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American Morning

Charles McCoy Arrested; Hunt for Osama bin Laden; Tax Tips With David Bach; Madrid Attacks Investigation

Aired March 17, 2004 - 9:00   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.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Police tracking the man suspected in the Ohio highway shootings all the way to Las Vegas. A slice of pizza at the Stardust Casino may have helped break the case.
Martha Stewart's family anxiously waiting for a sentence. Her only daughter talking in an exclusive interview with CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXIS STEWART, MARTHA STEWART'S DAUGHTER: She's disappointed of her feeling like her life was wasted, everything she did is ignored.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: And winter getting the final freezing word with a blast of snow across the Northeast, ahead this hour here on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.

Other stories that we're following this morning, tax time, believe it or not, just around the corner. Are you sweating yet? Well, don't worry. The guy you want to explain all things tax-wise, David Bach, joins us with "90-Second Tips." He's going to tell you exactly what you need for April 15th.

HEMMER: Be listening for that one today.

Also, more on the videotape that has come to light. Almost four years ago, August of 2000, perhaps showing Osama bin Laden working his way through a terrorist camp in southern Afghanistan. We'll get a complete report on that. We'll also show you the videotape and let you know what we're learning now.

O'BRIEN: And Mr. Cafferty, good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

Has America's war on terror permanently damaged its relationships with many of its allies around the world? A New poll suggests it has. We're reading e-mails at am@cnn.com.

HEMMER: All right. Jack, thanks.

Let's get right away back to our top story again from Ohio to Las Vegas. About 36 hours for authorities to apprehend the man wanted in connection with a string of 24 shootings in the Columbus, Ohio, area. Charles McCoy Jr., age 28, arrested earlier today at a Las Vegas hotel.

Sean Callebs watching this story. Let's start our coverage this hour in Columbus, where that manhunt got under way early this week.

Sean, what are you learning? Good morning there.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

We can tell you the odyssey is over for 28-year-old Charles McCoy. He was arrested by Las Vegas authorities. He is being interviewed right now. Also, police are in the process of getting a search warrant so they can check his car, that 1999 green Geo Metro he apparently drove from here to Las Vegas.

Police also are trying to get a search warrant to check his room. He was arrested without incident. And this is somewhat interesting, because police here portrayed him as a very dangerous individual, telling people simply not to approach him. Also saying that he was suicidal with possible homicidal tendencies.

Apparently what happened while out in Vegas, McCoy had shared a pizza with an individual out there. Later, that guy became somewhat suspect; he contacted FBI authorities and took his story there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONRAD MALSOM, WITNESS: He was looking at the USA Today, and I thought that was doubly unusual. After observing him for a while, he did leave. But I was certain that this is the person that the police in Ohio were looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: That was Conrad Malsom, apparently the individual who spent some time with McCoy out in Las Vegas.

It's been a very emotional time for McCoy's family. They made a plea yesterday, urging him to contact them, to surrender without any incident. He did go down without any violence. And, once again, 24 shootings that simply terrorized this area for the past 10 months, including, Bill, one fatality, a 62-year-old woman shot in the end of November who died on November 26th.

HEMMER: Sean, for months, we've been reporting about truckers and families in minivans avoiding that route, that loop around Columbus, I-270. Reaction in the town today is what, Sean?

CALLEBS: Somewhat relief, a certain degree of anxiety. They would like to see him extradited back here as soon as possible. They want to find out more about this. And, you're exactly right. Virtually everyone we talk to out here, if they aren't avoiding that I-270 area, certainly other members of their families are. It is something that has really been with this community for such a long time. They really hope this is the end of it.

HEMMER: Indeed. You're right there. Sean, thanks. Sean Callebs in Columbus. More a bit later.

Now Soledad with more news.

O'BRIEN: In other news, U.S. and Iraqi military forces have launched a New campaign to hunt out insurgents in Baghdad. The stepped-up effort called Iron Promise comes amid New violence in the city. A mortar attack last night on a political party building killed an Iraqi child, wounded eight others.

Secretary of State Colin Powell in Pakistan continuing his tour of South Asia. Secretary Powell was in Afghanistan earlier for a brief visit with the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai. The two discussed the war on terror, the hunt for bin Laden, and also Afghani reconstruction.

A New project under way to stop illegal immigrants from crossing the Mexico-Arizona border. Starting in June, two unmanned surveillance drones will monitor remote desert areas. The Department of Homeland Security says the plan also includes more border patrols and also expanded detention centers.

And don't put away those snow shovels just yet. A late-season storm dumped a record-breaking 18 inches of snow in parts of the Midwest yesterday. Slippery roads blamed for numerous crashes, including several in Ohio. The storm moved east overnight, wreaking havoc from New Jersey to Boston, and then striking as far north as Maine.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: A senior intelligence official now confirming the authenticity of a U.S. government videotape shot three-and-a-half years ago that may show Osama bin Laden. The videotape shot by a CIA predator drone over Tarnac Farm (ph), a terrorist camp in southern Afghanistan obtained yesterday by NBC News.

It shows a group of people, including a tall man in a White robe. Analysts believe it may have been the Al Qaeda leader.

What's the significance? Steve Coll, author of "Ghost Wars: The Secretive History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001," also managing editor of The Washington Post, live today from The Post newsroom in D.C.

Nice to have you with us here. Good morning, Mr. Coll.

STEVE COLL, AUTHOR, "GHOST WARS": Good morning, Bill. HEMMER: I understand that you knew the videotape existed. You had not seen it before until yesterday. And your reaction now watching it is what?

COLL: Well, it's a very compelling piece of video. A very vivid reminder of how close the United States was to locating bin Laden.

Of course, as you said, it may be bin Laden. It's certainly compelling in the suggestion that it is. But we can't be 100 percent certain that that's who it is because the photography just isn't that exact.

HEMMER: And here is my question to you: Tarnac Farm (ph) was considered the first terrorist training camp in southern Afghanistan, considered the largest. It was believed through intelligence sources that this is where Osama bin Laden spent the majority of his time.

After the war got under way and the Taliban was routed and kicked out of southern Afghanistan, chased up into the mountains, FBI and CIA officers scoured Tarnac Farm (ph) looking for indications of al Qaeda evidence and ties possibly to Iraq and Saddam Hussein. Knowing all that in the bag, before the war even started, why not take action at the time in August of 2000?

COLL: Well, bin Laden went in and out of Tarnac Farm (ph). sAnd one of the problems was that he was aware that the Americans were looking for him. And so he moved quite frequently.

At the time that the president might have had access to that video, if he had pushed the button on a cruise missile strike -- which I think he was in a position to do because they didn't have submarines out in the Arabian Sea -- it would have been four to six hours before the missiles landed in the camp. That was one issue.

Another issue was that there were women and children in this farm. There were hangers-on with al Qaeda militants. Maybe that shouldn't have been an issue, but it was certainly part of the discussion.

And finally, U.S. policy during this period of the hunt for bin Laden narrowed the focus to bin Laden himself and a few of his key lieutenants. It did not contemplate direct attacks on the Taliban or on Taliban infrastructure, or even on al Qaeda training camps, per se. The mission was very narrowly defined in those years, and that was another part of the problem.

HEMMER: Another tough question for you. Is there any evidence going back three-and-a-half years that if Osama bin Laden had been killed that summer, would the events of 9/11 not taken place?

COLL: It's a fascinating question, about which it's impossible to be certain. A couple of things, though, are worth noting.

Some of the hijackers were already in the United States at the time that video was shot. And they were being managed by bin Laden lieutenants who were not as prominent on the U.S. wanted list as bin Laden himself was. On the other hand, a number of the other hijackers had not yet entered the United States, and the cohesion with which that plot was managed from Afghanistan might well have been disrupted by bin Laden's death.

HEMMER: Well, in other news of the day, I want to talk about this raid led by the paramilitary forces on the Pakistani side of the border in this region. The reports we're getting is they killed 24 mostly foreign fighters. They captured 18. They lost 15 of their own men.

This must have been a fierce and wicked firefight. Is the indication through this telling you that the scent is getting stronger in that part of the world?

COLL: Well, it's another indication that the people involved in the search believe they know where bin Laden is. And it's roughly in this area where this battle took place, reported battle took place yesterday. It's also an indication of how fierce the resistance is likely to be in some of these tribal areas, where it's not just that the tribal leaders are sheltering bin Laden, but they, themselves, are hostile to the Pakistani army and to the United States on their own accord.

O'BRIEN: Steve Coll is our guest, Washington Post newsroom in D.C. Thanks for talking. We'll speak again, all right? Appreciate it.

COLL: Thanks, Bill.

HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Martha Stewart's daughter is speaking out in the wake of the guilty verdict in her mother's trial. In an exclusive interview, Alexis Stewart tells CNN's Larry King that, despite her mother's brusque demeanor, she's actually a generous person who gives too much. She also talks about the possibility of prison and what's next in the legal fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Are you going to write to the judge at all? Are you going to express your feelings?

STEWART: If someone thinks that's appropriate, I'd be happy to.

