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CNN Live At Daybreak
North Korea Nukes; Fuel Tanker Crash; Duty in Iraq; Steroid Scandal
Aired June 25, 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: Good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you for joining you this morning.
Let me bring you up to date now.
President Bush leaves today on a trip to Ireland to attend a summit with European Union leaders. He'll try to drum up support for Iraq's new government. After Ireland, President Bush will fly to Turkey for a NATO summit.
Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry picks up an endorsement from former Chrysler chief Lee Iacocca. Iacocca was an avid Bush supporter in 2000, but he says the country needs a president who has a better understanding of the economy.
In money news, new home sales jump to a record high. The Commerce Department says sales of single family homes surged nearly 15 percent last month to a record annual rate of 1.3 -- 1.37 million houses.
In culture, Eric Clapton's favorite guitar fetched nearly $960,000 at a New York City auction. The legendary rock musician and others donated 88 items to raise money for a West Indies charity.
In sports, Texas will take on Cal State Fullerton in the College World Series finals this weekend. The Titans beat South Carolina four to nothing last night -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And where was that -- Carol?
COSTELLO: In...
MYERS: In Omaha.
COSTELLO: Omaha.
MYERS: Always College World Series in Omaha. Used to go to Rosenblatt Stadium. Oh well.
COSTELLO: I didn't know that. I was embarrassed.
MYERS: You know what, that is the big thing to do when you live in Omaha, go to the College World Series or maybe go down to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: The six-nation forum on North Korea's nuclear program apparently is ending in acrimony at a threat from North Korea. The communist nation says it will test a nuclear weapon.
Senior Asia correspondent Mike Chinoy is covering those discussions.
Mike, you talked of optimism yesterday, but not today, apparently.
MIKE CHINOY, CNN SENIOR ASIA CORRESPONDENT: Well it's a mixed picture, Carol, to be honest. The message coming from the North Koreans on one level is do it our way or we'll test the nuclear bomb. It sounds scary. It certainly has the potential to be scary, but there are plenty of North Korea watchers who think the real message here is let's make a deal and this is just North Korea's way of negotiating.
The North Koreans know the U.S. wants them to give up their nuclear weapons program and they are asking a steep price, they want two million kilowatts of electricity. They want it straight away. And in return, they are offering to freeze, not to dismantle, but to freeze their nuclear facilities. They say they won't get rid of them altogether until there's a broader political deal with the United States.
For its part, the Bush administration wants the North Koreans to agree to dismantle all their nuclear facilities right away. And in return, the U.S. will agree to let its allies give North Korea oil and the U.S. is willing to talk about a provisional security guarantee. So the two sides are still very far apart.
But what you have here, Carol, and what makes this perhaps less gloomy than it seems on the surface, is this may be the beginnings of a process of negotiation, opening positions that each side is staking out and no one expects a breakthrough. But at least they are talking to each other about what they want from each other.
And there is some hope that this may lead over the coming months in the continuation of this six-party forum to at least a negotiation in which the U.S. and North Korea would try to iron out their differences, although, of course, there is no guarantee of success. And with each day that passes without a deal, the North Koreans continue to make more nuclear weapons -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Mike Chinoy reporting live for us from Beijing.
Want to bring in our senior international editor right now, David Clinch, to talk more about the situation in North Korea and more.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Hi, Carol. Yes, well we're spending time and resources and effort putting Mike Chinoy there and others on those talks in North Korea or in China about North Korea's nuclear weapons, because it is a very important story. Yes, it's all negotiations. Yes, there may be some rhetoric here, but you wake up one morning and North Korea has tested a nuclear weapon and this is a different world that we live in. I mean you look up rogue nation in the dictionary and North Korea is right there. So it is a scary prospect, but we have the right...
COSTELLO: You know in a sense you kind of want to temp them to do that because we're still not sure that North Korea has any nuclear weapons.
CLINCH: Well that might work in one way to prove that they do.
COSTELLO: Yes.
CLINCH: But as Japan and China and South Korea have been making clear today that they see that and they would see a test in that close to home for them as a direct threat to their national security. As I said, that would change that part of the world. The Bush administration taking it very seriously and so are we in our coverage.
We also, of course, have a concurrent story in Iran. Just yesterday, the State Department somewhat curiously sort of speaking on behalf of the European countries that have been dealing with Iran, saying that Iran had told those European countries that it was going to start building or had started building nuclear materials again and potentially moving towards building weapons. They are not there yet. North Korea is, as far as we know. Both of those things combined, particularly with...
COSTELLO: So why do you think Iran feels that it can come out and say this at this particular time?
