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CNN Live At Daybreak

Deadly Explosions in Spain; Hunt for bin Laden Shares Focus With Other Projects

Aired March 11, 2004 - 06:30   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. Welcome back to DAYBREAK. I'm Carol Costello. It's Thursday, March 11. Let me bring you up-to-date now.
Five hours ago, at least four devastating explosions rocked Madrid, Spain's, railway network; 131 people reported dead, 400 more wounded.

The volatile issue of gay marriage comes up today in Massachusetts. The legislature meets in a constitutional convention to consider a ban on same-sex marriage while allowing civil unions.

In Haiti, U.S. Marines have orders to help Haitian police officers disarm anyone with a weapon. Two Haitians have been killed in a run-in with Marines.

We update our top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:45 Eastern.

Back to our top story this morning, terror on the tracks in Spain. The death toll is steadily rising after a string of explosions at three stations.

Al Goodman live on the phone for us from Madrid -- Al.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're standing outside the Atocha train station, which was the scene of at least some of the bombings and some of the carnage this day.

The death toll is rising. Reports put it at about 60 and rising with scores of people injured. The emergency services strapped here in Madrid, public calls going out for the Madrid citizens to come forward and donate blood.

Now, these explosions occurred during the morning rush hour, at least on some of the commuter trains coming into the capital. These would be commuter trains that would have been packed with people standing, jammed in there, trying to get to their jobs by 8:00 or 8:30 in the morning local time.

The blame here, from several Spanish leaders and also from several leading Spanish media, saying that this is the work of Basque separatist group ETA. If so, it is the single worst attack in the history of this organization, which has been blamed for more than 800 killings over its more than 30-year fight for Basque independence.

The previous worst death toll in the history of ETA was in 1987 in Barcelona. A supermarket bombing killed 21 people. This day, here in Madrid and in the environs of Madrid, we're hearing there are around 60 and perhaps more dead, in addition to scores of injured.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And apparently, let me just give you more, because we could not get Al Goodman live on the phone. He filed that report earlier.

These explosive devices were planted on train cars, at least three of them that we now know of. They went off simultaneously.

The death toll now stands at 131. This is their commuter rail line, so they were departing from a station much like New York's Grand Central Station, almost exactly like that.

And as you heard, ETA, which is on the American terrorist list as a terrorist group, is said to be responsible, although there's been no claim of responsibility.

We'll get more for you later.

News from across America now. An African-American alderman in Chicago says he got a threatening postcard after criticizing the fire department. He made the charge, the uproar over racial slurs broadcast on fire department radios. He's up in Chicago. Mayor Richard Daly has urged firefighters to root out those responsible.

A suspected illegal immigrant case in Tucson, Arizona. Border Patrol agents have taken 135 people into custody at a motel. Authorities say they found them packed into 13 rooms.

And in Anaheim, California, Disneyland is taking steps to guard against terrorism. The theme park plans to install security gates there and at its California Adventure theme park next door. During the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, al Qaeda documents were found listing Disneyland as a potential terrorism target.

(WEATHER BREAK)

COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, gay marriage back up for debate in Massachusetts. We'll talk to our legal expert as state lawmakers consider a constitutional amendment against it.

And we'll tell you the best place in the world to live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK. It's 6:39 Eastern time.

In the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the Pentagon is considering sending two new spy aircraft packing the military's most advanced sensors. But the U.S. military in Afghanistan has more going on than just the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Among other things, it's rebuilding roads and trying to train the Afghan army in time for democratic elections.

CNN's Ryan Chilcoate is in Kabul. He joins us live by videophone.

Hello. I know you just arrived there recently, but tell us. You're embedded with the Army with soldiers there. Tell us what they're doing.

RYAN CHILCOATE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm embedded with Task Force Phoenix. It's a base here in Kabul, primarily made up of U.S. soldiers and coalition forces. The U.S. soldiers from the -- are primarily from the Oklahoma National Guard.

And their job here in Afghanistan -- perhaps not quite as exciting as the hunt for Osama bin Laden -- is they say equally as important is to train the Afghan National Army. The idea is that the U.S. would like to train the Afghan National Army so that they can fight in place of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) force when the United States wants to leave.

