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American Morning
Two House Republicans Hold Out On National Intelligence Reform Bill
Aired November 23, 2004 - 07:00 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Did al Qaeda plan a 9/11 style attack in Britain? Reaction this morning to a shocking terror headline.
Americans by the millions get ready to hit the road for Thanksgiving, and it's shaping up to be a mass. What happens now to the fans involved in that wild the NBA brawl? Prosecutors give a clue.
And in Texas, the water just keeps on rising. Floods chasing hundreds more people from their homes on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody -- 07:00 in New York City, where any day of the week U2 and Bono could just like start rolling down 5th Avenue for a live concert.
O'BRIEN: Can you believe that yesterday?
HEMMER: I didn't see it, but we have it on videotape.
O'BRIEN: Unbelievable.
HEMMER: Only in New York. We'll talk about that a bit later.
A terrific PR stunt for the band from Ireland, by the way.
Also this hour, President Bush has his work cut out for him, persuading two powerful House Republicans to go along with intelligence reforms inspired by the 9/11 commission. Getting the bill could now become a major task for the administration.
We'll look at whether or not anyone appears ready to budge on that.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, back to the brawl -- we're going to talk with an NBA fan, in just a few minutes, who was right there for the whole thing. He's got his description of the melee.
Also a little bit later we'll talk with Robin Ficker. He's a little bit of a legend, I think it's fair to say...
HEMMER: Yes. O'BRIEN: ... in NBA heckling, if there are legends of NBA heckling. We'll find out why he did it and where he thinks the line needs to be drawn.
HEMMER: He is a huge personality. So wait until you hear from him.
CAFFERTY: He is?
HEMMER: Oh, yes.
CAFFERTY: He is?
HEMMER: Oh, yes.
CAFFERTY: Robert Ficker?
O'BRIEN: Robin.
CAFFERTY: Robin Ficker. I've never heard of him.
HEMMER: Wait until you hear this guy talk.
CAFFERTY: Yes? Well, something to look forward to.
The latest offering from the department of homeland security -- weren't they the ones that recommended duct tape at one point?
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I didn't know what to do with it, but I had some.
CAFFERTY: Well, yes. I'd offer an idea or two, but that would be the end of what's been a mediocre career, so I'll restrain myself.
The latest offering from the department of homeland security has to do, in conjunction with the Ad Council, with a series of television ads and print ads suggesting that you talk to your kids about terrorism.
Is it good idea or is it something that's just liable to scare the hell out of the little nippers?
We'll take a look at it and see what your thoughts are on this. It's probably better than duct tape, but we'll see what you think in a few minutes.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
We're going to get to Kelly Wallace, with us this morning, looking at the news this hour. Top of hour now, and good morning, Kelly. Good to have you.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Great to see you all. Good morning, everyone.
Here are some of the stories now in the news.
Three U.N. workers are free and said to be in good health. The group was kidnapped in Afghanistan in late October. Their captors originally demanded a prisoner released and called on the U.N. to leave Afghanistan.
Afghanistan's interior minister denied any demands had been met. A search for the kidnappers is ongoing.
Turning now to Iraq, another religious leader opposing the upcoming elections has been gunned down. The shooting comes a day after another prominent spiritual leader was killed in Mosul.
Both were part of a Sunni clerics group that has called for a boycott of the January elections. It is not clear if the two killings are connected.
Here in the United States, the penalty phase in the Scott Peterson trial has been delayed. Yesterday, the judge in the case denied defense motions for a new jury and a change of venue, but then granted a one-week delay in case Peterson's attorneys want to appeal the decision. Proceedings are set to resume on November 30.
And as Bill and Soledad mentioned, the Irish rockers, U2, invading New York. The band surprising fans with an impromptu performance, playing from a flatbed truck in Times Square.
More than 3,000 fans were then treated to a free 45-minute concert at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. Yesterday's show was a promotion for the group's new album, which is out today.
And Toure' will give us his review coming up later this hour. I can't imagine what was like if you're walking through New York City, and there you see...
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Hey, isn't that Bono? What's he doing on the bed of a truck?
WALLACE: What a treat. Sorry we missed it.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: "USA Today" gave it four out of four stars, too. And they saved the show on "Saturday Night Live," by the way.
WALLACE: Yes, I heard it, the rest of the show.
HEMMER: Really, really solid. So, thank you, Kelly.
We're going to get overseas this morning as we start off today learning new details about a possible al Qaeda terror plot in London similar to the 9/11 attacks here in the U.S.
Walter Rodgers tracking down the story, now live in London. Walter, what do you have?
WALTER RODGERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.
Well, the story broke last night on a respectable television network here Britain's ITV. It was subsequently picked up like -- by tabloids -- like the "Daily Mail."
The problem, of course, is that the government is downplaying this, Whitehall is downplaying this story very quickly. But it says in these tabloid headlines, "Target: Canary Wharf."
And it's alleged that some al Qaeda terrorists were planning a copy cat attack similar to the 9/11 attack in New York City, planning a copy cat attacks on the Canary Wharf area, possibly Heathrow Airport.
Canary Wharf is one of Britain's financial areas, many high value, high visibility targets there. The problem in all of this is there's very little that's coming out by way of substitute corroboration.
