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CNN Live At Daybreak

Baby Rescue; Graner Court-Martial; 'America's Voice'; Money for College

Aired January 11, 2005 - 06:28   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.


KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. And welcome to the last half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Kelly Wallace, in today for Carol Costello.
"Now in the News."

Iraq's police force is once again targeted. Today's car bomb attack was in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown. At least six police officers were killed, five more were wounded.

A Medivac helicopter has crashed into the Potomac River in Washington. It happened just about seven hours ago. One person was killed, another was rescued. Police are searching a river for a third person.

The northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Johnston County, North Carolina, will remain closed this morning. Crews are trying to repair damage made by a diesel tanker that flipped over and caught fire. The driver was killed.

And in Southern California a frightening scene. A hillside gives way after five days of torrential rain. Three people are dead, 12 others are missing.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WALLACE: Well, you have been seeing the images this morning of the amazing rescue of an infant boy from the raging California floodwaters. He is safe now after not one but two rescues, both caught on camera.

A look now at the team effort to save him through the lens of our CNN affiliate KTLA and their reporter on the scene, Ted Garcia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED GARCIA, CNN AFFILIATE KTLA REPORTER: If you're not familiar with this area, there are a number of cabins on San Dimas Canyon, up in the Angeles National Forest.

Now, we've been here for the fires, now for the rain. One family in one of those cabins got caught off guard. Even though they were urged to evacuate a few days ago, they decided to stay. The water level began to rise. They called 911. They were in trouble. Then the dramatic rescue.

Now, the video you're about to see is frightening, but keep in mind, everything turns out OK.

GARCIA (voice over): Sheriff's deputies and firefighters were in the area of the 9400 block of North San Dimas Canyon, evacuating cabins when they got a 911 call from someone. A family -- a mom, dad, toddler and baby -- needed to be rescued. The water was rising fast.

Swift water rescue teams came out. First in the life raft was the baby, a 2-month-old boy, and a rescuer. Things were going well until the raft flipped over. The baby and the rescuer were thrown into the torrent of water. Fortunately, another rescuer jumped in, grabbed both the baby and the rescuer. They managed to get to the shallow part of the water and get the baby to safety.

The put the boy into an ambulance and off to a local hospital. He'll be OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her and the baby were again taken under, and I was trying to yell at her as she was moving downstream, 'Hold the baby up, hold the baby up.' And every time I would say that she would actually listen, and she would try to get the baby up. But it was quite hard for her.

GARCIA (on camera): All right. So, the baby's temperature, we're told, dropped below 90 degrees, but the little boy, the little baby boy is OK. So is the mom.

Now, an interesting note about the father. The sheriff's department is telling us that he became belligerent right before the rescue and actually physically attacked two firefighters, but no charges have been filed. And apparently he is still in the cabin with his 18-month-old daughter.

And, again, officials are urging everybody here to evacuate. But apparently he is still here with his toddler.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: An unbelievable story there. And that was Ted Garcia from our Los Angeles affiliate KTLA.

Well, CNN will have continuing coverage as the sun rises and rescue operations resume in California.

CNN's Soledad O'Brien joins us now from her office in New York with a look at the coverage ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING."

And, Soledad, I bet you guys are going to be all over this story coming up.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: No, question, as you have been, Kelly. Can you believe this stuff we are seeing out of California? We've got another story for you, another rescue story to tell you about. A guy gets caught in a delay caused by the mudslides for about six hours. It makes him late getting home.

And just as he gets home, he hears another mudslide coming in his own neighborhood. He jumps out his door and manages to rescue two people who are trapped in the debris just around the corner from his own house. We've got his story today.

Luckily, he's an emergency room nurse, and so he was able to provide care to them, saving their lives. We've got his story. It's pretty dramatic. That's coming up this morning on "AMERICAN MORNING." And even more stories like some we're hearing out of these areas today -- Kelly.

WALLACE: They are just incredible, Soledad. And those pictures, all of it captured on videotape.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it's amazing.

WALLACE: OK, Soledad, we'll see you in about 25 minutes. Thanks so much.

O'BRIEN: All right, we'll see you then.

WALLACE: Attorneys for Specialist Charles Graner say he was just following orders, but the prosecution in his court-martial contend he was calling the shots at Abu Ghraib prison.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPEC. CHARLES GRANER, U.S. ARMY: We're going to find out much monster I am today, and we're going to go play the alligators.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: And for more on the proverbial monsters and alligators, we turn to CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti, who joins us from Fort Hood, Texas, where it is early there.

Susan -- thanks for being with us. We saw in your story earlier on DAYBREAK you caught up with Charles Graner. What is his feeling? Does he seem somewhat optimistic about his chances at this trial?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kelly.

Yes, he does, despite very stinging testimony that started -- the court-martial began yesterday. Specialist Graner says he's pleased with how things are going. And, in fact, he thinks they're going better than expected. When I asked him what he meant by that, he just pointed to his heart and said, "In my heart that's how I feel."

