Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Latest Developments in Story Involving Abuse of Iraqi Prisoners; In Landstuhl, Germany, Thomas Hamill, wife Reunited
Aired May 05, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, CNN takes you inside the notorious Iraqi prison at the center of that abuse scandal.
It is Wednesday, May 5.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Here are the latest headlines for you right now.
An angry crowd gathers outside the Iraqi prison where detainee abuses took place. The demonstration comes amidst talks of prisoner releases at the facility. More fallout from the Iraqi prison abuse story. A Senate panel holds a closed door hearing today to see if intelligence officials arte linked to the scandal.
Concerns over touch screen voting will be raised today at a hearing in Washington. At least 50 million of you will vote electronically in November.
Three bombs explode outside of a police station in Athens, Greece early this morning. No injuries to report. The attack comes with 100 days to go until the Summer Olympics.
To the forecast center now and Chad -- good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Our Iraq situation report begins with the transfer of command in the troubled city of Fallujah. Iraqi soldiers from Saddam Hussein's regime are continuing to take over from U.S. troops. An Iraqi general says the Fallujah Brigade is commanding all the posts in the city now. He says Fallujah is safer than Baghdad.
The Senate Intelligence Committee holds a closed door hearing on the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal today. The panel's chairman, Senator Pat Roberts, says the hearing will determine if intelligence professionals had anything to do with the abuse.
U.S. damage control reaches its highest level. President Bush will address the prisoner controversy in interviews with two Arab TV networks today. And U.S. troop strength in Iraq will remain at about 138,000 through the end of next year. Pentagon officials say the number could drop if the security situation on the ground improves.
Let's talk more about the Abu Ghraib Prison.
Our senior international editor, David Clinch, is here now, because cameras were allowed in the prison earlier this morning.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Right.
COSTELLO: Did you see the pictures?
CLINCH: That's true. We're going to get the pictures, hopefully within the next few hours. Ironically, this is a pool crew that's been allowed. You and I have been talking about pool crews in Fallujah and everywhere else with the military situation, an indication of how serious and how big this prison scandal story is now that the U.S. military can't allow everybody who wants to go into Abu Ghraib Prison, the scene of the crime or the alleged crimes, in some cases. So they've pooled it. One crew will go in today and will get a look around.
Now, we've seen inside the prison before, but this is a fresh look inside the prison. We're unlikely to get to see or speak to any of the prisoners. That's standard practice. Film crews don't get to see prisoners because of, again, the Geneva Conventions, which have been so contravened, according to the pictures that we've been seeing.
COSTELLO: We're looking at file pictures right now.
CLINCH: This is file pictures. Nothing, I imagine, has significantly changed. The new commander we were talking to yesterday making it clear that the rules have changed, though. No more hoods, no more sleep deprivation and also they're going to lower the amount of prisoners in the prison.
Now, that's created a situation outside. Our Ben Wedeman will be outside this morning. A lot of people whose families are in the prison, or they believe their relatives are in the prison, have been gathering over the last few days. That number has been going up and up. It turned into quite a big demonstration today.
The rumors, suggestions that many people will be released has a lot of Iraqis outside saying when are they going to be released?
Now, to be clear...
COSTELLO: You know something?
CLINCH: Yes?
COSTELLO: I'm sorry to interrupt you, but how many people do you think are demonstrating? Because this looks like a lot of people.
CLINCH: Right.
COSTELLO: But it's hard to tell from pictures.
CLINCH: Well, it's a mixture here. We've seen seeing a few hundred people every day just turning up to see if their relatives will be released. This is larger than that, specifically a demonstration against the abuse scandal. But there are also mixed in here people who are saying their family members are inside and when are they going to be released.
And to be clear, the new commander has said he's going to lower the number in Abu Ghraib, but that doesn't mean they'll all be released. They may be moved. So there's pretty high tension outside the prison today.
COSTELLO: And the other problem, from what I understand, is that the record keeping inside the prison isn't that great.
CLINCH: Well, according to the, again, the internal report, part of the problem was the record keeping of not only the abuses, but also who was in the prison have not been that great up until recently. That, again, we're told, is going to improve.
COSTELLO: All right, so hopefully we'll get the pictures within the hours of DAYBREAK, selfishly.
CLINCH: Yes.
COSTELLO: And we'll get to Ben Wedeman, as well.
CLINCH: All right.
COSTELLO: Thank you, David.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says he was shocked by the photos of Iraqi prisoners being humiliated.