KING: Yes. Are you nervous?

STEWART: About the verdict?

STEWART: About the possibility your mother might have to go away?

STEWART: Nervous, I guess. I try not to focus on it.

KING: I mean, you're a realist, right? That could happen.

STEWART: Yes, I realize that. I think it would be incredibly wrong. But I'm hoping that won't happen.

KING: And if it did, she would handle it well?

STEWART: Oh, yeah.

KING: Boy, you have a lot of confidence in mom, don't you?

STEWART: Well, yeah, sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: You can see the rest of Larry King's exclusive interview with Alexis Stewart right here on CNN. It begins tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

HEMMER: In a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING, back to Ohio. The latest on the man now in custody in the Columbus-area shootings. More details still coming forth. We'll get to that in a moment.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, what's next in the war of words between President Bush and Senator John Kerry? We'll take a look at that.

HEMMER: Also, taxes due in about a month. And the time is ticking. Ninety-second tips ahead with David Bach when we continue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: To politics now, and the recent tit for tat that's developing between the Bush and Kerry campaigns. No doubt, continuing today, and perhaps for seven and a half more months.

Senator Kerry is making what is being called a major speech on defense about three hours from now in Washington. Meanwhile, in California, the vice president, Dick Cheney, gives an address today on foreign policy and national security issues. All this expected back and forth comes as the campaigns continue to spar over who said what and to whom.

Bob Franken now from D.C.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before John Kerry leaves on his vacation today, there are some potshots from the other side over his claim leaders overseas favor his election. CNN has obtained an audiotape of Kerry's remarks from the Boston Globe reporter in the room.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I met more leaders, you know, who can't go out and say it all publicly, but boy, they look at you and say, you got win this, you've got beat this guy. We need a New policy.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's -- look, if you're going to make an accusation in the course of a presidential campaign, you ought to back it up with facts.

FRANKEN: Leaders he will not identify because, he insists, that would violate confidences. The White House says, if Kerry refuses, then he must be making it up. Kerry insisted again the real credibility issue is the White House credibility over healthcare, the economy, the war in Iraq.

(on camera): Both sides are doing their utmost to play offense to avoid having to play defense.

Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: And we'll continue to follow that. Again, we mentioned the speeches, Senator Kerry in D.C. and the vice president, Dick Cheney, in California. More later today here on CNN with that.

O'BRIEN: Mr. Cafferty is with us for the "Question of the Day" -- hello.

CAFFERTY: Hi, Soledad.

Startling poll results showing the image of the United States at all-time lows overseas. A survey conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center shows a majority of people everywhere except in this country say the war in Iraq hurt the fight against terrorism.

Also, majorities in Great Britain, France, Germany, and Turkey, all NATO allies of the United States, say that Western Europe should take a more independent approach to security and diplomacy. And majorities in every country except the U.S. have an unfavorable opinion of President Bush.

The question: Has the war on terror permanently damaged America's relations with its allies? Here are some of the results we're getting.

Annette in Irving, Texas: "I'm growing very tired of the continuous dose of what Europe thinks about us. Like I care. If they think moving away from America and negotiating with al Qaeda will save their miserable butts, they are very wrong. The thing people don't get is that if you are not a Muslim and you believe in their extreme sects, these thugs will kill you. It's that simple; they kill their own people."

Richard in New York: "The war with Iraq, not the war on terror, alienated our international allies. They were all behind us after September 11th and against us after our unilateral invasion of Iraq."

Burt in Mico, Texas: "I was born and raised in Europe. I lived and worked in 41 countries. I chose to become an American, and I'm proud to be an American. In my whole life, though, I've never heard from people a positive opinion about America. But I know one thing for sure. Open our borders, and all our critics will come to America." "America is the best place to live. We know it, and they know it."

And Jeanne in Long Lake, New York, writes this: "No, I'm not worried about our image overseas. I'll get worried when they feel so strongly that they stop accepting American dollars for foreign aid, charitable programs, outsourced jobs, and the trade deficit that is heavily in their favor. This will all change when they need more money or military aid from us."

HEMMER: That's a heck of a response.

CAFFERTY: Yes, it is.

HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

HEMMER: A break here in a moment. In case you are looking for a refund check, stay with us. The latest tax tips in a moment. David Bach's our guest right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Believe it or not, your taxes are due in less than a month, and, as they say, the devil is in the details. Our personal finance contributor, David Bach, joins us for a little help in this morning in this week's edition of "90-Second Tips." I asked him what exactly is due on April 15th.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID BACH, CNN FINANCE CONTRIBUTOR: Basically, the 1040 is due on April 15th, unless you are a citizen in America living out of the country. Then you are given an automatic extension to June 15th. But that doesn't really apply to many people.

So the tax day is Thursday, which means really there's no extension. It is April 15th. Now, the important thing is, you can file for an extension, but you must do that by April 15th, and you still need to make a tax payment. If you file for an extension, you get four more months then to turn your tax forms in.

O'BRIEN: To do your work. All right. Well, let's talk a little about what should be on everybody's to-do list. You say contribute to your IRA. Do a lot of people forget to do this?

BACH: Not only do they forget, but this is the easiest, quick tax deduction that you could possibly find. A couple of people were asking right before I came over here, "Well, what if I haven't been keeping my receipts?" Well, did you fund a retirement account? "No."

Well, great. You can go put $3,000 away in an IRA account up to the date of April 15th, get a full $3,000 tax deduction for last year. Over the age of 50, you can put over $3,500 away. Now, again, the government is paying for almost half of that because this is a tax deduction. But more importantly, this is how you get rich. So even if you are starting in late and you want to finish wealthy, $3,000 a year really adds up. If you start this in your 20s or 30s, you could have over a million in savings by the time you retire.

O'BRIEN: I thought it was $2,000? They bumped it up to $3,000?

BACH: Yes they have.

O'BRIEN: Oh.

BACH: You know, that's a 50 percent increase.

O'BRIEN: Oh, new this year. That's huge.

BACH: Well, new about two years ago, but again, most don't realize that.

O'BRIEN: Wow. The Keough contributions, what are those and how do they work?

BACH: These are the old-style self-employment retirement accounts, typically called a money purchase plan or a profit-sharing account. Now, these have increased a lot also.

It used to be you could put $25,000 away. Now you can put up to $40,000 away. You had to open one of these plans, however, by December 31st. So that plan had to be opened, but you have until April 15th to fund it.

Again, unless you file an extension. In that case, if you file an extension and are self-employed, you have another four months to fund that.

O'BRIEN: If you are doing estimates for 2004, the first installment, those payments are due.

BACH: Those are due also. And so people say, who has to make these estimated payments? Well, again, usually if you are self- employed, you have to look back on your 2003 returns, see what you earned in 2003. The government expects you to pay an estimated tax based on last year's numbers.

O'BRIEN: If you don't really -- if you already know at this point that you'll never make the deadline, and you have to file for an extension, do you have any good tips? As you said before, you have to pay a bill.

BACH: You still have to pay it, but just file the extension. You know, one of the things people think is that if they file an extension that's going to increase their odds of being audited.

O'BRIEN: It doesn't? BACH: There's no statistical fact on that. Now, there's also no statistical proof that filing an extension decreases the likelihood of an audit. You know, a lot of people think that.

It really doesn't make any difference. So if you can't get your forms done, file an extension.

Now, one other important thing to say here, it's getting easier to file your tax returns. You don't have to just do paper tax returns. The IRS now has TeleFile. If you make under $50,000 a year, you can file your taxes on the phone with no paperwork.

You can also use e-File. Now, e-File is a great way on the Internet because you get your money back from the IRS within three weeks. Typical paper tax returns, it takes up to three months. So people should go to irs.gov, see which one of these ways makes the most sense for them.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about two other important dates. There's a date in the middle of June and a date in the middle of August that people need to know about. What happens in June?

BACH: Right. June 15th is the second installment for your estimated taxes. August 15th, that's when the extension is due, unless you file for a second extension, which you can get an additional two months. It takes you out to October 15th.

O'BRIEN: Can you file unlimited number of extension?

BACH: No. You are done October 15th.

O'BRIEN: You've got to get your taxes in.

BACH: Those are the true procrastinators.

O'BRIEN: Just asking.

BACH: You know, if you are doing your taxes on October 14th of 2004 for last year, you really procrastinated. Oh, one last thing. If you are a procrastinator, and you're one of these people who does their taxes at the last minute, don't FedEx them. Because if you FedEx your tax returns to a P.O. Box, they can't accept it. So use the post office, use certified mail.

O'BRIEN: It just needs to be stamped.

BACH: It needs to be stamped, and you want a record of that.

O'BRIEN: Do you think it's better to send it January 1st or April 14th? Or it doesn't matter?

BACH: I think it honestly makes no difference. If you know you're getting a refund, most people want the refund sooner versus later. So it makes sense to file soon. That means the money is back in your pocket. You can invest it or spend it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: David Bach is America Online's money coach. You can get more information at finishrich.com. David joins us every Wednesday with tips on how to improve your financial life.

Bill?