CLINCH: Well hard to say. It is certainly clear that nothing happens in a bubble here. All of these people, Iran, North Korea and elsewhere, know that the United States is fully engaged in Iraq right now and they may very well feel like they have an ability to go ahead with these things because the United States is distracted. That's not clear.
But what is clear is that Iran, right in the heart of the Middle East, right next to Iraq, that's a very big long-term issue that the Bush administration and future U.S. administrations will have to deal with.
Of course President Bush, as we were talking about earlier, heading to Ireland today, talking to the European allies over the next couple of days and then going to NATO. Those two issues will be in the background but definitely on the agenda in both of those locations.
COSTELLO: And you were talking about a very contentious interview between President Bush and an Irish interviewer. CLINCH: Right. Interview ran last night on Irish TV. As traditional when he's heading to other countries, he does an interview with a national broadcaster. Did one with Irish TV last night. It was somewhat contentious. But we were talking about the image issue that President Bush has. He made a statement. We'll run the sound bite now about democracy growing in the Middle East and we'll listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think, first of all, you've got a democracy in Turkey. And you've got a democracy emerging in Afghanistan. You've got a democracy in Pakistan. What I'm telling you is democracy can emerge at the same time that a democracy can emerge in the Palestinian state. I'm the first American president to have called for the establishment of a Palestinian state. The first one to do so, because I believe it is in the Palestinian people's interest, I believe it's in Israel's interest. And yes, we're working, but we can do more than you know one thing at a time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You know we edited out the interviewer's questions, but she kept interrupting the president. Did that upset him?
CLINCH: Yes. Well that was contentious. But also in the middle of that, you -- we cut it off slightly, but you heard him referring to a democracy in Pakistan. Well I hear the Irish media this morning and on the Internet seeing them making quite a big deal of that. People in Pakistan clearly not of the view that they live in a democracy with a military dictatorship. And it could have been just a misstatement, but it plays into this whole image question.
President Bush making a very serious point there about bringing democracy and expanding it in the Middle East and wanting, encouraging a Middle East peace process, but in the middle of that talks about democracy in Pakistan. People in the European media very eager to jump on gaffs like that and it does create a problem for him as he goes to Europe and beyond looking for help. His personal image is definitely one of the things that is part of our coverage of that story.
COSTELLO: David Clinch, many thanks to you.
CLINCH: All right.
COSTELLO: Secretary of State Colin Powell will head to North -- to the North African nation of Sudan next week. He is going to press the government there to rein in Arab militias accused of killing tens of thousands of black Sudanese and forcing more than one million more from their homes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We need to get help to these people now. And I hope that the leaders in Sudan will also give a message of cooperation to Kofi Annan and to other foreign officials that are traveling in the region and from other countries who have an interest in this as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Powell calls the ethnic cleansing in Sudan a catastrophe.
Five days and counting to the handover of sovereignty in Iraq. Here is the latest in our 'Situation Report' this morning.
The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on the transition of power in Iraq. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Richard Myers will testify.
More American troops may be deployed to Iraq. U.S. military planners are preparing to send possibly as many as 15,000 additional ground forces to Iraq if violence there increases. Already this morning, renewed clashes have broken out between insurgents and U.S. forces in Fallujah. You're looking at new pictures in just a short time ago from that rebel stronghold.
A horrible tragedy in Iran today, a fuel tanker slams into parked buses killing scores of people.
Journalist Shirzad Bozorgmehr joins us live by phone from Tehran.
Good morning.
SHIRZAD BOZORGMEHR, CNN STRINGER: Good morning, Carol.
Between 70 and 90 people actually were killed and 114 injured when a fuel tanker crashed into a police station in the southern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan near the city of Bam last night. The accident happened around 1800 GMT on Thursday when the loaded gasoline truck first hit another fuel truck and then slammed into the police station where six passenger buses and five commercial trucks were being inspected by the police. All 11 vehicles caught fire and most of the fatalities occurred among bus passengers.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society says the rescue operation is now over and all the injured have been transported to hospitals in nearby cities. The number of the dead could rise because the Red Crescent Society says that some of the wounded have sustained serious burns and injuries that could prove fatal.
One of the injured told reporters that all main passengers had left the buses for inspection by the police when the tanker crashed into them. And as a result, most of the victims could be the women and children who were on the buses at the time of the accident.
Police officials earlier said that an investigation was under way to find a reason for the accident. The governor-general of the province, Hassan Ameni (ph), told Iran state radio television that the investigation could probably focus on whether or not the fuel trucks broke the law. A directive was apparently recently issued banning loaded fuel trucks from using public highways in the dark hours of the night for the same reason for -- to prevent accidents.
He also said that intense heat from the burning gasoline prevented rescue workers for an hour from getting close to the buses. The governor also said that the injured have been identified but the -- but the identified process for the dead will take a little longer -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Shirzad, I was just curious as to why the buses were being inspected.
