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CNN Live At Daybreak
Iranian Opposition Group Claims Iran Is Developing Nuclear Weapons
Aired November 17, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead -- developing nukes in Iran? We have new information this morning about an alleged, secret program.
Plus, this winter -- you want to see the white, sandy beaches, but the airline that will get you there is seeing red on the balance sheet? We'll tell you what you need to know before you buy that plane ticket.
And it's November sweeps time for your local TV stations, and you know what that means -- scandalous headlines and anything that will get your attention. But some are saying that one Ohio station has gone too far this time.
It is Wednesday, November 17. This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you. Thank you for waking up with us. I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. Let's get right to the headlines now.
There are new claims this morning that Iran is trying to make nuclear weapons. An Iranian opposition group says that it has satellite photos to prove it. They allegedly show a secret, nuclear weapons research facility in Tehran.
Margaret Hassan's husband is pleading to know the truth. British officials say a video sent to Al-Jazeera TV shows a woman believed to be the care worker being murdered. They are trying to determine if the tape is authentic.
In the meantime, Hassan's friends and family in Ireland are remembering her today at a special mass in Dublin.
The first Kobe Bryant hearing -- in the civil suit, I should say -- is scheduled for today. Attorneys for both sides today discuss settlement talks, or the possibility of moving the trial to California.
Neither Bryant nor his accuser are expected to be in court for the hearing.
And NASA is wrapping up its first round of tests on what could be the fastest jet ever. The unmanned Scramjet soared over the ocean -- there it goes -- over Southern California at almost 10 times the speed of sound, that would be 7,000 miles an hour.
Chad, good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Kind of scary, Carol, I actually watched that on NASA TV yesterday, live.
COSTELLO: Oh, you would.
MYERS: It was really, really an awesome job there.
This is actually the third of the three, the last of the three tests that they're going to do there. The first one didn't work. The second one went to Mach seven. This one was very close to Mach 10 as they had hoped. So, that's very impressive.
COSTELLO: Pretty darn amazing.
MYERS: You bet you.
Now, let's get on to Galveston County. Galveston County in Texas, until 5:15 Central time or 6:15 Eastern time -- obviously, this is Central time zone -- still a tornado warning for you.
It's very close to the mark (ph) in Santa Fe, at this point, still some rotation on Doppler. Nothing reported by the police or any type of fire or any official spotter there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Carol?
COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: OK. This is new this morning, new claims that Iran is trying to make nuclear weapons. An Iranian opposition group is releasing satellite photos. They allegedly show a secret, nuclear weapons research facility in Tehran.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator tells CNN the claims are false and politically motivated. What's the real story here?
Let's head lives to London to find out. And Matthew Chance, good morning, Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, as well, Carol.
Well, the real story is still yet to be untold. I've spoken to the International Atomic Energy Agency. They say they're still investigating these claims that have been made by this known Iranian opposition group, the National Resistance Council of Iran, also known as the People's Mujahadin, which have operated inside Iraq, across- border, into Iran for several years now, until recently, of course, with the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
But what they are saying is that they have evidence -- and they are going to make this evidence clear over the next few hours at press conferences in Paris and the Austrian capital of Vienna, as well -- saying that they have evidence that Iran is continuing its centrifuge activities, producing enriched uranium in a covert way to produce nuclear weapons.
The exact evidence that they have has not been made public yet. But they are saying, at this stage, that it involves premises in the center of Iranian capital, Tehran, which has been visited before by the I.A.E.A., the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, but which has been sort of reinstalled with equipment to allow it to produce enriched uranium.
Now, this is a group that has had a patchy record in the past of giving information, though it has had a number of accurate descriptions of some of Iran's covert nuclear activities.
The Iranian government has been quick to reject these latest accusations. Hussein Mousavian, who is one of Iran's main nuclear negotiators, saying that the allegation is timed to coincide with the next board of governors meeting of the I.A.E.A., which is set to meet, of course, on November 25.
At that meeting, those governors will decide whether to recommend Iran to the Security Council of the United Nations and possibly recommend sanctions as well. So, Iran is saying that these allegations are politically motivated, Carol.
COSTELLO: Matthew Chance, live in London this morning. Thank you.
We are told there is a heavy presence of U.S. and Iraqi forces in Mosul this morning. And things there are reportedly calm. Troops are assessing the damage caused by insurgents at the city's police stations. And most of the bridges there are closed for a second day.
Even as the U.S.-led military assault on the Iraqi city of Falluja winds down, pockets of insurgents remained. Early today, U.S. and Iraqi forces began door-to-door searches of east, east of Falluja -- east, in Falluja, I should say.
Live now to our Jane Arraf, who is embedded with a unit of the Army's first infantry division.
Hello, Jane.
I don't think we have Jane right now because it's very difficult to get these things out of Iraq, as you might imagine. When we get Jane back up, of course, she will have her report for you.
We're going to talk about Margaret Hassan, now.
We do have Jane. Jane Arraf, are you there?
