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CNN Live At Daybreak
Another Hostage Standoff in Iraq; Defense Rests Case in Scott Peterson Trial
Aired October 27, 2004 - 05:00 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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, another hostage standoff in Iraq. This video from an Islamic Web site shows insurgents holding a Japanese man. They are threatening to kill him unless Japan pulls out its troops. But this morning, Japan's prime minister says his troops will stay put.
And from northern Japan this morning, pictures of survival. Rescue workers found a woman and her two young children. They'd been buried for four days in their car after this weekend's earthquakes.
In California, the prosecution gets another shot today in the Scott Peterson trial when they call rebuttal witnesses. The defense has rested its case. Closing arguments are set for Monday.
The curse has not stopped Boston and St. Louis hasn't either. The Red Sox have chalked up yet another win against the Cardinals, taking a three games to none lead in the World Series. Boston tries for a sweep tonight.
Rob Marciano in for Chad Myers this morning -- good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, the streak continues.
COSTELLO: I can't really hear you.
Say again?
MARCIANO: Can you hear -- I can't really hear you either. Can -- are you hearing me now? Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?
COSTELLO: I can't.
MARCIANO: You got me enough?
COSTELLO: I think you should just do the weather and be done with it.
MARCIANO: All right, here we go.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Have you made your choice for president? You have less than a week to decide now. It is now six days and counting until Election Day. George Bush and John Kerry trying to make the most of that time, targeting voters in the battleground states. One of the most important battlegrounds, Pennsylvania. Polls indicate an extremely tight race for the state's 21 electoral votes. Al Gore won Pennsylvania in 2000 with a winning margin of just over 4 percent.
President Bush will start the day in Pennsylvania, a state where he's been campaigning heavily. Later, he'll head to the neighboring battleground state of Ohio, a state that has been hit hard by manufacturing job losses. The economy also on the mind of voters in Michigan. And that's where the president will end his day.
Daily violence in Iraq and a struggling economy back home, that's what the president is dealing with as he tries to win a second term.
But as our White House correspondent John King reports, the Bush camp seems unfazed.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): Rolling through farm country one week out, the race as close as can be, yet the incumbent upbeat as he looks to close the deal.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're headed in the right direction in America.
KING: Here in Wisconsin, and in much of the country, it's a tough sell. The economy is OK, not great most places. Day to day news from Iraq often discouraging, to say the least. But Mr. Bush is the voice of optimism.
BUSH: Iraq is going to have elections. Think about how far that country has come in a brief period of time, from the days of torture chambers and mass graves.
KING: This dairy farm a perfect stop for a campaign looking for favorable local coverage in the final days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what he needs, some dairy cows for his ranch.
BUSH: Only you'll come and milk them.
KING: A little playful banter with reporters here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, who's responsible for the weapons...
KING: But later, no answer, just a stare, when asked about 380 tons of missing explosives in Iraq. Senator Kerry calls it more proof of administration incompetence. The vice president called Senator Kerry an armchair general who attacks first, checks the facts later.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But it is not at all clear that those explosives were even at the weapons facility when our troops arrived in the area of Baghdad. John Kerry doesn't mention that. Nor does he mention the 400,000 tons of weapons and explosives that our troops have captured and are destroying.
KING: At his afternoon stops, the president also answered, but only indirectly.
BUSH: My opponent has no plan, no vision, just a long list of complaints. But a Monday morning quarterback has never led any team to victory.
KING: A playful top Bush adviser, Carl Rove, at this stop. But the volume and intensity of the exchanges between the campaigns underscores the stakes -- a dead heat race nationally and in at least a half dozen showdown states.
GOV. TOM VILSACK (D), IOWA: There are three triangle -- two triangles. There's the Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida triangle, which is certainly key. But I think there's also the Wisconsin/Minnesota/Iowa triangle. And I think that's just as important.
KING (on camera): Seven days out and the Bush team claims momentum and says on Wednesday the president will deliver a direct and a detailed appeal to Democrats, even in Michigan, a state Mr. Bush lost by 5 percentage points four years ago but where polls have tightened significantly in recent days.
John King, CNN, Dubuque, Iowa.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: And here's how the candidates are doing in Iowa. According to the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, 50 percent of likely voters say President Bush is their choice for president; 46 percent say John Kerry. But among registered voters, oh, it's a dead heat, Bush 47 percent, Kerry 48 percent. Ralph Nader, by the way, gets 1 percent of both groups.
Iowa is the Hawk Eye State. It has seven electoral votes. Al Gore won Iowa in the 2000 election, but not by a large margin. He beat Bush by 4,100 votes.
Senator Kerry attends a rally this morning at North High School in Sioux City. Then he'll head north for a lunchtime rally at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota. And then it's back to Iowa, where he's got an early evening event at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. He'll spend the night in Toledo, Ohio.
Our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley, has been traveling with the Kerry campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Looking to swing the not yet swung, to convince the not yet decided, John Kerry tries to ease doubts about his own leadership and raise them about the president's. SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mr. President, what else are you being silent about? What else are you keeping from the American people?
