American Morning
Breaking: Blaze engulfs dozens of homes in California neighborhood
San Bruno, California (CNN) - Firefighters were still battling a deadly gas-fueled blaze Friday that engulfed dozens of homes and sent fireballs shooting into the air in this neighborhood near the San Francisco airport, emergency management officials said.
At least one person died in the fire, Kelly Huston of California Emergency Management said.
Local hospitals reported Thursday night that at least 28 people were being treated for injuries from the fire, some with critical burn injuries. The number of dead and injured was "likely to climb," Huston said.
At least 53 homes were severely damaged and up to 120 homes have some damage from the fast-moving fire, San Bruno Fire Chief Dennis Haag told reporters.
The fire was about 50 percent contained four hours after it began, he said. But the persistent flames had kept crews from searching the area for victims.
Firefighters had not yet been able to access the high-pressure gas line that appeared to be the source of an explosion that proceeded the blaze, he said.
City officials said they were trying to account for residents in the area. Haag said about 100 had evacuated to shelters.
Judy Serresseque, who evacuated with her husband after the blast, said it felt like an earthquake.
"The whole house shook, and I got up...and my living room filled with an organ glow. And when I went to my front door, I looked out and everything was just flames," said Judy Serresseque, who evacuated with her husband after the blast.
"The heat was intense, and you could hear it, you could hear the hiss," she said.
Bob Hensel said he had to open his garage door manually to escape the flames. The bumper of his wife's car melted as he drove away. Read more
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Imam: “We’re a country of justice for all”
(CNN) - The religious leader behind plans to erect an Islamic center and mosque a few blocks from New York's ground zero said Wednesday night that America's national security depends on how it handles the controversy.
"If we move from that location, the story will be the radicals have taken over the discourse," Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf told CNN's Soledad O'Brien on "Larry King Live."
"The headlines in the Muslim world will be that Islam is under attack."
The imam, who repeatedly said his mission was to promote peace and build a bridge among faiths, said he was also speaking about "radicals" on both sides of the debate on the Islamic center. "Our national security now hinges on how we negotiate this, how we speak about it."
"The battlefront is between moderates of all sides... and the radicals on all sides," he said.
Moving the project to another location would strengthen Islamist radicals' ability to recruit followers and will likely increase violence against Americans, the imam said.
Rauf said that "nothing is off the table" when asked whether he would consider moving the site.
"We are consulting, talking to various people about how to do this so that we negotiate the best and safest option." Read more
Vatican: Quran burning 'outrageous'
CNN) - Burning the Quran would be an "outrageous and grave gesture," the Vatican said Wednesday, joining a chorus of voices pleading with a small Florida church not to burn Islam's holy book on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks.
The Vatican body responsible for dialogue with other religions expressed "great concern" about the plan by Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said it would be a "disrespectful, disgraceful act." She was speaking Tuesday night at a State Department dinner in honor of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
Her statement came a day after the top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David Petraeus, warned that the plan "could cause significant problems" for American troops overseas.
But despite the growing pressure, the pastor of the Florida church, Terry Jones, said Wednesday that "as of this time we have no intention of canceling."
Jones all week has rebuffed pleas to call off the event, saying radical Islamists are the target of his message.
"The general needs to point his finger to radical Islam and tell them to shut up, tell them to stop, tell them that we will not bow our knees to them," Jones said on CNN's "AC360."
"We are burning the book," Jones said. "We are not killing someone. We are not murdering people." Read more
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Imam: We are proceeding with NYC Islamic center
CNN's Soledad O'Brien has an exclusive interview with Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf on "Larry King Live" Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET. Submit questions for the imam via iReport here.
New York (CNN) - The imam at the center of an ugly controversy over an Islamic center near New York's ground zero broke his silence Tuesday, just hours after a broad coalition of Christian, Jewish and Islamic leaders denounced what they described as a rising tide of anti-Muslim bigotry across the United States.
"I have been struck by how the controversy has riveted the attention of Americans, as well as nearly everyone I met in my travels," said Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf in an editorial published online by The New York Times Tuesday night.
