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CNN Live Today

Arrest Made in Negligent Setting of California Fires; Bush to be Interviewed on Arab TV

Aired May 05, 2004 - 10:30   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.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's check our top stories "At This Hour."
President Bush is reaching out to parts of the Arab world hoping to quell Muslim outrage over photos of American military guards mistreating Iraqi prisoners. He's scheduled to give brief interviews to two Arab language television stations. One is Al Arabiya, based in Dubai. The other is Al-Hurra which is based in Virginia and run by the U.S. government.

If you want to see Michael Moore's highly critical new film about President Bush, you have to go to the Cannes Film Festival next week. Moore says that Disney preventing Miramax from "Fahrenheit 9/11" in the U.S. The film purports shows ties between Mr. Bush and wealthy Saudis, including the bin Laden family.

Later today on Capitol Hill, members of the Senate Intelligence Committee hold a closed-door hearing on the prisoner abuse scandal. Among the answers they are demanding, whether the abuses involved rogue soldiers or, even worse, trained professionals from the intelligence community.

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is celebrating Cinco de Mayo in Los Angeles today. Kerry's message this week centers on education reform. He's talking about boosting graduation rates by encouraging some 1 million dropouts to stay in school.

And speaking of the U.S. -- of Southern California, at least six wildfires are racing across parts of Southern California. Thousands of acres and dozens of buildings have burned. Our Ted Rowlands has more from Riverside. That is the site of the biggest problems. Ted, good morning.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. And there's good news today in terms of the weather. It is still very hot and predicted to be well into the 90s here, but that is a bit of a relief of the 100-degree temperatures of the last few days. Humidity is also up and that is a key.

Last night firefighters were able to build a semi-perimeter around this largest fire, the Cerritos Fire it's called, near the city of Corona which is east of Los Angeles and in River County.

The two biggest of the six fires are both centered in Riverside County. The hope is that the weather will hold today and more progress can be made. Last night hundreds of firefighters worked through the night to help build a perimeter.

The Cerritos Fire is the largest, as you mentioned. And Bill Peters is with the California Department of Forestry. Bill, bottom line it for us. Have you turned the corner and you going to be able to beat this thing in short order?

BILL PETERS, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY: I think we're very hopeful that we can. This will be the day, I think, where we find out. We had really good success last night. We increased our containment to 30 percent as the sun rose.

So if we can get through today without flair-ups like yesterday, I think we're around the corner.

ROWLANDS: Awful early for this type of fire and this contingency of firefighters. Last year, of course, 3,600 homes lost in October, 24 deaths. What are you predicting this season?

PETERS: The potential is there to be there just like last year. But hopefully with the governor's proclamation for Wildfire Awareness Week everybody will pay attention and understand how devastating this can be. And maybe we'll avoid that this year.

ROWLANDS: This fire, of course, was started by someone who wasn't paying attention. Tell us about the man that was arrested.

PETERS: Well Richard Brown, 44 years old from this area, was dragging a 4 by 4 sheet of steel across the street. And those sparks allegedly started the fire and where we are now.

He's been booked for two counts of 452-PC which is negligently causing a fire. And there could be other charges depending on what happens.

ROWLANDS: OK, Bill Peters, thank you very much. From the California Department of Forestry.

Daryn, the bottom line here is Mother Nature is helping out. Hopefully the weather will hold and these firefighters can get their arms around these six fires continuing to burn in Southern California.

KAGAN: Ted Rowlands in Riverside County. Ted, thank you for that.

We go back now to the story in Iraq and the images from Iraq. From recent scandals to rising death toll of U.S. forces reverberate strongly across the U.S., perhaps no where is that impact more striking than in military recruiting. Our Jason Bellini has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Army recruiter Sergeant Davis is close, very close to signing Rader Williams (ph). Williams says he decided he wants to be an infantry leader.

SGT. GREGORY DAVIS, U.S. ARMY: It's a good decision and the best news I've heard all day.

BELLINI: Williams, a senior at Douglas High in Georgia, won't, however, sign on the dotted line just yet.

This year Sergeant Davis admits the Army is a tougher deal to close. He can offer college tuition, signing bonuses and a wide range of job opportunities. What he can't offer are any assurances on Iraq.

(on camera): How often is the possibility of going to Iraq a deal breaker?

DAVIS: Quite often. I can be based on the influence of their family, friends, people they hang around.

BELLINI (voice-over): Sheronda Menuer withdrew her application for the Air Force.

