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CNN Live Today
Intelligence Overhaul; Prisoner Abuse Scandal; New Rules on OT Pay
Aired August 23, 2004 - 11:00 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: Good morning. It's 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 8:00 in the West. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Daryn Kagan.
Up first here on CNN, a prominent Republican senator is presenting a sweeping plan to the White House today to overhaul intelligence agencies. It would essentially break up the CIA, minimize the Pentagon's role, and install a new national intelligence director. But that is easier said than done in a town known for turf battles. Congressional correspondent Ed Henry is on Capitol Hill this morning to sort all of this out.
Good morning, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty.
You're right, there has been a lot of talk this summer about intelligence reform. The significance here, though, is that a very powerful Republican, Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts, is really becoming the first lawmaker to lay out a bold plan, really spell out the details.
Everyone knew that Chairman Roberts wanted to have a very strong national intelligence director with full budget authority, but the surprise here is that he wants to also eliminate the CIA, really rip it apart and dismantle it as we currently know it. That is facing some scathing criticism within the intelligence community, also some criticism from some of Mr. Roberts' colleagues up on Capitol Hill, especially Democrats who feel that they were left out of the loop.
The bottom line here is that Chairman Roberts believes that Congress cannot do half measures. He believes they need to be very bold with this reform effort.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: We didn't pay attention to turf. We didn't pay any attention to boxes. We didn't pay any attention to, say, the agencies. And what we have proposed is a national intelligence service with a national intelligence director that has real line-item budget authority and personnel authority. So we think it's a good plan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: U.S. intelligence officials are calling this plan reckless, however. One senior U.S. intelligence official telling CNN's David Ensor "It would be akin to taking apart a ship in the middle of the ocean."
I can tell you, Democrats as well up here very concerned about this plan. The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Jay Rockefeller, is someone known for normally working in a bipartisan spirit with Chairman Roberts. He, though, put out a statement, saying he thinks it could be a mistake to dismantle the CIA at this critical time in the war on terror. Also, Democrat Carl Levin, a member of the Intelligence Committee, expressing concern about the fact that Democrats were not clued in to the details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: I'm willing to give greater powers to an intelligence director provided we do not give him the power to direct military operations. The 9/11 Commission gave the intelligence director that power. I think that would give too much power to the intelligence director.
We've seen abuses by intelligence directors before. I'm not willing to give the power to take military action, which is an act of war, to an intelligence director.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: You're seeing some pushback there as well from allies of the Pentagon. Senator Levin, in addition to serving on the Intelligence Committee, is the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. And I think it's worth noting as well that there are eight Republicans on the Intelligence Committee who endorsed this plan from Chairman Roberts.
The one, the ninth who did not endorse it, John Warner. He's a member of the Intelligence Committee, but he's also the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. A lot of allies at the Pentagon concerned that the budget power, some $30 billion to $40 billion in intelligence money, would be ripped away from the Pentagon.
This is far away from becoming a reality, Betty. This is really just the beginning of the legislative debate. We've had a lot of hearings, but now the debate begins on the legislation. And there are going to be a lot of plans coming up -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Exactly. A lot of plans, a lot of opinions. What are we going to see a bill and really get into some real debate on this issue?
HENRY: Well, in the House, you're going to probably see a little bit swifter action because of the way it's structured in the House. The Republican leadership can push things through swifter, and I can tell you that Republicans have been privately saying that very shortly after the Republican National Convention they hope to have some sort of a reform plan passed through the House either in the first or second week of September. I think in the Senate it's going to take a lot longer, as it always does. And the key to remember here is that, while Chairman Roberts will have a powerful voice in it, it's actually another committee chairman, Susan Collins of Maine, of the Governmental Affairs Committee, who will be leading this effort. And she has said she does not expect to act until the end of September -- Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. Ed Henry on Capitol Hill, thank you very much.
HENRY: Thank you.
NGUYEN: A round of military hearings opens this week at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Four accused al Qaeda terrorists will face a five-member military panel. Critics complain the proceedings do not meet the standards of U.S. or international law, but the Bush administration insists the hearings and trials will be fair.
