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CNN Live At Daybreak

U.S. Consulate in Saudi Arabia Attacked; Bush Presses on Intel Reform Bill

Aired December 06, 2004 - 05:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The president wants it, families of 9/11 victims want it, but will Congress pass an intelligence reform bill? We could find out soon.
Voting fraud, recount, just some of the words being thrown around in the Buckeye State today.

And investigators have a tiny piece of Michael Jackson. But what are they going to do with it?

It is Monday, December 6.

This is DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello.

Breaking news to tell you about right now.

Word just in from Saudi Arabia. U.S. officials say the American consulate in Jeddah has come under attack. Witnesses report an explosion and they do report gunfire. So far, there are no reports of American casualties, but we do understand there are casualties.

We will have a live report coming up for you in just a couple of minutes.

Intelligence reform -- that tops the agenda today as Congress gets back to work before its holiday break. Opposition from two key law makers has stalled the bill, but their colleagues are saying they hope a deal can be reached.

A few hours from now, there will be a key meeting at the White House. President Bush meets with Iraq's interim president, Ghazi al- Yawer. Both leaders are pushing for Iraq's January election to go on as planned.

And will there be another shakeup in the president's cabinet? The "New York Times" says the president plans to replace Treasury Secretary John Snow. One of the possible candidates for the job is White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card.

To the forecast center now and Rob Marciano, who is in for Chad Myers this morning -- good morning, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Let's get back to that top story in breaking news now.

An attack in Saudi Arabia this morning on an American target. Smoke now rising from a U.S. consulate building. Police are out in force.

Caroline Faraj is following the story from Dubai.

She joins us live on the phone right now -- Caroline, take us to the beginning.

What happened?

CAROLINE FARAJ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, good morning.

What happened is basically that the consulate in Jeddah, the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, there has been an attack on the consulate. And the incident is basically still in progress. So we are talking about something that took place about an hour and a half ago or more. There are still, it's still in progress. People can hear still shooting. But no reports of any U.S. casualties.

The U.S. consulate confirmed the information but they were not clear about what type of attack they are talking about. A lot of people also, eyewitnesses, as well as the Saudi officials confirm that there were some flames and smoke coming out of the consulate. The consulate immediately was sealed off by the security forces, Saudi security forces, and it was also confirmed by the U.S. Embassy that the security forces are in the process of securing the whole building.

And as a precautionary measure, the embassy decided to close the Heran (ph), which is the closest area to Jeddah.

This is up to now what we have -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Caroline, I just want to put this information by you, because we're getting information from a number of sources. This from the Associated Press. It says a car bomb apparently exploded outside of the heavily guarded U.S. consulate in the city. There's now gunfire. We can see a picture now from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia of the smoke rising from the building.

Is that smoke coming from inside the building?

FARAJ: Yes. Yes, Carol. The smoke is coming from inside the building. Nobody was able -- no Americans, nor the Saudis or even the eyewitnesses over there were able to confirm that a car was used for such an attack. All the information we are gathering that there was a heavy exchange of fire between, you know, nearby the consulate. This is how it started. And immediately the Saudi security forces sealed off the whole area, blocked several of the roads that lead to the consulate and there was a heavy presence -- you can see it visually -- all over the area in Saudi Arabia. There were special guards as well as police people.

But up until now, we are still waiting to hear from the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, which basically the spokesperson is located there, to confirm what type of attack we are talking about.

Some reports we are getting from eyewitnesses, as well, that they saw some ambulances taking people toward the nearest hospital there, Sulaiman Fakeeh, which confirmed the information that there are some casualties.

However, up until now, the U.S. Embassy are confirming and they are stating that no reports of any U.S. casualties -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Caroline, explain to us how many Americans are in Jeddah. I know that at one time about 9,000 Americans lived around that consulate. Also, were there Americans inside the consulate building at the time?

FARAJ: Well, as a daily process taking place in the middle of the week over there -- it's not the beginning in this region -- this is a process -- you can see a lot of American workers who are basically diplomats or maybe local hires who are working inside the consulate, as well as other people who are seeking to get visas or to process their own official papers.