(on camera): So you almost signed up? What changed your minds?

SHERONDA MENUER, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: The things he said. And about -- most about the dying part.

BELLINI (voice-over): Dr. Crystal Giddings is the student adviser. She says 18 seniors planned join the military this year as opposed to around 60 before the war.

CRYSTAL GIDDINGS, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT ADVISER: In the past if they selected a military option they would say, what are the benefits, the medical benefits? Are they going to pay for my college education?

But now they're asking more serious questions such as, if I make this decision, will I die early?

BELLINI: The Army says it's still meeting recruiting goals 100 percent.

DAVIS: You just have to work harder.

Well, welcome to the Army.

BELLINI: Williams shaked Sergeant Davis' hand -- but then pulls back. He needs more time.

Jason Bellini, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Now, we want to update you on the bombings in Athens, Greece. Police are searching for suspects. It is 100 days before the start of the summer games. Officials are raising questions in the security situation in the Greek capital. Guy Raz has been looking into that. He joins us now live from London -- Guy.

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning.

And so far no word on who may have been behind that series of attacks in Athens this morning. We do understand that a fourth bomb was diffused before it could detonate.

Now Greek officials are underplaying this series of attacks. They say it's not tied to the 100-day kickoff before the Summer Olympic games begin. Now officials in Athens are pledging to deploy some 50,000 armed police and security officers to protect not just the athletes, but key Olympic venue sites during the three-week period this summer.

Now, at the same time, there are some key problems with the Athens organizing committee. Some structural projects that have yet to be completed. Key among those is the main Athens stadium. Now the stadium's there. It's prepared to seat 50,000 people. The problem is, it doesn't have a roof. There is a very sophisticated design, but the roof hasn't been mounted yet.

Now the Olympic Committee has given Athens organizers up until May 20 to get that roof mounted. If they don't do it, they're going to have to scrap the project. The problem there, of course, is that summer temperatures in Athens can reach as high as 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Certainly won't make for comfortable spectating or comfortable for the athletes, as well.

Now we understand, as well, that the International Olympic Committee for the first time in its history has taken out a $170 million insurance policy in case these Olympics don't get off the ground. There have been some key problems with the Athens organizers. They're already $1 billion over budget. So it will be very interesting to see what happens as we approach those summer games -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Guy, this is the question that is occurring it me as I'm listening to your report. Is there a chance at this late date that they would pull the plug on the summer games just saying, sorry, they're just not ready to go?

RAZ: There's no doubt in the minds of Athens organizers that these Olympics will take place. Of course, Athens was the site of the first Olympiad in 1896. Organizers in Athens were very disappointed not to have had the Olympics in 1996. Of course, that went to Atlanta.

They are absolutely confident that these Olympic Games will go off without a hitch. And they're promising to put on a great show -- Daryn.

KAGAN: It's great show and little drama leading up to the games, as well. Guy Raz in London, thank you for that.

Ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY, a Picasso painting goes on the auction block. Take a look at this. Just how much does Sothebys expect to fetch for it? And who could actually afford to pay those prices? That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: It could have been prevented, the Sasser worm which has wreaked havoc on PCs from North America to Australia. Now experts say far fewer computers would have been infected if more owners had installed a security fix that's been out for three weeks now.

Since the weekend, the worm snaked its way over a million PCs running the Windows software. Experts say that scrambling systems for British Airways and Britain's Coast Guard and hitting other business, banks and government offices.

Sasser targets a flaw in the Microsoft Windows operating system. Here to talk about why Windows is so vulnerable to this attack is Rob Vamosi, a security watch columnist for the Web site CNet.com. He is live in San Francisco. Good morning, thanks for being with us.

ROB VAMOSI, SECURITY WATCH COLUMNIST, CNET.COM: Thank you for inviting me.

KAGAN: Let me guess, you didn't get hit because you knew what you were supposed to do ahead of time.

VAMOSI: That's correct. I have a firewall and I've downloaded the patch from Microsoft.

KAGAN: Very good for you, but not for a lot of people out there.

I think one reason it caught people off guard, it didn't come through e-mail. I think people are getting on the ball about what not to open with their e-mail. This one, if you're just surfing the net.

VAMOSI: That's correct. If you're using a Windows 200 computer or Windows XP computer and you don't have a firewall and you haven't downloaded the Microsoft patch, you're vulnerable to the Sasser worm.

