Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live At Daybreak
Significance of Death of Head of Iraqi Governing Council; In Massachusetts, Authorities Issuing Same-Sex Marriage Licenses
Aired May 17, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, an important American ally lost in a suicide car bombing. It comes with just weeks to go until the handover of power.
This is DAYBREAK for May 17.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Let me bring you up to date now.
A little more than four hours ago, the president of the Iraqi Governing Council dies in a suicide bombing. Izzadine Saleem is the second member of the Governing Council to be killed.
Across Massachusetts this morning, city clerks are handing out marriage license applications to gay couples. The Bay State the first in the nation to legalize same sex unions.
Palestinians are fleeing their homes in a Gaza refugee camp. You're looking at new pictures this morning. The frantic residents fear a major Israeli attack. They moved out as Israeli troops moved in.
In money news, low gas inventories in the United States, a surge in global oil consumption and concerns over the Middle East -- it all adds up to a new record high for crude oil prices this morning -- 41 bucks a barrel.
In sports, the Los Angeles Lakers are Western Conference champions. They beat the San Antonio Spurs 88-76. Up next, Minnesota or Sacramento.
In culture, "Troy" whips on the competition. The movie was tops at the box office this weekend, taking in more than $45.5 million. One Atlanta movie reviewer calls it a "pectacular." "Pectacular" -- Rob.
I had to say it again because it was just so darned clever.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like how I pronounced spaghetti when I was a kid, psaghetti.
COSTELLO: Psaghetti.
MARCIANO: A good looking movie, it looks like, at least entertaining.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Forty-five days, that's the countdown to the transfer of power in Iraq. And this morning Izzadine Saleem, the president of the Iraqi Governing Council, is dead. He was killed in a suicide car bombing.
We want to check in with our senior international editor now, David Clinch, to talk more about how this happened.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, good morning, Carol.
A massive story for us today in Baghdad. We were watching the skyline of Baghdad overnight, a huge explosion in the distance. Shortly after that, we confirmed that it's a car bomb and then an hour or so later we start to hear reports that the current rotating president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Izzadine Saleem, has been killed at a U.S. checkpoint on his way into the Green Zone for a scheduled meeting of the Governing Council today.
COSTELLO: This was a massive explosion, too.
CLINCH: It was a huge explosion, not only his car, but at least three others completely destroyed, a dozen cars in total damaged, four to six people killed. U.S. soldiers amongst the injured, as well. So we're watching for an update on that.
COSTELLO: Do we know if the suicide bomber was killed?
CLINCH: We're being told that -- we're led to believe that the explosion was so devastating, they're saying artillery shells were packed into the back of the car that the suicide bomber drove into this, what was described as a convoy of Governing Council members heading into the Green Zone.
Now, the Governing Council -- it's a tremendous hit on the political side for the U.S. as they try to head towards that handover June 30. They've got people like Izzadine Saleem at the center of this Governing Council, moderates trying to pull all the people of Iraq together to form a new government that will be an entity that is worth handing over, if you know what I mean, the whole question of what a handover means.
We had Governing Council members yesterday sniping at the U.S. about wanting to completely control of the military of Iraq, the security forces; but at the same time saying that while they would be sovereign after the handover, that they -- and would have the right to ask the U.S. to leave -- that they couldn't possibly ask them to leave because the security situation was so bad.
Well, obviously, that's proven again today.
COSTELLO: Well, let's go live to Baghdad now and check in with Harris Whitbeck to tell us more -- Harris, what are coalition forces saying about this this morning?
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
We have some more details on how the attack occurred this morning. Again, this was at a checkpoint outside the Green Zone, which houses the headquarters for the Coalition Provisional Authorities.
Eyewitnesses there say that they saw a small red car parked in the vicinity of this checkpoint and they saw that it apparently was waiting for the convoy that was carrying the process of the Iraqi Governing Council. They wanted for it to approach the checkpoint and when it approached that checkpoint, that is when the small red car approached it, as well, and exploded. Again, those are eyewitness accounts from people who were on the scene this morning.
An Iraqi hospital says that at least 16 Iraqis were wounded during that attack and two U.S. soldiers were wounded, as well. And military officials on the ground say at least 10 people were killed -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Harris, a question for you. This member of the Iraqi Governing Council was traveling in a white Nissan. He wasn't in an armored personnel carrier.
Why wasn't he in a more secure vehicle?
WHITBECK: Well, that's one of the many questions that will be asked. As you know, this isn't the first member of the Iraqi Governing Council to die. Last September 20, Aquila al-Hashimi died when she was ambushed outside of her home. So obviously security for the members of this governing body is a matter or concern.