CROWLEY: Refurbishing well worn lines with the day's news, Kerry tried to ring a little more juice out of yesterday's headlines about the missing 380 tons of explosives in Iraq.
KERRY: Terrorists could be helping themselves to what has been called, I quote, and this is by the people who reported it missing, "the greatest explosives bonanza in history." No wonder the president thinks and said the other day that whether or not we're going to be safe is "up in the air."
CROWLEY: Added to a long list of items the candidate delineates now on a daily basis.
KERRY: Time and again this president has made the wrong decisions. Time and again he has chosen the wrong path. In virtually everything that he has said and everything that he has done, the president has demonstrated to the American people, and to countries around the world that have been pushed away from the United States, he has demonstrated that he is divorced from reality in Iraq.
CROWLEY: The campaign is so sure it's on to something, it rustled up an ad on the missing ammo and in the four hours it took to fly from Wisconsin to Nevada, Kerry upped the stakes.
KERRY: Because this administration didn't take the time, didn't plan, didn't think that they needed to guard the ammo dumps. Those ammo dumps have been looted and raided and our kids, American young forces, are being shot up from weapons stolen from the ammo dumps that this president didn't think were important enough to guard.
CROWLEY (on camera): Kerry is finished with his so-called closing argument speeches now and the campaign reverts to more standard last minute fare, that is, rallies like this one here in Nevada. There will be star attractions, of course. Look for Bruce Springsteen coming to a rally near you.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, Bruce Springsteen. He will play a few songs at swing state rallies in Columbus, Ohio and in Madison, Wisconsin. He'll also appear with John Kerry at an election eve event in Cleveland. But Springsteen is not the only rocker on tour with the Kerry campaign. John Bon Jovi will also make a few appearances this week. And they'll actually sing at these campaign appearances.
In Florida, as many as 14,000 people might not be able to vote. A federal judge has ruled that because they didn't fill out their voter registration forms completely, election officials don't have to process them. An appeal is expected, but it's not clear if the issue will be resolved before November 2. You can keep up with the candidates, the election issues, all things political. Just go to our Web site. The address, cnn.com/politics.
We've heard from both candidates on just how things are going in Iraq. Now Amnesty International is weighing in, once again calling on Washington to investigate the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison near Baghdad. It wants the investigation to include a look at how the military treats prisoners in Afghanistan and at the Navy base in Guantanamo Bay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENDAN PADDY, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: What we're strongly saying is this isn't simply a question of military discipline being imposed on the rank and file members of the armed services. This is a question of challenging the policies which allowed those people to conduct the kinds of abuses that they conducted, the torture and the ill treatment, at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere.
QUESTION: Would you like to see Rumsfeld held responsible?
PADDY: I would like to see the entire administration's record subject to independent scrutiny through this commission of inquiry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Amnesty International denies it's trying to influence the outcome of America's presidential election.
And right now in Iraq, some British troops have begun moving from a relatively safe place in Iraq to a more hostile area about 60 miles from Baghdad.
Our Karl Penhaul is covering this move by 800 soldiers of the famed Black Watch.
He joins us now live from Baghdad -- good morning.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Cathy.
Indeed, the famed 1st Battalion of the Black Watch is on the move. We've seen pictures of them this morning making their way from their city of Basra, where the British troops have been based throughout most of this war and occupation. They're now heading north along one of the main highways there, along with their Warrior fighting vehicles. That's similar to the Bradley fighting vehicle. They're bringing about 50 of those north with them, together with about 850 personnel. And they will set up camp somewhere around the south area, south of Baghdad, we're told, around the area of North Babil Province.
What will their role be? Their role will be that, first of all and most importantly, to relieve a U.S. Marine unit so that those Marines can move then closer toward Falluja, that rebel held city, to prepare for a possible all out assault there. What the British soldiers have also told us they'll be doing is patrolling as normal, trying to keep peace there in what is an area where we know a number of insurgent cells do operate. And they say they'll also try to be getting to know the local population there.
Now, in other developments today, of course, we've seen video extracts of a Japanese hostage who's been taken by the group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted man in Iraq. The al-Zarqawi terrorist network is now threatening to behead the man named Shosei Koda, a 24-year-old, if Japanese troops don't pull out of Iraq within the next 48 hours.
There are about 550 Japanese members of the Self-Defense Forces here. Their role primarily has been reconstruction and humanitarian aid. They're not involved in any military operations. The Japanese foreign ministry has described Koda not as a military personnel or diplomat, but a tourist in the wrong place at the wrong time -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, it is Carol, Karl. I know you can't see who you're talking to sometimes over there and you do many reports, but it is Carol Costello.
I wanted to ask you about Margaret Hassan, another hostage, because the movement of these British troops may affect her status.
PENHAUL: Indeed. The last demands that we've heard from the hostage takers of Margaret Hassan were in a video that was released late last week. And in that, the demands did seem to be directly tied to the movement of British troops. Margaret Hassan, in a demand presumably made by her kidnappers, she was saying, calling on the prime minister, Tony Blair, not to allow British troops to move any closer to Baghdad.