JANE ARRAF, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, I sure am.
Reception is a bit tricky on these satellite zones as we move through the streets. We're actually walking through the industrial section of town towards -- from the Army. And they are breaking down doors. (OFF MIKE) hundreds so far.
And they're shooting open the locks. They are breaking them open with humvees, doing everything they can to find out if there are weapons inside. They are essentially clearing this southeast area of Falluja so that the Marines, who will be staying here a bit longer, can come in.
We know there are insurgents in some of these places. We know there are a lot of weapons stored. And right now they are going through the process of looking for them -- Carol?
COSTELLO: Jane Arraf, reporting live in East Falluja. Thank you.
In the world of American politics, Senate leaders say they expect Condoleezza Rice to be confirmed fairly easily as the next secretary of state. The president is urging Congress to move quickly on this.
He says Rice is uniquely qualified to be America's face to the world. In the meantime, the deputy secretary of state, Richard Armitage, has decided to follow Colin Powell out the door.
In the meantime, President Bush could formally nominate Margaret Spellings, as the new education secretary as early as today. As you know, Rod Paige is stepping down.
And a senior administration source tells CNN that Bush will tap Spellings to succeed Paige. Spellings has been serving the president, as the president's domestic policy adviser.
As for the next shoe to drop, we're told homeland security secretary, Tom Ridge, plans to leave his post. There's been no official confirmation on that. In July, there were reports Ridge was thinking about stepping down after the November election, partly because of job stress.
Senator Arlen Specter has a big day ahead of him today. The Pennsylvania Republican will meet with the entire republican Senate caucus to discuss his possible place as chairman of the judiciary committee.
Specter angered many conservatives when he said that anti- abortion judges may have a hard time getting confirmed to the Supreme Court. But outgoing committee chair, Orrin Hatch, says Specter is still a good choice.
We've got a lot more to talk about this morning. That deadly shooting incident involving a U.S. Marine is dominating the headlines not just here in the United States but in the Arab world as well. We'll get that perspective for you.
And the upheaval and uncertainty in the airline industry, will it affect your holiday travel plans? We've got answers for you from Ali Velshi.
Plus, is a cup of tea just what the doctor ordered to keep you healthy? Join us for breakfast with DAYBREAK with Lisa Drayer to find out.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 06:11 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
Iran may be hiding a secret nuclear plant. An Iranian opposition group says work is being done at a secret military site in Tehran. The International Atomic Energy Agency says it is investigating that claim.
Iraqi money from the U.N.'s oil for food program went to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. Congressional investigators say said Saddam Hussein funneled millions of dollars to the families that he gained from illegal oil sales and bribes.
In "Money" news, the price of oil keeps going down. Overnight trading dropped the price by $0.76 a barrel to $46.11. And an energy department report to be released today is expected to report that U.S. oil supplies are up.
In culture, Mickey Mouse will be front and center at this year's Rose Parade. Mickey is the choice for grand marshal for the 116th incarnation of the famous parade. Mickey also was a co-grand marshal back in 1966 with Walt Disney.
In sports, Vladimir Guerrero was named the American League's most valuable player. The Anaheim Angel easily beat out Gary Sheffield of the Yankees and Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox for his first MVP award.
Congrats to him.
To the forecast center now and Chad.
MYERS: Not a surprise, but I think the spread of the votes was a surprise to me. But obviously well-deserved congrats to him.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Carol?
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
You know, we have some news just in to CNN right now. I wanted to tell you about this. CNN has learned that Sears and Kmart department stores will merge by March of 2005 -- and what a whopper of a deal, $11 billion.
So, we'll see if it helps either company.
Holidays are fast approaching, and with them a rush to the malls for some of us, and for others it's a bee line to the beach. So when you're ready to fly south, make sure the financial books of your airline are not going that way, too.
With me now is DAYBREAK contributor, Ali Velshi. He is watching your money this morning.
ALI VELSHI, DAYBREAK CONTRIBUTOR: New DAYBREAK contributor...
COSTELLO: Yes.
VELSHI: ... Ali Velshi.
This morning gig is new to me. I know -- you're new to New York, and that's fantastic. I'm frightened of being late on this show. So you may have noticed I show up way too early.
COSTELLO: I know. He was here at 04:30. What are you doing?
VELSHI: I sit here. And I'm at my computer drinking lots of coffee. And I'm trolling around the Web. And I'm, what -- a friend of mine has described me as a travel planning geek because what I've been doing is booking flights.
So, yesterday, I booked Memorial Day. In July, I'm going to Africa. I like to go to Africa. And I'm trolling around for the best fares.
And yesterday we're reading, Delta Airlines says that despite billions of dollars in -- or about $1 billion in concessions from some of its unions -- it's still in danger of going bankrupt.
Now let's think about the bankrupt airlines. We've got United, U.S. Air and ATA. The growing concern airlines are Delta, Northwest, America West, Continental, Air Tran, which is the old Jet Blue of -- I'm sorry, old ValuJet. Jet Blue is an active airline -- and Southwest.
