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CNN Live At Daybreak
Eye on the World; Countdown to Handover; 9/11 Commission; Gay Marriage; Maui Film Festival
Aired June 18, 2004 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: As part of our own special look at the Olympics, we will be bringing you the last half of CNN DAYBREAK from Atlanta's Olympic home, Centennial Park, which is just across the street from CNN. It will be fun.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It will be.
COSTELLO: What's the matter?
MYERS: I don't have any lights on me. It seems like I'm sitting over here in the dark, kind of like a mushroom. Just feed me in the dark.
COSTELLO: You are dark.
MYERS: I know, that's OK.
COSTELLO: Maybe the lights are burned out.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: See, it's a good thing we are heading to Centennial Park later, at least you'll be lit.
MYERS: Yes, that's -- well, they probably had to take some of the lights and take them over there to the park.
Did you hear that "Forbes" magazine has the 100 most important celebrities?
COSTELLO: Really?
MYERS: Yes. And Mel Gibson...
COSTELLO: And one of them apparently is not you, since you're in the...
MYERS: No. That's all right, I don't mind. You know, I do my best work with my microphone off anyway because then you don't have to listen.
COSTELLO: Oh my!
MYERS: Well, Mel Gibson No. 1 and Britney Spears did not make the list again this year.
COSTELLO: You're kidding?
MYERS: No. Tiger Woods No. 2, although he...
COSTELLO: Even though he's doing poorly in...
MYERS: He has a chance of losing the top-rated spot in golf this week if he doesn't do good. Ernie Els could take...
COSTELLO: Do well.
MYERS: Do well. Do well. That's what I meant.
COSTELLO: Whatever.
MYERS: You know I know what you meant. But he's only six over the leader. That Tiger can come back from that no problem.
COSTELLO: He can come back from that.
MYERS: No problem.
COSTELLO: And we hope he does because it would be nice.
MYERS: Hopefully he will.
COSTELLO: Jennifer Aniston was No. 2 on the list last year, but she was knocked off.
MYERS: Gone.
COSTELLO: But she and Brad Pitt are on the list. That means they are the most powerful couple.
MYERS: Couple, yes. J.K. Rowling, how about that, No. 6?
COSTELLO: I'm glad there is a woman up there in the top 10.
MYERS: Me too.
COSTELLO: Yes.
We'll be right back. Stick around.
MYERS: Hey, they got lights.
COSTELLO: We're going to work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS (voice-over): Rolling the dice, dealing the cards -- it's all in a day's work at Caesar's Entertainment, the world's largest casino gaming company, where profits are rising. In the recent quarter, Caesar's cashed in with profits up 73 percent compared to a year ago. With declining casino revenues from its Paris and Bally's locations, it took big jackpots from its Caesar's Palace properties to keep things rolling. (END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: As the deadline looms, the wife of a kidnapped American pleads to his captors for his safe return.
It is Friday, June 18. This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you. Welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Let me bring you up to date right now.
The search goes on in Saudi Arabia for American hostage Paul Johnson, his family pleading with Islamic militants for his release. Johnson's kidnappers have threatened to execute him today.
An American civilian is facing criminal charges in Afghanistan. A contractor working there for the CIA has now been indicted in connection to the beating death of a prisoner a year ago.
In money news, mortgage rates up again. Rates for both 30 and 15-year loans climbed slightly this week. Fed watchers predict interest rates may go up this month for the first time in four years.
In culture, singer Ray Charles will be remembered at a private funeral today in California. More than 5,000 people said good-bye yesterday at a public service. Charles died last week at the age of 73.
In sports, what a tough day for Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open. Tiger opened with a 2-over-par 72 and just six shots behind the leaders after the first round -- Chad.
MYERS: Yes, but still well into the cut, no problems there.
Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: You know that deadline for American hostage Paul Johnson's execution is scheduled for sometime today.
We want to bring in our senior international editor David Clinch to talk more about that. His wife appeared on Saudi television.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: It was very emotional yesterday. CLINCH: It was. We've been monitoring Saudi TV all night for pictures of what we know is going on. Saudi helicopters in the air, thousands of security officials in the streets searching for Paul Johnson, this American, Lockheed Martin worker, kidnapped by an al Qaeda group in Saudi Arabia.
In watching Saudi TV, we picked up video just within the last hour or so of his wife, a Thai national by origin, making a very emotional appeal. We have it, at the moment, translated into Arabic. We're going to try and get the -- she did speak in English. We're going to try and get the English version of it.
COSTELLO: I do think we have a bit of it, so let's listen.
CLINCH: Yes, let's listen to her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THANOM JOHNSON, JOHNSON'S WIFE: I see him picture. My heart felt bad. I fall down (ph) all the time about when I saw picture in the TV.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And at the end of that interview, she became quite emotional.
CLINCH: Fell into tears at the end of the interview. And again, we'll try and get the whole thing for you in English very soon.