Now, among those on trial is David Hicks, a 29-year-old Australian who converted to Islam and was captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan. Others include a man from Yemen who is reported to have been a bodyguard and driver for Osama bin Laden.
Hearings today in Germany now for four of the American soldiers charged in the Iraqi prison abuse scandal. CNN international correspondent Chris Burns joins us now from Mannheim, Germany, with the latest -- Chris.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, the hearing's over. The defense is fighting long and hard for several hours today, trying to argue to atake out the key bit of probably mostly damning -- damning evidence against the specialist, Charles Graner, who is consider and described as a ringleader behind those military police who were -- are accused of abuses against Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison outside of Baghdad.
Their argument is that investigators came to him when he was asleep. They woke him up in the middle of the night and asked to search his belongings. And they took with them a laptop computer that had these pictures in them. The judge rejected that -- that desire to suppress that evidence, saying that Mr. Graner still knew what he was doing, he was still alert, and he was not overcome by any kind of intimidation by the investigators.
On the other hand, the defense -- while the defense says that this is not a huge blow, because they say that their main defense is that others commanded these people to do that, and others in very high places. And this is where the defense is saying that even if you look at those pictures that caused outrage around the world with those thumbs up and the smiles and the laughs, that was all part of orders that they followed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUY WOMACK, GRANER'S CIVILIAN ATTORNEY: I think some of the smiling is the result of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) humor. I think some of the smiles and the thumbs up and some of the other things in these pictures were the direct result of orders to look as though you're being intimidating or look like you're enjoying what you're doing to make the MPs look more intimidating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNS: The judge also rejected a change of venue called for by the defense because they would like to have it in Germany or the United States instead of Iraq so that there could be some very key and very high witnesses. They would like some very high government people and defense people to show up to this eventual trial. So they lost on that. But they did win on one, where the judge said that you can get the names of some of the civilian contractors who were working there at the prison and who the defense say were commanding these military police to do what they were doing.
Back to you.
NGUYEN: CNN's Chris Burns watching it all play out in Mannheim, Germany. Thank you.
Sweeping new guidelines on overtime pay designed to make the rules more clear are leaving some workers and experts simply confused. For some workers, the overtime rules could mean more cash to carry. But for others, the rules on OT could spell money off the top, as in dollars disappearing from their paychecks. Here with more is CNN's Louise Schiavone live in Washington to sort it all out.
It can be very confusing.
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's going to be tricky, and there'll probably be some case law behind it after it's all said and done. But when it comes to overtime pay for workers and for employers, the rules of the game changed today.
Now, this is the first such adjustment in more than half a century, Betty. But not everyone is pleased. As you might expect, the biggest critics are those who want to knock George Bush out of the White House after November.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TOM HARKIN (D), IOWA: Two weeks from now we celebrate Labor Day. We celebrate the rights of labor in this country. It's a national holiday. Today -- today, we're lamenting President Bush's anti-Labor Day today. That's exactly what these overtime rules are, an anti-Labor Day today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHIAVONE: Now, these updated rules helps those at the lowest end of the wage scale the most. If you earn $23,660 a year or less, or $455 a week or less, overtime pay is the law of the land.
But now it gets tricky for those in the middle income groups, workers who might be described as team leaders or learned professionals. Sous chefs, for example, restaurant workers, are not sure what this all means for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they were to take in a change of rules (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the sous chefs be out of the union, then I wouldn't have that overtime. I would have more straight hours, and a lot of straight hours which I feel I wouldn't be getting compensated for. But I would definitely lose the overtime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHIAVONE: The AFL-CIO is among the toughest critics of these new Labor Department regulations. And they're going to be in front of this Labor Department in about an hour. They're organizing a protest of these regulations.
They believe, and according to other studies which they cite, six million workers could lose their overtime protections. The Labor Department says people who were going to lose their overtime protections may number about 107,000. But what they are saying is that 1.3 million worker also actually gain overtime and another five or six million worker will have their overtime rights strengthened -- Betty.
NGUYEN: So many numbers and so many questions still. All right. Louise Schiavone, thank you.
