Oil Hits $103 Per Barrel; Life on the Campaign Trail for a Kid Reporter
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Some breaking news right now. News organizations in Britain saying the army is making the call to pull Prince Harry from the front lines in Afghanistan after the news of his deployment was leaked in the media. Prince Harry has been in southern Afghanistan in an area of heavy insurgent fighting for the past 10 weeks. His tour of duty was a carefully kept secret. CNN and other organizations knew about it, but were asked by the British military not to report it for security reasons. An Australian magazine then went public with it yesterday, and that's when the news broke open over the Internet. This morning the BBC is reporting that Harry will be flown back to the UK amid concerns for his safety. CNN's Phil Black is at Buckingham Palace right now. Phil, what are you hearing? What's the latest?</s>PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Kiran. Yes, as you say, British media outlets are now reporting that Prince Harry is about to be pulled out of Afghanistan. There is no official confirmation of this from the British Ministry of Defense. They tell us that they are still considering their options and that there is a possible announcement within the next hour. We'll bring that to you when we can. I should add that the media outlets that signed up to this agreement not to reveal Harry's presence in Afghanistan were told at that time, that should it become known that he was there, his tour would likely end at that time -- Kiran.</s>CHETRY: And so, any word on why this magazine would then go public with the news if there was an agreement in place to protect his safety and the safety of those who he was deployed with?</s>BLACK: Well, certainly this agreement involved all the mainstream British media and a few international outlets as well, CNN among them. But it was not able to take into its scope all the world's media. So in that sense, this agreement and the hope of keeping Harry's presence there was always a big task, in particular when you consider independent Web sites and their reach as well. The British military says that they actually think the agreement to this point has been a success. Being able to keep a secret of this size for 10 weeks is no main feat -- Kiran.</s>CHETRY: Phil Black reporting for us from Buckingham Palace this morning, thanks.</s>JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: They did keep that a secret an awfully long time, didn't they?</s>CHETRY: Yes.</s>ROBERTS: Breaking news in oil prices this morning. Oil hit another record, $103 a barrel in overnight trading. That's just days after analysts predicted that we would see $4 a gallon gasoline this spring. President Bush talked about the economy and high gas prices and says tax cuts are the answer.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you're somebody worried about $3 gasoline and you think your taxes may be going up in two years, then it -- the uncertain price of gasoline creates more uncertainty for you as you plan your future.</s>ROBERTS: Our Ali Velshi is following these developments. He's on the CNN Election Express talking about the economy with voters before Tuesday's critical primary. He joins us now live from San Antonio. Ali, let's begin with the surge in the price of oil. What's behind it?</s>ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's the thing everybody is talking about -- gas prices, diesel prices, how fuel affect it. We saw oil go to $102.59 yesterday. That was a gain of $2.95. And, you know, you don't have to know much to figure out if oil even gained a dollar on a weekly basis what we'd be paying for oil by the end of the year. Now, overnight, oil went to $103.05, the first time ever it's crossed $103. I'll come back a little bit to about $102.05. This is all about supply of oil and demand for oil. There's just no obvious answer to this. There's nothing particularly new that is driving the price of oil up. And yesterday, President Bush was asked point blank, is the United States in a recession? Here's what he said.</s>GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't think we're headed to a recession. But no question we're in a slowdown, and that's why we acted and acted strongly, with over $150 billion worth of pro-growth and economic incentives.</s>SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: For the president to say that he doesn't think we're in a recession is consistent with his general attitude towards ordinary workers.</s>VELSHI: Now, John, after President Bush made those remarks, I walked around San Antonio and got remarks from people around here, got their opinion on whether or not we're in a recession. Lots of people were talking to me. Overwhelmingly, they thought so. Here's what one person said specifically about President Bush's remarks.