If I were a viewer, I'd stamp caveat emptor on this real fast. They aren't saying when this plot was to be carried out, by whom it was to be carried out, how the plot was uncovered. And you can see the British government back peddling very quickly.
A short while ago, we called the metropolitan police in London and asked them about the credibility of the story, and they literally laughed at us. The difficulty in all this, of course, is that terrorists don't signal when they're going to attack. There are precious few details.
But David Blunkett at the home secretary, here in the United Kingdom, did say recently -- warned recently -- that al Qaeda is on Britain's doorstep. And it is, indeed, threatening the lives of British citizens -- Bill?
HEMMER: Walter Rodgers watching that story from London.
Walter, thanks -- Soledad?
O'BRIEN: Two key Republicans in the House continue to defy President Bush and congressional leaders pushing for national intelligence reform. Ed Henry reports on the growing rift (ph) in the president's own party.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Bush administration stepped up its efforts to pass intelligence reforms with Vice President Cheney coming to the capitol to lobby Congressman James Sensenbrenner, one of two Republicans holding up the bill.
But Sensenbrenner says he's more determined than ever to block what he considers meaningless reform.
REP. JAMES SENSENBRENNER (R), WISCONSIN: Well, I'm not going to cave.
HENRY: Sensenbrenner wants to ban states from giving drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. He says Senate negotiators are too scared to challenge powerful lobbyists who oppose the provision.
SENSENBRENNER: I don't like to vote for things on serious issues that might look good on a bumper sticker but which I know have so many loopholes that they won't work.
HENRY: The other Republican who refused to be rolled was Congressman Duncan Hunter. Despite a call from Vice President Cheney, Hunter insisted on protecting the Pentagon from losing power to a new director of national intelligence.
REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R), CALIFORNIA: In my shop, having and maintaining the chain of command and serving our people in uniform is paramount.
HENRY: Senate intelligence chairman, Pat Roberts, a former Marine, insists the legislation will not harm troops in the field.
SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R), INTELLIGENCE CMTE CHAIRMAN: There isn't anybody in the congress that I know of that wants to do anything that would harm that actionable intelligence to the war fighter, especially during this difficult insurgency that we're fighting in Iraq.
HENRY (on camera): Republicans hope to salvage a deal after Thanksgiving. But senior lawmakers in both parties are growing increasingly pessimistic that a compromise can be reached by the end of the year.
Ed Henry, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: If the impasse in the House can't be overcome, the new congress in January will have to start from scratch on intelligence reform.
HEMMER: Eight minutes past the hour where, Soledad, so far no criminal charges have been filed after Friday nights fight between fans and players, between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons.
Authorities in Michigan now are interviewing those injured in the brawl and say if charges are filed, most will likely be for assault and battery, both misdemeanors. However, there is one person who apparently hurled a chair into the stands, who could face a felony charge.
As for the cup throwing incident, police say John Green was the man and the fan responsible for hitting Indiana forward, Ron Artest, in the chest. Green, yesterday, denied that he did it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN GREEN, DETROIT PISTONS FAN: No comment right now. I'm not going anywhere. The police know where I live. I've talked to them already. I'm not, you know, I'm not going anywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Well, Scott Mitchell was at the Palace in Auburn Hills Friday night. He's my guest now in Madison Heights, Michigan.
Scott, good morning to you. I understand you were courtside, right? Does that mean front row or just down near the court?
SCOTT MITCHELL, WITNESSED BRAWL: Good morning. I was actually not right on the court, but three rows off in what they called AA, which is front row across from the Pistons bench.
HEMMER: All right. What did you see, Scott?
MITCHELL: I saw basically what everybody else -- you know, it was just amazing at the end of the game when, you know, Ben Wallace and Artest got into it. So we were all kind of watching to see what that would turn out to be.
And there was some excitement level to that. But then next thing you know, you know, you just saw Artest jump over the scorers table and run up into the crowd.
And from our angle, we really didn't see the cup come in, so we didn't know if he just was going after a heckler or what was going on. But one of those things where you think it's going to end soon, and it just didn't seem to end.
HEMMER: It is kept going and going. A five-minute fight certainly can seem like a very long time when you're there in person.
Back up a little bit, here. All this happened with less than a minute to play in regulation of fourth period. But you say there was a lot going on prior to that time.
What was happening between the players and the fans up to that point, Scott?
MITCHELL: The one thing my friend and I noticed was there was a guy in the front row that was really heckling Artest the whole fourth quarter. I mean he was literally, at some times, just a foot away from Artest, just saying things I couldn't repeat on the air.
And I actually remember turning to my friend and saying, you know, it would be so hard to hear that and not respond to it. And it was Artest and Stephen Jackson that this fan was heckling the whole fourth quarter.
And I don't know if that maybe was something that would instigate, you know, Artest, later on. But he really put up with a lot in the fourth quarter from this heckler.
HEMMER: Did Artest respond in any way that you saw or heard?
MITCHELL: Well, we did see him actually come down the court one time when the play was on the other side of the court, and this heckler was still standing up. And Artest gave him a little playful "slap him on the cheek," but nothing that was like, too crazy.
But we just could not believe what we were seeing. And this was probably about two minutes left to go in the game. And from that point on, you know, when the Pacers were shooting all the free throws at the end -- Jackson would be on the free throw line, shoot a free throw, heckle the fans.