But, really, he had to endure some very extreme testimony from two fellow guards who have since pleaded guilty, who testified that they saw him punch detainees in the head, pile up naked prisoners into a pyramid, and have them pose as if they were performing sexual acts.

WALLACE: And, Susan, of course, we had opening statements yesterday from the prosecution and the defense. Give us a sense of the defense's argument, saying Graner was just following orders, but also saying that he was doing things that other people do every day. What did his defense lawyers mean by that?

CANDIOTTI: Right. His defense lawyers have maintained, as has Specialist Graner all along, that these things might look bad to you and other people, but after all, they insist that they were following orders from military intelligence to soften up prisoners for interrogation. In fact, his defense lawyer has used this comparison before, saying piling up prisoners into a human pyramid is not unlike what cheerleaders would do.

Now, this seems to be an extreme comparison, but the defense attorney says, well, in other words, I'm not suggesting that cheerleaders would be posing naked or have sandbags over their heads, but he insists that, after all, these detainees were not being hurt by this, by piling them into a pyramid for example; that instead this is a way to control prisoners, simply a technique.

WALLACE: And, Susan, we know, of course, the prosecution is now in the midst of presenting its case. Take us inside the courtroom. What is the mood like there?

CANDIOTTI: Well, it's very professional, as you can imagine. Certainly as compared to a civilian trial, this is moving very quickly, very controlled, oftentimes short, curt answers. Unlike a civilian trial sometimes when evidence is presented, it doesn't necessarily mean the public will be able to see it afterwards. There are different rules to procedure.

And, of course, here you have a military panel, a jury of his peers. You've got six non-commissioned officers and four officers, who are deciding his fate.

WALLACE: All right, Susan Candiotti reporting with us from Fort Hood, Texas. Thanks again for getting up bright and early for us about this trial. We appreciate it.

And in just a minute here, we will look at how Americans view Graner's trial. But first, Frank Newpert (ph) -- Newport, excuse me, editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll. He has a lot to talk about.

And first, Frank, we want to talk about President Bush's approval rating. What are you finding?

FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Well, we asked about approval, Kelly, overall, which is now 52 percent, and also approval for George W. Bush in a variety of different areas. It's quite interesting. There's quite a bit of variance in how Americans look at the job the president is doing.

Fifty-eight percent say he's doing a good job handling terrorism. The economy right at about 50 percent. And then you can see the numbers go down from there. Taxes. Iraq only 42 percent, which is significant. And then Social Security, 41 percent. That's significant as well, because that's one of the key issues on Bush's legislative agenda going into his second term.

By the way, we have approval ratings on a couple of members of his cabinet. Dick Cheney, the vice president, is doing about the same as Bush, 50 percent approval for Dick Cheney. Look at Rumsfeld, Kelly, 48 percent. That's up from 41 percent in December right after the Abu Ghraib -- excuse me -- after his press conference, I should say, where he didn't perform as well in responding to those questions about armoring vehicles. But it's back up now to 48 percent for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

WALLACE: And, Frank, another member of the cabinet, Secretary of State Colin Powell, who was briefing President Bush yesterday about what he saw when it comes to the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia. What numbers are you picking up from the American public about how they feel the Bush administration is handling this crisis?

NEWPORT: Very positive, Kelly. We asked actually three different questions about U.S. aid to the tsunami victims, and every one of them were very positive. Here's just the basic question: Do you approve or disapprove of how the Bush administration has responded? Seventy-five percent say they approve.

WALLACE: And also, you, I know, are looking at new numbers concerning the situation in Iraq, particularly how do Americans feel about the upcoming elections on January 30 about what might happen on the ground there.

NEWPORT: Well, it's pessimistic, I have to say. Overall, a majority of Americans say things are going badly in Iraq. And we said over the next year -- this is a key question -- how likely is it that peace and security will be established in Iraq? That's on the left- hand side there. Look at how pessimistic those numbers are. Over 7 out of 10 Americans say it is unlikely.

On the right-hand side, if the election coming up January 30 goes off as planned, will there be democracy established in Iraq over the next year? Well, a little more positive, but it's still less than half. Just 47 percent of Americans say they believe democracy will be established in that country.

WALLACE: And, Frank, wrapping up with what we were talking to Susan Candiotti about, the Abu Ghraib prisoner scandal. Are people paying as close attention to this as they did when it unfolded last year?

NEWPORT: Well, they are paying attention. And we asked if the rest of the world was paying attention. We said, as a result of the allegations and the video of the torture, do you think the image of the U.S. as a nation, which supports civil liberties -- and that's how phrased the question -- has been damaged? And here are the results. Sixty-seven percent say at least a moderate amount. Thirty-seven percent say a great deal.

So, Americans clearly, Kelly, believe that all of this visibility with that scandal is hurting the image of the country, at least to a moderate degree.

WALLACE: Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll, nice to talk to you on this Tuesday morning. Thanks for being here. NEWPORT: My pleasure.

WALLACE: Up next here on DAYBREAK, are you trading your beer for a martini? You aren't alone. And it's giving the beer companies a hangover.

