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American Morning

Prisoner Abuse Scandal; Interview With Senator Trent Lott; California Wildfires

Aired May 05, 2004 - 9:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. President Bush speaking directly to Arab TV viewers today, trying to turn the tide of anger over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
This could be the worst wildfire season in California history, some say. Firefighters tell us it's like the mountains have been soaked in gasoline.

And a news helicopter suddenly spinning out of control, crashing on top of a New York apartment building. The outcome for the three people inside ahead this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.

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

HEMMER: All right, welcome. It's Cinco de Mayo. The President does his interviews in about an hour from now from the map room of the White House.

Welcome back, everybody. Soledad is out this week. Heidi Collins is with us here in New York.

Good morning.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you.

Other stories we are following today: a comprehensive report of the abuse of prisoners was finished two months ago. Some 35 investigations have already been launched, but Congress hasn't been briefed. Even Republicans are livid. We're going to talk with Senator Trent Lott about that.

HEMMER: Also, check your computer. The Sasser computer virus spreading, and it's mutating, we're told. A writer from Wired Magazine this hour talks about how dangerous it is and how to protect your own computer out there. So, beware. We'll get to that this hour.

COLLINS: Looking forward to that.

Jack Cafferty now.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

Mike Eisner and the Disney company apparently are trying to block distribution over a new documentary done by Michael Moore. That left- wing filmmaker from out there in Hollywood has done this thing about the Bush family connections to the House of Saud and the Saudi Arabia ruling family and Osama bin Laden's family. And they don't want Miramax to distribute this. And apparently, according to The Times, Eisner told Michael Moore's agent that on of the reasons is they want to preserve the tax breaks that the Disney company gets at its theme parks and other properties down there in the state of Florida, where the president's brother is the governor.

Great story.

HEMMER: You said at 7:25 you weren't quite sure how you felt about this. You have 58 minutes to go.

CAFFERTY: I'm working on it.

HEMMER: All right. There's time, baby.

COLLINS: All right, Jack. Thanks.

One coalition soldier and at least 10 Iraqi militants have been killed in Iraq. The battle took place overnight in the southern Iraqi city of Karbala. Military officials say supporters of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr attacked the mayor's house in Karbala. Coalition forces returned fire; the exchanges lasted until dawn.

The Greek government is claiming today's bombings outside an Athens police station are not connected to the upcoming Olympic games. Three bomb explosions damaged parts of an empty police station in the Greek capital early this morning.

An anonymous caller had warned an Athens newspaper of the attack, but gave no motive or claim of responsibility. The blast came as Greece begins a 100-day countdown to the Olympics.

Here in the U.S. now, an important hearing about electronic voting is taking place on Capitol Hill at this hour. At least 50 million Americans are expected to vote electronically this November using touch screen machines. Among those testifying, critics of the new system, vendors and computer experts who claim there are some security flaws in this system.

And a news helicopter in New York loses control. The NBC chopper was covering a story in Brooklyn when suddenly the pilot reported a problem with the tail rotor. Another news helicopter flying above captured the dramatic pictures. As you see here, the chopper clipped the building and crashed on to a rooftop.

Miraculously, all three people onboard survived and are now in stable condition. Not usually the outcome of something like that.

HEMMER: Look at that, huh? Just remarkable. And, I mean, the force that hit that building...

COLLINS: I can't imagine what that must have felt like.

HEMMER: All three to get out. My, oh, my. (WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: In Iraq now, an apology for abuse against prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison. The general now in charge of U.S.-run prisons there apologizing for what he calls illegal or unauthorized acts by a small number of soldiers. This with President Bush just an hour away from addressing the scandals in interviews on two television networks that are seen across the Arab world. Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux with us now.

Do we expect any apologies from there today, Suzanne? Good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Well, yesterday, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, she did apologize on Arab television, saying we are deeply sorry for what happened to these people. It's not clear whether or not we're going to hear a similar apology from the President, but we are told he's going to say that those acts were unacceptable, that they were shameful, that is was the work of just a few, and that those who are guilty will be held accountable.

Now, those interviews are going to happen in less than an hour in the map room for about 10 minutes a piece. One of those networks, a U.S.-sponsored Pan Arab network. The other one, Al-Arabiya, that is based out of the United Arab Emirates. Notably absent is Al-Jazeera, which is based out of Qatar.

The U.S. has said on many occasions that they have really been displeased with the coverage, they say. That it really is an-American bent. But having said that, White House spokesman Scott McClellan says that the President is assured that his message will reach a wide audience in the Arab world. And this really is all a part of a major public relations campaign to get this message out, to counter those images.

Yesterday, we saw National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice go before Arab television, as well as other top officials, doing some serious damage control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We have to do a better job. The government has to do a better job of getting our story out through our embassies through our people on the ground. We're trying with the press.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, the President will also highlight, as well. He will say not only are these acts wrong, but he will make a distinction with the way Saddam Hussein's regime handled this, saying that this, of course, is an aberration, that the administration is working very hard to find those who are guilty and to hold them to account -- Bill. HEMMER: Suzanne, thanks for that.

In our last hour here on AMERICAN MORNING, California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein voicing outrage of the current situation. For the Republican take on the issue, we're joined by Mississippi Senator Trent Lott, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Senator, good morning to you and welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. What do you want to hear in these private hearings today?

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: All of my state, Mississippi, is celebrating today the reunion of Kelly and Tom Hamill, and his rescue or his escape. If he had been treated the way we've seen these Iraqi prisoners treated in these images, we would be in a state of outrage, and we'd all be on the way to take some justice.

Obviously, this is a serious problem. We have to have some explanations about, OK, who has really been in charge here? What is the chain of command? Were these contractors, military police, reservists?

Who was in charge? Why wasn't this supervised and stopped? Why has it taken three months to get to where we are?

But we have got to make sure that this is stopped, that the president and the administration and the Congress are being -- showing that we're outraged by this. We're taking dramatic action to stop it and make sure it doesn't happen anymore.

I think the president is doing the right thing by going on Arab television and explaining this is not the American way, this is not the way our values and our religious beliefs are reflected. And, you know, it's an intolerable situation. And we have to show outrage and we have to take action quickly.

HEMMER: Senator, earlier today on AMERICAN MORNING, David Gergen, a man who has served Republican and Democratic presidents in the White House, he said it's not the words that are important right now, it's the actions. You cut the prison population in half at Abu Ghraib. That's already been done.

They will start different interrogation techniques. Instead of the hoods over the heads of these men, they will get blindfolds. What else in the actions will convince people in Iraq that the U.S. is noble and trying to do the best thing for that country?

LOTT: I think actions are important in this case. I think probably we ought to level that entire prison facility.

Remember, that was where Saddam Hussein carried out a lot of his atrocities. I think to just completely level that place, disseminate these prisoners in different facilities, would show our determination to change everything. But also, we're going to have to get clear answers in the Congress.

I'm very disturbed that in the Intelligence Committee we didn't have this report that's apparently available at the Pentagon. We got it off NPR Web site. Now, that's totally unacceptable.

We're part of this process, and we have to make sure that we ask the right questions, and we're taking some action also in the Congress. But it's got to happen; it's got to happen quick. There's no use going back trying to explain it. We have to show that we mean it and it's stopping right now.

HEMMER: Senator, go back to Thomas Hamill. You talked to him yesterday, a fellow member of your state, Mississippi. What was your conversation like?

LOTT: Well, he was obvious exuberant and appreciated the thoughts, the prayers, the efforts of all concerned. I know he felt a real appreciation for the people in his small hometown that came together and had a vigil for him every night.

He appreciated everybody. And, you know, I think he appreciated my effort to call and just say, we're proud of you and we're thankful you're free. You know he must be so relieved and so thankful to be able to go home and be with his family and friends and community.

HEMMER: Listen, if you listen to his words, Senator, he is so grateful for the outpouring of support. He must be stunned to hear from a senator from his own state. He was shocked that his own company, Halliburton, has been able to get his wife to him as quickly as she traveled to Germany this week. So for him, a happy homecoming possibly this week.

Senator, thanks. Nice to talk with you. Trent Lott there in D.C.

LOTT: OK. Thanks a lot.

HEMMER: Heidi?

COLLINS: Hundreds of people have been evacuated ahead of fast- moving wildfires in southern California. Six fires have scorched more than 15,000 acres in the state, bringing an early start to the fire season there. But firefighters hope cooler weather will now bring some relief.

Ted Rowlands is live from Corona, California, with more.