Now, yesterday, on Friday, U.S. Air asked a judge in Virginia to allow it to get rid of its three contracts with, the remaining three contracts it has with some of its workers.
And that would allow it to impose lower wages and things like that. That's called abrogating a contract. That would basically make the contract null and void.
Well, yesterday, the AFA, which is the Association of Flight Attendants, a group that's already taken 21 percent in pay cuts -- they represent 46,000 flight attendants at 26 airlines -- authorized their members to strike in the case that any of the bankrupt airlines abrogate their contracts with the flight attendants.
COSTELLO: And I bet that strike will coincide with Christmas and Thanksgiving.
VELSHI: That's right. This vote is going to take two to three weeks to tally. And the AFA, I think it's kind of interesting, the language they used. They said that the strikes would probably take the form of these strikes, almost wildcat strikes where they won't announce where they are.
They won't completely walk off, just certain flights they won't show up for and things like that. U.S. Airways says this is illegal, they can't do it.
The airline says, hey, listen, you want to cut our contract away? We'll do what we want to do.
That, there's pilot unions. There's, I mean, oil prices, you just mentioned, coming down. That helps the airlines. But labor costs are really high. What do you do?
COSTELLO: OK. Yes, you're scaring me, frankly.
VELSHI: What do you do? Well, you've got to be careful because they're giving it away.
When I was on the Web yesterday, these flights -- I mean, flights have never been cheaper than they are now. I mean, obviously, Memorial Day I was looking at flights to Florida $150 return.
You've got to be careful. When you're planning way out, a lot of airline analysts will tell you you're not in any danger of your points. You're not in any danger of your flights being canceled. They have to carry you.
You can still probably plan, but be cautious. Check on who you're booking with, what the health of that airline is.
COSTELLO: So, should you not book on airlines like Delta?
VELSHI: Well, Delta is still a growing concern. They're threatening bankruptcy.
COSTELLO: I know, but...
VELSHI: It's a good question. I come to you with, I don't know, except right now a word of caution. I think people have heard this before. Just think about it and consider how much of a plan this is, how many people you're getting involved, how much, how difficult it was to get time off from work six months from now.
Think about it that way. If it's a trip that you could reschedule and do something else with, go ahead. I'll keep you posted.
COSTELLO: Let's just stay home for the holidays. That's the answer.
VELSHI: Drive.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
Every business is under pressure to make money. Next, we'll look at the high stakes of sweeps weeks and where they're driving local TV news. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: All of us have the utmost respect for our colleagues who work in local news. Since most of us have worked in local, we understand about sweeps. It's that period every few months when advertisers set their rates based on a TV station's ratings.
The stakes are very high, and reporters are oftentimes told to do stories that grab your attention and keep it. But there is one station in Cleveland, Ohio, WOIO, the CBS affiliate that has apparently, some say, set a new standard this week.
A news anchor there, Sharon Reed, participated in an outdoor photography project a few months ago by taking her clothes off and posing naked along with more than 1,000 others for this controversial photo.
The story ran on WOIO's evening news week with a record number of viewers.
Miss Reed calls her story art. Some say it's something else. We have WOIO's news director, Stephen Doerr, on the line from Cleveland.
Good morning.
STEPHEN DOERR, NEWS DIRECTOR, WOIO: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Your anchor is quoted as saying, "It was hard to do. It changed my life. I know the images will be around forever. I'm personally comfortable having it out there. This is real, not about sex. It's about art. No other anchor person in the world has done this."
That is true, Stephen. I will say that.
Why did she do this? Why did you have her do this?
DOERR: Well, you know, you have to start with context. And the context is that the artist, Spencer Tunic, had just won -- the U.S. Supreme Court had just given him, you know, the go-ahead.
He'd been arrested. He'd been hauled away. He had been trying to do these so-called installations in different places around the country.
He went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. They finally said, you know, you can do this because it is art. And his first installation, which is what he calls these projects, was in Cleveland.
Twenty-seven hundred people, almost 3,000 people, participated. And that's news.
COSTELLO: Well, that is news, Stephen. But why did the anchor have to participate?
DOERR: How -- it's because, you know, we decided to do a first person story, an account of what would prompt some, you know, almost 3,000 people to take their clothes off at 04:00 in the morning. And, you know, what's that feel like? What's that experience?
And that's what we do. That's how you tell those stories. So, our decision was to do it in the first person which, you know, I point out that the print media in this market did. You know, three, three or four different print reporters did it. And you can't do that story without being naked.
It was necessary for her to be nude to participate in the project. And we're a television station. We shoot pictures, and that's what we did.
COSTELLO: And it's just a coincidence that this is a beautiful, female anchor who did this story?
DOERR: No, it's not a coincidence. I mean, you want to -- you know, you want to have the right person do it. But Sharon is very comfortable with her body. She's very comfortable with how she looks. And frankly, she's the one who expressed the most interest in doing it.
She volunteered to do it, stepped up. And I have no problem with that.
