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CNN Live At Daybreak
Official Ronald Reagan State Funeral Today; Recapping Developments at the G-8 Summit
Aired June 11, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Today is the official national day of mourning for Ronald Reagan. By the time the sun sets, the former president will be laid to rest.
It is Friday, June 11.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Here are the latest headlines for you now.
A silent line of mourners stretches into the night. Public viewing ends two hours from now in Washington. Four hours later, the state funeral for former President Reagan begins at the National Cathedral in D.C.
U.S. Army helicopter gunships streak over Baghdad's Sadr City. It comes as U.S. forces clash with militia members loyal to a rebel cleric. Heavy fighting now reported.
In money news, Sarah Lee branded apparel will close five plants and lay off 3,800 workers by the end of the year. Four of the plants are overseas; one is in Ashboro, North Carolina.
In culture, Meryl Streep has reason to smile this morning. She's been honored with a Life Achievement Award given by the American Film Institute.
And in sports, the Pistons are running hot. Detroit has a two game to one lead over the L.A. Lakers in the NBA championship after whipping up on Shaq, Kobe Bryant and those other guys, 88-66. Wow!
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, man!
COSTELLO: That's incredible.
MYERS: Yes. Just look at that, a 17 point lead right there, four minutes left in the fourth.
COSTELLO: Unbelievable.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: They say Detroit has a great defense and they're right.
MYERS: Well, Carol, isn't that your team?
COSTELLO: You know, I'm not a fan of basketball, I must admit. But I'm a fan of theirs today, that's for sure.
MYERS: You are a Detroit fan through and through.
Hey, everybody, some snow coming down here. Now, this is way up in the mountains. This is around Snowbird, Utah. But this is out of our affiliate KTVX out of Salt Lake City yesterday. And right now, temperatures there are in the 30s. Even Leadville, Colorado this morning, 31. So, yes, about 10,000 feet up, 11,000 feet up, they still saw some snow. Just when you thought it was safe to go into the pool.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: The long line of people snaking its way through the Capitol Rotunda will be cut off just about two hours from now. And then a few hours later, the nation will say its final, final farewell to Ronald Reagan.
CNN's Ed Henry joins us live outside of the Capitol -- good morning, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
You're right, the schedule was for 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time for people to stop being added to the line, because public viewing ends at 9:00 a.m. and it takes about two hours to get through the line and get through security. But we now understand from police officers here on the scene that they had to stop adding people to the line in the middle of the night because there were so many people. In fact, the count was around 69,000 people who had already passed the casket as of 11:00 p.m. last night.
Thousands more through the night. People still -- thousands more still on the line as we speak. Those who are on the line, though, right now, already, are not guaranteed that they are going to be able to get past the casket by 9:00 a.m. All access to the casket will be cut off at 9:00 a.m. because at 9:45 we're expecting the arrival of Mrs. Reagan.
She is going to come in, have a private moment or two with the casket once she arrives at the Capitol. Then she is going to leave. They're going to prepare the casket for departure. And at 10:30, the departure ceremony will begin with the Military District of Washington.
They're going to use three sets of nine men to move the casket down all of those steps that we saw so dramatically the casket taken up a couple evenings ago. There will be no speeches, a little bit less pomp and circumstance now, obviously. The Army band, though, Pershing's Own, will play a few tunes. And once they start playing "The Navy Hymn," then the casket is going to start moving down the steps of the west front of the Capitol.
Then it will be taken into a hearse. It will not be put on a caisson like it was for the procession to the Capitol. Just straight to a hearse and on to Washington National Cathedral for the national funeral service.
That service begins at 10:45 -- pardon me, the departure for the Cathedral is 10:45. The service actually begins at 11:30.
In addition to the thousands and thousands of people around the world who have been streaming past the casket, we've had many, many dignitaries also come through. Yesterday, Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader; former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, as well, the first female on the Supreme Court, appointed, of course, by President Reagan -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, and so much security must need to be provided, because there are so many dignitaries attending that ceremony at the National Cathedral today.
HENRY: Oh, absolutely. Security is extremely tight around the Capitol right now. I can tell you, there are several streets closed. They are obviously trying to get prepared for the departure of the casket just in a few hours.
But, yes, around the Washington National Cathedral there's going to be several blocks closed. People who live in that area are not going to be able to come in and out. You're not going to be able to park, I understand, within three or four blocks of the Washington National Cathedral. A lot of security -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ed Henry live in D.C.
Thank you.
