Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

Hunt for Bin Laden

Aired March 09, 2004 - 05:00   ET

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

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you.
It is Tuesday, March 9.

From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Thanks for waking up with us.

Let me bring you up to date.

Pakistan tests its longest range missile yet. It's able to reach deep inside India with a nuclear warhead. The test firing follows recent peace initiatives between the nuclear armed South Asian rivals.

D.C. area sniper John Allen Muhammad is scheduled to be sentenced this morning. Jurors previously sentenced Muhammad to die, but the judge can reduce that to life without parole.

Future threats to national security will be the focus on Capitol Hill today. CIA Director George Tenet will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Convicted felon Martha Stewart will leave her company's board of directors. But it's not clear if she'll resign her post or just not run for reelection.

And weather permitting, recovery crews will return to the frigid, murky waters of the Baltimore Inner Harbor just about three hours from now. They'll resume the search for three people still missing from Saturday's water taxi accident.

We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next news update comes your way at 5:15 Eastern.

They may not be as important as a month ago, but there are Democratic primaries today. Voting goes on in Texas, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana. And it's pretty clear John Kerry will get a vast majority of the 465 delegates at stake.

The calendar May says it's spring training for the general campaign. But as Candy Crowley reports, the players are in mid-season form.

Our latest poll, by the way, shows voters have conflicting opinions about the Kerry-Bush race. A majority of the respondents to the CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll say they'd vote for Kerry. But the same poll finds most voters think the president will beat Kerry in November.

Turning now to the search for Osama bin Laden, the world's number one terror suspect has eluded the U.S. military for more than two years. But now authorities seem convinced they have a good idea where he's hiding.

And as CNN's Jamie McIntyre reports, they've launched a new offensive to get him dead or alive.

Well, we don't have the David Ensor package anyway, but we do have Ash-Har Quraishi live from Pakistan.

He is on the phone line right now -- good morning, Ash-Har.

ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Can you hear me? OK, you can hear me now.

QURAISHI: Yes, yes.

COSTELLO: Please help us muddle through this, since we didn't have David Ensor's package. The military of Pakistan and also U.S. forces are stepping up the search for Osama bin Laden.

Why are they doing that at this particular time?

QURAISHI: Well, there's a lot of the thinking, especially within the military here in Pakistan, that during the spring there may be some sort of movement, they may be able to flush out Osama bin Laden himself and possibly other fugitives that may be helping him out.

Now, the Pakistani military in the last few weeks and months has really increased pressure, particularly in the northwest of Pakistan, in the tribal belt there, where they normally -- where they previously, actually, have not had any control. And in this pressure they have been able to conduct operations and seal off the border routes there between Pakistan and Afghanistan, something that has been very important in this hunt. And also they've been enlisting the help of local tribal elders and tribesmen to basically not help harbor these terrorists that may be coming in from Afghanistan and also to give any information about them that they may have.

And the hope is that the information that they get from these tribals will help in gathering some human intelligence on the ground as to where Osama bin Laden may actually be -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Ash-Har, I'm going to interrupt you for just a moment.

We have David Ensor's package and I think that it neatly puts -- Jamie McIntyre's package. It neatly puts things into perspective. So you stay on the phone line. We're going to show our viewers this package now.

Here goes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The so-called spring offensive aimed at smoking Osama bin Laden is picking up steam along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. And there's some indication bin Laden may be feeling the heat.

Sources tell CNN that U.S. intelligence has found indications of a network of al Qaeda couriers and safe houses on the Afghanistan side of the border which could be a sign bin Laden may be planning to flee Pakistan, assuming that's where he is. Among the pressure points that could flesh bin Laden out of hiding, increased cooperation from Pakistani military forces and perhaps, more importantly, some of the tribes that rule the ungoverned border zone.

This video from the Arab network Al-Jazeera shows some 2,000 men from a tribe in the Wana region of western Pakistan along the Afghan border, who under pressure from the Pakistan government, are said to have joined the hunt for al Qaeda. This tribal leader says, "The Wana region is like a ship, and we're all on board."

Other pressure points include better technology, including 24/7 aerial surveillance from satellites, U-2 spy planes and predator drones, some armed with missiles, and better intelligence. U.S. troops and CIA operatives have forged closer ties with tribes in the border area where bin Laden is believed to be hiding. And that's providing more leads.

Still, U.S. commanders are trying to lower expectations.

