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Bush Names Energy Secretary Nominee; FBI Bulletin Says Terrorists May Use Lasers; Rumsfeld's Query Prompted by Reporter
Aired December 10, 2004 - 10:00 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.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Boy, we've got some interesting stories to share with you today. We're going to be keying in on that laser story that you've been hearing about.
And also for those of you watching in California and all over the country, interested in what's going on with the Peterson case, there's a possibility we may be hearing from the jury during the next couple of hours.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. They start their full day of deliberations at 11:00 Eastern. So we'll see what happens. In the meantime, we've got some other news to report to you right now.
We just heard it moments ago; President Bush taps Samuel Bodman to be the next Energy secretary. You might wonder who he is. He's the current Treasury deputy secretary. And if confirmed by the Senate, Bodman would replace Spencer Abraham, who resigned for personal reasons. We're going to have a live report from the White House coming up this hour.
Also, outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge holds a news conference this hour. It is expected to get under way in about 30 minutes at the John J. College of Criminal Justice in New York. We are going to listen in on what the Homeland Security secretary has to say at that event. We're going to bring you any possible parting comments he may have.
And Daimler-Chrysler has been asked to recall 600,000 Dodge trucks made between 2000 and 2003. A government investigation shows the front wheels on some Durango and Dakota trucks could actually fall off, even as the drivers are driving. The automaker has until Monday to respond.
And OPEC ministers agree to cut crude oil production by 1 million barrels a day. At a meeting in Cairo, Egypt member countries say they want to comply with a $27 million barrels a day limit on overall production. Only the Saudi oil minister held back, saying his country would raise or loyal --lower oil production as needed to stabilize those prices. We'll see if that means that our gas prices are going to go down.
And I'm Carol Lin in for Daryn Kagan today.
SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez. Good to have you, by the way.
LIN: Good to be here. SANCHEZ: We're going to start this morning with CNN "Security Watch." President Bush has just made his choice for Energy secretary to replace Spencer Abraham.
CNN's Elaine Quijano is at the White House. She's been following this story. In fact, there's a lot of news being made with the president's cabinet, including the possibility we may interrupt Elaine, because we're going to go to John Ashcroft at the Justice Department. So all this as we set the scene for you this morning.
Elaine, get us started.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Rick. A busy day here at the White House, as you mentioned. President Bush, just a short time ago announcing his choice to succeed the outgoing Department of Energy Secretary Abe -- Spencer Abraham rather. That person you see apparently, this not the current -- this is the video -- Samuel Bodman is the president's choice to succeed the outgoing secretary. Here now the video.
He is the Treasury Department's deputy secretary, who formerly was the deputy secretary of the Commerce Department. Now, his background is one of an engineer born in Chicago. He was a professor at MIT and served as a consultant, as well. But during this ceremony a short time ago in the Roosevelt Room, President Bush calling him a problem solver who knows how to set goals and how to reach them.
And the president also laid out one of his main goals for his second term.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And distinguished career in the private sector. Sam has been a professor at MIT, president of an investment firm, the chairman and CEO of an industrial company with operations worldwide. In academics (AUDIO GAP) less dependent on energy from unstable parts of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: President Bush there articulating one of his main second-term goals. And that is reducing America's dependence on foreign oil. That is a familiar theme, one that we heard throughout the course of the president's re-election campaign.
Now, Rick, taking a look at the bigger picture, what we have now is just one more question mark. That is who will succeed the outgoing Health And Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. That question still very much up in the air. But President Bush working to move quickly to get his second term team in place -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Elaine, let me ask you. On the question of Bernie Kerik and his possible confirmation as our Homeland Security director, there may be some questions, we hear now, with his ties to a company that apparently helped make him very wealthy. Could this be a conflict that could possibly hold up his confirmation? QUIJANO: It is quite possible at this point. Although White House officials are saying that every step is being taken to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest. You're referring to Bernard Kerik's interest in the Taser Corporation that makes those taser stun guns. A company that Mr. Kerik made millions off of. But at this point, White House officials not expressing any kind of jitters publicly about this. Although certainly now, there has been some talk here in Washington that perhaps that could have an impact on his confirmation process.
SANCHEZ: All right. Elaine Quijano following that story for us, we certainly thank you.
Just to let you know, on a programming note that there's a possibility we might take you to the Justice Department, because there may be a farewell there for the outgoing John Ashcroft. Of course, the outgoing man in charge there. So when that happens we'll take you there.
Meantime, Carol to you.
