New Fight Brewing Between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama
JONATHAN CAPEHART, EDITORIAL BOARD WRITER, "THE WASHINGTON POST": You have African-Americans who are proud of Barack Obama and coming out and voting for him in droves; 92 percent voted for him in Pennsylvania. But you also have women who are enormously proud of Senator Clinton and would like to see her become the first woman president. So what we have here is the clash of the titans within the Democratic Party. And as we all know, is this is driving everybody crazy.</s>KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Jonathan Capehart, including all of us too at times, from "The Washington Post" -- good to see you, John.</s>CAPEHART: You too, Kyra. Thank you.</s>JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Just crossing the top of the hour now. Another new record for gas prices this morning, now $3.56 for a gallon of self-serve regular. That's up 31 cents in a month, and to think that last year we were complaining about paying $2.86 a gallon. But at least oil prices aren't going up this morning. In overnight trading, a barrel of oil is actually down about $1 to just over $117. Along with those rising gas prices comes new concern about the global food crisis. We've been talking about warehouse stores like Costco and Sam's Club, limited sales of imported rice. Sam's is restricting 20-pound bags now to four per member. Sam's says that the cap is only temporary, but the store in Tampa is reportedly already out of imported Basmati rice and isn't sure when it will get new shipments. The World Food Programme says the price of rice has more than doubled in the past five weeks, and the World Bank says all food prices have skyrocketed 83 percent in three years. Well, some people are taking a critical new look at ethanol and whether turning corn into fuel is making the food shortage worse. I spoke with Massachusetts Congressman Jim McGovern earlier on AMERICAN MORNING.</s>REP. JIM MCGOVERN, CO-CHAIRMAN, HUNGER CAUCUS: Corn grown is now being put to biofuel used to be put toward consumption. And so, there's less corn, you know, that's being used for food. And as a result, you know, you have -- with the shrinking supply, you have higher food prices. And, look, you know, corn is used not just, you know, for, you know, regular meals that one has, but corn is also used for corn feed. So, the price of chicken goes up. The price of meat goes up.</s>ROBERTS: McGovern says that the U.S. needs to figure out how to make ethanol and biodiesel from nonfood items. Our team of CNN correspondents around the world is looking at the causes and solutions to the food crisis. Our Ed Lavandera is in Dallas where customers are looking to save by shopping directly from farms. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta this morning is in Lima, Peru, where the answer may be found in the new focus on the humble potato. And Ali Velshi breaks down where your money is going for a gallon of gasoline. We'll check in with them coming up this hour.</s>PHILLIPS: A showdown in the Senate. Republicans blocking a bill that would make it easier for workers to sue for pay discrimination, saying it would trigger a flood of lawsuits. The Democrats say the measure was needed to help employees get back lost wages. Now, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama interrupted their campaigns just to voice support for the bill.</s>SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm hoping you will stand up and vote to make it clear that women who get up every single day and go to work deserve to be paid equally to their male counterparts.</s>SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you work hard and do a good job, you should be rewarded no matter what you look like, where you come from, or what gender you are.</s>PHILLIPS: Legislation already passed by the House was intended to reverse the Supreme Court decision limiting salary discrimination suits. House Democrats are looking to add on to President Bush's war funding bill. They meet today to discuss a plan to include extended unemployment benefits and new education funding for veterans. While on Iraq overnight, the U.S. military says that two soldiers were killed when their vehicle rolled over in Tikrit. Former President Jimmy Carter firing back at the Bush administration after talking with leaders of Hamas. Carter has now returned to Atlanta after his trip and says that no one, including the secretary of state, urged him against traveling to Syria or meeting with the militant group.</s>JIMMY CARTER, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There was never anyone, anywhere in the Bush administration in this country that asked me or even suggested that I not go, or that I not meet with Hamas or Syria. Never. Nobody.</s>PHILLIPS: On Tuesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that Carter was warned not to visit leaders of Hamas.</s>ROBERTS: On Capitol Hill today, U.S. intelligence officials will show some members of Congress a secret videotape and other evidence supporting a claim that Syria was building a nuclear reactor with help from North Korea. Israeli war planes bombed a facility last September. Syria has maintained that the site was an unused military facility. Our Ben Wedeman has been talking to unhappy Israeli officials. He joins me now from Jerusalem. What does this tape show, Ben, that would make Israeli officials so unhappy?</s>BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically, it's not what the tape shows, it's the tape itself. What they feel is that their intelligence-gathering message could be compromised by the airing of this tape. In addition to that, they're worried that this revival of this issue is going to cause pressure to be put within Syria on Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president, to retaliate against the Israeli air strikes. So the Israelis would rather that the whole subject simply not be discussed, not be aired. By in large since last September, they have been uncharacteristically mum on this subject, and they say they're going to stay that way -- John.</s>ROBERTS: But, Ben, what do we know of this videotape, and what it purports to show, which is the reason why CIA officials want to show it to members of the intelligence committees in Congress?</s>WEDEMAN: Well, basically, what we know from "The Washington Post" report is that there is a surprising resemblance between the facility that the Israelis struck last September and the nuclear facilities in North Korea. And therefore, that really does, as far as this "Washington Post" report goes, creates -- basically proves once and for all that the Syrians were pursuing some sort of nuclear program, and that obviously is a cause of concern for the Israelis -- John.</s>ROBERTS: Ben Wedeman for us in Jerusalem this morning. Ben, thanks.</s>PHILLIPS: And a sharp questioning by House Democrats. FBI Director Robert Mueller said that his agency warned the Justice Department and the Pentagon that some interrogation tactics may have been illegal. Mueller says that the agency first raised concerns back in 2002 when terrorist suspects were subjected to waterboarding by CIA interrogators. At that time, the Justice Department considered waterboarding and other harsh interrogations. That is legal as long as they didn't result in organ failure or death. Mueller refused to say how the agencies reacted to the FBI's concerns. Now, police in Indianapolis are searching for a gunman who shot a pregnant bank teller. Four other suspects have been arrested. Police said the gunman entered the bank on Tuesday, hopped the counter then shot the woman who is pregnant with twins. The woman's husband says that she's in critical but stable condition. Child Welfare officials say that the hundreds of children removed from the polygamous sect in Texas are being placed in foster homes where they won't have contact with other kids. TVs will be turned off, and they can still be home schooled. They say it's meant to protect the children who until now have lived a secluded life. And new details on Rozita Swinton, the person of interest in this case. According to court documents, a phone number that was used to report alleged abuse at the Texas compound is one of several that was used by Swinton.</s>ROBERTS: Moving so fast that it's hard to keep up. Gas prices reaching new highs. Our senior business correspondent Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business." And severe storms on the move. Rob Marciano is tracking extreme weather, next on AMERICAN MORNING.