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CNN Live At Daybreak
Yesterday's Hearings of 9/11 Commission; In Baghdad, Suicide Bombing at Iraqi Army Recruiting Center
Aired June 17, 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: An Iraqi army recruitment center once again the target of a suicide bomber. The death toll staggering this morning.
It is Thursday, June 17.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Let me bring you up to date right now.
Just four hours ago, a bomber strikes central Baghdad. A passing bus takes the brunt of the explosion. The death toll has been rising all night. These are the latest numbers. We just got these minutes ago. Thirty-five Iraqis now dead, 138 wounded, and officials fear the death toll will rise.
The panel investigating the 9/11 terrorist attacks opens its final public hearing three hours from now. Today, witnesses from the military and the FAA will testify.
In money news, what you might call soothing news from the Federal Reserve. It reports economic activity expanded in April and May. Analysts expect the Fed to raise interest rates, possibly at its meeting later this month.
In culture, if you want to pay your respects to singer Ray Charles, you can. Public viewing of his casket is being allowed today from nine to five Pacific Time, in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. His funeral is tomorrow.
In sports, this morning the U.S. Open gets under way. It's being played this year at the Shinnecock Hills Country Club in Southampton, New York. The winner gets $1.1 million -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: With just 13 days to go before the sovereignty handover in Iraq, here is the latest situation report for you this morning. A car bomb explosion this morning kills at least 35 people outside an Iraqi army recruitment center in Baghdad. More than 130 others are wounded. We'll have a live update shortly from Christiane Amanpour.
The British Royal Navy is on patrol in the waterways of southern Iraq after sabotage brings Iraqi oil exports to a standstill.
A third U.S. soldier is dead following a rocket attack on a military base north of Baghdad in Balad. At least 23 other people are wounded. To date, 837 U.S. troops have died in the Iraq war.
You might remember shortly after the 9/11 attacks that the military was prepared to shoot down any civilian aircraft. Not true. A member of the 9/11 Commission says a number of urban myths about that awful day will be dispelled during this last day of public testimony.
Our David Ensor tells us what the commission learned on Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With chilling new detail, the 9/11 Commission staff laid out what it called a highly competent, flexible plot to attack the United States.
Commissioners were dismayed.
JAMES THOMPSON, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: How in the world do we ever expect to win this war? And if the war is not winnable in the traditional sense, how do we contain or checkmate this enemy?
ENSOR: Among the revelations, that mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed originally proposed hijacking 10 planes in the U.S. to hit targets on the West Coast, too, and that he would personally land the tenth, after just the men on board had been killed, in order to address the world's media; that the plotters argued about whether Flight 93, that crashed in Pennsylvania, should target the U.S. Capitol or the White House -- Osama bin Laden wanted to hit the White House. The pilots thought the Capitol would be an easier target; that one of the plotters says Zacarias Moussaoui was to have been the fourth pilot if Ziad Jarrah dropped out, as he was threatening to do; that original plans called for attacks in Asia and the U.S. simultaneously; that bin Laden wanted to attack back in 2000, but was told the hijackers weren't yet ready; that all 19 of the hijackers attended al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan.
DOUGLAS MACEACHIN, 9/11 COMMISSION STAFF: The camps created a climate in which trainees and other personnel were free to think creatively about ways to commit mass murder.
ENSOR: The commission made public a photo of Mohamed Atta withdrawing money in Virginia April 4 and spoke of him using his cell phone in Florida April 6 through 11, so he couldn't have been in Prague, meeting an Iraqi intelligence officer April 9, as administration officials have suggested. And, in fact, the commission said Iraq was not involved in 9/11.
MACEACHIN: We have no credible evidence that Iraq and al Qaeda cooperated on attacks against the United States.
ENSOR (on camera): The commission also says there's intelligence suggesting al Qaeda played a role in the Khobar Towers bombing of 1996 that killed 19 U.S. servicemen in Saudi Arabia. Apparently cooperating in that matter, the Hezbollah and Iran.
David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And an ominous warning from the chairman of the 9/11 Commission. Thomas Kean tells PBS' Jim Lehrer another attack is coming.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "NEWSHOUR WITH JIM LEHRER," COURTESY PBS)
THOMAS KEAN, 9/11 COMMISSION CHAIRMAN: What every witness we've seen, not only at this hearing, but at previous hearings, every knowledgeable witness says there is another major attack being planned as we speak and there is another one coming and nobody seems to know, obviously, where or when. But this is an enemy who is determined to do another major attack, who is determined to kill Americans and we've got to keep our guard up. We've got to be vigilant because it's coming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Today's hearing gets under way three hours from now at 8:00 Eastern. Top military and civilian aviation officials will testify.