But this, obviously, not the first family member. His son spoke to us a few days ago, other family members have spoken on Arabic television stations now, not just through CNN, but through the Arab media themselves in Saudi Arabia -- this is a Saudi channel -- appealing not only family members though, but coworkers and specifically Saudi coworkers making an appeal and also religious leaders saying that it is against Islam to kill this man.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, the interesting thing, Caroline Faraj told us at the top of DAYBREAK, she said on these Islamic Web sites there are now instructions on how to kidnap Americans. They have seemed to have moved on from Paul Johnson, which is rather disturbing.
CLINCH: It is rather disturbing. And equally disturbing, although we have Saudi officials and the general public in Saudi deploring these kinds of kidnappings, there is still a bit of a split personality going on. In some of these hard-line conservative neighborhoods in Riyadh where we have seen some of these raids going on over the last few days, we have had reports of locals saying why should we turn in any group holding Americans when we see the pictures of what's going on in Iraq?
Now, obviously that's sort of a perverted logic on the ground there, but it's something that not only the Saudis, but the FBI, who are there in Riyadh trying to help with this search, are facing. Of course the FBI, while trying to help, can't exactly go into the streets in Riyadh with an atmosphere like that.
COSTELLO: No, definitely not.
CLINCH: So a very frightening thing. We're not beating a drumroll here on this deadline. We will wait until we have some facts to report and we do not know when the deadline expires.
COSTELLO: We're also covering other things, specifically Iran.
CLINCH: Iran, just very briefly. Iran, we've been waiting for this.
The IAEA has finally come up with a statement, as expected, deploring Iran's lack of cooperation on its nuclear program. The IAEA pushing for more inspections, but falling short of sanctions at this point. Neither the U.N. nor the U.S. ready to bring the U.N. up -- to bring Iran up in front of the Security Council. They will have another few months before the next IAEA meeting, then we'll see whether sanctions become an issue.
COSTELLO: All right. David Clinch, many thanks to you.
CLINCH: OK.
COSTELLO: The chief U.N. nuclear inspector, by the way, Mohammed ElBaradei, will have more on Iran's suspected nuclear ambitions. He'll be a guest on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING." Of course that comes your way at 7:00 a.m. Eastern.
U.S. military commanders are getting ready for the handover of power in Iraq. As part of the preparations, the head of the U.S. Central Command arrived in Iraq to meet with soldiers and civilians.
CNN's Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf took an exclusive tour with General John Abizaid after his arrival in Ramadi, Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): The region's top military commander flew to Iraq's Sunni heartland. General John Abizaid, the head of the U.S. Central Command, and the 140,000 troops in Iraq are bracing for more violence before the July 1 handover to Iraqi sovereignty and beyond. Strengthening the country's fledgling security forces is a main preoccupation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are the Iraqi security forces coming along?
ARRAF: In Saddam Hussein's hometown, Tikrit, commanders say most of the violence faced by the 1st Infantry Division is from former regime loyalists. But there are also community leaders here willing to work with the United States.
"We want to cooperate more with you, Abizaid," speaking in Arabic, tells these tribal business and community figures. Abizaid's Arab origins help bridge the large cultural gap. But their complaints are still heated: lack of jobs, services and security.
Abizaid's hope is that as the United States takes a less visible role, Iraqis will step forward.
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: People are coming to the conclusion that they have got to fight for their country. And I think that as they understand that there are Iraqis in charge and not Americans calling the shots, that they'll fight for their own country with more and more spirit, and that we'll move from a period of occupation to partnership.
ARRAF: At a stop in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, where four Iraqi Civil Defense Corps members are being questioned by Iraqi authorities in connection to a bomb attack this week, Abizaid met Marine commanders and some of the troops.
(on camera): It's two weeks to the handover to Iraqi sovereignty, more than a year after the end of major combat. But here in Ramadi in the Sunni Triangle, it's still unsettled enough that many in the military still think of this as the Wild West.
(voice-over): Persistent attacks on the military, bandits on the highway, political assassinations. At this camp, home to the 2nd Battalion 4th Marines, Abizaid visited troops who had just responded to a mortar attack.
ABIZAID: I understand you just fired some rounds, huh?
ARRAF: On this day of another major attack in Baghdad, Abizaid acknowledges that rebuilding Iraq's security forces from scratch is a monumental task. But despite frantic efforts by insurgents to disrupt the handover, he believes it's a mission that will be accomplished.
Jane Arraf, CNN, in Ramadi, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Talk about 9/11 right now.
The federal commission investigating the September 11 attack is now busy with the task of finishing its final report. Public hearings are all done now.
CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena tells us about the confusion and the miscommunication that plagued that awful day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a chilling moment, a hijacker gives passengers aboard American Airlines Flight 11 an order.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you'll be OK. We are returning to the airport.
ARENA: The 9/11 Commission believes it's the voice of ringleader Mohamed Atta just before he piloted the flight into the World Trade Center.
