Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Hurricane Irene Threatens East Coast; Steve Jobs Resigns as Apple's CEO; Rebels Put Bounty on Gadhafi's Head; 4.5 Magnitude Aftershock in Virginia; Two Hurt in LAX Jetway Collapse; Russian Cargo Rocket Crash; Escalade is the Most Stolen Car; The Last Heart Attack

Aired August 25, 2011 - 07:00   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, Hurricane Irene pounding the Bahamas and setting its sights on the United States, the entire eastern seaboard on alert. The latest tracking forecast ahead.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Apple has a new CEO after the surprise resignation of Steve Jobs. Apple stock already reacting to the news this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHANCE: Absolutely terrified that -- the mood was going to change. And we were going to be shot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Wow. CNN's Matthew Chance, dozens of other foreign journalists, are set free by Gadhafi loyalists after a five-day ordeal in a Tripoli hotel.

COSTELLO: And more damage from that east coast quake that we initially thought at the Washington Monument and the National Cathedral. And overnight in Virginia, the strongest aftershock yet on this AMERICAN MORNING.

VELSHI: Good morning. It's Thursday, August 25th. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING.

ROMANS: All right, hurricane Irene, dangerous category three storm lashing the Bahamas at this hour. The storm expected to gain strength and become a category four, a very dangerous, very big storm. Take a look at this. It's massive. Here is what Irene looks like from space as big as the state of Arizona right now and heading towards the coast of the United States.

COSTELLO: Overnight the National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch for parts of North Carolina. But millions of Americans along the entire eastern seaboard are being told to be on alert. Mandatory evacuations begin one hour from now for all visitors on North Carolina's outer banks.

VELSHI: In the Bahamas reports of heavy damage still coming in. Officials say 90 percent of homes in at least would settlements are destroyed and electricity is out in parts of the country. ROMANS: Jim Spellman is in the Bahamas in the town of Nassau and meteorologist Jacqui Jeras as is at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta. Let's begin with Jim. We know you are bracing for a very rough day there. Are the winds picking up? What are the conditions like now?

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the winds have definitely have been picking up over the last few hours, and so has the rain, rain that pounds you. The whole island is taking a beating here. We have seen it pick up. But now that the sun is up, we can see and of these trees a little more, you can see how steady this wind is just pounding everybody here on the island.

One of the big issues here, when this hits the United States, people on the east coast, we can get on a highway and drive inland. But here there is no place to go. The island is seven miles wide and 20 miles long. They are feeling this across the island.

We have already seen on the roads some high water, one of the big issues here. It's very flat. They're worried about flooding and whether these buildings can withstand this kind of wind for a good part of the day. These large buildings, hotels up and down here, sort of the smaller homes, the regular homes that Bahamians live in are going to have a tough time dealing with the wind all day.

ROMANS: Jim Spellman, thanks. They know how to prepare in the Bahamas even though they don't have enough to protect themselves from, they know how to prepare. It has been a long time since there has been a storm this big that hit the Carolinas.

VELSHI: Yes. Jacqui Jeras is in the hurricane center. Jacqui, tell us where this is headed, the new watches and predictions that are just out.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right. This thing is going to make that northwest turn and we're going to watch it move on up towards the north. And it will be moving east of Florida throughout the day today. And the watches have been posted. This means you need to be ready now. You've got 48 hours before you are going to start to feel the impact of the storm and Carolinas.

So hurricane watches from the Virginia-North Carolina state line down to surf city. Tropical storm watches expected and southward from there down to the Edisto beach. That's because the brunt of the hurricane we think will be moving in here. You will just feel a tropical storm force effects in that area.

Now, Florida today already feeling it. You are going to be seeing a lot of beach erosion. You're going to have rip currents. You don't know to get in the water today. And those winds could be gusting as much as 40 miles per hour. This storm is moving in and it should stay east of Nassau where Jim Spellman is. But they should get a lashing with the winds.

And storm surge will be a huge problem. He was talking about there is no protection there. These are very flat islands. We could be talking about seven to 11 feet of storm surge. That's a lot of high water moving in there.

This is a major hurricane, 150-mile-per-hour maximum sustained winds. And this is a major threat to the Carolinas and all the way up the east coast. Even if we don't get a direct landfall, we are talking major flooding. We're talking massive power outages. And this is going to be a big problem for a whole lot of people.

Now, let's talk about that track and how much time we have to get ready here. There you can see the storm expecting to make the northerly turn. It is a little difficult for exact forecasts on something like this when you are going parallel to the coastline. So look at that cone of uncertainty. Wilmington, you are still in there. And we are also seeing that all the way up towards Norfolk.

