Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Michael Jackson Indicted; What's Real Relationship Between Powell, President?; Documentary, 'Son of al Qaeda'
Aired April 22, 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: President Bush and Vice President Cheney will answer questions from the 9/11 Commission one week from today at the White House. Neither the president nor the vice president will be under oath, and their testimony will be informal and private. The two will appear together, and there will be no time limit on this session.
And, you know, there has been a lot of talk about Secretary of State Colin Powell and his future with the Bush administration. Rumors are flying. They really got hot after Bob Woodward's book came out. Woodward reported Powell and Donald Rumsfeld don't talk. "The New York Times" reported Powell was in trouble with the president. And the "New York Post" reported Powell and the president get along so well he might replace Dick Cheney. Not kidding.
So, what's true and what's not? Let's head live to D.C. to talk with a Washington insider and "Washingtonian" magazine editor-at- large, Chuck Conconi.
Good morning.
CHUCK CONCONI, "WASHINGTONIAN" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So, what is the buzz in Washington as to Colin Powell's status with the president?
CONCONI: Well, I can't imagine that he's ever going to replace Cheney. I don't know where the "New York Post" gets that. But the "New York Post" comes up some interesting things sometimes. This has been the talk of the town. I mean, it's helping us get through a rather dull period as we're going through this endless political campaign.
But Powell has been really damaged by all of this. In fact, people have seen it coming for some time.
COSTELLO: You know, Powell's relationship with Vice President Cheney, though, is said to be at odds. It's something Mr. Powell felt he actually needed to address. And before you answer my question, listen to what Colin Powell had to say about the relationship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: As Mr. Woodward notes at one point in the book, this may sound a little improper, but when the vice president and I were alone, it's Colin and Dick. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, what is their relationship?
CONCONI: I think their relationship is not good. People from the inside, who talk about Powell, who know him well, say that Powell has been used by this administration. He's been embarrassed by this administration, and he embarrassed himself when he knew better than to go to the United Nations with his weapons of mass destruction kind of thing. But from people who know him well say every inch of the way, they have used him.
There were all kinds of predictions even before Bob's book came out that he would probably leave the administration at the end of this term and would not be there in the second, if Bush gets a second term.
COSTELLO: You know, it's really strange, though. It's tough to know what's true and what's not. I mean, isn't it well-known, as you say, that Powell had reservations about the war in Iraq? Yet, he stands by the president. Why didn't he come out and say something? Some are even asking, why didn't he resign if he felt so strongly about it?
CONCONI: That's a question a lot of people are raising. And one of the things they say is Powell really -- excuse me. Powell really liked being somebody. If you'll notice when he came back from the first reports on the book, and he said, well, I was in the loop, I was in the loop, that was the only thing he seemed to be worried about.
One person who knows him very well told me yesterday, he said the thing with Powell, he says, is that he's forgotten that he's not in uniform anymore. He was secretary of state. He's wearing a suit. He didn't have to say, yes, sir. He should have stood up and said something. But he's been -- I think he's been damaged greatly by this administration and by his concern to be somebody.
COSTELLO: So, when all is said and done, what will Colin Powell do after the November election?
CONCONI: Well, I guess go back to doing his $50,000 each speeches in the kind of thing. He'll do fine. I mean, we're not going to have to have a testimonial so he can eat.
COSTELLO: Chuck Conconi from the "Washingtonian" magazine. Many thanks to you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
CONCONI: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Coming up on DAYBREAK, a young man who grew up with the Osama bin Laden family, recruited to be a terrorist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a normal human being. He has issues with his wife, and he has issues with his kids, financial issues, you know, or the kids aren't listening, the kids aren't doing this and that. So, it comes really down to he's -- you know, he's a father and he's a person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Talking about Osama bin Laden, and I'll speak to the documentary film producer, who sat down with a son of al Qaeda.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time for a little business buzz now. If you shop on eBay, you are certainly not alone.
Carrie Lee reports live from the Nasdaq Marketsite.
It's become quite popular, hasn't it?
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS: It has, Carol. And if you invest in this company, you could be pretty happy today. The stock was up about 3 percent in the after-hours session last night, reporting once again a very strong quarter. For the three months ending in March, sales up 59 percent over the year-ago period. Profits nearly doubling, up 92 percent. So, the company consistently performs well.
They're also raising guidance for this current quarter, as well as for the full year, and that's what Wall Street cares most about -- continuing growth, what the company expects going forward.
So, why is the company doing so well? Well, in part, they're seeing an expansion in their international business. In fact, international transactions accounted for over a third of total sales, and that could increase going forward, because the company is starting very aggressive moves in China -- about a billion people or more there. So, it's quite a big marketplace to tap into.
For investors, over the past year, the stock is up 60 percent, outpacing other tech stocks, as well as the S&P 500. If you invested in this company two years ago, Carol, you would have nearly tripled your money. The stock is up 180 percent. The average stock is pretty much flat.
So, that pretty much tells the story. EBay is certainly a stock to watch today.
Overall, we're expecting a weaker open, but eBay could be a pretty decent gainer. We'll see.
