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CNN Live At Daybreak
9/11 Panel Issues Its Recommendations; How Boston is Bracing for Political Show
Aired July 23, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: The 9/11 panel issues its recommendations. Where did the breakdown happen that led to those tragic events? And, more importantly, how?
It's Friday, July 23, and this is DAYBREAK.
Well, good morning.
Happy Friday to you.
From the CNN Headquarters here in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen in for Carol Costello.
Now in the news, suspected Iraqi insurgents have been targeted in Fallujah. A coalition spokesman says today's air strike was against a dozen insurgents with ties to terror suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The strike was conducted in coordination with the Iraqi government.
An investigation is going on right now into a deadly high speed train wreck in Turkey that killed 36 people and injured 79 more. The new high speed train began operating between Istanbul and Jakarta just last month.
President Bush is traveling to Detroit this morning. He's speaking at the National Urban League conference in an effort to connect with African-American voters. CNN will carry the president's talk live at 10:00 Eastern.
The aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan is making its first home port docking in San Diego this morning. Former First Lady Nancy Reagan will be on hand for those celebrations. And CNN's Miguel Marquez will be on board with live reports throughout the day.
Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
And we want to trust Chad for a look at the forecast this morning -- good morning, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Betty.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Well, there is a lot of blame to go around. The 9/11 Commission's final report lists several intelligence failures. But the document itself fails to answer at least one key question.
Our senior White House correspondent John King takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Could it have been prevented? The 9/11 Commission report did not answer that nagging question with certainty. But its account of what went wrong details stunning failures.
THOMAS KEAN, 9/11 COMMISSION CHAIR: This was a failure of policy, management, capability and, above all, a failure of imagination.
KING: December, 1998, President Clinton received a highly classified briefing with this headline -- "Bin Laden Preparing To Hijack U.S. Aircraft and Other Attacks." The Commission concludes had that warning been shared across the government, it might have brought more attention to the need for permanent changes in domestic airport and airline security procedures.
Many of the mistakes are well known now. Two of the hijackers were suspected terrorists, but were not placed on watch lists that would have barred them from entering the United States. The FBI knew Zacarias Moussaoui was in the States for flight training and suspected a possible hijacking. The CIA knew al Qaeda planned a spectacular attack soon, possibly involving airplanes. But the FBI didn't pass on all it knew. The dots never connected.
JAMES THOMPSON, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: Could that have prevented 9/11? We don't know. But that failure is there.
KING: All the more striking because in 1999, worried about millennium attacks, the government had come together to confront al Qaeda threats. Information about terrorism flowed widely and abundantly. The flow from the FBI was particularly remarkable, because the FBI at other times shared almost no information.
Attacks were thwarted. The nation celebrated peacefully, and, the report says, the government relaxed. Counter-terrorism went back to being a secret preserve. So secret the Commission says Presidents Clinton and Bush were not given the full picture of al Qaeda's capabilities and hatred.
BOB KERREY, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: How in god's name are you supposed to imagine a threat if the facts are being withheld from you?
KING: In the summer of 2001, CIA Director George Tenet warned the system was blinking red. Al Qaeda was poised to strike. The acting head of the FBI arranged a national conference call, but did not task field offices to try to determine whether any plots were being considered within the United States. And while Tenet was raising alarms, not everyone was convinced. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz questioned the reporting.
Lots of specifics about what went wrong, but a more cautious approach on the question of who's to blame. (on camera): The Commission says it would be wrong to single out one person or one government agency for blame, but that a number of senior government officials, including the Congress and the two most recent presidents, share the responsibility.
John King, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And some families of the September 11 victims applaud the 9/11 Commission report. It's something many families fought for. And they're not going away now that it's complete. About 30 of the family members attended the Commission's release of the final draft. They say they're now setting their sights on persuading Congress to make sure Americans are better protected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARIE LEMACK, LOST MOTHER ON 9/11: There's a lot of work to be done now and I'm looking forward to working with the commissioners to implement these recommendations. But I think the most important thing for everyone to keep in mind is safety is not a partisan issue. And these recommendations should not be looked at with partisan eyes. They should be looked at in the eyes and making sure that those who were murdered, their murder was not in vain and that we make America safer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The 9/11 report also reveals new details about the final minutes aboard United Airlines Flight 93. That's the one that crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. According to the report, the hijacker who was piloting the plane, Ziad Jarrah, rolled the Boeing 757 back and forth to try to knock passengers off balance. The passengers were trying to charge the cockpit. The report says, "Five seconds later, Jarrah asked, "Is that it? Shall we finish it off?" A hijacker responded, "No, not yet. When they all come, we finish it off." Jarrah resumed pitching the plane up and down for some time. The Commission says he then yelled, "Allah is the greatest!" and crashed the plane.