BOZORGMEHR: This police station is on the way of the -- is on the way of the route for opium smugglers from Afghanistan, and it's routine for all buses and passenger cars and all trucks to be inspected.
COSTELLO: Shirzad Bozorgmehr, joining us live by phone from Tehran, many thanks to you.
Stories 'Across America' this Friday.
The government warns a mysterious Internet attack against thousands of popular Web sites is now under way. Experts say it's a virus-like infection that tries to implant hacker's software onto the computers of anyone who visits the Web sites. Homeland Security is trying to find out if the infection or how the infection spreads and how to defend against it.
A hearing will be held today in Michael Jackson's child molestation case. A judge is expected to consider whether to keep nearly all documents in the case sealed. Media outlets want them to be released. Lawyers on both sides want them kept under seal. Jackson is not expected to be in court.
Home Depot is shipping nine tractor-trailers of tools and materials to the U.S. military in Iraq. Materials ranging from jackhammers to table saws were loaded onto trucks in San Diego. Home Depot says it has more than 1,800 employees serving in Iraq.
A hometown minister makes a serene sacrifice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. KENT BERRY, FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: ... is a battle. It reminds me very much of the -- of the person who once said that when the church is on fire, everyone carries a bucket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Up next, how he will serve his country by sowing the seeds of peace in Iraq.
This is DAYBREAK for Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:45 Eastern. Here is what's all new this morning.
A day after major clashes across Iraq, fighting continues in the city of Fallujah. Marines fought into the night with insurgents. At least two people were killed.
Well here's a shocker, telemarketers are still calling people on the National Do Not Call List. The FTC has registered nearly half a million complaints from people who say they are on the list but they are still getting calls.
In money, Napster is getting some help in its new life as a C- based (ph) music Web site. Best Buy, the nation's biggest electronics retailer, says it will push Napster as its key digital music service.
In culture, as the gay marriage debate grows, more American businesses are deciding whether to extend health benefits to same-sex spouses of employees. In a recent survey, a third of employers say they would offer benefits, 40 percent said no.
In sports, don't look for basketball coach Bobby Knight to move back to the Big 10 anytime soon. Knight says he's been told despite recent rumors that he is not being considered for a spot at his alma matter Ohio State. Wouldn't that be something?
MYERS: I have no comment on that one -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Wow!
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you.
Even though the transfer of power to Iraq is planned for next week, U.S. troops are not pulling out. In fact, there are still holes to fill in the U.S. military.
As CNN's Dana Bash reports, a minister near President Bush's Texas ranch is tapped to head to the war zone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These days, Kent Berry's story is a familiar one, small town National Guardsman called for duty in Iraq. But he is not just from any small town, he's from Crawford, Texas, home of the commander-in chief.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Still making plans, huh?
K. BERRY: Yes. Yes, they've got me -- they've got me -- they've got me locked and loaded and you know, chambered.
BASH: Berry is a Methodist minister. One of his two churches is up the road from the president's ranch. Lately his preaching hints at the sacrifice he's about to make. K. BERRY: Life really is a battle. It reminds me very much of the person who once said that when the church is on fire, everyone carries a bucket.
BASH: This weekend he reports to the 386th Combat Engineer Battalion to serve as chaplain 18 months away from home, a full year in Iraq.
(on camera): You scared?
K. BERRY: Well, you know, this is scary. Yes, you know it's anyone that's involved in this would, if they have any sense about them at all would know that. Should feel bad. Yes.
BASH (voice-over): His wife and three kids are frightened, but mostly they are upset about what dad's going to miss.
BETHANY BERRY, DAUGHTER: He's going to be gone my senior year, so I was like I don't want him to go because I want him there for those memories. But I mean he's got to go. He's got to take his -- take his turn.
BRITTANY BERRY, DAUGHTER: I'm just sad that he's not going to be at my basketball games and if I'm in track, then he won't be there either to see me run.
BENJAMIN BERRY, SON: So supportive of me, of everything I do. I just love him so much. It's going to be sad.
BASH: Vicky Berry backed the war her husband is now being sent to and still does.
VICKY BERRY, WIFE: It was right for us to go in and to do what we've done and we're right to stay and try to finish the job if at all possible.
BASH: Berry's congregants are anxious about their pastor going to Iraq but proud he'll be ministering to young troops who will need him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He nurtures his flock and he will nurture his flock in Iraq.
BASH: Despite diminishing support the president now faces over whether the Iraq war was necessary, this hometown pastor is matter of fact.
K. BERRY: This is not something that we want, you know. This is something that we're doing.
BASH: It is, he says, simply his duty.