Powell spoke to CNN's Larry King in the U.S. mission at the United Nations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE")
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: What happened in this particular instance, as best I know from the pictures, was just totally despicable. There's no way to describe it. And it isn't just the fact that soldiers did it, but no American should do this to any other person. And so they not only violated all the laws of proper behavior in being a soldier, but it's not -- it's just not something Americans should do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And while Colin Powell was talking about the prisoner abuse scandal with Larry King, another top administration official was reaching out to the Arab world.
CNN's Octavia Nasr has that side of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I appreciate it.
Thank you.
OCTAVIA NASR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Behind the smile and the handshake, there is a serious attempt to restore the U.S.' battered image in the Arab world. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice appearing on major Arab networks to make the case for the U.S. in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM ARAB NEWSCAST)
NASR: On the Saudi owned all news network Al-Arabiya, she assures everyone that the U.S. president is personally involved in the issue of Iraqi prisoners abuse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM ARAB NEWSCAST)
NASR: On Al Jazeera, the number one rated Arabic news network, Rice was asked about establishing an international committee to oversee the investigation of abuse in Abu Ghraib. The anchor explains that Ms. Rice prefers the U.S. to handle that.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We have a democratic system...
NASR: As big as the prisoner abuse story is being played in the Middle East...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM ARAB NEWSCAST)
NASR: ... the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is always on the front burner. Rice was pressed on the issue of the U.S.' support for Ariel Sharon's unilateral Gaza pullout plan.
RICE: There was never any thought of trying to...
NASR: Rice explained the U.S. president was only trying to move the peace process along after things have stalled for many years.
A day of American damage control in the Arab world.
Octavia Nasr, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And Octavia will join us live in the next hour of DAYBREAK to respond to some of your questions and comments in today's e-mail question. And the question this morning is what can the United States do to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, or is it too late, or should we do it at all?
We want to know what you think. Send your comments and questions to Octavia to daybreak@cnn.com, daybreak@cnn.com. It is the reunion he has yearned for since his kidnapping in Iraq last month. Former hostage Thomas Hamill will embrace his wife today. In fact, we understand she has now landed in Germany.
But let's ask CNN's Chris Burns.
He is live at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
He's joining us live by phone -- good morning, Chris.
Is she there?
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, yes, she has arrived, according to officials here. She has arrived in a Mercedes. We don't know what kind of plane, whether she flew on a (COMMERCIAL BREAK) flight or some other. But, anyway, she's here. And by now she must have met her husband, Thomas Hamill, for the first time since he was taken hostage back on April 9, when his convoy was ambushed, fuel convoy was ambushed. He was a driver for that convoy, worked for Halliburton, you know, or a Halliburton subsidiary.
In any case, he freed himself back on Sunday and was rescued by a U.S. patrol nearby. And here he is, decompressing and recovering. He does have a gunshot wound to his right arm. However, doctors here have decided to put off surgery until he gets back to the States. They say that he needs continuity, he needs more than one operation. He'll have to be cared for stateside.
What he is undergoing here is counseling. There's a team called SERE -- survive, evade, resist, escape -- and they are helping him to deal with sort of the post, perhaps even post-traumatic stress from what he went through. And he's also going through intel debriefing, giving whatever information he can about what he knew about his captors, where he was, because, keep in mind, there are two coworkers and a U.S. soldier who are still missing. The U.S. soldier, we know, was taken captive and hostage because there is a video of him, as well. So they're trying to -- officials are trying to find where they are and perhaps this intel debriefing could give them some clues -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I know, I yearn to ask you even more questions about those still in captivity as -- I mean did the same people take them as took Thomas Hamill? Did he see them along the way? Because evidently they must have moved many times while Thomas Hamill was in captivity.
BURNS: Well, you know, Hamill would not talk to reporters yesterday when he stepped out and waved. But he did make a statement saying he's thinking about and hopes the American people will direct their thoughts and prayers toward those who are still in Iraq, including those who are still missing from his convoy. But he did not give any details about that.
Now, doctors who did speak with him tell us that he is concerned about them, but that he had no contact with them after that ambush. He did not know where they were. Apparently he was just kept alone, by himself, by his captors. His captors, according to the doctors, did not abuse him. He got a rifle butt in his face, in his head, from one of the attackers at the very beginning. But otherwise he was not mistreated. In fact, he was operated on during captivity, doctors say.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
Chris Burns live on the phone from Landstuhl, Germany this morning.
Thousands of acres ablaze in California. Firefighters launch an intense battle to save homes from that inferno. What a start to the fire season. Chad will have more details for you later on DAYBREAK.