Now, regarding the number that you've asked about, the number of Americans living in Jeddah, Jeddah, as you know, it's the Red Sea city, from the Red Sea city, and it is the business hub and it's a port. So it's packed and full of different nationalities, expatriates and mainly Americans and Brits.

Now the number that you've asked for, it is becoming very difficult to figure out exactly the number, according to the American officials, especially after the several attacks that started last year and continued until this year. Nobody can tell because a lot of people have decided to leave Saudi Arabia, send their families either back home or to the neighboring countries, like the UAE or Bahrain and other places. And they return back.

So it is becoming now a bit difficult to figure out exactly the exact number.

COSTELLO: All right...

FARAJ: And we are still waiting to hear if there's anymore details.

COSTELLO: Caroline, let me interrupt you for just a second.

We have someone from the Arab media.

What is the -- Khaled al-Maeena is on the phone with us right now.

Good morning.

Khaled, can you hear us?

KHALED AL-MAEENA, EDITOR OF "ARAB NEWS": Yes.

COSTELLO: Where are you exactly?

AL-MAEENA: I'm in Jeddah, a few miles away from the consulate.

COSTELLO: What are you seeing?

AL-MAEENA: Well, in the morning our reporters saw smoke. They heard sirens. The police are milling around the area. There was a traffic blockade for more than a mile. It's a busy thoroughfare, a commercial area. That exactly was the scene. Right now we heard of four security forces were killed, presumably in the initial attack. There was firing heard from inside. The American embassy announced that there were no American casualties.

COSTELLO: Four security forces killed, you mean the Saudis were guarding the American consulate?

AL-MAEENA: Yes. Yes. This is what we heard initially.

COSTELLO: We understand -- or we don't understand -- the Associated Press is reporting that a car bomb was responsible for this.

What have you heard?

AL-MAEENA: Well, there was an explosion. Now, we exactly cannot say whether it was a car bomb. Remember this, that whenever such types of things has happened, there are lots of conflicting news at the beginning. So I would really like to be accurate as far as the explosion. It could have been a thrown grenade, it could have been something or the other.

But the fact is that there is smoke coming from inside the consulate. There is a lot of smoke, indeed. There was smoke outside. Shots were heard. Ambulances were seen coming in. A helicopter, I could see a helicopter hovering about the consulate. Heavily armed personnel and trucks and carriers were moving around.

So the situation was pretty grim.

COSTELLO: Is there any way to determine -- I know there was an exchange of gunfire, but how many people were they firing at from the consulate?

AL-MAEENA: Well, I think the initial reports from the eyewitnesses, we're told, our three reporters down there, that there was -- there were about four or five people initially who tried to storm in.

COSTELLO: Four or five people who tried to storm inside the consulate?

AL-MAEENA: Yes. COSTELLO: And then the exchange of gunfire broke out?

AL-MAEENA: The exchange of the gunfire broke out and our reporter on the spot, Mahmoud, is telling me that four of the guards guarding the consulate were killed.

COSTELLO: Oh. Do you know how many people were inside the American consulate?

AL-MAEENA: Well, my estimation is there will always be about 30 or 40 who are there to get visas to go to the United States. It's a busy day. It's a day, you know, a time in the morning when people are out there to fill their visa forms, collect their passports. So there must have been 30 or 40 visitors inside the consulate in addition to the U.S. consulate, which is fairly well staffed. And, of course, you have the help, the gardeners and the cooks and the butlers and all inside.

COSTELLO: Khaled al-Maeena, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

We appreciate Khaled al-Maeena from the Arab media reporting that four Saudi security forces were killed.

We understand, at least we have no word of American casualties just yet. But the American consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia under attack this morning. You can see smoke rising from the building. That smoke coming from inside. We don't quite know exactly what kind of attack it was. There are some reports out there that say it was a car bomb. But Khaled al-Maeena just reported that we're not sure of that. It could have just been four to five people trying to storm the consulate and then there was that exchange of gunfire.