LIN: Yes, we've got some other news. If you're planning on boarding a plane you're going to be really interested in this. There is a new security warning to commercial airlines. Federal authorities advised pilots, terrorists might be trying to use small, handheld lasers to blind them while they are flying planes. The FBI is investigating a September incident, in which a Delta pilot complained a laser hit his eyes during a landing approach in Salt Lake City. That plane did land safely.
Now, lasers are just one of a long list of possible terror tactics. They're also a long list of potential terror targets. In fact it's so big, critics say it's of no practical value. The Department of Homeland Security concedes it is behind schedule in coming up with a comprehensive short list of critical high-risk targets that deserve immediate protection.
Now the inspector general at the Homeland Security Department is out of a job this morning. Clark Kent Ervin, yes, that's his name. His recess appointment expired this week and President Bush hasn't reappointed him. Now, Ervin was critical of what he believed were inappropriate expenditures within the department, like, a big party for the TSA. Throwing parties for yourselves.
All right. Meanwhile, CNN security expert and law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks has been tracking all of these developments this morning. But we want to focus on this laser story, because in our editorial meeting, frankly Mike, I was just like come one. What are the odds that someone is going to go to a novelty store? Get a laser and blind a pilot?
MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, it's not the first time this happened. In fact, back in April of 2001, the FAA put out a report and said there were 150 incidents of hand held laser pointers, the kind we buy at novelty shops. That there were 150 incidents between January of 1996 and July of 1999. Now the laser that was used to temporarily blind the Delta pilot back in September, that -- they believe that was a more powerful laser. In fact, we're all used to seeing the red lasers that people use for presentations, those kinds of things. This was actually a green laser. In fact, you can buy these lasers on the internet. I went on and...
LIN: What are they used for formally?
BROOKS: They can be used for a number of different things. Astronomers use them to point out stars. But everyone thinks of a laser pointer. And in point, they said that those lasers -- even in laser pointers can be harmful.
Now, this plane was en route to Salt Lake City, about five miles out at about 5,000 feet. His retina actually got burned. So this is not new intelligence. The FBI put this out in their weekly bulletin. I call it their weekly vigilance alert; just to let people know that this is possibly could be a tool of terror.
But there is no new intelligence to say that this -- they're planning on bringing down an aircraft. Anything at all like that, especially going into the holiday season.
LIN: Any theories? I mean where would this person literally have to be? I mean outside of the Sat Lake International Airport, they have to be what? On a mountaintop and then the plane is coming in. And how do you aim it so it goes through window?
BROOKS: Well, it could be -- well, usually in this particular case, the laser would hit the windshield and then it was diffracted inside of the cockpit, it would basically lit up the cockpit. And there have been other incidents where pilots -- this has happened where pilots would have actually had to look away, and they were temporarily blinded.
And that could be of concern, especially when you're taking off or landing, especially landing on a plane, if his sight was disrupted for any reason.
LIN: Right. The way that planes are, aren't they on automated systems, right? So how important is it?
BROOKS: Sometimes yes, sometimes no. A lot of times, I was with Delta Airlines Corporate Security for a time before coming with CNN full time. and I used to ride in the cockpit quite a bit. Yes, you can put it on autopilot and land. But many times the pilot as they're coming in will take it off of autopilot and land the plane himself or herself, depending on the conditions they're under.
LIN: All right. We'll see what happens.
BROOKS: We'll see what happens.
LIN: Very strange.
BROOKS: It is very, very strange.
LIN: Thanks, Mike.
BROOKS: Thank you, Carol -- Rick,
SANCHEZ: We have been telling you that there's a possibility we might be going over to the Justice Department, where John Ashcroft is going to be, I suppose, saying his farewells, saying good-bye to some of the employees there and showing his gratitude for the cooperation. As a matter of fact, we hear applause there now. Let's just listen in a little bit.
BEN: Ladies and gentlemen, the deputy attorney general of the United States James Comey.
(APPLAUSE)
JAMES COMEY, U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Hey, Ben...
(APPLAUSE)
COMEY: Ladies and gentlemen, now that you have sat down, may I ask you please to rise again for the presentation of the colors.
SANCHEZ: Rest of his life in prison without parole.
Once again, we're going to be taking you back to that in just a little bit, as soon as we see Mr. Ashcroft come up to actually speak, we will take you back to that story.
In the meantime, let's go ahead and move on to the story as we had told you at the beginning of this newscast that's taking place out in California. And That is the story about Scott Peterson. Yes, the jury is out. There is a possibility within the next couple of hours that we could hear from this jury. Their decision is simple. They have to decide whether he will live or whether he will die.
CNN's Ted Rowlands has the latest now on the Peterson penalty phase. He's joining us from California.
Ted, over to you.