After returning from the G-8 summit, the President and Mrs. Bush went directly to the Capitol Rotunda to pay their respects to Ronald Reagan. The first couple then went to the Blair House across the street from the White House, where they met briefly with Nancy Reagan.
In tribute to the National Day of Mourning for Ronald Reagan, the stock markets will be closed today. In Los Angeles, the bell at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels will toll 40 times in his memory. And in Las Vegas, the casinos will darken their lights tonight. The last such intentional blackout was after the September 11 attacks.
Our special coverage of the Reagan state funeral begins this morning at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific time.
The nation and the world has lost a legend. Ray Charles -- his name alone says music -- from jazz to rock and roll, rhythm and blues and soul. Ray Charles could do it all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY HBO)
RAY CHARLES (singing): ... amber waves of grain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: A memorial service for Ray Charles is next week in Los Angeles. We will have more of an in depth look at Ray Charles' remarkable career a little later this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY HBO)
CHARLES (singing): ... above the fruited plain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Back to politics now. They did not agree on everything, but the G-8 heads of state closed their summit in Georgia with a show of unity and cordiality. President Bush was buoyant afterward when he met with reporters, including our own John King.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): Upbeat to say the least, quick with a quip when asked how G-8 leaders resolve major policy disputes.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we go to different corners of the room and we face the wall -- no.
KING: The good mood followed a summit where unity was common, major differences few. The one significant dust up was over the president's call for a bigger NATO role in post war Iraq. Mr. Bush says all he needs is more help training Iraqi security forces.
BUSH: I don't expect more troops from NATO to be offered up. That's an unrealistic expectation. Nobody is suggesting that.
KING: French President Jacques Chirac is skeptical about a bigger NATO role but nonetheless determined to present a friendly front.
BUSH: He particularly liked the cheeseburger he had yesterday.
JACQUES CHIRAC, FRENCH PRESIDENT: It was excellent, excellent.
KING: Germany sided with France in the war debate and Chancellor Schroeder won't send troops now but...
GERHARD SCHROEDER, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): We also made clear that we will not block any decision of NATO.
KING: The president voiced confidence Iraqis will quickly assume more responsibility for security, not that he can say when U.S. troops will start coming home.
BUSH: When the job's done.
KING: Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kuwait refused to attend a session on Middle East political reform. Mr. Bush wasn't happy but insists he doesn't take it personally.
BUSH: There was some concern when the initiative was first proposed that this was America trying to make the world look like America. It's not going to happen.
KING: The president didn't like and didn't answer a question about Vice President Cheney's recent session with federal prosecutors trying to find out who leaked the name of an undercover CIA operative.
BUSH: You talk to the U.S. attorney about that.
KING: He did answer when asked whether he would give the new Iraqi government a pistol Saddam Hussein was holding when captured. Mr. Bush has it mounted at the White House and plans to keep it.
BUSH: It's not the property of the U.S. government.
KING (on camera): U.S. officials believe even this new dispute with France will be settled by the NATO Summit later this month. If the new Iraqi government makes a specific request for expanded NATO training, and the White House says it will, French officials say they are all but certain to go along.
John King, CNN, Savannah, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: At a time when Libya was trying to improve its image and establish normal relations with the United States, was Moammar Gadhafi planning to assassinate the ruler of Saudi Arabia? We got into this a little bit yesterday.
And CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena reports today U.S. authorities are now investigating.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Government officials confirm the investigation into the alleged plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's crown prince has been under way for months.
BUSH: We're looking into it. That's the best way I can tell you. And when we find out the facts we will deal with them accordingly.
ARENA: The plot was allegedly hatched as Libya's leader Moammar Gadhafi was negotiating with the United States to lift terror sanctions.
ABDEL RAHMAN SHALOAM, LIBYAN FOREIGN MINISTER: I am sure it's just lies, not allegations, and let them to go for a while in these investigations. The details will come and the truth will appear.
ARENA: Sources say the FBI and other agencies are investigating claims made by Abdurrahman Alamoudi, an American Muslim activist in U.S. custody and Colonel Mohamed Ismael, a Libyan intelligence officer in Saudi custody.
Officials say both men offered separate and similar accounts of a plan to kill the crown prince. In March last year, just before the war with Iraq, Gadhafi and Abdullah publicly traded insults at the Arab Summit.
CROWN PRINCE ABDULLAH, SAUDI ARABIA (through translator): The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not an agent of imperialism. Don't try to pose your opinion in this context if you're not aware of real facts.
ARENA: Investigators are trying to determine if the claims about an assassination are real and whether Gadhafi himself was involved. Saudi Arabia is not commenting. The State Department says it was aware of the allegations when it was negotiating with Libya late last fall.
RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Libyan leaders assured us that they would not support the use of violence for settling political differences with any state.
ARENA: In December, Libya agreed to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction program. The United States in return took some steps to normalize economic relations.
JON ALTERMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTL. STUDIES: It certainly seems to me that if all this is confirmed that there will have to be a change in leadership in Tripoli before the U.S. has anything beginning to resemble normal relations with Libya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: The remarkable life of Ronald Reagan, an ordinary guy from an ordinary town, becomes one of the most influential men on the planet. We take a look back.
And new information coming to light about the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal. And the Pentagon is making some changes in its investigation.
Also with the suntan season upon us, some details from this year's cancer conference on an experimental treatment for melanoma.
This is DAYBREAK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARION ASNES, "MONEY" MAGAZINE: "Money" magazine chose Raleigh as one of its best places to retire because the economy makes it possible for Baby Boomers to move there, start businesses and keep them going, even through their retirement years. Raleigh, along with neighboring Durham and Chapel Hill, form a high tech community called The Triangle, where you have lots of technology firms, lots of universities, so that there is a smart, sophisticated community.
One of the attractions of North Carolina is its beautiful, lush landscape -- rolling hills, woods and green most of the year. Although North Carolina enjoys four seasons, its winter is relatively mild.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 5:15.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Funeral services for former President Ronald Reagan begin at 11:30 Eastern this morning at the National Cathedral in Washington. Reagan will be buried later today at his presidential library in California.
Singer Ray Charles, the father of soul, has died of liver disease. He was 73 years old. Ray Charles overcame poverty, blindness and heroin addiction to become one of America's most popular and enduring entertainers.
In money news, there will be no stock trading today. Wall Street, NASDAQ, all the financial markets in the United States are closed. It is a national day of mourning for Ronald Reagan.
In culture, the International Labor Organization, a U.N. agency, says at least 10 million children worldwide are trapped in domestic labor jobs. The ILO says the children work long hours and are often abused.
In sports, Mario Lemieux says he will put the Pittsburgh Penguins up for sale unless he can get a new deal for a new arena. Lemieux says a bill to legalize gambling might be the last hope -- Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines at this hour.
With this national day of mourning, there is a dearth of financial and corporate news in the States, but let's check the overseas markets anyway.
For that, we head live to London and Diana Muriel -- good morning.
DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, the European markets are also in a very somber mood this Friday, down across the board by a tenth of a percentage point, to as much as half a percentage point. We're seeing some weakness in the tech stocks in particular, to do with Sage and S&P. Their software business may be eroded by Microsoft and IBM, who say they're going to start developing into new markets.
But a generally weak day. We're seeing very little direction. Of course, there'll be no direction coming from the United States later on. The markets there, of course, are closed. And very light trading taking place in European markets.
This is how Brent is trading for July. It's at $35.68 a barrel. It's down .17 percent, or down $0.06. The market, again, trading is very, very light in London, with no direction coming from the States. Very quiet trading, indeed, in Asia overnight. Of course, we had the IAEA stating that although demand for oil is rising, stocks are also rising. But it's that demand that worries traders and that's why we've been seeing these oil prices staying very high.
One -- the oil majors are trading mixed, with Royal Dutch Shell trading higher in Amsterdam. But everyone else is lower -- back to you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Diana Muriel live from London.
Many thanks to you.
Just ahead on DAYBREAK, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. Ahead, the story of one very brave girl determined to make a difference.
Ronald Reagan lived 93 years and a lot of history unfolded during that time. We'll put his life in historical context.
This is DAYBREAK for Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: And Welcome back to DAYBREAK.
There are so many courageous people in the world. We just have to tell you about 8-year-old Alexandra Scott.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: What a great gal.
MYERS: You've heard of the book "Flowers For Algernon?" This is "Lemonade for Alex."
COSTELLO: That's a good one.
MYERS: And lemonade for her stand. She was diagnosed with a rare type of childhood cancer; decided to make some money, raise some money with a lemonade stand six years ago. She's been doing it now. She's going to go for a million dollars.
COSTELLO: In her very first year she did it from her hospital bed.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: She raised $2,000. But now she wants to raise more money for cancer research. Her goal is a lofty one million dollars. So, she's going to set up this lemonade stand and she's enlisted the help of children all across the country. MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: They're going to put up lemonade stands, too, and all of the money will go to cancer research.
MYERS: So far a thousand other young children have volunteered to help her this weekend. So if you see a lemonade stand this weekend and it says "Lemonade for Alex," you know what's going on.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, give some money.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: She's eight years old and she's really sick now. That's the sad part, really sick.