KAGAN: OK, now come way down to most people's intelligence level when it comes to computers here. How to even know if you have a personal firewall.

VAMOSI: Well, if you're running Windows XP, you can turn it on yourself. It is something Microsoft did not turn on for most users, you have to turn it on yourself.

If you're running Windows 2000, you need to download one or install one yourself.

KAGAN: And once you do install or turn it on, is it going make other things not work in your computer?

VAMOSI: It can. But most firewalls will flag you and say this application is trying to access the Internet. Do you want it to do so? And you say yes or nor. And it will remember from that point forward.

KAGAN: So it kind of talks you through it?

VAMOSI: That's correct.

KAGAN: Meanwhile, it does not affect Linux operating system, it doesn't affect Mac OS. So not everyone is affected by this one.

VAMOSI: That's correct. Other operating systems, even other versions of Windows are not affected by this worm.

KAGAN: And is this just a game for people who are out there doing this?

VAMOSI: I believe so. The possible authors of this worm have authored other viruses and they seem to be in a dialogue with other virus writers. They seem to be a gang of people that want to show off their skills and just impress everybody. But I'm not impressed by it.

KAGAN: Yes, I wouldn't think so.

When you say this dialogue is taking place, where is that? In chat rooms?

VAMOSI: No, actually within the code of the worm itself. There are little messages that are being sent with the worms. And anti- virus researchers have uncovered these messages. And so they see this dialogue going on with the virus writers.

KAGAN: And taking this a step further, on the one hand there's pranksters out there doing this and for their own ego and their own thrill. But we have seen the effect of what can take place. The huge businesses and networks that can shut down, personal computers. Cyberterrorism. That could be right around the corner with people with more devious intents.

VAMOSI: It could. The Sasser worm does not contain a dangerous payload. All it will do is shut down your computer and keep rebooting it which is very annoying.

But it could have had a payload that destroyed the files on your computer or did more damage like attack another Web site.

KAGAN: So the message is check and make sure you have that personal firewall. Rob Vamosi from CNet, thank you.

VAMOSI: Thank you.

KAGAN: Appreciate your time.

VAMOSI: No problem.

VAMOSI: A life spent passing for thin. You're going to meet the author of a very inspirational story of significant weight loss and how it can change more than just the way you look on the outside.

(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 - 10:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Daryn Kagan. Let's check our top stories "At This Hour."
President Bush is reaching out to parts of the Arab world hoping to quell Muslim outrage over photos of American military guards mistreating Iraqi prisoners. He's scheduled to give brief interviews to two Arab language television stations. One is Al Arabiya, based in Dubai. The other is Al-Hurra which is based in Virginia and run by the U.S. government.

If you want to see Michael Moore's highly critical new film about President Bush, you have to go to the Cannes Film Festival next week. Moore says that Disney preventing Miramax from "Fahrenheit 9/11" in the U.S. The film purports shows ties between Mr. Bush and wealthy Saudis, including the bin Laden family.

Later today on Capitol Hill, members of the Senate Intelligence Committee hold a closed-door hearing on the prisoner abuse scandal. Among the answers they are demanding, whether the abuses involved rogue soldiers or, even worse, trained professionals from the intelligence community.

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is celebrating Cinco de Mayo in Los Angeles today. Kerry's message this week centers on education reform. He's talking about boosting graduation rates by encouraging some 1 million dropouts to stay in school.

And speaking of the U.S. -- of Southern California, at least six wildfires are racing across parts of Southern California. Thousands of acres and dozens of buildings have burned. Our Ted Rowlands has more from Riverside. That is the site of the biggest problems. Ted, good morning.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. And there's good news today in terms of the weather. It is still very hot and predicted to be well into the 90s here, but that is a bit of a relief of the 100-degree temperatures of the last few days. Humidity is also up and that is a key.

Last night firefighters were able to build a semi-perimeter around this largest fire, the Cerritos Fire it's called, near the city of Corona which is east of Los Angeles and in River County.

The two biggest of the six fires are both centered in Riverside County. The hope is that the weather will hold today and more progress can be made. Last night hundreds of firefighters worked through the night to help build a perimeter.

The Cerritos Fire is the largest, as you mentioned. And Bill Peters is with the California Department of Forestry. Bill, bottom line it for us. Have you turned the corner and you going to be able to beat this thing in short order?

BILL PETERS, CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY: I think we're very hopeful that we can. This will be the day, I think, where we find out. We had really good success last night. We increased our containment to 30 percent as the sun rose.