We do know that he was traveling with more than one vehicle. There were several vehicles in his convoy. But, again, he was approaching a checkpoint, as many people here do, and that's when this attack occurred -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And, of course, this is one of the most secure places in Baghdad. This was near the Green Zone, where the coalition headquarters are.
But it is difficult to stop suicide bombers, isn't it?
WHITBECK: Absolutely. And everybody here will tell you that you can never guar -- have a hundred percent guarantee of security, particularly in an environment such as this one. The Green Zone has been the target of several attacks, as you know, and as safe as it is and as many a resources that have been put into securing it, it is not 100 percent safe.
COSTELLO: Harris Whitbeck live from Baghdad this morning.
The U.S. military spokesman in Iraq is vowing that such attacks will not derail the transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people.
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt gave CNN some specifics about the explosion a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. BRIGADIER GENERAL: It was a devastating car bomb, but it was not as large as many that we have seen. Nonetheless, it did take, tragically, the lives of our Iraqi partners to include Mr. Saleem. It's our estimate right now, the initial forensics would indicate that it probably was a couple of artillery rounds in the back of the vehicle, perhaps in the trunk, which caused the blast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And a footnote for you. Hear what the attorneys for Private Lynndie England are saying about the latest accusations in the prison abuse scandal in Iraq. They will be on CNN's "American Morning" with Bill and Soledad. That comes your way at 7:15 Eastern.
It is wedding day in Massachusetts. More than 250 same sex couples were ready when the doors opened up at midnight.
Joining us with the latest, Gail Huff of CNN affiliate WCVB in Boston -- good morning.
GAIL HUFF, WCVB CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Here in Boston, only a handful of couples waiting. But over in Cambridge, indeed, 260 couples got their applications when they opened the clerk's office last night there at midnight.
Here in Boston, though, it's a very different scene. You can see that we have less than two dozen couples that are waiting here. They'll be getting their numbers then going in order into the clerk's office at 9:00.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MAYOR THOMAS MENINO, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: I'll be there to greet some of the individuals that come into the office. You know, a lot of this works well for me. I just want to see them have the same rights that I do.
HUFF (voice-over): The first numbers go to the plaintiffs in the landmark SJC case that declared gay marriage legal. Among them, David Wilson and Robert Compton.
DAVID WILSON, GETTING MARRIED: I mean we just started off as a couple looking to protect each other's rights and all of a sudden we're at the forefront of such a change.
HUFF: In Boston, they'll be joined by two other plaintiff couples, including Julie and Hillary Goodridge. After filing their intentions at city hall, they'll go to Brooke Courthouse to get the necessary three day wavier so they can exchange their vows today. Many couples plan to get their licenses, but will wait to exchange their vows.
MARY DOYLE, SEEKING MARRIAGE LICENSE: We were just never quite sure until today that it was really going to happen. And so we wanted to wait until we had the license in our hand, or at least we knew that it was coming.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUFF: Again, we are expecting that hundreds and hundreds of gay couples will be getting applications here at Boston's city hall later this morning when they open the clerk's office. However, out of state couples will not be welcome. There is a law on the books from 1913 that prohibits out of state couples from marrying here if their marriage is not recognized in their home state. And Massachusetts is the only state that recognizes gay marriage, starting today.
Reporting live, I'm Gail Huff -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, but, Gail, are they really going to check to see if people are from out of state?
HUFF: Well, that is, of course, part of the controversy here. Some of the clerks have already vowed not to check and they say they're not going to be held criminally responsible if a couple isn't from the State of Massachusetts. And other cities, like Boston, have said that they will follow the law and they will require that anyone who applies for a license actually signs an affidavit saying that they are a resident or plan to become one.
COSTELLO: And, Gail, doesn't this issue go to the voters at some point? And what will happen to the people being married today if the voters vote down gay marriage in Massachusetts?
HUFF: That is a wonderful question and one we don't know. It is true that the legislature did, indeed, pass at least the first of a step that would outlaw gay marriage in Massachusetts. But it has to not only pass another go around in the legislature, it would have to go to the voters in the year after that. So that couldn't possibly happen within the next two years.
And even if it does pass, it's not clear what's going to happen to those couples who have already exchanged wedding vows. So that is still to be determined.
COSTELLO: All right, Gail Huff reporting live for us from Boston.
She's from WCVB.
We're going to go back to Baghdad for our top story in just a few moments.