HEMMER: And a break now, Soledad. In a moment, the latest details on the capture of Charles McCoy, Jr. He's the suspect in the Ohio highway shootings. Back in a moment, from Columbus to Vegas on that story, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: And it is exactly half-passed the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

In just a few moments, we're going to take you to Boston and take a look at that big snowstorm that came blasting through the region in the last 24 hours. It actually caught a lot of folks off guard. We'll get you up to date on all the problems there this morning.

HEMMER: Also, developments in the investigation of the attacks in Spain. Spain's interior minister saying the probe is reaching a "decisive phase." A complete update on what all that means in a moment out of Madrid. So stay tuned for that.

O'BRIEN: Other top stories this morning, authorities say that they -- the suspect in the Ohio highway shootings in now in custody. Twenty-eight-year-old Charles McCoy, Jr. arrested earlier today in Las Vegas, Nevada. Police say they made the arrest after getting a tip. A man said he recognized McCoy from a photo that was circulated earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALSOM: He was looking at the USA Today, and I thought that was doubly unusual. After observing him for a while, he did leave. But I was certain that this is the person the police in Ohio were looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Police say McCoy is suspected in two dozen shootings on and around Interstate 270.

In U.S. politics, Democrat John Kerry -- no surprise here -- the winner in the Illinois presidential primary. Senator Kerry awaited last night's results in West Virginia. Kerry's delegate count now boosted to at least 2,200, and that is more than enough to secure his presidential nomination at the Democratic Convention come July.

A second county in Oregon State will begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Officials in Benton County, home to Oregon State University, passed the measure after a 2-1 vote. Licenses will be distributed starting March 24th. A legal challenge by a group opposing gay marriage is now pending in the state Supreme Court.

Firestone facing another court battle today over accusations of defects in some of its tires. The legal action comes days after a Texas judge approved a nearly $150 million settlement. Now, a group of plaintiffs in California are seeking national class action status for a case they're claiming, lethal defects in another tire model.

Also, crowds slowly beginning to gather here in New York City for the city's St. Patrick's Day Parade. It's set to get under way in less than two hours. But in Dublin, Ireland, the celebration already in full swing. The parade there has drawn reportedly more than a half-million spectators.

Now, that's a parade.

HEMMER: That it is, yes. NYPD's lining up here on 6th Avenue getting ready, too.

O'BRIEN: The barricades up.

HEMMER: That they are.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Well, that late winter blast that hit Massachusetts with at least seven inches of snow, going to talk about it now with Maria Hinojosa. She's live in Boston, where they are doing some major digging out this morning.

Hey, Maria. Good morning.

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN URBAN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Well, you know, Soledad, we all got duped. That's the whole problem. As soon as you start putting away your kids' inner lining of his coats and you start putting away those hats and gloves, this is what happens.

So, yes, seven inches here at Boston Logan Airport. But the airport is open. And what I'm hearing from folks in Boston, when the airport stays open, that means things can't be all that bad because usually it closes with a few flakes.

A big storm throughout the night. When I got here last night it was a wall of white. Right now, you've just pretty much got a lot of just flurries coming down, but apparently there's going to be another inch, perhaps another inch accumulated throughout the day.

But all of the schools, Boston public schools, are open. A couple with delays. But the major airports around the area, no problems, just some of the delays that got caught up from yesterday's cancellation of flights.

But people pretty much are making their way of it. I think it's more than the problem of digging out. Its just people are like, let's get done with the winter. But, guess what? More snow tonight and more snow for Friday.

So there you go. That's what's to look forward to.

O'BRIEN: Here in New York, we're thinking the same thing. Ditto from us, too. Let's get it over with.

Maria Hinojosa in Boston of us this morning. Maria, thanks.

Bill?

HEMMER: About 25 minutes before the hour. A senior intelligence official now confirming the authenticity of a U.S. government videotape shot in August of 2000 that may show the al Qaeda leader. The video was shot by a CIA predator drone over southern Afghanistan. It first aired yesterday by NBC News.

It shows a couple of people, and a group of people, including a tall man in a white robe. Analysts believe that may have been bin Laden.

Our national security correspondent, David Ensor, back with us in D.C.

Question, David. Word is that the intelligence community is not happy with this tape going public. Is there a reason as to why this would be leaked?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: This is a highly classified tape, Bill, and they are not happy that it's out there in the public now. There will be -- there routinely is an investigation into any kind of unauthorized disclosure such as this. No decision yet to refer it to the Department of Justice, but within the CIA they are looking into the matter now.

Copies of the tape were also at the Defense Department. So it's not clear where this leak may have come from.

As to motivation, well, this is a political year. And there are those in this town who will tell you that judicious use of leaks in a political year is not surprising. After all, this is a tape that, on the face of it, suggests that President Clinton had an opportunity, perhaps, to get Osama bin Laden before 9/11 and wasn't able to do so.

Of course, intelligence officials are quick to point out to you that this predator drone that took these photographs back in 2000 was an unarmed aircraft. In fact, it was partly this incident in 2000 that speeded up the process of getting hellfire missiles put on to those predators. And one of them was used to hit a senior al Qaeda figure in Yemen subsequently. So changes came about in part buzz because of this videotape -- Bill.

HEMMER: How close are they to saying whether or not this is bin Laden? ENSOR: They cannot say for 100 percent that it's him. After all, there was subsequently an incident where, in fact, an armed predator did see a tall figure in a white robe in Afghanistan. They did fire at the little group of people who were there, and it subsequently turned out not to have been Osama bin Laden.

So 100 percent I.D. is not easy from that height. As you can see, the pictures aren't really good enough to see faces or other more identifying characteristics. But for various reasons, including that this is Tarnac Farms (ph), where bin Laden was known to live at the time, they do believe that this is bin Laden, but it's not 100 percent -- Bill.

HEMMER: Those predators now equipped with hellfire missiles, as we know from the war.

Thank you, David. David Ensor working that story in D.C. -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: A Spanish judge has ordered that an al Qaeda suspect be held for another 48 hours in connection with the Madrid train bombings of last week. Investigators believe they know the identities of at least six of the people who carried bombs onto commuter trains last Thursday. Two hundred and one people were killed. This morning, authorities say their investigation is reaching a critical moment.

Al Goodman is standing by in Madrid for us this morning.

Al, good morning to you. What do they mean by critical moment?

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, critical moment, the interior minister has just made an appearance saying that the nation, which is already on maximum alert, is going to have even more maximum alert. They are going to add the army on and beef up security at all the kinds of installations: the airports; train stations, like the ones that were hit in these bombings; bus stations, nuclear power plants; et cetera.

The investigation reaching a critical point comes this way: I'm outside the national court building, where the first court appearance has just happened with one of the six men who has been held in connection with those train bombings. Judge Balcethar Garthone (ph), one of the leading anti-terrorism investigating magistrates, came into the building a short time later. He received in his chambers in a closed-door hearing this Algerian man, Ali Amras (ph), and he decided to keep him in jail another 48 hours on suspicion of belonging to al Qaeda.

Now, you remember that the Algerian man was arrested after the bombings because police remembered that two months ago he made threats there would be deaths at the Atocha train station, which is what happened last Thursday. In the closed-door session, according to officials familiar with that testimony who have talked to CNN, he says that the police got that wrong, that he wasn't making those kinds of threats. But there are six men in custody. Now, the first one has gone before a judge. Five others will come to this courthouse tomorrow, Thursday. And they think they have the identities -- they say with certainty they have the identifies of five other Moroccans who put bombs on the trains. One of the Moroccans who put bombs on the trains, they say, is in custody. He'll be due to make a court appearance here tomorrow -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Al Goodman for us in Madrid this morning -- thanks.

HEMMER: Want to get you to Florida quickly in Miami Dade County. Watching some pictures here of some explosions taking place at a factory. We don't have a lot of information. But what we do know, courtesy of WFOR, our affiliate working the story from air there, a business that apparently equips oxygen tanks, and the explosions have taken place in these tanks on board that flatbed truck and the area around.

And you can watch it right now. They continue to go off one by one. And, again, we don't have a whole lot of information. But it is quite a sight and quite the scene there in southern Florida.

When we get more, we'll pass it along to you. And as the camera comes out, you can already see there's already damage enough there as the tanks go off one by one. We'll get you more in a moment here out of southern Florida. That's not something you see every day, certainly.

O'BRIEN: And you can clearly see the damage spreading beyond just that vehicle. It looks as if a building -- and obviously, we're getting these pictures live from our affiliate, so it's hard for us to control the cameras. But you can see beyond the vehicle, the entire building is engulfed in flames. It looks like a fair amount of damage every single time another one of those tanks goes off.

O'BRIEN: When we get more, you'll hear it here.

Let's get a break now. Back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The midlife crisis, isn't that supposed to come in the neighborhood of like 50? Well, maybe for men. But a New book is putting a new spin on the age-old experience for women. Its called "Midlife Crisis at 30." And the authors are two familiar faces around here at CNN. Kerry Rubin is one of the producers on our show. Lia Macko is a former CNN producer on AMERICAN MORNING.