It is particularly important, the U.S. says, to get the Afghan National Army up and going by June, because that's when they would like to have Afghanistan's first presidential election here. And in order to do that, they say they're going to need security from the Afghan National Army, particularly in places like southern Afghanistan and eastern Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the hunt for Osama bin Laden continues. The military here is playing down that effort. They say that if they knew where Osama bin Laden was right now, they would have already grabbed him. Obviously, they're probably keeping some of their cards to themselves, though.

We do know that in eastern Afghanistan in the border area, the U.S. has Special Forces. It has conventional forces. Those forces operating out of fire bases in that area. Fire bases are smaller bases that are closer to some of the hot spots, so that the U.S. and coalition forces can respond to those hot spots faster -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Ryan Chilcoate, we'll check in with you from time to time -- reporting live from Afghanistan this morning.

Back here in the States in Boston, Massachusetts, lawmakers roll up their sleeves for round two of the gay marriage debate, and most observers say almost anything can happen.

Time for some "Coffey Talk" right now. Our legal analyst, Kendall Coffey, joins us live from Miami.

Welcome -- Kendall.

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning.

COSTELLO: I mean, is there any sign at all as to which way legislators are leaning?

COFFEY: Well, you might think that there would still be this effort to get a compromise, some kind of constitutional amendment that says that the word, marriage, is not going to be acceptable, but that civil unions will be.

But whatever they do, it's not going to take effect, because the process for amending the constitution in Massachusetts until at the earliest, November 2006. That means as of this year, as of May 17, there will start to be, pursuant to the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, same-sex marriages in the state of Massachusetts.

COSTELLO: OK. Well, give it to us in more plain English. So, that means whatever they decide, whatever compromise they come to, on May 17 when the law goes -- well, on May 17, will gay people be able to get married?

COFFEY: Same-sex marriages will begin in Massachusetts. If there is a state constitutional amendment to try to rescind that decision, it can't be effective until the earliest, November 2006. So, there is going to be a window of marital opportunity for same-sex couples in Massachusetts.

COSTELLO: All right, Kendall Coffey joining us live from Miami this morning.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:42 Eastern time. Here are the headlines for you.

In the race for the White House, President Bush talks about the economy in Bayshore, New York, today. On the Democratic side, Senator John Kerry calls the Republican machine the most crooked, lying group of people he's ever seen.

If you are overweight, should you be allowed to sue a fast-food chain? The House says no and passed a bill to ban those kinds of lawsuits. Republicans say if you overeat, you should blame yourself, but Democrats say the bill is an election-year slap at trial lawyers who back Democrat candidates. The bill is not expected to do so well in the Senate.

A former Texas Tech professor is sentenced to two years in prison for starting fears about the plague. Last year, Dr. Thomas Butler said 30 vials of bacteria were missing. He later said he had destroyed them.

Your money. Want your MTV? It's back now that EchoStar Communications and Viacom have settled a fee dispute. The disagreement had left millions of customers of EchoStar's dish satellite service without several popular channels.

In sports, Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks has apologized to Colorado's Steve Moore for a sucker punch that broke Moore's neck during a hockey game. Bertuzzi will find out today how long he'll be suspended from the game. He could also face criminal charges. In culture, seeking a better quality of life? Move to Zurich, Switzerland. It's rated in a new survey as the best place to live in the whole world. Seventeen of the world's top 30 cities are in Europe. The only U.S. city to make the cut: San Francisco. It comes in at No. 18.

In weather, clear skies over much of the nation, rain in the Southwest and stretching northward from the southeast.

Those are the headlines. Your next update is coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING" at the top of the hour.

Speaking of "AMERICAN MORNING," let's head live to New York to check in with Bill and Soledad.

And I know you're going to talk much more about this hockey player and his tearful apology.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely, we will. Wow! You know, it was a tearful apology. Of course, many people are saying he should get some sort of penalty, much more than has been talked about yet. So, we will see exactly what ends up happening with him this morning as well.

HEMMER: We'll have the attorney (UNINTELLIGIBLE) about four years ago a similar situation. He used a stick at that point. We'll try and break down the distinction between that incident and this one.