Well, coming up at 8:00 a.m. Eastern, you can hear from former Senator Bob Kerrey, one of the members of the 9/11 panel. He'll join CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."
Then at 9:00 a.m., in that hour of the broadcast, Carie Lemack shares her reaction to the recommendations in that report. She lost her mother on 9/11.
Americans believe President Bush can handle both terrorism and the Iraq situation better than Senator John Kerry. At least that's the finding from the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, taken this week. Asked who would better handle terrorism, 56 percent said Bush. Thirty-eight percent said Kerry. Asked who would better handle Iraq, 49 percent said Bush, 44 percent said Kerry. Members of the media could become a target in border. Law enforcement sources tell CNN there's a credible threat that media vans could be targeted during the Democratic National Convention. Meanwhile, security preparations are winding up in Boston. Among the measures, removing mailboxes and garbage cans, anything that could hide a bomb.
All week on DAYBREAK, we've been reporting on the police pay dispute in Boston and the threat of picket lines at the Democratic convention site. Now, an independent arbitrator has ruled that officers should get a 14 1/2 percent pay raise over four years. The head of the patrolman's association is discussing that proposal with other union leaders. But the association is holding permits to picket all 29 delegation welcoming parties Sunday night. Union leaders say those picket lines will go up whether or not the dispute is settled.
The picketing and other demonstrations around the Fleet Center are just part of the process.
CNN's Louise Schiavone takes a look at how Boston and its residents are bracing for this political show.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After two years of pitching, planning, fund-raising, building and lots of talking, Boston is about to host its first political convention. Expectations are high.
MAYOR THOMAS MENINO (D), BOSTON: We put a study together with an economist from the University of Mass. and Boston College. It tells us we'll make about $154 million totally over that period of time -- $14 million in new taxes, $11.4 million goes directly to the state, $2.6 million comes to the City of Boston. That's only making an analysis of the four days.
SCHIAVONE: Expenses have been steep, as well. Approximately $95 million have been sunk into infrastructure and security. The biggest single preparation? The Fleet Center overhaul.
TOM GOEMAAT, PRESIDENT, SHAWMUT DESIGN: We removed 5,000 seats from the Fleet Center to make room for the stage and the podium. We erected 70 tons of steel up in the ceiling of the Fleet Center to support lighting for the production. We've got four massive generators on railroad cars in, out back providing additional electricity.
SCHIAVONE: With North Station trains silenced below for security reasons, Fleet Center press will be deployed to platforms over railroad tracks. Interesting, but nothing compared to the 100,000 square foot, two story media tent.
For about a week, Boston will be home to some of the most famous politicians, those who cover them, and don't forget, Hollywood's elite. Inconvenienced by highway, road, bridge, tunnel and train closings, some Bostonians are not that impressed. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've taken a week off and I'm going to get as far away from the city as I possibly can.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We figure it's probably going to be a little bit of a nightmare just because of the transportation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to take vacation that week because the commute's going to be so hard.
SCHIAVONE: Plus, businesses are confronting new terrorism related expenses.
PAUL GUZZI, BOSTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Some companies, very, very few have taken out additional insurance coverage. More importantly, companies and their security officials have worked very, very closely with public sector officials ensuring security precautions.
SCHIAVONE: Still, by July 30, it will all be over, and officials expect that every dollar spent for the convention will bring back 10 over the next six years.
Lisa Schiavone, CNN Financial News, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And for more information on the conventions, plus the candidates and the issues, you can go to cnn.com/elections and visit our America Votes 2004 page.
Now here are some stories making news across America this Friday.
The captain of a Turkish merchant ship will appear in court today after telling the Coast Guard his ship was rigged to explode. He's been charged with making false statements. The ship was turned back to sea Thursday after the captain told inspectors he had a bomb on board that would explode once he reached port in Philadelphia. Now, a search was unable to locate any explosives on board.
More fires in southern California. Firefighters are working to control three small wildfires that broke out just as other larger fires were contained. The largest of the new fires is causing road closures and threatening houses in Riverside County.
In Florida, two construction workers are dead after an unfinished three story condominium collapsed. It took rescue and recovery crews about eight hours to pull the bodies out of the rubble. The last was recovered just about three hours ago. Several other workers were injured in that collapse. Crews rescued one worker who was trapped in wet cement up to his waist.
President Nixon's winter White House has been torn down. Historians say the Florida property was the site where plans for the Watergate break-in were discussed. Nixon visited the compound at least 50 times during his presidency. A new home is going up in its place. Still to come here on DAYBREAK, the threat, the families, the findings -- more reaction to the recommendations in the 9/11 report coming up at the quarter after.
Plus, paper or plastic -- at the drive through? At 18 past the hour, why more fast food restaurants are accepting your credit cards.