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, U.S. CENTRAL COMMANDER: Manhunts are not things that militaries do well. What we do well is put pressure on groups and organizations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: All right, thanks to Jamie McIntyre.

Ash-Har, are you still on the phone with us?

QURAISHI: Yes.

COSTELLO: All right, Ash-Har, let me ask you this, because you told me something very interesting before. The tribesmen who live along the Pakistani-Afghanistan border still don't believe Osama bin Laden is responsible for September 11. For some reason that surprises me.

Should it?

QURAISHI: Well, if you take into consideration the history of bin Laden, really, in the region and how much he had been involved not only in Afghanistan, but with the Pashtuns there in the tribal areas during the Soviet invasion of the '80s, he was seen as a war hero, really. So it's been very difficult to change that mentality of these people in these areas the he was really responsible.

They see him as a war hero, so it's been very difficult. And that's been one of the key problems in trying to locate him, is the lack of human intelligence on the ground. Nobody seems to be willing to turn him in for the $25 million reward. And he doesn't seem to be using any technical devices, satellite phones from which he could be tracked technologically.

So the human intelligence is what intelligence officials here tell us will be key to tracking him down and that's something that we're seeing for the first time with these tribal elders getting involved in this hunt -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Let me ask you one more question about the psychology out there. You say that he's considered a war hero, but that was because when Russia invaded Afghanistan, he fought alongside the tribespeople there.

Is it believed -- is it -- do they not want to believe their war hero would do something like 9/11? Is that more it?

QURAISHI: That's a huge part of it. A lot of it is the dissatisfaction with the evidence that was provided. Also, this is a very remote region, so launching a media campaign with these people is very difficult to do and trying to sway the, you know, the activities that he carried out over a 10 year period in Afghanistan was very difficult. And that was part of it, was the public relations campaign to try and convince these people that Osama bin Laden was responsible for the 9/11 attacks has not been successful. They have seen him as a war hero, as you mentioned, and he's also somebody who they see as somebody who didn't need to do this.

He came to Afghanistan from a different country and put his money and his time and his life at risk for these people. So it's been very difficult and that has been a key to trying to get these people to turn on him.

COSTELLO: And just one more question before we move on. So it's very hard to win the hearts of these people, but military forces are also doing it by force.

What are they doing to convince these tribespeople to cooperate when they use force?

QURAISHI: Well, basically what it's been is the tribal elders have been used as an instrument to get to the local population and convince them that it would be best for the region, for the tribal areas, for Waziristan, where they're really intensifying this search, for them to participate in some way. There have been local jirgas or tribal councils in the last few weeks and this week even, in which militias have been formed by the tribals. And we understand a militia of about 1,200 tribesmen will be helping in this hunt.

Now, they will not only be hunting for bin Laden, of course, they'll be hunting for other al Qaeda suspects and for those who harbor them. And there is the threat of force against them, the demolition of their homes, as well as what's called collective responsibility. If one person in the tribe is found to be guilty of this, the entire tribe will suffer. And that is the threat against them if they do not participate and cooperate with the authorities.

COSTELLO: Well, we'll see if the forces get him.

Ash-Har Quraishi, fascinating information out of Pakistan this morning.

A handful of terror suspects at Guantanamo are heading home. The five British citizens have been held for two years at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba.

For details on how their release came about, let's go live to London and our senior international correspondent Sheila MacVicar -- take us through this, Sheila.

SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, this has been a source of some embarrassment for the government of Tony Blair that in spite of his government's closeness to President Bush, particularly on the war on terror, that the British government has been unable, until now, to persuade the U.S. administration that at least some of the nine Britons at Guantanamo Bay could safely be returned back to Britain.

This is a source of great controversy here in the United Kingdom, the fact that these people were being held without any kind of legal process or that any sort of, if you will, future, any sort of notion of how long they would be in detention there in front of them.

Now, at least five of these men are returning home. The home secretary of the United Kingdom, speaking in the U.S. last night, said it is better that the remaining four stay at Guantanamo Bay, saying that the evidence has been gathered by the U.S., that it could best be used by the U.S. and thereby opening the door for those four, at least, to face some kind of military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay some time in the future.

As to what we know as to what will happen with these five, we are told they are being flown back to the U.K. today. We are told, also, that they will be investigated and questioned by anti-terror police here in the U.K. Under U.K. law, they can be held for 48 hours and then with the approval of a judge for a further 14 days.