Also, a lot more out of Spain today. Boy, what a deadly day it's been in Madrid. More than 100 dead, and we know oftentimes in these cases, Carol, that the numbers do change. So, we'll get you live to Madrid also this morning and follow that.

O'BRIEN: And we continue to talk about the campaign. Also, President Bush versus Senator John Kerry. Things are starting to get a little ugly. Should I say "starting to get?" Continue to be a little ugly. This time, as you know, Senator Kerry had some comments caught on tape. He says he's not sorry he said them. He was sorry they were overheard.

HEMMER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: We'll give you more information on that this morning.

COSTELLO: You know, he didn't follow that rule. When you're wearing a microphone...

O'BRIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... it doesn't matter whether you think it's on or not...

HEMMER: Some are suggesting that he knew that, though. And perhaps this was intentional. O'BRIEN: Yes, some say -- exactly -- that he knew the mike was on (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COSTELLO: All right, Bill and Soledad, many thanks to you.

Coming up on DAYBREAK, a wild trip in the cockpit. We'll hear about this woman's journey to the edge of space.

Drew Carey's theme song may say Cleveland rocks, but another city gets one magazine's vote. Can you tell by the skyline which city I'm talking about?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Time for a little business buzz. It's taken five months, but the troubled manufacturing sector is getting a new czar. So what does that mean?

Carrie Lee tells us live from the Nasdaq Marketsite.

Good morning.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS: Good morning, Carol.

Well, hopefully, it's going to help on the jobs front. The manufacturing sector has actually seen job losses for 43 straight months.

So, President Bush has now appointed what's commonly referred to lately as a manufacturing czar. The choice is Tony Raimondo. He's chairman and CEO of the Behlen Manufacturing Group. The idea here: to help our nation's struggling manufacturing sector.

Now, President Bush first announced this position about five months ago. Democrats have criticized the delay in filling the position. They basically called it a publicity stunt.

Meanwhile, Senator John Kerry took a different tact yesterday, basically saying putting another bureaucrat in the Department of Commerce isn't going to get people more jobs.

So, we'll have to see what comes down the pike on this front.

Speaking of jobs, we will get a look at weekly jobless claims coming out in about an hour and a half's time this morning. That's going to be one thing driving the markets today.

Carol, let me tell you, though, futures right now pointing to a very weak open. We saw a lot of selling yesterday. The Dow, the Nasdaq, each down about 1.5 percent. The Dow seeing a loss of 160 points, the biggest point decline the Dow has seen since May.

So, it looks like the selling is going to continue today.

Oracle, one stock to watch, reporting profits after the close of trading tonight. A lot of people are going to be watching to see if this is a sign that the software business is seeing a pickup in demand. We'll have to see. A lot of eyes on Oracle, though, today.

Back to you.

COSTELLO: All right, thank you. Carrie Lee live from New York this morning.

You and I cannot imagine what it's like to fly to the very edge of space. It takes a very special aircraft to accomplish that feat.

Kara Sutton of Lawrenceville, Georgia, is now one of the few who can boast to her friends back home she's been there and back. But Kara had to fly to Moscow to do it, and she joins us live from there to relate her supersonic flight aboard a MIG-25.

What an incredible journey you've had. So, actually, you won this event through a sweepstakes contest, right? Tell us about that.

KARA SUTTON, SWEEPSTAKES WINNER: That's right. As a hobby, I enter contests on the Internet. I went to TravelersAdvantage.com and entered a sweepstakes, and I won. Actually, you can go there and read about my trip a little bit.

COSTELLO: But what struck you about that, that you wanted to win such a thing? Getting aboard a MIG-25 in a foreign country and having a pilot that you've never really met before fly you to the edge of space at an incredible speed, what struck you as exciting about that?

SUTTON: What's not exciting about that? I have to say, though, you feel pretty close to your pilot pretty quickly. But, I mean, I grew up in the shuttle era, so it was still a big deal for us in elementary school to see the shuttle take off every time. So, to even do anything close to space was -- I mean, that was unbelievable for me.

COSTELLO: So, you meet your Russian pilot, and what does he say to you?

SUTTON: Well, his name was Alex. What did he say to me? He explained, basically took me through what we were going to do, how fast we were going to go, when we were going to get faster, how long we'd be up there.