That move is now under way, but there has been no further word from the hostage takers about the fate of Margaret Hassan.
COSTELLO: Karl Penhaul live in Baghdad this morning.
Thank you.
Iraq's interim prime minister is blaming the United States military for the massacre of nearly 50 Iraqi National Guardsmen over the weekend. He says coalition forces failed to protect them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): There was a vicious crime where a number of, a large number of National Guards met martyrdom and this has come as a result of the negligence on the part of the multinational forces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The Iraqis were recruits heading home after training when they were pulled from their trucks by insurgents and executed.
Well, things are getting hot and heavy here on DAYBREAK. At 5:15 Eastern, shock jock Howard Stern takes on the man in charge of the FCC, who just happens to be Colin Powell's son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD STERN: Do you deny that your father got you this job?
MICHAEL POWELL, FCC CHAIRMAN: Oh, I would deny it exceedingly. You can look at my resume if you want, Howard. I'm not ashamed of it and I think it justifies my existence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: We'll have more for you later.
Then, just after the half hour, the Continental Divide -- some in Europe say President Bush should keep his religious beliefs out of his political decision-making.
And at 48 minutes past, a close encounter with a Titan -- uncovering the secrets of Saturn's largest moon.
That's just ahead on DAYBREAK.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:17 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Colin Powell's calls for talks between China and Taiwan have fallen on deaf ears. Chinese officials rejected the secretary of state's call for dialogue. In the meantime, there were protests in Taiwan after Powell said that Taiwan is not an independent state.
NASA scientists have gotten their best look ever at Saturn's largest moon. The Cassini spacecraft took this picture during its first pass ballot Titan. We'll have more on the Cassini mission coming up later this hour.
In money news, ATA has become the third major airline to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. ATA is the nation's tenth largest airline. It's hoping to keep flying while it restructures. US Airways and United Airlines are also operating under Chapter 11.
In culture, it was 100 years ago today that New Yorkers got their first taste of subway travel. Back then, a ride cost a nickel. Today, millions of people pay $2 per trip to ride the New York subway. In sports, the Red Sox just one game away from their first title in 86 years. The Sox beat the Cardinals 4-1 to take a three games to none lead in the World Series. Game four tonight in St. Louis.
To the forecast center now and Rob Marciano.
MARCIANO: Carol, it should be dry for that game, but just to the south and west, a little rainfall in the forecast for much of the rest of Missouri.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
A spicy exchange for you now. Howard Stern and FCC Chairman Michael Powell got into a verbal duel during a radio call in show in Sacramento, California. The shock jock called into question Powell's credentials as head of the Federal Communications Commission and he questioned his right to levy fines against broadcasters like Stern.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POWELL: I think you have a right to be concerned about the way the indecency fines are done, but rather than attack me personally, you can challenge the regime. But the entire commission has voted on those fines. The commission has a statue...
STERN: Michael...
POWELL: ... that its required to enforce...
STERN: Michael, Michael, you just...
POWELL: And I think it's a cheap shot to say just because my father's famous, I don't belong in my position even though I've served longer than any commissioner in decades at the Commission.
If you don't believe the Commission should have any right to draw limits, I think that's a respectable position...
STERN: Michael...
POWELL: ... but it doesn't happen to be the law.
STERN: Well, Michael, it's not a cheap shot to say to you that your father got you your position, and I'll tell you why. Guys like me, who came from nowhere out of nothing, who worked their way up and committed themselves to broadcasting and a career in broadcasting have to answer to you. And it is in question as to how you got to where you got to. And let's face it, you got to the head of the FCC, you got to the front of the class the way George W. Bush got out of the draft.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Michael Powell, of course, is the son of Secretary of State Colin Powell. He was appointed to the Commission under President Clinton, but became chairman under President Bush. Clear Channel Communications, you know, Stern works for them, they were fined nearly half a million dollars by the FCC for indecent material in the Howard Stern radio show.
Up next on DAYBREAK, early voters head to the polls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROZ BELLINI: What I'm thinking is I could care less. I'm at that point. I don't like either of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: With undecided voters still in the ranks, some savvy seniors take on new voting technology.
You're watching DAYBREAK for a Wednesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye-Openers."
Check out this haunted house in Rochester, New York. It's made entirely out of balloons. Scary. The artist took the traditional balloon animals to new heights with ghosts, goblins and ghouls. But a warning -- one well placed pin could spell the end for the haunted balloon yard.
MARCIANO: Yes, but a little sound effect there could make it even scarier than it already is.
COSTELLO: That might be the only thing that makes it scarier.
MARCIANO: Maybe.
COSTELLO: The next story is in the same category, with a $50 hamburger and the $100 Philly cheese steak. The New York eatery is serving up the ultimate in rich desserts. It's a $1,000 ice cream sundae. But this sundae isn't for the usual ice cream fan. It includes edible gold leafing around the vanilla ice cream and caviar. Caviar on the ice cream.
MARCIANO: That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life.
