to just 3,000 people, who -- judging by the patriotic paint job on this house -- are eagerly awaiting the president's visit.
HENRY HEALY, MONEYGALL RESIDENT: We knew the president had an interest in his Irish roots. He expressed it while he was seeking the Democratic nomination that he did want to visit the little village in Ireland and have a blank (ph).
KEILAR: Henry Healy is one of several Moneygall residents claiming to be a distant relative of Obama, which would mean he'd be related to this man, Ralph Dunham of Virginia, President Obama's great uncle who says he's known of the family's Irish roots for some time.
RALPH DUNHAM, PRESIDENT OBAMA'S GREAT UNCLE: I knew my grandmother was Irish, and she still had it both (ph).
KEILAR: Dunham's brother is Obama's grandfather, who helped raise the president in Hawaii. He insists one trademark Obama featured does not come from their Irish side.
DUNHAM: Big ears did not come from my side of the family. Even at an age when your ears are supposed to be the biggest in your life, my ears still aren't that big.
KEILAR: Back in Moneygall, that's of no concern to the resident. They'll take the president, ears and all. They're cleaning up the town, getting the souvenirs ready, and breaking out the American flags here at Healy's Pub. HEALY: We're delighted that he became president, and he's now coming here as the leader of the free wars. I'd love to have a pint with the president.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR (on-camera): And Henry Healy may very well get his chance, Kiran and Christine, because there are only two pubs in the tiny village of Moneygall, in fact, they think you could almost say there's really just one and a half, because one is quite tiny.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Wow. 1850, wow, that was around the time when you had sons and daughters of Irish families proudly making the trip to the United States where the outlook was unclear. They just knew that they were tried to make a name for themselves and make a fortune, and now, just think of how much history has passed. That's why we have so much strong ties between those two countries. Brianna Keilar, do you have an Irish ancestry?
KEILAR: I have an Irish name. Brianna is Irish, but actually, I'm kind of a Scandinavian/Scottish mutt on both sides of my family.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: You got your green on today, so at least, for today.
KEILAR: Yes.
CHETRY: Brianna Keilar, thanks so much.
ROMANS: Big announcements, meanwhile, for the GOP presidential ticket. It's official. Republican Tim Pawlenty is running for president. The former Minnesota governor made that announcement on an internet video late Sunday night, saying his campaign will be different, because he'll be telling the American people the truth.
CHETRY: Meantime, Indiana governor, Mitch Daniels, turns down a GOP bid because of family concerns. His wife didn't want him to run. Daniels is the latest in a string of prominent Republicans choosing not to.
ROMANS: So, we want to know what you think? Which Republican has the best chance to beat President Obama? E-mail us at CNN.com/AM. You can give us a tweet @CNNAM. You can tell us what you think on Facebook, Facebook.com/americanmorning, also both of our Facebook pages. We'll read two those later in the program.
CHETRY: Meanwhile, new allegations against Lance Armstrong when it comes to doping. Another former teammate coming out on "60 Minutes" and describing in pretty vivid detail what went on in the cycling world. We'll have more on that.
ROMANS: Also, one state is now banning something called lazy cakes. These are relaxation brownies. You've heard --
CHETRY: Relaxation brownies!
ROMANS: I know.
CHETRY: Come on.
ROMANS: Yes. Well, we'll tell you why they were banned and what state, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Twenty-one minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning. Gas prices are falling just in time for the summer travel season. Right now, the national average is $3.84 a gallon, the 11th decrease in a row.
The International Monetary Fund is looking to fill its top spot. The former chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, resigned from his post amid sexual assault allegations. The IMF will begin accepting nominations for a new chief today.
Arkansas bans the popular snack, Lazy Cakes. They're pulling the relaxation brownies off store shelves because they contain melatonin. The supplement is supposed to remedy sleep problems when officials say melatonin hasn't been approved for food use and opposed its health risk for adult and children.
Pirates take over this weekend's box office. The latest installment of "Pirates of the Caribbean" raked in some $90 million. We could be looking at a rough day, though, on Wall Street this morning.