COSTELLO: All right, Carrie Lee, live from the Nasdaq Marketsite.
It is perhaps amazing to most of us that so many are willing to die for al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. There seems to be an endless supply willing to strap explosives to their bodies and kill. Tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on PBS' "Frontline," a chilling look at a son of al Qaeda.
Joining us live this morning, the filmmaker, Terence McKenna. He's in Montreal.
Good morning.
TERENCE MCKENNA, DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER: Good morning.
COSTELLO: You know, this young man you feature is a fugitive from al Qaeda. His family is close to Osama bin Laden. Now, he says he's a paid CIA informant, yet he appears full face on your program. Why?
MCKENNA: Well, I think he decided that he had been living a lie for many years, and it was very hard on him psychologically. He was worried about being arrested again as he has been several times. And so, he decided his best offense was to go public and get his story off his chest.
COSTELLO: At one point, he says he wants to put a human face on members of al Qaeda.
MCKENNA: I'm not sure that's the way he would put it, but I think what he did do is paint a portrait of Osama bin Laden, in particular, and other members of al Qaeda in a way that he knew them, which was as a next door neighbor. He played with bin Laden's children. He got to know the family very well. The families, you know, lived together for several years.
COSTELLO: Yes, and he said some things about Osama bin Laden that -- well, are frankly hard to believe. You know, he's normal dad. He liked to play, what, volleyball and such.
MCKENNA: Yes, I think he talked about how bin Laden didn't like his children drinking Coke and Pepsi and using American products. He was very down on them using American products. But they talked about how the kids would sneak Coke and Pepsi from time to time and go behind his back. So, it was kind of an amusing portrait of bin Laden as well.
COSTELLO: You know, this young man says he was raised to become a terrorist, although his family wouldn't really characterize it that way. How was he socialized to become a member of al Qaeda?
MCKENNA: Well, you know, he talked about being sent to the famous bin Laden training camps, starting at when he was 11-and-a- half-years old. He was with his older brother, who was 12-and-a-half. And they went to the camps. Over time, he took a small-arms course, a sniper's course, an explosives course. He learned how to use rocket- propelled grenades and those sorts of things. And so, over several years, he attended quite a few times.
What saved him, really, is he was kind of a bad kid and a rebellious teenager. And he never -- he was always being given punishments in the camps that he wouldn't carry out, and he was getting kicked out. But his father would make him go back. And so...
COSTELLO: Well, it's just...
MCKENNA: ... that's in the end what saved him. It made him a kind of odd man out inside al Qaeda.
COSTELLO: It's just funny that his rebellion came in rejecting violence. His parents, how do they feel about him now, now that he's decided not to be, I guess, a terrorist?
MCKENNA: Well, his father is dead. He was killed in -- the family fled south from Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where they were living with Osama bin Laden after September 11, 2001, and went south to the tribal regions that we read about a lot these days around the Pakistan-Afghan border, where they're looking for bin Laden and others. And he eventually got away from the family there, and he was separated, and he eventually became a prisoner of the American government.
COSTELLO: So can -- it's going to be hard to tell in a nutshell. But can you tell us why there is such an intense hatred of Americans from al Qaeda's perspective? And how so many are convinced to carry out these deadly missions?
MCKENNA: Well, you know, I was going to tell you that his father was killed in this firefight last October 2, and his father had always brought him up to believe in Osama bin Laden, to believe in the cause of al Qaeda. And for them, they thought of it as defending Muslims, that the United States was out to destroy the Muslim world and they were defending the Muslim world.
And it started -- the father started and became friendly with bin Laden in the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan. And then when bin Laden switched his hatred from the Soviets to the Americans, so did the rest of them.
And, you know, this kid, for example, who was generally against al Qaeda, talked about he was in the camps when President Clinton sent cruise missiles into the camps in retaliation for the African embassy bombings. And that when he saw his friends being blown apart by American cruise missiles, even he became kind of radically anti- American for a while. But the September 11 -- when he saw what happened on September 11 on television, it really filled him with revulsion, and he couldn't buy that part of al Qaeda.
COSTELLO: It sounds like a fascinating documentary. "Son of al Qaeda" airs on PBS at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, thanks to you. Terence McKenna live in Montreal this morning.
MCKENNA: Thanks for having me.
COSTELLO: Sure.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:43 Eastern Time. Here's what's all new this morning.
A Saudi militant group is claiming responsibility for the latest suicide bombing in Riyadh and vowing more attacks. The blast on security forces headquarters killed at least four people and wounded 148.
Asia's crowded shipping and financial centers could be a target of a terrorist attack. That is the new warning from Washington.
In money news, electronics giant Sony and two buy-out firms have their sights set on MGM Studios. The companies are in advanced talks to buy Metro-Goldwyn Mayer for $5 billion.
In sports, today is the day the next batch of inductees head into the World Golf Hall of Fame. They will be named later today.
In culture, happy Earth day. Today is the 36th observance of Nature's Day all over the world. Celebrations and activities are expected to attract millions of people.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We'll be planting some trees here in a little bit with the folks from Home Depot.