It's expected to be a major hurricane. That's what you need to be prepared for at landfall. But we could get luck write and see this start to weaken a little bit as it moves into this area. We have wind shear and cooler water temperatures a that are going to be changing intensity of this storm as it rides on up towards the coast.

Now we are talking about Sunday for the northeast. This will be an all-day event. It should pick up a little bit of forward speed as it gets caught up into this cold front. Best case scenario is that it stays off the shore but still major impact here. Even if it does, worst case scenario, we could be talking about two landfalls, even getting in close towards New York City. So stay tuned with more changes to this forecast.

Take a look at this rainfall forecast over the next five days. The big thing to look at here is that we are looking at that flood potential right in here and even into upstate New York even over towards Philadelphia of maybe six to 12 inches of rainfall. And it is already very saturated across the east.

And last but not least, if up can't watch us 24 hours a day, take a rest now and then, check on your computer, go to CNN.com/hurricane. And you can track this storm yourself and this will be updated all day. Satellite, projected paths, even the computer models will be put on here for to you see. Back to you guys.

COSTELLO: That's awesome, Jacqui, thank you.

VELSHI: It's awesome that we have that information about it, which means you should prepare.

ROMANS: That's right. Michael Bloomberg today will have a big conference in New York and eight million people in this town --

VELSHI: This is not a great place to try to get out of in a hurry. Have a plan. And if you are prone to flooding, know you will probably flood in this case.

COSTELLO: I think I would be much more afraid if I was on the outer banks of North Carolina.

ROMANS: No, absolutely. Mayors up and down the coast are all today hunkering down with their officials trying to figure out what are we going to do. What's the best case, worst-case scenario? How are we going to make people take this seriously, because there are always people who don't take it --

VELSHI: And one of the things about places like New York City, high- rises can be dangerous because windows blowing out and things like that. So everybody just read up on where you are and what you need to do.

Coming up in a few minutes we'll actually talk with FEMA administrator Craig Fugate about what is being done to prepare for Irene in these various regions, how it's being done differently.

COSTELLO: Also this morning, a historic shift of power at a company that's changed the way we use cell phones and computers, the way we listen to music and buy music. Last night Steve Jobs, the driving force behind Apple, announced he's stepping down as CEO.

In a letter jobs wrote that he is no longer able to fulfill his, quote, "duties and expectations." And he, folks, had always said when he couldn't do his job, that would be the day that he said goodbye to Apple. That announcement sending Apple stock down by 4.5 percent in afterhours trading. Our Poppy Harlow joins us live. He's staying on at the company as its chairman. He asked if they would allow him to stay on as chairman. I'm sure they will. But he says he can't be the CEO anymore.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: No. And, of course, that brings up the question about his health. This is a man that battled pancreatic cancer, taken three leaves of absence from the company that he created back in the '70s. He's perhaps most visionary business leader, period, in the history certainly of this country. A historic turnaround of Apple and products affect each and every one of us. Quite a legacy he has at the company. But remember, he's still a part of Apple, but a big change no longer in the top seat. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: The impact was immediate. Apple stock fell five percent in afterhours trading Wednesday when Steve Jobs announced he is stepping down as CEO. Fans of Jobs were surprised by the news.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He resigned?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm sorry to hear it because he was so great for the company. He's so creative and innovative.

HARLOW: Jobs, who has been on medical leave since January, released this statement -- "I have always said that if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately that day has come."

ANDREW SERWER, MANAGING EDITOR, "FORTUNE": It is really hard to overstate just how important Steve Jobs has been to business, to the economy, what he has done because he's really revolutionized so many businesses.

HARLOW: Computers, mobile phones, digital music -- Jobs' influence has been unparalleled. His latest product, the iPad, continues to break records. Analysts say it is the fastest selling technological device ever.

Jobs cofounded Apple in 1976 from his family's garage. Nine years later a power struggle led to his exit. But Jobs returned again in 1996, soon after becoming CEO and transforming the company into what it is today -- one of the biggest corporations in the world worth nearly $350 billion. Earlier this month, Apple briefly passed ExxonMobil as the stock market's most valuable company.

STEVE JOBS, JUST RETIRED AS APPLE CEO: The iPod, the phone -- are you getting it?

(APPLAUSE)

HARLOW: But it's not only because of Jobs' innovation. He's also a brilliant marketer.

MICHAEL COPELAND, "FORTUNE" CONTRIBUTOR: The secrecy in the kind of theater that Apple brings to every product launch, every other company in the world, whether they are in, you know, electronics, consumer electronics, or clothing or automobiles, they can learn from April and what they do.

HARLOW: In the only commencement address Jobs ever gave in 2005 at Stanford University, he touched upon the secret of his success.