Dow futures are pointing sharply lower. Markets around the world are selling off after ratings agencies downgraded Greece and Italy late last week. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: Lance Armstrong's former teammate is accusing the cycling legend of taking performance enhancing drugs while training for the Tour de France. Tyler Hamilton told "60 Minutes" Sunday that he witnessed Armstrong, witnessed him, inject banned substances, a charge that Armstrong has repeatedly denied.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you actually witness?
TYLER HAMILTON, LANCE ARMSTRONG'S FORMER TEAMMATE: I mean, I saw it in his refrigerator, you know? I saw him inject it. More than one time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You saw Lance Armstrong inject EPO?
HAMILTON: Yes, like, we all did. Like I did, many, many times.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: EPO, by the way, is a banned substance, one of the ones they test for, that boosts red blood cells. And also, Armstrong, on the cover of this month's "Bicycling" magazine, "he's done, but is he finished?" With us right now is the editor, Peter Flax. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.
PETER FLAX, EDITOR IN CHIEF, BICYCLING: Good to be here.
CHETRY: So, we've heard Hamilton say, and this is interesting, "like we all did." The impression that you're left with him, and he seemed like a reluctant, obviously, interview, perhaps a reluctant witness before the grand jury, but it makes him feel like this is just (INAUDIBLE) in cycling. Is it the case?
FLAX: I think the era that Lance Armstrong presided over is widely thought to be a really dirty era. We did an analysis of all the people that finished in the top ten in the seven years that Armstrong won, and more than 40 of those individuals have already been convicted of doping or, you know, admitted doping, and so, you know, he was the greatest champion in a very dirty era.
ROMANS: But Armstrong consistently says, though, I'm the most-tested athlete in the history of this sport. I've been tested hundreds of time. I've never come up dirty. He says he's clean. Is that even possible in this era that we're hearing more about?
FLAX: I don't believe so. As our cover story indicates, you know, we're convinced that he did dope, and it seems like these confessions from people like Tyler Hamilton are slowly unraveling that mantra. It's, you know, one of the things that Tyler said last night on "60 Minutes," you know, was that Lance told him that he got a positive in the tour of Switzerland 2001, and there's more of this kind of corroboration coming, which is pretty damaging to the story Lance is trying --
ROMANS: Yes, but he said it was covered up.
CHETRY: He said that Armstrong allegedly made the test, quote, "go away," this positive test for EPO. if true, is that sort of the piece of evidence that could do him in?
FLAX: Well, we'll have to wait and see. You know, George Hincapie, another trusted teammate of Lance Armstrong repeatedly has also spoken to investigators, and he's one individual that people just feel is unassailable. And if he corroborates what Tyler Hamilton said, this is another people that's going to be really damaging to Lance Armstrong's case.
ROMANS: His attorney, though, questioned the credibility of Hamilton saying, essentially, he was trying to sell a book that he has said the opposite before. I mean, that's one of the things about this new testimony from these guys, because they have all --
CHETRY: They've been caught lying and cheating before.
ROMANS: First, they were either cheating and lied about it or they were lying about -- you know, I mean, it makes it a tough witness.
FLAX: Right. I mean, individually, it's easy to pick apart an individual like Tyler Hamilton. The problem for Lance Armstrong is that way that what Tyler says corroborates what other people have said and what other people will say, and what we say in our story is that it's time to just move on from the question of whether Lance doped and try to tackle the more complex question of what his legacy is, because he's this great anti-cancer evangelist, and he still is one of the greatest bike racers to ever live, and it's a complex legacy.
CHETRY: But, I mean, the bottom line is how come if he supposedly doped as often as some of these witnesses say, why was he never caught?
FLAX: Well, there's lots of people that were never caught that, you know, it's been a pre-sophisticated --
CHETRY: You said in the time, the people that finished in the top seven, many of them caught heating, but not Lance?
FLAX: Yes. Some of it's just luck, some of it's perhaps smarter preparation than other people. My own feeling is that even though 41 out of 70 were convicted or admitted, that the number's actually higher than that.
ROMANS: You say there's a new era, though. We had a winner in the racing California. So, there's a new era, you say, a clean era?