(WEATHER BREAK)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
Let's head live to New York City now to check in with Bill and Soledad to see what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
And I understand you have a friend of Michael Jackson?
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We do, yes, the Rabbi Schmilly Betayak (ph), who's been with us actually several months ago when this story really started to make headlines and notice. He was a friend of Jackson going back a couple of years. We'll talk to him about this indictment.
Jeff Toobin is also going to tell us what does it mean for Michael Jackson now? What do we know at this point? In addition now to the big legal story of Kobe Bryant, too, will not be far from our minds on the legal side, either. So, we'll have that for you.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And, of course, we're talking about what's happening overseas in Iraq. We're going to bring you a live report from the Pentagon.
Also, a big celebration as some troops return home to Fort Hood. Major General Ray Ordierno (ph) is going to join us with a look at that.
HEMMER: Also, one of the big stories at this time yesterday the tornado that hit Illinois. A number of people losing their lives inside that one three-story home, but there are survivors, too, Carol. And we'll talk with one of them this morning.
O'BRIEN: Yes, this one guy, Jeremy Thorson (ph), a terrific -- his story of how he made the decision to leave the place, the tavern, where everyone decided to go.
HEMMER: Wow!
O'BRIEN: Because they thought that would be the strongest building that would survive it. He'll talk about that this morning as well.
HEMMER: And sometimes only seconds saves lives in cases like that.
COSTELLO: Fascinating.
HEMMER: We'll have it all for you at the top of the hour. Jack is here, too, Carol. So, we'll see you then, OK? Happy Earth Day.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, happy Earth Day to you both, too.
HEMMER: We're wearing our earth tones today in honor of Earth Day.
COSTELLO: I was going to wear...
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: Did you notice?
COSTELLO: I was going to wear my global t-shirt with a global map on it, but CNN wouldn't allow it.
HEMMER: Well, there's always Friday.
COSTELLO: Yes.
O'BRIEN: They don't make that in a suit, so that's tricky. It's true.
COSTELLO: Thanks. See you in about 10 minutes.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, what to buy? Where to plant? Everything you need to know before you plant those trees and shrubs around your home. Chad will be along with some expert advice.
Plus, here's one way to make a cross-country swim. See how these team members work together to achieve their mileage goals.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MYERS: Dave White joins us now from The Home Depot.
Good afternoon, good morning, depending on your time zone.
DAVE WHITE, THE HOME DEPOT: Hey.
MYERS: How are you doing?
WHITE: I'm doing great.
MYERS: We should be doing this in the afternoon, but we're doing it in the morning. That's OK. You can always plant in the morning, right? WHITE: Absolutely. And it's nice and cool in the morning.
MYERS: True. We are going to plant a couple of things here, some dwarf boxwoods, very small.
WHITE: Yes.
MYERS: What is this? One gallon?
WHITE: A little one gallon.
MYERS: As small as your head.
WHITE: Yes.
MYERS: The problem is, they're going to get a lot bigger before they...
WHITE: They're going to get a lot bigger. And you know what? It's funny, because planting trees and shrubs can be kind of intimidating to a lot of people. It's really not. It's very simple.
And one of the things you really have to do before you even start is take a look at your yard, figure out where you want to plant.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: Don't just go buy something because you think it looks nice, because a lot of people say if you plant it, it will grow.
MYERS: Yes?
WHITE: But not if it's not the right shade or the right sun.
MYERS: Of course.
WHITE: So, do a little homework, right?
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: Make sure you know if your area is going to be sunny or shady. Pick appropriate plants for that.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: We've got a couple of container plants here.
MYERS: OK, right.
WHITE: And this is pretty common. You'll see the plastic containers. You also find the ball and burlap, or they call them B&B.
MYERS: OK.
WHITE: Like the tree that we have over here, some come that way. And they are very similar to plant. And I'm going to actually let you dig some holes here.
MYERS: All right, I'm ready. I'm ready.
WHITE: The hole you want to dig is going to be about twice as big as the root ball or the actual dirt inside here.
MYERS: Right, right.
WHITE: And you don't really want to dig it more than about as deep as the root ball.
MYERS: Now, this isn't as clay as my soil.
WHITE: No, and actually, I dug this out of my yard. There may be some worms in there, too.
MYERS: Oh, all right!
WHITE: My son was picking them out. So, as you're digging your hole, again, you want to make sure that it's plenty big enough.
MYERS: All right.
WHITE: But you don't want it to be too deep.
MYERS: Sure.
WHITE: Another thing to think about when you're planting these that people tend to do, and I think you've probably have heard about this, because these are small, these little boxwoods, people say, well, I need four or five of them. I'm going to plant them really close together.
MYERS: Sure.
WHITE: Well, I'm a big read-the-label kind of guy. So, make sure when you're looking for your shrubs that you read the labels, and the labels always tell you how far apart to plant them...
MYERS: OK.
WHITE: ... whether they need sun or shade. These are going to get -- it could be six or seven feet.
MYERS: Yes, and these are dwarfs, right?
WHITE: Right.