"We have all been awed by how inflamed and emotional the issue of the proposed community center has become," wrote Rauf, who has just returned from a State Department-sponsored Middle East trip to promote U.S.-Muslim relations.
"The level of attention reflects the degree to which people care about the very American values under debate: recognition of the rights of others, tolerance and freedom of worship."
The imam was clear about his intentions.
"We are proceeding with the community center, Cordoba House. More important, we are doing so with the support of the downtown community, government at all levels and leaders from across the religious spectrum, who will be our partners. I am convinced that it is the right thing to do for many reasons," he wrote. Read more
BP to release results of investigation into oil spill disaster
(CNN) - BP on Wednesday is expected to release findings of an internal investigation into the Gulf oil disaster, the oil giant said.
The report comes nearly five months after an April 20 explosion aboard an oil rig left 11 men dead and spewed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over an 87-day period.
A federal task report on Tuesday said scientists have found a decline in oxygen levels in the Gulf following the BP spill, but no "dead zones."
Levels of dissolved oxygen in deep water have dropped about 20 percent below their long-term average, according to data collected from up to 60 miles from the well at the center of the worst oil spill in U.S. history.
But much of that dip appears to be the result of microbes using oxygen to dissolve oil underwater, and the decline is not enough to be fatal to marine life, said Steve Murawski of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the head of the Joint Analysis Group studying the spill's impact.
"Even the lowest observations in all of these was substantially above the threshold," Murawski said.
The samples were collected from 419 points at varying distances from the ruptured well at the heart of the disaster and at depths as far down as 4,800 feet, the group reported. The task force is made up of NOAA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Read more
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Editor's Note: Welcome to American Morning's LIVE Blog where you can discuss the "most news in the morning" with us each week day. Join the live chat during the show by adding your comments below. It's your chance to share your thoughts on the day's headlines. You have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules: 1) Keep it brief 2) No writing in ALL CAPS 3) Use your real name (first name only is fine) 4) No links 5) Watch your language (that includes $#&*) 6) Stay relevant to the topic.
Planned Quran-burning could endanger troops, Petraeus warns
(CNN) - The U.S. commander in Afghanistan has criticized a Florida church's plan to burn copies of the Quran on September 11, warning the demonstration "could cause significant problems" for American troops overseas.
"It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort in Afghanistan," Gen. David Petraeus said in a statement issued Monday.
With about 120,000 U.S. and NATO-led troops still battling al Qaeda and its allies in the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban movement, Petraeus warned that burning Qurans "is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems - not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community."
Petraeus said he was concerned by the political repercussions of the church's plan.
"Even the rumor that it might take place has sparked demonstrations such as the one that took place in Kabul yesterday," he said. "Were the actual burning to take place, the safety of our soldiers and civilians would be put in jeopardy and accomplishment of the mission would be made more difficult."
He said extremists would use images of burning Qurans to inflame public opinion and incite violence. Read more
Obama to introduce another business tax cut
(CNN) - In another move aimed at stabilizing the still-shaky economy, President Barack Obama on Wednesday will introduce a new $200 billion tax cut giving businesses across the country an incentive to buy new equipment in the short term, according to a senior administration official.
The tax cut would allow businesses to write off 100 percent of new investments in plants and equipment made between now and the end of 2011, according to the senior administration official.
The new tax cut will be in addition to a $100 billion permanent extension of the business tax credit for research and development, as well as $50 billion in new infrastructure spending included in a package that the president will officially unveil Wednesday during an economic speech in Cleveland, Ohio.
The $100 billion tax credit proposal was reported by CNN on Sunday while Obama himself disclosed the infrastructure spending Monday in a fiery speech at a Labor Day event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in which he tried to draw a sharp contrast with Republican economic plans.
"I don't want to give them the keys back," Obama said. "They don't know how to drive ... They're going to pop it into reverse and have special interesting riding shotgun and we'd be right back in the ditch."
The leaks of a flurry of Obama proposals in just the last 36 hours show just how anxious White House officials are to show the president is on top of trying to rescue the still-faltering economy at a time when Democrats strategists are privately starting to panic that their majorities in both the House and Senate may now be up for grabs. Read more
Tropical Storm Hermine downs trees, power lines in Texas
(CNN) - Tropical Storm Hermine began its journey across Texas Tuesday morning, bringing fierce winds and the possibility of tornadoes.