Good morning, Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

The reports early this morning are very positive. The weather changed dramatically overnight. And what it did was stall the fires and gave firefighters a chance to build perimeters. There is still a lot of work to be done, and the hope is that the weather will hold and the moisture levels will continue to allow firefighters to continue to progress on these fires.

There are six total in the region, two are of major concern, both of them in Riverside County, east of Los Angeles. One is the Cerritos fire near the city of Corona. It is about 15 percent contained.

That was the figure last night. It is expected it's now much higher in terms of containment. It has gone through 10,000 acres. This is a live look at that Corona fire.

Last night, firefighters were able to save a cluster of about 250 homes in this area. Those homes are still a concern today.

The Eagle fire near Temecula, east of Los Angeles as well, has consumed about 5,000 acres. It also destroyed 14 homes and has gone through -- it was 30 percent contained last night. It's expected that the overnight developments will help the efforts there as well.

An arrest has been made concerning one of these fires, the Cerritos fire. A 44-year-old man was arrested for negligence. He was apparently dragging a steel plate down the freeway. The sparks from that plate is being blamed for the start of this Cerritos fire. He's facing two felony convictions of negligence for that.

This, of course, is considered a very early start to the fire seasons here in southern California. There's a lot of brush and fuel that is on the ground here. There's a problem with beetle infestation that has killed thousands of trees in this region, and the fear is that this is the beginning of a very, very long season in California -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Ted Rowlands, live from Corona, California, this morning. Ted, thanks so much.

HEMMER: I've spent a lot of time in Colorado. I was there in mid-March. Record-high temperatures.

COLLINS: I know it.

HEMMER: And more than 100 years since the temperature was that hot in mid-March for the folks in Colorado.

COLLINS: Not much snow, either.

HEMMER: Ominous sign, too, yes.

In a moment here, new violence in Iraq involving those loyal to wanted cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Much more what's happening there in a moment.

COLLINS: Former hostage Thomas Hamill reunited with his wife. Live to Germany for the latest on the very emotional reunion.

HEMMER: Also, it's the newest worm to infect computers. What you can do to protect against it.

Still to come this hour when we continue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: There's a hi-tech security system being tested near the nation's capital. Amtrak and commuter rail riders will walk through an air puffer with their bags before boarding trains in New Carrolton Station in Maryland. The machine detects residue from explosives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASA HUTCHINSON, HOMELAND SECURITY UNDERSECRETARY: We're looking for explosive material that would result in a Madrid-type attack. And so it's explosive material that we're looking for, and, therefore, it won't take the same amount of time and you won't have as many people that will be having secondary inspection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: The air puffer test, called Entry Scan, is already at nuclear power plants across the country -- Heidi.

COLLINS: The Sasser worm is the latest computer worm to cause havoc on computers worldwide, affecting banks and government offices. It exploits a security flaw in Microsoft's Windows system.

So what can you do to prevent Sasser from affecting your computer? Paul Boutin is a contributing editor with Wired Magazine. He is live in San Francisco to talk about this with us.

Hi, Paul.

PAUL BOUTIN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, WIRED MAGAZINE: Good morning, Heidi.

COLLINS: Thanks for being with us today. Tell us the difference. This is a worm and not a virus. Some people may not understand that.

BOUTIN: People disagree on the definitions, but, generally, in this case, this Sasser worm does not come into your e-mail, you don't have to click on anything. It connects to your computer all by itself while you're not even doing anything at your computer and installs itself.

COLLINS: So if you can't detect it, how will you know if you're even infected by this thing?

BOUTIN: There seems to be a bug in the Sasser worm itself. People's computers have been crashing a lot. That's really the big problem they're having. At least it's not deleting their files.

What you should do -- Microsoft has actually been trying to clean up their security and make it simple. There's a URL everybody should go to. It's microsoft.com/protect.

There are three easy step there. If you follow them, it automatically walks you through installing what's called a firewall, which would have protected you from the Sasser worm. And it gives you automatic updates on future security fixes. And they have some deals on free anti-virus software that I've been using myself. So you get a year of free protection from some companies. COLLINS: Wow. All right. Something to look into there, for sure.

Now, as you know, close to about one million people are said to be infected. And many of them banks and businesses overseas. Is this going to be a bigger problem overseas or right here in the U.S.?

BOUTIN: It is going to be a problem all over the world, wherever people are using computers with Internet connections. That's what we're seeing. You know, Korea, anywhere.

COLLINS: All right. So put this in perspective for us, because now that people are learning about it, they might be a little frightened, if you will. How many people are affected so far, and how does this worm, the Sasser worm, differ from the blaster worm that we remember?

BOUTIN: It's not as bad as Blaster. It's not a trivial infection. But if you remember, Blaster hit an estimated 10 million computers faster than this.

Sasser has been slow, and the estimates right now are at the most one million. I think people are more exasperated because they always hope everyone will be the last one. And it never is.

COLLINS: All right. Well, quickly, I know on Monday the FBI said they're trying to track down the origins of this worm. In your opinion, is enough being done to find out ultimately who did this and who's responsible?

BOUTIN: I'm not sure they can, Heidi, because every single virus writer and worm writer, unless they come out and brag about it and admit to it, they never get caught. There's really no way to go back and figure out where it came from.

COLLINS: All right. Paul Boutin, thanks so much for being with us, contributing editor with Wired Magazine. Thanks again.

HEMMER: In a moment here, an apology for the Iraqi abuse scandal. The president gets ready to go on TV across the Arab world. We'll get to that in a moment here.

And a controversy involving big business, the Bush family, and one of Hollywood's most outspoken filmmakers. Back to Jack on that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Thirty-eight minutes before Jack makes up his mind on the Question of the Day. How we doing?

CAFFERTY: It's one of my favorites. I love this story.

Michael Moore's latest documentary is at the center of a controversy, and it's not even out yet. The Disney company is blocking its Miramax films unit from distributing "Fahrenheit 911." The film links President Bush with powerful Saudi families, including Osama bin Laden's.

Moore's agent told The New York Times that Disney CEO Michael Eisner expressed concern that the film would endanger tax breaks that Disney gets for its properties in Florida, where, of course, the president's brother is the governor. Oh boy. You can't make this stuff up.

Disney says the film could alienate families of different political backgrounds who visit its parks. On Moore's Web site today he complains he's the victim of censorship. Our question is, is Disney making a mistake blocking the distribution of a Michael Moore film? And we're getting some terrific stuff.

(UNINTELLIGIBLE), in West Chester County, New York, "If it's true that Michael Eisner is afraid of tax retribution on the part of Florida's governor, Jeb Bush, that's even more of a story than Michael Moore's, which, after all, is not really new and is part of a bestseller right now: 'The House of Bush, The House of Saud."

Patrick writes: "Given Michael Moore's unabashed political position and his history of producing documentaries of dubious truth, a la 'Bowling for Columbine,' I think Disney's finally exercising corporate responsibility, refusing to allow Moore to use the company and its vast financial resources to promote his political position."

Raphael in Arlington, Virginia, writes: "Is it me or is Michael Eisner a complete idiot? Last week, Disney finally pulled itself out of a takeover by Comcast. Now he has to get into a controversy over Michael Moore's film. I think Moore's a vitriolic fool, but let him shoot himself in the foot. The mouse should get itself a backbone and let the stupid film be distributed. Let it sink under its own weight."

And Dave in Japan writes this: "Disney is about to do for Michael Moore's film what the morons at Fox did for Al Franken's book. As a fan of both Moore and Franken -- sorry Jack -- I couldn't be happier."

Great stuff. Who's right in this thing, Heidi? What do you think?

COLLINS: I have no political opinion, whatsoever.

CAFFERTY: You don't?

COLLINS: No.

CAFFERTY: All right.

COLLINS: On this show.

Anyway, I want to talk about the tallest man in the world.

HEMMER: Absolutely.

COLLINS: Get this: the tallest man in the world actually having a few problems. Ukranian Leonid Stadnyk needs to stop growing. He needs some new shoes to fit his ever-expanding feet. The 33-year-old Stadnyk stands 8'4" tall.

He's the tallest man in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Stadnyk started growing after brain surgery did something to his pituitary gland when he was 14 years old.

HEMMER: Eight feet, four inches? He can change a light bulb. Look at that. I would like to see him go up against Shaq, huh? Or Yao Ming. Think of the match-up that would be, huh?

COLLINS: Well, I don't know if he'll be fast enough. But...

HEMMER: Ain't no fence keeping him in, huh? I think he needs to be a guest on AMERICAN MORNING this Friday, as a matter of fact. Right?

CAFFERTY: Maybe he'd like to host "IN THE MONEY." I've been looking for somebody so I can take Friday off.