MYERS: But now, if you are going to make one, if you want to make a hedge or something like that...
WHITE: Right.
MYERS: ... you can get them, you know, a couple of feet apart, right? WHITE: You can plant them close.
MYERS: Because then they'll grow together.
WHITE: You can try to trim them, but...
MYERS: You don't want them seven feet apart.
WHITE: You don't want them too close, because they're going to get in each other's way, and they're going to be tough.
MYERS: All right.
WHITE: Now, what you want to do, Chad, is be careful when you're taking this out.
MYERS: Absolutely.
WHITE: You don't want to grab it by the plant. Try to get your hand under it, flip it over, and you can knock it or twist it to try to get that...
MYERS: Yes, there it comes, and there you go.
WHITE: And it's a little root bound, too.
MYERS: Root bound, you can see all of those roots on the outside.
WHITE: Right. So, I've got a trick for you. Now, if you just were to plant this, and depending on how long this has been sitting in the container, it could be root bound, which means that the roots are growing around each other, and it's going to choke itself.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: So, what I would do is take a knife or take your trowel or whatever and just cut along the roots, like this.
MYERS: Do not be afraid to cut those roots like that or to break them up in your hand, whatever it is.
WHITE: Absolutely.
MYERS: I know you think that you'll ruin them or you're killing the plant, but, in fact, you're doing it a lot more good than you're doing it harm, because now those little root shooters are going to grow out rather than grow around in a big circle.
WHITE: Absolutely. You've done this before.
MYERS: Many, many, too many times.
WHITE: So, you put it in place. It looks like you've done a good job there, Chad. The hole is pretty close.
MYERS: It may be a little high.
WHITE: That's all right. You know what? It's better a little too high than too low.
MYERS: And then it drains off rather than -- you don't want to make it down in a hole, because then all of the water goes down in the hole and...
WHITE: And the stem is going to rot.
MYERS: You'll flood the plant.
WHITE: Right. So now, what you want to do is take the soil that you've gotten out of there.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: And we're going to mix it in with a little top soil or some other kind of organic matter just to...
MYERS: What about throwing some fertilizer in there now?
WHITE: There are a couple of schools of thought there. Some people say they don't want to fertilize, because they really don't want to encourage the plant growth as much as the root growth.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: I tend to put a little bit of, you know, like a 10-10-10 or just a basic fertilizer.
MYERS: OK.
WHITE: But you have to be very, very careful...
MYERS: Sure.
WHITE: ... to water it in. I'll usually even wait a little while after the thing has started to establish.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: So...
MYERS: OK. Now, I always hear about air pockets. You can't have any air pockets or the thing will die. True?
WHITE: Well, not really. I mean, it's -- you know, what's going to happen, though, is the soil is going to settle more, and then it's going to be exposed.
MYERS: OK.
WHITE: So, what you want to do is as you're putting it back in, we can mix this together.
MYERS: Sure.
WHITE: Fill in around the outside. You can start watering, especially with trees, if you're doing the trees...
MYERS: And you have to start watering right now, right.
WHITE: Water it in. If you put a little water on that, it's going to settle that soil for you.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: And then you add another layer. So, get that all packed in, and it could be a little deeper, but obviously we don't have a real deep...
MYERS: I'll let you keep doing this, because we've got to run.
WHITE: OK. And don't forget about the mulch on top.
MYERS: Oh, right, right, right.
WHITE: And water every day for a couple of weeks, and you're in good shape.
MYERS: Yes, throw the mulch.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITE: Yes, there you go, a couple of inches of mulch. We're gardening over here.
COSTELLO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
WHITE: Come on over. This is fun.
COSTELLO: It looks like such fun. And those shrubbery around the new set will look fabulous.
MYERS: The shrubbery.
WHITE: Yes, and in case you want to jump in, I brought you...
COSTELLO: Oh, you brought gloves.
WHITE: Yes, I brought you -- and I want to tell you guys real quick, you know, I'm giving you all kinds of stuff. But I've been eyeballing those CNN DAYBREAK mugs.
MYERS: You have to win one.
COSTELLO: Hey, forget it. We'll have the questions...
WHITE: I'll call in.
COSTELLO: We'll have the questions after the break for you. So, if you get them right. WHITE: All right.
COSTELLO: We will have those questions and more. Let's take a break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is not easy swimming across Australia, but these fund-raisers found a way to do it -- swimming 4,000 miles in a pool in a big, old flatbed truck. Well, it's more than a flatbed truck, isn't it? But we thought we'd show you that interesting picture before we got to our DAYBREAK questions of the day.
MYERS: That doesn't look like any fun at all.
Hey, we've got to go quickly.
In Keith Oppenheim's report, soldiers from Fort Hood were part of which task force in Iraq?
And this was on the screen. If you want a tree -- if you want to plant a tree or a shrub to provide shade, what side of the house should you plant it on? It's kind of self-explanatory there.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
MYERS: E-mail your answers at Daybreak@CNN.com and your name and address, please.