TED ROWLAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rick. The jury will be back deliberating in less than an hour out here in Redwood City, California. Yesterday, they had two hours of deliberation before going back to their hotel room where they were sequestered.
Before they got the case they heard very passionate pleas from both sides.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLAND (voice-over): His life, a subdued Mark Geragos begged jurors to, quote, "End this cycle now. There's no reason to put him to death." Geragos went on to say that when all is said and done, putting Peterson to death wouldn't bring Laci back, and wouldn't be closure to her mother and the rest of her family, saying, quote," I think it will haunt them." Geragos argued that any lingering doubt in jurors' minds is enough to spare Scott Peterson's life.
The prosecution spent just under an hour trying to convince the jury of the opposite, that death is the punishment Peterson deserves. Saying for 116 days Peterson let his wife's body rot in the water, while her family wondered where she was.
Standing next to the defendant, prosecutor Dave Harris pointed and said that if people are concerned about what effect a death sentence would have on Peterson's family, quote, "He's the one who's responsible." Harris played a clip of Peterson crying on "Good Morning America," saying he was a liar playing the part of a grieving husband. Then Harris showed photos of Peterson smiling at a vigil for his missing wife, and played a recording of a call he made that night to girlfriend Amber Frey.
In the end, Harris said Scott Peterson is the worst of the worst, a manipulative liar who deserves to die.
Attorney Mark Geragos buried his head in his hands and Peterson family members wept openly, as the judge read final instructions to the jury that must decide whether Scott Peterson will live or die.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLAND: And this is the same jury that found Peterson guilty of first-degree murder and guilty of second-degree murder for the death of his child. Like the guilt phase, it has to be unanimous in the penalty phase 12-0 either way; otherwise the jury would be hung -- Rick.
Ted Rowland following that story for us. Obviously, if we get any word we'd get back to you, Ted. And we thank you -- Carol.
LIN: We're also following that story about the soldier's questioning of Donald Rumsfeld, which has raised a lot of issues about armored vehicles and whether soldiers are protected in Iraq. That controversy started with a reporter actually coaching some of the soldiers to ask those questions. We've got more on that story.
SANCHEZ: Also some New Year's financial resolutions that will help. Well, help you keep some change in your pocketbook, shall we say?
And then this...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: All of these people were known to the archdiocese and many known to Cardinal Mahoney, as well, as having a problem with sexually molesting. And yet I can't think of one of those cases where the cardinal or the archdiocese came to the police and basically turned them in. Is that correct?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the record speaks for itself. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Drew Griffin on this problem, the pain and the alleged cover-up in the nation's largest Catholic community. We will take you there. This will be a CNN investigative report. And you're watching CNN LIVE TODAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NARRATOR: In the five years since he's been there, WIPRO Technologies has grown from $150 million in revenue to more than $1 billion. Just one reason why CEO Vivek Paul is the highest paid executive in India. An Indian-born American citizen, Paul has been a major advocate for the company's outsourcing practices, despite recent criticism from political campaigns. Paul says until U.S. universities make themselves more attractive to Indian engineering students, outsourcing is the only solution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: A bit of a mystery resolved so far. A Marine corporal who went missing in Iraq, was seen in a hostage video and later turned up a free man, is being charged with desertion. Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun originally said he was abducted. But when he last spoke to military investigators in September, he refused to disclose details about his disappearance.
Well, last month several personal items of Hassoun's were found in a building in Falluja. And a source close to the case said Hassoun's uniform was in remarkably good shape.
SANCHEZ: It was a question heard around the world. A soldier's tough query. Putting the secretary of Defense on the defensive. It turns out there was a little more to that exchange now that the soldier is just complaining about equipment.
CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre puts this one together for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAIME MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As questions go, this one was loaded.
SPC. THOMAS WILSON, 278-REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM: Now, why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up armor our vehicles?
MCINTYRE: And Rumsfeld answer was, as he himself might say, inelegant.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: You know, you go to war with the army you have, and not the army you might want. MCINTYRE: That response was called "cruel and callus" by Senator Edward Kennedy, who claimed the exchange showed that frustration of the troops had finally boiled over. And that they were, quote, "obviously fed up with Rumsfeld."
Now it turns out, the question read by Specialist Thomas Wilson was planted by a newspaper reporter. According to his e-mail, to the staff of the "Chattanooga Times Free Press," posted on the journalism website ponyteronline. In the e-mail military reporter Lee Pitts crows, "I just had one of my best days as a journalist." Pitts says that after learning "only solders could ask questions," he, "brought two along, as escorts. Beforehand we worked on questions to ask Rumsfeld," he writes. And says, "I found the sergeant in charge and made sure he knew to get my guys."