COSTELLO: Well, let me read your...

SUTTON: You get to the apex in about a minute.

COSTELLO: Let me read your diary entry, because it struck me as kind of funny, not in a "ha-ha" kind of way. You said: "There were no less than 200 switches on board" that MIG-25, "switches like you've seen in the movies." "Alex" -- the pilot -- "gave me two switches I could touch, one for oxygen and the other for communication with him. I really felt no urge to touch anything else, because, (a), I have no desire to die, and, (b), no desire to anger Alex."

I think we can all relate to that. How fast were...

SUTTON: Hey...

COSTELLO: How fast were you going to go?

SUTTON: Well, max speed for the MIG is about two and a half times the speed of sound, and we did it.

COSTELLO: OK, we're going to take a look at your view from the plane, because we have pictures courtesy of you. So, tell us, when you were going that fast, what did it feel like?

SUTTON: Well, I'm not a trained pilot, so I have to admit to a little queasiness. But other than that, I mean, it's a thrill that I can't even begin to translate into words. This is -- an interview about the experience is tough...

COSTELLO: Yes, I know. But...

SUTTON: ... because it's by nature verbal.

COSTELLO: In looking at that picture, seeing the edge of space, did you look out and really realize what that was?

SUTTON: What happens is as you get higher, it just keeps getting bluer and bluer and bluer. And then all of a sudden, you realize it's not blue anymore, it's black. And you're like, 'Wow!' And then Alex told me we were at the apex and...

COSTELLO: I know. It's hard to put into words, I know.

SUTTON: I've got no words.

COSTELLO: I know. You sound like Chad, which reminds me, Chad wanted to know exactly how high up you went. Do you know?

SUTTON: It was over 25,000 meters, and it's about 85,000 feet.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's just incredible. I want to read viewers something else from your diary. You said -- you had a camera with you on board the plane. You said: "I took pictures of the fabulous view, but noticed that it was difficult getting my arms to lift upwards. It's like my camera suddenly weighed eight pounds. 'We're at Mach 2.4 force,' said the pilot. The sky kept getting bluer and bluer."

How strange that your camera would suddenly...

SUTTON: It's true.

COSTELLO: ... feel like it weighed eight pounds. Was that because you were going so fast?

SUTTON: Well, I'm inexperienced with the whole -- it's the G forces. It's the G forces. They had a gauge in the cockpit where you could see the G readings, and when I looked at it, we were at about two and a half. So...

COSTELLO: Unbelievable. SUTTON: ... that explained it.

COSTELLO: So, would you do it again?

SUTTON: I think I'd have to have a little bit more next time around.

COSTELLO: You'd have to go into space.

SUTTON: Right.

COSTELLO: Thank you. Kara Sutton, joining us live from Moscow. We appreciate it. What an experience.

Chad joins me for "The Lightning Round" coming up, but first here are the latest headlines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is time for "The Lightning Round". You wanted to ride aboard that MIG, didn't you?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I think that would be outstanding, 85,000 feet.

COSTELLO: Can you believe it? I'd love that as well.

But it is time for the lightning -- "The Lightning Round" right now. It's been a busy morning.

MYERS: It's all right.

COSTELLO: I need a nap. But let's get to "The Lightning Round" right now.

Want to live in a city that really rocks? Well, pack your bags and head for this place. That would be Pittsburgh.

MYERS: Pittsburgh.

COSTELLO: Yes. People who already live there may understand why "Esquire" magazine named the steel city as the No. 1 music scene in the entire country. Pittsburgh.

MYERS: Boy, is Austin mad.

COSTELLO: Oh, you know you're right.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: I bet a lot of cities are mad.

Remember Menudo, Chad?

MYERS: I don't.

COSTELLO: Well, it was the hottest boy band around, way back when.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: The group, Menudo, is making a comeback. All of the new members, though, are -- the original members are a little too old. In fact, they're probably our age now.

MYERS: Probably in their 30s. They're too old.

COSTELLO: Open auditions will be held later this summer.

MYERS: All right.

COSTELLO: "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now. You make it a great day.

MYERS: See you tomorrow.