When we get more information on this story, of course we'll pass it along to you.

What's the holdup? That's what President Bush wants to know about the intelligence reform bill. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist predicts Congress will reach a compromise on the stalled measure. In the meantime, the president is gently prodding law makers along.

More now from CNN's Kathleen Koch at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Call it a push, but not a shove. As Congress gets back to work this week, President Bush persuading Republicans to back the intelligence reform bill.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning, everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning Mr. President.

KOCH: Mr. Bush lobbied for it in his weekend radio address. He's phoned individual lawmakers, but the top Senate Democrat is challenging the president to put more political capital where his mouth is.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: He has a mandate. Let's, let him pull a few bucks out of that pocket of mandate and give it to the House and Senate and say here's part of my mandate, I want this legislation to pass.

KOCH: Bill action is being held up because of the objections of some House Republicans. Some want to include tougher immigration measures. Other worry troops could be put in danger by restructuring plans giving authority to a new national intelligence director. Seventeen sent a letter to Speaker Dennis Hastert Friday, the same day the chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee in a statement voiced his concerns about speedy military access to intelligence.

SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: There are a lot of people who have questions, because we're talking about safety and security. We're talking about that soldier on the battlefield.

KOCH: Opponents warn they're standing their ground.

REP. MIKE PENSE (R), INDIANA: While the Pentagon has to fall in when the president gives an order, the Congress does not have an obligation to fall in when the commander-in-chief gives an order.

KOCH: But some believe the stalemate has more to do with politics and committee chairman losing power.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Despite the rhetoric, this is all about power, which has got to do with money here in Washington. Whoever controls the budget controls the power, and that's what this is all about.

KOCH: Congress is scheduled to recess this week for the holidays, though it could decide to extend the session. Many believe inaction now would kill the measure.

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D), WEST VIRGINIA: It would be history and that would be a terrible mistake in the middle of a global war on terrorism.

KOCH (on camera): And, some say, a defeat for President Bush that could embolden Congress and endanger other measures in the Bush agenda.

Kathleen Koch, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: President Bush isn't the only one urging Congress to act on intelligence reform. Families of 9/11 victims held a vigil at ground zero in New York, getting people to sign a petition calling for the bill's passage. They plan to present it to House Speaker Dennis Hastert in Washington today. A woman whose husband died on 9/11 says she's lost her faith in government and passing the bill is the only way to restore it. Turning now to the search for the world's most wanted terrorist. Just where is Osama bin Laden? Pakistan's leader tells CNN he doesn't know. On a trip to the U.S. this weekend, Pervez Musharraf defended Pakistan's move to scale back the hunt for bin Laden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTAN: Anyone who says probably he's in Pakistan, I would like to ask him what have you based this judgment on? So therefore I wouldn't be able to say that. He could be on the Pakistan side, he could be on the Afghanistan side. But all that I would like to say is on the Pakistan side, our army is inside all these tribal area belt of ours. There are seven agencies. In all of them we are there. And we are operating there.

Is that the case on the Afghan side? Is all the border region, is the military operating in all the regions of the border? No, sir, they are not. So I will leave it to anybody's judgment where would he feel safer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Musharraf met this weekend with President Bush, who praised Pakistan's anti-war efforts.

Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, are these pictures proof of more Iraqi prisoner abuse? This time members of the elite Navy SEALS may be involved. We'll have the full story for you at the bottom of the hour.

And Ohio is set to certify its election results, but some are saying not to fast. They're using the "R" word, you know, recount. That story at 47 minutes past.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.

Now it's 5:19 Eastern.

The latest now on that developing story out of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi forces are trying to secure the U.S. consulate in the city of Jeddah after it came under attack. Witnesses report an explosion and gunfire. No reports of U.S. casualties.

Ohio is set to finally certify its presidential election results. Unofficial results give President Bush a 136,000 vote margin over John Kerry. Legal challenges to the vote also expected today.

In money news, it's getting a little easier to fill up at the gas pump. Prices dropped $0.03 over the past two weeks. The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded now stands at $1.93.