The Pentagon says it's not investigating the incident, and everyone from the president on down agrees it's a legitimate question.
BUSH: If I were a soldier overseas wanting to defend my country, I'd want to ask the secretary of Defense the same question. And that is, are we getting the best we can get us? And they deserve the best.
MCINTYRE: But the complaint that troops don't have the best has put the Pentagon on the defensive. And in an effort at damage control, it quickly arranged a video Link for a Three-Star general in Kuwait to brief reporters at the Pentagon.
LT. GEN. STEVEN WHITCOMB, CMDR., THIRD U.S. ARMY: Well, we're not looking at this point for our kits our steel plating to fabricate the level three kits, or the personnel to apply those kits. Our goal and what we're working for is that no wheeled vehicle, that leaves Kuwait going into Iraq, is driven by a soldier that does not have some level of armor protection on it.
MCINTYRE (on camera): The publisher and executive editor of the "Chattanooga Times Free Press" told CNN, the question was legitimate. And that he's supportive of how his reporter managed to get it asked.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: All right, coming up, John Ashcroft live, saying farewell to his employees. We are monitoring for news. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: Welcome back, everybody.
Here's the time when we get an opportunity to actually help you. How do you control your finances during the holidays? Not an easy thing to do, we know.
But Gerri Willis our CNN personal financial editor is here and she is going to certainly help us out with this one.
Where do we start -- Gerri?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN-FN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: You got to have the financial resolutions for the new year. Start by getting rid of that holiday debt. Americans are going to put -- pay up to $219 billion for holiday gifts. About a third of that will go on their credit cards. And Rick, you know what this means. You're going to be paying for Christmas in July.
To keep from doing that, put down as much money as you can each month on those credit cards. Roll your debt into a low-interest rate card. And even think about just calling your credit card issuer, and asking for a lower rate.
SANCHEZ: Tell our viewers how they can move their finances online and if that can help.
WILLIS: It definitely can help you get control of your finances by moving your account online. It keeps you from paying your bills late. You know how those late fees can add up. And it will deter identity thieves. That's a very scary thing for many people. And if you're able to see your numbers all the time, you're less likely to have a problem.
SANCHEZ: Should we max out our retirement savings?
WILLIS: You bet. And the good news here is that you can put away more next year than ever before in your IRA -- I'm sorry in your 401k. Fourteen thousand as opposed to $13,000 last year, an additional $4,000 this year if you're over 50. And you definitely want to take advantage of that. Retirement comes all too soon. You want to be prepared.
SANCHEZ: Speaking of taking advantage, boy, those interest rates still look pretty darn good. What do we do to take advantage of that?
WILLIS: Well, here's the deal, Rick. Interest rates are expected to rise in 2005. So you'll definitely want to think about how you can take advantage of that. You want to pay off your high rate, credit card debt. Roll over as we said before, into a lower interest rate card. Good places to do that: cardweb.com, bankrate.com will tell you some cards you can use that have very low interest rates.
Also think about saving money because as rates go up, savers make more money in CDs. For right now, if you're moving money into certificates of deposit, think about short-term CDs, because as those rates go up you want to be able to take advantage of them.
SANCHEZ: How about money we don't want to tie up? You know, the old just in case money. The money under the mattress, as they say. How much, and should we?
WILLIS: Well, maybe not the mattress. Maybe a savings account. But you need three to six months of savings online in case there's an emergency. You know how this happens. Something untoward happens. You don't have the money to pay for it. You put it on a credit card. It ends up costing you lots and lots of dough.
Consider instead setting aside some money just for that eventually. The easiest way to do this, Rick, pay it as if it were a bill each and every month. Get that savings started, so if there's a problem you'll be in good shape.
SANCHEZ: Gerri Willis, you're so good at this.
WILLIS: Ah! You're so nice.
SANCHEZ: Thank you. We certainly appreciate it.
WILLIS: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Carol, over to you.
LIN: All right. Well, you guys have been busy. We've been checking the day's top stories and we've got this straight ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Cardinal, did the archdiocese protect the priests over the children?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely not. That was never, never our objective at all. We were operating under the knowledge, and the treatment protocols of the time, doing what we thought was best at the time. We have learned with time that that was simply inadequate. And now we have a zero tolerance policy. And that's the -- that's the way it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Up next a CNN investigation, Drew Griffin takes an in-depth look at the clergy sex abuse scandal rocking the nation's largest Catholic archdiocese.
This is CNN LIVE TODAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired December 10, 2004 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN CO-ANCHOR: Boy, we've got some interesting stories to share with you today. We're going to be keying in on that laser story that you've been hearing about.