So if we can get through today without flair-ups like yesterday, I think we're around the corner.

ROWLANDS: Awful early for this type of fire and this contingency of firefighters. Last year, of course, 3,600 homes lost in October, 24 deaths. What are you predicting this season?

PETERS: The potential is there to be there just like last year. But hopefully with the governor's proclamation for Wildfire Awareness Week everybody will pay attention and understand how devastating this can be. And maybe we'll avoid that this year.

ROWLANDS: This fire, of course, was started by someone who wasn't paying attention. Tell us about the man that was arrested.

PETERS: Well Richard Brown, 44 years old from this area, was dragging a 4 by 4 sheet of steel across the street. And those sparks allegedly started the fire and where we are now.

He's been booked for two counts of 452-PC which is negligently causing a fire. And there could be other charges depending on what happens.

ROWLANDS: OK, Bill Peters, thank you very much. From the California Department of Forestry.

Daryn, the bottom line here is Mother Nature is helping out. Hopefully the weather will hold and these firefighters can get their arms around these six fires continuing to burn in Southern California.

KAGAN: Ted Rowlands in Riverside County. Ted, thank you for that.

We go back now to the story in Iraq and the images from Iraq. From recent scandals to rising death toll of U.S. forces reverberate strongly across the U.S., perhaps no where is that impact more striking than in military recruiting. Our Jason Bellini has more on that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Army recruiter Sergeant Davis is close, very close to signing Rader Williams (ph). Williams says he decided he wants to be an infantry leader.

SGT. GREGORY DAVIS, U.S. ARMY: It's a good decision and the best news I've heard all day.

BELLINI: Williams, a senior at Douglas High in Georgia, won't, however, sign on the dotted line just yet.

This year Sergeant Davis admits the Army is a tougher deal to close. He can offer college tuition, signing bonuses and a wide range of job opportunities. What he can't offer are any assurances on Iraq.

(on camera): How often is the possibility of going to Iraq a deal breaker?

DAVIS: Quite often. I can be based on the influence of their family, friends, people they hang around.

BELLINI (voice-over): Sheronda Menuer withdrew her application for the Air Force.

(on camera): So you almost signed up? What changed your minds?

SHERONDA MENUER, HIGH SCHOOL SENIOR: The things he said. And about -- most about the dying part.

BELLINI (voice-over): Dr. Crystal Giddings is the student adviser. She says 18 seniors planned join the military this year as opposed to around 60 before the war.

CRYSTAL GIDDINGS, HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT ADVISER: In the past if they selected a military option they would say, what are the benefits, the medical benefits? Are they going to pay for my college education?

But now they're asking more serious questions such as, if I make this decision, will I die early?

BELLINI: The Army says it's still meeting recruiting goals 100 percent.

DAVIS: You just have to work harder.

Well, welcome to the Army.

BELLINI: Williams shaked Sergeant Davis' hand -- but then pulls back. He needs more time.

Jason Bellini, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Now, we want to update you on the bombings in Athens, Greece. Police are searching for suspects. It is 100 days before the start of the summer games. Officials are raising questions in the security situation in the Greek capital. Guy Raz has been looking into that. He joins us now live from London -- Guy.

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning.

And so far no word on who may have been behind that series of attacks in Athens this morning. We do understand that a fourth bomb was diffused before it could detonate.

Now Greek officials are underplaying this series of attacks. They say it's not tied to the 100-day kickoff before the Summer Olympic games begin. Now officials in Athens are pledging to deploy some 50,000 armed police and security officers to protect not just the athletes, but key Olympic venue sites during the three-week period this summer.

Now, at the same time, there are some key problems with the Athens organizing committee. Some structural projects that have yet to be completed. Key among those is the main Athens stadium. Now the stadium's there. It's prepared to seat 50,000 people. The problem is, it doesn't have a roof. There is a very sophisticated design, but the roof hasn't been mounted yet.

Now the Olympic Committee has given Athens organizers up until May 20 to get that roof mounted. If they don't do it, they're going to have to scrap the project. The problem there, of course, is that summer temperatures in Athens can reach as high as 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Certainly won't make for comfortable spectating or comfortable for the athletes, as well.