Plus, in the countdown to the Olympic Games, bombs in Athens today give rise to new fears. Is Athens ready for the world? We'll have a live report for you.
And when should you be warned about a terrorist threat? We'll look at how authorities decide what to tell the public and which leads to work privately. It's a precarious balancing act.
And a so-called silent killer is stalking kids. It's yet another reason for youngsters to fight the fat.
Those stories and much more ahead in this hour of DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Outrage against the Iraqi prisoner abuses boils over outside the Abu Ghraib Prison today. An angry demonstration has just ended and CNN's Ben Wedeman, live on the phone, has just returned from inside the walls of that prison -- Ben. BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, actually I was on the outside of the walls speaking to people, Carol, at that demonstration. There were about 350 people there. They were carrying banners denouncing American treatment of the Iraqi prisoners, large Iraqi flags. They were chanting for the U.S. forces to get out of Iraq. A small delegation from this group of protesters, mostly Muslim sheikhs, went and spoke to representatives of the administration of the prison, where they made it clear that they're most unhappy with the treatment of the Iraqi prisoners by U.S. forces.
Now, afterwards I had an opportunity to speak to some of these men who had (AUDIO GAP) with the Americans. They said that they held these talks with the Americans because they felt that that was the first step they must take to make it clear that they're unhappy with this (AUDIO GAP). But one of these men told me they simply don't have much faith in the Americans, the American administration of the prison and also in the Coalition Authority in general.
So, and I had an opportunity also to speak to some people who were waiting outside the prison hoping to have a chance to visit their relatives, get some information. And there's a lot of frustration among these people because they feel they haven't been allowed to have any sort of communications with their relatives inside the prison and (AUDIO GAP) seen pictures of alleged abuse certainly has upset them even more -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ben, you're fading in and out on your cell phone, so we're going to give it a go. I'll ask you a question. Do we know, by and large, what these people in the Iraqi prison are in for? Is it criminal acts, war crimes, what?
WEDEMAN: No, these are not the people on the list of 52. These are, by and large, some of them security suspects, some of them are -- it's really hard to say, to generalize. But, for instance, if you look at that internal Army report that has been made public recently, it does say that 60 percent of those who are in Abu Ghraib Prison pose no threat to (AUDIO GAP).
COSTELLO: All right, Ben's cell phone is going out, but he says by and large more than 60 percent in that prison are not in for war crimes, but in for other crimes.
We'll talk to Ben a little later on DAYBREAK when we get those technical problems ironed out.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:17 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
It's happening today. The Iraqi Fallujah Brigade is officially taking over security from U.S. Marines around the city. Up until the agreement for the Iraqi troops to take over, the Marines had been involved in gun battles with Iraqis the previous two weeks.
Going on right now, this is a live picture out of London, where Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom are holding a news conference. The two have been discussing Ariel Sharon's plans for withdrawing from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. As you can see, that news conference has not yet begun.
In money news, Neville Isdell has worked at Coca-Cola for 38 years. Now he is going to run the place. The 60-year-old Irish citizen is succeeding Douglas Daft as CEO.
In sports, the Philadelphia Flyers are heading to the Eastern Conference finals after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2. And the San Jose Sharks beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 to advance to the Western Conference finals.
In culture, the champ, Muhammad Ali, has been honored by the Arab-American Institute. The group cites Ali for providing money, medical relief and food to African and Asian countries -- Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
The Federal Reserve Bank keeps interest rates unchanged, but suggests higher rates are on the way.
So let's see how the Fed's decision, or no decision, is impacting European markets.
Let's head live to London and Jim Boulden -- good morning, Jim.
JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi.
Good morning.
Yes, we've been worried about Mr. Greenspan for many weeks now. But you can see here, there has been very little action, indeed, on the markets. We're going to expect some news about interest rates out of Europe and out of the U.K. in the next day. Both of them will come out with announcements on Thursday. So I think we've switched a little bit to that.
But as you can see, the four main markets looking pretty much like Wall Street did yesterday. Not much change at all. However, we do see some very important corporate news out of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Now, this is Britain's second largest bank. It's buying Charter One Bank out of Michigan for $10.5 billion. And this came out last night after the bell closed on Wall Street. But RBS is using its subsidiary -- Citizens Financial Corporation Bank out of Rhode Island to buy Charter One. This is going to make RBS the tenth -- one of the eighth, ninth, tenth largest banks in the U.S. and it now will make a quarter of its profits out of the U.S.
So, a big British bank coming into the U.S. to try to get more of your money.