And also for those of you watching in California and all over the country, interested in what's going on with the Peterson case, there's a possibility we may be hearing from the jury during the next couple of hours.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. They start their full day of deliberations at 11:00 Eastern. So we'll see what happens. In the meantime, we've got some other news to report to you right now.
We just heard it moments ago; President Bush taps Samuel Bodman to be the next Energy secretary. You might wonder who he is. He's the current Treasury deputy secretary. And if confirmed by the Senate, Bodman would replace Spencer Abraham, who resigned for personal reasons. We're going to have a live report from the White House coming up this hour.
Also, outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge holds a news conference this hour. It is expected to get under way in about 30 minutes at the John J. College of Criminal Justice in New York. We are going to listen in on what the Homeland Security secretary has to say at that event. We're going to bring you any possible parting comments he may have.
And Daimler-Chrysler has been asked to recall 600,000 Dodge trucks made between 2000 and 2003. A government investigation shows the front wheels on some Durango and Dakota trucks could actually fall off, even as the drivers are driving. The automaker has until Monday to respond.
And OPEC ministers agree to cut crude oil production by 1 million barrels a day. At a meeting in Cairo, Egypt member countries say they want to comply with a $27 million barrels a day limit on overall production. Only the Saudi oil minister held back, saying his country would raise or loyal --lower oil production as needed to stabilize those prices. We'll see if that means that our gas prices are going to go down.
And I'm Carol Lin in for Daryn Kagan today.
SANCHEZ: And I'm Rick Sanchez. Good to have you, by the way.
LIN: Good to be here. SANCHEZ: We're going to start this morning with CNN "Security Watch." President Bush has just made his choice for Energy secretary to replace Spencer Abraham.
CNN's Elaine Quijano is at the White House. She's been following this story. In fact, there's a lot of news being made with the president's cabinet, including the possibility we may interrupt Elaine, because we're going to go to John Ashcroft at the Justice Department. So all this as we set the scene for you this morning.
Elaine, get us started.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Rick. A busy day here at the White House, as you mentioned. President Bush, just a short time ago announcing his choice to succeed the outgoing Department of Energy Secretary Abe -- Spencer Abraham rather. That person you see apparently, this not the current -- this is the video -- Samuel Bodman is the president's choice to succeed the outgoing secretary. Here now the video.
He is the Treasury Department's deputy secretary, who formerly was the deputy secretary of the Commerce Department. Now, his background is one of an engineer born in Chicago. He was a professor at MIT and served as a consultant, as well. But during this ceremony a short time ago in the Roosevelt Room, President Bush calling him a problem solver who knows how to set goals and how to reach them.
And the president also laid out one of his main goals for his second term.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And distinguished career in the private sector. Sam has been a professor at MIT, president of an investment firm, the chairman and CEO of an industrial company with operations worldwide. In academics (AUDIO GAP) less dependent on energy from unstable parts of the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: President Bush there articulating one of his main second-term goals. And that is reducing America's dependence on foreign oil. That is a familiar theme, one that we heard throughout the course of the president's re-election campaign.
Now, Rick, taking a look at the bigger picture, what we have now is just one more question mark. That is who will succeed the outgoing Health And Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. That question still very much up in the air. But President Bush working to move quickly to get his second term team in place -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Elaine, let me ask you. On the question of Bernie Kerik and his possible confirmation as our Homeland Security director, there may be some questions, we hear now, with his ties to a company that apparently helped make him very wealthy. Could this be a conflict that could possibly hold up his confirmation? QUIJANO: It is quite possible at this point. Although White House officials are saying that every step is being taken to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest. You're referring to Bernard Kerik's interest in the Taser Corporation that makes those taser stun guns. A company that Mr. Kerik made millions off of. But at this point, White House officials not expressing any kind of jitters publicly about this. Although certainly now, there has been some talk here in Washington that perhaps that could have an impact on his confirmation process.
SANCHEZ: All right. Elaine Quijano following that story for us, we certainly thank you.
Just to let you know, on a programming note that there's a possibility we might take you to the Justice Department, because there may be a farewell there for the outgoing John Ashcroft. Of course, the outgoing man in charge there. So when that happens we'll take you there.
Meantime, Carol to you.
LIN: Yes, we've got some other news. If you're planning on boarding a plane you're going to be really interested in this. There is a new security warning to commercial airlines. Federal authorities advised pilots, terrorists might be trying to use small, handheld lasers to blind them while they are flying planes. The FBI is investigating a September incident, in which a Delta pilot complained a laser hit his eyes during a landing approach in Salt Lake City. That plane did land safely.