But first, a decision that changed the educational landscape of our nation forever, marking 50 years since "Brown v. The Board of Education."
Plus, help pay off your home with every swipe of plastic.
And then, they're after two things -- first, your attention, and then your money. Who's the most deserving of honors in the ad industry?
And later, setting the pace for a Triple Crown title -- could it happen for this smarty?
This is DAYBREAK for May 17.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Today marks a milestone in race relations in this country. It was 50 years ago that the Supreme Court declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. It came in the "Brown v. The Board of Education" decision. The centerpiece of that decision was a school in Topeka, Kansas.
CNN's Jonathan Freed joins us from Topeka, where commemorations will be held today.
And the president is also visiting today, right?
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol.
Good morning.
And it was 50 years ago that a rail worker from Topeka named Oliver Brown decided that enough was enough and that his daughter Linda deserved better.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREED (voice-over): They are the images of racial relics from a time of sanctioned segregation, a time when state statutes known as Jim Crow laws allowed for the separation of white and black America, as long as it appeared that people were being treated equally.
In 1954, Linda Brown was a third grade student in Topeka, Kansas.
LINDA BROWN THOMPSON, FATHER BROUGHT LANDMARK CASE: I hate white playmates and we played together on a daily basis. But when school started, they went one way and I went another way.
FREED: Linda's father filed a lawsuit that became famous as "Brown v. The Board of Education." And in reviewing that case, combined with others, the Supreme Court ruled that the doctrine of separate but equal had no place in public schools. The landmark decision forever changed the nation's legal landscape, effectively launching the civil rights movement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What "Brown" established was the principal that government cannot discriminate.
FREED: But it was tough going. For example, in 1957, nine African-American students needed Army protection to register for high school in Arkansas. Some believe that while the "Brown" ruling was a social success, the high court's desire to fight inferiority has been frustrated. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have schools that are not adequately and equitably funded. And as a result of that, it makes it impossible to have smaller class sizes, qualified, certified teachers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREED: Now, a whole day's worth of events kicks off here in Topeka in just a few hours, the centerpiece of which is going to be a speech by President Bush -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you very much.
Jonathan Freed reporting live from Topeka, Kansas this morning.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 6:16 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Just a few hours ago, the head of the Iraqi Governing Council was killed by a suicide car bomber. Izzadine Saleem was near the coalition's Green Zone when the attack occurred.
The first same-sex marriages in Massachusetts are expected to get under way this morning. The city hall in Cambridge began issuing licenses to same sex couples at the stroke of midnight. The marriages are legal beginning today.
In money news, fresh food delivered to your door. Once again, Internet grocery stores are gaining ground and customers. But unlike the failures of the late '90s, analysts say this batch of cyber stores should succeed.
In sports, Smarty Jones one step closer to the Triple Crown after winning the Preakness over the weekend. The third and final race is the Belmont on June 5.
In culture, one popular sitcom is not saying good-bye. CBS is set to announce that "Everybody Loves Raymond" will return for a ninth and final farewell season -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Carol, we love him up in the CNN Weather Center, as well.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
Time for a little business buzz now.
Finally, credit card reward programs get real.
Carrie Lee explains from the NASDAQ market site -- and what? What is this? Something good that credit card companies are doing for the American consumer? CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, call them perks of a more practical nature, Carol. "USA Today" reporting that credit card companies are now offering cards that let consumers use points to do things like pay down mortgages and reduce credit card interest rates.
Let me give you some examples here. GMAC Mortgage now teaming with credit card giant MBNA. They have a new MasterCard and here's how it works. Cardholders earn one point for every dollar spent on the card or used on the card, and then whenever a cardholder accumulates 2,500 points, $25 is credited to the principal on their GMAC mortgage.
Also, Providian and Citibank also have a card letting cardholders use points to temporarily pay down their interest rate.
So all of those super perks we've heard about -- vacations, all about that's nice, but more practical cards like this.
Of course, Carol, it's always a better idea, probably, to pay down that balance in the first place but...
COSTELLO: I was just going to say, this is just more of an incentive to use your credit card, which is a bad thing.
LEE: I agree with you one hundred percent. I would argue, though, that if you're going to have a balance anyway, if you're the type of person who's going to have a balance anyway, well, you may as well get something for having that balance. But you're absolutely right, I always try to recommend being fiscally responsible with your own money, certainly.
Let me just tell you, regarding the markets today, futures looking very, very weak. So expect a big sell-off. The news of that car bombing in Iraq certainly weighing on investors' minds here.