In culture, Billy Crystal opened his one man show on Broadway last night. The show is called "700 Sundays." It's a look back at the 700 Sundays he spent with his father before his father died of a heart attack at the age of 54.

In sports, just as expected, Southern Cal will meet Oklahoma for the college football national championship. The two undefeated teams will meet in the Orange Bowl on January 4. USC and Oklahoma finished first and second in the final BCS standings -- Rob.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: In another high profile case, we're learning more this morning about the two searches of Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch last week. During the second search, Jackson voluntarily provided investigators with a DNA sample. Why?

Here's CNN's Miguel Marquez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): When Santa Barbara County sheriff's investigators raided Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch last Friday, they were seeking a DNA sample from the pop star, CNN has confirmed. A source also tells CNN that investigators were armed with two search warrants signed by Rodney Melville, the Santa Barbara Superior Court judge who is hearing the case against Jackson.

LAURIE LEVINSON, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: This is very unusual to have this type of search so late in the game.

MARQUEZ: A source tells CNN Jackson, who was home at the time, was surprised and his children traumatized by the raid. Jackson submitted to having his mouth swabbed by investigators on Saturday.

LEVINSON: Why are they just getting the DNA samples now? This is a child molestation case. You would have expected that right off the bat the prosecutors and police would have gone in for these DNA samples.

MARQUEZ: Jackson is charged with four counts of lewd acts upon a child, one count of an attempted lewd act, four counts of giving a child an intoxicating agent to assist in the lewd acts, and one count of conspiracy. He's pleaded not guilty to all charges.

LEVINSON: We don't know whether this means that they're tying up loose ends, or, frankly, they're a little desperate to get the evidence that they think they'll need to win this case.

MARQUEZ (on camera): One thing legal experts seem to agree on is that this latest search puts in jeopardy the targeted trial start date of January 31. The next pretrial hearing is scheduled for later this month.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: A U.S. senator weighs in on the steroid scandal. Hear what John McCain has to say about fixing the problem in major league baseball.

DAYBREAK will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.

We want to talk a little bit about the baseball steroid abuse scandal. The players union is supposed to meet in Arizona today to talk about the problem, but Senator John McCain of Arizona, he's already talking about the problem. He says if major league baseball doesn't take any action, he will introduce a bill to crack down on professional baseball players who use steroids.

In our look "Beyond The Sound Bite," the senator explains why he's so passionate about the issue and how he hopes it'll be resolved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: Baseball is America's pastime and any perversion or distortion or corruption of the process is something that most Americans and the baseball fans find very offensive. And a lot of Americans, as I am, are deeply concerned not only about the professional baseball players, but the fact is that it's a growing belief on the part of high school athletes that the only way they can make it in the big leagues is to take, ingest these performance enhancing drugs into their bodies, which is incredibly damaging.

That's really the problem here. Ask any high school coach and they'll tell you it's a growing problem.

The major league players are meeting in Arizona this week. I hope that they will come out of that meeting with an agreement to act with the baseball owners. The owners have to sit down and negotiate, as well, because the negotiation -- the owners did not negotiate a strong agreement last time. So they bear a responsibility for this, as well.

I'd like to see all professional sports enact the same stands that we have for our Olympic athletes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Don't know, though, because the players union has all the power, because, you know, the owners wanted to avoid a strike, like in years past, so they kind of let the players slip and slide on the steroid issue.

It actually brings us to our E-mail Question of the Morning. What is the best punishment for athletes who use steroids? Should they be thrown out of the game? Should they be suspended? And what if the steroids they took weren't illegal at the time, which is the case with the baseball players in question right now?

E-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.

Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.

Iraq's interim president says delaying the elections there would mean a victory for the forces of darkness. We take you live to Baghdad to hear more.

And later, a newspaper article shines new light on the death of a football star in Afghanistan. We'll tell you what really happened to Pat Tillman.

This is DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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Aired December 6, 2004 - 05:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The president wants it, families of 9/11 victims want it, but will Congress pass an intelligence reform bill? We could find out soon.
Voting fraud, recount, just some of the words being thrown around in the Buckeye State today.