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





Focus With Other Projects>


Aired March 11, 2004 - 06:30   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. Welcome back to DAYBREAK. I'm Carol Costello. It's Thursday, March 11. Let me bring you up-to-date now.
Five hours ago, at least four devastating explosions rocked Madrid, Spain's, railway network; 131 people reported dead, 400 more wounded.

The volatile issue of gay marriage comes up today in Massachusetts. The legislature meets in a constitutional convention to consider a ban on same-sex marriage while allowing civil unions.

In Haiti, U.S. Marines have orders to help Haitian police officers disarm anyone with a weapon. Two Haitians have been killed in a run-in with Marines.

We update our top stories every 15 minutes. The next update comes your way at 6:45 Eastern.

Back to our top story this morning, terror on the tracks in Spain. The death toll is steadily rising after a string of explosions at three stations.

Al Goodman live on the phone for us from Madrid -- Al.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're standing outside the Atocha train station, which was the scene of at least some of the bombings and some of the carnage this day.

The death toll is rising. Reports put it at about 60 and rising with scores of people injured. The emergency services strapped here in Madrid, public calls going out for the Madrid citizens to come forward and donate blood.

Now, these explosions occurred during the morning rush hour, at least on some of the commuter trains coming into the capital. These would be commuter trains that would have been packed with people standing, jammed in there, trying to get to their jobs by 8:00 or 8:30 in the morning local time.

The blame here, from several Spanish leaders and also from several leading Spanish media, saying that this is the work of Basque separatist group ETA. If so, it is the single worst attack in the history of this organization, which has been blamed for more than 800 killings over its more than 30-year fight for Basque independence.

The previous worst death toll in the history of ETA was in 1987 in Barcelona. A supermarket bombing killed 21 people. This day, here in Madrid and in the environs of Madrid, we're hearing there are around 60 and perhaps more dead, in addition to scores of injured.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And apparently, let me just give you more, because we could not get Al Goodman live on the phone. He filed that report earlier.

These explosive devices were planted on train cars, at least three of them that we now know of. They went off simultaneously.

The death toll now stands at 131. This is their commuter rail line, so they were departing from a station much like New York's Grand Central Station, almost exactly like that.

And as you heard, ETA, which is on the American terrorist list as a terrorist group, is said to be responsible, although there's been no claim of responsibility.

We'll get more for you later.

News from across America now. An African-American alderman in Chicago says he got a threatening postcard after criticizing the fire department. He made the charge, the uproar over racial slurs broadcast on fire department radios. He's up in Chicago. Mayor Richard Daly has urged firefighters to root out those responsible.

A suspected illegal immigrant case in Tucson, Arizona. Border Patrol agents have taken 135 people into custody at a motel. Authorities say they found them packed into 13 rooms.

And in Anaheim, California, Disneyland is taking steps to guard against terrorism. The theme park plans to install security gates there and at its California Adventure theme park next door. During the war on terrorism in Afghanistan, al Qaeda documents were found listing Disneyland as a potential terrorism target.

(WEATHER BREAK)

COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, gay marriage back up for debate in Massachusetts. We'll talk to our legal expert as state lawmakers consider a constitutional amendment against it.

And we'll tell you the best place in the world to live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK. It's 6:39 Eastern time.

In the hunt for Osama bin Laden, the Pentagon is considering sending two new spy aircraft packing the military's most advanced sensors. But the U.S. military in Afghanistan has more going on than just the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Among other things, it's rebuilding roads and trying to train the Afghan army in time for democratic elections.

CNN's Ryan Chilcoate is in Kabul. He joins us live by videophone.

Hello. I know you just arrived there recently, but tell us. You're embedded with the Army with soldiers there. Tell us what they're doing.

RYAN CHILCOATE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm embedded with Task Force Phoenix. It's a base here in Kabul, primarily made up of U.S. soldiers and coalition forces. The U.S. soldiers from the -- are primarily from the Oklahoma National Guard.

And their job here in Afghanistan -- perhaps not quite as exciting as the hunt for Osama bin Laden -- is they say equally as important is to train the Afghan National Army. The idea is that the U.S. would like to train the Afghan National Army so that they can fight in place of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) force when the United States wants to leave.