But most here think it is very unlikely that they will face any charges at all -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, we'll keep following this.

Sheila MacVicar live from London.

To the forecast center now.

Let's check in for the first time this morning with Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: An Oscar winner comes home. Charlize Theron and the special gift she received from the president of South Africa. Plus, your health, a surprising benefit from taking cholesterol lowering drugs.

Also, it doesn't start, things break, it costs too much to fix -- American cars have been the butt of jokes for years. So why is the tide turning now?

And at the polls, the importance of the Cuban-American vote and what the candidates are doing about it.

It's Tuesday, March 9.

You are watching DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.

It's 5:16 Eastern.

Time to take a quick look at our top stories this morning.

A special seven man council of Haitian leaders is expected to choose the country's next prime minister. That's supposed to happen today. Former Chief Justice Boniface Alexander is now the acting president.

Gas prices have reached near record levels. Do I need to tell you that? The average gallon of gas is now $1.74. That's the average. That's just a penny below the record high price.

The head of UCLA's medical school is apologizing for the apparent sale of body parts from the school's donor program. Several families of cadaver donors have filed a class action suit against the university.

We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 5:30.

Some of Britain's leading shares opened lower today after a weak showing for the U.S. markets. So, let's see how the overseas markets are doing now.

For that, we head live to London and Todd Benjamin -- good morning, Todd.

TODD BENJAMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning from London, Carol.

Not a good day here. It is, as you said, because Wall Street had a poor showing on Monday. The Dow was down 6/10 of one percent. The NASDAQ just got hammered, down nearly two percent, its worst showing since early February.

Right now the FTSE here in London is down nearly a 1/2 percent. The DAX in Frankfurt is down more than one percent. The CAC in Paris is down nearly one percent. Zurich's SMI is little changed.

In the currency market, we're off the highs of the day for the euro. It's now below 124 to the dollar. And sterling had been above 185m, but now it's below 184 on some disappointing trade data for the U.K.

And finally, in terms of the U.S. market today, keep your eye on Texas Instruments. It came out after the close and it revised to the upper end of its guidance its estimates for the first quarter. The stock fell sharply in regular trading, down nearly three percent, but it's up some $0.22 in trading here in Europe today.

In terms of the overall market right now, the futures are pointing to a rather flat open. And, hey, you get no sympathy from people over here because gas is near a record level in the U.S. It's over four bucks a gallon here in the U.K. -- back to you.

COSTELLO: We don't care. We live here. Just kidding.

Thank you, Todd, for putting it into perspective for us.

Let's talk about American cars. The quality of cars made here is poor, right? Well, not so fast. "Consumer Reports" now says American quality has finally surpassed the European standard.

Fred Katayama tells us why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED KATAYAMA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Quality and style, the hallmarks of European cars. But after a long, steady climb, Detroit's rugged auto makers finally pulled ahead of the Europeans in reliability, the first time they've done that since "Consumer Reports" began tracking regional competition in 1980.

The magazine says that Europeans averaged two more defects per 100 vehicles than American cars and trucks last year. Twenty-four years ago, the U.S., once a laughing stock, had doubled that of its Western rival.

MICHAEL FLYNN, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: They're doing a number of things right. They've been making, for some years now, a series of incremental improvements in how they design and build cars. In addition to that, they're also paying, I think, more attention to supplier quality than perhaps they used to. So they are looking at what their suppliers are doing.

KATAYAMA (on camera): Even Europe's luxury brands slipped in the reliability ratings, scoring well below average every model put out by Mercedes Benz, all Audis, even BMW's pricey 7 series.

(voice-over): The most improved player, Ford. Witness the Focus.

DAVID CHAMPION, "CONSUMER REPORTS": When it was released, it had a lot of problems and we couldn't recommend it because of reliability. This year, the reliability has come up to average and for the 2003 model year, above average for the Focus.

KATAYAMA: Still, the Asians are miles ahead with one third fewer defects. After enduring a series of rigid tests, Japanese brands dominated the list of top picks that weigh performance, reliability and safety. The top three row sport utility, the Honda Pilot. The V.W. Passat tied the Honda Accord for best family sedan. The Ford Focus topped the small car and fun to drive categories. But it's the sole American on the list.