Now we want to get more on that horrific suicide bombing at an Iraqi army recruiting center. A lot of civilians are dead this morning because of it.
Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is in Baghdad to tell us more -- hello, Christiane.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, the toll is very high. The latest figures from the Ministry of Health here say that 35 people were killed this morning, and another 138 people were wounded. This is an extremely high toll on one incident and it's not the first this week. This is the second attack, car bomb attack this week.
American soldiers who were at the scene immediately cordoned off the area. They were looking for secondary explosives. None were found. But they say it was a suicide bomb, it was in a car, a white SUV that was packed with artillery shells.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. MIKE MURRAY, U.S. ARMY: At about nine o'clock this morning, there was what we believe to be a suicide bomb that detonated in front of the Iraqi army recruiting station, which is the site where that bomb detonated. There were approximately 175 recruits that showed up this morning. They were all inside the gate. There was no injuries to anybody that was here to sign up for the Iraqi army. Most of those wounded more than likely came off of a bus that happened to be near the area when the bomb went off.
There are no U.S. casualties and there are no Iraqi army casualties. So this clearly, again, was an attack that has hurt the Iraqi people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: Now, the lieutenant colonel saying no U.S. or no Iraqi army casualties.
Shortly after that bombing, a couple of hours later, the interim prime minister of Iraq went to the site to visit the scene. This is quite a rare occurrence, for these officials to go to these scenes, because they, too, are targets of this insurgency and these terrorists, who are determined, say the ministers here, to do as much damage, as much disruption, sow as much panic and kill as many people who are part of the new Iraqi installation and the establishment and infrastructure as they can ahead of this hand over on June 30.
The wounded and many of the dead were brought to two of Baghdad's hospitals, for the most part. And this is not the first time this week that has been a suicide attack, a car bombing against -- in Baghdad, rather. On Monday, there were some 13 people who were killed.
And many Iraqis that we speak to say that they fear, they fear every time they leave their houses. One of my colleagues, an Iraqi, said it's a bit like playing Russian roulette every single day. And certainly our team was driving past this very spot this time yesterday at about the same time and we saw many of these Iraqi recruits lined up outside this building, trying to get jobs, trying to be part of this new Iraqi armed services. And it's just a matter of when and where that these explosions could happen. It's a very scary, very terrifying thing -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And this time a busload of civilians just got in the middle.
Christiane Amanpour live from Baghdad.
Thank you.
A U.S. senator following the kidnapping of an American in Saudi Arabia calls the situation grim. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey is one of two senators who met with an adviser to the Saudi crown prince.
Our Deborah Feyerick spoke with Paul Johnson's son and sister.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Paul Johnson's family, the wait is excruciating.
PAUL JOHNSON III, JOHNSON'S SON: I just want him to be brought home safely.
FEYERICK: Johnson's son and sister hoping the captors might be watching.
DONNA MAYEUX, JOHNSON'S SISTER: Killing him is not going to solve anything.
FEYERICK: Hoping that maybe they could appeal to what they called the kidnappers' sense of dignity.
JOHNSON: I know that the group of men that got my father, you guys are probably fathers. And just please let him come home and be a grandfather.
FEYERICK: Johnson, an engineer with Lockheed Martin, was abducted Saturday. He was working in Saudi Arabia for more than a decade and had plans to meet his 3-year-old grandson for the first time this Christmas, gathering together at a home he was building in Thailand.
JOHNSON: We were just all going to get together for the holidays and all be together as a family. And that's the last I've heard from my father.
FEYERICK: In a videotape they released Tuesday, the kidnappers say they will kill Johnson Friday unless their demands are met and the Saudi government releases all al Qaeda prisoners.
JOHNSON: I plead with the Saudi government and the group of men that are holding my father to please let him return home safely.
FEYERICK: A plea to the government which says it does not negotiate with terrorists and a plea to the terrorists themselves.
MAYEUX: We just, we just ask that they treat him with the dignity and the respect that he's often talked about that they have in their culture. Just please, please don't murder them -- murder him.
FEYERICK (on camera): A top Saudi adviser told U.S. law makers American hostage rescuers have been called in to help find Johnson. The Saudi adviser described is pessimistic about Johnson's ultimate fate. But Johnson's family members say they remain hopeful.
Deborah Feyerick, Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And you can read more about Paul Johnson and the demands being made for his release on our Web site. The address, of course, cnn.com.
Superstar sprinter Marion Jones may be in the race of her career. But Jones says she can beat the steroid police to the finish line if the race is fair. Tough talk from Marion Jones.
And don't take your next trip to the mall for granted. Residents of Israel are learning that the hard way.