COSTELLO: Daybreak@CNN.com. That does it for us today. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
MYERS: Have a great day.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired April 22, 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: President Bush and Vice President Cheney will answer questions from the 9/11 Commission one week from today at the White House. Neither the president nor the vice president will be under oath, and their testimony will be informal and private. The two will appear together, and there will be no time limit on this session.
And, you know, there has been a lot of talk about Secretary of State Colin Powell and his future with the Bush administration. Rumors are flying. They really got hot after Bob Woodward's book came out. Woodward reported Powell and Donald Rumsfeld don't talk. "The New York Times" reported Powell was in trouble with the president. And the "New York Post" reported Powell and the president get along so well he might replace Dick Cheney. Not kidding.
So, what's true and what's not? Let's head live to D.C. to talk with a Washington insider and "Washingtonian" magazine editor-at- large, Chuck Conconi.
Good morning.
CHUCK CONCONI, "WASHINGTONIAN" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
COSTELLO: So, what is the buzz in Washington as to Colin Powell's status with the president?
CONCONI: Well, I can't imagine that he's ever going to replace Cheney. I don't know where the "New York Post" gets that. But the "New York Post" comes up some interesting things sometimes. This has been the talk of the town. I mean, it's helping us get through a rather dull period as we're going through this endless political campaign.
But Powell has been really damaged by all of this. In fact, people have seen it coming for some time.
COSTELLO: You know, Powell's relationship with Vice President Cheney, though, is said to be at odds. It's something Mr. Powell felt he actually needed to address. And before you answer my question, listen to what Colin Powell had to say about the relationship.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: As Mr. Woodward notes at one point in the book, this may sound a little improper, but when the vice president and I were alone, it's Colin and Dick. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, what is their relationship?
CONCONI: I think their relationship is not good. People from the inside, who talk about Powell, who know him well, say that Powell has been used by this administration. He's been embarrassed by this administration, and he embarrassed himself when he knew better than to go to the United Nations with his weapons of mass destruction kind of thing. But from people who know him well say every inch of the way, they have used him.
There were all kinds of predictions even before Bob's book came out that he would probably leave the administration at the end of this term and would not be there in the second, if Bush gets a second term.
COSTELLO: You know, it's really strange, though. It's tough to know what's true and what's not. I mean, isn't it well-known, as you say, that Powell had reservations about the war in Iraq? Yet, he stands by the president. Why didn't he come out and say something? Some are even asking, why didn't he resign if he felt so strongly about it?
CONCONI: That's a question a lot of people are raising. And one of the things they say is Powell really -- excuse me. Powell really liked being somebody. If you'll notice when he came back from the first reports on the book, and he said, well, I was in the loop, I was in the loop, that was the only thing he seemed to be worried about.
One person who knows him very well told me yesterday, he said the thing with Powell, he says, is that he's forgotten that he's not in uniform anymore. He was secretary of state. He's wearing a suit. He didn't have to say, yes, sir. He should have stood up and said something. But he's been -- I think he's been damaged greatly by this administration and by his concern to be somebody.
COSTELLO: So, when all is said and done, what will Colin Powell do after the November election?
CONCONI: Well, I guess go back to doing his $50,000 each speeches in the kind of thing. He'll do fine. I mean, we're not going to have to have a testimonial so he can eat.
COSTELLO: Chuck Conconi from the "Washingtonian" magazine. Many thanks to you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
CONCONI: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Coming up on DAYBREAK, a young man who grew up with the Osama bin Laden family, recruited to be a terrorist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a normal human being. He has issues with his wife, and he has issues with his kids, financial issues, you know, or the kids aren't listening, the kids aren't doing this and that. So, it comes really down to he's -- you know, he's a father and he's a person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Talking about Osama bin Laden, and I'll speak to the documentary film producer, who sat down with a son of al Qaeda.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time for a little business buzz now. If you shop on eBay, you are certainly not alone.
Carrie Lee reports live from the Nasdaq Marketsite.
It's become quite popular, hasn't it?
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS: It has, Carol. And if you invest in this company, you could be pretty happy today. The stock was up about 3 percent in the after-hours session last night, reporting once again a very strong quarter. For the three months ending in March, sales up 59 percent over the year-ago period. Profits nearly doubling, up 92 percent. So, the company consistently performs well.
They're also raising guidance for this current quarter, as well as for the full year, and that's what Wall Street cares most about -- continuing growth, what the company expects going forward.
So, why is the company doing so well? Well, in part, they're seeing an expansion in their international business. In fact, international transactions accounted for over a third of total sales, and that could increase going forward, because the company is starting very aggressive moves in China -- about a billion people or more there. So, it's quite a big marketplace to tap into.
For investors, over the past year, the stock is up 60 percent, outpacing other tech stocks, as well as the S&P 500. If you invested in this company two years ago, Carol, you would have nearly tripled your money. The stock is up 180 percent. The average stock is pretty much flat.
So, that pretty much tells the story. EBay is certainly a stock to watch today.
Overall, we're expecting a weaker open, but eBay could be a pretty decent gainer. We'll see.
COSTELLO: All right, Carrie Lee, live from the Nasdaq Marketsite.