Dana Bash, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: It's a condition that affects millions of Americans, but what's the best treatment? Coming up in the next hour of DAYBREAK, new findings that are adding fuel to the fire in the Alzheimer's debate.
And the other shoe drops in the doping scandal. We're pointing the finger at the details ahead.
This is DAYBREAK.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Some "Health Headlines" for you this morning.
Pregnancy seems to cause a drop in good or HDL cholesterol levels. And a new study concludes that the decline may persist up to 10 years. Previous studies have reported declines in HDL cholesterol one to two years after pregnancy.
Do you lie about your weight or your level of physical activity? There is a study out that says young overweight women tend to, shall we say, overestimate their levels of physical activity. But after losing weight, white women tend to lie less while African-American women continue to bend the truth.
Holy mackerel, listen to this, eating up to four portions of oily fish per week, like mackerel, tuna and salmon, poses little risk of a build up of toxins in the body. Plus, it gives a major boost to a healthy heart. The assurance comes after a yearlong study by food experts who work for the British government.
And the spotlight of suspicion is shining brighter today after some supposedly protected grand jury testimony was leaked to the media. Included in that testimony is one admission of guilt and a lot of finger pointing.
CNN's Josie Burke reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSIE BURKE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The grand jury testimony that appeared in the "San Francisco Chronicle" Thursday said Tim Montgomery told the grand jury he used the banned substance human growth hormone along with a steroid that had previously been undetectable.
Montgomery said he got the drugs from Victor Conte, the head of BALCO, who was one of four people indicted on federal drug charges in February. Publicly, Montgomery has denied he broke track and field's doping rules.
In response to the "Chronicle's" report, one of Montgomery's lawyers, Cristina Arguedas, told the paper -- quote -- "no one can legally or legitimately have Tim's grand jury testimony, and if they think they have it, I would like to see it." Montgomery is the boyfriend of Olympian Marion Jones. According to the "Chronicle," prosecutors did not ask Montgomery during his grand jury testimony whether Jones used illegal drugs. Jones has not been charged with any doping violations, but she has been a target of a United States Anti-Doping Agency investigation. She has denied using banned substances and continues to wage an intense public relations campaign to clear her name.
But Montgomery did not hesitate to point a finger at baseball superstar Barry Bonds. According to the "Chronicle," Montgomery told prosecutors he was told that Conte had provided the home run king with the steroid Windstrong (ph). Thursday Bonds responded to the report.
"It bothers me when people I don't even know are saying stuff about me... If any of (the) statements are true, they're going to talk to my attorney, I guarantee that -- in a lawsuit..."
In addition, USADA formerly charged Montgomery and sprinter Michelle Collins with doping violations and informed them they face a lifetime ban. Montgomery's attorney said the sprinter would appeal the ruling.
Josie Burke, CNN, Colorado Springs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And on the subject of sports, we have some chat for you this morning.
Chad, are you around?
MYERS: I am right here -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Good. You're in front of a beautiful sky.
MYERS: Yes, sunrise somewhere.
COSTELLO: That's lovely.
We have the "Forbes" list of the best-paid athletes.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: It's incredible.
MYERS: Guess who made the most money?
COSTELLO: Well you know he's not doing very well these days either.
MYERS: No, he almost lost his No. 1 ranking.
COSTELLO: Tiger Woods. And guess how much he makes?
MYERS: I already know.
COSTELLO: Go ahead, tell people.
MYERS: $80 million.
COSTELLO: That just doesn't seem possible.
MYERS: And then Michael Schumacher right behind him only $300,000 less. Michael Schumacher actually gets paid by Ferrari $40 million just to drive the car and the...
COSTELLO: You've got to be kidding.
MYERS: And the rest is from endorsements.
COSTELLO: They pay him $40 million just to drive.
MYERS: Yes. He is the fastest driver of the fastest car.
COSTELLO: That's crazy.
MYERS: He's won -- he's won all but one race so far this year for Formula One.
COSTELLO: Well maybe he's worth it then, I don't know. But who is worth $80 million, I don't know.
Peyton Manning, $42 million.
MYERS: Yes. Yes, good.
COSTELLO: He's poor in comparison.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: Michael Jordan is still up there in the top five.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: He's making $35 million. And Shaquille O'Neal comes in with a paltry $31.9 million.
MYERS: Right. Michael, Shaq and Kobe all -- Kobe all the way up to and in the top 10.
COSTELLO: Yes, it's amazing.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Thanks for joining in -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: I'll let you get back to business.
MYERS: All right.
COSTELLO: A hot new film is stirring up controversy around the country. You've heard the talk, but is it worth the money? We'll get the good, the bad and the ugly on "Fahrenheit 9/11."
You stay tuned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired June 25, 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: Good morning to you, welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you for joining you this morning.
Let me bring you up to date now.