Then later, documenting the vote -- films stake their political claims on the left and the right, and will they have any effect on the election? We'll tell you.
This is DAYBREAK for July 23.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Welcome back on this Friday.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
The time right now is 6:14 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Terrorists with ties to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were the target of U.S.-led air strikes in Fallujah. The interim Iraqi government approved the strikes against 10 to 12 suspected terrorists in the area. An Iraqi health ministry official says that at least one person was hurt in the attack.
Nineteen workers are now on leave as part of an investigation into missing computer disks at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The disks contain classified materials. All sensitive work at the lab has been on hold while officials review their security procedures.
In money, the U.S. military may be getting some much needed emergency funds for Iraq. Congress approved a massive defense bill and sent it on to President Bush. Now, earlier this week, a government report highlighted shortfalls that were compromising the safety of American soldiers.
In culture, can certain movies really put you in the mood? Well, a study from the University of Michigan says romantic movies like "The Bridges of Madison County" actually elevate hormone levels. Yup, that's in the new study.
And in sports, more accusations against Marion Jones. Two Bay Area newspapers report her ex-husband says he gave her shots of banned substances during the 2000 Olympic Games. Jones' lawyer says C.J. Hunter is lying out of bitterness over their divorce.
Well, this morning will you be bitter over the weather outside? I think if you live in Denver, you may not be too bitter about it. What, 64 is the high today?
MYERS: Yes. Maybe we'll just call it bitterly cold.
NGUYEN: Yes.
MYERS: OK. Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Make changes and do it quickly, that is the recommendation of the panel looking into the September 11 terror attacks. The Commission wants to see a major overhaul of the nation's intelligence agencies in order to stop any future attacks.
And CNN radio reporter Dick Uliano joins us now by phone from Washington -- good morning to you.
DICK ULIANO, CNN RADIO CORRESPONDENT: Hello or good morning to you, Betty.
NGUYEN: Well, what about the prospects for the report's recommendations in Congress? The report doesn't really achieve much without law makers' support. And will they be able to tackle this before they end for the year?
ULIANO: Well, members of Congress are saying that these are really big changes and they're basically advising the American people to not expect them any time soon. Remember, the panel report calls for the creation of a single national intelligence director, a single counter-terrorism center and changes in the way Congress oversees the intelligence community. And law makers, like House Speaker Dennis Hastert, says he doesn't expect that Congress is going to get to this until next year, though some members of Congress are hoping for quicker action.
NGUYEN: But, Dick, isn't that a big problem, because al Qaeda can strike at any moment and there's even talk that, you know, al Qaeda may be targeting the elections and all the -- and the process that's leading up to November 2.
How does this play into all of it, if Congress isn't going to act on it right now?
ULIANO: Well, that's a good point, Betty. Issuing the report, the panel's Republican Chairman Thomas Kean, is warning that the nation is safer but not safe. He said every expert in this area who testified to the committee indicated -- Commission, rather -- indicated that they expect another spectacular terrorist attack. And that's why Kean is getting behind a lobbying effort, along with Hamilton, the vice chairman, the Democrat, and family members, too, and say they'll lobby Congress to try to get quick action on these changes.
NGUYEN: Also, the FBI and CIA among the most harshly criticized in the report.
How are they responding to the report this morning?
ULIANO: Well, the FBI, although it came under some of the harshest criticism in the report for its failures leading to 9/11, it is actually taking some solace in the report because the Commission basically is embracing the changes that Director Bob Mueller is making. And Robert Mueller, the director of the FBI, in a news release, says he agrees with the recommendations the Commission is making and they want to work more and provide more of what the Commission is recommending to make the FBI more responsive to national security concerns.
Remember, it's originally a crime fighting agency.
NGUYEN: Dick, some family members are upset with these recommendations because they say they are simply too broad. No specifics are, you know, are in this report.
What's being done about the specifics of this?
ULIANO: Well, you know, some family members like the findings of the Commission. Others don't. It seems like some of them wanted a single individual to blame. And the Commission's findings essentially found that the failure is system wide. The United States government simply was not prepared for the type of attack that occurred on 9/11.
NGUYEN: Are we seeing major changes? How much of this has been completed? How much of what was wrong has been fixed so far?
ULIANO: Well, the Bush administration contends, and Congress, that significant changes have been made and we're not in the same security posture that we were nearly three years ago. Remember, we have reinforced cockpit doors now. There are tighter controls on the border. There's greater security at the airport. We have a homeland security director. So many, many changes have already been made.
But these proposals that the Commission is urging on Congress are significant changes. Law makers say they won't get them until next year and they would go a long way to changing the way America approaches intelligence, or at least oversees it and executes the operations, as well as homeland security.
NGUYEN: Dick Uliano of CNN Radio, thank you very much.
ULIANO: Sure.