It is perhaps amazing to most of us that so many are willing to die for al Qaeda and other terrorist groups. There seems to be an endless supply willing to strap explosives to their bodies and kill. Tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on PBS' "Frontline," a chilling look at a son of al Qaeda.
Joining us live this morning, the filmmaker, Terence McKenna. He's in Montreal.
Good morning.
TERENCE MCKENNA, DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKER: Good morning.
COSTELLO: You know, this young man you feature is a fugitive from al Qaeda. His family is close to Osama bin Laden. Now, he says he's a paid CIA informant, yet he appears full face on your program. Why?
MCKENNA: Well, I think he decided that he had been living a lie for many years, and it was very hard on him psychologically. He was worried about being arrested again as he has been several times. And so, he decided his best offense was to go public and get his story off his chest.
COSTELLO: At one point, he says he wants to put a human face on members of al Qaeda.
MCKENNA: I'm not sure that's the way he would put it, but I think what he did do is paint a portrait of Osama bin Laden, in particular, and other members of al Qaeda in a way that he knew them, which was as a next door neighbor. He played with bin Laden's children. He got to know the family very well. The families, you know, lived together for several years.
COSTELLO: Yes, and he said some things about Osama bin Laden that -- well, are frankly hard to believe. You know, he's normal dad. He liked to play, what, volleyball and such.
MCKENNA: Yes, I think he talked about how bin Laden didn't like his children drinking Coke and Pepsi and using American products. He was very down on them using American products. But they talked about how the kids would sneak Coke and Pepsi from time to time and go behind his back. So, it was kind of an amusing portrait of bin Laden as well.
COSTELLO: You know, this young man says he was raised to become a terrorist, although his family wouldn't really characterize it that way. How was he socialized to become a member of al Qaeda?
MCKENNA: Well, you know, he talked about being sent to the famous bin Laden training camps, starting at when he was 11-and-a- half-years old. He was with his older brother, who was 12-and-a-half. And they went to the camps. Over time, he took a small-arms course, a sniper's course, an explosives course. He learned how to use rocket- propelled grenades and those sorts of things. And so, over several years, he attended quite a few times.
What saved him, really, is he was kind of a bad kid and a rebellious teenager. And he never -- he was always being given punishments in the camps that he wouldn't carry out, and he was getting kicked out. But his father would make him go back. And so...
COSTELLO: Well, it's just...
MCKENNA: ... that's in the end what saved him. It made him a kind of odd man out inside al Qaeda.
COSTELLO: It's just funny that his rebellion came in rejecting violence. His parents, how do they feel about him now, now that he's decided not to be, I guess, a terrorist?
MCKENNA: Well, his father is dead. He was killed in -- the family fled south from Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where they were living with Osama bin Laden after September 11, 2001, and went south to the tribal regions that we read about a lot these days around the Pakistan-Afghan border, where they're looking for bin Laden and others. And he eventually got away from the family there, and he was separated, and he eventually became a prisoner of the American government.
COSTELLO: So can -- it's going to be hard to tell in a nutshell. But can you tell us why there is such an intense hatred of Americans from al Qaeda's perspective? And how so many are convinced to carry out these deadly missions?
MCKENNA: Well, you know, I was going to tell you that his father was killed in this firefight last October 2, and his father had always brought him up to believe in Osama bin Laden, to believe in the cause of al Qaeda. And for them, they thought of it as defending Muslims, that the United States was out to destroy the Muslim world and they were defending the Muslim world.
And it started -- the father started and became friendly with bin Laden in the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan. And then when bin Laden switched his hatred from the Soviets to the Americans, so did the rest of them.
And, you know, this kid, for example, who was generally against al Qaeda, talked about he was in the camps when President Clinton sent cruise missiles into the camps in retaliation for the African embassy bombings. And that when he saw his friends being blown apart by American cruise missiles, even he became kind of radically anti- American for a while. But the September 11 -- when he saw what happened on September 11 on television, it really filled him with revulsion, and he couldn't buy that part of al Qaeda.
COSTELLO: It sounds like a fascinating documentary. "Son of al Qaeda" airs on PBS at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, thanks to you. Terence McKenna live in Montreal this morning.
MCKENNA: Thanks for having me.
COSTELLO: Sure.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:43 Eastern Time. Here's what's all new this morning.
A Saudi militant group is claiming responsibility for the latest suicide bombing in Riyadh and vowing more attacks. The blast on security forces headquarters killed at least four people and wounded 148.
Asia's crowded shipping and financial centers could be a target of a terrorist attack. That is the new warning from Washington.
In money news, electronics giant Sony and two buy-out firms have their sights set on MGM Studios. The companies are in advanced talks to buy Metro-Goldwyn Mayer for $5 billion.
In sports, today is the day the next batch of inductees head into the World Golf Hall of Fame. They will be named later today.
In culture, happy Earth day. Today is the 36th observance of Nature's Day all over the world. Celebrations and activities are expected to attract millions of people.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We'll be planting some trees here in a little bit with the folks from Home Depot.