Now, lasers are just one of a long list of possible terror tactics. They're also a long list of potential terror targets. In fact it's so big, critics say it's of no practical value. The Department of Homeland Security concedes it is behind schedule in coming up with a comprehensive short list of critical high-risk targets that deserve immediate protection.
Now the inspector general at the Homeland Security Department is out of a job this morning. Clark Kent Ervin, yes, that's his name. His recess appointment expired this week and President Bush hasn't reappointed him. Now, Ervin was critical of what he believed were inappropriate expenditures within the department, like, a big party for the TSA. Throwing parties for yourselves.
All right. Meanwhile, CNN security expert and law enforcement analyst Mike Brooks has been tracking all of these developments this morning. But we want to focus on this laser story, because in our editorial meeting, frankly Mike, I was just like come one. What are the odds that someone is going to go to a novelty store? Get a laser and blind a pilot?
MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, it's not the first time this happened. In fact, back in April of 2001, the FAA put out a report and said there were 150 incidents of hand held laser pointers, the kind we buy at novelty shops. That there were 150 incidents between January of 1996 and July of 1999. Now the laser that was used to temporarily blind the Delta pilot back in September, that -- they believe that was a more powerful laser. In fact, we're all used to seeing the red lasers that people use for presentations, those kinds of things. This was actually a green laser. In fact, you can buy these lasers on the internet. I went on and...
LIN: What are they used for formally?
BROOKS: They can be used for a number of different things. Astronomers use them to point out stars. But everyone thinks of a laser pointer. And in point, they said that those lasers -- even in laser pointers can be harmful.
Now, this plane was en route to Salt Lake City, about five miles out at about 5,000 feet. His retina actually got burned. So this is not new intelligence. The FBI put this out in their weekly bulletin. I call it their weekly vigilance alert; just to let people know that this is possibly could be a tool of terror.
But there is no new intelligence to say that this -- they're planning on bringing down an aircraft. Anything at all like that, especially going into the holiday season.
LIN: Any theories? I mean where would this person literally have to be? I mean outside of the Sat Lake International Airport, they have to be what? On a mountaintop and then the plane is coming in. And how do you aim it so it goes through window?
BROOKS: Well, it could be -- well, usually in this particular case, the laser would hit the windshield and then it was diffracted inside of the cockpit, it would basically lit up the cockpit. And there have been other incidents where pilots -- this has happened where pilots would have actually had to look away, and they were temporarily blinded.
And that could be of concern, especially when you're taking off or landing, especially landing on a plane, if his sight was disrupted for any reason.
LIN: Right. The way that planes are, aren't they on automated systems, right? So how important is it?
BROOKS: Sometimes yes, sometimes no. A lot of times, I was with Delta Airlines Corporate Security for a time before coming with CNN full time. and I used to ride in the cockpit quite a bit. Yes, you can put it on autopilot and land. But many times the pilot as they're coming in will take it off of autopilot and land the plane himself or herself, depending on the conditions they're under.
LIN: All right. We'll see what happens.
BROOKS: We'll see what happens.
LIN: Very strange.
BROOKS: It is very, very strange.
LIN: Thanks, Mike.
BROOKS: Thank you, Carol -- Rick,
SANCHEZ: We have been telling you that there's a possibility we might be going over to the Justice Department, where John Ashcroft is going to be, I suppose, saying his farewells, saying good-bye to some of the employees there and showing his gratitude for the cooperation. As a matter of fact, we hear applause there now. Let's just listen in a little bit.
BEN: Ladies and gentlemen, the deputy attorney general of the United States James Comey.
(APPLAUSE)
JAMES COMEY, U.S. DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Hey, Ben...
(APPLAUSE)
COMEY: Ladies and gentlemen, now that you have sat down, may I ask you please to rise again for the presentation of the colors.
SANCHEZ: Rest of his life in prison without parole.
Once again, we're going to be taking you back to that in just a little bit, as soon as we see Mr. Ashcroft come up to actually speak, we will take you back to that story.
In the meantime, let's go ahead and move on to the story as we had told you at the beginning of this newscast that's taking place out in California. And That is the story about Scott Peterson. Yes, the jury is out. There is a possibility within the next couple of hours that we could hear from this jury. Their decision is simple. They have to decide whether he will live or whether he will die.
CNN's Ted Rowlands has the latest now on the Peterson penalty phase. He's joining us from California.
Ted, over to you.
TED ROWLAND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Rick. The jury will be back deliberating in less than an hour out here in Redwood City, California. Yesterday, they had two hours of deliberation before going back to their hotel room where they were sequestered.