And Nic Robertson shows us video of al Qaeda troops in training. He has new video to show you. It looks like the terrorist group is actively recruiting right now.
And liposuction may get rid of the flab. Doctors say it won't do much for your heart, though.
This is DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 5:15 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
A massive car bomb in Baghdad has killed at least 35 people and wounded 138. It took place at an Iraqi army recruiting station.
The son of an American held hostage in Saudi Arabia makes appeals to the kidnappers to release him. The Islamic militants holding Paul Johnson, Jr. threaten to kill him tomorrow unless the Saudi government releases al Qaeda prisoners.
In money news, Sprint is cutting back again. The phone company planning to cut 1,100 jobs due to increased competition in the long distance market. Sprint has cut 22,000 jobs over the last two years.
In culture, it seems like Paul McCartney has been around forever, doesn't it? The former Beatle is set to play his 3,000th live show when he performs next week in St. Petersburg, Russia.
And in sports, Greg Maddux is closing in on a milestone. The Cubs pitcher picked up his 295th win by beating the Houston Astros 4- 1. Maddox is trying to become the 22nd pitcher to reach 300 career wins. And I know the Braves certainly miss him, don't they -- Chad.
MYERS: Yes, 500 Braves.
COSTELLO: I know.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
Lackluster would be the word to use for Wall Street trading.
So let's see what's happening now overseas. Maybe it's a little better than lackluster. At least we hope so. So, we're live in London with Jim Boulden -- good morning, Jim.
JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Welcome, yes, to the new London stock exchange and another beautiful day in London in the shade of St. Paul's Cathedral. I have to say, though, I'll start it with the oil markets, because that is where the only action is. Oil prices are up strongly this morning, two thirds of a percent, you can see here, the U.S. oil prices, and almost, actually, over a percent now for the British prices. And that's because of the attacks in Iraq in the last few days. Oil had obviously been falling, Carol, over the last few weeks, but spiking up again late yesterday and again this morning, which is kind of worrying to people, that we could see the prices going back up.
But so far they are down about $5 a barrel from where they were early June. So this may just be a temporary spike.
The markets, as I said, aren't doing much at all. You'll see here the main markets, only the London stock market down a little bit. The Germans, the French and the Swiss are all up a little bit. But because there was very little action on Wall Street, there's not much volume trading here and there's not any real serious action, no big moves with any of the major, major stocks in Europe.
Io do want to look at some of the oil sensitive stocks. And this is the interesting one. You can see the top two are both rising. As the oil prices go up, these big oil companies go up, Shell and BP, two of the biggest oil companies in the world, both with London headquarters. They are both up just about two thirds of a percent because of that thought that they will make more money in the world if this oil price continues to rise as it has in the last two days.
But you can see here the airlines. Of course, airlines very sensitive to fuel costs and they are suffering today, as that price rises.
Carol, that's about it from here. There's not a lot else to talk about.
COSTELLO: OK, so the word is, indeed, lackluster once again today.
Jim Boulden live in London.
BOULDEN: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
Next on DAYBREAK, with the Olympic Games just six weeks away, a track and field star lashes out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARION JONES, OLYMPIC CHAMPION SPRINTER: I have taken tests before, during and after the 2000 Olympics and have never failed a test.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: But could allegations of drug use make her a no show at the Olympic Games?
Also, a scene on the Kentucky River gives new meaning to the term houseboat. Take a look at that picture. Coming up, we'll have more on old man river's unusual guests.
Stay tuned. This is DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Look, it's Rocky! The Olympic Torch gets the star treatment during its run through Los Angeles. Tom Cruise and Ellen DeGeneres join Sylvester Stallone as celebrity torch bearers. Gold medalists Janet Evans and Rayfer Johnson also took their turns with the torch. And the torch relay heads to St. Louis today, the site of the 1904 Olympic Games. But stay tuned, because the torch will be right here in Atlanta -- here in Hotlanta -- tomorrow. It's pretty exciting, isn't it?
MYERS: He ran a long way.
COSTELLO: Sylvester Stallone?
MYERS: Yes. You'd better be ready to run, carrying that thing.
COSTELLO: I just wanted him to go like, you know...
MYERS: Right. Go up the stairs.
COSTELLO: That would have been cool.
MYERS: That would have been funny.
COSTELLO: Are we going to talk about Exxon right now and -- no, we're not.
MYERS: No.
COSTELLO: No. I'm going to this story, and then after that we'll talk about Exxon.
MYERS: I'll be right here.
COSTELLO: And the pandas watching sex videos. Oh, that's a good teaser, isn't it? Uh-huh.