Questioning the Neverland search warrant. Are prosecutors on the defensive trying to prevent evidence from being thrown out? We'll have a live report from southern California.
A Swift Boat controversy invades the race for the White House. We'll have the latest on that.
Plus, how wine could one day help the health of those who don't even like to drink it.
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(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
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NGUYEN: Scott Peterson's former mistress is expected to take the stand when his murder trial resumes next hour. Amber Frey's cross- examination was set to begin last week, but the judge delayed it until today because of a potential development in the trial, of which he gave no details. The defense will get to question Frey now that jurors spent five days listening to taped phone conversations between her and Peterson.
Prosecutors allege that Peterson killed his wife Laci and their unborn son. The defense says he was framed.
Now to the battle over evidence in the Michael Jackson child molestation case. A pretrial hearing is expected to resume less than two hours from now. CNN's Miguel Marquez is covering the hearing, and he joins us now from Santa Maria, California.
And I understand this battle centers over some secret evidence.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, all of the evidence is secret at this point because everything has been sealed in this case, Betty. It is under an enormous level of secrecy from a judge here in Santa Maria. And keep in mind, there are 72 warrants in this case, just enormous amounts of evidence out there as well.
And the -- this is -- this is a continuation of that suppression of evidence hearing. It started last Monday, when Michael Jackson and his whole entourage, his siblings, all showed up dressed in white, as well as his parents were here. They were here to watch the testimony of Tom Sneddon, the Santa Barbara County district attorney. He was called to the -- to the stand to answer questions about his role in collecting some of this evidence.
Now, Jackson's lawyers are basically taking on this evidence on two different fronts. One is the issue of Bradley Miller, a private investigator whose office was searched in Beverly Hills. He was working for Mark Geragos. Jackson's lawyers saying that because he was working for Jackson's former lawyer, all of that evidence should be covered under attorney-client privilege.
The other thing that they're contesting this evidence on is that the search of Neverland Ranch. They're saying that the warrants that they used to search Neverland Ranch were narrowly written and that searchers and investigators went -- went more broadly than they should have and gathered evidence from places and types of evidence that they shouldn't have taken.
We're expecting two more witnesses today, and then this hearing should wrap up at least for now. But on the 17th of September, at least at this point, there should be another big day of testimony here. The accuser's mother is set to testify on September 17 -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Miguel Marquez in California. Thank you for that.
Well, looking for a new online chat friend? Why not try the White House. I'll talk to the director of the program which allows you to quiz the executive branch.
And still to come, if you couldn't find time for a vacation this summer, there are spectacular places to visit in the fall. We'll tell you which are the top spots.
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NGUYEN: Got a gripe? Well, compliments are accepted, too. The White House holds its online version of a town hall meeting five times a week, and you can ask top staffers serious policy questions, even silly goofball stuff.
Jimmy Orr is the White House Internet director, and he joins us this morning. Good morning to you.
JIMMY ORR, WHITE HOUSE INTERNET DIRECTOR: Hey, Betty.
NGUYEN: This is a very interactive site, almost like a blog. Why did you decide to make it so interactive?
ORR: Well, I mean, there was -- there's two key elements to our site in -- because our main goal is to attract visitors so we can communicate better the president's message. And so we have two elements that really drives people to the site, and one is unique video offerings that we have, anything from the very famous Barney cam videos to the tours of the White House by the president, and others, to interactivity, because interactivity will draw people to the site because it shows, one, that we're a very alive site, but, two, it's the first time that really people have been able to interact with the White House or cabinet officials live on the site, and it encourages that interaction. So it's very important to us.
NGUYEN: And you even have some pretty high-ranking officials taking some tough questions. Give us an example.
ORR: Well, we do have high-ranking officials on all the time. And they vary from the cabinet secretaries.
We had Secretary Snow and Secretary Evans on last week. Tomorrow, we have Secretary Paige on, the education secretary, talking about No Child Left Behind. And senior policymakers here at the White House. White House Chief of Staff Andy Card was on last week for two hours because he enjoys doing it. But we also have behind the scenes professionals.
NGUYEN: For two hours? You can chat with him for two hours?