JOBS: The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. And don't settle.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: And I think it's safe to say that Steve Jobs never settled, loved what he did every day and will probably continue to at Apple. He also went on in that speech -- by the way, it's been called his most famous speech ever -- your time is limited, so don't waste it live something one else's life. He really has lived every single day, lived and breathed this company.

COSTELLO: You have to wonder about his health if that's the reason that he's decided to make this change.

HARLOW: So it was interesting. In the statement he put out, the letter that Steve Jobs wrote last night to the Apple board and the Apple community, he didn't talk about his health specifically. But if you read between the lines what he said, is that "If the day came where I can no longer run this company as I should, I would step down. I would let you know." There's no reason he wouldn't want to run this company. There is no desire not to run down to hand over the reins. So you have to believe there is something else he's dealing with. Many believe it is his health. He was currently on a leave of absence.

But this is also a company, I think it's important to note, because people have been investing in this company think, well, what should do I with the stock? Is Apple going to be OK? This is a company that had a plan. Tim Cook, the chief operating officer, was in line to take over. He will take over. He knows the company and he knows Steve Jobs' brain very well. And that's important.

So you have to decide is this company bigger than this one man? Do you believe in the vision? Will it carry on? That's the question. But whether anyone can be as big a visionary as Steve Jobs, it would be a very difficult challenge. Big shoes to fill.

ROMANS: Certainly. All right, Poppy, thanks. Big brain to recreate, he is so smart and such a visionary.

COSTELLO: And there is the perception he is the guy that may or may not be true, right?

ROMANS: There are a lot people behind him executing. It takes a village.

COSTELLO: Poppy, thanks.

Let's talk about Libya, now. Rebel fighters doing battle this morning with pro-Gadhafi forces to retain control right around the Gadhafi compound in Tripoli. CNN's Sara Sidner reports huge plumes of smoke coming from inside that compound in the past hour.

In the meantime, Libya's defiant dictator still in hiding, but he now has a price on his head. The rebel leadership offering a $1.4 million bounty for the capture of Gadhafi, dead or alive. Gadhafi loyalists finally released nearly three dozen journalists, including CNN's Matthew Chance and his producer. They were being held against their will for five days at Tripoli's Rixos Hotel.

Now is your chance to talk back on one of the big stories of the day. The question for you this morning, what should happen if Gadhafi is captured? Moammar Gadhafi remains at large. The slippery dictator has evaded capture only to pop up on the radio vowing to fight against the rebels for months or even years. Gadhafi's spokesman has also added "We will turn Libya into a volcano of lava and fire under the feet of invaders and their treacherous agents." While we wait for the hot magma to start flowing, retired Major General "Spider" Marks says this kind of rhetoric closes the door to peaceful surrender by Gadhafi.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET), CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Somebody needs to shoot him in the face or -- and I don't know that there is an alternative.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Libyan rebels have now put up a $1.4 million bounty to anyone that kills or captures Gadhafi. Still, knowing the eyes of the world are upon them, the rebels have also said they would offer Gadhafi a fair trial if captured alive.

The International Criminal Court in the Hague wants Gadhafi, too. It has warrants out for the arrest of Gadhafi and one of his sons. We know what a criminal trial in the Hague would look like. If it took place in Libya, would it resemble Hosni Mubarak's trial of Egypt where they wheel him in on a stretcher? Or would it resemble Saddam Hussein's trial in Iraq? Hussein, remember, was found guilty and hanged. A videotape from his execution showed people taunting him, and it became an international controversy.

So the talkback this morning, what should happen if Gadhafi is captured? Facebook.com/Americanmorning, Facebook.com/Americanmorning. I will read your comments later this hour.

VELSHI: All right, still to come this morning, another jolt for people in Virginia, the strongest aftershock yet from this week's rare earthquake. And more damage than initially thought at the Washington monument and the national cathedral. We will tell you about that when we come back.

ROMANS: And some scary moments for fliers. But it is after they landed when a jet way gave way. We will tell you about that story in just a couple of minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Well, by all accounts, Hurricane Irene appears to be on a collision course with the United States. Exactly where the storm could hit remains anybody's guess right now. That's why the entire Eastern Seaboard is being warned to be on alert.

I'm joined now by FEMA administrator, Craig Fugate. He's live in Washington. Administrator Fugate, good to see you again. Thank you for joining us.

We have been showing people our possible projections given to us by the - by the Weather Service about where this is going to go. And at this point, the cone of uncertainty remains pretty unclear. I guess we know that it's - it's going to get pretty close to or on to the outer banks and then who knows what happens on the northeast. What's your biggest concern right now?

CRAIG FUGATE, ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY: I think the biggest concern is getting people to pay attention and make sure they're ready. You know, if you got your plan and you got your supplies, you check everything, then you're in good shape. And then the only thing you've got to be ready is that the local officials call for evacuation orders and you're in that zone be ready to go.