So those guys had something going in the last minutes of the game.
HEMMER: You know, the fan you're talking about. I'm certain you've seen the videotape. We've seen it probably 100 times by this point. Have you been able to identify that fan in the videotape?
MITCHELL: The one that threw the cup?
HEMMER: No, the one that you say was heckling Artest in the fourth period.
MITCHELL: The heckler, no -- he was on the other side of the court. But I've heard on the radio, some other people say, you know, that heard what he was saying to Artest throughout the game, so...
HEMMER: How often do you go to games at the Palace in Auburn Hills?
MITCHELL: I probably go to about five a year.
HEMMER: About 5 a year? Would you say this was more unruly than normal for a Friday night?
MITCHELL: Oh, definitely. I mean it was absolutely, you know, up until like the third, the fourth quarter, everything seemed OK and a normal game. But then the fourth quarter, it just seemed like there was some tension in the air.
And then when things just blew up, it especially was kind of loud with a 15 point lead, a few minutes to go in the game. But yes, it seemed like any other game. It was just incredible what happened. It was a very surreal experience.
HEMMER: Why was that? I mean, was this a full moon on Friday night? Or was there anything that might explain that prior to the fight breaking out?
MITCHELL: I don't know. But I saw things that people did that I just never thought people would do. It turned barbaric -- just watching some of the people just, you know, just douse those guys when they were trying to get off the court.
And watch -- and you know women try to find something to throw at the players as they were coming off the court. It just was unbelievable.
HEMMER: Scott Mitchell, Madison Heights, Michigan. Thanks for sharing your story, Scott.
MITCHELL: You're welcome.
HEMMER: All right.
A bit later this hour, we'll meet a man who spent years heckling opposing NBA players from his courtside seats in Washington. Says he doesn't do it anymore.
We'll talk about him, talk about him and his old tactics and why he has moved on in life. So, he's our guest a bit later this hour -- Soledad?
O'BRIEN: Looking forward to that.
Weather now. Rising, muddy floodwater continues to be a huge problem in parts of Texas. Two firefighters and a person they were trying to rescue had to be rescued themselves.
Police in the town of New Braunfels said their boat tipped over into some very deep water. All three were saved, though, after holding on to some trees.
Plus, Thanksgiving travel could be a mess tomorrow. Chad Myers is at the CNN Center with the latest weather update for us.
Good morning to you, Chad. Where is it looking the worse?
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Back to you.
O'BRIEN: Looking ugly. All right, Chad, thanks.
MYERS: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Wow, that's a long list.
HEMMER: What wasn't on that list?
O'BRIEN: I was going to say, the list that's not got a delay is probably a much shorter list.
Chad, thanks.
MYERS: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, just how do Americans feel about President Bush just weeks after the election? We're going to take a look at some new poll numbers just out.
HEMMER: Also, a weekend shooting of deer hunters claiming another victim -- the latest on that from Wisconsin, in a moment.
O'BRIEN: And taking it to the limit, a man who may be the most infamous heckler in NBA history talks about just how far he thinks a fan should go in taunting players.
Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: CNN's first post-election poll now out. And it appears that most Americans like what President Bush is doing -- his job approval rating standing at 55 percent.
Senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, in Washington, D.C., this morning to break down some other poll numbers for us. Nice to see you, Bill. Good morning to you.
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: A lot of talk after the election about the divisions within the country, even actually, frankly, during the campaign.
Sixty-five in the polls say Americans not united on the most important values, up from January. So why the rise, and what are we dis-united over?
SCHNEIDER: Well, religion, for one thing. You know the saying, religion and politics don't mix? Well, about half the public believes that organized religion has too much political influence. And about half say it has too little, or just about the right amount of influence.
And this is an issue that really divides Democrats and Republicans. Two-thirds of Democrats say religion has too much influence, two-thirds of Republicans say no, it doesn't.
O'BRIEN: What about the war? Are there big divisions over the war?
SCHNEIDER: Yes, there are. We are seeing some headway in the view that the United States is making progress militarily since the attack on Falluja, but Americans are completely divided about the political situation there.
About half say the United States will be able to create a stable democracy in Iraq, but about half say no, we can't.
O'BRIEN: There is a sense -- and maybe it's just from Democrats -- who say that it feels like the country is moving strongly, sharply to the right. Did the poll numbers bear that out?
SCHNEIDER: No, we're not seeing any evidence, Soledad, of any lurch to the right or a panic over moral values. About a quarter, only about a quarter of Americans say the country is more -- moral values are in good shape. But that's actually up a little bit from recent years.
And there is evidence of a movement toward greater tolerance. Take a look at this. In 1993, after President Clinton allowed, proposed allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the military, most Americans, 52 percent, you see there, were opposed.
That view has now completely turned around. By 2-1, the public feels that gay men and lesbians should be allowed to serve in the military. That is a remarkable shift in a very short period of time.
O'BRIEN: There was also a poll question about whether foreign- born citizens should become president, potentially, of the United States. What do the poll numbers say about that?
SCHNEIDER: Well, that's interesting because we asked half of the people we surveyed, do you support a constitutional amendment that would allow foreign-born citizens to become president.