COSTELLO: But, you know, television journalists are losing credibility. They're at the bottom of the heap when it comes to trust. Isn't this kind of story dangerous to do when it comes to the image of the business as a whole?
DOERR: Well, it's dangerous. But I don't think that means you have to shy away from doing it.
I think we would have lost credibility if we had blurred things out, or pixilated, or taken the easy way out. You can't do this story honestly and be honest with your viewers unless you show people what really happened that cold morning in Cleveland.
And in order to do that, you have to show people the pictures from the event. And it was necessary for Sharon to participate without her clothes on. And anything less than that, I think, would have been disingenuous.
I think we lose credibility because we tend to cut corners. And in this case, we decided we're not going to cut corners.
COSTELLO: So, final question for you -- this story aired last night, what were your ratings like?
DOERR: They were the best ratings in the history of the television station.
COSTELLO: Stephen Doerr, news director from WOIO in Cleveland, Ohio. Thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
Joining us now with more on reaction to this story, and the sentiment it has triggered among viewers and journalists, is Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute, a school for journalists.
Good morning.
AL TOMPKINS, POYNTER INSTITUTE: Hi, Carol.
What Stephen didn't point out to you is that the actual photography, the actual event, took place in June. This wasn't something that just happened.
It happened in June. And the television station, in order to increase the shock value, held it for months.
COSTELLO: But, you know, it worked for them.
TOMPKINS: Well, it did work if you only count your success by ratings. And I know there is increasing pressure that some companies are putting on news departments to do that. But there are more ways to measure success than by ratings.
And look, I mean, it's undeniable that close to a third of all television sets in the Cleveland market were watching this news person -- I don't even know what to call it -- this television person to take her clothes off. I don't think that's the way we measure success.
But there's no doubt that CNN could increase your ratings if after 10:00 at night all of your anchors were naked, unless they were, you know, Larry King or something -- maybe that wouldn't work for you.
But I can say that, you know, that's not how we measure success. And there are many television stations that simply haven't done this.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, though, if you measure success by the amount of money that's coming into the station. And if this station got the like the most viewers in the history of its existence, it's hard to argue from a business standpoint that, that wasn't the right thing to do.
TOMPKINS: But journalism isn't just a business. I mean, that's the problem. And you know that, Carol. You came from local news.
Journalism is a service to a community when it's done well. And many television stations still do that.
I mean, I know that sweeps is almost synonymous with nonsense in a lot of places, but I see television stations across the country doing stories during sweeps month like how to lower your prescription drug bill, hundreds of unsafe dams in Ohio.
One of the other television stations in Cleveland just did this, hundreds -- led in children's jewelry. Another station just produced a big project on this.
One of my favorite sweeps projects was in Minneapolis several years ago about children who sleep through smoke detector alarms. And the company, the industry, has actually responded to that story.
A big sweeps story a few years ago in November was the Ford- Firestone investigation...
COSTELLO: Yes.
TOMPKINS: ... that led to the largest auto parts recall in the history of the automobile, done by a Houston television station, the same one that did DNA crime lab investigations.
COSTELLO: You know, Al, I completely agree with you. You know, as a female journalist and just my personal opinion. You know, it's difficult as a female journalist some time to get credibility, especially if you look a certain way.
That this anchor chose to do this, I think, hurts all women in the industry.
TOMPKINS: Well, how would you explain this to somebody like Jane Arraf, who just a few minutes ago, reported live from the streets of Falluja.
I mean, in the same way that accountants were harmed by the Enron scandal and some clergy were harmed by the priest abuse scandals, and careless doctors taint their entire profession that is populated by thousands upon thousands of dedicated professionals, I think all journalists get tainted some when someone decides to do something that's just absolutely silly like this.
And I think it's harmful for television stations to become sort of not important to their community, but it's even more harmful when viewers see us as silly. And fortunately, most journalists don't do things like this. And most television stations don't do things like this.
But it does set, as you said, a standard. It certainly does press the edges that makes other stations and other places, other companies say, wow, look at those numbers. You know, if we...
COSTELLO: I know.
TOMPKINS: I know, it's a strange time in news.
Al Tompkins from the Poynter Institute, thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
All right, now to another story and to what some may call more gratuitous nudity. Did you see this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLETTE SHERIDAN, ACTRESS, "DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES": Terrell, wait.
TERRELL OWENS, NFL WIDE RECEIVER, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: Oh, hell. The teams going to have to win this one without me.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: ABC is now apologizing for this steamy pre-game intro to Monday night football. And that's "Desperate Housewives" Nicolette Sheridan and Eagles wide receiver, Terrell Owens, not looking like they're getting ready to play a game of football.
The network got all kinds of complaints from viewers. ABC could now face fines from the FCC.
More comings and goings in the Bush administration, just ahead, we'll talk about what the final lineup might look like and how well the team will play.
And later on, it calms your nerves and keeps you healthy. We'll examine the many wonders of tea.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired November 17, 2004 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead -- developing nukes in Iran? We have new information this morning about an alleged, secret program.