LAURIE VAN AUKEN, WIFE OF 9/11 VICTIM: You know you start to cry when you hear that, because it's three years, but it brings you right back to the day.
ARENA: The tape was played during the final public hearing by the commission in which the members concluded the U.S. Air Defense System was completely unprepared for what happened that day.
PHILIP ZELIKOW, 9/11 COMMISSION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: On the morning of 9/11, the existing protocol was unsuited in every respect for what was about to happen.
ARENA: The 29-page report chronicled confusion and delays in trying to confirm which planes were hijacked and where they were headed.
GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: We got many aircraft calls inbound that morning that turned out to be phantoms.
ARENA: The commission concluded the military never received more than nine minutes notice from the FAA on any of the hijackings. If it had, military officials now say they could have intercepted all four planes. Instead, the first call from the FAA to the military for help prompted this question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this real world or exercise?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, this is not an exercise, not a test.
ARENA: The president, who was in Florida during the attacks, admitted to the commission that he had problems communicating with the White House.
TOM KEAN, 9/11 COMMISSION CHAIRMAN: And America is under attack, and the commander in chief can't get through to the nation's capital. I mean, that's a serious problem.
ARENA: The commission said President Bush gave Vice President Cheney an order to shoot down hostile aircraft which he relayed to the military. Half an hour later, Cheney said to the Defense Secretary -- quote -- "it's my understanding they've already taken a couple of aircraft out." He was mistaken.
JOHN FARMER, 9/11 COMMISSION STAFF: The only words actually conveyed to the Langley pilots were to -- quote -- "I.D., type and tail."
ARENA: Confusion reigned at the FAA as well. Officials told the military Flight 11 was still in the air even after it had hit the World Trade Center. And the FAA never asked for military assistance to deal with the flight that later crashed into the Pentagon. That flight, American Airline 77, traveled undetected by radar for more than half an hour.
DEBRA BURLINGAME, SISTER OF 9/11 VICTIM: No one knew where these planes were except the people who were in them.
ARENA (on camera): The report was not a complete indictment and it did praise the work of aviation officials who -- quote -- "thought outside the box," making split second decisions that got 4,500 commercial planes that were still in the air to land safely.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: A battle is brewing in Massachusetts over same-sex marriage. Later this hour, how gay couples are clashing with the state government.
This is DAYBREAK for Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: 5:42 Eastern Time. Welcome back to DAYBREAK.
In Massachusetts, the only state where same-sex weddings are legal, the battle over gay marriage is heading for court. Gay couples in some -- and some municipalities will file suit today challenging a 1913 law being used to block same-sex marriage by out-of-state couples.
CNN's Dan Lothian has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The honeymoon is already over in the gay marriage legal battle in Massachusetts.
ED BUTLER, PLAINTIFF: We want to be able to hear someone say, "I now pronounce you married."
LOTHIAN: Wendy Becker lives in Rhode Island and feels gays and lesbians from anywhere should have the right to be married in the only state that has legalized gay marriages.
WENDY BECKER, PLAINTIFF: We want the social recognition and the legal protection that goes with being married.
LOTHIAN: This double wedding with couples from out of state was just one of many such unions that took place last month in Massachusetts. Some clerks issued licenses to out-of-state residents, openly defying warnings by Governor Mitt Romney and his attorney general that their actions violated the law.
GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R), MASSACHUSETTS: I do believe that we should not export same-sex marriage to other states that have Defense of Marriage Acts. LOTHIAN: The state attorney general quickly issued an order that halted non-resident licenses. But these couples, who were either recently married in Massachusetts or were turned away, say the segregation era law passed in response to interracial marriages is not only discriminatory but unconstitutional.
MARY BONAUTO, GLAD ATTORNEY: You can't dust off this law that hasn't been in force for many years and now rely on this law that has very disreputable racist origins.
LOTHIAN: Clerks in Province Town, a gay vacation hot spot, and in cities like Somerville, north of Boston, did issue some marriage licenses to non-residents. They are now part of the lawsuits.
MAYOR JOE CURTATONE, SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS: Our clerks have never been asked to act as marriage police before. They shouldn't be required to do so now.
LOTHIAN (on camera): Since there is pending litigation, Governor Romney's office said he would have no comment. His attorney general, who also had no comment, has said in the past that his office is just upholding the current law and that nothing would change until a court rules otherwise.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
The wife of Paul Johnson Jr., the American hostage threatened with death in Saudi Arabia, has made a very emotional plea for her husband's life. Johnson's wife appeared on Al-Arabiya news channel.
Rangers looking for two missing climbers on Washington's Mount Rainier have spotted a person lying motionless in the snow at about 9,000 feet. The rangers are now trying to reach that person.
In money news, the government has rejected a United Airlines request for $1.6 billion in federal loan guarantees. United is trying to emerge from bankruptcy protection.
