might start costing you more money starbucks announcing today it is going to raise the price of packaged coffee sold in stores by 17%. the seattle based coffee giant says don t blame the company for the higher cost. blame wall street. starbucks ceo howard schultz claims speculators are driving up that price on the day of starbucks 40th anniversary in march. schultz said coffee costs were at a 34-year high despite plentiful supply. i do not see any supply or demand issue with regard to coffee. speculators? there is no doubt in my mind financial speculation, hedge funds, index funds have driven coffee prices and other commodities to record highs. i don t think it s sus tainl but i do think it s tragic because the coffee farmer and the consumer at the end of the day are suffering. people making money are those on the sidelines who have nothing to do with coffee. if that sounds familiar to you it should. oil industry experts say the exact same people are responsible for the higher
products by 11%. j.m. smuckers says the price hike is needed to offset higher coffee costs. ford wants to keep you healthy behind the wheel. engineers are working on a seat to monitor your heart rate. if the seats become available they could provide an early warning of a heart attack. american morning will be right back after this break. lexus holds its value better than any other luxury brand.
is needed to offset high coffee costs. a group of high school students in washington state wanted to illustrate america s $14.3 trillion debt. check this out. they laid out 14,300 pennies, each of those pennies represents $1 billion. american morning will be right back after this break.
thanks so much for being with us on this wednesday. good to see everybody this morning. you know the pictures are coming in, new pictures, and the devastation, continues for the midwest. that s right. ali velshi in joplin, missouri, where they had a harrowing night. hi, ali. good morning, christine, kiran, it is a better morning here. people counting their blessings. a near miss last night in joplin, missouri. everyone taking shelter and bracing for another twister that thanchgfully never came. this city, as you know, is reeling. 48 hours after the deadliest tornado in recorded u.s. history the death toll stands at 124 people killed. the national weather service upgraded sunday s tornado to an ef-5, the highest possible rating with winds above 200 miles an hour. now in oklahoma, devastating storms carved up canadian county, which is west of oklahoma city. five separate tornadoes touched down and five people are dead. dozens more are hurt. the dallas area got pounded too.
staff would have to ask if a person is in the country legally before admitting them for nonemergency care. in emergency situations, hospitals would be allowed to treat illegal immigrants first and ask questions later. if it s passed, any hospital refusing to comply could be sued by the state. opponents say the bill will scare people into not seeking medical attention if they know they can be deported. a new report in the new york times warns that the cost of the nation s raw materials, livestock feed and energy are on the rise meaning americans should expect to pay more from a package of cold cuts to a washing machine this fall. not only are cotton prices near the highest level in more than a decade, but corn, sugar, wheat, pork and coffee costs are soaring. in addition, many big companies including kraft, polo, ralph lauren and hanes say they cannot hold off any longer and must raise prices to protect some profits. did you hear this story? cbs reporter in los angeles seen