Also, we have oil prices, it looks like, hitting a new high here in electronic trading, $41.83 a barrel. So expect a lot of selling at that 9:30 opening bell today.
COSTELLO: All right, Carrie Lee live from the NASDAQ market site.
Coming up on DAYBREAK, back to the scene of that deadly car bombing in Baghdad. We're going to talk to someone from "Newsweek" who's in the Iraqi capital, where the loss of a leader is no doubt troubling for coalition leaders.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: We've been telling you about a suicide bombing in Baghdad's Green Zone this morning. It was a huge blast. It killed the president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Izzadine Saleem.
Joining us now live, Rod Nordland, who is the Baghdad bureau chief for "Newsweek" magazine.
Welcome to DAYBREAK.
ROD NORDLAND, "NEWSWEEK" BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning.
COSTELLO: Mr. Saleem is the second member of the Iraqi Governing Council to be killed.
Is there a better way to protect members of the Iraqi Governing Council?
NORDLAND: Well, he was killed just at the point where all that protection was in place, at the checkpoint coming into the Green Zone. And there's not much you can do, really, to protect against suicide bombers. You need to search people. You need to have a checkpoint and it's a vulnerable point. And already those checkpoints now in the Green Zone have been hit, I think, at least three times that I can remember offhand, maybe four times.
COSTELLO: You know, we were...
NORDLAND: And it's bound to happen again.
COSTELLO: We were just wondering back here that he was traveling in a white Nissan and apparently there were five or six white Nissans going through that checkpoint. It doesn't seem to be the best vehicle to be traveling in in Iraq these days.
NORDLAND: No, any kind of SUV has really become a target. And, you know, the fact that he was at the checkpoint, he would have been there with his bodyguards, several of whom were probably killed, as well. And it's pretty hard to disguise that, whatever kind of vehicle he was in.
It's not clear if they were targeting him as the president of the Governing Council now or just a VIP pulling up at the checkpoint. But in any case, you're always going to have that weak point. It is true that those vehicles have become very dangerous to move around in. Most of us, if we can, we've gotten rid of anything that looks like an SUV or a quasi military vehicle.
COSTELLO: Tell us about Mr. Saleem.
How important was he to the Iraqi Governing Council?
NORDLAND: Well, the presidency of the Governing Council is a rotating one and he had just taken his place for one month. He's not terribly well known. He was a Shiite official and an editor and publisher. But he's very press shy. I don't know anyone who's interviewed him, actually, and I think he was very averse to being interviewed.
His party was the Dahwa Party (ph), which is one of the major groupings of Shia, and he was from Basra.
COSTELLO: So how important is his loss? NORDLAND: Well, I mean it's important symbolically, I think. He was the president of the G.C. right now. It creates this feeling that we can't protect the Governing Council members. It's part of an overall environment lately of a kind of increase in the tempo of attacks and the frequency of attacks of all sorts. So it's very important that way.
He wasn't as major a figure as, say, Adnan Pachachi or one of the other better known G.C. members. But, in fact, his convoy was just a little bit ahead in line of Adnan Pachachi's convoy, we hear, and also a convoy carrying Ahmad Chalabi.
COSTELLO: So it was a long line of Iraqi Governing Council members going through that checkpoint at the same time onto a scheduled meeting.
NORDLAND: Right. That's right. Well, probably into work. It was around the time they would have been starting their work, and they probably had a meeting scheduled at that time, as well.
COSTELLO: And one last question. There are hints out there that al-Zarqawi is to blame. He's the same man who supposedly was responsible for beheading of Nick Berg.
Is it too soon to tell who's responsible?
NORDLAND: Yes, it's always going to be hard to say. I mean I think there's a tendency to want to blame Zarqawi because he's a face and a name that we can put on everything. I mean there is some evidence that he was -- strong evidence that he was responsible for Nick Berg's killing and beheading. But in this case, I doubt we'll find evidence like that. And all the suicide bomb cases, there have been very -- there's very little evidence, because there's not much left, really, for forensics. So it's been very hard to pin them on anybody.
COSTELLO: Yes, this blast was a huge one. It left a five foot crater.
Bob Nordland reporting live for us from Baghdad this morning.
He's the Baghdad bureau chief for "Newsweek" magazine.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
We're going to take you back to Iraq to explore more of this issue.
And we're also going to tell you what Tony Blair and President Bush are doing behind-the-scenes to speed things along toward a handover.
And everywhere you turn, someone is trying to sell something. So who's the best in the high stakes game of advertising and what makes them so good at getting your attention?