MYERS: There's a couple of people who have turned on this lemonade thing already. And they haven't even sold a cup of lemonade, but they're just getting donations, you know? It's more of that than anything else. You don't necessarily have to buy the thing.
COSTELLO: Yes.
MYERS: But best to Alex. She's getting a little slow now. She's had some -- she was in remission for a while. She's kind of had some chemo and some radiation and she's getting a little slow, so.
COSTELLO: Yes, so, she's really tired and she's really sick.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: But she really wants to raise some money.
MYERS: So let's give her a million dollars this year.
COSTELLO: Good for Alex.
MYERS: That'd be awesome.
COSTELLO: Radio announcer, actor, governor and president -- the remarkable life of Ronald Reagan now.
As CNN's Beth Nissen reports, throughout his 93 years, Reagan witnessed almost unbelievable changes, and many of them were his own doing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, Buffalo Bill was still alive. Henry Ford had yet to introduce assembly lines in his automobile factory. Einstein was four years from postulating his theory of relativity and American women nine years from getting the right to vote.
William Taft was president of the United States, all 46 of them. Ronald Reagan lived during the administrations of 16 U.S. presidents, 13 before he himself moved into the White House, three more after he left office. Reagan's life spanned nine extraordinary decades of world history. He was a boy during World War I, a teenager during the Great Depression.
He was in his 30s during World War II, his 40s during the Korean War, his 50s during the years of the Vietnam War and civil right struggles, when he was governor of California. His life spanned the entire Cold War. Reagan was 6 in 1917, the year of the Russian Revolution. He was 13 when Lenin died. He outlived the Soviet Union by 13 years.
The man who would champion a space-based Strategic Defense Initiative grew up decades before the space age. Reagan was only 16 when Lindbergh flew the Spirit of Saint Louis from New York to Paris, a flight that took 33 1/2 hours. He was almost 50 by the time the space race started with the Soviet launch of Sputnik, almost 60 before man first stepped onto the surface of the moon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Touchdown.
NISSEN: And 70 years old when the first U.S. space shuttle made its maiden flight.
So much changed so profoundly in the course of Reagan's life: science, technology, medicine, from the polio vaccine in 1954, to the first human heart transplant in 1967, to the first test tube baby in 1978, from mapping human DNA, to successful cloning, although no cure for the global killer that emerged late in Reagan's life, AIDS.
Reagan's life spanned profound changes in American culture, from the jazz age in the roaring '20s, into rock 'n' roll and the rap, techno and hip-hop that came after.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW")
ED SULLIVAN, TALK SHOW HOST: Ladies and gentlemen, the Beatles!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NISSEN: Reagan was already 53 when the Beatles first appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
Reagan, the movie star, had a life that neatly coincided with the life of the movies. He was four when D.W. Griffith made "Birth of a Nation."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ain't heard nothing yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NISSEN: Sixteen when Al Jolson made the first talkie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "CASABLANCA") HUMPHREY BOGART, ACTOR: Here's looking at you, kid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NISSEN: Thirty-one when "Casablanca" premiered, 66 when the "Star Wars" epic started in a special effects galaxy far, far away.
And Reagan, the TV host, was already an adult when television was in its infancy. Color TV was introduced the year Reagan turned 40.
Reagan announced he had Alzheimer's in 1994 at age 83. It is not known how aware he was of what happened in the world in his last decade, if he registered or grieved for those lost in the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the fighting in Kosovo, the continued fighting between Israelis and Palestinians, the horror of the September 11 attacks.
It is unlikely that he was at all aware that the U.S. was again at war in Afghanistan and in Iraq, that there were orange alerts, or new worries about global warming, that "Friends" ended, or the third "Harry Potter" movie was out, or that the nation he loved for so long, served for so long, still remembered him so well, so warmly, after all these years.
Beth Nissen, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And you're looking at a live picture from inside the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., where the viewing goes on for at least another hour and a half. And then it will be cut off and President Reagan's casket will be brought to the National Cathedral.
DAYBREAK will be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You may not be celebrating Flag Day, but one company definitely is -- Annin & Company, the world's largest flag maker.
Beyond the Stars and Stripes, Annin products are not limited to U.S. flagpoles. The company is also the official supplier of flags to the United Nations in New York. Annin is responsible for producing flags representing each of the 191 member countries.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired June 11, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Today is the official national day of mourning for Ronald Reagan. By the time the sun sets, the former president will be laid to rest.