And 67 percent, two-thirds of Americans, said, no, they don't like that idea. But then we asked the other half of the sample a slightly different question, would you support an amendment that would allow foreign born citizens to become president, like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
What did they say then? Still opposed, 58 percent said they didn't think it was a good idea. Americans have serious reservations about amending the constitution, even for Arnold Schwarzenegger.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. Bill Schneider, CNN's political analyst. Nice to see you, Bill, thank you.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
HEMMER: In a moment here, McDonald's chief executive stepping down only seven months into the job. The question is why and what it means now for the fast food giant. Andy has that next when we continue after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody.
Another change of leadership at the world's biggest fast food company -- Andy has details on that, "Minding Your Business."
What do you got? Good morning, Drew?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you.
McDonald's has got its business strategy set and their menu back in line, but health troubles in the executive suite have been vexing the fast food giant.
Yesterday, CEO Charlie Bell announcing that he would resign. He became CEO only last April. He's been fighting colorectal cancer and he has to step down to fight that full-time.
The new CEO is a gentleman named Jim Skinner, who is his number two he had appointed there. You can see him there.
Now, going back to April, you may remember Bell succeeded a gentleman named Jim Cantalupo, who passed away of a sudden heart attack in Orlando, Florida. That makes four CEO's in the past two years going back to December of '02.
That's a lot of turmoil at the big company. And they have turned their act around since December of '02. You can see here, there's the chart.
But boy, investors sure don't like that. They just get to know name of the guy...
HEMMER: Sure.
SERWER: ... and health trouble...
HEMMER: Let's hope Charlie Bell pulls out of that's OK.
SERWER: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Terrorism again the focus of the file today on the "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: Thank you, Soledad.
A series of TV, radio and print ads unveiled yesterday the department homeland security is encouraging parents to talk to their kids about terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
1ST UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Mom.
2ND UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Dad.
3RD UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: How long should I wait for you?
4TH UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Mom.
5TH UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: If I'm at soccer practice...
6TH UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: What if something happens?
7TH UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Will you come get me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAFFERTY: Homeland security secretary, Tom Ridge, was here on AMERICAN MORNING yesterday talking about how parents can prepare their kids if an attack were to happen. Some experts worry that the ads will frighten kids who see or hear them. Lionel Stevens (ph) of the National School Safety Center, warned this may scare kids into "feeling like the big, bad boogie man is going to get them at any moment."
But Marsha Evans of the Red Cross said the ads are an effective way of using kids to get the message to adults to be prepared.
Here's the question, how much should you tell children about terrorism?
AM@CNN.com is the e-mail address.
HEMMER: Do you see much difference in this between what, back in the 1950s and the threat from the Soviet Union and the drills that were carried out...
O'BRIEN: Duck and cover.
SERWER: Right, under the desk.
HEMMER: ... yes, duck and cover -- and nuclear attack?
CAFFERTY: I don't know.
No, I really don't know. I mean it's...
SERWER: Well, it makes you pay attention, I'll tell you that.
CAFFERTY: I don't think when we were hiding under the desks in the classrooms the 1950s -- and you weren't even born then, but I was -- that anybody had dropped a nuclear bomb on the United States.
Terrorism has happened about three miles south of where were sitting here.
HEMMER: That's right.
CAFFERTY: So I think if there's a big difference, that's probably it. It's happened here. People have died. The city has been attacked. So maybe it's a little more realistic threat than this concept of nuclear weaponry was to a bunch of kids back in the '50s.
HEMMER: 1964 for the record.
O'BRIEN: When you were born?
CAFFERTY: You don't have to brag...
O'BRIEN: Come on.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: ... on how much younger you are than the rest of us.
O'BRIEN: Intangibly, don't talk about his birthday. Still to come this morning, a Wisconsin community is dealing with tragedy as a weekend shooting spree claims another victim. We've got a live report coming up just ahead as we continue right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome, everybody. Just about half past hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Investigators and community members searching for any explanation as to why a group of deer hunters was gunned down in Wisconsin. Now a sixth person has died in that attack. A full report is just ahead in a moment.
HEMMER: Also, among NBA circles, the name Robert Ficker is legendary.
O'BRIEN: In a bad way.
HEMMER: Perhaps the most famous, or infamous heckler ever, and we're going to talk to him in a few moments about what happened Friday night in Detroit. Also find out whether he thinks the heckling code should be changed and if so, how would he change it.
I mean this guy -- he went to these games in Washington all the -- anytime a team came in from out of town, they put a microphone on Robin. And they would do a story on him.
O'BRIEN: Is there a heckling code, really?
HEMMER: I don't know. He would know.
O'BRIEN: Like a real heckling code, as opposed to the one in his head?
HEMMER: Maybe he defined it. We'll have to find out.
O'BRIEN: First headlines, Kelly Wallace is sitting in at our news desk this morning. Hey, Kelly, good morning.
WALLACE: Good morning, Soledad. Good morning, Bill. Good morning, again, everyone.
Here are some stories now in the news.
Word this morning of a roadside bombing in the central Iraq city of Samarra. Wire reports say at least one person was killed, three others are wounded.
Meantime, a major discovery in Kirkuk, Iraqi and American security forces say they have confiscated a variety of weapons and night vision equipment and have detained almost 40 people.
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Aired November 23, 2004 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Did al Qaeda plan a 9/11 style attack in Britain? Reaction this morning to a shocking terror headline.