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: I know. You're looking for it all the time.

In a moment here, a former Iraqi hostage has his favorite cowboy boots, his favorite red T-shirt, now that his wife finally arrived in Germany. What a reunion it was. Live to Germany in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Opening bell a few short ticks away in a moment here. Almost 9:30 in New York. Heidi is in for Soledad throughout the week here.

COLLINS: Yes.

HEMMER: Only Wednesday.

COLLINS: Thomas and Kelly Hamill were reunited this morning. We're going to go live to Germany to see how the former hostage is recovering and what he plans to do next.

HEMMER: Also this hour, we have been hearing about fighting with your spouse right up there with smoking and drinking when it comes to your health. Is that the case? Sanjay fills us in, in a moment, on that and medical news.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

COLLINS: And more news to cover right away this morning. In fact, this just in to CNN: about a half hour ago, Israeli warplanes fired missiles at a suspected Hezbollah hideout in southern Lebanon. The action follows the shelling of villages in northern Israel. Security sources in Lebanon said three Lebanese villages had been hit.

There is no immediate word of calcties. The Israeli strike is the first in Lebanon since March. U.S. forces have launched a massive operation in southern Iraq against some militants loyal to a wanted Shiite cleric. Military officials said troops took over the office of Muqtada al-Sadr about 40 miles east of the holy city of Najaf.

Soldiers also raided a girls' school next door, seizing weapons believed to have been used by the Mehdi Army in attacks. At least one U.S. soldier was injured during the operation.

In just about a half-hour from now, President Bush is expected to address the controversy over reports of Iraq prisoner mistreatment with two Arab language networks. The president will conduct 10-minute interviews today with Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-owned station, and with U.S.-sponsored (UNINTELLIGIBLE) network. White House spokesman Scott McClellan says the president will say the images of Iraqi prisoners being mistreated are shameful and unacceptable.

Hundreds of residents in southern California still out of their homes due to raging wildfires there. Cooler temperatures have helped firefighters battling the blazes, but several structures have been destroyed. These are pictures now from Perris, California. A man has been charged with negligence starting the largest blaze.

HEMMER: And the sun coming up there, the smoke is quite visible. Earlier, it was just the flames. But they have their hands full yet again today.

COLLINS: They do.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: The American general in charge of U.S.-run prisons in Iraq has apologized for the actions of those soldiers involved in the prisoner abuse scandal. General Geoffrey Miller said today that the soldiers' actions are violations not only of U.S. policy, but of how the U.S. conducts itself as a member of the international community. And he said the U.S. will work its hardest to reestablish the trust the Iraqis feel for the U.S. coalition.

Moments ago, in Baghdad, U.S. command spokesman Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt expressed the situation in conciliatory terms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, COALITION SPOKESMAN: My Army has been embarrassed by this. My Army has been shamed by this. And on behalf of my Army, I apologize for what those soldiers did to your citizens. It was reprehensible and unacceptable, and it is more than just words that we have to take those words into action and ensure that never happens again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Again, that was Mark Kimmitt in Baghdad. About 30 minutes away, President Bush sits down for two 10-minute interviews on TV networks that air across the Arab world. What's the answer, though, in solving the abuse issues?

Mark Garlasco, senior military adviser for Human Rights Watch, he worked there for a year after time spent at the Pentagon, where he was a civilian intelligence officer (UNINTELLIGIBLE) targets during the war. We welcome Mark here to AMERICAN MORNING.

Nice to see you.

MARK GARLASCO, SR. MILITARY ANALYST, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Thanks for having me.

HEMMER: The apology from Mark Kimmitt, the strong words from Baghdad -- also, there was a very direct apology from the general now in charge of these prisons. Is that enough, and do the Iraqi people listen to that?

GARLASCO: Well, it's really good to hear. But hopefully, when President Bush speaks to the Arab media today, they'll hear that from him, as well.

But I think we need more than words now. We need to have actions. There needs to be changing in the training of these forces. There need to be investigations into some of the allegations of abuse in Afghanistan and in Iraq. And it's really time for some open and transparent investigations and, finally, some sanction for those involved.

HEMMER: Let me stop you here for a moment. The president will talk in 25 minutes, and we'll hear parts of whatever he has to say after the interviews are conducted. Specifically, what does he say?

GARLASCO: Well, it is time for him to come out and say, hey, you know, this happened, and we're sorry, and list the actions that are going to be taken to basically fix the problem within the military as far as the interrogations go. And deal with those who have caused these crimes.

HEMMER: We have had at least two senators on today, and David Gergen, all suggesting that this Abu Ghraib prison, west of Baghdad, should be shut down and no longer used because of what it represents for the Iraqi people under the days of Saddam Hussein. Good advice? Do you recommend it?

GARLASCO: Well, you know, the problem with this idea is that Abu Ghraib may have represented that to them in the past. But today, it represents American abuse.

HEMMER: And, so, therefore, shut it down or not?

GARLASCO: Well, you know, shutting down is really immaterial as far as we at Human Rights Watch are concerned. It really matters on how people are treated within this and other facilities.

HEMMER: There is some measures taken. The prison population is going to be cut in half there. The blindfolds will now be used instead of the bags over the heads of detainees. Good start? GARLASCO: Well, certainly they have taken a good start, but there are a lot more things that have to happen. You know, we're looking at the potential for a systemic problem throughout the military here.

And Human Rights Watch did a report called "Enduring Freedom" about internees in Afghanistan. There were two, in fact, that U.S. military investigators have termed as "homicides." We're still waiting to find out from the military what happened with them.

We have in Iraq Colonel West, who pulled a gun on an Iraqi. He was basically allowed to leave. You have at Camp Buka (ph) in Iraq, people were basically allowed to leave after crimes. You know, when is it going to end?

HEMMER: Do you have a sense just yet whether or not the U.S. is more upset with this or the Iraqi people? There were several hundred protesters outside that prison earlier today. The mere fact that they have the opportunity to protest and express their views is a sea change in Iraq that does not take away in any way what the allegations are or what these pictures are. But the sex allegations that took place in that prison are striking.

GARLASCO: Oh, you're absolutely right. They're just unconscionable. And I think that not only the U.S. people are upset, but let's take a look at what's going on in the Middle East. You know, across the board people are expressing outrage. But what is more important, perhaps, is how this is going to affect the U.S. military in the next conflict, how are troops going to be affected when they're taking prisoners in the next war.

HEMMER: Heard some of that from Trent Lott, talking about a member of his own state, Thomas Hamill, earlier today. Mark Garlasco, thanks. Unfortunately, it's a story that's not going away just yet.

GARLASCO: Thank you, Bill.

HEMMER: Heidi?

COLLINS: And speaking of Thomas Hamill, the former Iraqi hostage says he plans to go home as soon as possible. For an update on his situation and a happy reunion there today, we go to Chris Burns at Landstuhl Germany Medical Center.

Hi, Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, Landstuhl is really a place of lot of reunions in the past. This is a byway for a lot of former POWs and hostages. Think about Jessica Lynch last year.

And here today, a very, very emotional reunion, according to hospital officials here, between Thomas and Kelly Hamill. She made it back -- she made it here from the states to meet her husband after he freed himself in Iraq last Sunday after being three weeks in captivity after his fuel convoy was ambushed. He was driving a truck in that convoy. So a very emotional reunion, but he is keeping his privacy. We did see him just yesterday making a brief appearance, but today he's staying away from the cameras. He's spending his time with his wife. He insists on his privacy.

He says in a statement that his wife coming here is his best medicine for the bullet wound in his right arm to heal. He gives his prayers and asks people to pray for those he left behind, those two co-workers and the U.S. soldier who didn't make it back from that convoy and are still missing, and possibly hostages.

And he expressed his thanks. I'll read that from the statement. He said, thanks to his family and neighbors in Macon. He also said Kelly brought him his favorite boots and jeans and a red shirt. So he says, "I can feel a lot more comfortable and closer to home."

Another thing that will bring him closer tonight is the dinner tonight. Kelly is cooking a steak dinner and some chocolate cake. So get ready for that. Back to you.

COLLINS: All right. Chris Burns, thanks so much, live from Landstuhl, Germany, this morning.

HEMMER: In a moment here, Andy is going to check on the market action today. So far, the day after the Fed got together. We'll check on that.

COLLINS: That's right. And a stressful marriage, it can drive you nuts. But could it kill you? We'll hear from Dr. Sanjay Gupta here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Earlier this morning, we talked about new medical research that links marital stress to heart trouble. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here now to weigh in on how matters of the heart can affect one's health.