ORR: He was on -- he was on for two hours. And the thing about Secretary Card is, the White House chief of staff, unlike some, he prefers to type the questions himself. Not the quickest typist.
NGUYEN: Maybe that's why it took so long.
ORR: Yes. Only one question was answered -- no, I'm joking. But there were a variety of questions answered. And so we have -- and we get behind-the-scenes professionals on, too, which is always fun, like the gardener and the usher and others.
NGUYEN: Now, do you rule out any questions? Do you kind of stay away from the hard questions and go for the softball questions? Or is everything fair game?
ORR: Everything's fair game, because, I tell you what, if we only take the softball questions and put up the Republican talking points and the red meat for the conservatives, we're going to miss half the audience, one. But two, who is going to read it if they -- if they see it as something that's contrived or not real?
And so we allow them to take any question they want to take. And there's a lot of hard questions they take, which is very important, but also a lot of goofball ones as well, or some goofball ones.
NGUYEN: Let's talk about those goofball, because when you get any question, you're going to get any question. What are some of the most bizarre questions that you've had?
ORR: Well, you know, when we have -- sometimes we get hundreds, sometimes thousands of questions per guest. And so the goofball questions do come out.
Some of my favorites, on April 15th, on Tax Day, we had Secretary Snow on, the Treasury secretary, and Pete from Naperville -- I've got my notes with me -- wrote in, "I can't afford to pay taxes this year and I'm thinking about not filing. What are the chances I will get caught?"
NGUYEN: And he gave his name and where he's from?
ORR: Yes. He goes, "I'm not asking for your signoff on ducking taxes, but if you were a gambling man, do you think I'll get caught? Thanks."
And the Treasury secretary asked him to pay his taxes. And I'm assuming that he did.
We get a lot of bizarre ones. You know, we had Desiree Sayle on, who is the director of Freedom Corps, the volunteer organization. Tony from Jersey City writes in, "I would like to volunteer at Hooters. Are there any openings?"
(LAUGHTER)
OR: I don't know if there was one or not. And then when the former secretary of housing was on, Mel Martinez, King Bloop Zahd (ph), who is ruler of Mars, wrote in, "Although there are no humans on Mars at present, I would like to invite the human race to consider Mars as an ideal location for a vacation home. Would you consider offering incentives to those who might want to build a home on Mars?"
And so we took that question. And...
NGUYEN: You took it very seriously, of course.
ORR: Well, there are no -- there are incentives right now. But it does two things. One, it makes the transcript more enjoyable to read. But the other thing, the media picks up on these when we answer the tough or the humorous questions, and so we get an extra media bump as well.
NGUYEN: Jim Orr, you have seen it all. All right. Thank you so much for speaking with us today and answering our questions.
ORR: My pleasure. WhiteHouse.gov, we've got the Treasury -- or the Education secretary on tomorrow.
NGUYEN: All right. Sounds great. Thank you.
ORR: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Jacqui Jeras is on deck now to talk about the weather and how it's shaping up today.
How are you, Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Betty. I'm great, thanks.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: All right. Jacqui Jeras, thank you.
The Democrats' candidate for VP is diving into the Swift Boat campaign controversy. We'll tell you what political challenge John Edwards is issuing to the president. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Good morning. I'm Betty Nguyen in Atlanta.
"Now in the News," troop strength in Iraq is expected to dominate a defense strategy meeting between President Bush and his top advisers this is morning in Crawford, Texas. Also on the agenda, threats to national security. We're awaiting tape of his address to reporters following that meeting, and you will see it as soon as we have it.
In Najaf, Iraq, U.S. tanks are now reported within 250 yards of the Imam Ali mosque. And U.S. snipers are positioned on rooftops around that shrine. Muqtada al-Sadr's militia is under increased pressure to leave the compound. We have a live report coming up in the next hour.
In Mannheim, Germany, a two-day hearing is under way for four of seven soldiers accused in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. Attorneys for Army Specialist Charles Graner failed in their attempt to suppress photos that first drew attention to the scandal. The photos were seized from Graner's computer.