NGUYEN: Time now for a little business buzz.
Are you finding your money clip or coin purse to be useless? Why carry cash when everyone accepts plastic these days?
Carrie Lee joins us from the Nasdaq market site in New York with more -- Carrie, all I carry are credit cards. That's it. No cash.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There you go. Credit and debit cards, Betty, that's what people are using more than ever. The "Wall Street Journal" reporting today that the U.S. has truly become a pay with plastic nation. More people swiped their credit or debit cards last year than paying for purchases in any other type of way. And this for the first time ever. If you compare 1999 with 2003, you'll see that back in 1999, credit and debit cards covered just 43 percent of purchases, checks and cash paid for 57 percent. But last year, plastic paid for 52 percent. Cash and check use fell by 47 percent.
Now, the main reason for this change, a big pickup in the use of debit cards, which are very convenient. Even fast food chains are now taking cards. Most of Wendy's locations do this. Burger King diving in, as well. And even this week McDonald's says it's going to be accepting credit cards at up to 8,000 of its 13,500 U.S. locales, so making it even easier.
Now, the good thing here, for the economy, anyway, is that when people use credit and debit, they tend to spend more. So that boosts consumer spending. That's good for the economy.
However, credit card usage has also fueled an explosion in consumer debt. So good news/bad news here. People do need to be aware of their budgets.
And that is the latest business news.
DAYBREAK will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Scott Peterson's trial hit a few bumps yesterday during some contentious testimony on the possible contamination of evidence.
For more, we are joined by legal analyst Kendall Coffey in Miami -- Good morning to you.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning.
NGUYEN: There was some heated talk. Even the jury had to leave for a moment.
What was this all about?
COFFEY: Well, I think what the defense purported to be angry about was the fact that during the preliminary hearing the prosecution was most insistent that this hair -- and we're really doing some hair splitting here -- but it went in as a single strand of hair into the evidence bag and then later on there's two different strands of hair. The prosecution insisted before that it was just Laci's hair but it had split in two. Now, the prosecution's own expert is saying, well, by the way, these appear to be a hair strand from two different people. One's Laci probably. The other they can't identify.
Betty, that kind of confusion, contradiction among the prosecution's own witnesses is one of the reasons why this seems to be a case the defense is winning.
NGUYEN: Well, and then the defense has been all along saying that there's been sloppy police work throughout all of this investigation. COFFEY: And what the defense has done very skillfully is they've put the prosecution on trial. And let's face it, up to now the jury would be convicting the prosecution. Count one, sloppy investigation. Count two, not looking very carefully at any other suspects other than Scott Peterson. And count three, zeroing in on Scott Peterson like a heat seeking missile, trying to do everything they can to bend and shape the evidence to make a case on him while ignoring a lot of other possibilities that the evidence suggests.
NGUYEN: You mentioned other suspects. A lot of talk this week was about the sex offenders living in the neighborhood and perhaps maybe one of them is the person who actually murdered Laci.
COFFEY: I think that's right. I mean from the police standpoint, look, they looked -- there are 300 different sex -- registered sex offenders or parolees living within a mile. They got through most of them. There were a couple dozen that weren't accounted for.
From the defense perspective, look, if you've got two or three dozen registered sex offenders within a mile of Laci Peterson and you haven't checked out the alibi, not only have you done a poor job as a police investigator, but there are very big questions as to whether there was someone else out there that might have committed this horrible murder.
NGUYEN: And from sex offenders to prostitute and the mail system, what does this have to do with the trial?
COFFEY: Well, one of the things the prosecution thought might be good for them was to prove that a day before Laci disappeared, Scott Peterson rented, in effect, a secret mailbox. I don't think that helps the prosecution at all, Betty, because if, in fact, you're planning on killing your wife, why do you need a separate mailbox? I think that evidence that the prosecution was touting is consistent with somebody who was planning on staying married, but wanted to have a meretricious relationship on the side that he could keep from his wife. That's why he had the separate mailbox, which later on got some mail from Amber Frey.
So I don't know how the prosecution is helping themself. They may be proving that he's a liar, they may be proving that he was committing adultery, but what they're having trouble proving is that he murdered Laci Peterson and her unborn son.
NGUYEN: It seems like there's a lot of confusion all around.
COFFEY: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: Kendall Coffey, thank you very much.
COFFEY: Thanks, Betty.
NGUYEN: Here is what's all new in the next half hour.
We'll check in with our Bob Franken in Boston. Just three days to go until the Democratic convention gets under way. Is everything in place to make it safe?
Then, the Bush twins do some campaigning of their own and you can join them in cyberspace.
And will the president's reelection campaign feel any serious effects from Michael Moore's documentary? We'll talk about that and some new films from the other side of the aisle, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 23, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: The 9/11 panel issues its recommendations. Where did the breakdown happen that led to those tragic events? And, more importantly, how?