But I really want to press on people that, you know, this storm is one that you need to really pay attention to. You need to be ready. But if you've got your plans and you've got everything you need and you are ready to go, then just monitor the storm. If you haven't done those steps, you still have some time. VELSHI: All right. We're talking about maybe coming on land in a Category 3, maybe a Category 2. Maybe being Category 1 by the time it hits the weekend and northeast. That does send a signal to some people that we should be less concerned.

FUGATE: Well, again, I would caution people. Don't get too hung up on the actual category of the hurricane. We've seen tropical storms produce devastating flooding and even up here in the northeast with some of the tropical force winds, we've seen a lot of power outages.

But I think what's really important is you got local officials, volunteers and a lot of folks working hard to get ready for this storm. We're just asking the public to do their part and make sure they're ready in case you have to evacuate, in case we do get the storm effects. And, again, a very large area, large area of threat. But now is the time to get ready.

VELSHI: All right. Some of those - some of those forecasts, those tracks, show Philadelphia, close to center. Definitely shows New York City, maybe Boston. Different level of threat in some of these major - major populated areas.

FUGATE: Yes. I think this is - what is really critical, you know, lot of people look to FEMA for the answers. These answers are about what impacts you can have and what you need to do in your community are going to come from your local officials. And that's why it's really important with your local broadcasters that they're going to have oftentimes the most detailed information about what's happening in your community.

So FEMA, we talked about things in general and getting ready. But when it comes to the evacuation orders and what you need to do to be ready, that's going to come from your local officials and from your governors. We're going to be supporting them, but make sure you're getting your information from your local officials about what you need to do.

VELSHI: All right. One of things that happened earlier this week with the - the earthquake is all across the Eastern Seaboard - and maybe it was just overloaded circuits, but there were - there were cell phone problems. What's the best way people are going to get information?

FUGATE: You know, we're going to go back to, I think, people got so enamored with their Smartphones. Let's not forget, it's your local radio and TV stations. Those local broadcasters are going to be giving you the best information real-time from those local officials out of the press conferences, so you've got to make sure you got your radio and television.

And, again, cell phones get congested, but we did have some success with people text messaging or using social media. But, remember, cell phones themselves with heavy congestion, you may not be able get through. And stay off the phones if it is not an emergency, because other people may be trying to call 911. Use text messaging. Use land lines. But, again, local TV and radio stations are going to probably be one of your best sources of information from those local officials during the crunch time of evacuation.

VELSHI: Do you have - are you having particular communication with folks in New York? The mayor here a little concerned that there are a lot of people here, if they get complacent and decide to - to do something at the last minute we could have some serious flooding, could impede the ability to get in and out of the city. Is that - is that specifically on your radar?

FUGATE: Well, pretty much is in our course (ph), but I know that Mayor Bloomberg and Joe Bruno, who runs the Office Emergency Management, they know about hurricanes. They've been getting ready for this. And, again, they're going to be talking to their folks as well as governors and mayors up and down the coast talking to folks about what they can expect and what they need to do and what those local plans are.

So for New York City, your experts there, New York City Office Emergency Management are going to be talking to you about what to do to get ready for this hurricane.

VELSHI: All right. Craig Fugate, FEMA administrator, good to see you. I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot from you and about you in the next few days. I hope you've eaten your Wheaties and got as much sleep as you needed to get. Craig, thanks. It's good to see you.

FUGATE: Thank you.

ROMANS: All right. Still to come -

VELSHI: Good message, though, about -

ROMANS: Yes.

VELSHI: -- take this into your own hands.

ROMANS: Oh, yes. Absolutely.

VELSHI: So don't - don't wait for what FEMA's plan is.

ROMANS: Yes.

VELSHI: Take this into your own hands.

ROMANS: Yes. And you've been warned. I mean -

VELSHI: Yes.

ROMANS: And Jacqui has been saying it over and over again, prepare now. Get out where you have to get out and prepare now because you have 48 hours in the Carolinas. A couple of more days on the East Coast. But it will be around going up the coast and it will have, you know, implications for everyone. Still to come this morning, Google forking over $500 million to the Justice Department. We're going to tell you why coming up.

COSTELLO: And how many beans for your morning caffeine? Coffee prices on the move. We're "Minding Your Business" next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: "Minding Your Business" this morning.

Volatile trading of stock futures so far. Right now, futures on the Dow and S&P 500 are trading slightly higher but the NASDAQ futures are down. Wall Street still holding out some hope that Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke will announce new measures to help the economy in his big speech on Friday.

A potential market mover today, the weekly jobless claims report comes out in about one hour from now.