Now we understand, as well, that the International Olympic Committee for the first time in its history has taken out a $170 million insurance policy in case these Olympics don't get off the ground. There have been some key problems with the Athens organizers. They're already $1 billion over budget. So it will be very interesting to see what happens as we approach those summer games -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Guy, this is the question that is occurring it me as I'm listening to your report. Is there a chance at this late date that they would pull the plug on the summer games just saying, sorry, they're just not ready to go?

RAZ: There's no doubt in the minds of Athens organizers that these Olympics will take place. Of course, Athens was the site of the first Olympiad in 1896. Organizers in Athens were very disappointed not to have had the Olympics in 1996. Of course, that went to Atlanta.

They are absolutely confident that these Olympic Games will go off without a hitch. And they're promising to put on a great show -- Daryn.

KAGAN: It's great show and little drama leading up to the games, as well. Guy Raz in London, thank you for that.

Ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY, a Picasso painting goes on the auction block. Take a look at this. Just how much does Sothebys expect to fetch for it? And who could actually afford to pay those prices? That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: It could have been prevented, the Sasser worm which has wreaked havoc on PCs from North America to Australia. Now experts say far fewer computers would have been infected if more owners had installed a security fix that's been out for three weeks now.

Since the weekend, the worm snaked its way over a million PCs running the Windows software. Experts say that scrambling systems for British Airways and Britain's Coast Guard and hitting other business, banks and government offices.

Sasser targets a flaw in the Microsoft Windows operating system. Here to talk about why Windows is so vulnerable to this attack is Rob Vamosi, a security watch columnist for the Web site CNet.com. He is live in San Francisco. Good morning, thanks for being with us.

ROB VAMOSI, SECURITY WATCH COLUMNIST, CNET.COM: Thank you for inviting me.

KAGAN: Let me guess, you didn't get hit because you knew what you were supposed to do ahead of time.

VAMOSI: That's correct. I have a firewall and I've downloaded the patch from Microsoft.

KAGAN: Very good for you, but not for a lot of people out there.

I think one reason it caught people off guard, it didn't come through e-mail. I think people are getting on the ball about what not to open with their e-mail. This one, if you're just surfing the net.

VAMOSI: That's correct. If you're using a Windows 200 computer or Windows XP computer and you don't have a firewall and you haven't downloaded the Microsoft patch, you're vulnerable to the Sasser worm.

KAGAN: OK, now come way down to most people's intelligence level when it comes to computers here. How to even know if you have a personal firewall.

VAMOSI: Well, if you're running Windows XP, you can turn it on yourself. It is something Microsoft did not turn on for most users, you have to turn it on yourself.

If you're running Windows 2000, you need to download one or install one yourself.

KAGAN: And once you do install or turn it on, is it going make other things not work in your computer?

VAMOSI: It can. But most firewalls will flag you and say this application is trying to access the Internet. Do you want it to do so? And you say yes or nor. And it will remember from that point forward.

KAGAN: So it kind of talks you through it?

VAMOSI: That's correct.

KAGAN: Meanwhile, it does not affect Linux operating system, it doesn't affect Mac OS. So not everyone is affected by this one.

VAMOSI: That's correct. Other operating systems, even other versions of Windows are not affected by this worm.

KAGAN: And is this just a game for people who are out there doing this?

VAMOSI: I believe so. The possible authors of this worm have authored other viruses and they seem to be in a dialogue with other virus writers. They seem to be a gang of people that want to show off their skills and just impress everybody. But I'm not impressed by it.

KAGAN: Yes, I wouldn't think so.

When you say this dialogue is taking place, where is that? In chat rooms?

VAMOSI: No, actually within the code of the worm itself. There are little messages that are being sent with the worms. And anti- virus researchers have uncovered these messages. And so they see this dialogue going on with the virus writers.

KAGAN: And taking this a step further, on the one hand there's pranksters out there doing this and for their own ego and their own thrill. But we have seen the effect of what can take place. The huge businesses and networks that can shut down, personal computers. Cyberterrorism. That could be right around the corner with people with more devious intents.

VAMOSI: It could. The Sasser worm does not contain a dangerous payload. All it will do is shut down your computer and keep rebooting it which is very annoying.

But it could have had a payload that destroyed the files on your computer or did more damage like attack another Web site.

KAGAN: So the message is check and make sure you have that personal firewall. Rob Vamosi from CNet, thank you.

VAMOSI: Thank you.

KAGAN: Appreciate your time.

VAMOSI: No problem.

VAMOSI: A life spent passing for thin. You're going to meet the author of a very inspirational story of significant weight loss and how it can change more than just the way you look on the outside.

(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