And investigators have a tiny piece of Michael Jackson. But what are they going to do with it?

It is Monday, December 6.

This is DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello.

Breaking news to tell you about right now.

Word just in from Saudi Arabia. U.S. officials say the American consulate in Jeddah has come under attack. Witnesses report an explosion and they do report gunfire. So far, there are no reports of American casualties, but we do understand there are casualties.

We will have a live report coming up for you in just a couple of minutes.

Intelligence reform -- that tops the agenda today as Congress gets back to work before its holiday break. Opposition from two key law makers has stalled the bill, but their colleagues are saying they hope a deal can be reached.

A few hours from now, there will be a key meeting at the White House. President Bush meets with Iraq's interim president, Ghazi al- Yawer. Both leaders are pushing for Iraq's January election to go on as planned.

And will there be another shakeup in the president's cabinet? The "New York Times" says the president plans to replace Treasury Secretary John Snow. One of the possible candidates for the job is White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card.

To the forecast center now and Rob Marciano, who is in for Chad Myers this morning -- good morning, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Let's get back to that top story in breaking news now.

An attack in Saudi Arabia this morning on an American target. Smoke now rising from a U.S. consulate building. Police are out in force.

Caroline Faraj is following the story from Dubai.

She joins us live on the phone right now -- Caroline, take us to the beginning.

What happened?

CAROLINE FARAJ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, good morning.

What happened is basically that the consulate in Jeddah, the U.S. consulate in Jeddah, there has been an attack on the consulate. And the incident is basically still in progress. So we are talking about something that took place about an hour and a half ago or more. There are still, it's still in progress. People can hear still shooting. But no reports of any U.S. casualties.

The U.S. consulate confirmed the information but they were not clear about what type of attack they are talking about. A lot of people also, eyewitnesses, as well as the Saudi officials confirm that there were some flames and smoke coming out of the consulate. The consulate immediately was sealed off by the security forces, Saudi security forces, and it was also confirmed by the U.S. Embassy that the security forces are in the process of securing the whole building.

And as a precautionary measure, the embassy decided to close the Heran (ph), which is the closest area to Jeddah.

This is up to now what we have -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Caroline, I just want to put this information by you, because we're getting information from a number of sources. This from the Associated Press. It says a car bomb apparently exploded outside of the heavily guarded U.S. consulate in the city. There's now gunfire. We can see a picture now from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia of the smoke rising from the building.

Is that smoke coming from inside the building?

FARAJ: Yes. Yes, Carol. The smoke is coming from inside the building. Nobody was able -- no Americans, nor the Saudis or even the eyewitnesses over there were able to confirm that a car was used for such an attack. All the information we are gathering that there was a heavy exchange of fire between, you know, nearby the consulate. This is how it started. And immediately the Saudi security forces sealed off the whole area, blocked several of the roads that lead to the consulate and there was a heavy presence -- you can see it visually -- all over the area in Saudi Arabia. There were special guards as well as police people.

But up until now, we are still waiting to hear from the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh, which basically the spokesperson is located there, to confirm what type of attack we are talking about.

Some reports we are getting from eyewitnesses, as well, that they saw some ambulances taking people toward the nearest hospital there, Sulaiman Fakeeh, which confirmed the information that there are some casualties.

However, up until now, the U.S. Embassy are confirming and they are stating that no reports of any U.S. casualties -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Caroline, explain to us how many Americans are in Jeddah. I know that at one time about 9,000 Americans lived around that consulate. Also, were there Americans inside the consulate building at the time?

FARAJ: Well, as a daily process taking place in the middle of the week over there -- it's not the beginning in this region -- this is a process -- you can see a lot of American workers who are basically diplomats or maybe local hires who are working inside the consulate, as well as other people who are seeking to get visas or to process their own official papers.

Now, regarding the number that you've asked about, the number of Americans living in Jeddah, Jeddah, as you know, it's the Red Sea city, from the Red Sea city, and it is the business hub and it's a port. So it's packed and full of different nationalities, expatriates and mainly Americans and Brits.