COSTELLO: And it's just a thousand bucks.
There is a new box of crayons at Crayola. The company had kids from across the country rename its normal colors to honor all 50 states. Among the changes, black has been renamed Abe Lincoln's Hat for Illinois and brown is now called Mississippi Mud Pie. To fill out the traditional 64 crayon box, they added some patriotic theme colors, like Aren't You Glad You're In America? MARCIANO: I get it.
COSTELLO: Yes. Well, we have the box of Crayolas here because we thought you might be interested in, I don't know, some more of the clever names.
MARCIANO: So they've gotten rid of like azure and all these other...
COSTELLO: Just for this special box of patriotic Crayolas.
MARCIANO: OK.
COSTELLO: So, Connecticut...
MARCIANO: Yes, my home state.
COSTELLO: Your home state is, I gave it to you here, nutmeg is your color.
MARCIANO: It's your husband's color, as well.
COSTELLO: Yes. My husband is in Connecticut.
MARCIANO: Yes.
COSTELLO: Nutmeg, because apparently nutmeg is a big spice in Connecticut and has been since, you know, before the Revolutionary War.
MARCIANO: Well, I mean we -- yes, I knew that.
COSTELLO: You did not.
MARCIANO: It's the Constitution State, that's all I know. It's on the license plate.
COSTELLO: Well, now you know Connecticut is famous for nutmeg.
Ohio is Rock and Roll Raspberry.
MARCIANO: Well, you know, you're a rock and roll kind of gal. That's why that would make sense.
COSTELLO: And the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is located in Cleveland, Ohio, I suppose.
MARCIANO: Cleveland.
COSTELLO: And I think the rock and roll term was coined on Cleveland radio by Allen -- oh, man, that's the one thing about trivia, it tests your knowledge.
MARCIANO: Are you sure about that or is that one of those things that people from that area just say?
COSTELLO: Hey, Allen Freed.
MARCIANO: It's true?
COSTELLO: I'm going to write on you with this Crayola. But this is really funny. Our executive producer, Brian, is from Virginia.
MARCIANO: Yes? OK.
COSTELLO: His crayon is called William's Burgundy.
MARCIANO: Oh, that's kind of chic.
COSTELLO: That's clever.
MARCIANO: Yes.
COSTELLO: Williamsburg, Williams Burgundy.
MARCIANO: He's probably beaming with pride in the control room right now.
COSTELLO: I'm sure he is. But just a little food for thought this morning.
MARCIANO: That's nice. That'll boost their sales a little bit and get everybody in the patriotic spirit now that the election is coming around the corner.
COSTELLO: Speaking of elections...
MARCIANO: Oh.
COSTELLO: Many Florida voters are afraid of a repeat of the 2000 election fiasco, especially senior citizens. And Florida's new electronic voting machines are not easing their fears.
Our Jason Bellini takes us to the polls with some early voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rafasad Retirement Community (ph) celebrates Election Day, early Election Day. Victor and Roz Bellini (ph), my grandparents, hope the pride of West Palm Beach seniors will be restored this time around.
In 2000, voters here became the joke of the election, many seniors claiming they accidentally voted for Pat Buchanan. To blame? The infamous butterfly ballot.
Remember those hanging and pregnant chads? Florida seniors haven't forgotten them either.
(on camera): So are you ready to vote?
R. BELLINI: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does everybody have their either driver's license or their voter registration card?
J. BELLINI (voice-over): This time, Florida hopes early voting and electronic voting will prevent another train wreck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll vote for one, right.
J. BELLINI: No, you vote for three, just like last time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get off, John. Get off.
J. BELLINI (voice-over): Here in large numbers to do their patriotic duty...
VICTOR BELLINI: Look at the vowels here. I don't know whether I've got the patience for it.
J. BELLINI: The seniors can hardly contain their excitement.
R. BELLINI: What I'm thinking is I could care less. I'm at that point. I don't like either of them. Oh.
V. BELLINI: Roz, isn't number four right there?
J. BELLINI: Grandpa spots none other than Teresa LePore, the supervisor of elections who created the 2000 butterfly ballot.
V. BELLINI: And she made a big mistake, not only for herself, but for the whole country.
J. BELLINI (on camera): And this is Grandpa Bellini.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, grandpa.
J. BELLINI (voice-over): For once, grandpa bites his tongue.
(on camera): Out there on the line you hear people making a lot of jokes about last time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're joking about it, but they if didn't trust the machines they wouldn't be here.
J. BELLINI (voice-over): A practice machine is available before voting. Grandma and Grandpa Bellini give it a go.
(on camera): Did you know you were doing this (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
(voice-over): They quickly get the hang of it. But when the moment of truth comes, they pull back.
V. BELLINI: We're going to be absentee ballots.
J. BELLINI (on camera): Why?
V. BELLINI: I think it's a lot easier.
J. BELLINI (voice-over): So much for computers. Jason Bellini, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
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Aired October 27, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you.