It's Friday, July 23, and this is DAYBREAK.
Well, good morning.
Happy Friday to you.
From the CNN Headquarters here in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen in for Carol Costello.
Now in the news, suspected Iraqi insurgents have been targeted in Fallujah. A coalition spokesman says today's air strike was against a dozen insurgents with ties to terror suspect Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The strike was conducted in coordination with the Iraqi government.
An investigation is going on right now into a deadly high speed train wreck in Turkey that killed 36 people and injured 79 more. The new high speed train began operating between Istanbul and Jakarta just last month.
President Bush is traveling to Detroit this morning. He's speaking at the National Urban League conference in an effort to connect with African-American voters. CNN will carry the president's talk live at 10:00 Eastern.
The aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan is making its first home port docking in San Diego this morning. Former First Lady Nancy Reagan will be on hand for those celebrations. And CNN's Miguel Marquez will be on board with live reports throughout the day.
Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
And we want to trust Chad for a look at the forecast this morning -- good morning, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Betty.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Well, there is a lot of blame to go around. The 9/11 Commission's final report lists several intelligence failures. But the document itself fails to answer at least one key question.
Our senior White House correspondent John King takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Could it have been prevented? The 9/11 Commission report did not answer that nagging question with certainty. But its account of what went wrong details stunning failures.
THOMAS KEAN, 9/11 COMMISSION CHAIR: This was a failure of policy, management, capability and, above all, a failure of imagination.
KING: December, 1998, President Clinton received a highly classified briefing with this headline -- "Bin Laden Preparing To Hijack U.S. Aircraft and Other Attacks." The Commission concludes had that warning been shared across the government, it might have brought more attention to the need for permanent changes in domestic airport and airline security procedures.
Many of the mistakes are well known now. Two of the hijackers were suspected terrorists, but were not placed on watch lists that would have barred them from entering the United States. The FBI knew Zacarias Moussaoui was in the States for flight training and suspected a possible hijacking. The CIA knew al Qaeda planned a spectacular attack soon, possibly involving airplanes. But the FBI didn't pass on all it knew. The dots never connected.
JAMES THOMPSON, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: Could that have prevented 9/11? We don't know. But that failure is there.
KING: All the more striking because in 1999, worried about millennium attacks, the government had come together to confront al Qaeda threats. Information about terrorism flowed widely and abundantly. The flow from the FBI was particularly remarkable, because the FBI at other times shared almost no information.
Attacks were thwarted. The nation celebrated peacefully, and, the report says, the government relaxed. Counter-terrorism went back to being a secret preserve. So secret the Commission says Presidents Clinton and Bush were not given the full picture of al Qaeda's capabilities and hatred.
BOB KERREY, 9/11 COMMISSION MEMBER: How in god's name are you supposed to imagine a threat if the facts are being withheld from you?
KING: In the summer of 2001, CIA Director George Tenet warned the system was blinking red. Al Qaeda was poised to strike. The acting head of the FBI arranged a national conference call, but did not task field offices to try to determine whether any plots were being considered within the United States. And while Tenet was raising alarms, not everyone was convinced. Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz questioned the reporting.
Lots of specifics about what went wrong, but a more cautious approach on the question of who's to blame. (on camera): The Commission says it would be wrong to single out one person or one government agency for blame, but that a number of senior government officials, including the Congress and the two most recent presidents, share the responsibility.
John King, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And some families of the September 11 victims applaud the 9/11 Commission report. It's something many families fought for. And they're not going away now that it's complete. About 30 of the family members attended the Commission's release of the final draft. They say they're now setting their sights on persuading Congress to make sure Americans are better protected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARIE LEMACK, LOST MOTHER ON 9/11: There's a lot of work to be done now and I'm looking forward to working with the commissioners to implement these recommendations. But I think the most important thing for everyone to keep in mind is safety is not a partisan issue. And these recommendations should not be looked at with partisan eyes. They should be looked at in the eyes and making sure that those who were murdered, their murder was not in vain and that we make America safer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The 9/11 report also reveals new details about the final minutes aboard United Airlines Flight 93. That's the one that crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. According to the report, the hijacker who was piloting the plane, Ziad Jarrah, rolled the Boeing 757 back and forth to try to knock passengers off balance. The passengers were trying to charge the cockpit. The report says, "Five seconds later, Jarrah asked, "Is that it? Shall we finish it off?" A hijacker responded, "No, not yet. When they all come, we finish it off." Jarrah resumed pitching the plane up and down for some time. The Commission says he then yelled, "Allah is the greatest!" and crashed the plane.
Well, coming up at 8:00 a.m. Eastern, you can hear from former Senator Bob Kerrey, one of the members of the 9/11 panel. He'll join CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."