Now the number that you've asked for, it is becoming very difficult to figure out exactly the number, according to the American officials, especially after the several attacks that started last year and continued until this year. Nobody can tell because a lot of people have decided to leave Saudi Arabia, send their families either back home or to the neighboring countries, like the UAE or Bahrain and other places. And they return back.

So it is becoming now a bit difficult to figure out exactly the exact number.

COSTELLO: All right...

FARAJ: And we are still waiting to hear if there's anymore details.

COSTELLO: Caroline, let me interrupt you for just a second.

We have someone from the Arab media.

What is the -- Khaled al-Maeena is on the phone with us right now.

Good morning.

Khaled, can you hear us?

KHALED AL-MAEENA, EDITOR OF "ARAB NEWS": Yes.

COSTELLO: Where are you exactly?

AL-MAEENA: I'm in Jeddah, a few miles away from the consulate.

COSTELLO: What are you seeing?

AL-MAEENA: Well, in the morning our reporters saw smoke. They heard sirens. The police are milling around the area. There was a traffic blockade for more than a mile. It's a busy thoroughfare, a commercial area. That exactly was the scene. Right now we heard of four security forces were killed, presumably in the initial attack. There was firing heard from inside. The American embassy announced that there were no American casualties.

COSTELLO: Four security forces killed, you mean the Saudis were guarding the American consulate?

AL-MAEENA: Yes. Yes. This is what we heard initially.

COSTELLO: We understand -- or we don't understand -- the Associated Press is reporting that a car bomb was responsible for this.

What have you heard?

AL-MAEENA: Well, there was an explosion. Now, we exactly cannot say whether it was a car bomb. Remember this, that whenever such types of things has happened, there are lots of conflicting news at the beginning. So I would really like to be accurate as far as the explosion. It could have been a thrown grenade, it could have been something or the other.

But the fact is that there is smoke coming from inside the consulate. There is a lot of smoke, indeed. There was smoke outside. Shots were heard. Ambulances were seen coming in. A helicopter, I could see a helicopter hovering about the consulate. Heavily armed personnel and trucks and carriers were moving around.

So the situation was pretty grim.

COSTELLO: Is there any way to determine -- I know there was an exchange of gunfire, but how many people were they firing at from the consulate?

AL-MAEENA: Well, I think the initial reports from the eyewitnesses, we're told, our three reporters down there, that there was -- there were about four or five people initially who tried to storm in.

COSTELLO: Four or five people who tried to storm inside the consulate?

AL-MAEENA: Yes. COSTELLO: And then the exchange of gunfire broke out?

AL-MAEENA: The exchange of the gunfire broke out and our reporter on the spot, Mahmoud, is telling me that four of the guards guarding the consulate were killed.

COSTELLO: Oh. Do you know how many people were inside the American consulate?

AL-MAEENA: Well, my estimation is there will always be about 30 or 40 who are there to get visas to go to the United States. It's a busy day. It's a day, you know, a time in the morning when people are out there to fill their visa forms, collect their passports. So there must have been 30 or 40 visitors inside the consulate in addition to the U.S. consulate, which is fairly well staffed. And, of course, you have the help, the gardeners and the cooks and the butlers and all inside.

COSTELLO: Khaled al-Maeena, thank you for joining DAYBREAK this morning.

We appreciate Khaled al-Maeena from the Arab media reporting that four Saudi security forces were killed.

We understand, at least we have no word of American casualties just yet. But the American consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia under attack this morning. You can see smoke rising from the building. That smoke coming from inside. We don't quite know exactly what kind of attack it was. There are some reports out there that say it was a car bomb. But Khaled al-Maeena just reported that we're not sure of that. It could have just been four to five people trying to storm the consulate and then there was that exchange of gunfire.

When we get more information on this story, of course we'll pass it along to you.

What's the holdup? That's what President Bush wants to know about the intelligence reform bill. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist predicts Congress will reach a compromise on the stalled measure. In the meantime, the president is gently prodding law makers along.