President Bush leaves today on a trip to Ireland to attend a summit with European Union leaders. He'll try to drum up support for Iraq's new government. After Ireland, President Bush will fly to Turkey for a NATO summit.
Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry picks up an endorsement from former Chrysler chief Lee Iacocca. Iacocca was an avid Bush supporter in 2000, but he says the country needs a president who has a better understanding of the economy.
In money news, new home sales jump to a record high. The Commerce Department says sales of single family homes surged nearly 15 percent last month to a record annual rate of 1.3 -- 1.37 million houses.
In culture, Eric Clapton's favorite guitar fetched nearly $960,000 at a New York City auction. The legendary rock musician and others donated 88 items to raise money for a West Indies charity.
In sports, Texas will take on Cal State Fullerton in the College World Series finals this weekend. The Titans beat South Carolina four to nothing last night -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And where was that -- Carol?
COSTELLO: In...
MYERS: In Omaha.
COSTELLO: Omaha.
MYERS: Always College World Series in Omaha. Used to go to Rosenblatt Stadium. Oh well.
COSTELLO: I didn't know that. I was embarrassed.
MYERS: You know what, that is the big thing to do when you live in Omaha, go to the College World Series or maybe go down to Worlds of Fun in Kansas City.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: The six-nation forum on North Korea's nuclear program apparently is ending in acrimony at a threat from North Korea. The communist nation says it will test a nuclear weapon.
Senior Asia correspondent Mike Chinoy is covering those discussions.
Mike, you talked of optimism yesterday, but not today, apparently.
MIKE CHINOY, CNN SENIOR ASIA CORRESPONDENT: Well it's a mixed picture, Carol, to be honest. The message coming from the North Koreans on one level is do it our way or we'll test the nuclear bomb. It sounds scary. It certainly has the potential to be scary, but there are plenty of North Korea watchers who think the real message here is let's make a deal and this is just North Korea's way of negotiating.
The North Koreans know the U.S. wants them to give up their nuclear weapons program and they are asking a steep price, they want two million kilowatts of electricity. They want it straight away. And in return, they are offering to freeze, not to dismantle, but to freeze their nuclear facilities. They say they won't get rid of them altogether until there's a broader political deal with the United States.
For its part, the Bush administration wants the North Koreans to agree to dismantle all their nuclear facilities right away. And in return, the U.S. will agree to let its allies give North Korea oil and the U.S. is willing to talk about a provisional security guarantee. So the two sides are still very far apart.
But what you have here, Carol, and what makes this perhaps less gloomy than it seems on the surface, is this may be the beginnings of a process of negotiation, opening positions that each side is staking out and no one expects a breakthrough. But at least they are talking to each other about what they want from each other.
And there is some hope that this may lead over the coming months in the continuation of this six-party forum to at least a negotiation in which the U.S. and North Korea would try to iron out their differences, although, of course, there is no guarantee of success. And with each day that passes without a deal, the North Koreans continue to make more nuclear weapons -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Mike Chinoy reporting live for us from Beijing.
Want to bring in our senior international editor right now, David Clinch, to talk more about the situation in North Korea and more.
DAVID CLINCH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL EDITOR: Hi, Carol. Yes, well we're spending time and resources and effort putting Mike Chinoy there and others on those talks in North Korea or in China about North Korea's nuclear weapons, because it is a very important story. Yes, it's all negotiations. Yes, there may be some rhetoric here, but you wake up one morning and North Korea has tested a nuclear weapon and this is a different world that we live in. I mean you look up rogue nation in the dictionary and North Korea is right there. So it is a scary prospect, but we have the right...
COSTELLO: You know in a sense you kind of want to temp them to do that because we're still not sure that North Korea has any nuclear weapons.
CLINCH: Well that might work in one way to prove that they do.
COSTELLO: Yes.
CLINCH: But as Japan and China and South Korea have been making clear today that they see that and they would see a test in that close to home for them as a direct threat to their national security. As I said, that would change that part of the world. The Bush administration taking it very seriously and so are we in our coverage.
We also, of course, have a concurrent story in Iran. Just yesterday, the State Department somewhat curiously sort of speaking on behalf of the European countries that have been dealing with Iran, saying that Iran had told those European countries that it was going to start building or had started building nuclear materials again and potentially moving towards building weapons. They are not there yet. North Korea is, as far as we know. Both of those things combined, particularly with...
COSTELLO: So why do you think Iran feels that it can come out and say this at this particular time?
CLINCH: Well hard to say. It is certainly clear that nothing happens in a bubble here. All of these people, Iran, North Korea and elsewhere, know that the United States is fully engaged in Iraq right now and they may very well feel like they have an ability to go ahead with these things because the United States is distracted. That's not clear.