Then at 9:00 a.m., in that hour of the broadcast, Carie Lemack shares her reaction to the recommendations in that report. She lost her mother on 9/11.
Americans believe President Bush can handle both terrorism and the Iraq situation better than Senator John Kerry. At least that's the finding from the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, taken this week. Asked who would better handle terrorism, 56 percent said Bush. Thirty-eight percent said Kerry. Asked who would better handle Iraq, 49 percent said Bush, 44 percent said Kerry. Members of the media could become a target in border. Law enforcement sources tell CNN there's a credible threat that media vans could be targeted during the Democratic National Convention. Meanwhile, security preparations are winding up in Boston. Among the measures, removing mailboxes and garbage cans, anything that could hide a bomb.
All week on DAYBREAK, we've been reporting on the police pay dispute in Boston and the threat of picket lines at the Democratic convention site. Now, an independent arbitrator has ruled that officers should get a 14 1/2 percent pay raise over four years. The head of the patrolman's association is discussing that proposal with other union leaders. But the association is holding permits to picket all 29 delegation welcoming parties Sunday night. Union leaders say those picket lines will go up whether or not the dispute is settled.
The picketing and other demonstrations around the Fleet Center are just part of the process.
CNN's Louise Schiavone takes a look at how Boston and its residents are bracing for this political show.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After two years of pitching, planning, fund-raising, building and lots of talking, Boston is about to host its first political convention. Expectations are high.
MAYOR THOMAS MENINO (D), BOSTON: We put a study together with an economist from the University of Mass. and Boston College. It tells us we'll make about $154 million totally over that period of time -- $14 million in new taxes, $11.4 million goes directly to the state, $2.6 million comes to the City of Boston. That's only making an analysis of the four days.
SCHIAVONE: Expenses have been steep, as well. Approximately $95 million have been sunk into infrastructure and security. The biggest single preparation? The Fleet Center overhaul.
TOM GOEMAAT, PRESIDENT, SHAWMUT DESIGN: We removed 5,000 seats from the Fleet Center to make room for the stage and the podium. We erected 70 tons of steel up in the ceiling of the Fleet Center to support lighting for the production. We've got four massive generators on railroad cars in, out back providing additional electricity.
SCHIAVONE: With North Station trains silenced below for security reasons, Fleet Center press will be deployed to platforms over railroad tracks. Interesting, but nothing compared to the 100,000 square foot, two story media tent.
For about a week, Boston will be home to some of the most famous politicians, those who cover them, and don't forget, Hollywood's elite. Inconvenienced by highway, road, bridge, tunnel and train closings, some Bostonians are not that impressed. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've taken a week off and I'm going to get as far away from the city as I possibly can.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We figure it's probably going to be a little bit of a nightmare just because of the transportation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to take vacation that week because the commute's going to be so hard.
SCHIAVONE: Plus, businesses are confronting new terrorism related expenses.
PAUL GUZZI, BOSTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Some companies, very, very few have taken out additional insurance coverage. More importantly, companies and their security officials have worked very, very closely with public sector officials ensuring security precautions.
SCHIAVONE: Still, by July 30, it will all be over, and officials expect that every dollar spent for the convention will bring back 10 over the next six years.
Lisa Schiavone, CNN Financial News, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And for more information on the conventions, plus the candidates and the issues, you can go to cnn.com/elections and visit our America Votes 2004 page.
Now here are some stories making news across America this Friday.
The captain of a Turkish merchant ship will appear in court today after telling the Coast Guard his ship was rigged to explode. He's been charged with making false statements. The ship was turned back to sea Thursday after the captain told inspectors he had a bomb on board that would explode once he reached port in Philadelphia. Now, a search was unable to locate any explosives on board.
More fires in southern California. Firefighters are working to control three small wildfires that broke out just as other larger fires were contained. The largest of the new fires is causing road closures and threatening houses in Riverside County.
In Florida, two construction workers are dead after an unfinished three story condominium collapsed. It took rescue and recovery crews about eight hours to pull the bodies out of the rubble. The last was recovered just about three hours ago. Several other workers were injured in that collapse. Crews rescued one worker who was trapped in wet cement up to his waist.
President Nixon's winter White House has been torn down. Historians say the Florida property was the site where plans for the Watergate break-in were discussed. Nixon visited the compound at least 50 times during his presidency. A new home is going up in its place. Still to come here on DAYBREAK, the threat, the families, the findings -- more reaction to the recommendations in the 9/11 report coming up at the quarter after.
Plus, paper or plastic -- at the drive through? At 18 past the hour, why more fast food restaurants are accepting your credit cards.
Then later, documenting the vote -- films stake their political claims on the left and the right, and will they have any effect on the election? We'll tell you.