In culture, "Forbes" magazine has named Mel Gibson the world's most powerful celebrity. Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ," has earned $210 million in the past year, and that's just in this country.
In sports, tens of thousands of Piston fans jammed Detroit streets for a parade to honor their NBA champs. The Pistons won the NBA title beating the Lakers four games to one on Tuesday night.
MYERS: That wasn't a Piston's jersey. They're so used...
COSTELLO: Funny, though.
MYERS: They're so used to having a Red Wings parade,...
COSTELLO: I know.
MYERS: ... they don't know how to dress.
Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you.
Film festivals have always been a place for unknown artists to show off. But one of the more famous artists is showing that some accomplishments come with a very rough edge.
CNN's Sibila Vargas has more on that story from the Maui Film Festival.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Maui Film Festival has invited a number of traditional Hawaiian musicians to perform, but it's also finding time to rock.
On the program is a documentary about the heavy metal juggernaut Metallica. And I recently caught up with them in Los Angeles to talk about the film, "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is this about?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some kind of monster.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some kind of monster.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some kind of monster.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some kind of monster. It is.
VARGAS (on camera): What ever possessed you guys to go out and do this?
KIRK HAMMETT, METALLICA: It started off as a more of like a promotional sort of tool and it just kind of morphed into this documentary film.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some kind of monster. The monster lives.
VARGAS: You guys were going through so many things. You know, you were going through your own personal demons that you were dealing with. What was that like to bring that to the fore?
JAMES HETFIELD, METALLICA: I was going through some real inner soul searching right in the middle of this big filming. All the other drinking and all the other junk that I was stuck in, it was so predictable, so boring. I'm out there looking for excitement and all this stuff, the results were the same, man.
We get to look at it and go, wow, you know I'm really like that. And you know, if I was dealing with someone like that, I wouldn't like it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you trying to do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not trying to do (BLEEP).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're just sitting here being a complete (BLEEP).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're really helping matters.
VARGAS: You and Lars got in some really heated moments.
HETFIELD: It was like going to war. And when we started to realize that hey, we can make this thing work with energy going the same way, it just took a lot of work and it still does take work.
VARGAS: At one point you expressed concern to whether, you know, you guys were going to be real in front of the camera.
LARS ULRICH, METALLICA: I mean, that was the whole thing. If we were to be free in front of the cameras, would we trust that freedom would not come back and hit us in the face? And I'm really proud of the fact that we arrived at a point two years later where we felt comfortable enough within ourselves and comfortable with each other as a band that we were ready to take this chance and share this with the unsuspecting public out there.
VARGAS: And you guys were able to let it all hang out, which you know is very hard to do, so congratulations.
HETFIELD: Don't want to give away the ending, but you know we...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HETFIELD: ... stay together and ride off on a white horse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much for supporting Metallica through all the rough times and all the great times. Metallica loves you.
VARGAS: The documentary debuted at Sundance where it earned tremendous reviews. It opens in limited release July 9.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Maui.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: You know Sibila gets to go to Maui and I get to go next door to Centennial Park. MYERS: Wait a minute...
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Outside in the humidity.
MYERS: ... you're going to Maui in three weeks on your honeymoon. No...
COSTELLO: Yes, that's much more fun than working.
MYERS: No whining.
COSTELLO: But if I was working there, it'd be free.
MYERS: Exactly.
COSTELLO: You should...
NGUYEN: That's true. Good point.
COSTELLO: Betty Nguyen is with us because of...
NGUYEN: Yes, woke up very early for these guys.
COSTELLO: Yes, and we appreciate it.
NGUYEN: But of course.
COSTELLO: We do.
NGUYEN: It's a special day. And I, Chad, was hoping that Carol would get to at least run with the torch a little bit. She's got the shoes on for it today.
MYERS: I have some flares in my truck.
NGUYEN: Like these five-inch heels.
MYERS: Maybe I can -- we can bring the flares out. We can run with the flares.
COSTELLO: No, I don't get to run with the torch until 8:41 p.m. tonight.
MYERS: Right.
NGUYEN: OK, grand.
COSTELLO: And it will be right around here. I'm three from the end.
NGUYEN: Well, hey, at least you get to run with it, though.
COSTELLO: Yes.
NGUYEN: In those heels?
COSTELLO: No, I won't do that in the heels.
NGUYEN: No, not heels, all right, I didn't think so.
COSTELLO: Although that would be a spectacle, wouldn't it?
NGUYEN: Wouldn't it? Just don't trip, because we'll catch it on tape and you know we will.
COSTELLO: That's definitely true.
OK, so Chad and I are going to head to Centennial Park.
MYERS: And I...
COSTELLO: You will be here for the hard news portion of DAYBREAK...
NGUYEN: That's right.
COSTELLO: ... and we appreciate it.
NGUYEN: Sure.
COSTELLO: We're going to toss to a break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired June 18, 2004 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: As part of our own special look at the Olympics, we will be bringing you the last half of CNN DAYBREAK from Atlanta's Olympic home, Centennial Park, which is just across the street from CNN. It will be fun.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It will be.