Americans by the millions get ready to hit the road for Thanksgiving, and it's shaping up to be a mass. What happens now to the fans involved in that wild the NBA brawl? Prosecutors give a clue.
And in Texas, the water just keeps on rising. Floods chasing hundreds more people from their homes on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody -- 07:00 in New York City, where any day of the week U2 and Bono could just like start rolling down 5th Avenue for a live concert.
O'BRIEN: Can you believe that yesterday?
HEMMER: I didn't see it, but we have it on videotape.
O'BRIEN: Unbelievable.
HEMMER: Only in New York. We'll talk about that a bit later.
A terrific PR stunt for the band from Ireland, by the way.
Also this hour, President Bush has his work cut out for him, persuading two powerful House Republicans to go along with intelligence reforms inspired by the 9/11 commission. Getting the bill could now become a major task for the administration.
We'll look at whether or not anyone appears ready to budge on that.
O'BRIEN: Also this morning, back to the brawl -- we're going to talk with an NBA fan, in just a few minutes, who was right there for the whole thing. He's got his description of the melee.
Also a little bit later we'll talk with Robin Ficker. He's a little bit of a legend, I think it's fair to say...
HEMMER: Yes. O'BRIEN: ... in NBA heckling, if there are legends of NBA heckling. We'll find out why he did it and where he thinks the line needs to be drawn.
HEMMER: He is a huge personality. So wait until you hear from him.
CAFFERTY: He is?
HEMMER: Oh, yes.
CAFFERTY: He is?
HEMMER: Oh, yes.
CAFFERTY: Robert Ficker?
O'BRIEN: Robin.
CAFFERTY: Robin Ficker. I've never heard of him.
HEMMER: Wait until you hear this guy talk.
CAFFERTY: Yes? Well, something to look forward to.
The latest offering from the department of homeland security -- weren't they the ones that recommended duct tape at one point?
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: I didn't know what to do with it, but I had some.
CAFFERTY: Well, yes. I'd offer an idea or two, but that would be the end of what's been a mediocre career, so I'll restrain myself.
The latest offering from the department of homeland security has to do, in conjunction with the Ad Council, with a series of television ads and print ads suggesting that you talk to your kids about terrorism.
Is it good idea or is it something that's just liable to scare the hell out of the little nippers?
We'll take a look at it and see what your thoughts are on this. It's probably better than duct tape, but we'll see what you think in a few minutes.
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
We're going to get to Kelly Wallace, with us this morning, looking at the news this hour. Top of hour now, and good morning, Kelly. Good to have you.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Great to see you all. Good morning, everyone.
Here are some of the stories now in the news.
Three U.N. workers are free and said to be in good health. The group was kidnapped in Afghanistan in late October. Their captors originally demanded a prisoner released and called on the U.N. to leave Afghanistan.
Afghanistan's interior minister denied any demands had been met. A search for the kidnappers is ongoing.
Turning now to Iraq, another religious leader opposing the upcoming elections has been gunned down. The shooting comes a day after another prominent spiritual leader was killed in Mosul.
Both were part of a Sunni clerics group that has called for a boycott of the January elections. It is not clear if the two killings are connected.
Here in the United States, the penalty phase in the Scott Peterson trial has been delayed. Yesterday, the judge in the case denied defense motions for a new jury and a change of venue, but then granted a one-week delay in case Peterson's attorneys want to appeal the decision. Proceedings are set to resume on November 30.
And as Bill and Soledad mentioned, the Irish rockers, U2, invading New York. The band surprising fans with an impromptu performance, playing from a flatbed truck in Times Square.
More than 3,000 fans were then treated to a free 45-minute concert at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge. Yesterday's show was a promotion for the group's new album, which is out today.
And Toure' will give us his review coming up later this hour. I can't imagine what was like if you're walking through New York City, and there you see...
HEMMER: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Hey, isn't that Bono? What's he doing on the bed of a truck?
WALLACE: What a treat. Sorry we missed it.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: "USA Today" gave it four out of four stars, too. And they saved the show on "Saturday Night Live," by the way.
WALLACE: Yes, I heard it, the rest of the show.
HEMMER: Really, really solid. So, thank you, Kelly.
We're going to get overseas this morning as we start off today learning new details about a possible al Qaeda terror plot in London similar to the 9/11 attacks here in the U.S.
Walter Rodgers tracking down the story, now live in London. Walter, what do you have?
WALTER RODGERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Bill.
Well, the story broke last night on a respectable television network here Britain's ITV. It was subsequently picked up like -- by tabloids -- like the "Daily Mail."
The problem, of course, is that the government is downplaying this, Whitehall is downplaying this story very quickly. But it says in these tabloid headlines, "Target: Canary Wharf."
And it's alleged that some al Qaeda terrorists were planning a copy cat attack similar to the 9/11 attack in New York City, planning a copy cat attacks on the Canary Wharf area, possibly Heathrow Airport.
Canary Wharf is one of Britain's financial areas, many high value, high visibility targets there. The problem in all of this is there's very little that's coming out by way of substitute corroboration.
If I were a viewer, I'd stamp caveat emptor on this real fast. They aren't saying when this plot was to be carried out, by whom it was to be carried out, how the plot was uncovered. And you can see the British government back peddling very quickly.