It is Friday, June 11.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Here are the latest headlines for you now.
A silent line of mourners stretches into the night. Public viewing ends two hours from now in Washington. Four hours later, the state funeral for former President Reagan begins at the National Cathedral in D.C.
U.S. Army helicopter gunships streak over Baghdad's Sadr City. It comes as U.S. forces clash with militia members loyal to a rebel cleric. Heavy fighting now reported.
In money news, Sarah Lee branded apparel will close five plants and lay off 3,800 workers by the end of the year. Four of the plants are overseas; one is in Ashboro, North Carolina.
In culture, Meryl Streep has reason to smile this morning. She's been honored with a Life Achievement Award given by the American Film Institute.
And in sports, the Pistons are running hot. Detroit has a two game to one lead over the L.A. Lakers in the NBA championship after whipping up on Shaq, Kobe Bryant and those other guys, 88-66. Wow!
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, man!
COSTELLO: That's incredible.
MYERS: Yes. Just look at that, a 17 point lead right there, four minutes left in the fourth.
COSTELLO: Unbelievable.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: They say Detroit has a great defense and they're right.
MYERS: Well, Carol, isn't that your team?
COSTELLO: You know, I'm not a fan of basketball, I must admit. But I'm a fan of theirs today, that's for sure.
MYERS: You are a Detroit fan through and through.
Hey, everybody, some snow coming down here. Now, this is way up in the mountains. This is around Snowbird, Utah. But this is out of our affiliate KTVX out of Salt Lake City yesterday. And right now, temperatures there are in the 30s. Even Leadville, Colorado this morning, 31. So, yes, about 10,000 feet up, 11,000 feet up, they still saw some snow. Just when you thought it was safe to go into the pool.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: The long line of people snaking its way through the Capitol Rotunda will be cut off just about two hours from now. And then a few hours later, the nation will say its final, final farewell to Ronald Reagan.
CNN's Ed Henry joins us live outside of the Capitol -- good morning, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
You're right, the schedule was for 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time for people to stop being added to the line, because public viewing ends at 9:00 a.m. and it takes about two hours to get through the line and get through security. But we now understand from police officers here on the scene that they had to stop adding people to the line in the middle of the night because there were so many people. In fact, the count was around 69,000 people who had already passed the casket as of 11:00 p.m. last night.
Thousands more through the night. People still -- thousands more still on the line as we speak. Those who are on the line, though, right now, already, are not guaranteed that they are going to be able to get past the casket by 9:00 a.m. All access to the casket will be cut off at 9:00 a.m. because at 9:45 we're expecting the arrival of Mrs. Reagan.
She is going to come in, have a private moment or two with the casket once she arrives at the Capitol. Then she is going to leave. They're going to prepare the casket for departure. And at 10:30, the departure ceremony will begin with the Military District of Washington.
They're going to use three sets of nine men to move the casket down all of those steps that we saw so dramatically the casket taken up a couple evenings ago. There will be no speeches, a little bit less pomp and circumstance now, obviously. The Army band, though, Pershing's Own, will play a few tunes. And once they start playing "The Navy Hymn," then the casket is going to start moving down the steps of the west front of the Capitol.
Then it will be taken into a hearse. It will not be put on a caisson like it was for the procession to the Capitol. Just straight to a hearse and on to Washington National Cathedral for the national funeral service.
That service begins at 10:45 -- pardon me, the departure for the Cathedral is 10:45. The service actually begins at 11:30.
In addition to the thousands and thousands of people around the world who have been streaming past the casket, we've had many, many dignitaries also come through. Yesterday, Mikhail Gorbachev, the former Soviet leader; former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole; U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, as well, the first female on the Supreme Court, appointed, of course, by President Reagan -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh, and so much security must need to be provided, because there are so many dignitaries attending that ceremony at the National Cathedral today.
HENRY: Oh, absolutely. Security is extremely tight around the Capitol right now. I can tell you, there are several streets closed. They are obviously trying to get prepared for the departure of the casket just in a few hours.
But, yes, around the Washington National Cathedral there's going to be several blocks closed. People who live in that area are not going to be able to come in and out. You're not going to be able to park, I understand, within three or four blocks of the Washington National Cathedral. A lot of security -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ed Henry live in D.C.
Thank you.
After returning from the G-8 summit, the President and Mrs. Bush went directly to the Capitol Rotunda to pay their respects to Ronald Reagan. The first couple then went to the Blair House across the street from the White House, where they met briefly with Nancy Reagan.