(WEATHER BREAK)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
Let's head live to New York City now to check in with Bill and Soledad to see what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
And I understand you have a friend of Michael Jackson?
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We do, yes, the Rabbi Schmilly Betayak (ph), who's been with us actually several months ago when this story really started to make headlines and notice. He was a friend of Jackson going back a couple of years. We'll talk to him about this indictment.
Jeff Toobin is also going to tell us what does it mean for Michael Jackson now? What do we know at this point? In addition now to the big legal story of Kobe Bryant, too, will not be far from our minds on the legal side, either. So, we'll have that for you.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And, of course, we're talking about what's happening overseas in Iraq. We're going to bring you a live report from the Pentagon.
Also, a big celebration as some troops return home to Fort Hood. Major General Ray Ordierno (ph) is going to join us with a look at that.
HEMMER: Also, one of the big stories at this time yesterday the tornado that hit Illinois. A number of people losing their lives inside that one three-story home, but there are survivors, too, Carol. And we'll talk with one of them this morning.
O'BRIEN: Yes, this one guy, Jeremy Thorson (ph), a terrific -- his story of how he made the decision to leave the place, the tavern, where everyone decided to go.
HEMMER: Wow!
O'BRIEN: Because they thought that would be the strongest building that would survive it. He'll talk about that this morning as well.
HEMMER: And sometimes only seconds saves lives in cases like that.
COSTELLO: Fascinating.
HEMMER: We'll have it all for you at the top of the hour. Jack is here, too, Carol. So, we'll see you then, OK? Happy Earth Day.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, happy Earth Day to you both, too.
HEMMER: We're wearing our earth tones today in honor of Earth Day.
COSTELLO: I was going to wear...
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: Did you notice?
COSTELLO: I was going to wear my global t-shirt with a global map on it, but CNN wouldn't allow it.
HEMMER: Well, there's always Friday.
COSTELLO: Yes.
O'BRIEN: They don't make that in a suit, so that's tricky. It's true.
COSTELLO: Thanks. See you in about 10 minutes.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, what to buy? Where to plant? Everything you need to know before you plant those trees and shrubs around your home. Chad will be along with some expert advice.
Plus, here's one way to make a cross-country swim. See how these team members work together to achieve their mileage goals.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MYERS: Dave White joins us now from The Home Depot.
Good afternoon, good morning, depending on your time zone.
DAVE WHITE, THE HOME DEPOT: Hey.
MYERS: How are you doing?
WHITE: I'm doing great.
MYERS: We should be doing this in the afternoon, but we're doing it in the morning. That's OK. You can always plant in the morning, right? WHITE: Absolutely. And it's nice and cool in the morning.
MYERS: True. We are going to plant a couple of things here, some dwarf boxwoods, very small.
WHITE: Yes.
MYERS: What is this? One gallon?
WHITE: A little one gallon.
MYERS: As small as your head.
WHITE: Yes.
MYERS: The problem is, they're going to get a lot bigger before they...
WHITE: They're going to get a lot bigger. And you know what? It's funny, because planting trees and shrubs can be kind of intimidating to a lot of people. It's really not. It's very simple.
And one of the things you really have to do before you even start is take a look at your yard, figure out where you want to plant.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: Don't just go buy something because you think it looks nice, because a lot of people say if you plant it, it will grow.
MYERS: Yes?
WHITE: But not if it's not the right shade or the right sun.
MYERS: Of course.
WHITE: So, do a little homework, right?
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: Make sure you know if your area is going to be sunny or shady. Pick appropriate plants for that.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: We've got a couple of container plants here.
MYERS: OK, right.
WHITE: And this is pretty common. You'll see the plastic containers. You also find the ball and burlap, or they call them B&B.
MYERS: OK.
WHITE: Like the tree that we have over here, some come that way. And they are very similar to plant. And I'm going to actually let you dig some holes here.
MYERS: All right, I'm ready. I'm ready.
WHITE: The hole you want to dig is going to be about twice as big as the root ball or the actual dirt inside here.
MYERS: Right, right.
WHITE: And you don't really want to dig it more than about as deep as the root ball.
MYERS: Now, this isn't as clay as my soil.
WHITE: No, and actually, I dug this out of my yard. There may be some worms in there, too.
MYERS: Oh, all right!
WHITE: My son was picking them out. So, as you're digging your hole, again, you want to make sure that it's plenty big enough.
MYERS: All right.
WHITE: But you don't want it to be too deep.
MYERS: Sure.
WHITE: Another thing to think about when you're planting these that people tend to do, and I think you've probably have heard about this, because these are small, these little boxwoods, people say, well, I need four or five of them. I'm going to plant them really close together.
MYERS: Sure.
WHITE: Well, I'm a big read-the-label kind of guy. So, make sure when you're looking for your shrubs that you read the labels, and the labels always tell you how far apart to plant them...
MYERS: OK.
WHITE: ... whether they need sun or shade. These are going to get -- it could be six or seven feet.
MYERS: Yes, and these are dwarfs, right?
WHITE: Right.
MYERS: But now, if you are going to make one, if you want to make a hedge or something like that...