Back to you -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Jim.
Jim Boulden live from London.
Next on DAYBREAK, give the finger and get a fine -- we'll tell you how rowdy drivers may soon be in for a rude awakening.
And burning issues on the West Coast -- the spring sizzle stirs up trouble for California homeowners. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Wildfires have forced more southern California residents from their homes this morning. Police have arrested one man who may be responsible for starting one of those devastating fires.
CNN's Ted Rowlands has more for you from Riverside County.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Four of the six fires burning in southern California are centered in Riverside County. There is some real concern about a cluster of about 250 homes that could be in danger there in the path of a 10,000 acre fire, which is centered near the community of Lake Elsinore, just off Interstate 15. In all, more than 15,000 acres have burned in the region and resources are scattered around the region because there are six fires to deal with.
There is another major blaze in Riverside County, near the city of Temecula, that has consumed more than 4,000 acres; a blaze in Santa Barbara County is only 10 percent contained. That is centered in the Los Padres National Forest. And in Dan Diego County, a 1,900 acres blaze burned at Camp Pendleton. That has been contained.
A 44-year-old man has been arrested on two felony counts of negligence because he is accused of dragging a steel plate used to cover highways. It's believed that the sparks from that plate started the fire that has now put the homes in jeopardy.
This is an unusual early start to the fire season in California. Temperatures have been near 100 degrees in this region over the past few days. Firefighters are hoping that they will get some help, much needed help, from Mother Nature. They're hoping that the predictions are true and that the humidity will go up and temperatures will go down.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, near Corona, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Oh, it's terrible out there.
MYERS: It is.
COSTELLO: And the weather is going to remain dry and rain free?
MYERS: Yes, no rain at all. But what they really want, they just want the temperatures not to get to 97 in the afternoon. They don't want 104. It was 111 and 113 in Death Valley yesterday. Not a lot to burn in Death Valley. But anyway, that moisture and that humidity and all, it's not really going to come in to make rain. But at least the clouds will come in and keep the temperatures in the 70s rather than the 90s. So that means your relative humidity is not as dry.
Yesterday afternoon, the relative humidity was eight percent.
COSTELLO: Wow.
MYERS: Eight.
COSTELLO: Eight percent?
MYERS: I mean that cracks your lips. You think about that in the wintertime in a house like in New England, because the air is dry, you heat it up with a furnace. That's how dry it is. And that just makes tinderbox (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
COSTELLO: I also want to talk about an interesting story out of Florida. MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Because there is one state senator there who wants police to give you a ticket for rude behavior on the road, not speeding or anything, but rude behavior.
MYERS: I'm calling it you hurt my feelings.
COSTELLO: No, when people go and they cut you off or they don't allow you to change lanes or they flip you off for no apparent reason...
MYERS: So now it's...
COSTELLO: ... they should get a ticket.
MYERS: So now it's an $80 fine. Well, not yet, but that's what he's trying to get.
COSTELLO: Well, apparently 12 other states are also trying to institute laws like this.
MYERS: Yes. Yes. Check this out, a $500 fine is what they want it to be for Rhode Island. So I mean it's just a little state you shouldn't have too many bad drivers. You should be able to find them.
COSTELLO: But you have to admit, a lot of rude behavior causes accidents.
MYERS: Oh, sure. Absolutely. Oh, I mean you know for three miles that it's a merge lane over here and that this lane's going to be closed but somebody runs all the way up the shoulder and then cuts in at the very end.
COSTELLO: And it doesn't save much time. I don't understand that.
MYERS: Well, it saves that one person time.
COSTELLO: Oh, that's true.
Well, we'll see what happens in Florida.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: In the next half hour of DAYBREAK, a warning to parents -- why your overweight children may face serious health risks down the road.
Also, when and where not to warn -- it's not an easy call. But we'll go behind-the-scenes to a place where no threat goes unchecked.
And the prisoner abuse scandal takes center stage in the Arab world. As Iraqis demonstrate, the U.S. goes on the defensive.
And can America undo the damage or does it matter? E-mail us daybreak@cnn.com. We want your comments. Do apologizes on Arab television matter? Should U.S. officials do -- apologize on Arab television? Daybreak@cnn.com.
This is DAYBREAK for Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's tough to walk the aisles of a grocery store and not run into one of Procter & Gamble's 300 brands. The maker of Tide, Bounty and Cascade recently beat quarterly profit expectations, boosting its stock to a 52 week high. P&G also announced a plan to increase its dividend for the 48th straight year. The company's success drew largely on higher sales in its beauty and household lines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired May 5, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, CNN takes you inside the notorious Iraqi prison at the center of that abuse scandal.