As of 2 a.m. ET, Hermine was about 10 miles (15 km) south-southwest of Harlington, the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida, said. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 km/h) and was headed north-northwest at about 14 mph (22 km/h).
"Isolated tornadoes are possible along the lower and middle Texas coast" through Tuesday morning, the weather agency said.
Joseph Tomaselli, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Brownsville, Texas, said fallen trees, signs, power lines and power poles were reported throughout Brownsville and Cameron County on Tuesday morning. Tomaselli said flooding in Brownsville and Cameron County has also been reported. Read more
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Editor's Note: Welcome to American Morning's LIVE Blog where you can discuss the "most news in the morning" with us each week day. Join the live chat during the show by adding your comments below. It's your chance to share your thoughts on the day's headlines. You have a better chance of having your comment get past our moderators if you follow our rules: 1) Keep it brief 2) No writing in ALL CAPS 3) Use your real name (first name only is fine) 4) No links 5) Watch your language (that includes $#&*) 6) Stay relevant to the topic.
Next up: Obama moves economy to top of week's agenda
(CNN) – On this Labor Day, the White House will put its focus squarely back on the economy, following a week where the Obama administration concentrated on Middle East peace talks and the end of America's combat role in Iraq.
The address will be the first of two speeches this week in which President Obama will try and frame his administration's response to the recession, less than two months ahead of midterm elections where Democratic majorities in the House and Senate are on the ropes.
Obama will be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Monday, speaking at a Labor Day event in a state that has extremely competitive gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races.
Then on Wednesday, he will deliver an economic speech in hard-hit Cleveland, Ohio, in a state that also has very competitive gubernatorial, U.S. Senate, and U.S. House battles that will help determine control of both chambers of Congress. Full Story
CNN Poll: GOP's midterm advantage is growing
(CNN) – With November's midterm elections less than two months away, a new national poll indicates that the Republicans' advantage over the Democrats in the battle for Congress is on the rise.
According to a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey the GOP leads the Democrats by seven points on the "generic ballot" question, 52 percent to 45 percent. That seven point advantage is up from a three point margin last month. The generic ballot question asks respondents if they would vote for a Democrat or Republican in their congressional district, without naming any specific candidates.
"The survey indicates that Independents and voters who dislike both parties are starting to break toward the GOP," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "In a year when anger at incumbents is a dominant political force, the key to the election lies among those who aren't rooting for either side."
According to the poll, the two parties are equally unpopular. Forty-nine percent of all Americans have an unfavorable view of the Democrats and 49 percent have an unfavorable view of the Republicans. Just over one in five questioned dislike both parties. Back in April, Americans who dislike both parties appeared to mildly favor the GOP on the generic ballot, by a 43 to 39 percent margin, with a large number saying at the time that they would pick a minor-party candidate or stay at home.
"Now, a lot of those voters appear to be bolting to the GOP. Republicans now have a whopping 38-point advantage on the generic ballot among voters who dislike both parties," adds Holland.
Republicans also have large and growing advantage among Independents. Sixty-two percent of Independents questioned say they would vote for the generic Republican in their district, with three in ten saying they'd cast a ballot for the generic Democrat. That 32 point margin for the Republicans among Independents is up from an eight point advantage last month.
"It's not surprising that those two groups are voting the same way, since almost by definition Independents don't like either party," adds Holland.
What will the "Obama factor" be in November? The poll indicates that most say that their vote for Congress will not be intended as a message for President Obama.
Twenty-four percent say that their vote will be in opposition to Obama; with one in five saying their vote will be a message of support for the President. In 2006, anti-Bush voters outnumbered pro-Bush boters by more than two-to-one.
"Among those who plan to send a message with their vote this fall, Obama is having a negative effect but nothing like the effect George W. Bush had on Republican candidates in 2006," says Holland.
The CNN/Opinon Research Corporation poll was conducted September 1-2, with 1,024 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.
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