It is particularly important, the U.S. says, to get the Afghan National Army up and going by June, because that's when they would like to have Afghanistan's first presidential election here. And in order to do that, they say they're going to need security from the Afghan National Army, particularly in places like southern Afghanistan and eastern Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, the hunt for Osama bin Laden continues. The military here is playing down that effort. They say that if they knew where Osama bin Laden was right now, they would have already grabbed him. Obviously, they're probably keeping some of their cards to themselves, though.

We do know that in eastern Afghanistan in the border area, the U.S. has Special Forces. It has conventional forces. Those forces operating out of fire bases in that area. Fire bases are smaller bases that are closer to some of the hot spots, so that the U.S. and coalition forces can respond to those hot spots faster -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Ryan Chilcoate, we'll check in with you from time to time -- reporting live from Afghanistan this morning.

Back here in the States in Boston, Massachusetts, lawmakers roll up their sleeves for round two of the gay marriage debate, and most observers say almost anything can happen.

Time for some "Coffey Talk" right now. Our legal analyst, Kendall Coffey, joins us live from Miami.

Welcome -- Kendall.

KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning.

COSTELLO: I mean, is there any sign at all as to which way legislators are leaning?

COFFEY: Well, you might think that there would still be this effort to get a compromise, some kind of constitutional amendment that says that the word, marriage, is not going to be acceptable, but that civil unions will be.

But whatever they do, it's not going to take effect, because the process for amending the constitution in Massachusetts until at the earliest, November 2006. That means as of this year, as of May 17, there will start to be, pursuant to the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court, same-sex marriages in the state of Massachusetts.

COSTELLO: OK. Well, give it to us in more plain English. So, that means whatever they decide, whatever compromise they come to, on May 17 when the law goes -- well, on May 17, will gay people be able to get married?

COFFEY: Same-sex marriages will begin in Massachusetts. If there is a state constitutional amendment to try to rescind that decision, it can't be effective until the earliest, November 2006. So, there is going to be a window of marital opportunity for same-sex couples in Massachusetts.

COSTELLO: All right, Kendall Coffey joining us live from Miami this morning.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:42 Eastern time. Here are the headlines for you.

In the race for the White House, President Bush talks about the economy in Bayshore, New York, today. On the Democratic side, Senator John Kerry calls the Republican machine the most crooked, lying group of people he's ever seen.

If you are overweight, should you be allowed to sue a fast-food chain? The House says no and passed a bill to ban those kinds of lawsuits. Republicans say if you overeat, you should blame yourself, but Democrats say the bill is an election-year slap at trial lawyers who back Democrat candidates. The bill is not expected to do so well in the Senate.

A former Texas Tech professor is sentenced to two years in prison for starting fears about the plague. Last year, Dr. Thomas Butler said 30 vials of bacteria were missing. He later said he had destroyed them.

Your money. Want your MTV? It's back now that EchoStar Communications and Viacom have settled a fee dispute. The disagreement had left millions of customers of EchoStar's dish satellite service without several popular channels.

In sports, Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks has apologized to Colorado's Steve Moore for a sucker punch that broke Moore's neck during a hockey game. Bertuzzi will find out today how long he'll be suspended from the game. He could also face criminal charges. In culture, seeking a better quality of life? Move to Zurich, Switzerland. It's rated in a new survey as the best place to live in the whole world. Seventeen of the world's top 30 cities are in Europe. The only U.S. city to make the cut: San Francisco. It comes in at No. 18.

In weather, clear skies over much of the nation, rain in the Southwest and stretching northward from the southeast.

Those are the headlines. Your next update is coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING" at the top of the hour.

Speaking of "AMERICAN MORNING," let's head live to New York to check in with Bill and Soledad.

And I know you're going to talk much more about this hockey player and his tearful apology.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely, we will. Wow! You know, it was a tearful apology. Of course, many people are saying he should get some sort of penalty, much more than has been talked about yet. So, we will see exactly what ends up happening with him this morning as well.

HEMMER: We'll have the attorney (UNINTELLIGIBLE) about four years ago a similar situation. He used a stick at that point. We'll try and break down the distinction between that incident and this one.