Before they got the case they heard very passionate pleas from both sides.
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ROWLAND (voice-over): His life, a subdued Mark Geragos begged jurors to, quote, "End this cycle now. There's no reason to put him to death." Geragos went on to say that when all is said and done, putting Peterson to death wouldn't bring Laci back, and wouldn't be closure to her mother and the rest of her family, saying, quote," I think it will haunt them." Geragos argued that any lingering doubt in jurors' minds is enough to spare Scott Peterson's life.
The prosecution spent just under an hour trying to convince the jury of the opposite, that death is the punishment Peterson deserves. Saying for 116 days Peterson let his wife's body rot in the water, while her family wondered where she was.
Standing next to the defendant, prosecutor Dave Harris pointed and said that if people are concerned about what effect a death sentence would have on Peterson's family, quote, "He's the one who's responsible." Harris played a clip of Peterson crying on "Good Morning America," saying he was a liar playing the part of a grieving husband. Then Harris showed photos of Peterson smiling at a vigil for his missing wife, and played a recording of a call he made that night to girlfriend Amber Frey.
In the end, Harris said Scott Peterson is the worst of the worst, a manipulative liar who deserves to die.
Attorney Mark Geragos buried his head in his hands and Peterson family members wept openly, as the judge read final instructions to the jury that must decide whether Scott Peterson will live or die.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLAND: And this is the same jury that found Peterson guilty of first-degree murder and guilty of second-degree murder for the death of his child. Like the guilt phase, it has to be unanimous in the penalty phase 12-0 either way; otherwise the jury would be hung -- Rick.
Ted Rowland following that story for us. Obviously, if we get any word we'd get back to you, Ted. And we thank you -- Carol.
LIN: We're also following that story about the soldier's questioning of Donald Rumsfeld, which has raised a lot of issues about armored vehicles and whether soldiers are protected in Iraq. That controversy started with a reporter actually coaching some of the soldiers to ask those questions. We've got more on that story.
SANCHEZ: Also some New Year's financial resolutions that will help. Well, help you keep some change in your pocketbook, shall we say?
And then this...
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DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: All of these people were known to the archdiocese and many known to Cardinal Mahoney, as well, as having a problem with sexually molesting. And yet I can't think of one of those cases where the cardinal or the archdiocese came to the police and basically turned them in. Is that correct?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the record speaks for itself. (END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: Drew Griffin on this problem, the pain and the alleged cover-up in the nation's largest Catholic community. We will take you there. This will be a CNN investigative report. And you're watching CNN LIVE TODAY.
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NARRATOR: In the five years since he's been there, WIPRO Technologies has grown from $150 million in revenue to more than $1 billion. Just one reason why CEO Vivek Paul is the highest paid executive in India. An Indian-born American citizen, Paul has been a major advocate for the company's outsourcing practices, despite recent criticism from political campaigns. Paul says until U.S. universities make themselves more attractive to Indian engineering students, outsourcing is the only solution.
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LIN: A bit of a mystery resolved so far. A Marine corporal who went missing in Iraq, was seen in a hostage video and later turned up a free man, is being charged with desertion. Corporal Wassef Ali Hassoun originally said he was abducted. But when he last spoke to military investigators in September, he refused to disclose details about his disappearance.
Well, last month several personal items of Hassoun's were found in a building in Falluja. And a source close to the case said Hassoun's uniform was in remarkably good shape.
SANCHEZ: It was a question heard around the world. A soldier's tough query. Putting the secretary of Defense on the defensive. It turns out there was a little more to that exchange now that the soldier is just complaining about equipment.
CNN's senior Pentagon correspondent Jamie McIntyre puts this one together for us.
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JAIME MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As questions go, this one was loaded.
SPC. THOMAS WILSON, 278-REGIMENTAL COMBAT TEAM: Now, why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up armor our vehicles?
MCINTYRE: And Rumsfeld answer was, as he himself might say, inelegant.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: You know, you go to war with the army you have, and not the army you might want. MCINTYRE: That response was called "cruel and callus" by Senator Edward Kennedy, who claimed the exchange showed that frustration of the troops had finally boiled over. And that they were, quote, "obviously fed up with Rumsfeld."
Now it turns out, the question read by Specialist Thomas Wilson was planted by a newspaper reporter. According to his e-mail, to the staff of the "Chattanooga Times Free Press," posted on the journalism website ponyteronline. In the e-mail military reporter Lee Pitts crows, "I just had one of my best days as a journalist." Pitts says that after learning "only solders could ask questions," he, "brought two along, as escorts. Beforehand we worked on questions to ask Rumsfeld," he writes. And says, "I found the sergeant in charge and made sure he knew to get my guys."