COSTELLO: What's the matter?
MYERS: I don't have any lights on me. It seems like I'm sitting over here in the dark, kind of like a mushroom. Just feed me in the dark.
COSTELLO: You are dark.
MYERS: I know, that's OK.
COSTELLO: Maybe the lights are burned out.
(CROSSTALK)
COSTELLO: See, it's a good thing we are heading to Centennial Park later, at least you'll be lit.
MYERS: Yes, that's -- well, they probably had to take some of the lights and take them over there to the park.
Did you hear that "Forbes" magazine has the 100 most important celebrities?
COSTELLO: Really?
MYERS: Yes. And Mel Gibson...
COSTELLO: And one of them apparently is not you, since you're in the...
MYERS: No. That's all right, I don't mind. You know, I do my best work with my microphone off anyway because then you don't have to listen.
COSTELLO: Oh my!
MYERS: Well, Mel Gibson No. 1 and Britney Spears did not make the list again this year.
COSTELLO: You're kidding?
MYERS: No. Tiger Woods No. 2, although he...
COSTELLO: Even though he's doing poorly in...
MYERS: He has a chance of losing the top-rated spot in golf this week if he doesn't do good. Ernie Els could take...
COSTELLO: Do well.
MYERS: Do well. Do well. That's what I meant.
COSTELLO: Whatever.
MYERS: You know I know what you meant. But he's only six over the leader. That Tiger can come back from that no problem.
COSTELLO: He can come back from that.
MYERS: No problem.
COSTELLO: And we hope he does because it would be nice.
MYERS: Hopefully he will.
COSTELLO: Jennifer Aniston was No. 2 on the list last year, but she was knocked off.
MYERS: Gone.
COSTELLO: But she and Brad Pitt are on the list. That means they are the most powerful couple.
MYERS: Couple, yes. J.K. Rowling, how about that, No. 6?
COSTELLO: I'm glad there is a woman up there in the top 10.
MYERS: Me too.
COSTELLO: Yes.
We'll be right back. Stick around.
MYERS: Hey, they got lights.
COSTELLO: We're going to work.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GERRI WILLIS, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS (voice-over): Rolling the dice, dealing the cards -- it's all in a day's work at Caesar's Entertainment, the world's largest casino gaming company, where profits are rising. In the recent quarter, Caesar's cashed in with profits up 73 percent compared to a year ago. With declining casino revenues from its Paris and Bally's locations, it took big jackpots from its Caesar's Palace properties to keep things rolling. (END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: As the deadline looms, the wife of a kidnapped American pleads to his captors for his safe return.
It is Friday, June 18. This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you. Welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Let me bring you up to date right now.
The search goes on in Saudi Arabia for American hostage Paul Johnson, his family pleading with Islamic militants for his release. Johnson's kidnappers have threatened to execute him today.
An American civilian is facing criminal charges in Afghanistan. A contractor working there for the CIA has now been indicted in connection to the beating death of a prisoner a year ago.
In money news, mortgage rates up again. Rates for both 30 and 15-year loans climbed slightly this week. Fed watchers predict interest rates may go up this month for the first time in four years.
In culture, singer Ray Charles will be remembered at a private funeral today in California. More than 5,000 people said good-bye yesterday at a public service. Charles died last week at the age of 73.
In sports, what a tough day for Tiger Woods at the U.S. Open. Tiger opened with a 2-over-par 72 and just six shots behind the leaders after the first round -- Chad.
MYERS: Yes, but still well into the cut, no problems there.
Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: You know that deadline for American hostage Paul Johnson's execution is scheduled for sometime today.
We want to bring in our senior international editor David Clinch to talk more about that. His wife appeared on Saudi television.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Yes.
COSTELLO: It was very emotional yesterday. CLINCH: It was. We've been monitoring Saudi TV all night for pictures of what we know is going on. Saudi helicopters in the air, thousands of security officials in the streets searching for Paul Johnson, this American, Lockheed Martin worker, kidnapped by an al Qaeda group in Saudi Arabia.
In watching Saudi TV, we picked up video just within the last hour or so of his wife, a Thai national by origin, making a very emotional appeal. We have it, at the moment, translated into Arabic. We're going to try and get the -- she did speak in English. We're going to try and get the English version of it.
COSTELLO: I do think we have a bit of it, so let's listen.
CLINCH: Yes, let's listen to her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
THANOM JOHNSON, JOHNSON'S WIFE: I see him picture. My heart felt bad. I fall down (ph) all the time about when I saw picture in the TV.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And at the end of that interview, she became quite emotional.
CLINCH: Fell into tears at the end of the interview. And again, we'll try and get the whole thing for you in English very soon.