Guys, thanks for joining us. Nice to have you.

I loved the book. I thought it was great. But again, you think midlife crisis and you think a 45-year-old guy runs out and buys a red Camaro to deal with it.

You're talking about women age 30. What evidence do you have that women at that age are going through a midlife crisis? KERRY RUBIN, CO-AUTHOR, "MIDLIFE CRISIS AT 30": Well, this really is the story of a generation and how that generation is processing social change. Unlike other women like the flappers and the hippies and the women's libbers, who tackle the big questions of their times with a relatively unified voice in an external way, gen-x women are internalizing lingering social issues and are blaming themselves instead of questioning the system. So instead of having the social movement, like every other generation in women across the century has sparked, what you have is a series of an entire generation of women having these individual parallel moments of self-doubt where they question their choices as they contemplate their future.

O'BRIEN: We're all living with raging self-doubt, aren't we?

RUBIN: Exactly.

O'BRIEN: Well, we're all sort of in this age range. You talked to 100 women -- more -- well over, actually, because you divide the book into segments. You start off talking about the women who are at a crossroads in their lives. Tell me about a couple of women you talked to and what stuck out about their stories to you.

LIA MACKO, CO-AUTHOR, "MIDLIFE CRISIS AT 30": Well, what is really striking is that, irrespective of impressive resumes all of these women have, they all thought their lives were far more one- dimensional than the lives they intended to be living. You know, we grew up in this very lucky time.

We grew up after the most visible elements of the glass ceiling had been shattered. And when we confront change, we don't think about questioning systems, corporate or political. We think about questioning ourselves, and we look how we may have failed.

O'BRIEN: So you think the women you are talking to are all dissatisfied? They looked great on paper, and said, eh?.

MACKO: It's not that they are dissatisfied. They feel like there's an expectation for their lives they are not living up to. For instance, you have a number of single women between the ages of 30 and 34 tripling over the course of one generation. Those women aren't out living Sex and the City" lives. They're not, you know, drinking $12 cosmopolitans...

O'BRIEN: Who is?

MACKO: ... or wearing $800 shoes. And Kerry talked to a lot of women with different work-life issues.

RUBIN: You know, it's interesting, because this really isn't your father's midlife crisis we're talking about here. When we interviewed these women and they described what the saw as the missing pieces in their lives, they weren't saying, oh, I feel so washed up, all the time is gone, it's behind me.

O'BRIEN: I need a cute young thing on my arm. RUBIN: Exactly. They weren't saying, where has the time gone. They were saying, where's the time going, and where is my life heading. And specifically, the number one question which we heard over and over again across all of these interviews was, how am I going to have the personal life that I want and the professional life that I want at the same time?

O'BRIEN: At the end of the day, it really comes down to juggling. The second half of the book, you talk about the new girls club. Tell me about some of the women who are in this new girls' club. Really fascinating professions.

MACKO: So inspiring.

O'BRIEN: Yes, absolutely.

MACKO: And that's really the point. The book is all about hope and solutions. These women show you that you really can have it all if you are really focused about what it is you want.

And the other thing we tried to do is really sort of update what the role model is for a modern, successful woman. When you have someone like Julia Reed, a writer for Vogue, talking about her first- time wedding at 42, that's a new version of a role model for all those single women in their 30s.

O'BRIEN: Great story. She ditched out of her wedding at 29.

MACKO: Right.

RUBIN: Exactly.

MACKO: And was so happy about the way her life evolved because she waited. So other stories like Dr. Bernadine Healy, very, very big job, very small kids at the same time. Single mom.

RUBIN: Right, single mother.

MACKO: New role model.

O'BRIEN: Absolutely. I thought it was really inspiring. Because I'm kind of still kind in that age range.

Ladies, as always, thanks so much. It's a wonderful book, "Midlife Crisis at 30," Kerry Rubin and Lia Macko.

MACKO: Thank you for having us.

RUBIN: Thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: Our pleasure -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Soledad.

Back to Florida and Miami Dade County, quickly. Watching this fire videotape yet again. A live picture now from WFOR. A bit more information. The company is called Air Gas, a warehouse-type building has been evacuated. Considerable damage, too, as the camera comes out wider.

A few moments ago, this was on videotape, with those oxygen tanks literally blowing on the backside of that flatbed truck. Miami Dade County fire handling that. And again, no injuries. That's the best news, despite those pictures we're seeing in southern Florida.

Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING. A fallen Enron official, her sentencing delayed. That's the request. How long and why? Andy has the judge's response after this. Andy and Jack back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: In the Enron scandal, one Fastow will not get a Passover delay. Plus, the latest from the Adelphia trial and a check of the markets. We're loaded, and quickly.

Here's Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good to see you.

HEMMER: Markets are doing what?

SERWER: Markets are moving up. So we've got two days in a row, at least so far. Still early. Let's take a look.

Sixty-seven points, that's not bad. Moving to the upside, Federal Express says its profits are up 41 percent. Memo to the Dow Jones company. When are you going to put this company in the Dow 30? It deserves to be there.

HEMMER: You think so? FedEx?

SERWER: Yes, it does. FedEx or UPS. They need to be represented in that index, and they are not. That's a whole other story.

Let's talk about the Fastows. An interesting wrinkle here on the Enron case. Leah Fastow, she was an executive at Enron and wife of Andy Fastow, the ex CFO. Pled guilty to a tax crime. Waiting to be sentenced. Going to be sentenced in early April.

Asked the judge to delay her sentencing because it was during Passover. Guess what the judge said? No.

The judge is Jewish himself, by the way. OK? So I guess he can say that. He said, you know what? Let's just get on with it, please.

Moving over to the Adelphia situation, that trial we're really starting to get some good stuff. You'll remember the Cancun trip. You'll remember "La Femme Nikita" on the airplane yesterday. Well, today, guess what? They are still using those airplanes.

They're using it to transfer their golf pro out to the pebble -- out to Pebble Beach. That's right.

O'BRIEN: That's important.

SERWER: On the company dime. And here's my favorite, Wellsville, New York, they went out there to pick up -- this is in western New York -- they used the company plane to go out and pick up a Christmas tree to bring it back to Manhattan on the company's dime. Someone in the family said, you know what? That Christmas tree is too short. Go back and get another one.

HEMMER: And they did?

SERWER: That's what they did. I hope you are not an Adelphia shareholder out there watching this.

HEMMER: Wow.

SERWER: Wouldn't that make you a little upset?

Jack, you can imagine.

CAFFERTY: It's unbelievable.

SERWER: It's unbelievable what these people felt they were entitled to use company resources for.

O'BRIEN: Well, the Christmas tree thing you can understand.

SEWER: OK, Soledad. Not. Not.

O'BRIEN: Kidding. Kidding. That is pretty crazy.

HEMMER: Tank you, Andy.

O'BRIEN: Talk about crazy, Jack's got things people say.

CAFFERTY: Things people say on Wednesday, beginning with a comment from Andy Rooney. "That wasn't nice, Bill. I didn't get old on purpose. It just happened. If you're lucky, it could happen to you."

Eighty-five-year-old Andy Rooney of "60 Minutes" addressing Bill O'Reilly, of Fox News, one of the many critics who took shots at Rooney's age when responding to a segment on "The Passion of the Christ." Andy Rooney had referred to the director of the movie, Mel Gibson, as a wacko.

"I know what's going on between you and Charles, and I just want you to know that. Don't treat me like an idiot." Princess Diana in an audiotape she made before her divorce from Prince Charles. She was describing a confrontation she had with Camilla Parker Bowles, who was Prince Charles' playmate. "That's cool, but I don't know who Cary Grant is." Eighteen- year-old Frankie Muniz after being told a critic had described him as the Cary Grant of kid stars.

HEMMER: Now he knows.

CAFFERTY: "It's not true that blondes are vapid, but Owen doesn't do anything to dispel that myth." Ben Stiller on "Starsky and Hutch" costar Owen Wilson.

And my favorite is this: "You've done a nice job decorating the White House." Jessica Simpson when introduced to the secretary of the interior, Gale Norton.

HEMMER: Come on.

SERWER: That's what the secretary of interior does. They do that.

O'BRIEN: Interior design.

SERWER: Decorative arts.

O'BRIEN: It makes perfect sense to me.

HEMMER: And throw the Christmas tree on the Adelphia plane and take it right to the White House.

SERWER: That's right. It all ties in.

O'BRIEN: That was pretty darn funny, Jack. Thank you very much.

Coming up this morning on CNN, the privacy of airline passengers is getting a lot of attention on Capitol Hill this morning. Are some of the proposed changes to the system going too far?

We'll look at that coming up on "CNN LIVE TODAY" with Daryn Kagan. AMERICAN MORNING is back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: All right. We're out of time. A busy day here on AMERICAN MORNING. Thanks for sharing with us today. See you tomorrow on Thursday right here.