A short while ago, we called the metropolitan police in London and asked them about the credibility of the story, and they literally laughed at us. The difficulty in all this, of course, is that terrorists don't signal when they're going to attack. There are precious few details.
But David Blunkett at the home secretary, here in the United Kingdom, did say recently -- warned recently -- that al Qaeda is on Britain's doorstep. And it is, indeed, threatening the lives of British citizens -- Bill?
HEMMER: Walter Rodgers watching that story from London.
Walter, thanks -- Soledad?
O'BRIEN: Two key Republicans in the House continue to defy President Bush and congressional leaders pushing for national intelligence reform. Ed Henry reports on the growing rift (ph) in the president's own party.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Bush administration stepped up its efforts to pass intelligence reforms with Vice President Cheney coming to the capitol to lobby Congressman James Sensenbrenner, one of two Republicans holding up the bill.
But Sensenbrenner says he's more determined than ever to block what he considers meaningless reform.
REP. JAMES SENSENBRENNER (R), WISCONSIN: Well, I'm not going to cave.
HENRY: Sensenbrenner wants to ban states from giving drivers licenses to illegal immigrants. He says Senate negotiators are too scared to challenge powerful lobbyists who oppose the provision.
SENSENBRENNER: I don't like to vote for things on serious issues that might look good on a bumper sticker but which I know have so many loopholes that they won't work.
HENRY: The other Republican who refused to be rolled was Congressman Duncan Hunter. Despite a call from Vice President Cheney, Hunter insisted on protecting the Pentagon from losing power to a new director of national intelligence.
REP. DUNCAN HUNTER (R), CALIFORNIA: In my shop, having and maintaining the chain of command and serving our people in uniform is paramount.
HENRY: Senate intelligence chairman, Pat Roberts, a former Marine, insists the legislation will not harm troops in the field.
SEN. PAT ROBERTS (R), INTELLIGENCE CMTE CHAIRMAN: There isn't anybody in the congress that I know of that wants to do anything that would harm that actionable intelligence to the war fighter, especially during this difficult insurgency that we're fighting in Iraq.
HENRY (on camera): Republicans hope to salvage a deal after Thanksgiving. But senior lawmakers in both parties are growing increasingly pessimistic that a compromise can be reached by the end of the year.
Ed Henry, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: If the impasse in the House can't be overcome, the new congress in January will have to start from scratch on intelligence reform.
HEMMER: Eight minutes past the hour where, Soledad, so far no criminal charges have been filed after Friday nights fight between fans and players, between the Indiana Pacers and the Detroit Pistons.
Authorities in Michigan now are interviewing those injured in the brawl and say if charges are filed, most will likely be for assault and battery, both misdemeanors. However, there is one person who apparently hurled a chair into the stands, who could face a felony charge.
As for the cup throwing incident, police say John Green was the man and the fan responsible for hitting Indiana forward, Ron Artest, in the chest. Green, yesterday, denied that he did it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN GREEN, DETROIT PISTONS FAN: No comment right now. I'm not going anywhere. The police know where I live. I've talked to them already. I'm not, you know, I'm not going anywhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Well, Scott Mitchell was at the Palace in Auburn Hills Friday night. He's my guest now in Madison Heights, Michigan.
Scott, good morning to you. I understand you were courtside, right? Does that mean front row or just down near the court?
SCOTT MITCHELL, WITNESSED BRAWL: Good morning. I was actually not right on the court, but three rows off in what they called AA, which is front row across from the Pistons bench.
HEMMER: All right. What did you see, Scott?
MITCHELL: I saw basically what everybody else -- you know, it was just amazing at the end of the game when, you know, Ben Wallace and Artest got into it. So we were all kind of watching to see what that would turn out to be.
And there was some excitement level to that. But then next thing you know, you know, you just saw Artest jump over the scorers table and run up into the crowd.
And from our angle, we really didn't see the cup come in, so we didn't know if he just was going after a heckler or what was going on. But one of those things where you think it's going to end soon, and it just didn't seem to end.
HEMMER: It is kept going and going. A five-minute fight certainly can seem like a very long time when you're there in person.
Back up a little bit, here. All this happened with less than a minute to play in regulation of fourth period. But you say there was a lot going on prior to that time.
What was happening between the players and the fans up to that point, Scott?
MITCHELL: The one thing my friend and I noticed was there was a guy in the front row that was really heckling Artest the whole fourth quarter. I mean he was literally, at some times, just a foot away from Artest, just saying things I couldn't repeat on the air.
And I actually remember turning to my friend and saying, you know, it would be so hard to hear that and not respond to it. And it was Artest and Stephen Jackson that this fan was heckling the whole fourth quarter.
And I don't know if that maybe was something that would instigate, you know, Artest, later on. But he really put up with a lot in the fourth quarter from this heckler.
HEMMER: Did Artest respond in any way that you saw or heard?
MITCHELL: Well, we did see him actually come down the court one time when the play was on the other side of the court, and this heckler was still standing up. And Artest gave him a little playful "slap him on the cheek," but nothing that was like, too crazy.
But we just could not believe what we were seeing. And this was probably about two minutes left to go in the game. And from that point on, you know, when the Pacers were shooting all the free throws at the end -- Jackson would be on the free throw line, shoot a free throw, heckle the fans.
So those guys had something going in the last minutes of the game.