This is DAYBREAK for July 23.
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NGUYEN: Welcome back on this Friday.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
The time right now is 6:14 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Terrorists with ties to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi were the target of U.S.-led air strikes in Fallujah. The interim Iraqi government approved the strikes against 10 to 12 suspected terrorists in the area. An Iraqi health ministry official says that at least one person was hurt in the attack.
Nineteen workers are now on leave as part of an investigation into missing computer disks at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The disks contain classified materials. All sensitive work at the lab has been on hold while officials review their security procedures.
In money, the U.S. military may be getting some much needed emergency funds for Iraq. Congress approved a massive defense bill and sent it on to President Bush. Now, earlier this week, a government report highlighted shortfalls that were compromising the safety of American soldiers.
In culture, can certain movies really put you in the mood? Well, a study from the University of Michigan says romantic movies like "The Bridges of Madison County" actually elevate hormone levels. Yup, that's in the new study.
And in sports, more accusations against Marion Jones. Two Bay Area newspapers report her ex-husband says he gave her shots of banned substances during the 2000 Olympic Games. Jones' lawyer says C.J. Hunter is lying out of bitterness over their divorce.
Well, this morning will you be bitter over the weather outside? I think if you live in Denver, you may not be too bitter about it. What, 64 is the high today?
MYERS: Yes. Maybe we'll just call it bitterly cold.
NGUYEN: Yes.
MYERS: OK. Good morning.
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NGUYEN: Make changes and do it quickly, that is the recommendation of the panel looking into the September 11 terror attacks. The Commission wants to see a major overhaul of the nation's intelligence agencies in order to stop any future attacks.
And CNN radio reporter Dick Uliano joins us now by phone from Washington -- good morning to you.
DICK ULIANO, CNN RADIO CORRESPONDENT: Hello or good morning to you, Betty.
NGUYEN: Well, what about the prospects for the report's recommendations in Congress? The report doesn't really achieve much without law makers' support. And will they be able to tackle this before they end for the year?
ULIANO: Well, members of Congress are saying that these are really big changes and they're basically advising the American people to not expect them any time soon. Remember, the panel report calls for the creation of a single national intelligence director, a single counter-terrorism center and changes in the way Congress oversees the intelligence community. And law makers, like House Speaker Dennis Hastert, says he doesn't expect that Congress is going to get to this until next year, though some members of Congress are hoping for quicker action.
NGUYEN: But, Dick, isn't that a big problem, because al Qaeda can strike at any moment and there's even talk that, you know, al Qaeda may be targeting the elections and all the -- and the process that's leading up to November 2.
How does this play into all of it, if Congress isn't going to act on it right now?
ULIANO: Well, that's a good point, Betty. Issuing the report, the panel's Republican Chairman Thomas Kean, is warning that the nation is safer but not safe. He said every expert in this area who testified to the committee indicated -- Commission, rather -- indicated that they expect another spectacular terrorist attack. And that's why Kean is getting behind a lobbying effort, along with Hamilton, the vice chairman, the Democrat, and family members, too, and say they'll lobby Congress to try to get quick action on these changes.
NGUYEN: Also, the FBI and CIA among the most harshly criticized in the report.
How are they responding to the report this morning?
ULIANO: Well, the FBI, although it came under some of the harshest criticism in the report for its failures leading to 9/11, it is actually taking some solace in the report because the Commission basically is embracing the changes that Director Bob Mueller is making. And Robert Mueller, the director of the FBI, in a news release, says he agrees with the recommendations the Commission is making and they want to work more and provide more of what the Commission is recommending to make the FBI more responsive to national security concerns.
Remember, it's originally a crime fighting agency.
NGUYEN: Dick, some family members are upset with these recommendations because they say they are simply too broad. No specifics are, you know, are in this report.
What's being done about the specifics of this?
ULIANO: Well, you know, some family members like the findings of the Commission. Others don't. It seems like some of them wanted a single individual to blame. And the Commission's findings essentially found that the failure is system wide. The United States government simply was not prepared for the type of attack that occurred on 9/11.
NGUYEN: Are we seeing major changes? How much of this has been completed? How much of what was wrong has been fixed so far?
ULIANO: Well, the Bush administration contends, and Congress, that significant changes have been made and we're not in the same security posture that we were nearly three years ago. Remember, we have reinforced cockpit doors now. There are tighter controls on the border. There's greater security at the airport. We have a homeland security director. So many, many changes have already been made.
But these proposals that the Commission is urging on Congress are significant changes. Law makers say they won't get them until next year and they would go a long way to changing the way America approaches intelligence, or at least oversees it and executes the operations, as well as homeland security.
NGUYEN: Dick Uliano of CNN Radio, thank you very much.
ULIANO: Sure.
NGUYEN: Time now for a little business buzz.