With David Bach; Madrid Attacks Investigation>


Aired March 17, 2004 - 9:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Police tracking the man suspected in the Ohio highway shootings all the way to Las Vegas. A slice of pizza at the Stardust Casino may have helped break the case.
Martha Stewart's family anxiously waiting for a sentence. Her only daughter talking in an exclusive interview with CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXIS STEWART, MARTHA STEWART'S DAUGHTER: She's disappointed of her feeling like her life was wasted, everything she did is ignored.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: And winter getting the final freezing word with a blast of snow across the Northeast, ahead this hour here on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.

Other stories that we're following this morning, tax time, believe it or not, just around the corner. Are you sweating yet? Well, don't worry. The guy you want to explain all things tax-wise, David Bach, joins us with "90-Second Tips." He's going to tell you exactly what you need for April 15th.

HEMMER: Be listening for that one today.

Also, more on the videotape that has come to light. Almost four years ago, August of 2000, perhaps showing Osama bin Laden working his way through a terrorist camp in southern Afghanistan. We'll get a complete report on that. We'll also show you the videotape and let you know what we're learning now.

O'BRIEN: And Mr. Cafferty, good morning.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

Has America's war on terror permanently damaged its relationships with many of its allies around the world? A New poll suggests it has. We're reading e-mails at am@cnn.com.

HEMMER: All right. Jack, thanks.

Let's get right away back to our top story again from Ohio to Las Vegas. About 36 hours for authorities to apprehend the man wanted in connection with a string of 24 shootings in the Columbus, Ohio, area. Charles McCoy Jr., age 28, arrested earlier today at a Las Vegas hotel.

Sean Callebs watching this story. Let's start our coverage this hour in Columbus, where that manhunt got under way early this week.

Sean, what are you learning? Good morning there.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

We can tell you the odyssey is over for 28-year-old Charles McCoy. He was arrested by Las Vegas authorities. He is being interviewed right now. Also, police are in the process of getting a search warrant so they can check his car, that 1999 green Geo Metro he apparently drove from here to Las Vegas.

Police also are trying to get a search warrant to check his room. He was arrested without incident. And this is somewhat interesting, because police here portrayed him as a very dangerous individual, telling people simply not to approach him. Also saying that he was suicidal with possible homicidal tendencies.

Apparently what happened while out in Vegas, McCoy had shared a pizza with an individual out there. Later, that guy became somewhat suspect; he contacted FBI authorities and took his story there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONRAD MALSOM, WITNESS: He was looking at the USA Today, and I thought that was doubly unusual. After observing him for a while, he did leave. But I was certain that this is the person that the police in Ohio were looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: That was Conrad Malsom, apparently the individual who spent some time with McCoy out in Las Vegas.

It's been a very emotional time for McCoy's family. They made a plea yesterday, urging him to contact them, to surrender without any incident. He did go down without any violence. And, once again, 24 shootings that simply terrorized this area for the past 10 months, including, Bill, one fatality, a 62-year-old woman shot in the end of November who died on November 26th.

HEMMER: Sean, for months, we've been reporting about truckers and families in minivans avoiding that route, that loop around Columbus, I-270. Reaction in the town today is what, Sean?

CALLEBS: Somewhat relief, a certain degree of anxiety. They would like to see him extradited back here as soon as possible. They want to find out more about this. And, you're exactly right. Virtually everyone we talk to out here, if they aren't avoiding that I-270 area, certainly other members of their families are. It is something that has really been with this community for such a long time. They really hope this is the end of it.

HEMMER: Indeed. You're right there. Sean, thanks. Sean Callebs in Columbus. More a bit later.

Now Soledad with more news.

O'BRIEN: In other news, U.S. and Iraqi military forces have launched a New campaign to hunt out insurgents in Baghdad. The stepped-up effort called Iron Promise comes amid New violence in the city. A mortar attack last night on a political party building killed an Iraqi child, wounded eight others.

Secretary of State Colin Powell in Pakistan continuing his tour of South Asia. Secretary Powell was in Afghanistan earlier for a brief visit with the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai. The two discussed the war on terror, the hunt for bin Laden, and also Afghani reconstruction.

A New project under way to stop illegal immigrants from crossing the Mexico-Arizona border. Starting in June, two unmanned surveillance drones will monitor remote desert areas. The Department of Homeland Security says the plan also includes more border patrols and also expanded detention centers.

And don't put away those snow shovels just yet. A late-season storm dumped a record-breaking 18 inches of snow in parts of the Midwest yesterday. Slippery roads blamed for numerous crashes, including several in Ohio. The storm moved east overnight, wreaking havoc from New Jersey to Boston, and then striking as far north as Maine.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: A senior intelligence official now confirming the authenticity of a U.S. government videotape shot three-and-a-half years ago that may show Osama bin Laden. The videotape shot by a CIA predator drone over Tarnac Farm (ph), a terrorist camp in southern Afghanistan obtained yesterday by NBC News.

It shows a group of people, including a tall man in a White robe. Analysts believe it may have been the Al Qaeda leader.

What's the significance? Steve Coll, author of "Ghost Wars: The Secretive History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and bin Laden from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001," also managing editor of The Washington Post, live today from The Post newsroom in D.C.

Nice to have you with us here. Good morning, Mr. Coll.

STEVE COLL, AUTHOR, "GHOST WARS": Good morning, Bill. HEMMER: I understand that you knew the videotape existed. You had not seen it before until yesterday. And your reaction now watching it is what?

COLL: Well, it's a very compelling piece of video. A very vivid reminder of how close the United States was to locating bin Laden.

Of course, as you said, it may be bin Laden. It's certainly compelling in the suggestion that it is. But we can't be 100 percent certain that that's who it is because the photography just isn't that exact.

HEMMER: And here is my question to you: Tarnac Farm (ph) was considered the first terrorist training camp in southern Afghanistan, considered the largest. It was believed through intelligence sources that this is where Osama bin Laden spent the majority of his time.

After the war got under way and the Taliban was routed and kicked out of southern Afghanistan, chased up into the mountains, FBI and CIA officers scoured Tarnac Farm (ph) looking for indications of al Qaeda evidence and ties possibly to Iraq and Saddam Hussein. Knowing all that in the bag, before the war even started, why not take action at the time in August of 2000?

COLL: Well, bin Laden went in and out of Tarnac Farm (ph). sAnd one of the problems was that he was aware that the Americans were looking for him. And so he moved quite frequently.

At the time that the president might have had access to that video, if he had pushed the button on a cruise missile strike -- which I think he was in a position to do because they didn't have submarines out in the Arabian Sea -- it would have been four to six hours before the missiles landed in the camp. That was one issue.

Another issue was that there were women and children in this farm. There were hangers-on with al Qaeda militants. Maybe that shouldn't have been an issue, but it was certainly part of the discussion.

And finally, U.S. policy during this period of the hunt for bin Laden narrowed the focus to bin Laden himself and a few of his key lieutenants. It did not contemplate direct attacks on the Taliban or on Taliban infrastructure, or even on al Qaeda training camps, per se. The mission was very narrowly defined in those years, and that was another part of the problem.

HEMMER: Another tough question for you. Is there any evidence going back three-and-a-half years that if Osama bin Laden had been killed that summer, would the events of 9/11 not taken place?

COLL: It's a fascinating question, about which it's impossible to be certain. A couple of things, though, are worth noting.

Some of the hijackers were already in the United States at the time that video was shot. And they were being managed by bin Laden lieutenants who were not as prominent on the U.S. wanted list as bin Laden himself was. On the other hand, a number of the other hijackers had not yet entered the United States, and the cohesion with which that plot was managed from Afghanistan might well have been disrupted by bin Laden's death.

HEMMER: Well, in other news of the day, I want to talk about this raid led by the paramilitary forces on the Pakistani side of the border in this region. The reports we're getting is they killed 24 mostly foreign fighters. They captured 18. They lost 15 of their own men.

This must have been a fierce and wicked firefight. Is the indication through this telling you that the scent is getting stronger in that part of the world?

COLL: Well, it's another indication that the people involved in the search believe they know where bin Laden is. And it's roughly in this area where this battle took place, reported battle took place yesterday. It's also an indication of how fierce the resistance is likely to be in some of these tribal areas, where it's not just that the tribal leaders are sheltering bin Laden, but they, themselves, are hostile to the Pakistani army and to the United States on their own accord.

O'BRIEN: Steve Coll is our guest, Washington Post newsroom in D.C. Thanks for talking. We'll speak again, all right? Appreciate it.

COLL: Thanks, Bill.

HEMMER: All right -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Martha Stewart's daughter is speaking out in the wake of the guilty verdict in her mother's trial. In an exclusive interview, Alexis Stewart tells CNN's Larry King that, despite her mother's brusque demeanor, she's actually a generous person who gives too much. She also talks about the possibility of prison and what's next in the legal fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Are you going to write to the judge at all? Are you going to express your feelings?

STEWART: If someone thinks that's appropriate, I'd be happy to.

KING: Yes. Are you nervous?

STEWART: About the verdict?

STEWART: About the possibility your mother might have to go away?

STEWART: Nervous, I guess. I try not to focus on it.

KING: I mean, you're a realist, right? That could happen.