But let's talk about this first, shall we? The 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta were a major disappointment for Marion Jones. She missed those Olympics after breaking her foot. But in Sydney four years later, she set the gold standard.
Well, now Jones is running another race -- a race for her reputation. She was talking tough yesterday.
CNN's Rusty Dornin reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Under a cloud of suspicion for months for alleged steroid use, Olympic track star Marion Jones stepped into the spotlight to point her finger at the body responsible for testing Olympic athletes -- the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Jones calls it USADA.
JONES: I have taken over 160 drug tests. I have taken tests before, during and after the 2000 Olympics and have never failed a test.
DORNIN: The agency began investigating Jones and other Olympic athletes for doping violations after a scandal involving a nutritional supplement lab known as Balco.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a strike and there's one. He gets a hold of this one, sends it to deep left field...
DORNIN: Baseball sluggers Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi were other big name athletes to testify before a San Francisco grand jury about Balco. The results? Four men, including Barry Bonds' trainer, were indicted for the distribution of steroids and money laundering. Also indicted, the owner of Balco Labs, Victor Conte. Conte has been unable to reach a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, so this week Conte's attorney wrote President Bush a letter asking for intervention. In return, Mr. Conte will reveal everything he knows about officials, coaches and athletes in order to help clean up the Olympics.
Conte's attorney says there's been no response yet to the letter and denies it's a publicity stunt.
Jones says she stopped buying supplements from Balco Labs when her marriage to another Olympic athlete ended in 2000 and she never took any performance enhancing drugs.
(on camera): In a statement, the Anti-Doping Agency calls Jones' attacks baseless. The agency says it's simply searching for the truth.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And we'll have more on the Olympic dream coming up in the second hour of DAYBREAK. "Time" magazine correspondent Anthony Carasava (ph) joins us from Athens with a look at whether the city is really ready to host those Games and how uninterested the people who live in Athens are in the Games. Stay tuned for that.
And as we watch the torch travel across North America, DAYBREAK is taking a closer look at the upcoming Games in Athens. All week long we'll be going in depth, talking about the Games, the athletes, the security issue and the big question -- will Athens be ready in time for the Olympics? And on Friday -- that would be tomorrow -- when the torch comes to Atlanta, we'll be bringing you the last half of DAYBREAK from our Olympic home, Centennial Park. OK, now we get to talk about Exxon and the pandas.
You want to talk about the pandas, though, don't you?
MYERS: I just logged on, so I don't know yet. But this is -- now because you're talking about it, now it'll be really the number one story.
COSTELLO: No, if you go to our Web site, it has 20 top favorite stories and this panda story is the number one favorite story on our Web site.
MYERS: Go ahead, because you read it and I'm just in awe.
COSTELLO: These pandas in China -- it's hard to get pandas to do the nasty, to have other pandas, have little baby pandas, which keeps the population going, Chad, as you know. Anyway, so they decided to show a female panda some video of other pandas having sex. So, in essence, she was watching panda porn. And it worked! It worked! She became pregnant.
MYERS: Let me get a shovel here because you're just digging yourself deeper and deeper.
COSTELLO: Can you believe that?
MYERS: I -- well, I guess it worked.
COSTELLO: My producer in my ear is panicking. He says please talk about Exxon now.
MYERS: Please go to the Exxon story.
COSTELLO: Exxon.
MYERS: You can't use your cell phone now if you work for Exxon, in the car.
COSTELLO: Which makes, actually, it makes me feel good, because the people driving those big old oil trucks talking on the phone always makes me nervous.
MYERS: You know, I don't mind people with the hands free headset, you know? My wife's got one you can put behind her ear. It kind of looks like she's like the operator for "Time-Life" magazine or something. But people, I know to myself, when my phone rings and I reach over and I get it, I'm not as good of a driver as I was before that phone rang. So this is a really big step.
COSTELLO: Well, evidently scientists within Exxon did this study and it determined that cell phone use during driving is a dangerous thing.
MYERS: It is three times worse than being drunk.
COSTELLO: That's what it says. So, if you work for Exxon, you can't use your cell phone or you're in big, big trouble.
MYERS: That's the first step for a lot of companies, I think.
COSTELLO: OK.
I'm still thinking about the pandas. But here's where...
MYERS: I'm sure you are. You're almost getting married.
COSTELLO: My gosh.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
Just for the health of it or not -- why losing the fat with lipo is not what you think. Some surprising facts ahead.
And when terror is a threat, how much effort is needed to protect public spaces? Up next, we'll go live to Jerusalem to see how they do it in Israel.
And caught on tape -- new video showing that al Qaeda may be getting more active in Afghanistan.