Wall Street will be watching Apple stock today. It dropped about five percent at one point in after hours trading after Steve Jobs announced he's stepping down as Apple's CEO. Since then futures for Apple or Apple stock rather and overseas trading crept back up a bit. Down about three percent ahead of the opening. $52 billion, that's how much has been lost so far in futures trading of S&P 500 stocks on that news.

Google has agreed to pay $500 million to settle a Justice Department lawsuit over illegal drug ads. The DOJ says that's one of the largest settlements ever in the U.S. Online Canadian pharmacies were advertising drugs to U.S. consumers illegally on Google's site. The settlement represents the amount of money that Google made from that program.

Wall Street's CEOs are fed up with Washington and they're hitting lawmakers where it hurts right in their wallets. A hundred CEOs signing a pledge to stop all political campaign contributions, it's a major hit with the upcoming election. Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz is leading the pack. He says he reached his breaking point with Washington politics during the debt ceiling debate.

Good news for caffeine junkies. Kraft is cutting the cost of its Maxwell House Coffee brand six percent. That's about 20 cents less per pound. And J.M. Smucker Company cuts its prices by about that much last week for its Folgers and Millstone brands. That's thanks to better coffee growing conditions. Futures for coffee have dropped almost two percent in the past six months. You are going to feel it in your cup of Joe.

Don't forget, for the very latest news about your money, check out the all new CNNMoney.com.

AMERICAN MORNING will be back right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's 30 minutes past the hour. Here are this morning's top stories.

Hurricane Irene barreling through the south eastern and central Bahamas right now. The Category 3 storm ripping some homes off of their foundations.

Hurricane watches have now been issued for parts of North Carolina. In the meantime, the U.S. Navy is sending 27 ships based in Norfolk out to sea to ride out the storm.

VELSHI: Libyan rebels battling to keep control of the former presidential compound in Tripoli. A fire fight with forces loyal to Moammar Gadhafi is breaking out this morning. We have seen smoke rising from the compound.

And meantime, rebel leaders have raised the stakes in the hunt for Gadhafi. A reward of $1.4 million is being offered for his capture dead or alive.

ROMANS: All right, Apple is the stock to watch this morning after Steve Jobs officially stepped down as Apple's CEO. Jobs who previously battled pancreatic cancer, has been on medical leave since January.

In a letter yesterday, Jobs wrote, he is no longer able to fulfill his duties and expectations. He will stay as Apple's chairman. Apple's stock down about 3 percent in after-hours trading.

Joining us now is Leigh Gallagher, assistant managing editor at "Fortune" magazine. He always said if he couldn't do the job, then that would be the day he stepped down from the company he loves and found it.

LEIGH GALLAGHER, ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: Yes, and in fact, the language last night in the statement was, unfortunately, that time has arrived. That day has arrive. I mean, there's something very, very sad about it.

And -- because we know, everyone knows, that he would not be doing this if this were not very serious. This is -- I mean, Steve Jobs is Apple, Apple is Steve Jobs. He loves this company. This company is him.

He has poured his heart and soul and vision into it. So this is significant. However, it is not unexpected. I mean, if you remember he has taken three medical leaves. You know, Tim Cook, the -- incoming CEO. It is well known now by the market. This is -- you know --

ROMANS: In 2008 you wrote a cover that --

GALLAGHER: We did, shameless plug. We did -- my colleague did an incredible really, really deep story on the guy behind Steve. This is a profile of Tim Cook. You can find it online. It is -- tells you everything you need to know about this guy. It is fascinating.

COSTELLO: Just to go back to Steve Jobs a second because he was trying all of these new treatments, best treatments out there to get better. And -- I don't know. You are right. It is really sad to think about that. He has everything going for him, but not his health.

GALLAGHER: He does. You know, very little is known about exactly what the problem is. It is -- Apple has been very secretive about the problems. You know, only in the past, you know, year or two, admitting there was -- a reason to take a medical leave.

That's something that Apple had been criticized for in terms of what does a company owe its shareholders. But regardless we all know now that -- you know, the -- this is very, very serious.

VELSHI: Well, OK, so people are fascinated by Steve Jobs, whether you cover business or not, whether you like computers or not. But really, the -- most common question I have been getting on Twitter and from people is buy, sell or hold, the stock.

Let's take a look at the stock. It's about $376 right now. Christine talked about the run-up it had. Cnnmoney.com has taken a number of analysts' views of this thing. So the midpoint there, before you see the three spaghetti strings going out is where it is now.

And the high end of that shows it going out to about $666. The median is lower than - is $500 still higher than it is. The low is $349, a drop of about 7 percent of where it is. There are some people out there that think -- cone of uncertainty for Apple stock. There are some people who think there may be a little bit after pullback on this stock.

GALLAGHER: I think there's -- just as many if not more people think this is a great opportunity.

VELSHI: Particularly after it has come down.