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Aired August 23, 2004 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's 11:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 8:00 in the West. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Betty Nguyen, in for Daryn Kagan.
Up first here on CNN, a prominent Republican senator is presenting a sweeping plan to the White House today to overhaul intelligence agencies. It would essentially break up the CIA, minimize the Pentagon's role, and install a new national intelligence director. But that is easier said than done in a town known for turf battles. Congressional correspondent Ed Henry is on Capitol Hill this morning to sort all of this out.
Good morning, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Betty.
You're right, there has been a lot of talk this summer about intelligence reform. The significance here, though, is that a very powerful Republican, Senate Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts, is really becoming the first lawmaker to lay out a bold plan, really spell out the details.
Everyone knew that Chairman Roberts wanted to have a very strong national intelligence director with full budget authority, but the surprise here is that he wants to also eliminate the CIA, really rip it apart and dismantle it as we currently know it. That is facing some scathing criticism within the intelligence community, also some criticism from some of Mr. Roberts' colleagues up on Capitol Hill, especially Democrats who feel that they were left out of the loop.
The bottom line here is that Chairman Roberts believes that Congress cannot do half measures. He believes they need to be very bold with this reform effort.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: We didn't pay attention to turf. We didn't pay any attention to boxes. We didn't pay any attention to, say, the agencies. And what we have proposed is a national intelligence service with a national intelligence director that has real line-item budget authority and personnel authority. So we think it's a good plan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: U.S. intelligence officials are calling this plan reckless, however. One senior U.S. intelligence official telling CNN's David Ensor "It would be akin to taking apart a ship in the middle of the ocean."
I can tell you, Democrats as well up here very concerned about this plan. The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, Jay Rockefeller, is someone known for normally working in a bipartisan spirit with Chairman Roberts. He, though, put out a statement, saying he thinks it could be a mistake to dismantle the CIA at this critical time in the war on terror. Also, Democrat Carl Levin, a member of the Intelligence Committee, expressing concern about the fact that Democrats were not clued in to the details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: I'm willing to give greater powers to an intelligence director provided we do not give him the power to direct military operations. The 9/11 Commission gave the intelligence director that power. I think that would give too much power to the intelligence director.
We've seen abuses by intelligence directors before. I'm not willing to give the power to take military action, which is an act of war, to an intelligence director.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: You're seeing some pushback there as well from allies of the Pentagon. Senator Levin, in addition to serving on the Intelligence Committee, is the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. And I think it's worth noting as well that there are eight Republicans on the Intelligence Committee who endorsed this plan from Chairman Roberts.
The one, the ninth who did not endorse it, John Warner. He's a member of the Intelligence Committee, but he's also the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. A lot of allies at the Pentagon concerned that the budget power, some $30 billion to $40 billion in intelligence money, would be ripped away from the Pentagon.
This is far away from becoming a reality, Betty. This is really just the beginning of the legislative debate. We've had a lot of hearings, but now the debate begins on the legislation. And there are going to be a lot of plans coming up -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Exactly. A lot of plans, a lot of opinions. What are we going to see a bill and really get into some real debate on this issue?
HENRY: Well, in the House, you're going to probably see a little bit swifter action because of the way it's structured in the House. The Republican leadership can push things through swifter, and I can tell you that Republicans have been privately saying that very shortly after the Republican National Convention they hope to have some sort of a reform plan passed through the House either in the first or second week of September. I think in the Senate it's going to take a lot longer, as it always does. And the key to remember here is that, while Chairman Roberts will have a powerful voice in it, it's actually another committee chairman, Susan Collins of Maine, of the Governmental Affairs Committee, who will be leading this effort. And she has said she does not expect to act until the end of September -- Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. Ed Henry on Capitol Hill, thank you very much.
HENRY: Thank you.
NGUYEN: A round of military hearings opens this week at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Four accused al Qaeda terrorists will face a five-member military panel. Critics complain the proceedings do not meet the standards of U.S. or international law, but the Bush administration insists the hearings and trials will be fair.
Now, among those on trial is David Hicks, a 29-year-old Australian who converted to Islam and was captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan. Others include a man from Yemen who is reported to have been a bodyguard and driver for Osama bin Laden.
