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CNN Live At Daybreak
Al Qaeda Terror Web; Vets Duel Over John Kerry's War Exploits; Weekend Movies
Aired August 06, 2004 - 06:30 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 LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And U.S. government officials say a terror suspect arrested in Britain is a key al Qaeda operative. He's identified as Esa al-Hindi. Law enforcement sources tell CNN al-Hindi is believed to have been in the New York area in early 2001, and they believe he personally cased some of the buildings.
And those pictures are the ones that actually triggered the latest terror threat level -- raising the terror threat level.
U.S. intelligence and defense sources say there are signs that terrorist training camps may actually have sprouted again along the Pakistan-Afghan border. And the sources say they are drawing this from aerial surveillance that they got last month, which indicates vehicles and people moving around in those areas known to be former training camps used by al Qaeda.
And in Albany, New York, two mosque leaders are being held without bond this morning after being arrested in an FBI sting operation. They are charged with conspiracy and trying to launder money from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile. The government says the men believed the missile would be used in a terrorist act.
And the recent arrests across the globe are leading to details of al Qaeda's web of communications and planning.
Ken Robinson is our military intelligence analyst, and Ken joins us now from Washington.
Good morning, Ken, on this early Friday.
KEN ROBINSON, CNN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Hi, Carol. Good morning.
LIN: First, let me ask you this. Yesterday there was a big port drill out in Long Beach. The question being the government wanted to know if there were to be a dirty bomb attack or some other kind of, like, USS Cole attack at U.S. harbors, whether the ports would be ready. Frankly, they failed miserably, and this doesn't really surprise you.
ROBINSON: No, we have a big problem in this country, and it's we're a big country. You know, in Israel, they have a simple solution for this. They lock everything down. Anything that moves they scrutinize it.
In our country, our challenge is greater. Our Coast Guard is not large enough to secure all of our ports. And we really have to re- evaluate how we're going to do that in the 21st century.
LIN: All right. Re-evaluate in what sense?
ROBINSON: Well, we have freedom of movement. You know, if I go to Baltimore Harbor in my boat, I can come up to a military ship and probably not be challenged. And that's a problem, because that's how the USS Cole was almost sank.
LIN: Yes. All right, we'll see how the government handles that.
In the meantime, it seems like we're reliant much, much more on intelligence that's gathered overseas. And there seems to be a developing story out of Pakistan where the Pakistani intelligence agency is actually providing information to Great Britain and the United States.
Unusual, Ken, in the sense that Pakistani intelligence is not like, for example, the CIA. This is a very independent organization. It was, frankly, responsible for establishing the Taliban in Afghanistan. How reliable is the information coming out of Pakistan?
ROBINSON: Well, certainly the arrests that have occurred that have been the big arrests have come in Pakistan. And they have come in their urban areas with support of a task force of FBI and Central Intelligence working with ISI and working with the Pakistani military.
They have not been, over the years, great friends in the global war on terror, but they have been since 2001. We don't know for sure what the true motives are within the ISI. As you say accurately, they did help install the Taliban into power.
But right now, they seem to be aggressively cooperating, especially as we move...
LIN: Why is that?
ROBINSON: Well, you know, when we were there in March of this year, General Musharraf speaking with Aaron Brown said, look, we're not doing this for you; we're doing this for us -- speaking about the United States.
They are concerned domestically about the threat of these foreign fighters to them and his government. The problem is that lawless area in Waziristan and on the border.
LIN: But the thing is you look at President Musharraf's constituency, the people who live in Pakistan, a very strong fundamentalist Islamic movement, especially right along that border between Pakistan and Afghanistan and also in these lawless tribal territories.
How much control or influence does President Musharraf have over, say, his army or the intelligence service, which tends to waffle between the worlds? Yes, wanting to help the war on terror, because, frankly, there is money in it for it -- the United States giving money to the Pakistani government -- but on the other hand, their more fundamentalist loyalties to the people who are actually living and working along that border.
ROBINSON: From my own experience of being there, knowing many people in the Pakistani military and the intelligence service, on the military side, the military is pretty tightly controlled. The question there is going to be General Musharraf is taking off his uniform and retiring as chief of staff of the army in December. And everyone is wondering how that is going to go in terms of his ability to control the country.
On the intelligence service's side, it's always been a different question.
And in the lawless area, imagine if in 1947 the United States became a country, and no one had ever returned to Alabama. And then all of a sudden in 2004 we're asking the army to go in there and sort something out in the mountains.
LIN: Right.
ROBINSON: We'd have a problem.
LIN: Yes. Yes, for these tribal territories, these lawless territories, who are used to operating by their own set of rules and their own alliances. We'll see what happens. Thanks, Ken.
ROBINSON: Thank you, Carol.