It is Wednesday, May 5.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Here are the latest headlines for you right now.
An angry crowd gathers outside the Iraqi prison where detainee abuses took place. The demonstration comes amidst talks of prisoner releases at the facility. More fallout from the Iraqi prison abuse story. A Senate panel holds a closed door hearing today to see if intelligence officials arte linked to the scandal.
Concerns over touch screen voting will be raised today at a hearing in Washington. At least 50 million of you will vote electronically in November.
Three bombs explode outside of a police station in Athens, Greece early this morning. No injuries to report. The attack comes with 100 days to go until the Summer Olympics.
To the forecast center now and Chad -- good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Our Iraq situation report begins with the transfer of command in the troubled city of Fallujah. Iraqi soldiers from Saddam Hussein's regime are continuing to take over from U.S. troops. An Iraqi general says the Fallujah Brigade is commanding all the posts in the city now. He says Fallujah is safer than Baghdad.
The Senate Intelligence Committee holds a closed door hearing on the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal today. The panel's chairman, Senator Pat Roberts, says the hearing will determine if intelligence professionals had anything to do with the abuse.
U.S. damage control reaches its highest level. President Bush will address the prisoner controversy in interviews with two Arab TV networks today. And U.S. troop strength in Iraq will remain at about 138,000 through the end of next year. Pentagon officials say the number could drop if the security situation on the ground improves.
Let's talk more about the Abu Ghraib Prison.
Our senior international editor, David Clinch, is here now, because cameras were allowed in the prison earlier this morning.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Right.
COSTELLO: Did you see the pictures?
CLINCH: That's true. We're going to get the pictures, hopefully within the next few hours. Ironically, this is a pool crew that's been allowed. You and I have been talking about pool crews in Fallujah and everywhere else with the military situation, an indication of how serious and how big this prison scandal story is now that the U.S. military can't allow everybody who wants to go into Abu Ghraib Prison, the scene of the crime or the alleged crimes, in some cases. So they've pooled it. One crew will go in today and will get a look around.
Now, we've seen inside the prison before, but this is a fresh look inside the prison. We're unlikely to get to see or speak to any of the prisoners. That's standard practice. Film crews don't get to see prisoners because of, again, the Geneva Conventions, which have been so contravened, according to the pictures that we've been seeing.
COSTELLO: We're looking at file pictures right now.
CLINCH: This is file pictures. Nothing, I imagine, has significantly changed. The new commander we were talking to yesterday making it clear that the rules have changed, though. No more hoods, no more sleep deprivation and also they're going to lower the amount of prisoners in the prison.
Now, that's created a situation outside. Our Ben Wedeman will be outside this morning. A lot of people whose families are in the prison, or they believe their relatives are in the prison, have been gathering over the last few days. That number has been going up and up. It turned into quite a big demonstration today.
The rumors, suggestions that many people will be released has a lot of Iraqis outside saying when are they going to be released?
Now, to be clear...
COSTELLO: You know something?
CLINCH: Yes?
COSTELLO: I'm sorry to interrupt you, but how many people do you think are demonstrating? Because this looks like a lot of people.
CLINCH: Right.
COSTELLO: But it's hard to tell from pictures.
CLINCH: Well, it's a mixture here. We've seen seeing a few hundred people every day just turning up to see if their relatives will be released. This is larger than that, specifically a demonstration against the abuse scandal. But there are also mixed in here people who are saying their family members are inside and when are they going to be released.
And to be clear, the new commander has said he's going to lower the number in Abu Ghraib, but that doesn't mean they'll all be released. They may be moved. So there's pretty high tension outside the prison today.
COSTELLO: And the other problem, from what I understand, is that the record keeping inside the prison isn't that great.
CLINCH: Well, according to the, again, the internal report, part of the problem was the record keeping of not only the abuses, but also who was in the prison have not been that great up until recently. That, again, we're told, is going to improve.
COSTELLO: All right, so hopefully we'll get the pictures within the hours of DAYBREAK, selfishly.
CLINCH: Yes.
COSTELLO: And we'll get to Ben Wedeman, as well.
CLINCH: All right.
COSTELLO: Thank you, David.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says he was shocked by the photos of Iraqi prisoners being humiliated.