What's the deal here?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Well, the question that they tried to pose, could a heart- breaking relationship literally break your heart? That's what they were trying to figure out.

For a long tine, a study out of "Harvard Men's Health Focus Group" -- this was an editorial -- actually asking this question, looking at some of the past research, trying to figure out what is the link between these two things. It's been well documented for some time that job strain may deteriorate your health if you have significant stress at your place of work. But could home stress do the same thing?

Sort of interesting findings. Some early findings, a small study of 72 volunteers, both men and women. This study came out a couple years ago.

The first one, how do you lower your blood pressure? This was the question -- avoiding your spouse in an unhappy marriage and spend more time with a spouse in a supportive marriage. Now, that sounds a little simplistic, but it's a little more complicated than that, because they went on to study these volunteers and, in fact, found that parts of their heart actually thickened, leading to significant heart disease later on down the road, similar to smoking or drinking.

They also found out specifically in women -- and female heart disease patients who had a previous history of heart disease, if they had also significant marital stress, they are three times more likely to have episodes later on down the line. Pretty significant findings, actually looking at the impact of home life stress on your heart specifically.

There is some good news in this, as well, I should point out, regarding supportive marriages. If you're in a supportive marriage -- they looked at women here specifically here as well -- you had less blockage in the arteries to the brain and in the aorta, which just comes out of the heart. And heart patients who had significant confidants, be they spouses, be they somebody else, lower risk of future heart attacks down the road.

Interesting findings.

COLLINS: Yes. Some good news there. And you did mention it is a pretty small study, though -- 72 people.

GUPTA: That's right.

COLLINS: But do you think really that marital stress will really ever become as large as a factor as, say, smoking and some of the other things that we hear about?

GUPTA: You know, that's an excellent question. The difficulty is that when you're talking about smoking, you're talking about drinking, you're talking about cholesterol, those are all very measurable sorts of things.

When you're talking about stress, when you're talking about depression, and now you can add marital discord to that list, perhaps, it's harder to measure. There are surveys that do this sort of thing, which is what these studies sort of point at.

Could you develop a survey that could give you an accurate indicator of how likely you are to have heart disease based on your marriage? Perhaps. We're a long ways from that, but that is something that they're working towards.

COLLINS: What are some tips, though, that people can actively do on a daily basis to reduce that marital stress and hopefully improve their cardiac health, as well?

GUPTA: I'm not sure I can give any tips on marital stress. I think that that's an important thing, first of all, to realize that significant marital stress can be not only emotionally devastating, but also physically devastating. And that's measurable now. It's an affect on your heart.

So if you are having significant problems, marital discord, it's important to recognize that it can affect your immune system, it can raise your blood pressure, it can affect your heart rate, all these sorts of things. You probably need to do something about that, as much as you need to get your cholesterol checked, as much as you need to do something about your smoking and drinking. This is something that should be added to the list as well.

COLLINS: All right. Very good. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

COLLINS: Bill?

HEMMER: All right, Heidi. Aaron Brown now, and a check now on what is happening later tonight here on "NEWSNIGHT." Here's Aaron.

AARON BROWN, HOST, "NEWSNIGHT": Thank you, Bill.

Tonight on "NEWSNIGHT," after an especially rough month in Iraq, the deadliest month yet, our Beth Nissan returned to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, where the injured troops are taken. She made the journey back home to Andrews with some of them.

It is a fascinating and compelling report on a vital and difficult mission. Nissan's story, plus all the day's top news, morning papers, and everything else that makes "NEWSNIGHT" "NEWSNIGHT" CNN tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Bill.

HEMMER: We'll be there. Aaron, thanks much for that.

In a moment here, why do you ship the jobs overseas when you could take the whole plant? Andy explains that in a moment here when we continue right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: And it's not just jobs going over to China, it's the whole darn factory. Checking that and the markets, here is Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business." Back with us here. We are, what, 19 minutes in.

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: We sure are. First of all, I want to wish you a happy Cinco de Mayo.

HEMMER: Oh, well thank you very much. And you as well.

SERWER: May 5, 1862, General Ignacio Zaragoza, Mexico, defeated the French. How about that? Big holiday in Mexico.

HEMMER: Frozen with salt (ph).

SERWER: Yes. And just to celebrate, it's revenge of the Celts on Cinco de Mayo Day.

Coke has a new CEO, if you follow that. The Dow, by the way, is down 11 points. Market kind of breathing a sigh of relief after yesterday's Fed meeting, interest rates being unchanged.

Coke unchanged basically with the announcement of the new CEO. And the other revenge of the Celts story, the Royal Bank -- there we go. There's the new CEO.

I'm sorry. I'm being difficult to follow here. It's my bad (ph).

And then we have the World Bank of Scotland taking over a bank in Cleveland, Charter One. Also, CVS closing down over 200 Eckerd drugstores. You remember they took over part of that company recently.

Let's talk about the situation with outsourcing. This is another story that is just kind of mind blowing, really. Corning Glass has a big plant in Pennsylvania in State College. That's where Penn State is. Employing 1,000 workers, making television screens, glass TV screens.

They're going to be closing it down and outsourcing the jobs to China. A thousand jobs. Unfortunately, that is not that big of a story these days. But what is a big story is not only are they sending the workers over there, they're sending the whole plant.

They're basically tearing the plant down and packing it over to China and reassembling the exact same plant in China. And they're going to be hiring these workers. And guess what? They're making one-eighth the amount that the people in the U.S. were making.

People here in the U.S. making about $48,000 a year, $45,000. They are making about $6,000, $7,000, $8,000. So you can see the economics right there.

HEMMER: And thanks for the history lesson today, by the way.

SERWER: Cinco de Mayo, May 5, 1862.

HEMMER: Wonderful. You got it.

Here's Heidi.

COLLINS: Want to check in with Jack now and the Question of the Day.

CAFFERTY: It's why I like to come here each day because I learn things.

COLLINS: You learn so much.

CAFFERTY: You learn stuff.

SERWER: Important stuff, too, Jack. CAFFERTY: Important stuff.

The Question of the Day is, is Disney making a mistake of blocking the distribution of a Michael Moore film? It's a little complicated, but Moore has made this film about the events around September 11.

Disney owns Miramax. Miramax was set to distribute the film. Disney contributes money to the Bush campaign. Michael Eisner, the CEO of Disney, allegedly was told by Michael Moore's agent, who talked to The New York Times, that he was afraid of losing Disney tax breaks in Florida, where the president's brother is the governor.

Anyway, it's a fascinating story. I don't think I told it very well just then. But here's some of the...

SERWER: Follow my lead.

CAFFERTY: Dan in Bloomfield, West Virginia: "Disney, Sinclair and Clear Channel have done a wonderful job demonstrating why we have had laws restricting ownership of media outlets and why we should indict FCC chairman Michael Powell and the Bush administration for eliminating those restrictions. Censorship can't be tolerated in a democracy."

J. Blair writes: "So Disney's profits and government kickbacks trump my constitutional rights. Guess which grandparent won't be taking my grandchildren to Disney World? Maybe I can use the money I saved to fly to a country that's free to show the film. Situations like this must really impress the countries that we're trying to democratize about how great our freedoms are."

I love this stuff. Great letters today. It's a good topic.

HEMMER: Yes, that it was.

COLLINS: All right. Coming up on CNN, President Bush goes on TV across the Arab world to talk about the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. Is he going to apologize? It's all coming up on "CNN LIVE TODAY" with Daryn Kagan.

AMERICAN MORNING will be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: You like this, Heidi?

COLLINS: I do.

SERWER: Who are they running from?

HEMMER: Listen. The Brits have an interesting spectator sport. It's sheep racing. No event has greater significance in the Grand National Sheep Race, we're told. You can print it.

The runners faced a horse shoe-shaped course. The winner, number 18, Big Boy, with jockey Roger Ram (ph) leading from the start, and never looking back. Wire to wire.

SERWER: Jockey?

CAFFERTY: It's no wonder they're running. Wait till you see...

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: Those are like little monkeys riding on the back?

SERWER: What are those?

COLLINS: They're just fake, aren't they?

SERWER: Monkeys on their back.

HEMMER: Anyway, it would not be a complete day...

SERWER: Oh, they're going for food. OK, I get it.

HEMMER: Hey, we've got to run. Daryn Kagan is going to pick it up from here. A lot more coming out of Baghdad today, and also from the White House, watching the interviews and the comments from the president.


Aired May 5, 2004 - 9:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. President Bush speaking directly to Arab TV viewers today, trying to turn the tide of anger over the abuse of Iraqi prisoners.
This could be the worst wildfire season in California history, some say. Firefighters tell us it's like the mountains have been soaked in gasoline.