LIN: We've got more details on the new threats on the terror. You can just go to our Web site. Go to CNN.com, and we've got a special report on fighting terrorism.
In a little under three hours, President Bush speaks to minority journalists in Washington. The president will speak at the Unity Convention. Journalists of color are all gathering there from across the country. John Kerry spoke to them yesterday.
Mr. Bush, after he speaks there, will then head to the Northeast. He's going to be campaigning in New Hampshire and in Maine.
And John Kerry continues his cross-country train tour today. The Democratic presidential candidate is chugging through Missouri, where he is unveiling part of a plan to cut U.S. dependence on imported oil. Kerry wants to spend billions of dollars to help cleaner burning fuels. That might cause some problems with, frankly, the auto companies that are operating in Michigan.
In nearly three decades after the fall of Saigon, the Vietnam War is still making waves, and the latest are swift boat waves. If you are unfamiliar with Swift Boat Veterans for Truth -- that's a group, you may have seen their ad on TV, it is stirring the presidential election pot.
CNN's Judy Woodruff explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Vet versus vet, as the ghosts of Vietnam invade another wartime election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Kerry lied to get his Bronze Star. I know. I was there. I saw what happened.
WOODRUFF: A new ad from a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth trashing John Kerry's much-heralded military service. They say Kerry lied about his heroics, lied about his injuries and betrayed his comrades by agitating against the war upon his return to the States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the chips were down, you could not count on John Kerry.
WOODRUFF: Tough ad, and it's facing some tough criticism. For one thing, none of the 13 vets featured in the spot were actually aboard Kerry's swift boat, though some were on nearby boats. And though it's not a Bush campaign ad, it is largely funded by top Republican contributors.
All but one of the Democrat's surviving crewmates, some of whom starred in a pro-Kerry commercial...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he pulled me out of the river, he risked his life to save mine.
WOODRUFF: ... have rushed to his defense. And so has one of the nation's most-admired vet, GOP Senator John McCain, who has endorsed the president. McCain denounced the commercial as dishonest and dishonorable, adding: "I think the Bush campaign should specifically denounce the ad."
A Bush-Cheney spokesman responds that the campaign has never and will never question John Kerry's service in Vietnam, insisting there is no connection whatsoever between the re-election effort and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
Judy Woodruff, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Have you seen a bit more in your paycheck lately? It seems the pockets of U.S. workers are getting a little fatter. We're going to have details next.
But first, here is a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Record-high oil prices greet the skids on Wall Street. The Dow opens this morning below 10000, at 9953. That's down 153 points. The Nasdaq opens at 1821, down 33. And the S&P 500 opens at 1080, down almost 18.
It's time for a little business buzz. The good news is that you'll probably get a raise next year. The bad news is that it won't be very big. Carrie Lee has the story from the Nasdaq Marketsite in Times Square.
Hey, something is better than nothing.
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's true, Carol. Mercer Research Consulting is predicting that employers will increase people's pay in 2005 by an average 3.5 percent. And this would mean that 2005 would be the fourth-consecutive year that pay increases average less than 4 percent.
Now, for this year, employers plan to grant average pay increases of 3.3 percent, the same as we saw in 2003. And that's exactly keeping pace with inflation. So, you're making more money, but you're also paying more for goods and services.
Still, all of this is a slight improvement from prior years when salary increases sank to lows not seen for 30 years. That's what we saw last year. Basically, companies are spending a bit more money as they try to react better to economic forecasts and try to curb the job hopping that's expected to happen when hiring picks up.
Now, we're going to find out a little bit more on that hiring front when we get the big July jobs report coming out at 8:30 Eastern. The unemployment rate is expected to have held steady at 5.6 percent. Our economy is expected to have added 243,000 jobs to U.S. payrolls.
So, a lot of people are waiting for these numbers, Carol. And the futures are looking flat ahead of that report. That is really going to be the big determining factor in which way stocks go.
Of course, you mentioned earlier, though, we saw a lot of selling. The Nasdaq is now at levels not seen since September, so...
LIN: Yes, dipping below 10000...
LEE: That's right.
LIN: ... that critical mark.
LEE: That's right.
LIN: All right, thanks, Carrie.
LEE: OK.
LIN: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is now 43 past the hour. And here's what's new this morning.
Prosecutors win an extension in the Mark Hacking case. A judge rules Mark Hacking can continue to be held without charges until Monday in his wife's death. Crews are still searching a landfill looking for Lori Hacking's body.
And dirty beach water is a big problem in Florida. A national environmental group monitored 307 beaches, and it found that officials closed or issued swimming advisories at those beaches nearly 4,000 days last year. Four thousand days! There aren't even 4,000 days in a year. We'll get that straightened out.
And in money, good news for people wanting to buy a house. Interest rates on 30-year mortgages fell below 6 percent this week. The rates averaged 5.99 percent for the week.