FLAX: Yes, it's really exciting. Yesterday in California, at the tour of California, an American named Chris Horner (ph), who everyone widely believes is clean, won that race. And so, I think we are in an era where a clean athlete can win at the highest level, which is really encouraging, but it's important for people to get the truth about what happened during this Armstrong era.
ROMANS: Lance tweeted, "25 plus year career, 500 drug controls worldwide, in and out of competition, never failed the rest, I rest my case." He says this is over for him. That he is clean.
FLAX: Well, I think, you know, he's going to have a tough road ahead of him. But you just have to remember that in the Barry Bonds case, it seemed like an airtight case, but one juror didn't feel like he was guilty of perjury. And so there's a lot of hurdles before we just wind up with an indictment or a conviction. There's a lot that can happen.
CHETRY: Very interesting stuff. Well, we encourage people to read the cover story because it's a great one.
"Bicycling" magazine editor in chief, Peter Flax, thanks for joining us.
FLAX: Good to be here.
ROMANS: Top stories now. The Pakistani navy says a base in Karachi has been cleared after terrorists launched a deadly gunfight. Attackers with guns and grenades stormed that compound Sunday night. At least 10 personnel were killed. Two U.S. surveillance aircraft were destroyed. The Taliban says the attack was to avenge the killing of bin Laden.
The two American hikers jailed in Iran spoke to their families yesterday. It's only the third phone call they've been allowed to make since their capture nearly two years ago. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal told their families they launched a 17-day hunger strike after they were stopped from receiving letters. Their families said they sounded OK. Bauer and Fattal were charged with espionage on the Iraq and Iran border back in 2009.
A tornado tore through Joplin, Missouri, last night. At least 89 people were killed. Up to 30 percent of the city may be destroyed. The area's main hospital, the St. John's Regional Medical Center suffered heavy damage. All patients were evacuated to nearby facilities.
CHETRY: And there's also riveting new video this morning capturing the terror of about 20 people who jammed into an industrial refrigerator inside of a Joplin convenience store to save their lives when that tornado hit.
ROMANS: This video is pretty dark, but listen carefully. You can hear the people begin to pray and you can hear the twister growing louder around them.
(VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: We talked to the young man who shot it, Isaac. He said that they really, truly thought that that was it, that they were dead. He said at some point, a calm actually overcame him and his friend, who thought they were dead.
ROMANS: They had to climb out of holes that had been torn into this walk-in cooler at this convenience store. And as they crawled out and helped other people out, there was nothing around them. The convenience store was almost destroyed. And then they began to smell the gasoline from the fuel pumps and got nervous about how dangerous that situation could be. So they're very luckily to be alive.
CHETRY: Cuts and bruises, but otherwise survived that.
The tornado was so powerful, X-rays from Joplin's St. John's Medical Center in the center of town, found some 70 miles away.
ROMANS: Let's go live now to Joplin, where we're joined by CNN iReporter Bethany Scutti. She's a former journalism major who was in her basement when the sirens sounded and the tornado struck.
What happened? What did you hear as this tornado slammed into town?
BETHANY SCUTTI, CNN IREPORTER: Good morning. Well, I was thankfully safe in my basement with my family. I live about 10 miles northwest of Joplin. We heard that we were under tornado warnings so we got ourselves to safety. But we were keeping track of what was going on.
We were watching the radar on our phones. We were keeping track of social media and we soon heard that there was a tornado on the ground at Rangeline and 7th in Joplin. And Rangeline is the hub of business here in Joplin. It's where the businesses are, the restaurants, the mall, many things. And then we started hearing about more and more damage.
CHETRY: What did you see when you headed into Joplin? I know that after the tornado stopped, you decided to make your way into town.
What was it like?
SCUTTI: Well, as I was coming south as I got closer to south Joplin, there started to be debris on the roads. There were people just wandering around. There were emergency vehicles everywhere and they were blocking off the roads. So in order to get to hear at the hospital, I had to take some side streets. There were several times I had to turn around and go back.
There were huge trees laying across the road, laying across people's houses. There were roofs missing. There were people just wandering. I saw a mother and children in bathrobes just wandering up and down the road and I can't imagine what they just went through. I saw a house completely engulfed in flames -- yes?