And a news helicopter suddenly spinning out of control, crashing on top of a New York apartment building. The outcome for the three people inside ahead this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.

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

HEMMER: All right, welcome. It's Cinco de Mayo. The President does his interviews in about an hour from now from the map room of the White House.

Welcome back, everybody. Soledad is out this week. Heidi Collins is with us here in New York.

Good morning.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you.

Other stories we are following today: a comprehensive report of the abuse of prisoners was finished two months ago. Some 35 investigations have already been launched, but Congress hasn't been briefed. Even Republicans are livid. We're going to talk with Senator Trent Lott about that.

HEMMER: Also, check your computer. The Sasser computer virus spreading, and it's mutating, we're told. A writer from Wired Magazine this hour talks about how dangerous it is and how to protect your own computer out there. So, beware. We'll get to that this hour.

COLLINS: Looking forward to that.

Jack Cafferty now.

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.

Mike Eisner and the Disney company apparently are trying to block distribution over a new documentary done by Michael Moore. That left- wing filmmaker from out there in Hollywood has done this thing about the Bush family connections to the House of Saud and the Saudi Arabia ruling family and Osama bin Laden's family. And they don't want Miramax to distribute this. And apparently, according to The Times, Eisner told Michael Moore's agent that on of the reasons is they want to preserve the tax breaks that the Disney company gets at its theme parks and other properties down there in the state of Florida, where the president's brother is the governor.

Great story.

HEMMER: You said at 7:25 you weren't quite sure how you felt about this. You have 58 minutes to go.

CAFFERTY: I'm working on it.

HEMMER: All right. There's time, baby.

COLLINS: All right, Jack. Thanks.

One coalition soldier and at least 10 Iraqi militants have been killed in Iraq. The battle took place overnight in the southern Iraqi city of Karbala. Military officials say supporters of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr attacked the mayor's house in Karbala. Coalition forces returned fire; the exchanges lasted until dawn.

The Greek government is claiming today's bombings outside an Athens police station are not connected to the upcoming Olympic games. Three bomb explosions damaged parts of an empty police station in the Greek capital early this morning.

An anonymous caller had warned an Athens newspaper of the attack, but gave no motive or claim of responsibility. The blast came as Greece begins a 100-day countdown to the Olympics.

Here in the U.S. now, an important hearing about electronic voting is taking place on Capitol Hill at this hour. At least 50 million Americans are expected to vote electronically this November using touch screen machines. Among those testifying, critics of the new system, vendors and computer experts who claim there are some security flaws in this system.

And a news helicopter in New York loses control. The NBC chopper was covering a story in Brooklyn when suddenly the pilot reported a problem with the tail rotor. Another news helicopter flying above captured the dramatic pictures. As you see here, the chopper clipped the building and crashed on to a rooftop.

Miraculously, all three people onboard survived and are now in stable condition. Not usually the outcome of something like that.

HEMMER: Look at that, huh? Just remarkable. And, I mean, the force that hit that building...

COLLINS: I can't imagine what that must have felt like.

HEMMER: All three to get out. My, oh, my. (WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: In Iraq now, an apology for abuse against prisoners in the Abu Ghraib prison. The general now in charge of U.S.-run prisons there apologizing for what he calls illegal or unauthorized acts by a small number of soldiers. This with President Bush just an hour away from addressing the scandals in interviews on two television networks that are seen across the Arab world. Our White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux with us now.

Do we expect any apologies from there today, Suzanne? Good morning.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.

Well, yesterday, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, she did apologize on Arab television, saying we are deeply sorry for what happened to these people. It's not clear whether or not we're going to hear a similar apology from the President, but we are told he's going to say that those acts were unacceptable, that they were shameful, that is was the work of just a few, and that those who are guilty will be held accountable.

Now, those interviews are going to happen in less than an hour in the map room for about 10 minutes a piece. One of those networks, a U.S.-sponsored Pan Arab network. The other one, Al-Arabiya, that is based out of the United Arab Emirates. Notably absent is Al-Jazeera, which is based out of Qatar.

The U.S. has said on many occasions that they have really been displeased with the coverage, they say. That it really is an-American bent. But having said that, White House spokesman Scott McClellan says that the President is assured that his message will reach a wide audience in the Arab world. And this really is all a part of a major public relations campaign to get this message out, to counter those images.

Yesterday, we saw National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice go before Arab television, as well as other top officials, doing some serious damage control.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: We have to do a better job. The government has to do a better job of getting our story out through our embassies through our people on the ground. We're trying with the press.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Now, the President will also highlight, as well. He will say not only are these acts wrong, but he will make a distinction with the way Saddam Hussein's regime handled this, saying that this, of course, is an aberration, that the administration is working very hard to find those who are guilty and to hold them to account -- Bill. HEMMER: Suzanne, thanks for that.

In our last hour here on AMERICAN MORNING, California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein voicing outrage of the current situation. For the Republican take on the issue, we're joined by Mississippi Senator Trent Lott, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Senator, good morning to you and welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. What do you want to hear in these private hearings today?

SEN. TRENT LOTT (R), MISSISSIPPI: All of my state, Mississippi, is celebrating today the reunion of Kelly and Tom Hamill, and his rescue or his escape. If he had been treated the way we've seen these Iraqi prisoners treated in these images, we would be in a state of outrage, and we'd all be on the way to take some justice.

Obviously, this is a serious problem. We have to have some explanations about, OK, who has really been in charge here? What is the chain of command? Were these contractors, military police, reservists?

Who was in charge? Why wasn't this supervised and stopped? Why has it taken three months to get to where we are?

But we have got to make sure that this is stopped, that the president and the administration and the Congress are being -- showing that we're outraged by this. We're taking dramatic action to stop it and make sure it doesn't happen anymore.

I think the president is doing the right thing by going on Arab television and explaining this is not the American way, this is not the way our values and our religious beliefs are reflected. And, you know, it's an intolerable situation. And we have to show outrage and we have to take action quickly.

HEMMER: Senator, earlier today on AMERICAN MORNING, David Gergen, a man who has served Republican and Democratic presidents in the White House, he said it's not the words that are important right now, it's the actions. You cut the prison population in half at Abu Ghraib. That's already been done.

They will start different interrogation techniques. Instead of the hoods over the heads of these men, they will get blindfolds. What else in the actions will convince people in Iraq that the U.S. is noble and trying to do the best thing for that country?

LOTT: I think actions are important in this case. I think probably we ought to level that entire prison facility.

Remember, that was where Saddam Hussein carried out a lot of his atrocities. I think to just completely level that place, disseminate these prisoners in different facilities, would show our determination to change everything. But also, we're going to have to get clear answers in the Congress.

I'm very disturbed that in the Intelligence Committee we didn't have this report that's apparently available at the Pentagon. We got it off NPR Web site. Now, that's totally unacceptable.

We're part of this process, and we have to make sure that we ask the right questions, and we're taking some action also in the Congress. But it's got to happen; it's got to happen quick. There's no use going back trying to explain it. We have to show that we mean it and it's stopping right now.

HEMMER: Senator, go back to Thomas Hamill. You talked to him yesterday, a fellow member of your state, Mississippi. What was your conversation like?

LOTT: Well, he was obvious exuberant and appreciated the thoughts, the prayers, the efforts of all concerned. I know he felt a real appreciation for the people in his small hometown that came together and had a vigil for him every night.

He appreciated everybody. And, you know, I think he appreciated my effort to call and just say, we're proud of you and we're thankful you're free. You know he must be so relieved and so thankful to be able to go home and be with his family and friends and community.

HEMMER: Listen, if you listen to his words, Senator, he is so grateful for the outpouring of support. He must be stunned to hear from a senator from his own state. He was shocked that his own company, Halliburton, has been able to get his wife to him as quickly as she traveled to Germany this week. So for him, a happy homecoming possibly this week.

Senator, thanks. Nice to talk with you. Trent Lott there in D.C.

LOTT: OK. Thanks a lot.

HEMMER: Heidi?

COLLINS: Hundreds of people have been evacuated ahead of fast- moving wildfires in southern California. Six fires have scorched more than 15,000 acres in the state, bringing an early start to the fire season there. But firefighters hope cooler weather will now bring some relief.

Ted Rowlands is live from Corona, California, with more.

Good morning, Ted.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.

The reports early this morning are very positive. The weather changed dramatically overnight. And what it did was stall the fires and gave firefighters a chance to build perimeters. There is still a lot of work to be done, and the hope is that the weather will hold and the moisture levels will continue to allow firefighters to continue to progress on these fires.