And in culture, the queen of talk, Oprah Winfrey, signs a three- year contract extension that will keep her talk show on the air until 2011, because that's going to be her 25th year in syndication.
In sports, the fab five of women's U.S. soccer is back together. They're going to try to capture the gold at the Summer Olympics in Athens. Good to see the girls back on the board -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Carol, and they won almost 10,000 times last year.
LIN: Yes.
MYERS: In 10,000 days.
LIN: In 10,000 days, which is -- can you believe that? More warnings in the 4,000 Florida beaches.
MYERS: Actually, it's beaches times days, so the word should have been beach days. So, that means over 10 beaches were closed every day for 365 days, blah, blah, blah. You get the idea.
LIN: Yes.
MYERS: Yes.
LIN: You know, we could be a little more clear.
MYERS: Good morning.
LIN: We could be a little more clear. Keep it simple.
(WEATHER BREAK)
LIN: Let's check in with Bill and Heidi in New York for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning, guys.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We're just enjoying this fall weather, Carol. That's what we're doing.
LIN: Yes, lucky you.
HEMMER: Thank you, Chad.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We can feel it. This is wool today, Carol. COLLINS: We want to tell you a little bit about what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING" today. Of course, the terror investigation, a lot going on now all across the country, and the world for that matter. One British arrest is said to be a major player in al Qaeda. Also, an Albany mosque raid, two people arrested there, and we're going to talk with the New York governor, George Pataki, about all of these events.
HEMMER: We're trying to get more specifics that we did not get yesterday.
COLLINS: Right.
HEMMER: Also, the Peterson trial, a surprise delay yesterday. What could that mean for the case? Jeffrey Toobin has some thoughts on that; defense attorneys do as well. So, we'll get to that today.
COLLINS: Yes, they do.
Also, a controversial new ad attacking Senator John Kerry's military record. We're going to talk with two Vietnam vets, one of them attacking Kerry and the other a supporter of his. We'll have all of that.
HEMMER: All going back to March of 1969, too. We will jog their memories today.
COLLINS: Yes.
HEMMER: Jack is here.
By the way, Carol...
LIN: Yes.
HEMMER: ... this is Jack's last day before he goes on vacation next week.
LIN: Oh, no!
HEMMER: Let me tell you, he's fired up.
LIN: I bet. Who is going to do the "Cafferty File?"
HEMMER: He's -- oh, we'll figure it out. Maybe you can come on up in New York.
LIN: Yes.
HEMMER: Have a great weekend, all right?
LIN: All right. And give my best to Jack.
COLLINS: See you later, Carol.
LIN: Yes. You guys have a loaded show today. We're looking forward to it.
Next right here, though, on DAYBREAK, some movie reviews to help get your weekend started. Up first, two hot stars team up to do some damage on the screen. A preview of the movie, "Collateral," straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Hit man Tom Cruise takes a taxi driver on the ride of his life. And a talk show producer becomes obsessed with her boyfriend's former girlfriends. Those are the plots of a couple of movies opening this weekend.
Tom O'Neil, editor of "In Touch Weekly," joins me now from New York with more details.
Hi there, Tom. Good morning.
TOM O'NEIL, "IN TOUCH" MAGAZINE: Hey, Carol. Good morning.
LIN: Have you -- you've seen "Collateral" damage.
O'NEIL: Yes.
LIN: Jamie Foxx plays a taxi driver.
O'NEIL: Do you know what? He wasn't originally supposed to play this role. Imagine Adam Sandler in the part of this poor, poor...
LIN: Really?
O'NEIL: Yes. The cab driver was given 600 bucks by this white- haired Tom Cruise guy to, you know, go on this killing spree with him, really. Tom is out -- he's a lady killer here, literally, killing everybody, while trying to bump off the witnesses to a crime.
What's interesting, Carol, is Tom Cruise has only had one hit movie in the past five years. That was "Minority Report." So, he really, really needs this to hit big this weekend, and I think it will.
LIN: And Jamie Foxx holds his own, huh?
O'NEIL: Oh, he's terrific. He's actually so good you can't imagine anybody else in the part.
The movie will probably bring in $25 million. The question is: Can it pull in 30 or more and really, you know, in terms of hits, can it take out "The Village?"
LIN: Yes, pretty high standards in Hollywood these days.
Let's talk about Brittany Murphy, a little teen flick here, the "Little Black Book." She's obsessed with her boyfriend's black book, which is now a PalmPilot, because we've got to bring it into the 21st century. O'NEIL: That's right. He's out of town. They work at this trashy TV talk show that looks an awful lot like the Jerry Springer show. And Jerry looks an awful lot like Kathy Bates.
But this is -- the movie is not well-reviewed in general, but the movie is much better than its reviews. And Hollywood's expectations for the film are actually very high, because an interesting thing about the movie-going trends this summer is that chick flicks are doing really well; chick flicks like the "Notebook" and "Mean Girls," et cetera.