From the CNN Global Headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Now in the news, another hostage standoff in Iraq. This video from an Islamic Web site shows insurgents holding a Japanese man. They are threatening to kill him unless Japan pulls out its troops. But this morning, Japan's prime minister says his troops will stay put.
And from northern Japan this morning, pictures of survival. Rescue workers found a woman and her two young children. They'd been buried for four days in their car after this weekend's earthquakes.
In California, the prosecution gets another shot today in the Scott Peterson trial when they call rebuttal witnesses. The defense has rested its case. Closing arguments are set for Monday.
The curse has not stopped Boston and St. Louis hasn't either. The Red Sox have chalked up yet another win against the Cardinals, taking a three games to none lead in the World Series. Boston tries for a sweep tonight.
Rob Marciano in for Chad Myers this morning -- good morning.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, the streak continues.
COSTELLO: I can't really hear you.
Say again?
MARCIANO: Can you hear -- I can't really hear you either. Can -- are you hearing me now? Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?
COSTELLO: I can't.
MARCIANO: You got me enough?
COSTELLO: I think you should just do the weather and be done with it.
MARCIANO: All right, here we go.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Have you made your choice for president? You have less than a week to decide now. It is now six days and counting until Election Day. George Bush and John Kerry trying to make the most of that time, targeting voters in the battleground states. One of the most important battlegrounds, Pennsylvania. Polls indicate an extremely tight race for the state's 21 electoral votes. Al Gore won Pennsylvania in 2000 with a winning margin of just over 4 percent.
President Bush will start the day in Pennsylvania, a state where he's been campaigning heavily. Later, he'll head to the neighboring battleground state of Ohio, a state that has been hit hard by manufacturing job losses. The economy also on the mind of voters in Michigan. And that's where the president will end his day.
Daily violence in Iraq and a struggling economy back home, that's what the president is dealing with as he tries to win a second term.
But as our White House correspondent John King reports, the Bush camp seems unfazed.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): Rolling through farm country one week out, the race as close as can be, yet the incumbent upbeat as he looks to close the deal.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're headed in the right direction in America.
KING: Here in Wisconsin, and in much of the country, it's a tough sell. The economy is OK, not great most places. Day to day news from Iraq often discouraging, to say the least. But Mr. Bush is the voice of optimism.
BUSH: Iraq is going to have elections. Think about how far that country has come in a brief period of time, from the days of torture chambers and mass graves.
KING: This dairy farm a perfect stop for a campaign looking for favorable local coverage in the final days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what he needs, some dairy cows for his ranch.
BUSH: Only you'll come and milk them.
KING: A little playful banter with reporters here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, who's responsible for the weapons...
KING: But later, no answer, just a stare, when asked about 380 tons of missing explosives in Iraq. Senator Kerry calls it more proof of administration incompetence. The vice president called Senator Kerry an armchair general who attacks first, checks the facts later.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: But it is not at all clear that those explosives were even at the weapons facility when our troops arrived in the area of Baghdad. John Kerry doesn't mention that. Nor does he mention the 400,000 tons of weapons and explosives that our troops have captured and are destroying.
KING: At his afternoon stops, the president also answered, but only indirectly.
BUSH: My opponent has no plan, no vision, just a long list of complaints. But a Monday morning quarterback has never led any team to victory.
KING: A playful top Bush adviser, Carl Rove, at this stop. But the volume and intensity of the exchanges between the campaigns underscores the stakes -- a dead heat race nationally and in at least a half dozen showdown states.
GOV. TOM VILSACK (D), IOWA: There are three triangle -- two triangles. There's the Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida triangle, which is certainly key. But I think there's also the Wisconsin/Minnesota/Iowa triangle. And I think that's just as important.
KING (on camera): Seven days out and the Bush team claims momentum and says on Wednesday the president will deliver a direct and a detailed appeal to Democrats, even in Michigan, a state Mr. Bush lost by 5 percentage points four years ago but where polls have tightened significantly in recent days.
John King, CNN, Dubuque, Iowa.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: And here's how the candidates are doing in Iowa. According to the latest CNN/"USA Today"/Gallup poll, 50 percent of likely voters say President Bush is their choice for president; 46 percent say John Kerry. But among registered voters, oh, it's a dead heat, Bush 47 percent, Kerry 48 percent. Ralph Nader, by the way, gets 1 percent of both groups.
Iowa is the Hawk Eye State. It has seven electoral votes. Al Gore won Iowa in the 2000 election, but not by a large margin. He beat Bush by 4,100 votes.
Senator Kerry attends a rally this morning at North High School in Sioux City. Then he'll head north for a lunchtime rally at the Mayo Civic Center in Rochester, Minnesota. And then it's back to Iowa, where he's got an early evening event at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids. He'll spend the night in Toledo, Ohio.
Our senior political correspondent, Candy Crowley, has been traveling with the Kerry campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Looking to swing the not yet swung, to convince the not yet decided, John Kerry tries to ease doubts about his own leadership and raise them about the president's. SEN. JOHN KERRY (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Mr. President, what else are you being silent about? What else are you keeping from the American people?