GALLAGHER: Yes, exactly because it may not go down much more. I mean, it took a bigger hit when it was announced earlier this year that Steve Jobs was leaving and taking a medical leave. This is now priced in, I think, everybody knows this is a likely scenario. Just means a matter of when.

You know, this company -- Steve Jobs, one thing to his credit he has done in the past couple of years, is recognize that, you know, he needs to prepare for the company after him.

And -- he has done that in many ways. Apple has a famously -- deep pipeline that could probably sustain it for the next, you know, four or five years.

ROMANS: Where does the vision come after that?

GALLAGHER: Well, that's the big question.

ROMANS: Does Tim Cook have the vision in four years when that pipeline -- comes to market --

VELSHI: That's what this story is about.

ROMANS: I'm saying, in four years, so -- do they have the kind of company and culture where that bright idea is going to be fostered ask changed music, change the world, like it has today?

GALLAGHER: Obviously, there is no other Steve Jobs. There's no one that can replace him, but -- this company's culture is very tough and very brutal. Anyone that's there is pretty much dashes especially the top tier management team.

Yes, you know, they are -- there is a lot of intel that has been, you know, extracted and taken down and, in fact, Steve jobs brought in the former dean of the management school, Joel Paladney, who has basically -- been tasked with building the case studies to basically take what the top management team knows and bring it down to the next layer.

COSTELLO: Yes, what about marketing? That was Steve Jobs' real genius.

VELSHI: Unveilings.

COSTELLO: Yes. He was a genius at that.

GALLAGHER: The product launches were unlike anything in any industry. But I would argue it is not the marketing as much as the product. This is a company that's all about the product. Apple does not say there is a hole in the market for this. Let's fill it.

Apple says let's make the best thing we can make and people will buy them. That's what has happened across four, five entire industries. You know, Music, movies, computers, phones, I mean, just --

VELSHI: That's a game changer. Leigh, thank you. Good work on always being ahead on the curve.

GALLAGHER: With my colleague.

VELSHI: -- in "Fortune." great coverage in "Fortune," which you can see in money.com right now. All of these articles current and some of these ones - these ones that foretold the future are. I remember when the iPad -- iPod fist came out. I thought no one needs to carry all their music with them.

ROMANS: That's why you don't have as much money as Steve Jobs right now.

VELSHI: Right. I guess the point. They didn't see a hole people needed to carry 600 songs. They just invented something that did it well.

COSTELLO: That's the American ingenuity.

New this morning, bracing for Hurricane Irene. People on the east coast are getting the remnants of this week's earthquake. Remnants? That would be an aftershock, right, 4.5 magnitude aftershock that hit Virginia overnight. It was centered near the town of Mineral. It is fourth and strongest aftershock since Tuesday's quake. The quake did more damage than originally thought at the Washington monument. Engineers found three, four cracks at the top of the structure so the monument will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

Also, the quake caused significant damage to Washington's national cathedral. It is expected to remain closed at least through Saturday.

VELSHI: A pilot and passenger were hurt at Los Angeles International Airport last night when a jet way, the bridge between the plane and terminal, collapsed. The airport says it happened as people were leaving an American Airlines plane that came in from Chicago.

The airline says it is expecting their jet way as a result of the accident. Apparently, they fell about 10 feet, as we discussed earlier, of all the things that worry people about air travel, that wasn't on the list.

ROMANS: No. Not on my long list of things worry about in air travel. Some amazing dash cam video to show you. Shows an Oklahoma City police cruiser in a head-on collision with an SUV, there it is, traveling in the wrong direction.

Remarkably neither driver was injured. I can't believe that. Neither driver was injured. The police deputies K-9 companion that was riding shotgun, the dog was also OK. The SUV driver was arrested for DUI, driving on the wrong side of the road and not wearing a seatbelt.

COSTELLO: A Russian cargo rocket on its way to the International Space Station crashes in Siberia happened within five minutes after takeoff. The unmanned rocket was carrying more than three tons of food and supplies.

Officials say it doesn't affect the six astronauts onboard the International Space Station. They say they have more than enough supplies to hold them over. Russia, though, has grounded all of these rockets while they investigate the crash.

VELSHI: Let's hope they get it worked out before they run out of food. They say they have a lot of food. They are oversupplied.

Escalade owners, Cadillac Escalade owner, watch where you park. The Highway Loss Data Institute reports that the Cadillac Escalade is the most stolen vehicle.

It topped the list for four years in a row. The report says thieves carjacked 10 of every thousand Escalades. That's better odds than I thought. The numbers are based on insurance claims. That's a fat ride.

COSTELLO: It is a big old car.

VELSHI: I like them.

ROMANS: Sure miss it when it is gone. It takes two spaces. This takes the term power walking to a different level. Researchers say you may be able to charge your cell phone by simply walking around.