But this really is a cute, little film about what horrible things you might find if you actually do look in that little black book.
LIN: Yes, if you're looking for trouble, you're likely to find it, huh?
O'NEIL: Yes.
LIN: OK, "Garden State." Now, this was a movie that we talked about during Sundance that did really well there, starring Zach Braff. We know him from that quirky TV show, "Scrubs." What do you make of this independent film?
O'NEIL: Oh, it's so good. It is actually equal to the buzz out of Sundance, where it was nominated for best picture of the grand jury prize there.
"Garden State" is New Jersey, the state where Zach is from. He's only 29 years old in real life. This is his directorial and writing debut. He plays a struggling actor who moves east to come home to see his family when his mother dies. He's been on Lithium for nine years, prescribed by his tyrannical father who is a psychiatrist. He tosses the pills out and decides to face life for the first time.
And he falls in love with Natalie Portman, who plays an epileptic pathological liar. And all of the town is full of eccentrics. The movie is delightful.
LIN: Really? A little dysfunctional, but delightful. Part of life today.
O'NEIL: And a lot like "Scrubs." I think that's where Zach gets his sensibility here.
LIN: Yes.
O'NEIL: But this is that little art house movie that's a great discovery that critics are cheering it on. And I think Zach is proving to be a major talent.
LIN: Terrific. All right, thanks, Tom. A great preview for the weekend. You have a good one.
O'NEIL: You too. LIN: Chad is here -- or he's going to be here. Actually, he's sitting right next to me. He's got today's mug winner. It will be announced in just a couple of minutes.
But first, this is DAYBREAK for Friday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: People are logging on pretty early today, Chad.
MYERS: Lots of "Web Clicks" going on here.
LIN: Different ones.
MYERS: The top three stories?
LIN: Yes. Apparently, Bobby Fischer, the chess champ, he now wants to renounce his U.S. citizenship. Yes, he's being detained by Japanese authorities on an immigration violation, because he played chess in Yugoslavia during the war in 1992.
MYERS: Right.
LIN: No. 2 now, Alabama executes a 74-year-old killer. This guy, James Barney Hubbard, who is guilty of murdering a 62-year-old woman.
MYERS: Yes, he did this in 1977.
LIN: Right.
MYERS: That's 27 years ago.
LIN: Yes.
MYERS: And then before that he was in jail for 19 years for killing somebody else.
LIN: Yes. Apparently they made friends, and it's a decision that certainly her family regrets.
And the third one, the third most-popular story right now, anti- Kerry veterans groups release a critical ad. These guys fought in the Vietnam War, and they're saying John Kerry lied about his war record. But none of these men actually served with him on his -- the two swift boats that he led in the Vietnam War. And the Kerry campaign is coming back and defending their man.
MYERS: I saw the ad yesterday, and my jaw dropped when I watched it. But also, the Bush campaign is saying we had nothing to do with this.
LIN: Right.
MYERS: This is an independent thing, and we had nothing to do with it. LIN: Right. But apparently a Bush supporter is also financing the campaign, so...
MYERS: Right, somebody is.
LIN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a little money these days.
MYERS: Somebody has got to pay for it.
Let's give away a DAYBREAK coffee mug. Here you go, the one from yesterday, a couple of questions here. There were an awful lot of answers to the first one, so I'll just give you the two that the winner got.
Name two ways to ensure a healthy trip, according to "Prevention" magazine. And the ones that we got here: get a checkup before you go, and get two letters from your doctor if you're crossing international borders. Now, obviously pack your medicines in your carry-on. Don't put them under the plane, blah, blah, blah. There were many other things there.
And, when were the modern Summer Olympic Games last held in Athens, Greece? And the answer: 1896.
The winner: Monty Simmons from Annandale, Virginia. That might be out first mug that ever went to Virginia. So there you go.
LIN: Monty, congratulations.
MYERS: As they say, the mug is in the mail. And if the handle is broken off when you get it, let us know, because we'll send you a new one.
LIN: Yes.
MYERS: Because there seems to be a shipping issue at times.
LIN: That would be a collector's item, though, Monty.
MYERS: And here are your questions for today. You must answer them both, and you must send me your name and address, please.
The "X-Games" have aired on ESPN for how many years now? This was with Chris Cotter. We just did this about 20-30 minutes ago.
And the writer and director and star of the movie, "Garden State," appears in what NBC comedy? You just said it just a few minutes ago.
LIN: Yes.
MYERS: We'll name the winner on Monday. Please, e-mail your answers to Daybreak@CNN.com.
LIN: All right. What about people are who traveling this weekend? (WEATHER BREAK)
LIN: Thanks, Chad. You have a great weekend.