ROMANS: And, you know, we're expecting more foul weather there, here, even within the hour, quite possibly. You're standing there in front of the destruction of that hotel -- what are you seeing around -- or sorry, hospital.
What are you seeing around you? I mean, the weather getting bad again?
SCUTTI: It is starting to cloud up a little bit. We have some dark clouds. I am not sure how bad it's going to get. We all hope that it's nothing like last night.
CHETRY: Bethany Scutti, CNN iReporter, you did the right thing. As they tell you time and time again, head to the basement, head somewhere in your home where you can get underground and away from it.
Thanks so much for joining us.
ROMANS: Rob Marciano, here in New York this morning with us.
Hey, Rob.
You know, it's just heartbreaking to think about a mother and daughter wandering around in bathrobes. You don't know what each of those stories tells, but this is a very dangerous and scary situation in Joplin, this morning.
MARCIANO: Still very fresh. There are still going to be people wandering around just looking for help, looking for loved ones. And it will be several days of search and hopefully rescue as they continue to go through the rubble that looks like it goes on for miles. And we'll get a firm number as far as how bad that tornado was when the survey teams go out there. But from the looks of it, certainly had winds of 160 if not 170 miles an hour, EF-4ish, maybe higher.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: Meanwhile, we have been asking you guys with our question of the day -- who do you think in the GOP field could beat the president potentially in 2012? Well, we have an update on who's in, who's out, and other Republicans who might choose to jump in, coming up.
Thirty-eight minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROMANS: OK. So the presidential race wide open for Republicans. Who's going to take on President Obama in 2012? Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, he says he's up for the challenge. He announced his bid on an internet video late last night. So Pawlenty is in.
CHETRY: Pawlenty is in. Mitch Daniel's out, I guess. But we're going to show you a little bit more. The who's in and who's out. Let's take a look. We're talking about former speaker of the house Newt Gingrich. He announced his bid, as well, last week. Then you have Congressman Ron Paul, the perennial favorite for many running again. And also in the running is former Atlanta businessman and the CEO of Godfather's Pizza chain, CEO Herman Cain.
ROMANS: He was out pretty -- he was in -- he was out being in very early.
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROMANS: Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, though, bowed out of the race this weekend because of family concerns. We also had a big hit for the GOP ticket. He was seen as a party favorite, Mitch Daniels was. Also turning down bids, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. Donald Trump, in case you were under a rock, he bowed out last week.
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush has also said no, as has Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour. And New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced he is not running. He says, Kiran, he'd rather stay close to home in New Jersey and do his business there.
CHETRY: Right. But this isn't just the field because we have some "maybes" as well. Who is possible? This is interesting that we're talking about Mitt Romney as possible, since he is, by all accounts, at least in the polling, considered the front-runner.
ROMANS: Susan Molinari says he's been running for seven years.
CHETRY: Running for seven years and making money running for seven years, or at least earning money for his war chest. Also, we've talked to her several times on the program and Michele Bachmann, the Congresswoman out of Minnesota has said to us here on this program, she'll let us know by June. So we'll see what happens with Michele.
ROMANS: For the Iowa (INAUDIBLE) which is where she's from. CHETRY: Exactly.
ROMANS: Also John Huntsman, a possible candidate as well. And don't rule out former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who says she has a fire in her belly for a 2012 presidential run but she hasn't officially declared yet.
So there you go. Which Republican do you think has the best chance of beating President Obama? It's our question of the day.
CHETRY: So here are some of your responses this morning. We'll start with our Tweets and Facebook responses.
On our blog, Bradley Moses writes, "The only one that has a chance is Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana. He is the one."
ROMANS: And he's not on the list, in or out.
JimmyDCannon on Twitter says, "Ron Paul in 2012. He's the real deal and the true answer to America's problems."
CHETRY: Steve writes in, "Governor Chris Christie is the man. If only he would run. Americans are ready for a straight shooter who isn't afraid to tell it like it is and who will not shy away from taking on special interests."
ROMANS: And, Arnaldo Pineda (ph) on Facebook says, "I am a Republican, but I don't see any candidate. President Obama is a common man, hard to beat."