They unveiled a new technology that can capture the energy you produce and push it to your phone. They say it could make your battery last 10 times longer. The little device slips into your shoe.

VELSHI: This is a trick to make me exercise. Elizabeth Cohen is behind this.

COSTELLO: You walk from here to your desk.

VELSHI: Then my wife will have an excuse. Your cell phone needs to be charged.

ROMANS: Get up and walk.

VELSHI: Walk the walk.

COSTELLO: Still to come this morning, walking free from a Tripoli hotel that became a prison.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were absolutely terrified that, you know, the mood was going to change and we were going to be shot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Journalists slip out when the men who are holding them at gunpoint realize, Moammar Gadhafi is really through. Matthew Chance will bring us a firsthand account from inside the hotel every harrowing step. That's coming your way next.

VELSHI: All right, ever hear the praise someone is a heart attack waiting to happen? You don't have to look the part to be at risk. Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains the warning signs that you may not see coming. It's 41 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's 43 minutes past the hour this morning. Finally, 33 international journalists are free from the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli and they are telling their story.

VELSHI: They were being held against their will by armed pro-Gadhafi forces. The ordeal lasted five days with little food, no air- conditioning and electricity only some of the time.

ROMANS: Among those being held was CNN's Matthew Chance and it was actually his producer and woman from Jordan who was critical in owing negotiating everyone's release.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Some developments. This crisis, this terrible experience we have been through. We managed to speak to the guys that have been charged with looking after this hotel. Not let the journalists leave. They have been carrying those orders out even though the whole world's event has changed. Hope reply now. They will take us.

CHANCE: Breaking news situation here. We have now left the compound of the Rixos hotel. All of the 36 journalists that were kept inside essentially against their will in what we all considered all along to be a hostage crisis, have now been a hostage situation rather, have now been allowed to go out. It's been a very complicated, a very frightening, a very, you know, emotional roller coaster over the past five days and we're now driving out of the Rixos. We're driving through the deserted streets, I have to say, of Tripoli to, you know, our freedom, essentially.

It's been -- an absolutely -- it's been an absolute nightmare for all of us. You know, there are journalists who have been, as a result of this emotional release, the fact that we've got out of the hotel, are crying. Emotions are running very high.

All this while we were absolutely terrified that, you know, the mood was going to change and we were going to be shot, I think that's -- let's get to the nub of it. I mean, that's what we were worried about. We were worried about being, you know, shot. But happily we weren't shot. We weren't even injured. We were absolutely fine.

JOMANA, : One of the most difficult things for me was the language, speaking Arabic. I was involved in most of the negotiations between those guys holding us there, and also trying to talk to people on the outside, trying to secure a safe passage for us, getting us out like we did today. It was a team effort. We had an amazing group of journalists and, you know, and an experience like this, we did all really bond together and work as a team and made sure we all got out of there together.

It's amazing in walking out of the hotel, Hala, I didn't really know what was going to be out there and I came out to a new Libya. I was actually shocked at the new Tripoli. I didn't see any green flags. It was rebel flags. I saw children waving the flags. It felt like a happy Tripoli. It was a very, very different one than the one I saw about a week ago before we were taken hostage.

CHANCE: Jomana was great. She was great. She was doing -- she was doing, you know, for all of us, all the journalists that were there, you know, Jomana was crucial. She was doing much of the negotiation with the, you know, the Gadhafi gunmen downstairs in the lobby. She was taking them on her shoulders to do it. It was remarkable. I mean, she's a -- what an amazing producer to produce us out of this horrific place. I don't think we'd all be here now. I literally think -- she's that good. I don't think that we would be here now if it weren't for her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: She's still on the phone working.

ROMANS: She produced us out of this hostage situation.

VELSHI: And these are a bunch of experienced people. Even Matthew -- I've been in a couple of dodgy situations was him. He -- they know how to deal with these things so when people of that nature and the other journalists in that building, the other 32, 31 of them, get nervous about a situation, you know it's -- it's troubling.

COSTELLO: I have heard that it's best to have a woman negotiate in countries like Libya, because of the way men feel about women, right? It's easier to hear it from a woman especially one that speaks Arabic than perhaps a man who you feel some sort of aggressive behavior toward.

ROMANS: Maybe.

COSTELLO: So she did a terrific job. But imagine the pressure on her negotiating with those men with guns, knowing that it was her responsibility right at that moment to get all of those international journalists free without being hurt. She was amazing.

ROMANS: One thing about Matthew Chance's demeanor, you've been watching us all these mornings when this has been happening, he was very calm in his live shots and his phone conversations. He would say one day he said this is an incredibly negative turn of events. And he said it so plainly.

VELSHI: Right. But he said it like that.