Fred Katayama, CNN, East Haddam, Connecticut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Only in California. A wacky new plan there, where your ninth grader could vote. We'll explain. And even men made of marble can suffer health problems in middle age.

This is DAYBREAK for Tuesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: How about this? Lowering the voting age to 14. That topes our DAYBREAK Eye-Opener.

Out in California, some state senators have a plan to increase voter turnout by allowing teenagers under 18 to vote. Under the plan, 16 year olds would be given half a vote in state elections, while 14 year olds would get a quarter vote.

Animal rights activists were back at the San Francisco Zoo a day after one of the zoo's star attractions was euthanized. The protesters had been calling for Cali, the elephant, to be moved to a sanctuary. But zoo officials said she was just too weak to travel.

David, he has bad ankles. The restoration of the six ton statue of Michelangelo's David is nearing completion, but officials say that during the process, they noticed that David's ankles are weak and may have to be reinforced. The restoration should be finished in May.

Those ankles have been holding up a lot of man, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Five hundred years that thing is old. You ever seen it?

COSTELLO: Oh, yes, I have. It's amazing.

MYERS: Yes, it is. It's 17 feet tall.

COSTELLO: You don't notice the power of it until you see it, because it's just so big.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: And you never realize that the hand is behind the back holding the slingshot, because, you know, it's David and Goliath.

MYERS: Oh, I didn't -- I still didn't know that.

COSTELLO: The Michelangelo's David.

MYERS: Got it.

COSTELLO: Yes. And his hands are over -- oh, I could talk about it all day. But go on.

MYERS: No, no, no, please, go on. You're just, you're eating up my weather time. Just do whatever you...

COSTELLO: I'm sorry.

MYERS: Just kidding.

COSTELLO: No, Michelangelo purposely made his hands large to draw your eyes at certain places along the statue so you could look at it...

MYERS: To draw your eyes away from something else.

COSTELLO: ... in his way.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: OK, do the weather, Mr. Myers.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: Talk to you soon.

COSTELLO: Will this year's election come down to Florida again? And, if so, are Cuban voters the key?

Plus, a mother-daughter reunion six years in the making. We'll have that touching story.

And new information has the European space agency hoping for a reunion, too, with its lost Beagle spacecraft.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired March 9, 2004 - 05:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you.
It is Tuesday, March 9.

From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.

Thanks for waking up with us.

Let me bring you up to date.

Pakistan tests its longest range missile yet. It's able to reach deep inside India with a nuclear warhead. The test firing follows recent peace initiatives between the nuclear armed South Asian rivals.

D.C. area sniper John Allen Muhammad is scheduled to be sentenced this morning. Jurors previously sentenced Muhammad to die, but the judge can reduce that to life without parole.

Future threats to national security will be the focus on Capitol Hill today. CIA Director George Tenet will appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

Convicted felon Martha Stewart will leave her company's board of directors. But it's not clear if she'll resign her post or just not run for reelection.

And weather permitting, recovery crews will return to the frigid, murky waters of the Baltimore Inner Harbor just about three hours from now. They'll resume the search for three people still missing from Saturday's water taxi accident.

We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next news update comes your way at 5:15 Eastern.

They may not be as important as a month ago, but there are Democratic primaries today. Voting goes on in Texas, Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana. And it's pretty clear John Kerry will get a vast majority of the 465 delegates at stake.

The calendar May says it's spring training for the general campaign. But as Candy Crowley reports, the players are in mid-season form.

Our latest poll, by the way, shows voters have conflicting opinions about the Kerry-Bush race. A majority of the respondents to the CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll say they'd vote for Kerry. But the same poll finds most voters think the president will beat Kerry in November.

Turning now to the search for Osama bin Laden, the world's number one terror suspect has eluded the U.S. military for more than two years. But now authorities seem convinced they have a good idea where he's hiding.

And as CNN's Jamie McIntyre reports, they've launched a new offensive to get him dead or alive.

Well, we don't have the David Ensor package anyway, but we do have Ash-Har Quraishi live from Pakistan.

He is on the phone line right now -- good morning, Ash-Har.

ASH-HAR QURAISHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Can you hear me? OK, you can hear me now.

QURAISHI: Yes, yes.

COSTELLO: Please help us muddle through this, since we didn't have David Ensor's package. The military of Pakistan and also U.S. forces are stepping up the search for Osama bin Laden.

Why are they doing that at this particular time?