STEWART: Yes, I realize that. I think it would be incredibly wrong. But I'm hoping that won't happen.

KING: And if it did, she would handle it well?

STEWART: Oh, yeah.

KING: Boy, you have a lot of confidence in mom, don't you?

STEWART: Well, yeah, sure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: You can see the rest of Larry King's exclusive interview with Alexis Stewart right here on CNN. It begins tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

HEMMER: In a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING, back to Ohio. The latest on the man now in custody in the Columbus-area shootings. More details still coming forth. We'll get to that in a moment.

O'BRIEN: Also this morning, what's next in the war of words between President Bush and Senator John Kerry? We'll take a look at that.

HEMMER: Also, taxes due in about a month. And the time is ticking. Ninety-second tips ahead with David Bach when we continue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: To politics now, and the recent tit for tat that's developing between the Bush and Kerry campaigns. No doubt, continuing today, and perhaps for seven and a half more months.

Senator Kerry is making what is being called a major speech on defense about three hours from now in Washington. Meanwhile, in California, the vice president, Dick Cheney, gives an address today on foreign policy and national security issues. All this expected back and forth comes as the campaigns continue to spar over who said what and to whom.

Bob Franken now from D.C.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before John Kerry leaves on his vacation today, there are some potshots from the other side over his claim leaders overseas favor his election. CNN has obtained an audiotape of Kerry's remarks from the Boston Globe reporter in the room.

SEN. JOHN KERRY (D-MA), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I met more leaders, you know, who can't go out and say it all publicly, but boy, they look at you and say, you got win this, you've got beat this guy. We need a New policy.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think it's -- look, if you're going to make an accusation in the course of a presidential campaign, you ought to back it up with facts.

FRANKEN: Leaders he will not identify because, he insists, that would violate confidences. The White House says, if Kerry refuses, then he must be making it up. Kerry insisted again the real credibility issue is the White House credibility over healthcare, the economy, the war in Iraq.

(on camera): Both sides are doing their utmost to play offense to avoid having to play defense.

Bob Franken, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HEMMER: And we'll continue to follow that. Again, we mentioned the speeches, Senator Kerry in D.C. and the vice president, Dick Cheney, in California. More later today here on CNN with that.

O'BRIEN: Mr. Cafferty is with us for the "Question of the Day" -- hello.

CAFFERTY: Hi, Soledad.

Startling poll results showing the image of the United States at all-time lows overseas. A survey conducted by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center shows a majority of people everywhere except in this country say the war in Iraq hurt the fight against terrorism.

Also, majorities in Great Britain, France, Germany, and Turkey, all NATO allies of the United States, say that Western Europe should take a more independent approach to security and diplomacy. And majorities in every country except the U.S. have an unfavorable opinion of President Bush.

The question: Has the war on terror permanently damaged America's relations with its allies? Here are some of the results we're getting.

Annette in Irving, Texas: "I'm growing very tired of the continuous dose of what Europe thinks about us. Like I care. If they think moving away from America and negotiating with al Qaeda will save their miserable butts, they are very wrong. The thing people don't get is that if you are not a Muslim and you believe in their extreme sects, these thugs will kill you. It's that simple; they kill their own people."

Richard in New York: "The war with Iraq, not the war on terror, alienated our international allies. They were all behind us after September 11th and against us after our unilateral invasion of Iraq."

Burt in Mico, Texas: "I was born and raised in Europe. I lived and worked in 41 countries. I chose to become an American, and I'm proud to be an American. In my whole life, though, I've never heard from people a positive opinion about America. But I know one thing for sure. Open our borders, and all our critics will come to America." "America is the best place to live. We know it, and they know it."

And Jeanne in Long Lake, New York, writes this: "No, I'm not worried about our image overseas. I'll get worried when they feel so strongly that they stop accepting American dollars for foreign aid, charitable programs, outsourced jobs, and the trade deficit that is heavily in their favor. This will all change when they need more money or military aid from us."

HEMMER: That's a heck of a response.

CAFFERTY: Yes, it is.

HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.

CAFFERTY: Yes.

HEMMER: A break here in a moment. In case you are looking for a refund check, stay with us. The latest tax tips in a moment. David Bach's our guest right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Believe it or not, your taxes are due in less than a month, and, as they say, the devil is in the details. Our personal finance contributor, David Bach, joins us for a little help in this morning in this week's edition of "90-Second Tips." I asked him what exactly is due on April 15th.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID BACH, CNN FINANCE CONTRIBUTOR: Basically, the 1040 is due on April 15th, unless you are a citizen in America living out of the country. Then you are given an automatic extension to June 15th. But that doesn't really apply to many people.

So the tax day is Thursday, which means really there's no extension. It is April 15th. Now, the important thing is, you can file for an extension, but you must do that by April 15th, and you still need to make a tax payment. If you file for an extension, you get four more months then to turn your tax forms in.

O'BRIEN: To do your work. All right. Well, let's talk a little about what should be on everybody's to-do list. You say contribute to your IRA. Do a lot of people forget to do this?

BACH: Not only do they forget, but this is the easiest, quick tax deduction that you could possibly find. A couple of people were asking right before I came over here, "Well, what if I haven't been keeping my receipts?" Well, did you fund a retirement account? "No."

Well, great. You can go put $3,000 away in an IRA account up to the date of April 15th, get a full $3,000 tax deduction for last year. Over the age of 50, you can put over $3,500 away. Now, again, the government is paying for almost half of that because this is a tax deduction. But more importantly, this is how you get rich. So even if you are starting in late and you want to finish wealthy, $3,000 a year really adds up. If you start this in your 20s or 30s, you could have over a million in savings by the time you retire.

O'BRIEN: I thought it was $2,000? They bumped it up to $3,000?

BACH: Yes they have.

O'BRIEN: Oh.

BACH: You know, that's a 50 percent increase.

O'BRIEN: Oh, new this year. That's huge.

BACH: Well, new about two years ago, but again, most don't realize that.

O'BRIEN: Wow. The Keough contributions, what are those and how do they work?

BACH: These are the old-style self-employment retirement accounts, typically called a money purchase plan or a profit-sharing account. Now, these have increased a lot also.

It used to be you could put $25,000 away. Now you can put up to $40,000 away. You had to open one of these plans, however, by December 31st. So that plan had to be opened, but you have until April 15th to fund it.

Again, unless you file an extension. In that case, if you file an extension and are self-employed, you have another four months to fund that.

O'BRIEN: If you are doing estimates for 2004, the first installment, those payments are due.

BACH: Those are due also. And so people say, who has to make these estimated payments? Well, again, usually if you are self- employed, you have to look back on your 2003 returns, see what you earned in 2003. The government expects you to pay an estimated tax based on last year's numbers.

O'BRIEN: If you don't really -- if you already know at this point that you'll never make the deadline, and you have to file for an extension, do you have any good tips? As you said before, you have to pay a bill.

BACH: You still have to pay it, but just file the extension. You know, one of the things people think is that if they file an extension that's going to increase their odds of being audited.

O'BRIEN: It doesn't? BACH: There's no statistical fact on that. Now, there's also no statistical proof that filing an extension decreases the likelihood of an audit. You know, a lot of people think that.

It really doesn't make any difference. So if you can't get your forms done, file an extension.

Now, one other important thing to say here, it's getting easier to file your tax returns. You don't have to just do paper tax returns. The IRS now has TeleFile. If you make under $50,000 a year, you can file your taxes on the phone with no paperwork.

You can also use e-File. Now, e-File is a great way on the Internet because you get your money back from the IRS within three weeks. Typical paper tax returns, it takes up to three months. So people should go to irs.gov, see which one of these ways makes the most sense for them.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk about two other important dates. There's a date in the middle of June and a date in the middle of August that people need to know about. What happens in June?

BACH: Right. June 15th is the second installment for your estimated taxes. August 15th, that's when the extension is due, unless you file for a second extension, which you can get an additional two months. It takes you out to October 15th.

O'BRIEN: Can you file unlimited number of extension?

BACH: No. You are done October 15th.

O'BRIEN: You've got to get your taxes in.

BACH: Those are the true procrastinators.

O'BRIEN: Just asking.

BACH: You know, if you are doing your taxes on October 14th of 2004 for last year, you really procrastinated. Oh, one last thing. If you are a procrastinator, and you're one of these people who does their taxes at the last minute, don't FedEx them. Because if you FedEx your tax returns to a P.O. Box, they can't accept it. So use the post office, use certified mail.

O'BRIEN: It just needs to be stamped.

BACH: It needs to be stamped, and you want a record of that.

O'BRIEN: Do you think it's better to send it January 1st or April 14th? Or it doesn't matter?

BACH: I think it honestly makes no difference. If you know you're getting a refund, most people want the refund sooner versus later. So it makes sense to file soon. That means the money is back in your pocket. You can invest it or spend it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: David Bach is America Online's money coach. You can get more information at finishrich.com. David joins us every Wednesday with tips on how to improve your financial life.

Bill?