Hearings today in Germany now for four of the American soldiers charged in the Iraqi prison abuse scandal. CNN international correspondent Chris Burns joins us now from Mannheim, Germany, with the latest -- Chris.
CHRIS BURNS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, the hearing's over. The defense is fighting long and hard for several hours today, trying to argue to atake out the key bit of probably mostly damning -- damning evidence against the specialist, Charles Graner, who is consider and described as a ringleader behind those military police who were -- are accused of abuses against Iraqi prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison outside of Baghdad.
Their argument is that investigators came to him when he was asleep. They woke him up in the middle of the night and asked to search his belongings. And they took with them a laptop computer that had these pictures in them. The judge rejected that -- that desire to suppress that evidence, saying that Mr. Graner still knew what he was doing, he was still alert, and he was not overcome by any kind of intimidation by the investigators.
On the other hand, the defense -- while the defense says that this is not a huge blow, because they say that their main defense is that others commanded these people to do that, and others in very high places. And this is where the defense is saying that even if you look at those pictures that caused outrage around the world with those thumbs up and the smiles and the laughs, that was all part of orders that they followed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUY WOMACK, GRANER'S CIVILIAN ATTORNEY: I think some of the smiling is the result of (UNINTELLIGIBLE) humor. I think some of the smiles and the thumbs up and some of the other things in these pictures were the direct result of orders to look as though you're being intimidating or look like you're enjoying what you're doing to make the MPs look more intimidating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNS: The judge also rejected a change of venue called for by the defense because they would like to have it in Germany or the United States instead of Iraq so that there could be some very key and very high witnesses. They would like some very high government people and defense people to show up to this eventual trial. So they lost on that. But they did win on one, where the judge said that you can get the names of some of the civilian contractors who were working there at the prison and who the defense say were commanding these military police to do what they were doing.
Back to you.
NGUYEN: CNN's Chris Burns watching it all play out in Mannheim, Germany. Thank you.
Sweeping new guidelines on overtime pay designed to make the rules more clear are leaving some workers and experts simply confused. For some workers, the overtime rules could mean more cash to carry. But for others, the rules on OT could spell money off the top, as in dollars disappearing from their paychecks. Here with more is CNN's Louise Schiavone live in Washington to sort it all out.
It can be very confusing.
LOUISE SCHIAVONE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's going to be tricky, and there'll probably be some case law behind it after it's all said and done. But when it comes to overtime pay for workers and for employers, the rules of the game changed today.
Now, this is the first such adjustment in more than half a century, Betty. But not everyone is pleased. As you might expect, the biggest critics are those who want to knock George Bush out of the White House after November.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TOM HARKIN (D), IOWA: Two weeks from now we celebrate Labor Day. We celebrate the rights of labor in this country. It's a national holiday. Today -- today, we're lamenting President Bush's anti-Labor Day today. That's exactly what these overtime rules are, an anti-Labor Day today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHIAVONE: Now, these updated rules helps those at the lowest end of the wage scale the most. If you earn $23,660 a year or less, or $455 a week or less, overtime pay is the law of the land.
But now it gets tricky for those in the middle income groups, workers who might be described as team leaders or learned professionals. Sous chefs, for example, restaurant workers, are not sure what this all means for them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they were to take in a change of rules (UNINTELLIGIBLE) the sous chefs be out of the union, then I wouldn't have that overtime. I would have more straight hours, and a lot of straight hours which I feel I wouldn't be getting compensated for. But I would definitely lose the overtime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHIAVONE: The AFL-CIO is among the toughest critics of these new Labor Department regulations. And they're going to be in front of this Labor Department in about an hour. They're organizing a protest of these regulations.
They believe, and according to other studies which they cite, six million workers could lose their overtime protections. The Labor Department says people who were going to lose their overtime protections may number about 107,000. But what they are saying is that 1.3 million worker also actually gain overtime and another five or six million worker will have their overtime rights strengthened -- Betty.
NGUYEN: So many numbers and so many questions still. All right. Louise Schiavone, thank you.