QURAISHI: Well, there's a lot of the thinking, especially within the military here in Pakistan, that during the spring there may be some sort of movement, they may be able to flush out Osama bin Laden himself and possibly other fugitives that may be helping him out.

Now, the Pakistani military in the last few weeks and months has really increased pressure, particularly in the northwest of Pakistan, in the tribal belt there, where they normally -- where they previously, actually, have not had any control. And in this pressure they have been able to conduct operations and seal off the border routes there between Pakistan and Afghanistan, something that has been very important in this hunt. And also they've been enlisting the help of local tribal elders and tribesmen to basically not help harbor these terrorists that may be coming in from Afghanistan and also to give any information about them that they may have.

And the hope is that the information that they get from these tribals will help in gathering some human intelligence on the ground as to where Osama bin Laden may actually be -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Ash-Har, I'm going to interrupt you for just a moment.

We have David Ensor's package and I think that it neatly puts -- Jamie McIntyre's package. It neatly puts things into perspective. So you stay on the phone line. We're going to show our viewers this package now.

Here goes.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The so-called spring offensive aimed at smoking Osama bin Laden is picking up steam along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan. And there's some indication bin Laden may be feeling the heat.

Sources tell CNN that U.S. intelligence has found indications of a network of al Qaeda couriers and safe houses on the Afghanistan side of the border which could be a sign bin Laden may be planning to flee Pakistan, assuming that's where he is. Among the pressure points that could flesh bin Laden out of hiding, increased cooperation from Pakistani military forces and perhaps, more importantly, some of the tribes that rule the ungoverned border zone.

This video from the Arab network Al-Jazeera shows some 2,000 men from a tribe in the Wana region of western Pakistan along the Afghan border, who under pressure from the Pakistan government, are said to have joined the hunt for al Qaeda. This tribal leader says, "The Wana region is like a ship, and we're all on board."

Other pressure points include better technology, including 24/7 aerial surveillance from satellites, U-2 spy planes and predator drones, some armed with missiles, and better intelligence. U.S. troops and CIA operatives have forged closer ties with tribes in the border area where bin Laden is believed to be hiding. And that's providing more leads.

Still, U.S. commanders are trying to lower expectations.

GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, U.S. CENTRAL COMMANDER: Manhunts are not things that militaries do well. What we do well is put pressure on groups and organizations.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: All right, thanks to Jamie McIntyre.

Ash-Har, are you still on the phone with us?

QURAISHI: Yes.

COSTELLO: All right, Ash-Har, let me ask you this, because you told me something very interesting before. The tribesmen who live along the Pakistani-Afghanistan border still don't believe Osama bin Laden is responsible for September 11. For some reason that surprises me.

Should it?

QURAISHI: Well, if you take into consideration the history of bin Laden, really, in the region and how much he had been involved not only in Afghanistan, but with the Pashtuns there in the tribal areas during the Soviet invasion of the '80s, he was seen as a war hero, really. So it's been very difficult to change that mentality of these people in these areas the he was really responsible.

They see him as a war hero, so it's been very difficult. And that's been one of the key problems in trying to locate him, is the lack of human intelligence on the ground. Nobody seems to be willing to turn him in for the $25 million reward. And he doesn't seem to be using any technical devices, satellite phones from which he could be tracked technologically.

So the human intelligence is what intelligence officials here tell us will be key to tracking him down and that's something that we're seeing for the first time with these tribal elders getting involved in this hunt -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Let me ask you one more question about the psychology out there. You say that he's considered a war hero, but that was because when Russia invaded Afghanistan, he fought alongside the tribespeople there.

Is it believed -- is it -- do they not want to believe their war hero would do something like 9/11? Is that more it?

QURAISHI: That's a huge part of it. A lot of it is the dissatisfaction with the evidence that was provided. Also, this is a very remote region, so launching a media campaign with these people is very difficult to do and trying to sway the, you know, the activities that he carried out over a 10 year period in Afghanistan was very difficult. And that was part of it, was the public relations campaign to try and convince these people that Osama bin Laden was responsible for the 9/11 attacks has not been successful. They have seen him as a war hero, as you mentioned, and he's also somebody who they see as somebody who didn't need to do this.

He came to Afghanistan from a different country and put his money and his time and his life at risk for these people. So it's been very difficult and that has been a key to trying to get these people to turn on him.

COSTELLO: And just one more question before we move on. So it's very hard to win the hearts of these people, but military forces are also doing it by force.