CROWLEY: Refurbishing well worn lines with the day's news, Kerry tried to ring a little more juice out of yesterday's headlines about the missing 380 tons of explosives in Iraq.
KERRY: Terrorists could be helping themselves to what has been called, I quote, and this is by the people who reported it missing, "the greatest explosives bonanza in history." No wonder the president thinks and said the other day that whether or not we're going to be safe is "up in the air."
CROWLEY: Added to a long list of items the candidate delineates now on a daily basis.
KERRY: Time and again this president has made the wrong decisions. Time and again he has chosen the wrong path. In virtually everything that he has said and everything that he has done, the president has demonstrated to the American people, and to countries around the world that have been pushed away from the United States, he has demonstrated that he is divorced from reality in Iraq.
CROWLEY: The campaign is so sure it's on to something, it rustled up an ad on the missing ammo and in the four hours it took to fly from Wisconsin to Nevada, Kerry upped the stakes.
KERRY: Because this administration didn't take the time, didn't plan, didn't think that they needed to guard the ammo dumps. Those ammo dumps have been looted and raided and our kids, American young forces, are being shot up from weapons stolen from the ammo dumps that this president didn't think were important enough to guard.
CROWLEY (on camera): Kerry is finished with his so-called closing argument speeches now and the campaign reverts to more standard last minute fare, that is, rallies like this one here in Nevada. There will be star attractions, of course. Look for Bruce Springsteen coming to a rally near you.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: Oh, yes, Bruce Springsteen. He will play a few songs at swing state rallies in Columbus, Ohio and in Madison, Wisconsin. He'll also appear with John Kerry at an election eve event in Cleveland. But Springsteen is not the only rocker on tour with the Kerry campaign. John Bon Jovi will also make a few appearances this week. And they'll actually sing at these campaign appearances.
In Florida, as many as 14,000 people might not be able to vote. A federal judge has ruled that because they didn't fill out their voter registration forms completely, election officials don't have to process them. An appeal is expected, but it's not clear if the issue will be resolved before November 2. You can keep up with the candidates, the election issues, all things political. Just go to our Web site. The address, cnn.com/politics.
We've heard from both candidates on just how things are going in Iraq. Now Amnesty International is weighing in, once again calling on Washington to investigate the treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison near Baghdad. It wants the investigation to include a look at how the military treats prisoners in Afghanistan and at the Navy base in Guantanamo Bay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENDAN PADDY, AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: What we're strongly saying is this isn't simply a question of military discipline being imposed on the rank and file members of the armed services. This is a question of challenging the policies which allowed those people to conduct the kinds of abuses that they conducted, the torture and the ill treatment, at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere.
QUESTION: Would you like to see Rumsfeld held responsible?
PADDY: I would like to see the entire administration's record subject to independent scrutiny through this commission of inquiry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Amnesty International denies it's trying to influence the outcome of America's presidential election.
And right now in Iraq, some British troops have begun moving from a relatively safe place in Iraq to a more hostile area about 60 miles from Baghdad.
Our Karl Penhaul is covering this move by 800 soldiers of the famed Black Watch.
He joins us now live from Baghdad -- good morning.
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Cathy.
Indeed, the famed 1st Battalion of the Black Watch is on the move. We've seen pictures of them this morning making their way from their city of Basra, where the British troops have been based throughout most of this war and occupation. They're now heading north along one of the main highways there, along with their Warrior fighting vehicles. That's similar to the Bradley fighting vehicle. They're bringing about 50 of those north with them, together with about 850 personnel. And they will set up camp somewhere around the south area, south of Baghdad, we're told, around the area of North Babil Province.
What will their role be? Their role will be that, first of all and most importantly, to relieve a U.S. Marine unit so that those Marines can move then closer toward Falluja, that rebel held city, to prepare for a possible all out assault there. What the British soldiers have also told us they'll be doing is patrolling as normal, trying to keep peace there in what is an area where we know a number of insurgent cells do operate. And they say they'll also try to be getting to know the local population there.
Now, in other developments today, of course, we've seen video extracts of a Japanese hostage who's been taken by the group led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted man in Iraq. The al-Zarqawi terrorist network is now threatening to behead the man named Shosei Koda, a 24-year-old, if Japanese troops don't pull out of Iraq within the next 48 hours.
There are about 550 Japanese members of the Self-Defense Forces here. Their role primarily has been reconstruction and humanitarian aid. They're not involved in any military operations. The Japanese foreign ministry has described Koda not as a military personnel or diplomat, but a tourist in the wrong place at the wrong time -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, it is Carol, Karl. I know you can't see who you're talking to sometimes over there and you do many reports, but it is Carol Costello.
I wanted to ask you about Margaret Hassan, another hostage, because the movement of these British troops may affect her status.
PENHAUL: Indeed. The last demands that we've heard from the hostage takers of Margaret Hassan were in a video that was released late last week. And in that, the demands did seem to be directly tied to the movement of British troops. Margaret Hassan, in a demand presumably made by her kidnappers, she was saying, calling on the prime minister, Tony Blair, not to allow British troops to move any closer to Baghdad.