Questioning the Neverland search warrant. Are prosecutors on the defensive trying to prevent evidence from being thrown out? We'll have a live report from southern California.
A Swift Boat controversy invades the race for the White House. We'll have the latest on that.
Plus, how wine could one day help the health of those who don't even like to drink it.
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(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
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NGUYEN: Scott Peterson's former mistress is expected to take the stand when his murder trial resumes next hour. Amber Frey's cross- examination was set to begin last week, but the judge delayed it until today because of a potential development in the trial, of which he gave no details. The defense will get to question Frey now that jurors spent five days listening to taped phone conversations between her and Peterson.
Prosecutors allege that Peterson killed his wife Laci and their unborn son. The defense says he was framed.
Now to the battle over evidence in the Michael Jackson child molestation case. A pretrial hearing is expected to resume less than two hours from now. CNN's Miguel Marquez is covering the hearing, and he joins us now from Santa Maria, California.
And I understand this battle centers over some secret evidence.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, all of the evidence is secret at this point because everything has been sealed in this case, Betty. It is under an enormous level of secrecy from a judge here in Santa Maria. And keep in mind, there are 72 warrants in this case, just enormous amounts of evidence out there as well.
And the -- this is -- this is a continuation of that suppression of evidence hearing. It started last Monday, when Michael Jackson and his whole entourage, his siblings, all showed up dressed in white, as well as his parents were here. They were here to watch the testimony of Tom Sneddon, the Santa Barbara County district attorney. He was called to the -- to the stand to answer questions about his role in collecting some of this evidence.
Now, Jackson's lawyers are basically taking on this evidence on two different fronts. One is the issue of Bradley Miller, a private investigator whose office was searched in Beverly Hills. He was working for Mark Geragos. Jackson's lawyers saying that because he was working for Jackson's former lawyer, all of that evidence should be covered under attorney-client privilege.
The other thing that they're contesting this evidence on is that the search of Neverland Ranch. They're saying that the warrants that they used to search Neverland Ranch were narrowly written and that searchers and investigators went -- went more broadly than they should have and gathered evidence from places and types of evidence that they shouldn't have taken.
We're expecting two more witnesses today, and then this hearing should wrap up at least for now. But on the 17th of September, at least at this point, there should be another big day of testimony here. The accuser's mother is set to testify on September 17 -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Miguel Marquez in California. Thank you for that.
Well, looking for a new online chat friend? Why not try the White House. I'll talk to the director of the program which allows you to quiz the executive branch.
And still to come, if you couldn't find time for a vacation this summer, there are spectacular places to visit in the fall. We'll tell you which are the top spots.
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NGUYEN: Got a gripe? Well, compliments are accepted, too. The White House holds its online version of a town hall meeting five times a week, and you can ask top staffers serious policy questions, even silly goofball stuff.
Jimmy Orr is the White House Internet director, and he joins us this morning. Good morning to you.
JIMMY ORR, WHITE HOUSE INTERNET DIRECTOR: Hey, Betty.
NGUYEN: This is a very interactive site, almost like a blog. Why did you decide to make it so interactive?
ORR: Well, I mean, there was -- there's two key elements to our site in -- because our main goal is to attract visitors so we can communicate better the president's message. And so we have two elements that really drives people to the site, and one is unique video offerings that we have, anything from the very famous Barney cam videos to the tours of the White House by the president, and others, to interactivity, because interactivity will draw people to the site because it shows, one, that we're a very alive site, but, two, it's the first time that really people have been able to interact with the White House or cabinet officials live on the site, and it encourages that interaction. So it's very important to us.
NGUYEN: And you even have some pretty high-ranking officials taking some tough questions. Give us an example.
ORR: Well, we do have high-ranking officials on all the time. And they vary from the cabinet secretaries.
We had Secretary Snow and Secretary Evans on last week. Tomorrow, we have Secretary Paige on, the education secretary, talking about No Child Left Behind. And senior policymakers here at the White House. White House Chief of Staff Andy Card was on last week for two hours because he enjoys doing it. But we also have behind the scenes professionals.
NGUYEN: For two hours? You can chat with him for two hours?