HEMMER: And a break now, Soledad. In a moment, the latest details on the capture of Charles McCoy, Jr. He's the suspect in the Ohio highway shootings. Back in a moment, from Columbus to Vegas on that story, after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

O'BRIEN: And it is exactly half-passed the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.

In just a few moments, we're going to take you to Boston and take a look at that big snowstorm that came blasting through the region in the last 24 hours. It actually caught a lot of folks off guard. We'll get you up to date on all the problems there this morning.

HEMMER: Also, developments in the investigation of the attacks in Spain. Spain's interior minister saying the probe is reaching a "decisive phase." A complete update on what all that means in a moment out of Madrid. So stay tuned for that.

O'BRIEN: Other top stories this morning, authorities say that they -- the suspect in the Ohio highway shootings in now in custody. Twenty-eight-year-old Charles McCoy, Jr. arrested earlier today in Las Vegas, Nevada. Police say they made the arrest after getting a tip. A man said he recognized McCoy from a photo that was circulated earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALSOM: He was looking at the USA Today, and I thought that was doubly unusual. After observing him for a while, he did leave. But I was certain that this is the person the police in Ohio were looking for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Police say McCoy is suspected in two dozen shootings on and around Interstate 270.

In U.S. politics, Democrat John Kerry -- no surprise here -- the winner in the Illinois presidential primary. Senator Kerry awaited last night's results in West Virginia. Kerry's delegate count now boosted to at least 2,200, and that is more than enough to secure his presidential nomination at the Democratic Convention come July.

A second county in Oregon State will begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Officials in Benton County, home to Oregon State University, passed the measure after a 2-1 vote. Licenses will be distributed starting March 24th. A legal challenge by a group opposing gay marriage is now pending in the state Supreme Court.

Firestone facing another court battle today over accusations of defects in some of its tires. The legal action comes days after a Texas judge approved a nearly $150 million settlement. Now, a group of plaintiffs in California are seeking national class action status for a case they're claiming, lethal defects in another tire model.

Also, crowds slowly beginning to gather here in New York City for the city's St. Patrick's Day Parade. It's set to get under way in less than two hours. But in Dublin, Ireland, the celebration already in full swing. The parade there has drawn reportedly more than a half-million spectators.

Now, that's a parade.

HEMMER: That it is, yes. NYPD's lining up here on 6th Avenue getting ready, too.

O'BRIEN: The barricades up.

HEMMER: That they are.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Well, that late winter blast that hit Massachusetts with at least seven inches of snow, going to talk about it now with Maria Hinojosa. She's live in Boston, where they are doing some major digging out this morning.

Hey, Maria. Good morning.

MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN URBAN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Well, you know, Soledad, we all got duped. That's the whole problem. As soon as you start putting away your kids' inner lining of his coats and you start putting away those hats and gloves, this is what happens.

So, yes, seven inches here at Boston Logan Airport. But the airport is open. And what I'm hearing from folks in Boston, when the airport stays open, that means things can't be all that bad because usually it closes with a few flakes.

A big storm throughout the night. When I got here last night it was a wall of white. Right now, you've just pretty much got a lot of just flurries coming down, but apparently there's going to be another inch, perhaps another inch accumulated throughout the day.

But all of the schools, Boston public schools, are open. A couple with delays. But the major airports around the area, no problems, just some of the delays that got caught up from yesterday's cancellation of flights.

But people pretty much are making their way of it. I think it's more than the problem of digging out. Its just people are like, let's get done with the winter. But, guess what? More snow tonight and more snow for Friday.

So there you go. That's what's to look forward to.

O'BRIEN: Here in New York, we're thinking the same thing. Ditto from us, too. Let's get it over with.

Maria Hinojosa in Boston of us this morning. Maria, thanks.

Bill?

HEMMER: About 25 minutes before the hour. A senior intelligence official now confirming the authenticity of a U.S. government videotape shot in August of 2000 that may show the al Qaeda leader. The video was shot by a CIA predator drone over southern Afghanistan. It first aired yesterday by NBC News.

It shows a couple of people, and a group of people, including a tall man in a white robe. Analysts believe that may have been bin Laden.

Our national security correspondent, David Ensor, back with us in D.C.

Question, David. Word is that the intelligence community is not happy with this tape going public. Is there a reason as to why this would be leaked?

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: This is a highly classified tape, Bill, and they are not happy that it's out there in the public now. There will be -- there routinely is an investigation into any kind of unauthorized disclosure such as this. No decision yet to refer it to the Department of Justice, but within the CIA they are looking into the matter now.

Copies of the tape were also at the Defense Department. So it's not clear where this leak may have come from.

As to motivation, well, this is a political year. And there are those in this town who will tell you that judicious use of leaks in a political year is not surprising. After all, this is a tape that, on the face of it, suggests that President Clinton had an opportunity, perhaps, to get Osama bin Laden before 9/11 and wasn't able to do so.

Of course, intelligence officials are quick to point out to you that this predator drone that took these photographs back in 2000 was an unarmed aircraft. In fact, it was partly this incident in 2000 that speeded up the process of getting hellfire missiles put on to those predators. And one of them was used to hit a senior al Qaeda figure in Yemen subsequently. So changes came about in part buzz because of this videotape -- Bill.

HEMMER: How close are they to saying whether or not this is bin Laden? ENSOR: They cannot say for 100 percent that it's him. After all, there was subsequently an incident where, in fact, an armed predator did see a tall figure in a white robe in Afghanistan. They did fire at the little group of people who were there, and it subsequently turned out not to have been Osama bin Laden.

So 100 percent I.D. is not easy from that height. As you can see, the pictures aren't really good enough to see faces or other more identifying characteristics. But for various reasons, including that this is Tarnac Farms (ph), where bin Laden was known to live at the time, they do believe that this is bin Laden, but it's not 100 percent -- Bill.

HEMMER: Those predators now equipped with hellfire missiles, as we know from the war.

Thank you, David. David Ensor working that story in D.C. -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: A Spanish judge has ordered that an al Qaeda suspect be held for another 48 hours in connection with the Madrid train bombings of last week. Investigators believe they know the identities of at least six of the people who carried bombs onto commuter trains last Thursday. Two hundred and one people were killed. This morning, authorities say their investigation is reaching a critical moment.

Al Goodman is standing by in Madrid for us this morning.

Al, good morning to you. What do they mean by critical moment?

AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, critical moment, the interior minister has just made an appearance saying that the nation, which is already on maximum alert, is going to have even more maximum alert. They are going to add the army on and beef up security at all the kinds of installations: the airports; train stations, like the ones that were hit in these bombings; bus stations, nuclear power plants; et cetera.

The investigation reaching a critical point comes this way: I'm outside the national court building, where the first court appearance has just happened with one of the six men who has been held in connection with those train bombings. Judge Balcethar Garthone (ph), one of the leading anti-terrorism investigating magistrates, came into the building a short time later. He received in his chambers in a closed-door hearing this Algerian man, Ali Amras (ph), and he decided to keep him in jail another 48 hours on suspicion of belonging to al Qaeda.

Now, you remember that the Algerian man was arrested after the bombings because police remembered that two months ago he made threats there would be deaths at the Atocha train station, which is what happened last Thursday. In the closed-door session, according to officials familiar with that testimony who have talked to CNN, he says that the police got that wrong, that he wasn't making those kinds of threats. But there are six men in custody. Now, the first one has gone before a judge. Five others will come to this courthouse tomorrow, Thursday. And they think they have the identities -- they say with certainty they have the identifies of five other Moroccans who put bombs on the trains. One of the Moroccans who put bombs on the trains, they say, is in custody. He'll be due to make a court appearance here tomorrow -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Al Goodman for us in Madrid this morning -- thanks.

HEMMER: Want to get you to Florida quickly in Miami Dade County. Watching some pictures here of some explosions taking place at a factory. We don't have a lot of information. But what we do know, courtesy of WFOR, our affiliate working the story from air there, a business that apparently equips oxygen tanks, and the explosions have taken place in these tanks on board that flatbed truck and the area around.

And you can watch it right now. They continue to go off one by one. And, again, we don't have a whole lot of information. But it is quite a sight and quite the scene there in southern Florida.

When we get more, we'll pass it along to you. And as the camera comes out, you can already see there's already damage enough there as the tanks go off one by one. We'll get you more in a moment here out of southern Florida. That's not something you see every day, certainly.

O'BRIEN: And you can clearly see the damage spreading beyond just that vehicle. It looks as if a building -- and obviously, we're getting these pictures live from our affiliate, so it's hard for us to control the cameras. But you can see beyond the vehicle, the entire building is engulfed in flames. It looks like a fair amount of damage every single time another one of those tanks goes off.

O'BRIEN: When we get more, you'll hear it here.

Let's get a break now. Back in a moment on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The midlife crisis, isn't that supposed to come in the neighborhood of like 50? Well, maybe for men. But a New book is putting a new spin on the age-old experience for women. Its called "Midlife Crisis at 30." And the authors are two familiar faces around here at CNN. Kerry Rubin is one of the producers on our show. Lia Macko is a former CNN producer on AMERICAN MORNING.