Powell spoke to CNN's Larry King in the U.S. mission at the United Nations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE")
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: What happened in this particular instance, as best I know from the pictures, was just totally despicable. There's no way to describe it. And it isn't just the fact that soldiers did it, but no American should do this to any other person. And so they not only violated all the laws of proper behavior in being a soldier, but it's not -- it's just not something Americans should do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And while Colin Powell was talking about the prisoner abuse scandal with Larry King, another top administration official was reaching out to the Arab world.
CNN's Octavia Nasr has that side of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I appreciate it.
Thank you.
OCTAVIA NASR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Behind the smile and the handshake, there is a serious attempt to restore the U.S.' battered image in the Arab world. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice appearing on major Arab networks to make the case for the U.S. in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM ARAB NEWSCAST)
NASR: On the Saudi owned all news network Al-Arabiya, she assures everyone that the U.S. president is personally involved in the issue of Iraqi prisoners abuse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM ARAB NEWSCAST)
NASR: On Al Jazeera, the number one rated Arabic news network, Rice was asked about establishing an international committee to oversee the investigation of abuse in Abu Ghraib. The anchor explains that Ms. Rice prefers the U.S. to handle that.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We have a democratic system...
NASR: As big as the prisoner abuse story is being played in the Middle East...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM ARAB NEWSCAST)
NASR: ... the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is always on the front burner. Rice was pressed on the issue of the U.S.' support for Ariel Sharon's unilateral Gaza pullout plan.
RICE: There was never any thought of trying to...
NASR: Rice explained the U.S. president was only trying to move the peace process along after things have stalled for many years.
A day of American damage control in the Arab world.
Octavia Nasr, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And Octavia will join us live in the next hour of DAYBREAK to respond to some of your questions and comments in today's e-mail question. And the question this morning is what can the United States do to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, or is it too late, or should we do it at all?
We want to know what you think. Send your comments and questions to Octavia to daybreak@cnn.com, daybreak@cnn.com. It is the reunion he has yearned for since his kidnapping in Iraq last month. Former hostage Thomas Hamill will embrace his wife today. In fact, we understand she has now landed in Germany.
But let's ask CNN's Chris Burns.
He is live at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.
He's joining us live by phone -- good morning, Chris.
Is she there?
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, yes, she has arrived, according to officials here. She has arrived in a Mercedes. We don't know what kind of plane, whether she flew on a (COMMERCIAL BREAK) flight or some other. But, anyway, she's here. And by now she must have met her husband, Thomas Hamill, for the first time since he was taken hostage back on April 9, when his convoy was ambushed, fuel convoy was ambushed. He was a driver for that convoy, worked for Halliburton, you know, or a Halliburton subsidiary.
In any case, he freed himself back on Sunday and was rescued by a U.S. patrol nearby. And here he is, decompressing and recovering. He does have a gunshot wound to his right arm. However, doctors here have decided to put off surgery until he gets back to the States. They say that he needs continuity, he needs more than one operation. He'll have to be cared for stateside.
What he is undergoing here is counseling. There's a team called SERE -- survive, evade, resist, escape -- and they are helping him to deal with sort of the post, perhaps even post-traumatic stress from what he went through. And he's also going through intel debriefing, giving whatever information he can about what he knew about his captors, where he was, because, keep in mind, there are two coworkers and a U.S. soldier who are still missing. The U.S. soldier, we know, was taken captive and hostage because there is a video of him, as well. So they're trying to -- officials are trying to find where they are and perhaps this intel debriefing could give them some clues -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I know, I yearn to ask you even more questions about those still in captivity as -- I mean did the same people take them as took Thomas Hamill? Did he see them along the way? Because evidently they must have moved many times while Thomas Hamill was in captivity.
BURNS: Well, you know, Hamill would not talk to reporters yesterday when he stepped out and waved. But he did make a statement saying he's thinking about and hopes the American people will direct their thoughts and prayers toward those who are still in Iraq, including those who are still missing from his convoy. But he did not give any details about that.
Now, doctors who did speak with him tell us that he is concerned about them, but that he had no contact with them after that ambush. He did not know where they were. Apparently he was just kept alone, by himself, by his captors. His captors, according to the doctors, did not abuse him. He got a rifle butt in his face, in his head, from one of the attackers at the very beginning. But otherwise he was not mistreated. In fact, he was operated on during captivity, doctors say.
COSTELLO: Interesting.
Chris Burns live on the phone from Landstuhl, Germany this morning.
Thousands of acres ablaze in California. Firefighters launch an intense battle to save homes from that inferno. What a start to the fire season. Chad will have more details for you later on DAYBREAK.