But what is clear is that Iran, right in the heart of the Middle East, right next to Iraq, that's a very big long-term issue that the Bush administration and future U.S. administrations will have to deal with.
Of course President Bush, as we were talking about earlier, heading to Ireland today, talking to the European allies over the next couple of days and then going to NATO. Those two issues will be in the background but definitely on the agenda in both of those locations.
COSTELLO: And you were talking about a very contentious interview between President Bush and an Irish interviewer. CLINCH: Right. Interview ran last night on Irish TV. As traditional when he's heading to other countries, he does an interview with a national broadcaster. Did one with Irish TV last night. It was somewhat contentious. But we were talking about the image issue that President Bush has. He made a statement. We'll run the sound bite now about democracy growing in the Middle East and we'll listen to that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think, first of all, you've got a democracy in Turkey. And you've got a democracy emerging in Afghanistan. You've got a democracy in Pakistan. What I'm telling you is democracy can emerge at the same time that a democracy can emerge in the Palestinian state. I'm the first American president to have called for the establishment of a Palestinian state. The first one to do so, because I believe it is in the Palestinian people's interest, I believe it's in Israel's interest. And yes, we're working, but we can do more than you know one thing at a time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You know we edited out the interviewer's questions, but she kept interrupting the president. Did that upset him?
CLINCH: Yes. Well that was contentious. But also in the middle of that, you -- we cut it off slightly, but you heard him referring to a democracy in Pakistan. Well I hear the Irish media this morning and on the Internet seeing them making quite a big deal of that. People in Pakistan clearly not of the view that they live in a democracy with a military dictatorship. And it could have been just a misstatement, but it plays into this whole image question.
President Bush making a very serious point there about bringing democracy and expanding it in the Middle East and wanting, encouraging a Middle East peace process, but in the middle of that talks about democracy in Pakistan. People in the European media very eager to jump on gaffs like that and it does create a problem for him as he goes to Europe and beyond looking for help. His personal image is definitely one of the things that is part of our coverage of that story.
COSTELLO: David Clinch, many thanks to you.
CLINCH: All right.
COSTELLO: Secretary of State Colin Powell will head to North -- to the North African nation of Sudan next week. He is going to press the government there to rein in Arab militias accused of killing tens of thousands of black Sudanese and forcing more than one million more from their homes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COLIN POWELL, SECRETARY OF STATE: We need to get help to these people now. And I hope that the leaders in Sudan will also give a message of cooperation to Kofi Annan and to other foreign officials that are traveling in the region and from other countries who have an interest in this as well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Powell calls the ethnic cleansing in Sudan a catastrophe.
Five days and counting to the handover of sovereignty in Iraq. Here is the latest in our 'Situation Report' this morning.
The Senate Armed Services Committee will hold a hearing on the transition of power in Iraq. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Richard Myers will testify.
More American troops may be deployed to Iraq. U.S. military planners are preparing to send possibly as many as 15,000 additional ground forces to Iraq if violence there increases. Already this morning, renewed clashes have broken out between insurgents and U.S. forces in Fallujah. You're looking at new pictures in just a short time ago from that rebel stronghold.
A horrible tragedy in Iran today, a fuel tanker slams into parked buses killing scores of people.
Journalist Shirzad Bozorgmehr joins us live by phone from Tehran.
Good morning.
SHIRZAD BOZORGMEHR, CNN STRINGER: Good morning, Carol.
Between 70 and 90 people actually were killed and 114 injured when a fuel tanker crashed into a police station in the southern Iranian province of Sistan and Baluchestan near the city of Bam last night. The accident happened around 1800 GMT on Thursday when the loaded gasoline truck first hit another fuel truck and then slammed into the police station where six passenger buses and five commercial trucks were being inspected by the police. All 11 vehicles caught fire and most of the fatalities occurred among bus passengers.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society says the rescue operation is now over and all the injured have been transported to hospitals in nearby cities. The number of the dead could rise because the Red Crescent Society says that some of the wounded have sustained serious burns and injuries that could prove fatal.
One of the injured told reporters that all main passengers had left the buses for inspection by the police when the tanker crashed into them. And as a result, most of the victims could be the women and children who were on the buses at the time of the accident.
Police officials earlier said that an investigation was under way to find a reason for the accident. The governor-general of the province, Hassan Ameni (ph), told Iran state radio television that the investigation could probably focus on whether or not the fuel trucks broke the law. A directive was apparently recently issued banning loaded fuel trucks from using public highways in the dark hours of the night for the same reason for -- to prevent accidents.
He also said that intense heat from the burning gasoline prevented rescue workers for an hour from getting close to the buses. The governor also said that the injured have been identified but the -- but the identified process for the dead will take a little longer -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Shirzad, I was just curious as to why the buses were being inspected.