This is DAYBREAK for Thursday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired June 17, 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: An Iraqi army recruitment center once again the target of a suicide bomber. The death toll staggering this morning.
It is Thursday, June 17.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Let me bring you up to date right now.
Just four hours ago, a bomber strikes central Baghdad. A passing bus takes the brunt of the explosion. The death toll has been rising all night. These are the latest numbers. We just got these minutes ago. Thirty-five Iraqis now dead, 138 wounded, and officials fear the death toll will rise.
The panel investigating the 9/11 terrorist attacks opens its final public hearing three hours from now. Today, witnesses from the military and the FAA will testify.
In money news, what you might call soothing news from the Federal Reserve. It reports economic activity expanded in April and May. Analysts expect the Fed to raise interest rates, possibly at its meeting later this month.
In culture, if you want to pay your respects to singer Ray Charles, you can. Public viewing of his casket is being allowed today from nine to five Pacific Time, in the South Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center. His funeral is tomorrow.
In sports, this morning the U.S. Open gets under way. It's being played this year at the Shinnecock Hills Country Club in Southampton, New York. The winner gets $1.1 million -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: With just 13 days to go before the sovereignty handover in Iraq, here is the latest situation report for you this morning. A car bomb explosion this morning kills at least 35 people outside an Iraqi army recruitment center in Baghdad. More than 130 others are wounded. We'll have a live update shortly from Christiane Amanpour.
The British Royal Navy is on patrol in the waterways of southern Iraq after sabotage brings Iraqi oil exports to a standstill.
A third U.S. soldier is dead following a rocket attack on a military base north of Baghdad in Balad. At least 23 other people are wounded. To date, 837 U.S. troops have died in the Iraq war.
You might remember shortly after the 9/11 attacks that the military was prepared to shoot down any civilian aircraft. Not true. A member of the 9/11 Commission says a number of urban myths about that awful day will be dispelled during this last day of public testimony.
Our David Ensor tells us what the commission learned on Wednesday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With chilling new detail, the 9/11 Commission staff laid out what it called a highly competent, flexible plot to attack the United States.
Commissioners were dismayed.
JAMES THOMPSON, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: How in the world do we ever expect to win this war? And if the war is not winnable in the traditional sense, how do we contain or checkmate this enemy?
ENSOR: Among the revelations, that mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed originally proposed hijacking 10 planes in the U.S. to hit targets on the West Coast, too, and that he would personally land the tenth, after just the men on board had been killed, in order to address the world's media; that the plotters argued about whether Flight 93, that crashed in Pennsylvania, should target the U.S. Capitol or the White House -- Osama bin Laden wanted to hit the White House. The pilots thought the Capitol would be an easier target; that one of the plotters says Zacarias Moussaoui was to have been the fourth pilot if Ziad Jarrah dropped out, as he was threatening to do; that original plans called for attacks in Asia and the U.S. simultaneously; that bin Laden wanted to attack back in 2000, but was told the hijackers weren't yet ready; that all 19 of the hijackers attended al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan.
DOUGLAS MACEACHIN, 9/11 COMMISSION STAFF: The camps created a climate in which trainees and other personnel were free to think creatively about ways to commit mass murder.
ENSOR: The commission made public a photo of Mohamed Atta withdrawing money in Virginia April 4 and spoke of him using his cell phone in Florida April 6 through 11, so he couldn't have been in Prague, meeting an Iraqi intelligence officer April 9, as administration officials have suggested. And, in fact, the commission said Iraq was not involved in 9/11.
MACEACHIN: We have no credible evidence that Iraq and al Qaeda cooperated on attacks against the United States.
ENSOR (on camera): The commission also says there's intelligence suggesting al Qaeda played a role in the Khobar Towers bombing of 1996 that killed 19 U.S. servicemen in Saudi Arabia. Apparently cooperating in that matter, the Hezbollah and Iran.
David Ensor, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And an ominous warning from the chairman of the 9/11 Commission. Thomas Kean tells PBS' Jim Lehrer another attack is coming.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "NEWSHOUR WITH JIM LEHRER," COURTESY PBS)
THOMAS KEAN, 9/11 COMMISSION CHAIRMAN: What every witness we've seen, not only at this hearing, but at previous hearings, every knowledgeable witness says there is another major attack being planned as we speak and there is another one coming and nobody seems to know, obviously, where or when. But this is an enemy who is determined to do another major attack, who is determined to kill Americans and we've got to keep our guard up. We've got to be vigilant because it's coming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Today's hearing gets under way three hours from now at 8:00 Eastern. Top military and civilian aviation officials will testify.
Now we want to get more on that horrific suicide bombing at an Iraqi army recruiting center. A lot of civilians are dead this morning because of it.