More now from CNN's Kathleen Koch at the White House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Call it a push, but not a shove. As Congress gets back to work this week, President Bush persuading Republicans to back the intelligence reform bill.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Good morning, everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning Mr. President.

KOCH: Mr. Bush lobbied for it in his weekend radio address. He's phoned individual lawmakers, but the top Senate Democrat is challenging the president to put more political capital where his mouth is.

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: He has a mandate. Let's, let him pull a few bucks out of that pocket of mandate and give it to the House and Senate and say here's part of my mandate, I want this legislation to pass.

KOCH: Bill action is being held up because of the objections of some House Republicans. Some want to include tougher immigration measures. Other worry troops could be put in danger by restructuring plans giving authority to a new national intelligence director. Seventeen sent a letter to Speaker Dennis Hastert Friday, the same day the chairman of the Senate Armed Service Committee in a statement voiced his concerns about speedy military access to intelligence.

SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: There are a lot of people who have questions, because we're talking about safety and security. We're talking about that soldier on the battlefield.

KOCH: Opponents warn they're standing their ground.

REP. MIKE PENSE (R), INDIANA: While the Pentagon has to fall in when the president gives an order, the Congress does not have an obligation to fall in when the commander-in-chief gives an order.

KOCH: But some believe the stalemate has more to do with politics and committee chairman losing power.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: Despite the rhetoric, this is all about power, which has got to do with money here in Washington. Whoever controls the budget controls the power, and that's what this is all about.

KOCH: Congress is scheduled to recess this week for the holidays, though it could decide to extend the session. Many believe inaction now would kill the measure.

SEN. JAY ROCKEFELLER (D), WEST VIRGINIA: It would be history and that would be a terrible mistake in the middle of a global war on terrorism.

KOCH (on camera): And, some say, a defeat for President Bush that could embolden Congress and endanger other measures in the Bush agenda.

Kathleen Koch, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: President Bush isn't the only one urging Congress to act on intelligence reform. Families of 9/11 victims held a vigil at ground zero in New York, getting people to sign a petition calling for the bill's passage. They plan to present it to House Speaker Dennis Hastert in Washington today. A woman whose husband died on 9/11 says she's lost her faith in government and passing the bill is the only way to restore it. Turning now to the search for the world's most wanted terrorist. Just where is Osama bin Laden? Pakistan's leader tells CNN he doesn't know. On a trip to the U.S. this weekend, Pervez Musharraf defended Pakistan's move to scale back the hunt for bin Laden.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. PERVEZ MUSHARRAF, PAKISTAN: Anyone who says probably he's in Pakistan, I would like to ask him what have you based this judgment on? So therefore I wouldn't be able to say that. He could be on the Pakistan side, he could be on the Afghanistan side. But all that I would like to say is on the Pakistan side, our army is inside all these tribal area belt of ours. There are seven agencies. In all of them we are there. And we are operating there.

Is that the case on the Afghan side? Is all the border region, is the military operating in all the regions of the border? No, sir, they are not. So I will leave it to anybody's judgment where would he feel safer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Musharraf met this weekend with President Bush, who praised Pakistan's anti-war efforts.

Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, are these pictures proof of more Iraqi prisoner abuse? This time members of the elite Navy SEALS may be involved. We'll have the full story for you at the bottom of the hour.

And Ohio is set to certify its election results, but some are saying not to fast. They're using the "R" word, you know, recount. That story at 47 minutes past.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.

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COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.

Now it's 5:19 Eastern.

The latest now on that developing story out of Saudi Arabia.

Saudi forces are trying to secure the U.S. consulate in the city of Jeddah after it came under attack. Witnesses report an explosion and gunfire. No reports of U.S. casualties.

Ohio is set to finally certify its presidential election results. Unofficial results give President Bush a 136,000 vote margin over John Kerry. Legal challenges to the vote also expected today.

In money news, it's getting a little easier to fill up at the gas pump. Prices dropped $0.03 over the past two weeks. The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded now stands at $1.93.