ORR: He was on -- he was on for two hours. And the thing about Secretary Card is, the White House chief of staff, unlike some, he prefers to type the questions himself. Not the quickest typist.
NGUYEN: Maybe that's why it took so long.
ORR: Yes. Only one question was answered -- no, I'm joking. But there were a variety of questions answered. And so we have -- and we get behind-the-scenes professionals on, too, which is always fun, like the gardener and the usher and others.
NGUYEN: Now, do you rule out any questions? Do you kind of stay away from the hard questions and go for the softball questions? Or is everything fair game?
ORR: Everything's fair game, because, I tell you what, if we only take the softball questions and put up the Republican talking points and the red meat for the conservatives, we're going to miss half the audience, one. But two, who is going to read it if they -- if they see it as something that's contrived or not real?
And so we allow them to take any question they want to take. And there's a lot of hard questions they take, which is very important, but also a lot of goofball ones as well, or some goofball ones.
NGUYEN: Let's talk about those goofball, because when you get any question, you're going to get any question. What are some of the most bizarre questions that you've had?
ORR: Well, you know, when we have -- sometimes we get hundreds, sometimes thousands of questions per guest. And so the goofball questions do come out.
Some of my favorites, on April 15th, on Tax Day, we had Secretary Snow on, the Treasury secretary, and Pete from Naperville -- I've got my notes with me -- wrote in, "I can't afford to pay taxes this year and I'm thinking about not filing. What are the chances I will get caught?"
NGUYEN: And he gave his name and where he's from?
ORR: Yes. He goes, "I'm not asking for your signoff on ducking taxes, but if you were a gambling man, do you think I'll get caught? Thanks."
And the Treasury secretary asked him to pay his taxes. And I'm assuming that he did.
We get a lot of bizarre ones. You know, we had Desiree Sayle on, who is the director of Freedom Corps, the volunteer organization. Tony from Jersey City writes in, "I would like to volunteer at Hooters. Are there any openings?"
(LAUGHTER)
OR: I don't know if there was one or not. And then when the former secretary of housing was on, Mel Martinez, King Bloop Zahd (ph), who is ruler of Mars, wrote in, "Although there are no humans on Mars at present, I would like to invite the human race to consider Mars as an ideal location for a vacation home. Would you consider offering incentives to those who might want to build a home on Mars?"
And so we took that question. And...
NGUYEN: You took it very seriously, of course.
ORR: Well, there are no -- there are incentives right now. But it does two things. One, it makes the transcript more enjoyable to read. But the other thing, the media picks up on these when we answer the tough or the humorous questions, and so we get an extra media bump as well.
NGUYEN: Jim Orr, you have seen it all. All right. Thank you so much for speaking with us today and answering our questions.
ORR: My pleasure. WhiteHouse.gov, we've got the Treasury -- or the Education secretary on tomorrow.
NGUYEN: All right. Sounds great. Thank you.
ORR: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Jacqui Jeras is on deck now to talk about the weather and how it's shaping up today.
How are you, Jacqui?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Betty. I'm great, thanks.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: All right. Jacqui Jeras, thank you.
The Democrats' candidate for VP is diving into the Swift Boat campaign controversy. We'll tell you what political challenge John Edwards is issuing to the president. That's next.
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NGUYEN: Good morning. I'm Betty Nguyen in Atlanta.
"Now in the News," troop strength in Iraq is expected to dominate a defense strategy meeting between President Bush and his top advisers this is morning in Crawford, Texas. Also on the agenda, threats to national security. We're awaiting tape of his address to reporters following that meeting, and you will see it as soon as we have it.
In Najaf, Iraq, U.S. tanks are now reported within 250 yards of the Imam Ali mosque. And U.S. snipers are positioned on rooftops around that shrine. Muqtada al-Sadr's militia is under increased pressure to leave the compound. We have a live report coming up in the next hour.
In Mannheim, Germany, a two-day hearing is under way for four of seven soldiers accused in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal. Attorneys for Army Specialist Charles Graner failed in their attempt to suppress photos that first drew attention to the scandal. The photos were seized from Graner's computer.
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