(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 17, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: New this morning, an important American ally lost in a suicide car bombing. It comes with just weeks to go until the handover of power.
This is DAYBREAK for May 17.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Let me bring you up to date now.
A little more than four hours ago, the president of the Iraqi Governing Council dies in a suicide bombing. Izzadine Saleem is the second member of the Governing Council to be killed.
Across Massachusetts this morning, city clerks are handing out marriage license applications to gay couples. The Bay State the first in the nation to legalize same sex unions.
Palestinians are fleeing their homes in a Gaza refugee camp. You're looking at new pictures this morning. The frantic residents fear a major Israeli attack. They moved out as Israeli troops moved in.
In money news, low gas inventories in the United States, a surge in global oil consumption and concerns over the Middle East -- it all adds up to a new record high for crude oil prices this morning -- 41 bucks a barrel.
In sports, the Los Angeles Lakers are Western Conference champions. They beat the San Antonio Spurs 88-76. Up next, Minnesota or Sacramento.
In culture, "Troy" whips on the competition. The movie was tops at the box office this weekend, taking in more than $45.5 million. One Atlanta movie reviewer calls it a "pectacular." "Pectacular" -- Rob.
I had to say it again because it was just so darned clever.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It sounds like how I pronounced spaghetti when I was a kid, psaghetti.
COSTELLO: Psaghetti.
MARCIANO: A good looking movie, it looks like, at least entertaining.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Forty-five days, that's the countdown to the transfer of power in Iraq. And this morning Izzadine Saleem, the president of the Iraqi Governing Council, is dead. He was killed in a suicide car bombing.
We want to check in with our senior international editor now, David Clinch, to talk more about how this happened.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes, good morning, Carol.
A massive story for us today in Baghdad. We were watching the skyline of Baghdad overnight, a huge explosion in the distance. Shortly after that, we confirmed that it's a car bomb and then an hour or so later we start to hear reports that the current rotating president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Izzadine Saleem, has been killed at a U.S. checkpoint on his way into the Green Zone for a scheduled meeting of the Governing Council today.
COSTELLO: This was a massive explosion, too.
CLINCH: It was a huge explosion, not only his car, but at least three others completely destroyed, a dozen cars in total damaged, four to six people killed. U.S. soldiers amongst the injured, as well. So we're watching for an update on that.
COSTELLO: Do we know if the suicide bomber was killed?
CLINCH: We're being told that -- we're led to believe that the explosion was so devastating, they're saying artillery shells were packed into the back of the car that the suicide bomber drove into this, what was described as a convoy of Governing Council members heading into the Green Zone.
Now, the Governing Council -- it's a tremendous hit on the political side for the U.S. as they try to head towards that handover June 30. They've got people like Izzadine Saleem at the center of this Governing Council, moderates trying to pull all the people of Iraq together to form a new government that will be an entity that is worth handing over, if you know what I mean, the whole question of what a handover means.
We had Governing Council members yesterday sniping at the U.S. about wanting to completely control of the military of Iraq, the security forces; but at the same time saying that while they would be sovereign after the handover, that they -- and would have the right to ask the U.S. to leave -- that they couldn't possibly ask them to leave because the security situation was so bad.
Well, obviously, that's proven again today.
COSTELLO: Well, let's go live to Baghdad now and check in with Harris Whitbeck to tell us more -- Harris, what are coalition forces saying about this this morning?
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
We have some more details on how the attack occurred this morning. Again, this was at a checkpoint outside the Green Zone, which houses the headquarters for the Coalition Provisional Authorities.
Eyewitnesses there say that they saw a small red car parked in the vicinity of this checkpoint and they saw that it apparently was waiting for the convoy that was carrying the process of the Iraqi Governing Council. They wanted for it to approach the checkpoint and when it approached that checkpoint, that is when the small red car approached it, as well, and exploded. Again, those are eyewitness accounts from people who were on the scene this morning.
An Iraqi hospital says that at least 16 Iraqis were wounded during that attack and two U.S. soldiers were wounded, as well. And military officials on the ground say at least 10 people were killed -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Harris, a question for you. This member of the Iraqi Governing Council was traveling in a white Nissan. He wasn't in an armored personnel carrier.
Why wasn't he in a more secure vehicle?
WHITBECK: Well, that's one of the many questions that will be asked. As you know, this isn't the first member of the Iraqi Governing Council to die. Last September 20, Aquila al-Hashimi died when she was ambushed outside of her home. So obviously security for the members of this governing body is a matter or concern.