In tribute to the National Day of Mourning for Ronald Reagan, the stock markets will be closed today. In Los Angeles, the bell at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels will toll 40 times in his memory. And in Las Vegas, the casinos will darken their lights tonight. The last such intentional blackout was after the September 11 attacks.
Our special coverage of the Reagan state funeral begins this morning at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific time.
The nation and the world has lost a legend. Ray Charles -- his name alone says music -- from jazz to rock and roll, rhythm and blues and soul. Ray Charles could do it all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY HBO)
RAY CHARLES (singing): ... amber waves of grain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: A memorial service for Ray Charles is next week in Los Angeles. We will have more of an in depth look at Ray Charles' remarkable career a little later this hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY HBO)
CHARLES (singing): ... above the fruited plain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Back to politics now. They did not agree on everything, but the G-8 heads of state closed their summit in Georgia with a show of unity and cordiality. President Bush was buoyant afterward when he met with reporters, including our own John King.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KING (voice-over): Upbeat to say the least, quick with a quip when asked how G-8 leaders resolve major policy disputes.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, we go to different corners of the room and we face the wall -- no.
KING: The good mood followed a summit where unity was common, major differences few. The one significant dust up was over the president's call for a bigger NATO role in post war Iraq. Mr. Bush says all he needs is more help training Iraqi security forces.
BUSH: I don't expect more troops from NATO to be offered up. That's an unrealistic expectation. Nobody is suggesting that.
KING: French President Jacques Chirac is skeptical about a bigger NATO role but nonetheless determined to present a friendly front.
BUSH: He particularly liked the cheeseburger he had yesterday.
JACQUES CHIRAC, FRENCH PRESIDENT: It was excellent, excellent.
KING: Germany sided with France in the war debate and Chancellor Schroeder won't send troops now but...
GERHARD SCHROEDER, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): We also made clear that we will not block any decision of NATO.
KING: The president voiced confidence Iraqis will quickly assume more responsibility for security, not that he can say when U.S. troops will start coming home.
BUSH: When the job's done.
KING: Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Kuwait refused to attend a session on Middle East political reform. Mr. Bush wasn't happy but insists he doesn't take it personally.
BUSH: There was some concern when the initiative was first proposed that this was America trying to make the world look like America. It's not going to happen.
KING: The president didn't like and didn't answer a question about Vice President Cheney's recent session with federal prosecutors trying to find out who leaked the name of an undercover CIA operative.
BUSH: You talk to the U.S. attorney about that.
KING: He did answer when asked whether he would give the new Iraqi government a pistol Saddam Hussein was holding when captured. Mr. Bush has it mounted at the White House and plans to keep it.
BUSH: It's not the property of the U.S. government.
KING (on camera): U.S. officials believe even this new dispute with France will be settled by the NATO Summit later this month. If the new Iraqi government makes a specific request for expanded NATO training, and the White House says it will, French officials say they are all but certain to go along.
John King, CNN, Savannah, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: At a time when Libya was trying to improve its image and establish normal relations with the United States, was Moammar Gadhafi planning to assassinate the ruler of Saudi Arabia? We got into this a little bit yesterday.
And CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena reports today U.S. authorities are now investigating.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Government officials confirm the investigation into the alleged plot to assassinate Saudi Arabia's crown prince has been under way for months.
BUSH: We're looking into it. That's the best way I can tell you. And when we find out the facts we will deal with them accordingly.
ARENA: The plot was allegedly hatched as Libya's leader Moammar Gadhafi was negotiating with the United States to lift terror sanctions.
ABDEL RAHMAN SHALOAM, LIBYAN FOREIGN MINISTER: I am sure it's just lies, not allegations, and let them to go for a while in these investigations. The details will come and the truth will appear.
ARENA: Sources say the FBI and other agencies are investigating claims made by Abdurrahman Alamoudi, an American Muslim activist in U.S. custody and Colonel Mohamed Ismael, a Libyan intelligence officer in Saudi custody.
Officials say both men offered separate and similar accounts of a plan to kill the crown prince. In March last year, just before the war with Iraq, Gadhafi and Abdullah publicly traded insults at the Arab Summit.
CROWN PRINCE ABDULLAH, SAUDI ARABIA (through translator): The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is not an agent of imperialism. Don't try to pose your opinion in this context if you're not aware of real facts.
ARENA: Investigators are trying to determine if the claims about an assassination are real and whether Gadhafi himself was involved. Saudi Arabia is not commenting. The State Department says it was aware of the allegations when it was negotiating with Libya late last fall.
RICHARD BOUCHER, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Libyan leaders assured us that they would not support the use of violence for settling political differences with any state.