Plus, this winter -- you want to see the white, sandy beaches, but the airline that will get you there is seeing red on the balance sheet? We'll tell you what you need to know before you buy that plane ticket.
And it's November sweeps time for your local TV stations, and you know what that means -- scandalous headlines and anything that will get your attention. But some are saying that one Ohio station has gone too far this time.
It is Wednesday, November 17. This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you. Thank you for waking up with us. I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. Let's get right to the headlines now.
There are new claims this morning that Iran is trying to make nuclear weapons. An Iranian opposition group says that it has satellite photos to prove it. They allegedly show a secret, nuclear weapons research facility in Tehran.
Margaret Hassan's husband is pleading to know the truth. British officials say a video sent to Al-Jazeera TV shows a woman believed to be the care worker being murdered. They are trying to determine if the tape is authentic.
In the meantime, Hassan's friends and family in Ireland are remembering her today at a special mass in Dublin.
The first Kobe Bryant hearing -- in the civil suit, I should say -- is scheduled for today. Attorneys for both sides today discuss settlement talks, or the possibility of moving the trial to California.
Neither Bryant nor his accuser are expected to be in court for the hearing.
And NASA is wrapping up its first round of tests on what could be the fastest jet ever. The unmanned Scramjet soared over the ocean -- there it goes -- over Southern California at almost 10 times the speed of sound, that would be 7,000 miles an hour.
Chad, good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Kind of scary, Carol, I actually watched that on NASA TV yesterday, live.
COSTELLO: Oh, you would.
MYERS: It was really, really an awesome job there.
This is actually the third of the three, the last of the three tests that they're going to do there. The first one didn't work. The second one went to Mach seven. This one was very close to Mach 10 as they had hoped. So, that's very impressive.
COSTELLO: Pretty darn amazing.
MYERS: You bet you.
Now, let's get on to Galveston County. Galveston County in Texas, until 5:15 Central time or 6:15 Eastern time -- obviously, this is Central time zone -- still a tornado warning for you.
It's very close to the mark (ph) in Santa Fe, at this point, still some rotation on Doppler. Nothing reported by the police or any type of fire or any official spotter there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Carol?
COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: OK. This is new this morning, new claims that Iran is trying to make nuclear weapons. An Iranian opposition group is releasing satellite photos. They allegedly show a secret, nuclear weapons research facility in Tehran.
Iran's top nuclear negotiator tells CNN the claims are false and politically motivated. What's the real story here?
Let's head lives to London to find out. And Matthew Chance, good morning, Matthew.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, as well, Carol.
Well, the real story is still yet to be untold. I've spoken to the International Atomic Energy Agency. They say they're still investigating these claims that have been made by this known Iranian opposition group, the National Resistance Council of Iran, also known as the People's Mujahadin, which have operated inside Iraq, across- border, into Iran for several years now, until recently, of course, with the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
But what they are saying is that they have evidence -- and they are going to make this evidence clear over the next few hours at press conferences in Paris and the Austrian capital of Vienna, as well -- saying that they have evidence that Iran is continuing its centrifuge activities, producing enriched uranium in a covert way to produce nuclear weapons.
The exact evidence that they have has not been made public yet. But they are saying, at this stage, that it involves premises in the center of Iranian capital, Tehran, which has been visited before by the I.A.E.A., the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, but which has been sort of reinstalled with equipment to allow it to produce enriched uranium.
Now, this is a group that has had a patchy record in the past of giving information, though it has had a number of accurate descriptions of some of Iran's covert nuclear activities.
The Iranian government has been quick to reject these latest accusations. Hussein Mousavian, who is one of Iran's main nuclear negotiators, saying that the allegation is timed to coincide with the next board of governors meeting of the I.A.E.A., which is set to meet, of course, on November 25.
At that meeting, those governors will decide whether to recommend Iran to the Security Council of the United Nations and possibly recommend sanctions as well. So, Iran is saying that these allegations are politically motivated, Carol.
COSTELLO: Matthew Chance, live in London this morning. Thank you.
We are told there is a heavy presence of U.S. and Iraqi forces in Mosul this morning. And things there are reportedly calm. Troops are assessing the damage caused by insurgents at the city's police stations. And most of the bridges there are closed for a second day.
Even as the U.S.-led military assault on the Iraqi city of Falluja winds down, pockets of insurgents remained. Early today, U.S. and Iraqi forces began door-to-door searches of east, east of Falluja -- east, in Falluja, I should say.
Live now to our Jane Arraf, who is embedded with a unit of the Army's first infantry division.
Hello, Jane.
I don't think we have Jane right now because it's very difficult to get these things out of Iraq, as you might imagine. When we get Jane back up, of course, she will have her report for you.
We're going to talk about Margaret Hassan, now.
We do have Jane. Jane Arraf, are you there?
JANE ARRAF, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, I sure am.
Reception is a bit tricky on these satellite zones as we move through the streets. We're actually walking through the industrial section of town towards -- from the Army. And they are breaking down doors. (OFF MIKE) hundreds so far.