HEMMER: You know, the fan you're talking about. I'm certain you've seen the videotape. We've seen it probably 100 times by this point. Have you been able to identify that fan in the videotape?
MITCHELL: The one that threw the cup?
HEMMER: No, the one that you say was heckling Artest in the fourth period.
MITCHELL: The heckler, no -- he was on the other side of the court. But I've heard on the radio, some other people say, you know, that heard what he was saying to Artest throughout the game, so...
HEMMER: How often do you go to games at the Palace in Auburn Hills?
MITCHELL: I probably go to about five a year.
HEMMER: About 5 a year? Would you say this was more unruly than normal for a Friday night?
MITCHELL: Oh, definitely. I mean it was absolutely, you know, up until like the third, the fourth quarter, everything seemed OK and a normal game. But then the fourth quarter, it just seemed like there was some tension in the air.
And then when things just blew up, it especially was kind of loud with a 15 point lead, a few minutes to go in the game. But yes, it seemed like any other game. It was just incredible what happened. It was a very surreal experience.
HEMMER: Why was that? I mean, was this a full moon on Friday night? Or was there anything that might explain that prior to the fight breaking out?
MITCHELL: I don't know. But I saw things that people did that I just never thought people would do. It turned barbaric -- just watching some of the people just, you know, just douse those guys when they were trying to get off the court.
And watch -- and you know women try to find something to throw at the players as they were coming off the court. It just was unbelievable.
HEMMER: Scott Mitchell, Madison Heights, Michigan. Thanks for sharing your story, Scott.
MITCHELL: You're welcome.
HEMMER: All right.
A bit later this hour, we'll meet a man who spent years heckling opposing NBA players from his courtside seats in Washington. Says he doesn't do it anymore.
We'll talk about him, talk about him and his old tactics and why he has moved on in life. So, he's our guest a bit later this hour -- Soledad?
O'BRIEN: Looking forward to that.
Weather now. Rising, muddy floodwater continues to be a huge problem in parts of Texas. Two firefighters and a person they were trying to rescue had to be rescued themselves.
Police in the town of New Braunfels said their boat tipped over into some very deep water. All three were saved, though, after holding on to some trees.
Plus, Thanksgiving travel could be a mess tomorrow. Chad Myers is at the CNN Center with the latest weather update for us.
Good morning to you, Chad. Where is it looking the worse?
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Back to you.
O'BRIEN: Looking ugly. All right, Chad, thanks.
MYERS: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Wow, that's a long list.
HEMMER: What wasn't on that list?
O'BRIEN: I was going to say, the list that's not got a delay is probably a much shorter list.
Chad, thanks.
MYERS: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, just how do Americans feel about President Bush just weeks after the election? We're going to take a look at some new poll numbers just out.
HEMMER: Also, a weekend shooting of deer hunters claiming another victim -- the latest on that from Wisconsin, in a moment.
O'BRIEN: And taking it to the limit, a man who may be the most infamous heckler in NBA history talks about just how far he thinks a fan should go in taunting players.
Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: CNN's first post-election poll now out. And it appears that most Americans like what President Bush is doing -- his job approval rating standing at 55 percent.
Senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, in Washington, D.C., this morning to break down some other poll numbers for us. Nice to see you, Bill. Good morning to you.
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: A lot of talk after the election about the divisions within the country, even actually, frankly, during the campaign.
Sixty-five in the polls say Americans not united on the most important values, up from January. So why the rise, and what are we dis-united over?
SCHNEIDER: Well, religion, for one thing. You know the saying, religion and politics don't mix? Well, about half the public believes that organized religion has too much political influence. And about half say it has too little, or just about the right amount of influence.
And this is an issue that really divides Democrats and Republicans. Two-thirds of Democrats say religion has too much influence, two-thirds of Republicans say no, it doesn't.
O'BRIEN: What about the war? Are there big divisions over the war?
SCHNEIDER: Yes, there are. We are seeing some headway in the view that the United States is making progress militarily since the attack on Falluja, but Americans are completely divided about the political situation there.
About half say the United States will be able to create a stable democracy in Iraq, but about half say no, we can't.
O'BRIEN: There is a sense -- and maybe it's just from Democrats -- who say that it feels like the country is moving strongly, sharply to the right. Did the poll numbers bear that out?
SCHNEIDER: No, we're not seeing any evidence, Soledad, of any lurch to the right or a panic over moral values. About a quarter, only about a quarter of Americans say the country is more -- moral values are in good shape. But that's actually up a little bit from recent years.
And there is evidence of a movement toward greater tolerance. Take a look at this. In 1993, after President Clinton allowed, proposed allowing openly gay men and women to serve in the military, most Americans, 52 percent, you see there, were opposed.
That view has now completely turned around. By 2-1, the public feels that gay men and lesbians should be allowed to serve in the military. That is a remarkable shift in a very short period of time.
O'BRIEN: There was also a poll question about whether foreign- born citizens should become president, potentially, of the United States. What do the poll numbers say about that?
SCHNEIDER: Well, that's interesting because we asked half of the people we surveyed, do you support a constitutional amendment that would allow foreign-born citizens to become president.
And 67 percent, two-thirds of Americans, said, no, they don't like that idea. But then we asked the other half of the sample a slightly different question, would you support an amendment that would allow foreign born citizens to become president, like Arnold Schwarzenegger.