In culture, Billy Crystal opened his one man show on Broadway last night. The show is called "700 Sundays." It's a look back at the 700 Sundays he spent with his father before his father died of a heart attack at the age of 54.

In sports, just as expected, Southern Cal will meet Oklahoma for the college football national championship. The two undefeated teams will meet in the Orange Bowl on January 4. USC and Oklahoma finished first and second in the final BCS standings -- Rob.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: In another high profile case, we're learning more this morning about the two searches of Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch last week. During the second search, Jackson voluntarily provided investigators with a DNA sample. Why?

Here's CNN's Miguel Marquez.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): When Santa Barbara County sheriff's investigators raided Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch last Friday, they were seeking a DNA sample from the pop star, CNN has confirmed. A source also tells CNN that investigators were armed with two search warrants signed by Rodney Melville, the Santa Barbara Superior Court judge who is hearing the case against Jackson.

LAURIE LEVINSON, LOYOLA UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: This is very unusual to have this type of search so late in the game.

MARQUEZ: A source tells CNN Jackson, who was home at the time, was surprised and his children traumatized by the raid. Jackson submitted to having his mouth swabbed by investigators on Saturday.

LEVINSON: Why are they just getting the DNA samples now? This is a child molestation case. You would have expected that right off the bat the prosecutors and police would have gone in for these DNA samples.

MARQUEZ: Jackson is charged with four counts of lewd acts upon a child, one count of an attempted lewd act, four counts of giving a child an intoxicating agent to assist in the lewd acts, and one count of conspiracy. He's pleaded not guilty to all charges.

LEVINSON: We don't know whether this means that they're tying up loose ends, or, frankly, they're a little desperate to get the evidence that they think they'll need to win this case.

MARQUEZ (on camera): One thing legal experts seem to agree on is that this latest search puts in jeopardy the targeted trial start date of January 31. The next pretrial hearing is scheduled for later this month.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: A U.S. senator weighs in on the steroid scandal. Hear what John McCain has to say about fixing the problem in major league baseball.

DAYBREAK will be right back.

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COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.

We want to talk a little bit about the baseball steroid abuse scandal. The players union is supposed to meet in Arizona today to talk about the problem, but Senator John McCain of Arizona, he's already talking about the problem. He says if major league baseball doesn't take any action, he will introduce a bill to crack down on professional baseball players who use steroids.

In our look "Beyond The Sound Bite," the senator explains why he's so passionate about the issue and how he hopes it'll be resolved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCAIN: Baseball is America's pastime and any perversion or distortion or corruption of the process is something that most Americans and the baseball fans find very offensive. And a lot of Americans, as I am, are deeply concerned not only about the professional baseball players, but the fact is that it's a growing belief on the part of high school athletes that the only way they can make it in the big leagues is to take, ingest these performance enhancing drugs into their bodies, which is incredibly damaging.

That's really the problem here. Ask any high school coach and they'll tell you it's a growing problem.

The major league players are meeting in Arizona this week. I hope that they will come out of that meeting with an agreement to act with the baseball owners. The owners have to sit down and negotiate, as well, because the negotiation -- the owners did not negotiate a strong agreement last time. So they bear a responsibility for this, as well.

I'd like to see all professional sports enact the same stands that we have for our Olympic athletes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Don't know, though, because the players union has all the power, because, you know, the owners wanted to avoid a strike, like in years past, so they kind of let the players slip and slide on the steroid issue.

It actually brings us to our E-mail Question of the Morning. What is the best punishment for athletes who use steroids? Should they be thrown out of the game? Should they be suspended? And what if the steroids they took weren't illegal at the time, which is the case with the baseball players in question right now?

E-mail us at daybreak@cnn.com. That's daybreak@cnn.com.

Here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.

Iraq's interim president says delaying the elections there would mean a victory for the forces of darkness. We take you live to Baghdad to hear more.

And later, a newspaper article shines new light on the death of a football star in Afghanistan. We'll tell you what really happened to Pat Tillman.

This is DAYBREAK.

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