MYERS: You too.
LIN: From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
MYERS: See you.
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 August 6, 2004 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: And U.S. government officials say a terror suspect arrested in Britain is a key al Qaeda operative. He's identified as Esa al-Hindi. Law enforcement sources tell CNN al-Hindi is believed to have been in the New York area in early 2001, and they believe he personally cased some of the buildings.
And those pictures are the ones that actually triggered the latest terror threat level -- raising the terror threat level.
U.S. intelligence and defense sources say there are signs that terrorist training camps may actually have sprouted again along the Pakistan-Afghan border. And the sources say they are drawing this from aerial surveillance that they got last month, which indicates vehicles and people moving around in those areas known to be former training camps used by al Qaeda.
And in Albany, New York, two mosque leaders are being held without bond this morning after being arrested in an FBI sting operation. They are charged with conspiracy and trying to launder money from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile. The government says the men believed the missile would be used in a terrorist act.
And the recent arrests across the globe are leading to details of al Qaeda's web of communications and planning.
Ken Robinson is our military intelligence analyst, and Ken joins us now from Washington.
Good morning, Ken, on this early Friday.
KEN ROBINSON, CNN MILITARY INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Hi, Carol. Good morning.
LIN: First, let me ask you this. Yesterday there was a big port drill out in Long Beach. The question being the government wanted to know if there were to be a dirty bomb attack or some other kind of, like, USS Cole attack at U.S. harbors, whether the ports would be ready. Frankly, they failed miserably, and this doesn't really surprise you.
ROBINSON: No, we have a big problem in this country, and it's we're a big country. You know, in Israel, they have a simple solution for this. They lock everything down. Anything that moves they scrutinize it.
In our country, our challenge is greater. Our Coast Guard is not large enough to secure all of our ports. And we really have to re- evaluate how we're going to do that in the 21st century.
LIN: All right. Re-evaluate in what sense?
ROBINSON: Well, we have freedom of movement. You know, if I go to Baltimore Harbor in my boat, I can come up to a military ship and probably not be challenged. And that's a problem, because that's how the USS Cole was almost sank.
LIN: Yes. All right, we'll see how the government handles that.
In the meantime, it seems like we're reliant much, much more on intelligence that's gathered overseas. And there seems to be a developing story out of Pakistan where the Pakistani intelligence agency is actually providing information to Great Britain and the United States.
Unusual, Ken, in the sense that Pakistani intelligence is not like, for example, the CIA. This is a very independent organization. It was, frankly, responsible for establishing the Taliban in Afghanistan. How reliable is the information coming out of Pakistan?
ROBINSON: Well, certainly the arrests that have occurred that have been the big arrests have come in Pakistan. And they have come in their urban areas with support of a task force of FBI and Central Intelligence working with ISI and working with the Pakistani military.
They have not been, over the years, great friends in the global war on terror, but they have been since 2001. We don't know for sure what the true motives are within the ISI. As you say accurately, they did help install the Taliban into power.
But right now, they seem to be aggressively cooperating, especially as we move...
LIN: Why is that?
ROBINSON: Well, you know, when we were there in March of this year, General Musharraf speaking with Aaron Brown said, look, we're not doing this for you; we're doing this for us -- speaking about the United States.
They are concerned domestically about the threat of these foreign fighters to them and his government. The problem is that lawless area in Waziristan and on the border.
LIN: But the thing is you look at President Musharraf's constituency, the people who live in Pakistan, a very strong fundamentalist Islamic movement, especially right along that border between Pakistan and Afghanistan and also in these lawless tribal territories.
How much control or influence does President Musharraf have over, say, his army or the intelligence service, which tends to waffle between the worlds? Yes, wanting to help the war on terror, because, frankly, there is money in it for it -- the United States giving money to the Pakistani government -- but on the other hand, their more fundamentalist loyalties to the people who are actually living and working along that border.
ROBINSON: From my own experience of being there, knowing many people in the Pakistani military and the intelligence service, on the military side, the military is pretty tightly controlled. The question there is going to be General Musharraf is taking off his uniform and retiring as chief of staff of the army in December. And everyone is wondering how that is going to go in terms of his ability to control the country.
On the intelligence service's side, it's always been a different question.
And in the lawless area, imagine if in 1947 the United States became a country, and no one had ever returned to Alabama. And then all of a sudden in 2004 we're asking the army to go in there and sort something out in the mountains.
LIN: Right.
ROBINSON: We'd have a problem.
LIN: Yes. Yes, for these tribal territories, these lawless territories, who are used to operating by their own set of rules and their own alliances. We'll see what happens. Thanks, Ken.
ROBINSON: Thank you, Carol.
LIN: We've got more details on the new threats on the terror. You can just go to our Web site. Go to CNN.com, and we've got a special report on fighting terrorism.