</s>RUBEN RAMIREZ, TEXAS CUSTODIAL WORKER: President Bush, I believe, doesn't know what he's talking about because this is a recession. What are they going to do about these gas prices going up? Where you can't even afford to go anywhere, you know, because they're just been outrageously upped in prices. And people, with the wages that we make now, we just can't keep up with that.</s>VELSHI: John, I've been talking to Texans for more than a week about what they think about the economy. Gas prices and oil prices are number one on that list. Part of it, their economic concerns. I'll have more for you on that all morning -- John.</s>ROBERTS: Looking forward to it. Ali Velshi this morning again from San Antonio, Texas outside the Alamo today. Thanks, Ali. We'll see you soon.</s>CHETRY: Well, today is leap day. It's an extra day in February that, like the presidential elections, comes around once every four years. CNN is spending the extra day giving you more of what it is we do best which is cover politics heading into the critical primaries next Tuesday. Could be a decisive day for both parties. Four states up for grabs, but it's the big get like Texas and Ohio that makes the day so vital for the candidates. For the Democrats, there are 370 delegates at stake and for the Republicans, 256. The best political team on television has you covered in all of the battleground states. This morning we have Jessica Yellin, Ed Lavandera, Ali Velshi all on the road in Texas. John King and Candy Crowley in Ohio for us, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Gerri Willis also looking at issues driving the campaign. Two big wins on the domestic front, health care and the economy. We'll also check in with local reporters and pundits in Rhode Island and Vermont. All four leading presidential candidates are converging on Texas today. February was a record-breaking month for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, in terms of raising money. In fact, the "Chicago Tribune" calling Obama the $50 million man. CNN's Jessica Yellin is traveling with the Obama campaign in Houston. And there is word this morning that Obama outspent Clinton by a pretty significant margin on the TV commercials there as they go head to head in Texas and Ohio, but both of them raking in the campaign cash.</s>JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They really are, Kiran, and it's a sign of the enthusiasm that's out there on the Democratic side of this race in particular. Senator Clinton made an important announcement for her campaign which is that they had raised $35 million. This is an enormous progress for her after she had almost run out of cash earlier this year back in Iowa and in New Hampshire. After that race, you'll recall she announced that she gave $5 million to her own campaign as a loan. And the Clinton campaign says this news has only started to generate an enormous amount of giving by her contributors. So the Clinton campaign made this announcement of this enormous sum they've raised as a way to say she still has momentum. She still is a contender. We should not consider this race almost finished, but that was trumped by an announcement last night that the Obama campaign claims that they have raised significantly more than that, by some estimates as much as $50 million. Just a huge sum. And the bottom line in all of this is that Barack Obama continues to be able to trump Senator Hillary Clinton almost at every turn now. As you know, they are both facing this contest on March 4th, Tuesday, in Texas and Ohio, and the Clinton campaign itself has declared these must-win states for her. A lot of the punditry, assuming that if she doesn't win both, she will drop out. But they certainly have not said that. No one in the Clinton camp has said that that is a foregone conclusion. So they are battling for this Tuesday win. And the news that Barack Obama has outraised her by such a possibly -- such a significant sum as possibly $50 million, only contributes to his momentum, the sense that his campaign is trying to build that he is, at this point, the inevitable nominee. And Barack Obama continuing to press that message, even taking on President Bush and John McCain more than he's taking on Hillary Clinton these days -- Kiran.</s>CHETRY: Jessica Yellin for us in Houston, Texas, this morning, thanks.</s>ROBERTS: Republican front-runner John McCain is campaigning hard in Texas hoping to score with conservatives, but an incident earlier this week with conservative talk show host Bill Cunningham could put McCain in jeopardy on that front. Last night, on CNN's "ELECTION CENTER," I spoke with Cunningham about the apology McCain issued after Cunningham made some controversial remarks regarding Barack Obama. Cunningham was angered by that apology and explained to me why he is now hoping that a Democrat wins the election.