Our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is in Baghdad to tell us more -- hello, Christiane.
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, the toll is very high. The latest figures from the Ministry of Health here say that 35 people were killed this morning, and another 138 people were wounded. This is an extremely high toll on one incident and it's not the first this week. This is the second attack, car bomb attack this week.
American soldiers who were at the scene immediately cordoned off the area. They were looking for secondary explosives. None were found. But they say it was a suicide bomb, it was in a car, a white SUV that was packed with artillery shells.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. MIKE MURRAY, U.S. ARMY: At about nine o'clock this morning, there was what we believe to be a suicide bomb that detonated in front of the Iraqi army recruiting station, which is the site where that bomb detonated. There were approximately 175 recruits that showed up this morning. They were all inside the gate. There was no injuries to anybody that was here to sign up for the Iraqi army. Most of those wounded more than likely came off of a bus that happened to be near the area when the bomb went off.
There are no U.S. casualties and there are no Iraqi army casualties. So this clearly, again, was an attack that has hurt the Iraqi people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AMANPOUR: Now, the lieutenant colonel saying no U.S. or no Iraqi army casualties.
Shortly after that bombing, a couple of hours later, the interim prime minister of Iraq went to the site to visit the scene. This is quite a rare occurrence, for these officials to go to these scenes, because they, too, are targets of this insurgency and these terrorists, who are determined, say the ministers here, to do as much damage, as much disruption, sow as much panic and kill as many people who are part of the new Iraqi installation and the establishment and infrastructure as they can ahead of this hand over on June 30.
The wounded and many of the dead were brought to two of Baghdad's hospitals, for the most part. And this is not the first time this week that has been a suicide attack, a car bombing against -- in Baghdad, rather. On Monday, there were some 13 people who were killed.
And many Iraqis that we speak to say that they fear, they fear every time they leave their houses. One of my colleagues, an Iraqi, said it's a bit like playing Russian roulette every single day. And certainly our team was driving past this very spot this time yesterday at about the same time and we saw many of these Iraqi recruits lined up outside this building, trying to get jobs, trying to be part of this new Iraqi armed services. And it's just a matter of when and where that these explosions could happen. It's a very scary, very terrifying thing -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And this time a busload of civilians just got in the middle.
Christiane Amanpour live from Baghdad.
Thank you.
A U.S. senator following the kidnapping of an American in Saudi Arabia calls the situation grim. Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey is one of two senators who met with an adviser to the Saudi crown prince.
Our Deborah Feyerick spoke with Paul Johnson's son and sister.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Paul Johnson's family, the wait is excruciating.
PAUL JOHNSON III, JOHNSON'S SON: I just want him to be brought home safely.
FEYERICK: Johnson's son and sister hoping the captors might be watching.
DONNA MAYEUX, JOHNSON'S SISTER: Killing him is not going to solve anything.
FEYERICK: Hoping that maybe they could appeal to what they called the kidnappers' sense of dignity.
JOHNSON: I know that the group of men that got my father, you guys are probably fathers. And just please let him come home and be a grandfather.
FEYERICK: Johnson, an engineer with Lockheed Martin, was abducted Saturday. He was working in Saudi Arabia for more than a decade and had plans to meet his 3-year-old grandson for the first time this Christmas, gathering together at a home he was building in Thailand.
JOHNSON: We were just all going to get together for the holidays and all be together as a family. And that's the last I've heard from my father.
FEYERICK: In a videotape they released Tuesday, the kidnappers say they will kill Johnson Friday unless their demands are met and the Saudi government releases all al Qaeda prisoners.
JOHNSON: I plead with the Saudi government and the group of men that are holding my father to please let him return home safely.
FEYERICK: A plea to the government which says it does not negotiate with terrorists and a plea to the terrorists themselves.
MAYEUX: We just, we just ask that they treat him with the dignity and the respect that he's often talked about that they have in their culture. Just please, please don't murder them -- murder him.
FEYERICK (on camera): A top Saudi adviser told U.S. law makers American hostage rescuers have been called in to help find Johnson. The Saudi adviser described is pessimistic about Johnson's ultimate fate. But Johnson's family members say they remain hopeful.
Deborah Feyerick, Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And you can read more about Paul Johnson and the demands being made for his release on our Web site. The address, of course, cnn.com.
Superstar sprinter Marion Jones may be in the race of her career. But Jones says she can beat the steroid police to the finish line if the race is fair. Tough talk from Marion Jones.
And don't take your next trip to the mall for granted. Residents of Israel are learning that the hard way.
And Nic Robertson shows us video of al Qaeda troops in training. He has new video to show you. It looks like the terrorist group is actively recruiting right now.