Plus, in the countdown to the Olympic Games, bombs in Athens today give rise to new fears. Is Athens ready for the world? We'll have a live report for you.
And when should you be warned about a terrorist threat? We'll look at how authorities decide what to tell the public and which leads to work privately. It's a precarious balancing act.
And a so-called silent killer is stalking kids. It's yet another reason for youngsters to fight the fat.
Those stories and much more ahead in this hour of DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Outrage against the Iraqi prisoner abuses boils over outside the Abu Ghraib Prison today. An angry demonstration has just ended and CNN's Ben Wedeman, live on the phone, has just returned from inside the walls of that prison -- Ben. BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, actually I was on the outside of the walls speaking to people, Carol, at that demonstration. There were about 350 people there. They were carrying banners denouncing American treatment of the Iraqi prisoners, large Iraqi flags. They were chanting for the U.S. forces to get out of Iraq. A small delegation from this group of protesters, mostly Muslim sheikhs, went and spoke to representatives of the administration of the prison, where they made it clear that they're most unhappy with the treatment of the Iraqi prisoners by U.S. forces.
Now, afterwards I had an opportunity to speak to some of these men who had (AUDIO GAP) with the Americans. They said that they held these talks with the Americans because they felt that that was the first step they must take to make it clear that they're unhappy with this (AUDIO GAP). But one of these men told me they simply don't have much faith in the Americans, the American administration of the prison and also in the Coalition Authority in general.
So, and I had an opportunity also to speak to some people who were waiting outside the prison hoping to have a chance to visit their relatives, get some information. And there's a lot of frustration among these people because they feel they haven't been allowed to have any sort of communications with their relatives inside the prison and (AUDIO GAP) seen pictures of alleged abuse certainly has upset them even more -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ben, you're fading in and out on your cell phone, so we're going to give it a go. I'll ask you a question. Do we know, by and large, what these people in the Iraqi prison are in for? Is it criminal acts, war crimes, what?
WEDEMAN: No, these are not the people on the list of 52. These are, by and large, some of them security suspects, some of them are -- it's really hard to say, to generalize. But, for instance, if you look at that internal Army report that has been made public recently, it does say that 60 percent of those who are in Abu Ghraib Prison pose no threat to (AUDIO GAP).
COSTELLO: All right, Ben's cell phone is going out, but he says by and large more than 60 percent in that prison are not in for war crimes, but in for other crimes.
We'll talk to Ben a little later on DAYBREAK when we get those technical problems ironed out.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:17 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
It's happening today. The Iraqi Fallujah Brigade is officially taking over security from U.S. Marines around the city. Up until the agreement for the Iraqi troops to take over, the Marines had been involved in gun battles with Iraqis the previous two weeks.
Going on right now, this is a live picture out of London, where Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom are holding a news conference. The two have been discussing Ariel Sharon's plans for withdrawing from Gaza and parts of the West Bank. As you can see, that news conference has not yet begun.
In money news, Neville Isdell has worked at Coca-Cola for 38 years. Now he is going to run the place. The 60-year-old Irish citizen is succeeding Douglas Daft as CEO.
In sports, the Philadelphia Flyers are heading to the Eastern Conference finals after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-2. And the San Jose Sharks beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 to advance to the Western Conference finals.
In culture, the champ, Muhammad Ali, has been honored by the Arab-American Institute. The group cites Ali for providing money, medical relief and food to African and Asian countries -- Chad.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
The Federal Reserve Bank keeps interest rates unchanged, but suggests higher rates are on the way.
So let's see how the Fed's decision, or no decision, is impacting European markets.
Let's head live to London and Jim Boulden -- good morning, Jim.
JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi.
Good morning.
Yes, we've been worried about Mr. Greenspan for many weeks now. But you can see here, there has been very little action, indeed, on the markets. We're going to expect some news about interest rates out of Europe and out of the U.K. in the next day. Both of them will come out with announcements on Thursday. So I think we've switched a little bit to that.
But as you can see, the four main markets looking pretty much like Wall Street did yesterday. Not much change at all. However, we do see some very important corporate news out of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Now, this is Britain's second largest bank. It's buying Charter One Bank out of Michigan for $10.5 billion. And this came out last night after the bell closed on Wall Street. But RBS is using its subsidiary -- Citizens Financial Corporation Bank out of Rhode Island to buy Charter One. This is going to make RBS the tenth -- one of the eighth, ninth, tenth largest banks in the U.S. and it now will make a quarter of its profits out of the U.S.
So, a big British bank coming into the U.S. to try to get more of your money.
Back to you -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Jim.