The Pentagon says it's not investigating the incident, and everyone from the president on down agrees it's a legitimate question.
BUSH: If I were a soldier overseas wanting to defend my country, I'd want to ask the secretary of Defense the same question. And that is, are we getting the best we can get us? And they deserve the best.
MCINTYRE: But the complaint that troops don't have the best has put the Pentagon on the defensive. And in an effort at damage control, it quickly arranged a video Link for a Three-Star general in Kuwait to brief reporters at the Pentagon.
LT. GEN. STEVEN WHITCOMB, CMDR., THIRD U.S. ARMY: Well, we're not looking at this point for our kits our steel plating to fabricate the level three kits, or the personnel to apply those kits. Our goal and what we're working for is that no wheeled vehicle, that leaves Kuwait going into Iraq, is driven by a soldier that does not have some level of armor protection on it.
MCINTYRE (on camera): The publisher and executive editor of the "Chattanooga Times Free Press" told CNN, the question was legitimate. And that he's supportive of how his reporter managed to get it asked.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LIN: All right, coming up, John Ashcroft live, saying farewell to his employees. We are monitoring for news. We'll be right back.
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SANCHEZ: Welcome back, everybody.
Here's the time when we get an opportunity to actually help you. How do you control your finances during the holidays? Not an easy thing to do, we know.
But Gerri Willis our CNN personal financial editor is here and she is going to certainly help us out with this one.
Where do we start -- Gerri?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN-FN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: You got to have the financial resolutions for the new year. Start by getting rid of that holiday debt. Americans are going to put -- pay up to $219 billion for holiday gifts. About a third of that will go on their credit cards. And Rick, you know what this means. You're going to be paying for Christmas in July.
To keep from doing that, put down as much money as you can each month on those credit cards. Roll your debt into a low-interest rate card. And even think about just calling your credit card issuer, and asking for a lower rate.
SANCHEZ: Tell our viewers how they can move their finances online and if that can help.
WILLIS: It definitely can help you get control of your finances by moving your account online. It keeps you from paying your bills late. You know how those late fees can add up. And it will deter identity thieves. That's a very scary thing for many people. And if you're able to see your numbers all the time, you're less likely to have a problem.
SANCHEZ: Should we max out our retirement savings?
WILLIS: You bet. And the good news here is that you can put away more next year than ever before in your IRA -- I'm sorry in your 401k. Fourteen thousand as opposed to $13,000 last year, an additional $4,000 this year if you're over 50. And you definitely want to take advantage of that. Retirement comes all too soon. You want to be prepared.
SANCHEZ: Speaking of taking advantage, boy, those interest rates still look pretty darn good. What do we do to take advantage of that?
WILLIS: Well, here's the deal, Rick. Interest rates are expected to rise in 2005. So you'll definitely want to think about how you can take advantage of that. You want to pay off your high rate, credit card debt. Roll over as we said before, into a lower interest rate card. Good places to do that: cardweb.com, bankrate.com will tell you some cards you can use that have very low interest rates.
Also think about saving money because as rates go up, savers make more money in CDs. For right now, if you're moving money into certificates of deposit, think about short-term CDs, because as those rates go up you want to be able to take advantage of them.
SANCHEZ: How about money we don't want to tie up? You know, the old just in case money. The money under the mattress, as they say. How much, and should we?
WILLIS: Well, maybe not the mattress. Maybe a savings account. But you need three to six months of savings online in case there's an emergency. You know how this happens. Something untoward happens. You don't have the money to pay for it. You put it on a credit card. It ends up costing you lots and lots of dough.
Consider instead setting aside some money just for that eventually. The easiest way to do this, Rick, pay it as if it were a bill each and every month. Get that savings started, so if there's a problem you'll be in good shape.
SANCHEZ: Gerri Willis, you're so good at this.
WILLIS: Ah! You're so nice.
SANCHEZ: Thank you. We certainly appreciate it.
WILLIS: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Carol, over to you.
LIN: All right. Well, you guys have been busy. We've been checking the day's top stories and we've got this straight ahead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Cardinal, did the archdiocese protect the priests over the children?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely not. That was never, never our objective at all. We were operating under the knowledge, and the treatment protocols of the time, doing what we thought was best at the time. We have learned with time that that was simply inadequate. And now we have a zero tolerance policy. And that's the -- that's the way it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LIN: Up next a CNN investigation, Drew Griffin takes an in-depth look at the clergy sex abuse scandal rocking the nation's largest Catholic archdiocese.
This is CNN LIVE TODAY.
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