What are they doing to convince these tribespeople to cooperate when they use force?

QURAISHI: Well, basically what it's been is the tribal elders have been used as an instrument to get to the local population and convince them that it would be best for the region, for the tribal areas, for Waziristan, where they're really intensifying this search, for them to participate in some way. There have been local jirgas or tribal councils in the last few weeks and this week even, in which militias have been formed by the tribals. And we understand a militia of about 1,200 tribesmen will be helping in this hunt.

Now, they will not only be hunting for bin Laden, of course, they'll be hunting for other al Qaeda suspects and for those who harbor them. And there is the threat of force against them, the demolition of their homes, as well as what's called collective responsibility. If one person in the tribe is found to be guilty of this, the entire tribe will suffer. And that is the threat against them if they do not participate and cooperate with the authorities.

COSTELLO: Well, we'll see if the forces get him.

Ash-Har Quraishi, fascinating information out of Pakistan this morning.

A handful of terror suspects at Guantanamo are heading home. The five British citizens have been held for two years at the U.S. Navy base in Cuba.

For details on how their release came about, let's go live to London and our senior international correspondent Sheila MacVicar -- take us through this, Sheila.

SHEILA MACVICAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, this has been a source of some embarrassment for the government of Tony Blair that in spite of his government's closeness to President Bush, particularly on the war on terror, that the British government has been unable, until now, to persuade the U.S. administration that at least some of the nine Britons at Guantanamo Bay could safely be returned back to Britain.

This is a source of great controversy here in the United Kingdom, the fact that these people were being held without any kind of legal process or that any sort of, if you will, future, any sort of notion of how long they would be in detention there in front of them.

Now, at least five of these men are returning home. The home secretary of the United Kingdom, speaking in the U.S. last night, said it is better that the remaining four stay at Guantanamo Bay, saying that the evidence has been gathered by the U.S., that it could best be used by the U.S. and thereby opening the door for those four, at least, to face some kind of military tribunal at Guantanamo Bay some time in the future.

As to what we know as to what will happen with these five, we are told they are being flown back to the U.K. today. We are told, also, that they will be investigated and questioned by anti-terror police here in the U.K. Under U.K. law, they can be held for 48 hours and then with the approval of a judge for a further 14 days.

But most here think it is very unlikely that they will face any charges at all -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, we'll keep following this.

Sheila MacVicar live from London.

To the forecast center now.

Let's check in for the first time this morning with Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: An Oscar winner comes home. Charlize Theron and the special gift she received from the president of South Africa. Plus, your health, a surprising benefit from taking cholesterol lowering drugs.

Also, it doesn't start, things break, it costs too much to fix -- American cars have been the butt of jokes for years. So why is the tide turning now?

And at the polls, the importance of the Cuban-American vote and what the candidates are doing about it.

It's Tuesday, March 9.

You are watching DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.

It's 5:16 Eastern.

Time to take a quick look at our top stories this morning.

A special seven man council of Haitian leaders is expected to choose the country's next prime minister. That's supposed to happen today. Former Chief Justice Boniface Alexander is now the acting president.

Gas prices have reached near record levels. Do I need to tell you that? The average gallon of gas is now $1.74. That's the average. That's just a penny below the record high price.

The head of UCLA's medical school is apologizing for the apparent sale of body parts from the school's donor program. Several families of cadaver donors have filed a class action suit against the university.

We update the top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 5:30.

Some of Britain's leading shares opened lower today after a weak showing for the U.S. markets. So, let's see how the overseas markets are doing now.

For that, we head live to London and Todd Benjamin -- good morning, Todd.

TODD BENJAMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning from London, Carol.

Not a good day here. It is, as you said, because Wall Street had a poor showing on Monday. The Dow was down 6/10 of one percent. The NASDAQ just got hammered, down nearly two percent, its worst showing since early February.

Right now the FTSE here in London is down nearly a 1/2 percent. The DAX in Frankfurt is down more than one percent. The CAC in Paris is down nearly one percent. Zurich's SMI is little changed.

In the currency market, we're off the highs of the day for the euro. It's now below 124 to the dollar. And sterling had been above 185m, but now it's below 184 on some disappointing trade data for the U.K.

And finally, in terms of the U.S. market today, keep your eye on Texas Instruments. It came out after the close and it revised to the upper end of its guidance its estimates for the first quarter. The stock fell sharply in regular trading, down nearly three percent, but it's up some $0.22 in trading here in Europe today.