There are six total in the region, two are of major concern, both of them in Riverside County, east of Los Angeles. One is the Cerritos fire near the city of Corona. It is about 15 percent contained.

That was the figure last night. It is expected it's now much higher in terms of containment. It has gone through 10,000 acres. This is a live look at that Corona fire.

Last night, firefighters were able to save a cluster of about 250 homes in this area. Those homes are still a concern today.

The Eagle fire near Temecula, east of Los Angeles as well, has consumed about 5,000 acres. It also destroyed 14 homes and has gone through -- it was 30 percent contained last night. It's expected that the overnight developments will help the efforts there as well.

An arrest has been made concerning one of these fires, the Cerritos fire. A 44-year-old man was arrested for negligence. He was apparently dragging a steel plate down the freeway. The sparks from that plate is being blamed for the start of this Cerritos fire. He's facing two felony convictions of negligence for that.

This, of course, is considered a very early start to the fire seasons here in southern California. There's a lot of brush and fuel that is on the ground here. There's a problem with beetle infestation that has killed thousands of trees in this region, and the fear is that this is the beginning of a very, very long season in California -- Heidi.

COLLINS: Ted Rowlands, live from Corona, California, this morning. Ted, thanks so much.

HEMMER: I've spent a lot of time in Colorado. I was there in mid-March. Record-high temperatures.

COLLINS: I know it.

HEMMER: And more than 100 years since the temperature was that hot in mid-March for the folks in Colorado.

COLLINS: Not much snow, either.

HEMMER: Ominous sign, too, yes.

In a moment here, new violence in Iraq involving those loyal to wanted cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Much more what's happening there in a moment.

COLLINS: Former hostage Thomas Hamill reunited with his wife. Live to Germany for the latest on the very emotional reunion.

HEMMER: Also, it's the newest worm to infect computers. What you can do to protect against it.

Still to come this hour when we continue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: There's a hi-tech security system being tested near the nation's capital. Amtrak and commuter rail riders will walk through an air puffer with their bags before boarding trains in New Carrolton Station in Maryland. The machine detects residue from explosives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASA HUTCHINSON, HOMELAND SECURITY UNDERSECRETARY: We're looking for explosive material that would result in a Madrid-type attack. And so it's explosive material that we're looking for, and, therefore, it won't take the same amount of time and you won't have as many people that will be having secondary inspection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: The air puffer test, called Entry Scan, is already at nuclear power plants across the country -- Heidi.

COLLINS: The Sasser worm is the latest computer worm to cause havoc on computers worldwide, affecting banks and government offices. It exploits a security flaw in Microsoft's Windows system.

So what can you do to prevent Sasser from affecting your computer? Paul Boutin is a contributing editor with Wired Magazine. He is live in San Francisco to talk about this with us.

Hi, Paul.

PAUL BOUTIN, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, WIRED MAGAZINE: Good morning, Heidi.

COLLINS: Thanks for being with us today. Tell us the difference. This is a worm and not a virus. Some people may not understand that.

BOUTIN: People disagree on the definitions, but, generally, in this case, this Sasser worm does not come into your e-mail, you don't have to click on anything. It connects to your computer all by itself while you're not even doing anything at your computer and installs itself.

COLLINS: So if you can't detect it, how will you know if you're even infected by this thing?

BOUTIN: There seems to be a bug in the Sasser worm itself. People's computers have been crashing a lot. That's really the big problem they're having. At least it's not deleting their files.

What you should do -- Microsoft has actually been trying to clean up their security and make it simple. There's a URL everybody should go to. It's microsoft.com/protect.

There are three easy step there. If you follow them, it automatically walks you through installing what's called a firewall, which would have protected you from the Sasser worm. And it gives you automatic updates on future security fixes. And they have some deals on free anti-virus software that I've been using myself. So you get a year of free protection from some companies. COLLINS: Wow. All right. Something to look into there, for sure.

Now, as you know, close to about one million people are said to be infected. And many of them banks and businesses overseas. Is this going to be a bigger problem overseas or right here in the U.S.?

BOUTIN: It is going to be a problem all over the world, wherever people are using computers with Internet connections. That's what we're seeing. You know, Korea, anywhere.

COLLINS: All right. So put this in perspective for us, because now that people are learning about it, they might be a little frightened, if you will. How many people are affected so far, and how does this worm, the Sasser worm, differ from the blaster worm that we remember?

BOUTIN: It's not as bad as Blaster. It's not a trivial infection. But if you remember, Blaster hit an estimated 10 million computers faster than this.

Sasser has been slow, and the estimates right now are at the most one million. I think people are more exasperated because they always hope everyone will be the last one. And it never is.

COLLINS: All right. Well, quickly, I know on Monday the FBI said they're trying to track down the origins of this worm. In your opinion, is enough being done to find out ultimately who did this and who's responsible?

BOUTIN: I'm not sure they can, Heidi, because every single virus writer and worm writer, unless they come out and brag about it and admit to it, they never get caught. There's really no way to go back and figure out where it came from.

COLLINS: All right. Paul Boutin, thanks so much for being with us, contributing editor with Wired Magazine. Thanks again.

HEMMER: In a moment here, an apology for the Iraqi abuse scandal. The president gets ready to go on TV across the Arab world. We'll get to that in a moment here.

And a controversy involving big business, the Bush family, and one of Hollywood's most outspoken filmmakers. Back to Jack on that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Thirty-eight minutes before Jack makes up his mind on the Question of the Day. How we doing?

CAFFERTY: It's one of my favorites. I love this story.

Michael Moore's latest documentary is at the center of a controversy, and it's not even out yet. The Disney company is blocking its Miramax films unit from distributing "Fahrenheit 911." The film links President Bush with powerful Saudi families, including Osama bin Laden's.

Moore's agent told The New York Times that Disney CEO Michael Eisner expressed concern that the film would endanger tax breaks that Disney gets for its properties in Florida, where, of course, the president's brother is the governor. Oh boy. You can't make this stuff up.

Disney says the film could alienate families of different political backgrounds who visit its parks. On Moore's Web site today he complains he's the victim of censorship. Our question is, is Disney making a mistake blocking the distribution of a Michael Moore film? And we're getting some terrific stuff.

(UNINTELLIGIBLE), in West Chester County, New York, "If it's true that Michael Eisner is afraid of tax retribution on the part of Florida's governor, Jeb Bush, that's even more of a story than Michael Moore's, which, after all, is not really new and is part of a bestseller right now: 'The House of Bush, The House of Saud."

Patrick writes: "Given Michael Moore's unabashed political position and his history of producing documentaries of dubious truth, a la 'Bowling for Columbine,' I think Disney's finally exercising corporate responsibility, refusing to allow Moore to use the company and its vast financial resources to promote his political position."

Raphael in Arlington, Virginia, writes: "Is it me or is Michael Eisner a complete idiot? Last week, Disney finally pulled itself out of a takeover by Comcast. Now he has to get into a controversy over Michael Moore's film. I think Moore's a vitriolic fool, but let him shoot himself in the foot. The mouse should get itself a backbone and let the stupid film be distributed. Let it sink under its own weight."

And Dave in Japan writes this: "Disney is about to do for Michael Moore's film what the morons at Fox did for Al Franken's book. As a fan of both Moore and Franken -- sorry Jack -- I couldn't be happier."

Great stuff. Who's right in this thing, Heidi? What do you think?

COLLINS: I have no political opinion, whatsoever.

CAFFERTY: You don't?

COLLINS: No.

CAFFERTY: All right.

COLLINS: On this show.

Anyway, I want to talk about the tallest man in the world.

HEMMER: Absolutely.

COLLINS: Get this: the tallest man in the world actually having a few problems. Ukranian Leonid Stadnyk needs to stop growing. He needs some new shoes to fit his ever-expanding feet. The 33-year-old Stadnyk stands 8'4" tall.

He's the tallest man in the world according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Stadnyk started growing after brain surgery did something to his pituitary gland when he was 14 years old.

HEMMER: Eight feet, four inches? He can change a light bulb. Look at that. I would like to see him go up against Shaq, huh? Or Yao Ming. Think of the match-up that would be, huh?

COLLINS: Well, I don't know if he'll be fast enough. But...

HEMMER: Ain't no fence keeping him in, huh? I think he needs to be a guest on AMERICAN MORNING this Friday, as a matter of fact. Right?

CAFFERTY: Maybe he'd like to host "IN THE MONEY." I've been looking for somebody so I can take Friday off.