We do know that he was traveling with more than one vehicle. There were several vehicles in his convoy. But, again, he was approaching a checkpoint, as many people here do, and that's when this attack occurred -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And, of course, this is one of the most secure places in Baghdad. This was near the Green Zone, where the coalition headquarters are.
But it is difficult to stop suicide bombers, isn't it?
WHITBECK: Absolutely. And everybody here will tell you that you can never guar -- have a hundred percent guarantee of security, particularly in an environment such as this one. The Green Zone has been the target of several attacks, as you know, and as safe as it is and as many a resources that have been put into securing it, it is not 100 percent safe.
COSTELLO: Harris Whitbeck live from Baghdad this morning.
The U.S. military spokesman in Iraq is vowing that such attacks will not derail the transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people.
Brigadier General Mark Kimmitt gave CNN some specifics about the explosion a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT, U.S. BRIGADIER GENERAL: It was a devastating car bomb, but it was not as large as many that we have seen. Nonetheless, it did take, tragically, the lives of our Iraqi partners to include Mr. Saleem. It's our estimate right now, the initial forensics would indicate that it probably was a couple of artillery rounds in the back of the vehicle, perhaps in the trunk, which caused the blast.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And a footnote for you. Hear what the attorneys for Private Lynndie England are saying about the latest accusations in the prison abuse scandal in Iraq. They will be on CNN's "American Morning" with Bill and Soledad. That comes your way at 7:15 Eastern.
It is wedding day in Massachusetts. More than 250 same sex couples were ready when the doors opened up at midnight.
Joining us with the latest, Gail Huff of CNN affiliate WCVB in Boston -- good morning.
GAIL HUFF, WCVB CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Here in Boston, only a handful of couples waiting. But over in Cambridge, indeed, 260 couples got their applications when they opened the clerk's office last night there at midnight.
Here in Boston, though, it's a very different scene. You can see that we have less than two dozen couples that are waiting here. They'll be getting their numbers then going in order into the clerk's office at 9:00.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MAYOR THOMAS MENINO, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS: I'll be there to greet some of the individuals that come into the office. You know, a lot of this works well for me. I just want to see them have the same rights that I do.
HUFF (voice-over): The first numbers go to the plaintiffs in the landmark SJC case that declared gay marriage legal. Among them, David Wilson and Robert Compton.
DAVID WILSON, GETTING MARRIED: I mean we just started off as a couple looking to protect each other's rights and all of a sudden we're at the forefront of such a change.
HUFF: In Boston, they'll be joined by two other plaintiff couples, including Julie and Hillary Goodridge. After filing their intentions at city hall, they'll go to Brooke Courthouse to get the necessary three day wavier so they can exchange their vows today. Many couples plan to get their licenses, but will wait to exchange their vows.
MARY DOYLE, SEEKING MARRIAGE LICENSE: We were just never quite sure until today that it was really going to happen. And so we wanted to wait until we had the license in our hand, or at least we knew that it was coming.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HUFF: Again, we are expecting that hundreds and hundreds of gay couples will be getting applications here at Boston's city hall later this morning when they open the clerk's office. However, out of state couples will not be welcome. There is a law on the books from 1913 that prohibits out of state couples from marrying here if their marriage is not recognized in their home state. And Massachusetts is the only state that recognizes gay marriage, starting today.
Reporting live, I'm Gail Huff -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, but, Gail, are they really going to check to see if people are from out of state?
HUFF: Well, that is, of course, part of the controversy here. Some of the clerks have already vowed not to check and they say they're not going to be held criminally responsible if a couple isn't from the State of Massachusetts. And other cities, like Boston, have said that they will follow the law and they will require that anyone who applies for a license actually signs an affidavit saying that they are a resident or plan to become one.
COSTELLO: And, Gail, doesn't this issue go to the voters at some point? And what will happen to the people being married today if the voters vote down gay marriage in Massachusetts?
HUFF: That is a wonderful question and one we don't know. It is true that the legislature did, indeed, pass at least the first of a step that would outlaw gay marriage in Massachusetts. But it has to not only pass another go around in the legislature, it would have to go to the voters in the year after that. So that couldn't possibly happen within the next two years.
And even if it does pass, it's not clear what's going to happen to those couples who have already exchanged wedding vows. So that is still to be determined.
COSTELLO: All right, Gail Huff reporting live for us from Boston.
She's from WCVB.
We're going to go back to Baghdad for our top story in just a few moments.
But first, a decision that changed the educational landscape of our nation forever, marking 50 years since "Brown v. The Board of Education."