In a little under three hours, President Bush speaks to minority journalists in Washington. The president will speak at the Unity Convention. Journalists of color are all gathering there from across the country. John Kerry spoke to them yesterday.
Mr. Bush, after he speaks there, will then head to the Northeast. He's going to be campaigning in New Hampshire and in Maine.
And John Kerry continues his cross-country train tour today. The Democratic presidential candidate is chugging through Missouri, where he is unveiling part of a plan to cut U.S. dependence on imported oil. Kerry wants to spend billions of dollars to help cleaner burning fuels. That might cause some problems with, frankly, the auto companies that are operating in Michigan.
In nearly three decades after the fall of Saigon, the Vietnam War is still making waves, and the latest are swift boat waves. If you are unfamiliar with Swift Boat Veterans for Truth -- that's a group, you may have seen their ad on TV, it is stirring the presidential election pot.
CNN's Judy Woodruff explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Vet versus vet, as the ghosts of Vietnam invade another wartime election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Kerry lied to get his Bronze Star. I know. I was there. I saw what happened.
WOODRUFF: A new ad from a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth trashing John Kerry's much-heralded military service. They say Kerry lied about his heroics, lied about his injuries and betrayed his comrades by agitating against the war upon his return to the States.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the chips were down, you could not count on John Kerry.
WOODRUFF: Tough ad, and it's facing some tough criticism. For one thing, none of the 13 vets featured in the spot were actually aboard Kerry's swift boat, though some were on nearby boats. And though it's not a Bush campaign ad, it is largely funded by top Republican contributors.
All but one of the Democrat's surviving crewmates, some of whom starred in a pro-Kerry commercial...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he pulled me out of the river, he risked his life to save mine.
WOODRUFF: ... have rushed to his defense. And so has one of the nation's most-admired vet, GOP Senator John McCain, who has endorsed the president. McCain denounced the commercial as dishonest and dishonorable, adding: "I think the Bush campaign should specifically denounce the ad."
A Bush-Cheney spokesman responds that the campaign has never and will never question John Kerry's service in Vietnam, insisting there is no connection whatsoever between the re-election effort and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
Judy Woodruff, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: Have you seen a bit more in your paycheck lately? It seems the pockets of U.S. workers are getting a little fatter. We're going to have details next.
But first, here is a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Record-high oil prices greet the skids on Wall Street. The Dow opens this morning below 10000, at 9953. That's down 153 points. The Nasdaq opens at 1821, down 33. And the S&P 500 opens at 1080, down almost 18.
It's time for a little business buzz. The good news is that you'll probably get a raise next year. The bad news is that it won't be very big. Carrie Lee has the story from the Nasdaq Marketsite in Times Square.
Hey, something is better than nothing.
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's true, Carol. Mercer Research Consulting is predicting that employers will increase people's pay in 2005 by an average 3.5 percent. And this would mean that 2005 would be the fourth-consecutive year that pay increases average less than 4 percent.
Now, for this year, employers plan to grant average pay increases of 3.3 percent, the same as we saw in 2003. And that's exactly keeping pace with inflation. So, you're making more money, but you're also paying more for goods and services.
Still, all of this is a slight improvement from prior years when salary increases sank to lows not seen for 30 years. That's what we saw last year. Basically, companies are spending a bit more money as they try to react better to economic forecasts and try to curb the job hopping that's expected to happen when hiring picks up.
Now, we're going to find out a little bit more on that hiring front when we get the big July jobs report coming out at 8:30 Eastern. The unemployment rate is expected to have held steady at 5.6 percent. Our economy is expected to have added 243,000 jobs to U.S. payrolls.
So, a lot of people are waiting for these numbers, Carol. And the futures are looking flat ahead of that report. That is really going to be the big determining factor in which way stocks go.
Of course, you mentioned earlier, though, we saw a lot of selling. The Nasdaq is now at levels not seen since September, so...
LIN: Yes, dipping below 10000...
LEE: That's right.
LIN: ... that critical mark.
LEE: That's right.
LIN: All right, thanks, Carrie.
LEE: OK.
LIN: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is now 43 past the hour. And here's what's new this morning.
Prosecutors win an extension in the Mark Hacking case. A judge rules Mark Hacking can continue to be held without charges until Monday in his wife's death. Crews are still searching a landfill looking for Lori Hacking's body.
And dirty beach water is a big problem in Florida. A national environmental group monitored 307 beaches, and it found that officials closed or issued swimming advisories at those beaches nearly 4,000 days last year. Four thousand days! There aren't even 4,000 days in a year. We'll get that straightened out.
And in money, good news for people wanting to buy a house. Interest rates on 30-year mortgages fell below 6 percent this week. The rates averaged 5.99 percent for the week.