BOZORGMEHR: This police station is on the way of the -- is on the way of the route for opium smugglers from Afghanistan, and it's routine for all buses and passenger cars and all trucks to be inspected.
COSTELLO: Shirzad Bozorgmehr, joining us live by phone from Tehran, many thanks to you.
Stories 'Across America' this Friday.
The government warns a mysterious Internet attack against thousands of popular Web sites is now under way. Experts say it's a virus-like infection that tries to implant hacker's software onto the computers of anyone who visits the Web sites. Homeland Security is trying to find out if the infection or how the infection spreads and how to defend against it.
A hearing will be held today in Michael Jackson's child molestation case. A judge is expected to consider whether to keep nearly all documents in the case sealed. Media outlets want them to be released. Lawyers on both sides want them kept under seal. Jackson is not expected to be in court.
Home Depot is shipping nine tractor-trailers of tools and materials to the U.S. military in Iraq. Materials ranging from jackhammers to table saws were loaded onto trucks in San Diego. Home Depot says it has more than 1,800 employees serving in Iraq.
A hometown minister makes a serene sacrifice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. KENT BERRY, FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH: ... is a battle. It reminds me very much of the -- of the person who once said that when the church is on fire, everyone carries a bucket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Up next, how he will serve his country by sowing the seeds of peace in Iraq.
This is DAYBREAK for Friday.
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COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:45 Eastern. Here is what's all new this morning.
A day after major clashes across Iraq, fighting continues in the city of Fallujah. Marines fought into the night with insurgents. At least two people were killed.
Well here's a shocker, telemarketers are still calling people on the National Do Not Call List. The FTC has registered nearly half a million complaints from people who say they are on the list but they are still getting calls.
In money, Napster is getting some help in its new life as a C- based (ph) music Web site. Best Buy, the nation's biggest electronics retailer, says it will push Napster as its key digital music service.
In culture, as the gay marriage debate grows, more American businesses are deciding whether to extend health benefits to same-sex spouses of employees. In a recent survey, a third of employers say they would offer benefits, 40 percent said no.
In sports, don't look for basketball coach Bobby Knight to move back to the Big 10 anytime soon. Knight says he's been told despite recent rumors that he is not being considered for a spot at his alma matter Ohio State. Wouldn't that be something?
MYERS: I have no comment on that one -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Wow!
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
Those are the latest headlines for you.
Even though the transfer of power to Iraq is planned for next week, U.S. troops are not pulling out. In fact, there are still holes to fill in the U.S. military.
As CNN's Dana Bash reports, a minister near President Bush's Texas ranch is tapped to head to the war zone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These days, Kent Berry's story is a familiar one, small town National Guardsman called for duty in Iraq. But he is not just from any small town, he's from Crawford, Texas, home of the commander-in chief.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Still making plans, huh?
K. BERRY: Yes. Yes, they've got me -- they've got me -- they've got me locked and loaded and you know, chambered.
BASH: Berry is a Methodist minister. One of his two churches is up the road from the president's ranch. Lately his preaching hints at the sacrifice he's about to make. K. BERRY: Life really is a battle. It reminds me very much of the person who once said that when the church is on fire, everyone carries a bucket.
BASH: This weekend he reports to the 386th Combat Engineer Battalion to serve as chaplain 18 months away from home, a full year in Iraq.
(on camera): You scared?
K. BERRY: Well, you know, this is scary. Yes, you know it's anyone that's involved in this would, if they have any sense about them at all would know that. Should feel bad. Yes.
BASH (voice-over): His wife and three kids are frightened, but mostly they are upset about what dad's going to miss.
BETHANY BERRY, DAUGHTER: He's going to be gone my senior year, so I was like I don't want him to go because I want him there for those memories. But I mean he's got to go. He's got to take his -- take his turn.
BRITTANY BERRY, DAUGHTER: I'm just sad that he's not going to be at my basketball games and if I'm in track, then he won't be there either to see me run.
BENJAMIN BERRY, SON: So supportive of me, of everything I do. I just love him so much. It's going to be sad.
BASH: Vicky Berry backed the war her husband is now being sent to and still does.
VICKY BERRY, WIFE: It was right for us to go in and to do what we've done and we're right to stay and try to finish the job if at all possible.
BASH: Berry's congregants are anxious about their pastor going to Iraq but proud he'll be ministering to young troops who will need him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He nurtures his flock and he will nurture his flock in Iraq.
BASH: Despite diminishing support the president now faces over whether the Iraq war was necessary, this hometown pastor is matter of fact.
K. BERRY: This is not something that we want, you know. This is something that we're doing.
BASH: It is, he says, simply his duty.