ROMANS: And he just --

VELSHI: Even when he had to go, he was like, I have to go now.

ROMANS: Right. And they knew something dangerous was happening. So, amazing work. And gosh, we're so glad that they're are out.

COSTELLO: Absolutely.

Still to come this morning, who's at risk for a heart attack? Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains some of the warning signs. You may be surprised on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Fifty-one minutes after the hour. A lot going on this morning. Here's what you need to know to start your day.

Hurricane Irene pounds central and southeastern Bahamas leaving behind heavy damage. Hurricane watches have been issued for parts of North Carolina. Evacuations are set to begin this morning and the Navy is sending ships based in Norfolk, Virginia, out to sea to ride out the storm.

Steve Jobs, the man behind Apple's iPod, iPhone and iPad has stepped down as the CEO from the tech giant that he helped create. Jobs had been on medical leave since January. He's going to stay on as Apple's chairman.

In a new poll, Texas Governor Rick Perry is now the leader of the Republican pack. According to Gallup, 29 percent of Republicans and GOP leaning independents favor Perry. Mitt Romney comes in second at just 17 percent. It's a double-digit lead for Perry. Then there's Ron Paul with 13 percent and Michele Bachmann rounds out the top four at 10 percent.

Fearing a media circus, Dr. Conrad Murray's attorney will be in court today to ask that the jury be sequestered when the Michael Jackson trial begins next month. They pointed to the huge media frenzy around Casey Anthony saying this will be even bigger.

You're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING back in 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROMANS: How many times have you heard that phrase someone is a heart attack waiting to happen. It might surprise you to learn that you don't have to look the part to be the risk, a heart attack waiting to happen.

VELSHI: Our chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a one- hour documentary Saturday called, "The Last Heart Attack." It looks at the issue. He joins us now.

Good morning, Sanjay.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, guys.

Yes, I think this is a really important message here. There's a lot of people out there just like Christine said. You'd think that, look, that person just doesn't look healthy, they look like they have problems with their heart. And, in fact, they're perfectly fit. They're healthy in terms of that. And I think more importantly, people who take great solace in that I look OK, therefore, there's no health problems brewing.

Tom Barrett (ph) was such a man. Thin, active, ate healthy most of his life. And then he underwent open heart surgery. It's a story that is all too common.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was doing some exercise about three weeks ago. A jogging routine that I do. And made it about 0.3 of a mile and then had the classic symptoms. The chest pain and then the pain down the left arm and shortness of breath.

GUPTA (voice-over): Within days, he would need bypass surgery.

Dr. Arthur Agatston has guaranteed he can see trouble coming, years in advance, well before I'd need surgery if I do the right tests.

DR. ARTHUR AGATSTON, AUTHOR, "SOUTH BEACH DIET": So here's where the blood is flowing and this is the lining.

GUPTA: Agatston is an ultrasound to look for plaque in the carotid artery, leading to my brain. A blockage here can cause a stroke and could be a sign I'm at increased risk for heart attack.

AGATSTON: Unless you do the imaging and the advance testing, you are really playing Russian roulette with your life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUPTA: These are some bold statements certainly by the Dr. Agatston. But, you know, the point is, and I think it's an important one, that you really have to take a look inside the body to get an idea of what's happening as opposed to judging a book by its cover.

This is a noninvasive, relatively cheap test. It's not to say that everyone needs to run out and get it. But if you want to know, if you want to have a better idea of what's happening, you know, the science is changing. There are things like this now available.

VELSHI: All right, Sanjay. Thanks very much for that. We're looking forward to the special. You can catch Sanjay's special, "The Last Heart Attack," this Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.

ROMANS: Good stuff.

COSTELLO: Yes. Very good stuff.

We asked you to Talk Back on one of the big stories of the day.

We asked you this question: What should happen if Moammar Gadhafi is captured?

This from Robert. "Give him to the rebels, it's their business and should be their decision. What have we learned from Iraq?"

This from Reed. "I think we should accept the fact that the most likely scenario is whoever finds him will kill him. Though it would be responsible for the TNC to turn him over to NATO or The Hague, just remember that U.S. citizens were screaming 'kill him, kill him' about Osama bin Laden, so it wouldn't be a surprise if the TNC felt the same way about Gadhafi."

And this from William. "That's up to the Libyan people. After all, they're the ones who should determine their own destiny and enforce their own laws considering the ill treatment Gadhafi has given to others for decades. Whatever he gets will be too good for him."

Keep the comments coming. Facebook.com/Americanmorning.

ROMANS: All right. Up ahead next in the next hour, he is the eye in Apple. So what will apple do now with Steve Jobs out as CEO? We're going to ask a proud Mac geek. What does that mean for your stock? Do you have Apple stock? We'll tell you what to do next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)