And in culture, the queen of talk, Oprah Winfrey, signs a three- year contract extension that will keep her talk show on the air until 2011, because that's going to be her 25th year in syndication.
In sports, the fab five of women's U.S. soccer is back together. They're going to try to capture the gold at the Summer Olympics in Athens. Good to see the girls back on the board -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Carol, and they won almost 10,000 times last year.
LIN: Yes.
MYERS: In 10,000 days.
LIN: In 10,000 days, which is -- can you believe that? More warnings in the 4,000 Florida beaches.
MYERS: Actually, it's beaches times days, so the word should have been beach days. So, that means over 10 beaches were closed every day for 365 days, blah, blah, blah. You get the idea.
LIN: Yes.
MYERS: Yes.
LIN: You know, we could be a little more clear.
MYERS: Good morning.
LIN: We could be a little more clear. Keep it simple.
(WEATHER BREAK)
LIN: Let's check in with Bill and Heidi in New York for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning, guys.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: We're just enjoying this fall weather, Carol. That's what we're doing.
LIN: Yes, lucky you.
HEMMER: Thank you, Chad.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: We can feel it. This is wool today, Carol. COLLINS: We want to tell you a little bit about what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING" today. Of course, the terror investigation, a lot going on now all across the country, and the world for that matter. One British arrest is said to be a major player in al Qaeda. Also, an Albany mosque raid, two people arrested there, and we're going to talk with the New York governor, George Pataki, about all of these events.
HEMMER: We're trying to get more specifics that we did not get yesterday.
COLLINS: Right.
HEMMER: Also, the Peterson trial, a surprise delay yesterday. What could that mean for the case? Jeffrey Toobin has some thoughts on that; defense attorneys do as well. So, we'll get to that today.
COLLINS: Yes, they do.
Also, a controversial new ad attacking Senator John Kerry's military record. We're going to talk with two Vietnam vets, one of them attacking Kerry and the other a supporter of his. We'll have all of that.
HEMMER: All going back to March of 1969, too. We will jog their memories today.
COLLINS: Yes.
HEMMER: Jack is here.
By the way, Carol...
LIN: Yes.
HEMMER: ... this is Jack's last day before he goes on vacation next week.
LIN: Oh, no!
HEMMER: Let me tell you, he's fired up.
LIN: I bet. Who is going to do the "Cafferty File?"
HEMMER: He's -- oh, we'll figure it out. Maybe you can come on up in New York.
LIN: Yes.
HEMMER: Have a great weekend, all right?
LIN: All right. And give my best to Jack.
COLLINS: See you later, Carol.
LIN: Yes. You guys have a loaded show today. We're looking forward to it.
Next right here, though, on DAYBREAK, some movie reviews to help get your weekend started. Up first, two hot stars team up to do some damage on the screen. A preview of the movie, "Collateral," straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: Hit man Tom Cruise takes a taxi driver on the ride of his life. And a talk show producer becomes obsessed with her boyfriend's former girlfriends. Those are the plots of a couple of movies opening this weekend.
Tom O'Neil, editor of "In Touch Weekly," joins me now from New York with more details.
Hi there, Tom. Good morning.
TOM O'NEIL, "IN TOUCH" MAGAZINE: Hey, Carol. Good morning.
LIN: Have you -- you've seen "Collateral" damage.
O'NEIL: Yes.
LIN: Jamie Foxx plays a taxi driver.
O'NEIL: Do you know what? He wasn't originally supposed to play this role. Imagine Adam Sandler in the part of this poor, poor...
LIN: Really?
O'NEIL: Yes. The cab driver was given 600 bucks by this white- haired Tom Cruise guy to, you know, go on this killing spree with him, really. Tom is out -- he's a lady killer here, literally, killing everybody, while trying to bump off the witnesses to a crime.
What's interesting, Carol, is Tom Cruise has only had one hit movie in the past five years. That was "Minority Report." So, he really, really needs this to hit big this weekend, and I think it will.
LIN: And Jamie Foxx holds his own, huh?
O'NEIL: Oh, he's terrific. He's actually so good you can't imagine anybody else in the part.
The movie will probably bring in $25 million. The question is: Can it pull in 30 or more and really, you know, in terms of hits, can it take out "The Village?"
LIN: Yes, pretty high standards in Hollywood these days.
Let's talk about Brittany Murphy, a little teen flick here, the "Little Black Book." She's obsessed with her boyfriend's black book, which is now a PalmPilot, because we've got to bring it into the 21st century. O'NEIL: That's right. He's out of town. They work at this trashy TV talk show that looks an awful lot like the Jerry Springer show. And Jerry looks an awful lot like Kathy Bates.
But this is -- the movie is not well-reviewed in general, but the movie is much better than its reviews. And Hollywood's expectations for the film are actually very high, because an interesting thing about the movie-going trends this summer is that chick flicks are doing really well; chick flicks like the "Notebook" and "Mean Girls," et cetera.