Dana Bash, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE) COSTELLO: It's a condition that affects millions of Americans, but what's the best treatment? Coming up in the next hour of DAYBREAK, new findings that are adding fuel to the fire in the Alzheimer's debate.
And the other shoe drops in the doping scandal. We're pointing the finger at the details ahead.
This is DAYBREAK.
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COSTELLO: Some "Health Headlines" for you this morning.
Pregnancy seems to cause a drop in good or HDL cholesterol levels. And a new study concludes that the decline may persist up to 10 years. Previous studies have reported declines in HDL cholesterol one to two years after pregnancy.
Do you lie about your weight or your level of physical activity? There is a study out that says young overweight women tend to, shall we say, overestimate their levels of physical activity. But after losing weight, white women tend to lie less while African-American women continue to bend the truth.
Holy mackerel, listen to this, eating up to four portions of oily fish per week, like mackerel, tuna and salmon, poses little risk of a build up of toxins in the body. Plus, it gives a major boost to a healthy heart. The assurance comes after a yearlong study by food experts who work for the British government.
And the spotlight of suspicion is shining brighter today after some supposedly protected grand jury testimony was leaked to the media. Included in that testimony is one admission of guilt and a lot of finger pointing.
CNN's Josie Burke reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSIE BURKE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The grand jury testimony that appeared in the "San Francisco Chronicle" Thursday said Tim Montgomery told the grand jury he used the banned substance human growth hormone along with a steroid that had previously been undetectable.
Montgomery said he got the drugs from Victor Conte, the head of BALCO, who was one of four people indicted on federal drug charges in February. Publicly, Montgomery has denied he broke track and field's doping rules.
In response to the "Chronicle's" report, one of Montgomery's lawyers, Cristina Arguedas, told the paper -- quote -- "no one can legally or legitimately have Tim's grand jury testimony, and if they think they have it, I would like to see it." Montgomery is the boyfriend of Olympian Marion Jones. According to the "Chronicle," prosecutors did not ask Montgomery during his grand jury testimony whether Jones used illegal drugs. Jones has not been charged with any doping violations, but she has been a target of a United States Anti-Doping Agency investigation. She has denied using banned substances and continues to wage an intense public relations campaign to clear her name.
But Montgomery did not hesitate to point a finger at baseball superstar Barry Bonds. According to the "Chronicle," Montgomery told prosecutors he was told that Conte had provided the home run king with the steroid Windstrong (ph). Thursday Bonds responded to the report.
"It bothers me when people I don't even know are saying stuff about me... If any of (the) statements are true, they're going to talk to my attorney, I guarantee that -- in a lawsuit..."
In addition, USADA formerly charged Montgomery and sprinter Michelle Collins with doping violations and informed them they face a lifetime ban. Montgomery's attorney said the sprinter would appeal the ruling.
Josie Burke, CNN, Colorado Springs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And on the subject of sports, we have some chat for you this morning.
Chad, are you around?
MYERS: I am right here -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Good. You're in front of a beautiful sky.
MYERS: Yes, sunrise somewhere.
COSTELLO: That's lovely.
We have the "Forbes" list of the best-paid athletes.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: It's incredible.
MYERS: Guess who made the most money?
COSTELLO: Well you know he's not doing very well these days either.
MYERS: No, he almost lost his No. 1 ranking.
COSTELLO: Tiger Woods. And guess how much he makes?
MYERS: I already know.
COSTELLO: Go ahead, tell people.
MYERS: $80 million.
COSTELLO: That just doesn't seem possible.
MYERS: And then Michael Schumacher right behind him only $300,000 less. Michael Schumacher actually gets paid by Ferrari $40 million just to drive the car and the...
COSTELLO: You've got to be kidding.
MYERS: And the rest is from endorsements.
COSTELLO: They pay him $40 million just to drive.
MYERS: Yes. He is the fastest driver of the fastest car.
COSTELLO: That's crazy.
MYERS: He's won -- he's won all but one race so far this year for Formula One.
COSTELLO: Well maybe he's worth it then, I don't know. But who is worth $80 million, I don't know.
Peyton Manning, $42 million.
MYERS: Yes. Yes, good.
COSTELLO: He's poor in comparison.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: Michael Jordan is still up there in the top five.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: He's making $35 million. And Shaquille O'Neal comes in with a paltry $31.9 million.
MYERS: Right. Michael, Shaq and Kobe all -- Kobe all the way up to and in the top 10.
COSTELLO: Yes, it's amazing.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: Thanks for joining in -- Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: I'll let you get back to business.
MYERS: All right.
COSTELLO: A hot new film is stirring up controversy around the country. You've heard the talk, but is it worth the money? We'll get the good, the bad and the ugly on "Fahrenheit 9/11."
You stay tuned.
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