</s>BILL CUNNINGHAM, RADIO HOST: If this year McCain loses and Obama gets it, he's going to make Jimmy Carter look like a great president. So in four years, a Ronald Reagan will rise from the heartland and take back America. On the other hand, if McCain wins, we're going to have the ruined Republican conservative party for the next 20 years. So I'd rather have short-term pain for long-term gain, and that means McCain must go down. The country will go right downhill, and after that, Ronald Reagan will come out of the heartland and save America like the Gipper did in 1980.</s>ROBERTS: Well, McCain has long been considered by some conservatives to be unreliable because of his past positions on illegal immigration, tax cuts and campaign finance reform. It looks like the problems are going to linger at least for a while. Our Veronica de la Cruz here now with other stories new this morning. Good morning to you.</s>VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you, John. Good morning to you, Kiran. Nice to see you, and good morning to all of you out there. We have some breaking news to start with out of Las Vegas. Police and Homeland Security agents are waiting for the final test results on a substance found at a motel. Preliminary tests show it is the deadly poison Ricin. Employees found the powder in a room yesterday afternoon. Seven people came in contact with the stuff. They were decontaminated at the site then taken to local hospitals as a precaution.</s>CAPT. JOE LOMBARDO, LAS VEGAS POLICE DEPARTMENT: We have three employees of Extended Stay America. We have another citizen at large who has a cursory interest in the apartment. He was cleaning out some items within the apartment when he discovered and brought it into the management because he didn't know what it was. And he initially said that it didn't belong to him.</s>CHETRY: Ricin is a poison produced when castor beans are processed to make oil. It can exist in powder, mist or pellet form and it dissolves in water. Ricin made headlines back in 2003 because the Feds feared terrorists could easily produce the plant toxins, but so far police say this incident does not appear to be terror related. Also, some breaking news to get to out of Iraq this morning. CNN has learned Saddam Hussein's cousin and henchman, the notorious Chemical Ali, will be executed. A court convicted him for his role in killing at least 100,000 Iraqi Kurds in the 1980s. An Iraqi parliament member says no execution date has been scheduled. Well, the U.S. Navy is sending free warships to the Mediterranean over concerns about the political deadlock in Lebanon. The Pentagon says the guided missile destroyer USS Cole and two support vessels are not far off Lebanon's coast. Lebanon has been without a president since November. The Bush administration is blaming Syria for the standoff. And Angelina Jolie is speaking out on Iraq in an op-ed piece in "The Washington Post." Jolie says she sees a benefit to keeping U.S. troops in Iraq because it provides a chance to boost assistance for Iraqi refugees. Jolie has been a U.N. goodwill ambassador since 2001. She visited Baghdad earlier this month. She's calling on the presidential candidates to announce a comprehensive plan to help those displaced by the war. And that is what is new this morning. I'm going to send it back to John. And Kiran knows I'm reading her piece and it was pretty eye opening. She talks about the conditions the refugees are living in. More than two million people internally displaced without running water, no food, electricity and then more than 50 percent of them, 58 percent of them under the age of 12.</s>CHETRY: That's right. You know, the interesting thing when I was reading it is that there's a lot of people that have noted this, but she carries a lot of weight because she's a superstar in Hollywood. And so, people are reading it and it's linked --</s>DE LA CRUZ: People listen.</s>CHETRY: Yes. It's linked all over the Internet this morning as well.</s>ROBERTS: Well, that's why these celebrities go ahead and do these things because they draw attention to them. You're watching the "Most News in the Morning." Coming up, a leap day political extra. We're going to talk with one of the star reporters in this Scholastic Kids Press Corps about life on the campaign trail. And breaking news right now. Reports that Prince Harry being pulled out of Afghanistan after his secret combat mission became public knowledge. And we're hearing this morning from the Prince himself about this tour of duty.</s>PRINCE HARRY, BRITISH ROYAL: I need to keep my face slightly covered just in the off chance I do get recognized, which will put other guys in danger. I'm called the bullet magnet.</s>ROBERTS: Prince Harry's life on the front lines. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.