(CROSSTALK)

HEMMER: I know. You're looking for it all the time.

In a moment here, a former Iraqi hostage has his favorite cowboy boots, his favorite red T-shirt, now that his wife finally arrived in Germany. What a reunion it was. Live to Germany in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Opening bell a few short ticks away in a moment here. Almost 9:30 in New York. Heidi is in for Soledad throughout the week here.

COLLINS: Yes.

HEMMER: Only Wednesday.

COLLINS: Thomas and Kelly Hamill were reunited this morning. We're going to go live to Germany to see how the former hostage is recovering and what he plans to do next.

HEMMER: Also this hour, we have been hearing about fighting with your spouse right up there with smoking and drinking when it comes to your health. Is that the case? Sanjay fills us in, in a moment, on that and medical news.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

COLLINS: And more news to cover right away this morning. In fact, this just in to CNN: about a half hour ago, Israeli warplanes fired missiles at a suspected Hezbollah hideout in southern Lebanon. The action follows the shelling of villages in northern Israel. Security sources in Lebanon said three Lebanese villages had been hit.

There is no immediate word of calcties. The Israeli strike is the first in Lebanon since March. U.S. forces have launched a massive operation in southern Iraq against some militants loyal to a wanted Shiite cleric. Military officials said troops took over the office of Muqtada al-Sadr about 40 miles east of the holy city of Najaf.

Soldiers also raided a girls' school next door, seizing weapons believed to have been used by the Mehdi Army in attacks. At least one U.S. soldier was injured during the operation.

In just about a half-hour from now, President Bush is expected to address the controversy over reports of Iraq prisoner mistreatment with two Arab language networks. The president will conduct 10-minute interviews today with Al-Arabiya, a Saudi-owned station, and with U.S.-sponsored (UNINTELLIGIBLE) network. White House spokesman Scott McClellan says the president will say the images of Iraqi prisoners being mistreated are shameful and unacceptable.

Hundreds of residents in southern California still out of their homes due to raging wildfires there. Cooler temperatures have helped firefighters battling the blazes, but several structures have been destroyed. These are pictures now from Perris, California. A man has been charged with negligence starting the largest blaze.

HEMMER: And the sun coming up there, the smoke is quite visible. Earlier, it was just the flames. But they have their hands full yet again today.

COLLINS: They do.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HEMMER: The American general in charge of U.S.-run prisons in Iraq has apologized for the actions of those soldiers involved in the prisoner abuse scandal. General Geoffrey Miller said today that the soldiers' actions are violations not only of U.S. policy, but of how the U.S. conducts itself as a member of the international community. And he said the U.S. will work its hardest to reestablish the trust the Iraqis feel for the U.S. coalition.

Moments ago, in Baghdad, U.S. command spokesman Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt expressed the situation in conciliatory terms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, COALITION SPOKESMAN: My Army has been embarrassed by this. My Army has been shamed by this. And on behalf of my Army, I apologize for what those soldiers did to your citizens. It was reprehensible and unacceptable, and it is more than just words that we have to take those words into action and ensure that never happens again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Again, that was Mark Kimmitt in Baghdad. About 30 minutes away, President Bush sits down for two 10-minute interviews on TV networks that air across the Arab world. What's the answer, though, in solving the abuse issues?

Mark Garlasco, senior military adviser for Human Rights Watch, he worked there for a year after time spent at the Pentagon, where he was a civilian intelligence officer (UNINTELLIGIBLE) targets during the war. We welcome Mark here to AMERICAN MORNING.

Nice to see you.

MARK GARLASCO, SR. MILITARY ANALYST, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: Thanks for having me.

HEMMER: The apology from Mark Kimmitt, the strong words from Baghdad -- also, there was a very direct apology from the general now in charge of these prisons. Is that enough, and do the Iraqi people listen to that?

GARLASCO: Well, it's really good to hear. But hopefully, when President Bush speaks to the Arab media today, they'll hear that from him, as well.

But I think we need more than words now. We need to have actions. There needs to be changing in the training of these forces. There need to be investigations into some of the allegations of abuse in Afghanistan and in Iraq. And it's really time for some open and transparent investigations and, finally, some sanction for those involved.

HEMMER: Let me stop you here for a moment. The president will talk in 25 minutes, and we'll hear parts of whatever he has to say after the interviews are conducted. Specifically, what does he say?

GARLASCO: Well, it is time for him to come out and say, hey, you know, this happened, and we're sorry, and list the actions that are going to be taken to basically fix the problem within the military as far as the interrogations go. And deal with those who have caused these crimes.

HEMMER: We have had at least two senators on today, and David Gergen, all suggesting that this Abu Ghraib prison, west of Baghdad, should be shut down and no longer used because of what it represents for the Iraqi people under the days of Saddam Hussein. Good advice? Do you recommend it?

GARLASCO: Well, you know, the problem with this idea is that Abu Ghraib may have represented that to them in the past. But today, it represents American abuse.

HEMMER: And, so, therefore, shut it down or not?

GARLASCO: Well, you know, shutting down is really immaterial as far as we at Human Rights Watch are concerned. It really matters on how people are treated within this and other facilities.

HEMMER: There is some measures taken. The prison population is going to be cut in half there. The blindfolds will now be used instead of the bags over the heads of detainees. Good start? GARLASCO: Well, certainly they have taken a good start, but there are a lot more things that have to happen. You know, we're looking at the potential for a systemic problem throughout the military here.

And Human Rights Watch did a report called "Enduring Freedom" about internees in Afghanistan. There were two, in fact, that U.S. military investigators have termed as "homicides." We're still waiting to find out from the military what happened with them.

We have in Iraq Colonel West, who pulled a gun on an Iraqi. He was basically allowed to leave. You have at Camp Buka (ph) in Iraq, people were basically allowed to leave after crimes. You know, when is it going to end?

HEMMER: Do you have a sense just yet whether or not the U.S. is more upset with this or the Iraqi people? There were several hundred protesters outside that prison earlier today. The mere fact that they have the opportunity to protest and express their views is a sea change in Iraq that does not take away in any way what the allegations are or what these pictures are. But the sex allegations that took place in that prison are striking.

GARLASCO: Oh, you're absolutely right. They're just unconscionable. And I think that not only the U.S. people are upset, but let's take a look at what's going on in the Middle East. You know, across the board people are expressing outrage. But what is more important, perhaps, is how this is going to affect the U.S. military in the next conflict, how are troops going to be affected when they're taking prisoners in the next war.

HEMMER: Heard some of that from Trent Lott, talking about a member of his own state, Thomas Hamill, earlier today. Mark Garlasco, thanks. Unfortunately, it's a story that's not going away just yet.

GARLASCO: Thank you, Bill.

HEMMER: Heidi?

COLLINS: And speaking of Thomas Hamill, the former Iraqi hostage says he plans to go home as soon as possible. For an update on his situation and a happy reunion there today, we go to Chris Burns at Landstuhl Germany Medical Center.

Hi, Chris.

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, Landstuhl is really a place of lot of reunions in the past. This is a byway for a lot of former POWs and hostages. Think about Jessica Lynch last year.

And here today, a very, very emotional reunion, according to hospital officials here, between Thomas and Kelly Hamill. She made it back -- she made it here from the states to meet her husband after he freed himself in Iraq last Sunday after being three weeks in captivity after his fuel convoy was ambushed. He was driving a truck in that convoy. So a very emotional reunion, but he is keeping his privacy. We did see him just yesterday making a brief appearance, but today he's staying away from the cameras. He's spending his time with his wife. He insists on his privacy.

He says in a statement that his wife coming here is his best medicine for the bullet wound in his right arm to heal. He gives his prayers and asks people to pray for those he left behind, those two co-workers and the U.S. soldier who didn't make it back from that convoy and are still missing, and possibly hostages.

And he expressed his thanks. I'll read that from the statement. He said, thanks to his family and neighbors in Macon. He also said Kelly brought him his favorite boots and jeans and a red shirt. So he says, "I can feel a lot more comfortable and closer to home."

Another thing that will bring him closer tonight is the dinner tonight. Kelly is cooking a steak dinner and some chocolate cake. So get ready for that. Back to you.

COLLINS: All right. Chris Burns, thanks so much, live from Landstuhl, Germany, this morning.

HEMMER: In a moment here, Andy is going to check on the market action today. So far, the day after the Fed got together. We'll check on that.

COLLINS: That's right. And a stressful marriage, it can drive you nuts. But could it kill you? We'll hear from Dr. Sanjay Gupta here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COLLINS: Earlier this morning, we talked about new medical research that links marital stress to heart trouble. Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here now to weigh in on how matters of the heart can affect one's health.