What did they say then? Still opposed, 58 percent said they didn't think it was a good idea. Americans have serious reservations about amending the constitution, even for Arnold Schwarzenegger.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. Bill Schneider, CNN's political analyst. Nice to see you, Bill, thank you.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
HEMMER: In a moment here, McDonald's chief executive stepping down only seven months into the job. The question is why and what it means now for the fast food giant. Andy has that next when we continue after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Welcome back, everybody.
Another change of leadership at the world's biggest fast food company -- Andy has details on that, "Minding Your Business."
What do you got? Good morning, Drew?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning to you.
McDonald's has got its business strategy set and their menu back in line, but health troubles in the executive suite have been vexing the fast food giant.
Yesterday, CEO Charlie Bell announcing that he would resign. He became CEO only last April. He's been fighting colorectal cancer and he has to step down to fight that full-time.
The new CEO is a gentleman named Jim Skinner, who is his number two he had appointed there. You can see him there.
Now, going back to April, you may remember Bell succeeded a gentleman named Jim Cantalupo, who passed away of a sudden heart attack in Orlando, Florida. That makes four CEO's in the past two years going back to December of '02.
That's a lot of turmoil at the big company. And they have turned their act around since December of '02. You can see here, there's the chart.
But boy, investors sure don't like that. They just get to know name of the guy...
HEMMER: Sure.
SERWER: ... and health trouble...
HEMMER: Let's hope Charlie Bell pulls out of that's OK.
SERWER: Yes, sir.
HEMMER: Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Terrorism again the focus of the file today on the "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: Thank you, Soledad.
A series of TV, radio and print ads unveiled yesterday the department homeland security is encouraging parents to talk to their kids about terrorism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
1ST UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Mom.
2ND UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Dad.
3RD UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: How long should I wait for you?
4TH UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Mom.
5TH UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: If I'm at soccer practice...
6TH UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: What if something happens?
7TH UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Will you come get me?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAFFERTY: Homeland security secretary, Tom Ridge, was here on AMERICAN MORNING yesterday talking about how parents can prepare their kids if an attack were to happen. Some experts worry that the ads will frighten kids who see or hear them. Lionel Stevens (ph) of the National School Safety Center, warned this may scare kids into "feeling like the big, bad boogie man is going to get them at any moment."
But Marsha Evans of the Red Cross said the ads are an effective way of using kids to get the message to adults to be prepared.
Here's the question, how much should you tell children about terrorism?
AM@CNN.com is the e-mail address.
HEMMER: Do you see much difference in this between what, back in the 1950s and the threat from the Soviet Union and the drills that were carried out...
O'BRIEN: Duck and cover.
SERWER: Right, under the desk.
HEMMER: ... yes, duck and cover -- and nuclear attack?
CAFFERTY: I don't know.
No, I really don't know. I mean it's...
SERWER: Well, it makes you pay attention, I'll tell you that.
CAFFERTY: I don't think when we were hiding under the desks in the classrooms the 1950s -- and you weren't even born then, but I was -- that anybody had dropped a nuclear bomb on the United States.
Terrorism has happened about three miles south of where were sitting here.
HEMMER: That's right.
CAFFERTY: So I think if there's a big difference, that's probably it. It's happened here. People have died. The city has been attacked. So maybe it's a little more realistic threat than this concept of nuclear weaponry was to a bunch of kids back in the '50s.
HEMMER: 1964 for the record.
O'BRIEN: When you were born?
CAFFERTY: You don't have to brag...
O'BRIEN: Come on.
(CROSSTALK)
CAFFERTY: ... on how much younger you are than the rest of us.
O'BRIEN: Intangibly, don't talk about his birthday. Still to come this morning, a Wisconsin community is dealing with tragedy as a weekend shooting spree claims another victim. We've got a live report coming up just ahead as we continue right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Welcome, everybody. Just about half past hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Investigators and community members searching for any explanation as to why a group of deer hunters was gunned down in Wisconsin. Now a sixth person has died in that attack. A full report is just ahead in a moment.
HEMMER: Also, among NBA circles, the name Robert Ficker is legendary.
O'BRIEN: In a bad way.
HEMMER: Perhaps the most famous, or infamous heckler ever, and we're going to talk to him in a few moments about what happened Friday night in Detroit. Also find out whether he thinks the heckling code should be changed and if so, how would he change it.
I mean this guy -- he went to these games in Washington all the -- anytime a team came in from out of town, they put a microphone on Robin. And they would do a story on him.
O'BRIEN: Is there a heckling code, really?
HEMMER: I don't know. He would know.
O'BRIEN: Like a real heckling code, as opposed to the one in his head?
HEMMER: Maybe he defined it. We'll have to find out.
O'BRIEN: First headlines, Kelly Wallace is sitting in at our news desk this morning. Hey, Kelly, good morning.
WALLACE: Good morning, Soledad. Good morning, Bill. Good morning, again, everyone.
Here are some stories now in the news.
Word this morning of a roadside bombing in the central Iraq city of Samarra. Wire reports say at least one person was killed, three others are wounded.
Meantime, a major discovery in Kirkuk, Iraqi and American security forces say they have confiscated a variety of weapons and night vision equipment and have detained almost 40 people.
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