But this really is a cute, little film about what horrible things you might find if you actually do look in that little black book.
LIN: Yes, if you're looking for trouble, you're likely to find it, huh?
O'NEIL: Yes.
LIN: OK, "Garden State." Now, this was a movie that we talked about during Sundance that did really well there, starring Zach Braff. We know him from that quirky TV show, "Scrubs." What do you make of this independent film?
O'NEIL: Oh, it's so good. It is actually equal to the buzz out of Sundance, where it was nominated for best picture of the grand jury prize there.
"Garden State" is New Jersey, the state where Zach is from. He's only 29 years old in real life. This is his directorial and writing debut. He plays a struggling actor who moves east to come home to see his family when his mother dies. He's been on Lithium for nine years, prescribed by his tyrannical father who is a psychiatrist. He tosses the pills out and decides to face life for the first time.
And he falls in love with Natalie Portman, who plays an epileptic pathological liar. And all of the town is full of eccentrics. The movie is delightful.
LIN: Really? A little dysfunctional, but delightful. Part of life today.
O'NEIL: And a lot like "Scrubs." I think that's where Zach gets his sensibility here.
LIN: Yes.
O'NEIL: But this is that little art house movie that's a great discovery that critics are cheering it on. And I think Zach is proving to be a major talent.
LIN: Terrific. All right, thanks, Tom. A great preview for the weekend. You have a good one.
O'NEIL: You too. LIN: Chad is here -- or he's going to be here. Actually, he's sitting right next to me. He's got today's mug winner. It will be announced in just a couple of minutes.
But first, this is DAYBREAK for Friday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: People are logging on pretty early today, Chad.
MYERS: Lots of "Web Clicks" going on here.
LIN: Different ones.
MYERS: The top three stories?
LIN: Yes. Apparently, Bobby Fischer, the chess champ, he now wants to renounce his U.S. citizenship. Yes, he's being detained by Japanese authorities on an immigration violation, because he played chess in Yugoslavia during the war in 1992.
MYERS: Right.
LIN: No. 2 now, Alabama executes a 74-year-old killer. This guy, James Barney Hubbard, who is guilty of murdering a 62-year-old woman.
MYERS: Yes, he did this in 1977.
LIN: Right.
MYERS: That's 27 years ago.
LIN: Yes.
MYERS: And then before that he was in jail for 19 years for killing somebody else.
LIN: Yes. Apparently they made friends, and it's a decision that certainly her family regrets.
And the third one, the third most-popular story right now, anti- Kerry veterans groups release a critical ad. These guys fought in the Vietnam War, and they're saying John Kerry lied about his war record. But none of these men actually served with him on his -- the two swift boats that he led in the Vietnam War. And the Kerry campaign is coming back and defending their man.
MYERS: I saw the ad yesterday, and my jaw dropped when I watched it. But also, the Bush campaign is saying we had nothing to do with this.
LIN: Right.
MYERS: This is an independent thing, and we had nothing to do with it. LIN: Right. But apparently a Bush supporter is also financing the campaign, so...
MYERS: Right, somebody is.
LIN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a little money these days.
MYERS: Somebody has got to pay for it.
Let's give away a DAYBREAK coffee mug. Here you go, the one from yesterday, a couple of questions here. There were an awful lot of answers to the first one, so I'll just give you the two that the winner got.
Name two ways to ensure a healthy trip, according to "Prevention" magazine. And the ones that we got here: get a checkup before you go, and get two letters from your doctor if you're crossing international borders. Now, obviously pack your medicines in your carry-on. Don't put them under the plane, blah, blah, blah. There were many other things there.
And, when were the modern Summer Olympic Games last held in Athens, Greece? And the answer: 1896.
The winner: Monty Simmons from Annandale, Virginia. That might be out first mug that ever went to Virginia. So there you go.
LIN: Monty, congratulations.
MYERS: As they say, the mug is in the mail. And if the handle is broken off when you get it, let us know, because we'll send you a new one.
LIN: Yes.
MYERS: Because there seems to be a shipping issue at times.
LIN: That would be a collector's item, though, Monty.
MYERS: And here are your questions for today. You must answer them both, and you must send me your name and address, please.
The "X-Games" have aired on ESPN for how many years now? This was with Chris Cotter. We just did this about 20-30 minutes ago.
And the writer and director and star of the movie, "Garden State," appears in what NBC comedy? You just said it just a few minutes ago.
LIN: Yes.
MYERS: We'll name the winner on Monday. Please, e-mail your answers to Daybreak@CNN.com.
LIN: All right. What about people are who traveling this weekend? (WEATHER BREAK)
LIN: Thanks, Chad. You have a great weekend.
MYERS: You too.
LIN: From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Lin. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
MYERS: See you.
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