ARENA: In December, Libya agreed to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction program. The United States in return took some steps to normalize economic relations.
JON ALTERMAN, CENTER FOR STRATEGIC AND INTL. STUDIES: It certainly seems to me that if all this is confirmed that there will have to be a change in leadership in Tripoli before the U.S. has anything beginning to resemble normal relations with Libya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: The remarkable life of Ronald Reagan, an ordinary guy from an ordinary town, becomes one of the most influential men on the planet. We take a look back.
And new information coming to light about the Abu Ghraib Prison scandal. And the Pentagon is making some changes in its investigation.
Also with the suntan season upon us, some details from this year's cancer conference on an experimental treatment for melanoma.
This is DAYBREAK.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARION ASNES, "MONEY" MAGAZINE: "Money" magazine chose Raleigh as one of its best places to retire because the economy makes it possible for Baby Boomers to move there, start businesses and keep them going, even through their retirement years. Raleigh, along with neighboring Durham and Chapel Hill, form a high tech community called The Triangle, where you have lots of technology firms, lots of universities, so that there is a smart, sophisticated community.
One of the attractions of North Carolina is its beautiful, lush landscape -- rolling hills, woods and green most of the year. Although North Carolina enjoys four seasons, its winter is relatively mild.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 5:15.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Funeral services for former President Ronald Reagan begin at 11:30 Eastern this morning at the National Cathedral in Washington. Reagan will be buried later today at his presidential library in California.
Singer Ray Charles, the father of soul, has died of liver disease. He was 73 years old. Ray Charles overcame poverty, blindness and heroin addiction to become one of America's most popular and enduring entertainers.
In money news, there will be no stock trading today. Wall Street, NASDAQ, all the financial markets in the United States are closed. It is a national day of mourning for Ronald Reagan.
In culture, the International Labor Organization, a U.N. agency, says at least 10 million children worldwide are trapped in domestic labor jobs. The ILO says the children work long hours and are often abused.
In sports, Mario Lemieux says he will put the Pittsburgh Penguins up for sale unless he can get a new deal for a new arena. Lemieux says a bill to legalize gambling might be the last hope -- Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines at this hour.
With this national day of mourning, there is a dearth of financial and corporate news in the States, but let's check the overseas markets anyway.
For that, we head live to London and Diana Muriel -- good morning.
DIANA MURIEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, the European markets are also in a very somber mood this Friday, down across the board by a tenth of a percentage point, to as much as half a percentage point. We're seeing some weakness in the tech stocks in particular, to do with Sage and S&P. Their software business may be eroded by Microsoft and IBM, who say they're going to start developing into new markets.
But a generally weak day. We're seeing very little direction. Of course, there'll be no direction coming from the United States later on. The markets there, of course, are closed. And very light trading taking place in European markets.
This is how Brent is trading for July. It's at $35.68 a barrel. It's down .17 percent, or down $0.06. The market, again, trading is very, very light in London, with no direction coming from the States. Very quiet trading, indeed, in Asia overnight. Of course, we had the IAEA stating that although demand for oil is rising, stocks are also rising. But it's that demand that worries traders and that's why we've been seeing these oil prices staying very high.
One -- the oil majors are trading mixed, with Royal Dutch Shell trading higher in Amsterdam. But everyone else is lower -- back to you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Diana Muriel live from London.
Many thanks to you.
Just ahead on DAYBREAK, when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. Ahead, the story of one very brave girl determined to make a difference.
Ronald Reagan lived 93 years and a lot of history unfolded during that time. We'll put his life in historical context.
This is DAYBREAK for Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: And Welcome back to DAYBREAK.
There are so many courageous people in the world. We just have to tell you about 8-year-old Alexandra Scott.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: What a great gal.
MYERS: You've heard of the book "Flowers For Algernon?" This is "Lemonade for Alex."
COSTELLO: That's a good one.
MYERS: And lemonade for her stand. She was diagnosed with a rare type of childhood cancer; decided to make some money, raise some money with a lemonade stand six years ago. She's been doing it now. She's going to go for a million dollars.
COSTELLO: In her very first year she did it from her hospital bed.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: She raised $2,000. But now she wants to raise more money for cancer research. Her goal is a lofty one million dollars. So, she's going to set up this lemonade stand and she's enlisted the help of children all across the country. MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: They're going to put up lemonade stands, too, and all of the money will go to cancer research.
MYERS: So far a thousand other young children have volunteered to help her this weekend. So if you see a lemonade stand this weekend and it says "Lemonade for Alex," you know what's going on.