Are you finding your money clip or coin purse to be useless? Why carry cash when everyone accepts plastic these days?
Carrie Lee joins us from the Nasdaq market site in New York with more -- Carrie, all I carry are credit cards. That's it. No cash.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There you go. Credit and debit cards, Betty, that's what people are using more than ever. The "Wall Street Journal" reporting today that the U.S. has truly become a pay with plastic nation. More people swiped their credit or debit cards last year than paying for purchases in any other type of way. And this for the first time ever. If you compare 1999 with 2003, you'll see that back in 1999, credit and debit cards covered just 43 percent of purchases, checks and cash paid for 57 percent. But last year, plastic paid for 52 percent. Cash and check use fell by 47 percent.
Now, the main reason for this change, a big pickup in the use of debit cards, which are very convenient. Even fast food chains are now taking cards. Most of Wendy's locations do this. Burger King diving in, as well. And even this week McDonald's says it's going to be accepting credit cards at up to 8,000 of its 13,500 U.S. locales, so making it even easier.
Now, the good thing here, for the economy, anyway, is that when people use credit and debit, they tend to spend more. So that boosts consumer spending. That's good for the economy.
However, credit card usage has also fueled an explosion in consumer debt. So good news/bad news here. People do need to be aware of their budgets.
And that is the latest business news.
DAYBREAK will be right back.
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NGUYEN: Scott Peterson's trial hit a few bumps yesterday during some contentious testimony on the possible contamination of evidence.
For more, we are joined by legal analyst Kendall Coffey in Miami -- Good morning to you.
KENDALL COFFEY, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, good morning.
NGUYEN: There was some heated talk. Even the jury had to leave for a moment.
What was this all about?
COFFEY: Well, I think what the defense purported to be angry about was the fact that during the preliminary hearing the prosecution was most insistent that this hair -- and we're really doing some hair splitting here -- but it went in as a single strand of hair into the evidence bag and then later on there's two different strands of hair. The prosecution insisted before that it was just Laci's hair but it had split in two. Now, the prosecution's own expert is saying, well, by the way, these appear to be a hair strand from two different people. One's Laci probably. The other they can't identify.
Betty, that kind of confusion, contradiction among the prosecution's own witnesses is one of the reasons why this seems to be a case the defense is winning.
NGUYEN: Well, and then the defense has been all along saying that there's been sloppy police work throughout all of this investigation. COFFEY: And what the defense has done very skillfully is they've put the prosecution on trial. And let's face it, up to now the jury would be convicting the prosecution. Count one, sloppy investigation. Count two, not looking very carefully at any other suspects other than Scott Peterson. And count three, zeroing in on Scott Peterson like a heat seeking missile, trying to do everything they can to bend and shape the evidence to make a case on him while ignoring a lot of other possibilities that the evidence suggests.
NGUYEN: You mentioned other suspects. A lot of talk this week was about the sex offenders living in the neighborhood and perhaps maybe one of them is the person who actually murdered Laci.
COFFEY: I think that's right. I mean from the police standpoint, look, they looked -- there are 300 different sex -- registered sex offenders or parolees living within a mile. They got through most of them. There were a couple dozen that weren't accounted for.
From the defense perspective, look, if you've got two or three dozen registered sex offenders within a mile of Laci Peterson and you haven't checked out the alibi, not only have you done a poor job as a police investigator, but there are very big questions as to whether there was someone else out there that might have committed this horrible murder.
NGUYEN: And from sex offenders to prostitute and the mail system, what does this have to do with the trial?
COFFEY: Well, one of the things the prosecution thought might be good for them was to prove that a day before Laci disappeared, Scott Peterson rented, in effect, a secret mailbox. I don't think that helps the prosecution at all, Betty, because if, in fact, you're planning on killing your wife, why do you need a separate mailbox? I think that evidence that the prosecution was touting is consistent with somebody who was planning on staying married, but wanted to have a meretricious relationship on the side that he could keep from his wife. That's why he had the separate mailbox, which later on got some mail from Amber Frey.
So I don't know how the prosecution is helping themself. They may be proving that he's a liar, they may be proving that he was committing adultery, but what they're having trouble proving is that he murdered Laci Peterson and her unborn son.
NGUYEN: It seems like there's a lot of confusion all around.
COFFEY: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: Kendall Coffey, thank you very much.
COFFEY: Thanks, Betty.
NGUYEN: Here is what's all new in the next half hour.
We'll check in with our Bob Franken in Boston. Just three days to go until the Democratic convention gets under way. Is everything in place to make it safe?
Then, the Bush twins do some campaigning of their own and you can join them in cyberspace.
And will the president's reelection campaign feel any serious effects from Michael Moore's documentary? We'll talk about that and some new films from the other side of the aisle, coming up.
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