But this, obviously, not the first family member. His son spoke to us a few days ago, other family members have spoken on Arabic television stations now, not just through CNN, but through the Arab media themselves in Saudi Arabia -- this is a Saudi channel -- appealing not only family members though, but coworkers and specifically Saudi coworkers making an appeal and also religious leaders saying that it is against Islam to kill this man.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, the interesting thing, Caroline Faraj told us at the top of DAYBREAK, she said on these Islamic Web sites there are now instructions on how to kidnap Americans. They have seemed to have moved on from Paul Johnson, which is rather disturbing.
CLINCH: It is rather disturbing. And equally disturbing, although we have Saudi officials and the general public in Saudi deploring these kinds of kidnappings, there is still a bit of a split personality going on. In some of these hard-line conservative neighborhoods in Riyadh where we have seen some of these raids going on over the last few days, we have had reports of locals saying why should we turn in any group holding Americans when we see the pictures of what's going on in Iraq?
Now, obviously that's sort of a perverted logic on the ground there, but it's something that not only the Saudis, but the FBI, who are there in Riyadh trying to help with this search, are facing. Of course the FBI, while trying to help, can't exactly go into the streets in Riyadh with an atmosphere like that.
COSTELLO: No, definitely not.
CLINCH: So a very frightening thing. We're not beating a drumroll here on this deadline. We will wait until we have some facts to report and we do not know when the deadline expires.
COSTELLO: We're also covering other things, specifically Iran.
CLINCH: Iran, just very briefly. Iran, we've been waiting for this.
The IAEA has finally come up with a statement, as expected, deploring Iran's lack of cooperation on its nuclear program. The IAEA pushing for more inspections, but falling short of sanctions at this point. Neither the U.N. nor the U.S. ready to bring the U.N. up -- to bring Iran up in front of the Security Council. They will have another few months before the next IAEA meeting, then we'll see whether sanctions become an issue.
COSTELLO: All right. David Clinch, many thanks to you.
CLINCH: OK.
COSTELLO: The chief U.N. nuclear inspector, by the way, Mohammed ElBaradei, will have more on Iran's suspected nuclear ambitions. He'll be a guest on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING." Of course that comes your way at 7:00 a.m. Eastern.
U.S. military commanders are getting ready for the handover of power in Iraq. As part of the preparations, the head of the U.S. Central Command arrived in Iraq to meet with soldiers and civilians.
CNN's Baghdad bureau chief Jane Arraf took an exclusive tour with General John Abizaid after his arrival in Ramadi, Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): The region's top military commander flew to Iraq's Sunni heartland. General John Abizaid, the head of the U.S. Central Command, and the 140,000 troops in Iraq are bracing for more violence before the July 1 handover to Iraqi sovereignty and beyond. Strengthening the country's fledgling security forces is a main preoccupation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are the Iraqi security forces coming along?
ARRAF: In Saddam Hussein's hometown, Tikrit, commanders say most of the violence faced by the 1st Infantry Division is from former regime loyalists. But there are also community leaders here willing to work with the United States.
"We want to cooperate more with you, Abizaid," speaking in Arabic, tells these tribal business and community figures. Abizaid's Arab origins help bridge the large cultural gap. But their complaints are still heated: lack of jobs, services and security.
Abizaid's hope is that as the United States takes a less visible role, Iraqis will step forward.
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, COMMANDER, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: People are coming to the conclusion that they have got to fight for their country. And I think that as they understand that there are Iraqis in charge and not Americans calling the shots, that they'll fight for their own country with more and more spirit, and that we'll move from a period of occupation to partnership.
ARRAF: At a stop in Ramadi, west of Baghdad, where four Iraqi Civil Defense Corps members are being questioned by Iraqi authorities in connection to a bomb attack this week, Abizaid met Marine commanders and some of the troops.
(on camera): It's two weeks to the handover to Iraqi sovereignty, more than a year after the end of major combat. But here in Ramadi in the Sunni Triangle, it's still unsettled enough that many in the military still think of this as the Wild West.
(voice-over): Persistent attacks on the military, bandits on the highway, political assassinations. At this camp, home to the 2nd Battalion 4th Marines, Abizaid visited troops who had just responded to a mortar attack.
ABIZAID: I understand you just fired some rounds, huh?
ARRAF: On this day of another major attack in Baghdad, Abizaid acknowledges that rebuilding Iraq's security forces from scratch is a monumental task. But despite frantic efforts by insurgents to disrupt the handover, he believes it's a mission that will be accomplished.
Jane Arraf, CNN, in Ramadi, Iraq.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Talk about 9/11 right now.
The federal commission investigating the September 11 attack is now busy with the task of finishing its final report. Public hearings are all done now.
CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena tells us about the confusion and the miscommunication that plagued that awful day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a chilling moment, a hijacker gives passengers aboard American Airlines Flight 11 an order.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have some planes. Just stay quiet and you'll be OK. We are returning to the airport.
ARENA: The 9/11 Commission believes it's the voice of ringleader Mohamed Atta just before he piloted the flight into the World Trade Center.