There you go.
CHETRY: Thanks for weighing in on our question of the day.
Meanwhile, you know the wacky hat? Some called it a pretzel, some called it a toilet seat?
ROMANS: From the royal wedding.
CHETRY: Yes. It was Princess Beatrice's wacky fascinator selling for some big bucks. We're going to tell you how much it fetched at auction.
ROMANS: Also, speaking of fast times and big bucks, the Indy 500 revving up. Danica Patrick, Dario Franchitti and Helio Castroneves. They're going to be here. But the only thing fast is going to be how fast we're talking when they come to get it all in. A hundred years of Indy 500. We'll have them just right around the corner.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Forty-six minutes past the hour; time for a look at your headlines this morning.
At least 89 people are dead and up to 30 percent of Joplin, Missouri may be destroyed after a tornado tore through the heart of the city last night. The governor has declared a state of emergency. Search- and-rescue efforts are under way as we speak, looking for more survivors.
An arrest in the brutal attack of a Giants fan that happened at the Dodgers' opening game; Los Angeles police say 31-year-old Giovanni Ramirez was the primary aggressor in the beating that left victim Bryan Stow in a coma. Ramirez is being held on $1 million bail.
New sex claims against former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn. Officials say that he invited two hotel staffers to have drinks with him, that he also made lewd comments to a flight attendant. Kahn is charged with the sexual assault of a maid at a New York hotel last weekend.
President Obama is in Ireland, meeting with Irish Prime Minister and the president a short time ago. The President will also make a special visit to a small village where his ancestors hail from. Ireland is the first stop in his week-long tour of Europe.
Taking a look at the markets set to open in just 45 minutes and we could be in for a big sell-off today. Futures sharply lower after ratings agencies downgraded Greece and Italy late last week.
And remember Princess Beatrice's wacky hat from the royal wedding? Well, it sold on eBay for $130,000. The money will be donated to two children's charities.
And now you're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING will be back after a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, the field is set now for next weekend's running of the Indianapolis 500. It will be the 100th anniversary of the big race.
ROMANS: Wow, that's right.
Here to talk about a wild weekend of qualifying and the upcoming big event, three of the best drivers in the business; Danica Patrick, defending champion Dario Franchitti, and 2009 Indy 500 winner and our personal friend Helio Castroneves.
(CROSSTALK)
CHETRY: Although, you all are friends too.
DANICA PATRICK, INDY 500 CHAMPION: You guested just recently?
HELIO CASTRONEVES, RACE CAR DRIVER: That's right.
CHETRY: He did.
ROMANS: He's working it.
CHETRY: We actually, if it makes you feel better, talked more about "Dancing with the Stars". CASTRONEVES: That's right. That's right.
ROMANS: It's true. It's true and his baby.
CASTRONEVES: That's correct. Let me tell you, she's getting bigger. And for the time when I was actually practicing, she's over there in Indianapolis. I woke up in the apartment, and she's like with "Papa" -- oh, my. That's it. That's it. It is so good.
ROMANS: Oh sweet, sweet.
CHETRY: Oh my gosh. That's more important than the race.
PATRICK: Would you think that when she was waking you up early in the morning, and you're like, no, no more papa. Just go to mama.
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Now, you say you have a drama-filled weekend.
PATRICK: I did. Yes, you know we practiced all week, the practice was going good. Qualifying day came and all of a sudden, where'd the speed go. And we didn't qualify in the first day. I had to qualify yesterday. The rain kept coming and I almost didn't think I was going to get to run, to make it into the field.
Unfortunately, a couple of my teammates didn't make it into the race and it was just -- it was --
CHETRY: Close.
PATRICK: Yes. And it's not a situation that anyone anticipated to be in. That's for sure.
CHETRY: You also had a little bit of drama too, Dario, because you ran out of gas. You won last year. You -- you ran out of gas, which means that you start nine in row three rather than the pole position. What happened?