That move is now under way, but there has been no further word from the hostage takers about the fate of Margaret Hassan.
COSTELLO: Karl Penhaul live in Baghdad this morning.
Thank you.
Iraq's interim prime minister is blaming the United States military for the massacre of nearly 50 Iraqi National Guardsmen over the weekend. He says coalition forces failed to protect them.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AYAD ALLAWI, IRAQI INTERIM PRIME MINISTER (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): There was a vicious crime where a number of, a large number of National Guards met martyrdom and this has come as a result of the negligence on the part of the multinational forces.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: The Iraqis were recruits heading home after training when they were pulled from their trucks by insurgents and executed.
Well, things are getting hot and heavy here on DAYBREAK. At 5:15 Eastern, shock jock Howard Stern takes on the man in charge of the FCC, who just happens to be Colin Powell's son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD STERN: Do you deny that your father got you this job?
MICHAEL POWELL, FCC CHAIRMAN: Oh, I would deny it exceedingly. You can look at my resume if you want, Howard. I'm not ashamed of it and I think it justifies my existence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: We'll have more for you later.
Then, just after the half hour, the Continental Divide -- some in Europe say President Bush should keep his religious beliefs out of his political decision-making.
And at 48 minutes past, a close encounter with a Titan -- uncovering the secrets of Saturn's largest moon.
That's just ahead on DAYBREAK.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 5:17 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Colin Powell's calls for talks between China and Taiwan have fallen on deaf ears. Chinese officials rejected the secretary of state's call for dialogue. In the meantime, there were protests in Taiwan after Powell said that Taiwan is not an independent state.
NASA scientists have gotten their best look ever at Saturn's largest moon. The Cassini spacecraft took this picture during its first pass ballot Titan. We'll have more on the Cassini mission coming up later this hour.
In money news, ATA has become the third major airline to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. ATA is the nation's tenth largest airline. It's hoping to keep flying while it restructures. US Airways and United Airlines are also operating under Chapter 11.
In culture, it was 100 years ago today that New Yorkers got their first taste of subway travel. Back then, a ride cost a nickel. Today, millions of people pay $2 per trip to ride the New York subway. In sports, the Red Sox just one game away from their first title in 86 years. The Sox beat the Cardinals 4-1 to take a three games to none lead in the World Series. Game four tonight in St. Louis.
To the forecast center now and Rob Marciano.
MARCIANO: Carol, it should be dry for that game, but just to the south and west, a little rainfall in the forecast for much of the rest of Missouri.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
A spicy exchange for you now. Howard Stern and FCC Chairman Michael Powell got into a verbal duel during a radio call in show in Sacramento, California. The shock jock called into question Powell's credentials as head of the Federal Communications Commission and he questioned his right to levy fines against broadcasters like Stern.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
POWELL: I think you have a right to be concerned about the way the indecency fines are done, but rather than attack me personally, you can challenge the regime. But the entire commission has voted on those fines. The commission has a statue...
STERN: Michael...
POWELL: ... that its required to enforce...
STERN: Michael, Michael, you just...
POWELL: And I think it's a cheap shot to say just because my father's famous, I don't belong in my position even though I've served longer than any commissioner in decades at the Commission.
If you don't believe the Commission should have any right to draw limits, I think that's a respectable position...
STERN: Michael...
POWELL: ... but it doesn't happen to be the law.
STERN: Well, Michael, it's not a cheap shot to say to you that your father got you your position, and I'll tell you why. Guys like me, who came from nowhere out of nothing, who worked their way up and committed themselves to broadcasting and a career in broadcasting have to answer to you. And it is in question as to how you got to where you got to. And let's face it, you got to the head of the FCC, you got to the front of the class the way George W. Bush got out of the draft.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: Michael Powell, of course, is the son of Secretary of State Colin Powell. He was appointed to the Commission under President Clinton, but became chairman under President Bush. Clear Channel Communications, you know, Stern works for them, they were fined nearly half a million dollars by the FCC for indecent material in the Howard Stern radio show.
Up next on DAYBREAK, early voters head to the polls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROZ BELLINI: What I'm thinking is I could care less. I'm at that point. I don't like either of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: With undecided voters still in the ranks, some savvy seniors take on new voting technology.
You're watching DAYBREAK for a Wednesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye-Openers."
Check out this haunted house in Rochester, New York. It's made entirely out of balloons. Scary. The artist took the traditional balloon animals to new heights with ghosts, goblins and ghouls. But a warning -- one well placed pin could spell the end for the haunted balloon yard.
MARCIANO: Yes, but a little sound effect there could make it even scarier than it already is.
COSTELLO: That might be the only thing that makes it scarier.
MARCIANO: Maybe.
COSTELLO: The next story is in the same category, with a $50 hamburger and the $100 Philly cheese steak. The New York eatery is serving up the ultimate in rich desserts. It's a $1,000 ice cream sundae. But this sundae isn't for the usual ice cream fan. It includes edible gold leafing around the vanilla ice cream and caviar. Caviar on the ice cream.