And they're shooting open the locks. They are breaking them open with humvees, doing everything they can to find out if there are weapons inside. They are essentially clearing this southeast area of Falluja so that the Marines, who will be staying here a bit longer, can come in.
We know there are insurgents in some of these places. We know there are a lot of weapons stored. And right now they are going through the process of looking for them -- Carol?
COSTELLO: Jane Arraf, reporting live in East Falluja. Thank you.
In the world of American politics, Senate leaders say they expect Condoleezza Rice to be confirmed fairly easily as the next secretary of state. The president is urging Congress to move quickly on this.
He says Rice is uniquely qualified to be America's face to the world. In the meantime, the deputy secretary of state, Richard Armitage, has decided to follow Colin Powell out the door.
In the meantime, President Bush could formally nominate Margaret Spellings, as the new education secretary as early as today. As you know, Rod Paige is stepping down.
And a senior administration source tells CNN that Bush will tap Spellings to succeed Paige. Spellings has been serving the president, as the president's domestic policy adviser.
As for the next shoe to drop, we're told homeland security secretary, Tom Ridge, plans to leave his post. There's been no official confirmation on that. In July, there were reports Ridge was thinking about stepping down after the November election, partly because of job stress.
Senator Arlen Specter has a big day ahead of him today. The Pennsylvania Republican will meet with the entire republican Senate caucus to discuss his possible place as chairman of the judiciary committee.
Specter angered many conservatives when he said that anti- abortion judges may have a hard time getting confirmed to the Supreme Court. But outgoing committee chair, Orrin Hatch, says Specter is still a good choice.
We've got a lot more to talk about this morning. That deadly shooting incident involving a U.S. Marine is dominating the headlines not just here in the United States but in the Arab world as well. We'll get that perspective for you.
And the upheaval and uncertainty in the airline industry, will it affect your holiday travel plans? We've got answers for you from Ali Velshi.
Plus, is a cup of tea just what the doctor ordered to keep you healthy? Join us for breakfast with DAYBREAK with Lisa Drayer to find out.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.
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COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 06:11 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
Iran may be hiding a secret nuclear plant. An Iranian opposition group says work is being done at a secret military site in Tehran. The International Atomic Energy Agency says it is investigating that claim.
Iraqi money from the U.N.'s oil for food program went to the families of Palestinian suicide bombers. Congressional investigators say said Saddam Hussein funneled millions of dollars to the families that he gained from illegal oil sales and bribes.
In "Money" news, the price of oil keeps going down. Overnight trading dropped the price by $0.76 a barrel to $46.11. And an energy department report to be released today is expected to report that U.S. oil supplies are up.
In culture, Mickey Mouse will be front and center at this year's Rose Parade. Mickey is the choice for grand marshal for the 116th incarnation of the famous parade. Mickey also was a co-grand marshal back in 1966 with Walt Disney.
In sports, Vladimir Guerrero was named the American League's most valuable player. The Anaheim Angel easily beat out Gary Sheffield of the Yankees and Manny Ramirez of the Red Sox for his first MVP award.
Congrats to him.
To the forecast center now and Chad.
MYERS: Not a surprise, but I think the spread of the votes was a surprise to me. But obviously well-deserved congrats to him.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Carol?
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
You know, we have some news just in to CNN right now. I wanted to tell you about this. CNN has learned that Sears and Kmart department stores will merge by March of 2005 -- and what a whopper of a deal, $11 billion.
So, we'll see if it helps either company.
Holidays are fast approaching, and with them a rush to the malls for some of us, and for others it's a bee line to the beach. So when you're ready to fly south, make sure the financial books of your airline are not going that way, too.
With me now is DAYBREAK contributor, Ali Velshi. He is watching your money this morning.
ALI VELSHI, DAYBREAK CONTRIBUTOR: New DAYBREAK contributor...
COSTELLO: Yes.
VELSHI: ... Ali Velshi.
This morning gig is new to me. I know -- you're new to New York, and that's fantastic. I'm frightened of being late on this show. So you may have noticed I show up way too early.
COSTELLO: I know. He was here at 04:30. What are you doing?
VELSHI: I sit here. And I'm at my computer drinking lots of coffee. And I'm trolling around the Web. And I'm, what -- a friend of mine has described me as a travel planning geek because what I've been doing is booking flights.
So, yesterday, I booked Memorial Day. In July, I'm going to Africa. I like to go to Africa. And I'm trolling around for the best fares.
And yesterday we're reading, Delta Airlines says that despite billions of dollars in -- or about $1 billion in concessions from some of its unions -- it's still in danger of going bankrupt.
Now let's think about the bankrupt airlines. We've got United, U.S. Air and ATA. The growing concern airlines are Delta, Northwest, America West, Continental, Air Tran, which is the old Jet Blue of -- I'm sorry, old ValuJet. Jet Blue is an active airline -- and Southwest.