LAURIE VAN AUKEN, WIFE OF 9/11 VICTIM: You know you start to cry when you hear that, because it's three years, but it brings you right back to the day.
ARENA: The tape was played during the final public hearing by the commission in which the members concluded the U.S. Air Defense System was completely unprepared for what happened that day.
PHILIP ZELIKOW, 9/11 COMMISSION EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: On the morning of 9/11, the existing protocol was unsuited in every respect for what was about to happen.
ARENA: The 29-page report chronicled confusion and delays in trying to confirm which planes were hijacked and where they were headed.
GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: We got many aircraft calls inbound that morning that turned out to be phantoms.
ARENA: The commission concluded the military never received more than nine minutes notice from the FAA on any of the hijackings. If it had, military officials now say they could have intercepted all four planes. Instead, the first call from the FAA to the military for help prompted this question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this real world or exercise?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, this is not an exercise, not a test.
ARENA: The president, who was in Florida during the attacks, admitted to the commission that he had problems communicating with the White House.
TOM KEAN, 9/11 COMMISSION CHAIRMAN: And America is under attack, and the commander in chief can't get through to the nation's capital. I mean, that's a serious problem.
ARENA: The commission said President Bush gave Vice President Cheney an order to shoot down hostile aircraft which he relayed to the military. Half an hour later, Cheney said to the Defense Secretary -- quote -- "it's my understanding they've already taken a couple of aircraft out." He was mistaken.
JOHN FARMER, 9/11 COMMISSION STAFF: The only words actually conveyed to the Langley pilots were to -- quote -- "I.D., type and tail."
ARENA: Confusion reigned at the FAA as well. Officials told the military Flight 11 was still in the air even after it had hit the World Trade Center. And the FAA never asked for military assistance to deal with the flight that later crashed into the Pentagon. That flight, American Airline 77, traveled undetected by radar for more than half an hour.
DEBRA BURLINGAME, SISTER OF 9/11 VICTIM: No one knew where these planes were except the people who were in them.
ARENA (on camera): The report was not a complete indictment and it did praise the work of aviation officials who -- quote -- "thought outside the box," making split second decisions that got 4,500 commercial planes that were still in the air to land safely.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: A battle is brewing in Massachusetts over same-sex marriage. Later this hour, how gay couples are clashing with the state government.
This is DAYBREAK for Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: 5:42 Eastern Time. Welcome back to DAYBREAK.
In Massachusetts, the only state where same-sex weddings are legal, the battle over gay marriage is heading for court. Gay couples in some -- and some municipalities will file suit today challenging a 1913 law being used to block same-sex marriage by out-of-state couples.
CNN's Dan Lothian has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The honeymoon is already over in the gay marriage legal battle in Massachusetts.
ED BUTLER, PLAINTIFF: We want to be able to hear someone say, "I now pronounce you married."
LOTHIAN: Wendy Becker lives in Rhode Island and feels gays and lesbians from anywhere should have the right to be married in the only state that has legalized gay marriages.
WENDY BECKER, PLAINTIFF: We want the social recognition and the legal protection that goes with being married.
LOTHIAN: This double wedding with couples from out of state was just one of many such unions that took place last month in Massachusetts. Some clerks issued licenses to out-of-state residents, openly defying warnings by Governor Mitt Romney and his attorney general that their actions violated the law.
GOV. MITT ROMNEY (R), MASSACHUSETTS: I do believe that we should not export same-sex marriage to other states that have Defense of Marriage Acts. LOTHIAN: The state attorney general quickly issued an order that halted non-resident licenses. But these couples, who were either recently married in Massachusetts or were turned away, say the segregation era law passed in response to interracial marriages is not only discriminatory but unconstitutional.
MARY BONAUTO, GLAD ATTORNEY: You can't dust off this law that hasn't been in force for many years and now rely on this law that has very disreputable racist origins.
LOTHIAN: Clerks in Province Town, a gay vacation hot spot, and in cities like Somerville, north of Boston, did issue some marriage licenses to non-residents. They are now part of the lawsuits.
MAYOR JOE CURTATONE, SOMERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS: Our clerks have never been asked to act as marriage police before. They shouldn't be required to do so now.
LOTHIAN (on camera): Since there is pending litigation, Governor Romney's office said he would have no comment. His attorney general, who also had no comment, has said in the past that his office is just upholding the current law and that nothing would change until a court rules otherwise.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
The wife of Paul Johnson Jr., the American hostage threatened with death in Saudi Arabia, has made a very emotional plea for her husband's life. Johnson's wife appeared on Al-Arabiya news channel.
Rangers looking for two missing climbers on Washington's Mount Rainier have spotted a person lying motionless in the snow at about 9,000 feet. The rangers are now trying to reach that person.
In money news, the government has rejected a United Airlines request for $1.6 billion in federal loan guarantees. United is trying to emerge from bankruptcy protection.