DARIO FRANCHITTI, DEFENDING CHAMPION: Well, I didn't think we were going to get the pole. I thought my teammate, Scott Dixon was going to get the pole and the other target car, but he ran out of gas with one corner to go, I ran out with a whole lap to go. So we're starting 9th, instead of 3rd. It was a whole miscommunication, but it was -- I was pretty angry afterwards.
That was a bad feeling, qualifying at Indy is so crazy and you're so in the limit and there's so much tension --
(CROSSTALK)
ROMANS: Right.
FRANCHITTI: -- and there's so much riding on it. And to make a mistake like that was pretty bad. But -- CASTRONEVES: I already told him, I have plenty of gas. Shell, is right there, it's sponsor me, I can get you a great promotion. You can get free fuel.
FRANCHITTI: I mean it's $4 bucks a gallon right now, you know?
CHETRY: You were trying to conserve. But how big does the difference make just for people who understand it? I mean, you've got 32 positions and you try to be in the front row, obviously. Can you make it up? How hard is it?
FRANCHITTI: You can make it up, but it takes a long time in the race, because of all the turbulence these cars produce for the wing zone, and they produce a hole in the air for the car following, so you don't have as much grip. There's a lot more action going on and you've got to pick your way through. You can't just make those moves very quickly.
So you know, ninth to first is -- might take a while. Last year I started on the outside of the front row, Helio was on the pole. It took two corners. So that was quite nice but this year it's going to take a bit longer.
PATRICK: Yes, I think that for me, it's going to be hard to decide if I want to have a chance at the end to be able to be in a good position, to maybe win the race, you kind of need to be fast, which means you need to have as little down force as you can tolerate. But I'm starting so far back that I'm going to need the down force to be able to work my way up there. So it's going to be a guessing game as to where you need to be for it.
ROMANS: So tell us psychologically what this week is going to be like for you guys. I mean this is -- first of all, it's the 100th anniversary, so it's a big deal.
FRANCHITTI: Yes.
ROMANS: It's always a big deal, anyway. But what do you do -- what do you do to prepare?
PATRICK: We unfortunately, haven't done a lot of race running, because we've been worrying about qualifying.
ROMANS: Right.
PATRICK: So and there's been a lot of rain. I think a lot of us feel like we would have liked to do some more race running. But you know, we're just going to look back on history, and see where -- and see where we went and maybe with the setup that was good for the race and -- and go from there. But there's -- actually this week, it's a lot of media and a lot of you know.
CASTRONEVES: Yes at this point, you're promoting into the race and we do have one more practice, which is Friday.
PATRICK: Yes. FRANCHITTI: One hour, though.
CASTRONEVES: So one hour, but it's better than nothing. So and then for those like they didn't have a chance to, you know, practice with the race car and things like that, which is the same for everyone.
CHETRY: Right.
CASTRONEVES: You're going to have the last minute, you know, to make sure everything is fine. But again, its three hours of a race, everything can happen. So it's just --
CHETRY: It's exciting.
CASTRONEVES: It's big-time exciting.
CHETRY: And also, how about the personal relationship. It's really interesting. I mean, you guys are all, you know, young and attractive and fun. I mean, do you guys all hang out together when you're not racing?
FRANCHITTI: Last night we sat and had a beer together.
PATRICK: Yes, we did.
FRANCHITTI: I need it, actually. We all did after yesterday.
ROMANS: I hear you.
FRANCHITTI: But we, it's a funny relationship, because out of the car, most of us are pretty good friends. I mean we get in the car and --
CASTRONEVES: That's it.
ROMANS: You're supposed to compete, right.
FRANCHITTI: In the cars, yes --
ROMANS: It's like putting on your armor, I bet.
FRANCHITTI: The difference of the two is incredible, the in-car competition and the out of car this relationships we have --
CASTRONEVES: Yes, you've got to remember, we're among friends, but obviously everyone want to win the race. And there is only one winner. So at the end of the day, you've just got to do your best and obviously, sometimes we do have some issues, and we just sit down and talk, do you have anything against me, or do you see me or something like that?
FRANCHITTI: I had a couple of those conversations.
PATRICK: It comes down to respecting each other.
CHETRY: Right. PATRICK: You know, we're racing each other hard, but giving each other the respect that you're not going to do something that you wouldn't want done to you.