Now, yesterday, on Friday, U.S. Air asked a judge in Virginia to allow it to get rid of its three contracts with, the remaining three contracts it has with some of its workers.
And that would allow it to impose lower wages and things like that. That's called abrogating a contract. That would basically make the contract null and void.
Well, yesterday, the AFA, which is the Association of Flight Attendants, a group that's already taken 21 percent in pay cuts -- they represent 46,000 flight attendants at 26 airlines -- authorized their members to strike in the case that any of the bankrupt airlines abrogate their contracts with the flight attendants.
COSTELLO: And I bet that strike will coincide with Christmas and Thanksgiving.
VELSHI: That's right. This vote is going to take two to three weeks to tally. And the AFA, I think it's kind of interesting, the language they used. They said that the strikes would probably take the form of these strikes, almost wildcat strikes where they won't announce where they are.
They won't completely walk off, just certain flights they won't show up for and things like that. U.S. Airways says this is illegal, they can't do it.
The airline says, hey, listen, you want to cut our contract away? We'll do what we want to do.
That, there's pilot unions. There's, I mean, oil prices, you just mentioned, coming down. That helps the airlines. But labor costs are really high. What do you do?
COSTELLO: OK. Yes, you're scaring me, frankly.
VELSHI: What do you do? Well, you've got to be careful because they're giving it away.
When I was on the Web yesterday, these flights -- I mean, flights have never been cheaper than they are now. I mean, obviously, Memorial Day I was looking at flights to Florida $150 return.
You've got to be careful. When you're planning way out, a lot of airline analysts will tell you you're not in any danger of your points. You're not in any danger of your flights being canceled. They have to carry you.
You can still probably plan, but be cautious. Check on who you're booking with, what the health of that airline is.
COSTELLO: So, should you not book on airlines like Delta?
VELSHI: Well, Delta is still a growing concern. They're threatening bankruptcy.
COSTELLO: I know, but...
VELSHI: It's a good question. I come to you with, I don't know, except right now a word of caution. I think people have heard this before. Just think about it and consider how much of a plan this is, how many people you're getting involved, how much, how difficult it was to get time off from work six months from now.
Think about it that way. If it's a trip that you could reschedule and do something else with, go ahead. I'll keep you posted.
COSTELLO: Let's just stay home for the holidays. That's the answer.
VELSHI: Drive.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
Every business is under pressure to make money. Next, we'll look at the high stakes of sweeps weeks and where they're driving local TV news. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: All of us have the utmost respect for our colleagues who work in local news. Since most of us have worked in local, we understand about sweeps. It's that period every few months when advertisers set their rates based on a TV station's ratings.
The stakes are very high, and reporters are oftentimes told to do stories that grab your attention and keep it. But there is one station in Cleveland, Ohio, WOIO, the CBS affiliate that has apparently, some say, set a new standard this week.
A news anchor there, Sharon Reed, participated in an outdoor photography project a few months ago by taking her clothes off and posing naked along with more than 1,000 others for this controversial photo.
The story ran on WOIO's evening news week with a record number of viewers.
Miss Reed calls her story art. Some say it's something else. We have WOIO's news director, Stephen Doerr, on the line from Cleveland.
Good morning.
STEPHEN DOERR, NEWS DIRECTOR, WOIO: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Your anchor is quoted as saying, "It was hard to do. It changed my life. I know the images will be around forever. I'm personally comfortable having it out there. This is real, not about sex. It's about art. No other anchor person in the world has done this."
That is true, Stephen. I will say that.
Why did she do this? Why did you have her do this?
DOERR: Well, you know, you have to start with context. And the context is that the artist, Spencer Tunic, had just won -- the U.S. Supreme Court had just given him, you know, the go-ahead.
He'd been arrested. He'd been hauled away. He had been trying to do these so-called installations in different places around the country.
He went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. They finally said, you know, you can do this because it is art. And his first installation, which is what he calls these projects, was in Cleveland.
Twenty-seven hundred people, almost 3,000 people, participated. And that's news.
COSTELLO: Well, that is news, Stephen. But why did the anchor have to participate?
DOERR: How -- it's because, you know, we decided to do a first person story, an account of what would prompt some, you know, almost 3,000 people to take their clothes off at 04:00 in the morning. And, you know, what's that feel like? What's that experience?
And that's what we do. That's how you tell those stories. So, our decision was to do it in the first person which, you know, I point out that the print media in this market did. You know, three, three or four different print reporters did it. And you can't do that story without being naked.
It was necessary for her to be nude to participate in the project. And we're a television station. We shoot pictures, and that's what we did.
COSTELLO: And it's just a coincidence that this is a beautiful, female anchor who did this story?
DOERR: No, it's not a coincidence. I mean, you want to -- you know, you want to have the right person do it. But Sharon is very comfortable with her body. She's very comfortable with how she looks. And frankly, she's the one who expressed the most interest in doing it.
She volunteered to do it, stepped up. And I have no problem with that.