WHITE: Right.
MYERS: ... you can get them, you know, a couple of feet apart, right? WHITE: You can plant them close.
MYERS: Because then they'll grow together.
WHITE: You can try to trim them, but...
MYERS: You don't want them seven feet apart.
WHITE: You don't want them too close, because they're going to get in each other's way, and they're going to be tough.
MYERS: All right.
WHITE: Now, what you want to do, Chad, is be careful when you're taking this out.
MYERS: Absolutely.
WHITE: You don't want to grab it by the plant. Try to get your hand under it, flip it over, and you can knock it or twist it to try to get that...
MYERS: Yes, there it comes, and there you go.
WHITE: And it's a little root bound, too.
MYERS: Root bound, you can see all of those roots on the outside.
WHITE: Right. So, I've got a trick for you. Now, if you just were to plant this, and depending on how long this has been sitting in the container, it could be root bound, which means that the roots are growing around each other, and it's going to choke itself.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: So, what I would do is take a knife or take your trowel or whatever and just cut along the roots, like this.
MYERS: Do not be afraid to cut those roots like that or to break them up in your hand, whatever it is.
WHITE: Absolutely.
MYERS: I know you think that you'll ruin them or you're killing the plant, but, in fact, you're doing it a lot more good than you're doing it harm, because now those little root shooters are going to grow out rather than grow around in a big circle.
WHITE: Absolutely. You've done this before.
MYERS: Many, many, too many times.
WHITE: So, you put it in place. It looks like you've done a good job there, Chad. The hole is pretty close.
MYERS: It may be a little high.
WHITE: That's all right. You know what? It's better a little too high than too low.
MYERS: And then it drains off rather than -- you don't want to make it down in a hole, because then all of the water goes down in the hole and...
WHITE: And the stem is going to rot.
MYERS: You'll flood the plant.
WHITE: Right. So now, what you want to do is take the soil that you've gotten out of there.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: And we're going to mix it in with a little top soil or some other kind of organic matter just to...
MYERS: What about throwing some fertilizer in there now?
WHITE: There are a couple of schools of thought there. Some people say they don't want to fertilize, because they really don't want to encourage the plant growth as much as the root growth.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: I tend to put a little bit of, you know, like a 10-10-10 or just a basic fertilizer.
MYERS: OK.
WHITE: But you have to be very, very careful...
MYERS: Sure.
WHITE: ... to water it in. I'll usually even wait a little while after the thing has started to establish.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: So...
MYERS: OK. Now, I always hear about air pockets. You can't have any air pockets or the thing will die. True?
WHITE: Well, not really. I mean, it's -- you know, what's going to happen, though, is the soil is going to settle more, and then it's going to be exposed.
MYERS: OK.
WHITE: So, what you want to do is as you're putting it back in, we can mix this together.
MYERS: Sure.
WHITE: Fill in around the outside. You can start watering, especially with trees, if you're doing the trees...
MYERS: And you have to start watering right now, right.
WHITE: Water it in. If you put a little water on that, it's going to settle that soil for you.
MYERS: Yes.
WHITE: And then you add another layer. So, get that all packed in, and it could be a little deeper, but obviously we don't have a real deep...
MYERS: I'll let you keep doing this, because we've got to run.
WHITE: OK. And don't forget about the mulch on top.
MYERS: Oh, right, right, right.
WHITE: And water every day for a couple of weeks, and you're in good shape.
MYERS: Yes, throw the mulch.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITE: Yes, there you go, a couple of inches of mulch. We're gardening over here.
COSTELLO: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
WHITE: Come on over. This is fun.
COSTELLO: It looks like such fun. And those shrubbery around the new set will look fabulous.
MYERS: The shrubbery.
WHITE: Yes, and in case you want to jump in, I brought you...
COSTELLO: Oh, you brought gloves.
WHITE: Yes, I brought you -- and I want to tell you guys real quick, you know, I'm giving you all kinds of stuff. But I've been eyeballing those CNN DAYBREAK mugs.
MYERS: You have to win one.
COSTELLO: Hey, forget it. We'll have the questions...
WHITE: I'll call in.
COSTELLO: We'll have the questions after the break for you. So, if you get them right. WHITE: All right.
COSTELLO: We will have those questions and more. Let's take a break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It is not easy swimming across Australia, but these fund-raisers found a way to do it -- swimming 4,000 miles in a pool in a big, old flatbed truck. Well, it's more than a flatbed truck, isn't it? But we thought we'd show you that interesting picture before we got to our DAYBREAK questions of the day.
MYERS: That doesn't look like any fun at all.
Hey, we've got to go quickly.
In Keith Oppenheim's report, soldiers from Fort Hood were part of which task force in Iraq?
And this was on the screen. If you want a tree -- if you want to plant a tree or a shrub to provide shade, what side of the house should you plant it on? It's kind of self-explanatory there.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
MYERS: E-mail your answers at Daybreak@CNN.com and your name and address, please.
COSTELLO: Daybreak@CNN.com. That does it for us today. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
MYERS: Have a great day.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.