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, give some money.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: She's eight years old and she's really sick now. That's the sad part, really sick.
MYERS: There's a couple of people who have turned on this lemonade thing already. And they haven't even sold a cup of lemonade, but they're just getting donations, you know? It's more of that than anything else. You don't necessarily have to buy the thing.
COSTELLO: Yes.
MYERS: But best to Alex. She's getting a little slow now. She's had some -- she was in remission for a while. She's kind of had some chemo and some radiation and she's getting a little slow, so.
COSTELLO: Yes, so, she's really tired and she's really sick.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: But she really wants to raise some money.
MYERS: So let's give her a million dollars this year.
COSTELLO: Good for Alex.
MYERS: That'd be awesome.
COSTELLO: Radio announcer, actor, governor and president -- the remarkable life of Ronald Reagan now.
As CNN's Beth Nissen reports, throughout his 93 years, Reagan witnessed almost unbelievable changes, and many of them were his own doing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BETH NISSEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Ronald Wilson Reagan was born on February 6, 1911, Buffalo Bill was still alive. Henry Ford had yet to introduce assembly lines in his automobile factory. Einstein was four years from postulating his theory of relativity and American women nine years from getting the right to vote.
William Taft was president of the United States, all 46 of them. Ronald Reagan lived during the administrations of 16 U.S. presidents, 13 before he himself moved into the White House, three more after he left office. Reagan's life spanned nine extraordinary decades of world history. He was a boy during World War I, a teenager during the Great Depression.
He was in his 30s during World War II, his 40s during the Korean War, his 50s during the years of the Vietnam War and civil right struggles, when he was governor of California. His life spanned the entire Cold War. Reagan was 6 in 1917, the year of the Russian Revolution. He was 13 when Lenin died. He outlived the Soviet Union by 13 years.
The man who would champion a space-based Strategic Defense Initiative grew up decades before the space age. Reagan was only 16 when Lindbergh flew the Spirit of Saint Louis from New York to Paris, a flight that took 33 1/2 hours. He was almost 50 by the time the space race started with the Soviet launch of Sputnik, almost 60 before man first stepped onto the surface of the moon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Touchdown.
NISSEN: And 70 years old when the first U.S. space shuttle made its maiden flight.
So much changed so profoundly in the course of Reagan's life: science, technology, medicine, from the polio vaccine in 1954, to the first human heart transplant in 1967, to the first test tube baby in 1978, from mapping human DNA, to successful cloning, although no cure for the global killer that emerged late in Reagan's life, AIDS.
Reagan's life spanned profound changes in American culture, from the jazz age in the roaring '20s, into rock 'n' roll and the rap, techno and hip-hop that came after.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW")
ED SULLIVAN, TALK SHOW HOST: Ladies and gentlemen, the Beatles!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NISSEN: Reagan was already 53 when the Beatles first appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
Reagan, the movie star, had a life that neatly coincided with the life of the movies. He was four when D.W. Griffith made "Birth of a Nation."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ain't heard nothing yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NISSEN: Sixteen when Al Jolson made the first talkie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "CASABLANCA") HUMPHREY BOGART, ACTOR: Here's looking at you, kid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NISSEN: Thirty-one when "Casablanca" premiered, 66 when the "Star Wars" epic started in a special effects galaxy far, far away.
And Reagan, the TV host, was already an adult when television was in its infancy. Color TV was introduced the year Reagan turned 40.
Reagan announced he had Alzheimer's in 1994 at age 83. It is not known how aware he was of what happened in the world in his last decade, if he registered or grieved for those lost in the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, the fighting in Kosovo, the continued fighting between Israelis and Palestinians, the horror of the September 11 attacks.
It is unlikely that he was at all aware that the U.S. was again at war in Afghanistan and in Iraq, that there were orange alerts, or new worries about global warming, that "Friends" ended, or the third "Harry Potter" movie was out, or that the nation he loved for so long, served for so long, still remembered him so well, so warmly, after all these years.
Beth Nissen, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And you're looking at a live picture from inside the Capitol Rotunda in Washington, D.C., where the viewing goes on for at least another hour and a half. And then it will be cut off and President Reagan's casket will be brought to the National Cathedral.
DAYBREAK will be right back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You may not be celebrating Flag Day, but one company definitely is -- Annin & Company, the world's largest flag maker.
Beyond the Stars and Stripes, Annin products are not limited to U.S. flagpoles. The company is also the official supplier of flags to the United Nations in New York. Annin is responsible for producing flags representing each of the 191 member countries.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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