Guys, thanks for joining us. Nice to have you.

I loved the book. I thought it was great. But again, you think midlife crisis and you think a 45-year-old guy runs out and buys a red Camaro to deal with it.

You're talking about women age 30. What evidence do you have that women at that age are going through a midlife crisis? KERRY RUBIN, CO-AUTHOR, "MIDLIFE CRISIS AT 30": Well, this really is the story of a generation and how that generation is processing social change. Unlike other women like the flappers and the hippies and the women's libbers, who tackle the big questions of their times with a relatively unified voice in an external way, gen-x women are internalizing lingering social issues and are blaming themselves instead of questioning the system. So instead of having the social movement, like every other generation in women across the century has sparked, what you have is a series of an entire generation of women having these individual parallel moments of self-doubt where they question their choices as they contemplate their future.

O'BRIEN: We're all living with raging self-doubt, aren't we?

RUBIN: Exactly.

O'BRIEN: Well, we're all sort of in this age range. You talked to 100 women -- more -- well over, actually, because you divide the book into segments. You start off talking about the women who are at a crossroads in their lives. Tell me about a couple of women you talked to and what stuck out about their stories to you.

LIA MACKO, CO-AUTHOR, "MIDLIFE CRISIS AT 30": Well, what is really striking is that, irrespective of impressive resumes all of these women have, they all thought their lives were far more one- dimensional than the lives they intended to be living. You know, we grew up in this very lucky time.

We grew up after the most visible elements of the glass ceiling had been shattered. And when we confront change, we don't think about questioning systems, corporate or political. We think about questioning ourselves, and we look how we may have failed.

O'BRIEN: So you think the women you are talking to are all dissatisfied? They looked great on paper, and said, eh?.

MACKO: It's not that they are dissatisfied. They feel like there's an expectation for their lives they are not living up to. For instance, you have a number of single women between the ages of 30 and 34 tripling over the course of one generation. Those women aren't out living Sex and the City" lives. They're not, you know, drinking $12 cosmopolitans...

O'BRIEN: Who is?

MACKO: ... or wearing $800 shoes. And Kerry talked to a lot of women with different work-life issues.

RUBIN: You know, it's interesting, because this really isn't your father's midlife crisis we're talking about here. When we interviewed these women and they described what the saw as the missing pieces in their lives, they weren't saying, oh, I feel so washed up, all the time is gone, it's behind me.

O'BRIEN: I need a cute young thing on my arm. RUBIN: Exactly. They weren't saying, where has the time gone. They were saying, where's the time going, and where is my life heading. And specifically, the number one question which we heard over and over again across all of these interviews was, how am I going to have the personal life that I want and the professional life that I want at the same time?

O'BRIEN: At the end of the day, it really comes down to juggling. The second half of the book, you talk about the new girls club. Tell me about some of the women who are in this new girls' club. Really fascinating professions.

MACKO: So inspiring.

O'BRIEN: Yes, absolutely.

MACKO: And that's really the point. The book is all about hope and solutions. These women show you that you really can have it all if you are really focused about what it is you want.

And the other thing we tried to do is really sort of update what the role model is for a modern, successful woman. When you have someone like Julia Reed, a writer for Vogue, talking about her first- time wedding at 42, that's a new version of a role model for all those single women in their 30s.

O'BRIEN: Great story. She ditched out of her wedding at 29.

MACKO: Right.

RUBIN: Exactly.

MACKO: And was so happy about the way her life evolved because she waited. So other stories like Dr. Bernadine Healy, very, very big job, very small kids at the same time. Single mom.

RUBIN: Right, single mother.

MACKO: New role model.

O'BRIEN: Absolutely. I thought it was really inspiring. Because I'm kind of still kind in that age range.

Ladies, as always, thanks so much. It's a wonderful book, "Midlife Crisis at 30," Kerry Rubin and Lia Macko.

MACKO: Thank you for having us.

RUBIN: Thank you so much.

O'BRIEN: Our pleasure -- Bill.

HEMMER: All right, Soledad.

Back to Florida and Miami Dade County, quickly. Watching this fire videotape yet again. A live picture now from WFOR. A bit more information. The company is called Air Gas, a warehouse-type building has been evacuated. Considerable damage, too, as the camera comes out wider.

A few moments ago, this was on videotape, with those oxygen tanks literally blowing on the backside of that flatbed truck. Miami Dade County fire handling that. And again, no injuries. That's the best news, despite those pictures we're seeing in southern Florida.

Back in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING. A fallen Enron official, her sentencing delayed. That's the request. How long and why? Andy has the judge's response after this. Andy and Jack back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: In the Enron scandal, one Fastow will not get a Passover delay. Plus, the latest from the Adelphia trial and a check of the markets. We're loaded, and quickly.

Here's Andy Serwer, "Minding Your Business."

Good morning.

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good to see you.

HEMMER: Markets are doing what?

SERWER: Markets are moving up. So we've got two days in a row, at least so far. Still early. Let's take a look.

Sixty-seven points, that's not bad. Moving to the upside, Federal Express says its profits are up 41 percent. Memo to the Dow Jones company. When are you going to put this company in the Dow 30? It deserves to be there.

HEMMER: You think so? FedEx?

SERWER: Yes, it does. FedEx or UPS. They need to be represented in that index, and they are not. That's a whole other story.

Let's talk about the Fastows. An interesting wrinkle here on the Enron case. Leah Fastow, she was an executive at Enron and wife of Andy Fastow, the ex CFO. Pled guilty to a tax crime. Waiting to be sentenced. Going to be sentenced in early April.

Asked the judge to delay her sentencing because it was during Passover. Guess what the judge said? No.

The judge is Jewish himself, by the way. OK? So I guess he can say that. He said, you know what? Let's just get on with it, please.

Moving over to the Adelphia situation, that trial we're really starting to get some good stuff. You'll remember the Cancun trip. You'll remember "La Femme Nikita" on the airplane yesterday. Well, today, guess what? They are still using those airplanes.

They're using it to transfer their golf pro out to the pebble -- out to Pebble Beach. That's right.

O'BRIEN: That's important.

SERWER: On the company dime. And here's my favorite, Wellsville, New York, they went out there to pick up -- this is in western New York -- they used the company plane to go out and pick up a Christmas tree to bring it back to Manhattan on the company's dime. Someone in the family said, you know what? That Christmas tree is too short. Go back and get another one.

HEMMER: And they did?

SERWER: That's what they did. I hope you are not an Adelphia shareholder out there watching this.

HEMMER: Wow.

SERWER: Wouldn't that make you a little upset?

Jack, you can imagine.

CAFFERTY: It's unbelievable.

SERWER: It's unbelievable what these people felt they were entitled to use company resources for.

O'BRIEN: Well, the Christmas tree thing you can understand.

SEWER: OK, Soledad. Not. Not.

O'BRIEN: Kidding. Kidding. That is pretty crazy.

HEMMER: Tank you, Andy.

O'BRIEN: Talk about crazy, Jack's got things people say.

CAFFERTY: Things people say on Wednesday, beginning with a comment from Andy Rooney. "That wasn't nice, Bill. I didn't get old on purpose. It just happened. If you're lucky, it could happen to you."

Eighty-five-year-old Andy Rooney of "60 Minutes" addressing Bill O'Reilly, of Fox News, one of the many critics who took shots at Rooney's age when responding to a segment on "The Passion of the Christ." Andy Rooney had referred to the director of the movie, Mel Gibson, as a wacko.

"I know what's going on between you and Charles, and I just want you to know that. Don't treat me like an idiot." Princess Diana in an audiotape she made before her divorce from Prince Charles. She was describing a confrontation she had with Camilla Parker Bowles, who was Prince Charles' playmate. "That's cool, but I don't know who Cary Grant is." Eighteen- year-old Frankie Muniz after being told a critic had described him as the Cary Grant of kid stars.

HEMMER: Now he knows.

CAFFERTY: "It's not true that blondes are vapid, but Owen doesn't do anything to dispel that myth." Ben Stiller on "Starsky and Hutch" costar Owen Wilson.

And my favorite is this: "You've done a nice job decorating the White House." Jessica Simpson when introduced to the secretary of the interior, Gale Norton.

HEMMER: Come on.

SERWER: That's what the secretary of interior does. They do that.

O'BRIEN: Interior design.

SERWER: Decorative arts.

O'BRIEN: It makes perfect sense to me.

HEMMER: And throw the Christmas tree on the Adelphia plane and take it right to the White House.

SERWER: That's right. It all ties in.

O'BRIEN: That was pretty darn funny, Jack. Thank you very much.

Coming up this morning on CNN, the privacy of airline passengers is getting a lot of attention on Capitol Hill this morning. Are some of the proposed changes to the system going too far?

We'll look at that coming up on "CNN LIVE TODAY" with Daryn Kagan. AMERICAN MORNING is back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: All right. We're out of time. A busy day here on AMERICAN MORNING. Thanks for sharing with us today. See you tomorrow on Thursday right here.





With David Bach; Madrid Attacks Investigation>