ROMANS: This year, who are you most afraid to see in your rear-view mirror coming up fast?
FRANCHITTI: Oh, boy, my teammate, Scott Dixon.
ROMANS: Yes.
FRANCHITTI: He's had a glint in his eye all month. I think he looks really strong. He's going to be tough to beat.
PATRICK: I don't want to see the leader. I need to make it. I'm starting so far back; I don't want to see the leader. I want to get to that first yellow, make up some spots, maybe, and get myself up further up.
CASTRONEVES: I'm not looking behind. I'm going to look forward.
CHETRY: You're going for your fourth Indy title. What would it feel like to win it on the 100th anniversary?
CASTRONEVES: It would be an incredible achievement. No question. I'm in a unique opportunity. I'm honored to be in this position. Like I said, one of my heroes, which is Rick Mears said, "To finish first, first you've got to finish." That's my mentality going to go out there. And it will be an incredible achievement to join incredible drivers.
PATRICK: You know Al Jr. told me a couple years ago, use the first half of the race to get to the last half of the race, and it sounds really obvious and simple and not very descriptive, but it's true. Use that first half, learn your car, see how the track is changing, and make the right changes for the end and go for it.
ROMANS: That's a metaphor for a lot of thing.
CHETRY: It really is.
ROMANS: Put that on a bumper sticker.
FRANCHITTI: With Indy it's like a gust of wind or the temperature changing, all these things can change the way your car or change the way you (INAUDIBLE). You're thinking, oh, we're looking good here, then the wind will change direction and the next thing you know, you're struggling to keep up.
PATRICK: I remember a couple years ago, I went with a setup that I was anticipating what would work at the end of the year. I had to use the first half just to kind of stay in the game, and then once the last 75 laps came, the car came alive and it was good at the end.
CHETRY: You guys, obviously, are pros and you know what you're doing. You're the defending champ. We wish you the best of luck. We'll be watching for sure. It's going to be a fun weekend. Not for you guys probably but for us watching.
PATRICK: Hopefully, it is.
CASTRONEVES: There will be fun. There will be a lot of fun.
ROMANS: If your teammates the night before take you out for shots, just say no.
CHETRY: Don't let them trick you there. All right. Thanks so much.
ROMANS: 56 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Sometimes you can't make this stuff up. This is a shot of Boston, Massachusetts, where it's 52 degrees right now and cloudy. A little bit later, they're looking at showers, but what a day it was yesterday at the game.
ROMANS: The sun is shining on CNN anchor John King; he was in the right place, at the right time. Unbelievable.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Bottom of four, big Poppy's up, Ortiz smacks his not 299th bit 300th home run.
CHETRY: There it is.
MARCIANO: All right. Check it out.
Boom, big poppy, going deep -- who's back there --
CHETRY: Unbelievable.
MARCIANO: Behind the fence to catch it, John King. There he is; JK USA pulling it in.
CHETRY: Look at him. He's holding his hand as if he hurt it a little bit. That was quite -- he smacked that home run.
ROMANS: Nice. John sent the ball down to big Poppy and the slugger sent it back up with this cool autographed bat in return, with the words, "Thanks." How cool.
If I'm John King, I'm buying a lottery ticket today.
MARCIANO: That is amazing. Not just a foul ball but a home run, a history making home run.
CHETRY: The only thing that ever happened to me was I got hit with a buck at an --
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: Well, that's good luck too.
CHETRY: That was not good luck. The Otters -- no, bam, right in the -- torso, let's say.
MARCIANO: Torso. Glad you survived.
ROMANS: All right. That's going to wrap it up for us. And while we (INAUDIBLE) for John King's 300th home run.
CHETRY: Carol -- I know Carol Costello. You couldn't believe that when you saw that right? I mean of all -- I mean he caught that thing, I mean right place, right time and a little bit of talent obviously.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR, "CNN NEWSROOM": I got hit in the head with a foul ball once.
MARCIANO: So that explains it.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
MARCIANO: Ok. Carol, good to see you.
ROMANS: Have a great day.
COSTELLO: Thank you so much.
MARCIANO: All right, go.