In culture, "Forbes" magazine has named Mel Gibson the world's most powerful celebrity. Gibson's movie, "The Passion of the Christ," has earned $210 million in the past year, and that's just in this country.
In sports, tens of thousands of Piston fans jammed Detroit streets for a parade to honor their NBA champs. The Pistons won the NBA title beating the Lakers four games to one on Tuesday night.
MYERS: That wasn't a Piston's jersey. They're so used...
COSTELLO: Funny, though.
MYERS: They're so used to having a Red Wings parade,...
COSTELLO: I know.
MYERS: ... they don't know how to dress.
Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you.
Film festivals have always been a place for unknown artists to show off. But one of the more famous artists is showing that some accomplishments come with a very rough edge.
CNN's Sibila Vargas has more on that story from the Maui Film Festival.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Maui Film Festival has invited a number of traditional Hawaiian musicians to perform, but it's also finding time to rock.
On the program is a documentary about the heavy metal juggernaut Metallica. And I recently caught up with them in Los Angeles to talk about the film, "Metallica: Some Kind of Monster."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is this about?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some kind of monster.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some kind of monster.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some kind of monster.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some kind of monster. It is.
VARGAS (on camera): What ever possessed you guys to go out and do this?
KIRK HAMMETT, METALLICA: It started off as a more of like a promotional sort of tool and it just kind of morphed into this documentary film.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some kind of monster. The monster lives.
VARGAS: You guys were going through so many things. You know, you were going through your own personal demons that you were dealing with. What was that like to bring that to the fore?
JAMES HETFIELD, METALLICA: I was going through some real inner soul searching right in the middle of this big filming. All the other drinking and all the other junk that I was stuck in, it was so predictable, so boring. I'm out there looking for excitement and all this stuff, the results were the same, man.
We get to look at it and go, wow, you know I'm really like that. And you know, if I was dealing with someone like that, I wouldn't like it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you trying to do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not trying to do (BLEEP).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're just sitting here being a complete (BLEEP).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're really helping matters.
VARGAS: You and Lars got in some really heated moments.
HETFIELD: It was like going to war. And when we started to realize that hey, we can make this thing work with energy going the same way, it just took a lot of work and it still does take work.
VARGAS: At one point you expressed concern to whether, you know, you guys were going to be real in front of the camera.
LARS ULRICH, METALLICA: I mean, that was the whole thing. If we were to be free in front of the cameras, would we trust that freedom would not come back and hit us in the face? And I'm really proud of the fact that we arrived at a point two years later where we felt comfortable enough within ourselves and comfortable with each other as a band that we were ready to take this chance and share this with the unsuspecting public out there.
VARGAS: And you guys were able to let it all hang out, which you know is very hard to do, so congratulations.
HETFIELD: Don't want to give away the ending, but you know we...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
HETFIELD: ... stay together and ride off on a white horse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much for supporting Metallica through all the rough times and all the great times. Metallica loves you.
VARGAS: The documentary debuted at Sundance where it earned tremendous reviews. It opens in limited release July 9.
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Maui.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: You know Sibila gets to go to Maui and I get to go next door to Centennial Park. MYERS: Wait a minute...
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Outside in the humidity.
MYERS: ... you're going to Maui in three weeks on your honeymoon. No...
COSTELLO: Yes, that's much more fun than working.
MYERS: No whining.
COSTELLO: But if I was working there, it'd be free.
MYERS: Exactly.
COSTELLO: You should...
NGUYEN: That's true. Good point.
COSTELLO: Betty Nguyen is with us because of...
NGUYEN: Yes, woke up very early for these guys.
COSTELLO: Yes, and we appreciate it.
NGUYEN: But of course.
COSTELLO: We do.
NGUYEN: It's a special day. And I, Chad, was hoping that Carol would get to at least run with the torch a little bit. She's got the shoes on for it today.
MYERS: I have some flares in my truck.
NGUYEN: Like these five-inch heels.
MYERS: Maybe I can -- we can bring the flares out. We can run with the flares.
COSTELLO: No, I don't get to run with the torch until 8:41 p.m. tonight.
MYERS: Right.
NGUYEN: OK, grand.
COSTELLO: And it will be right around here. I'm three from the end.
NGUYEN: Well, hey, at least you get to run with it, though.
COSTELLO: Yes.
NGUYEN: In those heels?
COSTELLO: No, I won't do that in the heels.
NGUYEN: No, not heels, all right, I didn't think so.
COSTELLO: Although that would be a spectacle, wouldn't it?
NGUYEN: Wouldn't it? Just don't trip, because we'll catch it on tape and you know we will.
COSTELLO: That's definitely true.
OK, so Chad and I are going to head to Centennial Park.
MYERS: And I...
COSTELLO: You will be here for the hard news portion of DAYBREAK...
NGUYEN: That's right.
COSTELLO: ... and we appreciate it.
NGUYEN: Sure.
COSTELLO: We're going to toss to a break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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