In terms of the overall market right now, the futures are pointing to a rather flat open. And, hey, you get no sympathy from people over here because gas is near a record level in the U.S. It's over four bucks a gallon here in the U.K. -- back to you.

COSTELLO: We don't care. We live here. Just kidding.

Thank you, Todd, for putting it into perspective for us.

Let's talk about American cars. The quality of cars made here is poor, right? Well, not so fast. "Consumer Reports" now says American quality has finally surpassed the European standard.

Fred Katayama tells us why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED KATAYAMA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Quality and style, the hallmarks of European cars. But after a long, steady climb, Detroit's rugged auto makers finally pulled ahead of the Europeans in reliability, the first time they've done that since "Consumer Reports" began tracking regional competition in 1980.

The magazine says that Europeans averaged two more defects per 100 vehicles than American cars and trucks last year. Twenty-four years ago, the U.S., once a laughing stock, had doubled that of its Western rival.

MICHAEL FLYNN, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN: They're doing a number of things right. They've been making, for some years now, a series of incremental improvements in how they design and build cars. In addition to that, they're also paying, I think, more attention to supplier quality than perhaps they used to. So they are looking at what their suppliers are doing.

KATAYAMA (on camera): Even Europe's luxury brands slipped in the reliability ratings, scoring well below average every model put out by Mercedes Benz, all Audis, even BMW's pricey 7 series.

(voice-over): The most improved player, Ford. Witness the Focus.

DAVID CHAMPION, "CONSUMER REPORTS": When it was released, it had a lot of problems and we couldn't recommend it because of reliability. This year, the reliability has come up to average and for the 2003 model year, above average for the Focus.

KATAYAMA: Still, the Asians are miles ahead with one third fewer defects. After enduring a series of rigid tests, Japanese brands dominated the list of top picks that weigh performance, reliability and safety. The top three row sport utility, the Honda Pilot. The V.W. Passat tied the Honda Accord for best family sedan. The Ford Focus topped the small car and fun to drive categories. But it's the sole American on the list.

Fred Katayama, CNN, East Haddam, Connecticut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Only in California. A wacky new plan there, where your ninth grader could vote. We'll explain. And even men made of marble can suffer health problems in middle age.

This is DAYBREAK for Tuesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: How about this? Lowering the voting age to 14. That topes our DAYBREAK Eye-Opener.

Out in California, some state senators have a plan to increase voter turnout by allowing teenagers under 18 to vote. Under the plan, 16 year olds would be given half a vote in state elections, while 14 year olds would get a quarter vote.

Animal rights activists were back at the San Francisco Zoo a day after one of the zoo's star attractions was euthanized. The protesters had been calling for Cali, the elephant, to be moved to a sanctuary. But zoo officials said she was just too weak to travel.

David, he has bad ankles. The restoration of the six ton statue of Michelangelo's David is nearing completion, but officials say that during the process, they noticed that David's ankles are weak and may have to be reinforced. The restoration should be finished in May.

Those ankles have been holding up a lot of man, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Five hundred years that thing is old. You ever seen it?

COSTELLO: Oh, yes, I have. It's amazing.

MYERS: Yes, it is. It's 17 feet tall.

COSTELLO: You don't notice the power of it until you see it, because it's just so big.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: And you never realize that the hand is behind the back holding the slingshot, because, you know, it's David and Goliath.

MYERS: Oh, I didn't -- I still didn't know that.

COSTELLO: The Michelangelo's David.

MYERS: Got it.

COSTELLO: Yes. And his hands are over -- oh, I could talk about it all day. But go on.

MYERS: No, no, no, please, go on. You're just, you're eating up my weather time. Just do whatever you...

COSTELLO: I'm sorry.

MYERS: Just kidding.

COSTELLO: No, Michelangelo purposely made his hands large to draw your eyes at certain places along the statue so you could look at it...

MYERS: To draw your eyes away from something else.

COSTELLO: ... in his way.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: OK, do the weather, Mr. Myers.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: Talk to you soon.

COSTELLO: Will this year's election come down to Florida again? And, if so, are Cuban voters the key?

Plus, a mother-daughter reunion six years in the making. We'll have that touching story.

And new information has the European space agency hoping for a reunion, too, with its lost Beagle spacecraft.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com