And liposuction may get rid of the flab. Doctors say it won't do much for your heart, though.
This is DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 5:15 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
A massive car bomb in Baghdad has killed at least 35 people and wounded 138. It took place at an Iraqi army recruiting station.
The son of an American held hostage in Saudi Arabia makes appeals to the kidnappers to release him. The Islamic militants holding Paul Johnson, Jr. threaten to kill him tomorrow unless the Saudi government releases al Qaeda prisoners.
In money news, Sprint is cutting back again. The phone company planning to cut 1,100 jobs due to increased competition in the long distance market. Sprint has cut 22,000 jobs over the last two years.
In culture, it seems like Paul McCartney has been around forever, doesn't it? The former Beatle is set to play his 3,000th live show when he performs next week in St. Petersburg, Russia.
And in sports, Greg Maddux is closing in on a milestone. The Cubs pitcher picked up his 295th win by beating the Houston Astros 4- 1. Maddox is trying to become the 22nd pitcher to reach 300 career wins. And I know the Braves certainly miss him, don't they -- Chad.
MYERS: Yes, 500 Braves.
COSTELLO: I know.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you.
Lackluster would be the word to use for Wall Street trading.
So let's see what's happening now overseas. Maybe it's a little better than lackluster. At least we hope so. So, we're live in London with Jim Boulden -- good morning, Jim.
JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Welcome, yes, to the new London stock exchange and another beautiful day in London in the shade of St. Paul's Cathedral. I have to say, though, I'll start it with the oil markets, because that is where the only action is. Oil prices are up strongly this morning, two thirds of a percent, you can see here, the U.S. oil prices, and almost, actually, over a percent now for the British prices. And that's because of the attacks in Iraq in the last few days. Oil had obviously been falling, Carol, over the last few weeks, but spiking up again late yesterday and again this morning, which is kind of worrying to people, that we could see the prices going back up.
But so far they are down about $5 a barrel from where they were early June. So this may just be a temporary spike.
The markets, as I said, aren't doing much at all. You'll see here the main markets, only the London stock market down a little bit. The Germans, the French and the Swiss are all up a little bit. But because there was very little action on Wall Street, there's not much volume trading here and there's not any real serious action, no big moves with any of the major, major stocks in Europe.
Io do want to look at some of the oil sensitive stocks. And this is the interesting one. You can see the top two are both rising. As the oil prices go up, these big oil companies go up, Shell and BP, two of the biggest oil companies in the world, both with London headquarters. They are both up just about two thirds of a percent because of that thought that they will make more money in the world if this oil price continues to rise as it has in the last two days.
But you can see here the airlines. Of course, airlines very sensitive to fuel costs and they are suffering today, as that price rises.
Carol, that's about it from here. There's not a lot else to talk about.
COSTELLO: OK, so the word is, indeed, lackluster once again today.
Jim Boulden live in London.
BOULDEN: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
Next on DAYBREAK, with the Olympic Games just six weeks away, a track and field star lashes out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARION JONES, OLYMPIC CHAMPION SPRINTER: I have taken tests before, during and after the 2000 Olympics and have never failed a test.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: But could allegations of drug use make her a no show at the Olympic Games?
Also, a scene on the Kentucky River gives new meaning to the term houseboat. Take a look at that picture. Coming up, we'll have more on old man river's unusual guests.
Stay tuned. This is DAYBREAK.
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COSTELLO: Look, it's Rocky! The Olympic Torch gets the star treatment during its run through Los Angeles. Tom Cruise and Ellen DeGeneres join Sylvester Stallone as celebrity torch bearers. Gold medalists Janet Evans and Rayfer Johnson also took their turns with the torch. And the torch relay heads to St. Louis today, the site of the 1904 Olympic Games. But stay tuned, because the torch will be right here in Atlanta -- here in Hotlanta -- tomorrow. It's pretty exciting, isn't it?
MYERS: He ran a long way.
COSTELLO: Sylvester Stallone?
MYERS: Yes. You'd better be ready to run, carrying that thing.
COSTELLO: I just wanted him to go like, you know...
MYERS: Right. Go up the stairs.
COSTELLO: That would have been cool.
MYERS: That would have been funny.
COSTELLO: Are we going to talk about Exxon right now and -- no, we're not.
MYERS: No.
COSTELLO: No. I'm going to this story, and then after that we'll talk about Exxon.
MYERS: I'll be right here.
COSTELLO: And the pandas watching sex videos. Oh, that's a good teaser, isn't it? Uh-huh.