Plus, help pay off your home with every swipe of plastic.
And then, they're after two things -- first, your attention, and then your money. Who's the most deserving of honors in the ad industry?
And later, setting the pace for a Triple Crown title -- could it happen for this smarty?
This is DAYBREAK for May 17.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Today marks a milestone in race relations in this country. It was 50 years ago that the Supreme Court declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional. It came in the "Brown v. The Board of Education" decision. The centerpiece of that decision was a school in Topeka, Kansas.
CNN's Jonathan Freed joins us from Topeka, where commemorations will be held today.
And the president is also visiting today, right?
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol.
Good morning.
And it was 50 years ago that a rail worker from Topeka named Oliver Brown decided that enough was enough and that his daughter Linda deserved better.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREED (voice-over): They are the images of racial relics from a time of sanctioned segregation, a time when state statutes known as Jim Crow laws allowed for the separation of white and black America, as long as it appeared that people were being treated equally.
In 1954, Linda Brown was a third grade student in Topeka, Kansas.
LINDA BROWN THOMPSON, FATHER BROUGHT LANDMARK CASE: I hate white playmates and we played together on a daily basis. But when school started, they went one way and I went another way.
FREED: Linda's father filed a lawsuit that became famous as "Brown v. The Board of Education." And in reviewing that case, combined with others, the Supreme Court ruled that the doctrine of separate but equal had no place in public schools. The landmark decision forever changed the nation's legal landscape, effectively launching the civil rights movement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What "Brown" established was the principal that government cannot discriminate.
FREED: But it was tough going. For example, in 1957, nine African-American students needed Army protection to register for high school in Arkansas. Some believe that while the "Brown" ruling was a social success, the high court's desire to fight inferiority has been frustrated. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have schools that are not adequately and equitably funded. And as a result of that, it makes it impossible to have smaller class sizes, qualified, certified teachers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FREED: Now, a whole day's worth of events kicks off here in Topeka in just a few hours, the centerpiece of which is going to be a speech by President Bush -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Thank you very much.
Jonathan Freed reporting live from Topeka, Kansas this morning.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 6:16 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Just a few hours ago, the head of the Iraqi Governing Council was killed by a suicide car bomber. Izzadine Saleem was near the coalition's Green Zone when the attack occurred.
The first same-sex marriages in Massachusetts are expected to get under way this morning. The city hall in Cambridge began issuing licenses to same sex couples at the stroke of midnight. The marriages are legal beginning today.
In money news, fresh food delivered to your door. Once again, Internet grocery stores are gaining ground and customers. But unlike the failures of the late '90s, analysts say this batch of cyber stores should succeed.
In sports, Smarty Jones one step closer to the Triple Crown after winning the Preakness over the weekend. The third and final race is the Belmont on June 5.
In culture, one popular sitcom is not saying good-bye. CBS is set to announce that "Everybody Loves Raymond" will return for a ninth and final farewell season -- Rob.
MARCIANO: Carol, we love him up in the CNN Weather Center, as well.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
Time for a little business buzz now.
Finally, credit card reward programs get real.
Carrie Lee explains from the NASDAQ market site -- and what? What is this? Something good that credit card companies are doing for the American consumer? CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, call them perks of a more practical nature, Carol. "USA Today" reporting that credit card companies are now offering cards that let consumers use points to do things like pay down mortgages and reduce credit card interest rates.
Let me give you some examples here. GMAC Mortgage now teaming with credit card giant MBNA. They have a new MasterCard and here's how it works. Cardholders earn one point for every dollar spent on the card or used on the card, and then whenever a cardholder accumulates 2,500 points, $25 is credited to the principal on their GMAC mortgage.
Also, Providian and Citibank also have a card letting cardholders use points to temporarily pay down their interest rate.
So all of those super perks we've heard about -- vacations, all about that's nice, but more practical cards like this.
Of course, Carol, it's always a better idea, probably, to pay down that balance in the first place but...
COSTELLO: I was just going to say, this is just more of an incentive to use your credit card, which is a bad thing.
LEE: I agree with you one hundred percent. I would argue, though, that if you're going to have a balance anyway, if you're the type of person who's going to have a balance anyway, well, you may as well get something for having that balance. But you're absolutely right, I always try to recommend being fiscally responsible with your own money, certainly.
Let me just tell you, regarding the markets today, futures looking very, very weak. So expect a big sell-off. The news of that car bombing in Iraq certainly weighing on investors' minds here.