What's the deal here?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

Well, the question that they tried to pose, could a heart- breaking relationship literally break your heart? That's what they were trying to figure out.

For a long tine, a study out of "Harvard Men's Health Focus Group" -- this was an editorial -- actually asking this question, looking at some of the past research, trying to figure out what is the link between these two things. It's been well documented for some time that job strain may deteriorate your health if you have significant stress at your place of work. But could home stress do the same thing?

Sort of interesting findings. Some early findings, a small study of 72 volunteers, both men and women. This study came out a couple years ago.

The first one, how do you lower your blood pressure? This was the question -- avoiding your spouse in an unhappy marriage and spend more time with a spouse in a supportive marriage. Now, that sounds a little simplistic, but it's a little more complicated than that, because they went on to study these volunteers and, in fact, found that parts of their heart actually thickened, leading to significant heart disease later on down the road, similar to smoking or drinking.

They also found out specifically in women -- and female heart disease patients who had a previous history of heart disease, if they had also significant marital stress, they are three times more likely to have episodes later on down the line. Pretty significant findings, actually looking at the impact of home life stress on your heart specifically.

There is some good news in this, as well, I should point out, regarding supportive marriages. If you're in a supportive marriage -- they looked at women here specifically here as well -- you had less blockage in the arteries to the brain and in the aorta, which just comes out of the heart. And heart patients who had significant confidants, be they spouses, be they somebody else, lower risk of future heart attacks down the road.

Interesting findings.

COLLINS: Yes. Some good news there. And you did mention it is a pretty small study, though -- 72 people.

GUPTA: That's right.

COLLINS: But do you think really that marital stress will really ever become as large as a factor as, say, smoking and some of the other things that we hear about?

GUPTA: You know, that's an excellent question. The difficulty is that when you're talking about smoking, you're talking about drinking, you're talking about cholesterol, those are all very measurable sorts of things.

When you're talking about stress, when you're talking about depression, and now you can add marital discord to that list, perhaps, it's harder to measure. There are surveys that do this sort of thing, which is what these studies sort of point at.

Could you develop a survey that could give you an accurate indicator of how likely you are to have heart disease based on your marriage? Perhaps. We're a long ways from that, but that is something that they're working towards.

COLLINS: What are some tips, though, that people can actively do on a daily basis to reduce that marital stress and hopefully improve their cardiac health, as well?

GUPTA: I'm not sure I can give any tips on marital stress. I think that that's an important thing, first of all, to realize that significant marital stress can be not only emotionally devastating, but also physically devastating. And that's measurable now. It's an affect on your heart.

So if you are having significant problems, marital discord, it's important to recognize that it can affect your immune system, it can raise your blood pressure, it can affect your heart rate, all these sorts of things. You probably need to do something about that, as much as you need to get your cholesterol checked, as much as you need to do something about your smoking and drinking. This is something that should be added to the list as well.

COLLINS: All right. Very good. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks so much.

GUPTA: Thank you.

COLLINS: Bill?

HEMMER: All right, Heidi. Aaron Brown now, and a check now on what is happening later tonight here on "NEWSNIGHT." Here's Aaron.

AARON BROWN, HOST, "NEWSNIGHT": Thank you, Bill.

Tonight on "NEWSNIGHT," after an especially rough month in Iraq, the deadliest month yet, our Beth Nissan returned to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany, where the injured troops are taken. She made the journey back home to Andrews with some of them.

It is a fascinating and compelling report on a vital and difficult mission. Nissan's story, plus all the day's top news, morning papers, and everything else that makes "NEWSNIGHT" "NEWSNIGHT" CNN tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Bill.

HEMMER: We'll be there. Aaron, thanks much for that.

In a moment here, why do you ship the jobs overseas when you could take the whole plant? Andy explains that in a moment here when we continue right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: And it's not just jobs going over to China, it's the whole darn factory. Checking that and the markets, here is Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business." Back with us here. We are, what, 19 minutes in.

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE MAGAZINE: We sure are. First of all, I want to wish you a happy Cinco de Mayo.

HEMMER: Oh, well thank you very much. And you as well.

SERWER: May 5, 1862, General Ignacio Zaragoza, Mexico, defeated the French. How about that? Big holiday in Mexico.

HEMMER: Frozen with salt (ph).

SERWER: Yes. And just to celebrate, it's revenge of the Celts on Cinco de Mayo Day.

Coke has a new CEO, if you follow that. The Dow, by the way, is down 11 points. Market kind of breathing a sigh of relief after yesterday's Fed meeting, interest rates being unchanged.

Coke unchanged basically with the announcement of the new CEO. And the other revenge of the Celts story, the Royal Bank -- there we go. There's the new CEO.

I'm sorry. I'm being difficult to follow here. It's my bad (ph).

And then we have the World Bank of Scotland taking over a bank in Cleveland, Charter One. Also, CVS closing down over 200 Eckerd drugstores. You remember they took over part of that company recently.

Let's talk about the situation with outsourcing. This is another story that is just kind of mind blowing, really. Corning Glass has a big plant in Pennsylvania in State College. That's where Penn State is. Employing 1,000 workers, making television screens, glass TV screens.

They're going to be closing it down and outsourcing the jobs to China. A thousand jobs. Unfortunately, that is not that big of a story these days. But what is a big story is not only are they sending the workers over there, they're sending the whole plant.

They're basically tearing the plant down and packing it over to China and reassembling the exact same plant in China. And they're going to be hiring these workers. And guess what? They're making one-eighth the amount that the people in the U.S. were making.

People here in the U.S. making about $48,000 a year, $45,000. They are making about $6,000, $7,000, $8,000. So you can see the economics right there.

HEMMER: And thanks for the history lesson today, by the way.

SERWER: Cinco de Mayo, May 5, 1862.

HEMMER: Wonderful. You got it.

Here's Heidi.

COLLINS: Want to check in with Jack now and the Question of the Day.

CAFFERTY: It's why I like to come here each day because I learn things.

COLLINS: You learn so much.

CAFFERTY: You learn stuff.

SERWER: Important stuff, too, Jack. CAFFERTY: Important stuff.

The Question of the Day is, is Disney making a mistake of blocking the distribution of a Michael Moore film? It's a little complicated, but Moore has made this film about the events around September 11.

Disney owns Miramax. Miramax was set to distribute the film. Disney contributes money to the Bush campaign. Michael Eisner, the CEO of Disney, allegedly was told by Michael Moore's agent, who talked to The New York Times, that he was afraid of losing Disney tax breaks in Florida, where the president's brother is the governor.

Anyway, it's a fascinating story. I don't think I told it very well just then. But here's some of the...

SERWER: Follow my lead.

CAFFERTY: Dan in Bloomfield, West Virginia: "Disney, Sinclair and Clear Channel have done a wonderful job demonstrating why we have had laws restricting ownership of media outlets and why we should indict FCC chairman Michael Powell and the Bush administration for eliminating those restrictions. Censorship can't be tolerated in a democracy."

J. Blair writes: "So Disney's profits and government kickbacks trump my constitutional rights. Guess which grandparent won't be taking my grandchildren to Disney World? Maybe I can use the money I saved to fly to a country that's free to show the film. Situations like this must really impress the countries that we're trying to democratize about how great our freedoms are."

I love this stuff. Great letters today. It's a good topic.

HEMMER: Yes, that it was.

COLLINS: All right. Coming up on CNN, President Bush goes on TV across the Arab world to talk about the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal. Is he going to apologize? It's all coming up on "CNN LIVE TODAY" with Daryn Kagan.

AMERICAN MORNING will be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: You like this, Heidi?

COLLINS: I do.

SERWER: Who are they running from?

HEMMER: Listen. The Brits have an interesting spectator sport. It's sheep racing. No event has greater significance in the Grand National Sheep Race, we're told. You can print it.

The runners faced a horse shoe-shaped course. The winner, number 18, Big Boy, with jockey Roger Ram (ph) leading from the start, and never looking back. Wire to wire.

SERWER: Jockey?

CAFFERTY: It's no wonder they're running. Wait till you see...

(CROSSTALK)

COLLINS: Those are like little monkeys riding on the back?

SERWER: What are those?

COLLINS: They're just fake, aren't they?

SERWER: Monkeys on their back.

HEMMER: Anyway, it would not be a complete day...

SERWER: Oh, they're going for food. OK, I get it.

HEMMER: Hey, we've got to run. Daryn Kagan is going to pick it up from here. A lot more coming out of Baghdad today, and also from the White House, watching the interviews and the comments from the president.