Also, a lot more out of Spain today. Boy, what a deadly day it's been in Madrid. More than 100 dead, and we know oftentimes in these cases, Carol, that the numbers do change. So, we'll get you live to Madrid also this morning and follow that.

O'BRIEN: And we continue to talk about the campaign. Also, President Bush versus Senator John Kerry. Things are starting to get a little ugly. Should I say "starting to get?" Continue to be a little ugly. This time, as you know, Senator Kerry had some comments caught on tape. He says he's not sorry he said them. He was sorry they were overheard.

HEMMER: Yes.

O'BRIEN: We'll give you more information on that this morning.

COSTELLO: You know, he didn't follow that rule. When you're wearing a microphone...

O'BRIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... it doesn't matter whether you think it's on or not...

HEMMER: Some are suggesting that he knew that, though. And perhaps this was intentional. O'BRIEN: Yes, some say -- exactly -- that he knew the mike was on (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

COSTELLO: All right, Bill and Soledad, many thanks to you.

Coming up on DAYBREAK, a wild trip in the cockpit. We'll hear about this woman's journey to the edge of space.

Drew Carey's theme song may say Cleveland rocks, but another city gets one magazine's vote. Can you tell by the skyline which city I'm talking about?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Time for a little business buzz. It's taken five months, but the troubled manufacturing sector is getting a new czar. So what does that mean?

Carrie Lee tells us live from the Nasdaq Marketsite.

Good morning.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS: Good morning, Carol.

Well, hopefully, it's going to help on the jobs front. The manufacturing sector has actually seen job losses for 43 straight months.

So, President Bush has now appointed what's commonly referred to lately as a manufacturing czar. The choice is Tony Raimondo. He's chairman and CEO of the Behlen Manufacturing Group. The idea here: to help our nation's struggling manufacturing sector.

Now, President Bush first announced this position about five months ago. Democrats have criticized the delay in filling the position. They basically called it a publicity stunt.

Meanwhile, Senator John Kerry took a different tact yesterday, basically saying putting another bureaucrat in the Department of Commerce isn't going to get people more jobs.

So, we'll have to see what comes down the pike on this front.

Speaking of jobs, we will get a look at weekly jobless claims coming out in about an hour and a half's time this morning. That's going to be one thing driving the markets today.

Carol, let me tell you, though, futures right now pointing to a very weak open. We saw a lot of selling yesterday. The Dow, the Nasdaq, each down about 1.5 percent. The Dow seeing a loss of 160 points, the biggest point decline the Dow has seen since May.

So, it looks like the selling is going to continue today.

Oracle, one stock to watch, reporting profits after the close of trading tonight. A lot of people are going to be watching to see if this is a sign that the software business is seeing a pickup in demand. We'll have to see. A lot of eyes on Oracle, though, today.

Back to you.

COSTELLO: All right, thank you. Carrie Lee live from New York this morning.

You and I cannot imagine what it's like to fly to the very edge of space. It takes a very special aircraft to accomplish that feat.

Kara Sutton of Lawrenceville, Georgia, is now one of the few who can boast to her friends back home she's been there and back. But Kara had to fly to Moscow to do it, and she joins us live from there to relate her supersonic flight aboard a MIG-25.

What an incredible journey you've had. So, actually, you won this event through a sweepstakes contest, right? Tell us about that.

KARA SUTTON, SWEEPSTAKES WINNER: That's right. As a hobby, I enter contests on the Internet. I went to TravelersAdvantage.com and entered a sweepstakes, and I won. Actually, you can go there and read about my trip a little bit.

COSTELLO: But what struck you about that, that you wanted to win such a thing? Getting aboard a MIG-25 in a foreign country and having a pilot that you've never really met before fly you to the edge of space at an incredible speed, what struck you as exciting about that?

SUTTON: What's not exciting about that? I have to say, though, you feel pretty close to your pilot pretty quickly. But, I mean, I grew up in the shuttle era, so it was still a big deal for us in elementary school to see the shuttle take off every time. So, to even do anything close to space was -- I mean, that was unbelievable for me.

COSTELLO: So, you meet your Russian pilot, and what does he say to you?

SUTTON: Well, his name was Alex. What did he say to me? He explained, basically took me through what we were going to do, how fast we were going to go, when we were going to get faster, how long we'd be up there.