Also, we have oil prices, it looks like, hitting a new high here in electronic trading, $41.83 a barrel. So expect a lot of selling at that 9:30 opening bell today.
COSTELLO: All right, Carrie Lee live from the NASDAQ market site.
Coming up on DAYBREAK, back to the scene of that deadly car bombing in Baghdad. We're going to talk to someone from "Newsweek" who's in the Iraqi capital, where the loss of a leader is no doubt troubling for coalition leaders.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: We've been telling you about a suicide bombing in Baghdad's Green Zone this morning. It was a huge blast. It killed the president of the Iraqi Governing Council, Izzadine Saleem.
Joining us now live, Rod Nordland, who is the Baghdad bureau chief for "Newsweek" magazine.
Welcome to DAYBREAK.
ROD NORDLAND, "NEWSWEEK" BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Good morning.
COSTELLO: Mr. Saleem is the second member of the Iraqi Governing Council to be killed.
Is there a better way to protect members of the Iraqi Governing Council?
NORDLAND: Well, he was killed just at the point where all that protection was in place, at the checkpoint coming into the Green Zone. And there's not much you can do, really, to protect against suicide bombers. You need to search people. You need to have a checkpoint and it's a vulnerable point. And already those checkpoints now in the Green Zone have been hit, I think, at least three times that I can remember offhand, maybe four times.
COSTELLO: You know, we were...
NORDLAND: And it's bound to happen again.
COSTELLO: We were just wondering back here that he was traveling in a white Nissan and apparently there were five or six white Nissans going through that checkpoint. It doesn't seem to be the best vehicle to be traveling in in Iraq these days.
NORDLAND: No, any kind of SUV has really become a target. And, you know, the fact that he was at the checkpoint, he would have been there with his bodyguards, several of whom were probably killed, as well. And it's pretty hard to disguise that, whatever kind of vehicle he was in.
It's not clear if they were targeting him as the president of the Governing Council now or just a VIP pulling up at the checkpoint. But in any case, you're always going to have that weak point. It is true that those vehicles have become very dangerous to move around in. Most of us, if we can, we've gotten rid of anything that looks like an SUV or a quasi military vehicle.
COSTELLO: Tell us about Mr. Saleem.
How important was he to the Iraqi Governing Council?
NORDLAND: Well, the presidency of the Governing Council is a rotating one and he had just taken his place for one month. He's not terribly well known. He was a Shiite official and an editor and publisher. But he's very press shy. I don't know anyone who's interviewed him, actually, and I think he was very averse to being interviewed.
His party was the Dahwa Party (ph), which is one of the major groupings of Shia, and he was from Basra.
COSTELLO: So how important is his loss? NORDLAND: Well, I mean it's important symbolically, I think. He was the president of the G.C. right now. It creates this feeling that we can't protect the Governing Council members. It's part of an overall environment lately of a kind of increase in the tempo of attacks and the frequency of attacks of all sorts. So it's very important that way.
He wasn't as major a figure as, say, Adnan Pachachi or one of the other better known G.C. members. But, in fact, his convoy was just a little bit ahead in line of Adnan Pachachi's convoy, we hear, and also a convoy carrying Ahmad Chalabi.
COSTELLO: So it was a long line of Iraqi Governing Council members going through that checkpoint at the same time onto a scheduled meeting.
NORDLAND: Right. That's right. Well, probably into work. It was around the time they would have been starting their work, and they probably had a meeting scheduled at that time, as well.
COSTELLO: And one last question. There are hints out there that al-Zarqawi is to blame. He's the same man who supposedly was responsible for beheading of Nick Berg.
Is it too soon to tell who's responsible?
NORDLAND: Yes, it's always going to be hard to say. I mean I think there's a tendency to want to blame Zarqawi because he's a face and a name that we can put on everything. I mean there is some evidence that he was -- strong evidence that he was responsible for Nick Berg's killing and beheading. But in this case, I doubt we'll find evidence like that. And all the suicide bomb cases, there have been very -- there's very little evidence, because there's not much left, really, for forensics. So it's been very hard to pin them on anybody.
COSTELLO: Yes, this blast was a huge one. It left a five foot crater.
Bob Nordland reporting live for us from Baghdad this morning.
He's the Baghdad bureau chief for "Newsweek" magazine.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
We're going to take you back to Iraq to explore more of this issue.
And we're also going to tell you what Tony Blair and President Bush are doing behind-the-scenes to speed things along toward a handover.
And everywhere you turn, someone is trying to sell something. So who's the best in the high stakes game of advertising and what makes them so good at getting your attention?
(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