But let's talk about this first, shall we? The 1996 Summer Games in Atlanta were a major disappointment for Marion Jones. She missed those Olympics after breaking her foot. But in Sydney four years later, she set the gold standard.
Well, now Jones is running another race -- a race for her reputation. She was talking tough yesterday.
CNN's Rusty Dornin reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Under a cloud of suspicion for months for alleged steroid use, Olympic track star Marion Jones stepped into the spotlight to point her finger at the body responsible for testing Olympic athletes -- the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Jones calls it USADA.
JONES: I have taken over 160 drug tests. I have taken tests before, during and after the 2000 Olympics and have never failed a test.
DORNIN: The agency began investigating Jones and other Olympic athletes for doping violations after a scandal involving a nutritional supplement lab known as Balco.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a strike and there's one. He gets a hold of this one, sends it to deep left field...
DORNIN: Baseball sluggers Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi were other big name athletes to testify before a San Francisco grand jury about Balco. The results? Four men, including Barry Bonds' trainer, were indicted for the distribution of steroids and money laundering. Also indicted, the owner of Balco Labs, Victor Conte. Conte has been unable to reach a plea agreement with federal prosecutors, so this week Conte's attorney wrote President Bush a letter asking for intervention. In return, Mr. Conte will reveal everything he knows about officials, coaches and athletes in order to help clean up the Olympics.
Conte's attorney says there's been no response yet to the letter and denies it's a publicity stunt.
Jones says she stopped buying supplements from Balco Labs when her marriage to another Olympic athlete ended in 2000 and she never took any performance enhancing drugs.
(on camera): In a statement, the Anti-Doping Agency calls Jones' attacks baseless. The agency says it's simply searching for the truth.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And we'll have more on the Olympic dream coming up in the second hour of DAYBREAK. "Time" magazine correspondent Anthony Carasava (ph) joins us from Athens with a look at whether the city is really ready to host those Games and how uninterested the people who live in Athens are in the Games. Stay tuned for that.
And as we watch the torch travel across North America, DAYBREAK is taking a closer look at the upcoming Games in Athens. All week long we'll be going in depth, talking about the Games, the athletes, the security issue and the big question -- will Athens be ready in time for the Olympics? And on Friday -- that would be tomorrow -- when the torch comes to Atlanta, we'll be bringing you the last half of DAYBREAK from our Olympic home, Centennial Park. OK, now we get to talk about Exxon and the pandas.
You want to talk about the pandas, though, don't you?
MYERS: I just logged on, so I don't know yet. But this is -- now because you're talking about it, now it'll be really the number one story.
COSTELLO: No, if you go to our Web site, it has 20 top favorite stories and this panda story is the number one favorite story on our Web site.
MYERS: Go ahead, because you read it and I'm just in awe.
COSTELLO: These pandas in China -- it's hard to get pandas to do the nasty, to have other pandas, have little baby pandas, which keeps the population going, Chad, as you know. Anyway, so they decided to show a female panda some video of other pandas having sex. So, in essence, she was watching panda porn. And it worked! It worked! She became pregnant.
MYERS: Let me get a shovel here because you're just digging yourself deeper and deeper.
COSTELLO: Can you believe that?
MYERS: I -- well, I guess it worked.
COSTELLO: My producer in my ear is panicking. He says please talk about Exxon now.
MYERS: Please go to the Exxon story.
COSTELLO: Exxon.
MYERS: You can't use your cell phone now if you work for Exxon, in the car.
COSTELLO: Which makes, actually, it makes me feel good, because the people driving those big old oil trucks talking on the phone always makes me nervous.
MYERS: You know, I don't mind people with the hands free headset, you know? My wife's got one you can put behind her ear. It kind of looks like she's like the operator for "Time-Life" magazine or something. But people, I know to myself, when my phone rings and I reach over and I get it, I'm not as good of a driver as I was before that phone rang. So this is a really big step.
COSTELLO: Well, evidently scientists within Exxon did this study and it determined that cell phone use during driving is a dangerous thing.
MYERS: It is three times worse than being drunk.
COSTELLO: That's what it says. So, if you work for Exxon, you can't use your cell phone or you're in big, big trouble.
MYERS: That's the first step for a lot of companies, I think.
COSTELLO: OK.
I'm still thinking about the pandas. But here's where...
MYERS: I'm sure you are. You're almost getting married.
COSTELLO: My gosh.
Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
Just for the health of it or not -- why losing the fat with lipo is not what you think. Some surprising facts ahead.
And when terror is a threat, how much effort is needed to protect public spaces? Up next, we'll go live to Jerusalem to see how they do it in Israel.
And caught on tape -- new video showing that al Qaeda may be getting more active in Afghanistan.
This is DAYBREAK for Thursday.
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