Jim Boulden live from London.
Next on DAYBREAK, give the finger and get a fine -- we'll tell you how rowdy drivers may soon be in for a rude awakening.
And burning issues on the West Coast -- the spring sizzle stirs up trouble for California homeowners. Stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Wildfires have forced more southern California residents from their homes this morning. Police have arrested one man who may be responsible for starting one of those devastating fires.
CNN's Ted Rowlands has more for you from Riverside County.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Four of the six fires burning in southern California are centered in Riverside County. There is some real concern about a cluster of about 250 homes that could be in danger there in the path of a 10,000 acre fire, which is centered near the community of Lake Elsinore, just off Interstate 15. In all, more than 15,000 acres have burned in the region and resources are scattered around the region because there are six fires to deal with.
There is another major blaze in Riverside County, near the city of Temecula, that has consumed more than 4,000 acres; a blaze in Santa Barbara County is only 10 percent contained. That is centered in the Los Padres National Forest. And in Dan Diego County, a 1,900 acres blaze burned at Camp Pendleton. That has been contained.
A 44-year-old man has been arrested on two felony counts of negligence because he is accused of dragging a steel plate used to cover highways. It's believed that the sparks from that plate started the fire that has now put the homes in jeopardy.
This is an unusual early start to the fire season in California. Temperatures have been near 100 degrees in this region over the past few days. Firefighters are hoping that they will get some help, much needed help, from Mother Nature. They're hoping that the predictions are true and that the humidity will go up and temperatures will go down.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, near Corona, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Oh, it's terrible out there.
MYERS: It is.
COSTELLO: And the weather is going to remain dry and rain free?
MYERS: Yes, no rain at all. But what they really want, they just want the temperatures not to get to 97 in the afternoon. They don't want 104. It was 111 and 113 in Death Valley yesterday. Not a lot to burn in Death Valley. But anyway, that moisture and that humidity and all, it's not really going to come in to make rain. But at least the clouds will come in and keep the temperatures in the 70s rather than the 90s. So that means your relative humidity is not as dry.
Yesterday afternoon, the relative humidity was eight percent.
COSTELLO: Wow.
MYERS: Eight.
COSTELLO: Eight percent?
MYERS: I mean that cracks your lips. You think about that in the wintertime in a house like in New England, because the air is dry, you heat it up with a furnace. That's how dry it is. And that just makes tinderbox (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
COSTELLO: I also want to talk about an interesting story out of Florida. MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Because there is one state senator there who wants police to give you a ticket for rude behavior on the road, not speeding or anything, but rude behavior.
MYERS: I'm calling it you hurt my feelings.
COSTELLO: No, when people go and they cut you off or they don't allow you to change lanes or they flip you off for no apparent reason...
MYERS: So now it's...
COSTELLO: ... they should get a ticket.
MYERS: So now it's an $80 fine. Well, not yet, but that's what he's trying to get.
COSTELLO: Well, apparently 12 other states are also trying to institute laws like this.
MYERS: Yes. Yes. Check this out, a $500 fine is what they want it to be for Rhode Island. So I mean it's just a little state you shouldn't have too many bad drivers. You should be able to find them.
COSTELLO: But you have to admit, a lot of rude behavior causes accidents.
MYERS: Oh, sure. Absolutely. Oh, I mean you know for three miles that it's a merge lane over here and that this lane's going to be closed but somebody runs all the way up the shoulder and then cuts in at the very end.
COSTELLO: And it doesn't save much time. I don't understand that.
MYERS: Well, it saves that one person time.
COSTELLO: Oh, that's true.
Well, we'll see what happens in Florida.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: In the next half hour of DAYBREAK, a warning to parents -- why your overweight children may face serious health risks down the road.
Also, when and where not to warn -- it's not an easy call. But we'll go behind-the-scenes to a place where no threat goes unchecked.
And the prisoner abuse scandal takes center stage in the Arab world. As Iraqis demonstrate, the U.S. goes on the defensive.
And can America undo the damage or does it matter? E-mail us daybreak@cnn.com. We want your comments. Do apologizes on Arab television matter? Should U.S. officials do -- apologize on Arab television? Daybreak@cnn.com.
This is DAYBREAK for Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's tough to walk the aisles of a grocery store and not run into one of Procter & Gamble's 300 brands. The maker of Tide, Bounty and Cascade recently beat quarterly profit expectations, boosting its stock to a 52 week high. P&G also announced a plan to increase its dividend for the 48th straight year. The company's success drew largely on higher sales in its beauty and household lines.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