COSTELLO: Well, let me read your...

SUTTON: You get to the apex in about a minute.

COSTELLO: Let me read your diary entry, because it struck me as kind of funny, not in a "ha-ha" kind of way. You said: "There were no less than 200 switches on board" that MIG-25, "switches like you've seen in the movies." "Alex" -- the pilot -- "gave me two switches I could touch, one for oxygen and the other for communication with him. I really felt no urge to touch anything else, because, (a), I have no desire to die, and, (b), no desire to anger Alex."

I think we can all relate to that. How fast were...

SUTTON: Hey...

COSTELLO: How fast were you going to go?

SUTTON: Well, max speed for the MIG is about two and a half times the speed of sound, and we did it.

COSTELLO: OK, we're going to take a look at your view from the plane, because we have pictures courtesy of you. So, tell us, when you were going that fast, what did it feel like?

SUTTON: Well, I'm not a trained pilot, so I have to admit to a little queasiness. But other than that, I mean, it's a thrill that I can't even begin to translate into words. This is -- an interview about the experience is tough...

COSTELLO: Yes, I know. But...

SUTTON: ... because it's by nature verbal.

COSTELLO: In looking at that picture, seeing the edge of space, did you look out and really realize what that was?

SUTTON: What happens is as you get higher, it just keeps getting bluer and bluer and bluer. And then all of a sudden, you realize it's not blue anymore, it's black. And you're like, 'Wow!' And then Alex told me we were at the apex and...

COSTELLO: I know. It's hard to put into words, I know.

SUTTON: I've got no words.

COSTELLO: I know. You sound like Chad, which reminds me, Chad wanted to know exactly how high up you went. Do you know?

SUTTON: It was over 25,000 meters, and it's about 85,000 feet.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's just incredible. I want to read viewers something else from your diary. You said -- you had a camera with you on board the plane. You said: "I took pictures of the fabulous view, but noticed that it was difficult getting my arms to lift upwards. It's like my camera suddenly weighed eight pounds. 'We're at Mach 2.4 force,' said the pilot. The sky kept getting bluer and bluer."

How strange that your camera would suddenly...

SUTTON: It's true.

COSTELLO: ... feel like it weighed eight pounds. Was that because you were going so fast?

SUTTON: Well, I'm inexperienced with the whole -- it's the G forces. It's the G forces. They had a gauge in the cockpit where you could see the G readings, and when I looked at it, we were at about two and a half. So...

COSTELLO: Unbelievable. SUTTON: ... that explained it.

COSTELLO: So, would you do it again?

SUTTON: I think I'd have to have a little bit more next time around.

COSTELLO: You'd have to go into space.

SUTTON: Right.

COSTELLO: Thank you. Kara Sutton, joining us live from Moscow. We appreciate it. What an experience.

Chad joins me for "The Lightning Round" coming up, but first here are the latest headlines.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is time for "The Lightning Round". You wanted to ride aboard that MIG, didn't you?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I think that would be outstanding, 85,000 feet.

COSTELLO: Can you believe it? I'd love that as well.

But it is time for the lightning -- "The Lightning Round" right now. It's been a busy morning.

MYERS: It's all right.

COSTELLO: I need a nap. But let's get to "The Lightning Round" right now.

Want to live in a city that really rocks? Well, pack your bags and head for this place. That would be Pittsburgh.

MYERS: Pittsburgh.

COSTELLO: Yes. People who already live there may understand why "Esquire" magazine named the steel city as the No. 1 music scene in the entire country. Pittsburgh.

MYERS: Boy, is Austin mad.

COSTELLO: Oh, you know you're right.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: I bet a lot of cities are mad.

Remember Menudo, Chad?

MYERS: I don't.

COSTELLO: Well, it was the hottest boy band around, way back when.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: The group, Menudo, is making a comeback. All of the new members, though, are -- the original members are a little too old. In fact, they're probably our age now.

MYERS: Probably in their 30s. They're too old.

COSTELLO: Open auditions will be held later this summer.

MYERS: All right.

COSTELLO: "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now. You make it a great day.

MYERS: See you tomorrow.

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