COSTELLO: But, you know, television journalists are losing credibility. They're at the bottom of the heap when it comes to trust. Isn't this kind of story dangerous to do when it comes to the image of the business as a whole?
DOERR: Well, it's dangerous. But I don't think that means you have to shy away from doing it.
I think we would have lost credibility if we had blurred things out, or pixilated, or taken the easy way out. You can't do this story honestly and be honest with your viewers unless you show people what really happened that cold morning in Cleveland.
And in order to do that, you have to show people the pictures from the event. And it was necessary for Sharon to participate without her clothes on. And anything less than that, I think, would have been disingenuous.
I think we lose credibility because we tend to cut corners. And in this case, we decided we're not going to cut corners.
COSTELLO: So, final question for you -- this story aired last night, what were your ratings like?
DOERR: They were the best ratings in the history of the television station.
COSTELLO: Stephen Doerr, news director from WOIO in Cleveland, Ohio. Thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
Joining us now with more on reaction to this story, and the sentiment it has triggered among viewers and journalists, is Al Tompkins of the Poynter Institute, a school for journalists.
Good morning.
AL TOMPKINS, POYNTER INSTITUTE: Hi, Carol.
What Stephen didn't point out to you is that the actual photography, the actual event, took place in June. This wasn't something that just happened.
It happened in June. And the television station, in order to increase the shock value, held it for months.
COSTELLO: But, you know, it worked for them.
TOMPKINS: Well, it did work if you only count your success by ratings. And I know there is increasing pressure that some companies are putting on news departments to do that. But there are more ways to measure success than by ratings.
And look, I mean, it's undeniable that close to a third of all television sets in the Cleveland market were watching this news person -- I don't even know what to call it -- this television person to take her clothes off. I don't think that's the way we measure success.
But there's no doubt that CNN could increase your ratings if after 10:00 at night all of your anchors were naked, unless they were, you know, Larry King or something -- maybe that wouldn't work for you.
But I can say that, you know, that's not how we measure success. And there are many television stations that simply haven't done this.
COSTELLO: Well, you know, though, if you measure success by the amount of money that's coming into the station. And if this station got the like the most viewers in the history of its existence, it's hard to argue from a business standpoint that, that wasn't the right thing to do.
TOMPKINS: But journalism isn't just a business. I mean, that's the problem. And you know that, Carol. You came from local news.
Journalism is a service to a community when it's done well. And many television stations still do that.
I mean, I know that sweeps is almost synonymous with nonsense in a lot of places, but I see television stations across the country doing stories during sweeps month like how to lower your prescription drug bill, hundreds of unsafe dams in Ohio.
One of the other television stations in Cleveland just did this, hundreds -- led in children's jewelry. Another station just produced a big project on this.
One of my favorite sweeps projects was in Minneapolis several years ago about children who sleep through smoke detector alarms. And the company, the industry, has actually responded to that story.
A big sweeps story a few years ago in November was the Ford- Firestone investigation...
COSTELLO: Yes.
TOMPKINS: ... that led to the largest auto parts recall in the history of the automobile, done by a Houston television station, the same one that did DNA crime lab investigations.
COSTELLO: You know, Al, I completely agree with you. You know, as a female journalist and just my personal opinion. You know, it's difficult as a female journalist some time to get credibility, especially if you look a certain way.
That this anchor chose to do this, I think, hurts all women in the industry.
TOMPKINS: Well, how would you explain this to somebody like Jane Arraf, who just a few minutes ago, reported live from the streets of Falluja.
I mean, in the same way that accountants were harmed by the Enron scandal and some clergy were harmed by the priest abuse scandals, and careless doctors taint their entire profession that is populated by thousands upon thousands of dedicated professionals, I think all journalists get tainted some when someone decides to do something that's just absolutely silly like this.
And I think it's harmful for television stations to become sort of not important to their community, but it's even more harmful when viewers see us as silly. And fortunately, most journalists don't do things like this. And most television stations don't do things like this.
But it does set, as you said, a standard. It certainly does press the edges that makes other stations and other places, other companies say, wow, look at those numbers. You know, if we...
COSTELLO: I know.
TOMPKINS: I know, it's a strange time in news.
Al Tompkins from the Poynter Institute, thanks for joining DAYBREAK this morning.
All right, now to another story and to what some may call more gratuitous nudity. Did you see this?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLETTE SHERIDAN, ACTRESS, "DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES": Terrell, wait.
TERRELL OWENS, NFL WIDE RECEIVER, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES: Oh, hell. The teams going to have to win this one without me.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: ABC is now apologizing for this steamy pre-game intro to Monday night football. And that's "Desperate Housewives" Nicolette Sheridan and Eagles wide receiver, Terrell Owens, not looking like they're getting ready to play a game of football.
The network got all kinds of complaints from viewers. ABC could now face fines from the FCC.
More comings and goings in the Bush administration, just ahead, we'll talk about what the final lineup might look like and how well the team will play.
And later on, it calms your nerves and keeps you healthy. We'll examine the many wonders of tea.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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