MARCIANO: That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life.
COSTELLO: And it's just a thousand bucks.
There is a new box of crayons at Crayola. The company had kids from across the country rename its normal colors to honor all 50 states. Among the changes, black has been renamed Abe Lincoln's Hat for Illinois and brown is now called Mississippi Mud Pie. To fill out the traditional 64 crayon box, they added some patriotic theme colors, like Aren't You Glad You're In America? MARCIANO: I get it.
COSTELLO: Yes. Well, we have the box of Crayolas here because we thought you might be interested in, I don't know, some more of the clever names.
MARCIANO: So they've gotten rid of like azure and all these other...
COSTELLO: Just for this special box of patriotic Crayolas.
MARCIANO: OK.
COSTELLO: So, Connecticut...
MARCIANO: Yes, my home state.
COSTELLO: Your home state is, I gave it to you here, nutmeg is your color.
MARCIANO: It's your husband's color, as well.
COSTELLO: Yes. My husband is in Connecticut.
MARCIANO: Yes.
COSTELLO: Nutmeg, because apparently nutmeg is a big spice in Connecticut and has been since, you know, before the Revolutionary War.
MARCIANO: Well, I mean we -- yes, I knew that.
COSTELLO: You did not.
MARCIANO: It's the Constitution State, that's all I know. It's on the license plate.
COSTELLO: Well, now you know Connecticut is famous for nutmeg.
Ohio is Rock and Roll Raspberry.
MARCIANO: Well, you know, you're a rock and roll kind of gal. That's why that would make sense.
COSTELLO: And the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is located in Cleveland, Ohio, I suppose.
MARCIANO: Cleveland.
COSTELLO: And I think the rock and roll term was coined on Cleveland radio by Allen -- oh, man, that's the one thing about trivia, it tests your knowledge.
MARCIANO: Are you sure about that or is that one of those things that people from that area just say?
COSTELLO: Hey, Allen Freed.
MARCIANO: It's true?
COSTELLO: I'm going to write on you with this Crayola. But this is really funny. Our executive producer, Brian, is from Virginia.
MARCIANO: Yes? OK.
COSTELLO: His crayon is called William's Burgundy.
MARCIANO: Oh, that's kind of chic.
COSTELLO: That's clever.
MARCIANO: Yes.
COSTELLO: Williamsburg, Williams Burgundy.
MARCIANO: He's probably beaming with pride in the control room right now.
COSTELLO: I'm sure he is. But just a little food for thought this morning.
MARCIANO: That's nice. That'll boost their sales a little bit and get everybody in the patriotic spirit now that the election is coming around the corner.
COSTELLO: Speaking of elections...
MARCIANO: Oh.
COSTELLO: Many Florida voters are afraid of a repeat of the 2000 election fiasco, especially senior citizens. And Florida's new electronic voting machines are not easing their fears.
Our Jason Bellini takes us to the polls with some early voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rafasad Retirement Community (ph) celebrates Election Day, early Election Day. Victor and Roz Bellini (ph), my grandparents, hope the pride of West Palm Beach seniors will be restored this time around.
In 2000, voters here became the joke of the election, many seniors claiming they accidentally voted for Pat Buchanan. To blame? The infamous butterfly ballot.
Remember those hanging and pregnant chads? Florida seniors haven't forgotten them either.
(on camera): So are you ready to vote?
R. BELLINI: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does everybody have their either driver's license or their voter registration card?
J. BELLINI (voice-over): This time, Florida hopes early voting and electronic voting will prevent another train wreck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll vote for one, right.
J. BELLINI: No, you vote for three, just like last time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get off, John. Get off.
J. BELLINI (voice-over): Here in large numbers to do their patriotic duty...
VICTOR BELLINI: Look at the vowels here. I don't know whether I've got the patience for it.
J. BELLINI: The seniors can hardly contain their excitement.
R. BELLINI: What I'm thinking is I could care less. I'm at that point. I don't like either of them. Oh.
V. BELLINI: Roz, isn't number four right there?
J. BELLINI: Grandpa spots none other than Teresa LePore, the supervisor of elections who created the 2000 butterfly ballot.
V. BELLINI: And she made a big mistake, not only for herself, but for the whole country.
J. BELLINI (on camera): And this is Grandpa Bellini.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, grandpa.
J. BELLINI (voice-over): For once, grandpa bites his tongue.
(on camera): Out there on the line you hear people making a lot of jokes about last time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're joking about it, but they if didn't trust the machines they wouldn't be here.
J. BELLINI (voice-over): A practice machine is available before voting. Grandma and Grandpa Bellini give it a go.
(on camera): Did you know you were doing this (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
(voice-over): They quickly get the hang of it. But when the moment of truth comes, they pull back.
V. BELLINI: We're going to be absentee ballots.
J. BELLINI (on camera): Why?
V. BELLINI: I think it's a lot easier.
J. BELLINI (voice-over): So much for computers. Jason Bellini, CNN, West Palm Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
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