Plus, we'll tell you how to get more cash for college later on DAYBREAK.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning, January 11.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And now for a little business buzz, and this might come as a surprise to some of us that beer may be losing its popularity. That's right.

Carrie Lee joins us from the Nasdaq Marketsite with the -- quote -- "sobering report."

Good morning -- Carrie.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kelly.

A lot of people seem to be getting bored with beer. This is a trend that's been happening since the 1990s. Since then, wines and distilled spirits are gaining a bigger share of the alcoholic beverage market at the expense of beer.

One analyst even goes as far as to say there's an image crisis with beer.

A couple of things are happening. First of all, appealing to young consumers. That's what wine and distilled spirits companies are doing. Aging Baby Boomers are also buying more wine and spirits.

And according to "Beer Marketers insights" -- this is a trade publication -- they estimate the beer accounted for 59.5 percent of the alcohol content sold in its peak year back in 1995. But in 2003, that dropped to just 56.7 percent. So, people really are changing their drinking tastes. Perhaps the low-carb craze had something to do with this as well.

So that is the latest on the alcoholic trends going on in this country.

Turning to the markets, futures are looking pretty weak for today's session. So, we could see some selling.

Aluminum giant Alcoa out with profits that missed the Wall Street estimate last night. That stock lost a little bit of ground. Tonight, we'll hear from chip giant Intel. It's big competitor, Advanced Micro Devices, warned last night on fourth quarter sales. So, it could be a warning sign for Intel's numbers tonight. Kelly -- that's the latest. Back to you.

WALLACE: Carrie, as you talked about an image crisis for beer, I couldn't help think that, you know, politicians have an image crisis. Beer, it is so -- what is the world coming to, right?

LEE: Well, you know, it's interesting, because you see all of those very hip vodka ads and all of these things.

WALLACE: Yes.

LEE: And beer is kind of, you know, the same product it's been year in and year out. So, who knows?

WALLACE: Yes.

LEE: Maybe they'll revamp their ad campaign as well.

WALLACE: Oh, we'll be watching. OK, Carrie Lee, thanks so much. Have a great day.

LEE: You, too.

WALLACE: Well, with less than a week and a half to go, security forces are working to make sure President Bush's inauguration goes off next week without a hitch. And that is one of the stories you will get on "AMERICAN MORNING" this morning.

Let's check in now with CNN's Bill Hemmer.

Good morning -- Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Kelly. Good morning to you.

You're right. Inauguration is a week from Thursday in D.C. It's the first since 9/11, which means incredible security measures are in place there. You might remember what happened four years ago. We are told it will be much more intense now in 2004 (sic). Cameras are all over this city, new gadgets now in place to deal with a possible chemical attack.

And also this question, Kelly: What do police there think is the most likely security threat? We'll put that question to Capitol Police Chief Terrence Gainer live in D.C., part of our program this morning.

See you in about 13 minutes now on a Tuesday -- Kelly.

WALLACE: All right, Bill, I was talking to someone else shortly, a little bit ago, unprecedented security. Someone described the new commander center as almost like the set of a "Star Wars" movie, it's so high-tech.

HEMMER: Wow! And that parade route is going to be locked down from the Capitol Building down to the White House. So, we'll see what we can find out this morning about the changes now four years later. WALLACE: Look forward to that.

HEMMER: OK.

WALLACE: See you soon. Thanks, Bill.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's about 47 minutes after the hour, and here's what is all new this morning.

Twelve people are still missing after a mudslide crushed 15 homes near San Francisco. At least three people are dead. Search and rescue efforts are expected to resume later this morning. They were suspended last night due to bad weather.

CBS fires a news producer and asked three network executives to step down. That's the latest chapter in the fallout over the now- disputed "60 Minutes" report on President Bush's National Guard service.

In money, oil prices are steady, about $45 a barrel this morning. Traders, though, are concerned about colder weather in the Eastern United States and global supply disruptions.

In culture, Florida's Gulf Coast is getting its own Trump Tower. Developer Donald Trump is building a $220 million high-rise in Tampa, Florida. It will be the tallest residential building on the Gulf, and you'll only have to shell out between $700,000 to $5.5 million to live in it.

In sports, the antics of Randy Moss in Green Bay have the NFL considering a fine. Moss made like he was mooning the fans, and that has upset some folks.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WALLACE: Much more ahead on the final minutes of CNN's DAYBREAK. We'll be right back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: And we have been talking this morning about getting financial aid for college. DAYBREAK contributor Ali Velshi is here. Important information.

So, we talked last hour. If you fill out the forms...

ALI VELSHI, CNN DAYBREAK CONTRIBUTOR: Fill out the forms and get them in. The sticker shock of the price of college is what gets most people. In many cases, it's your second biggest expense after your home, your child's education. That's if you've got one. If you've got a brood you've got problems.

But in many cases it's actually the biggest expense people have, and they're very shocked. When they see the amount they have to pay for college, people get shocked. And then what happens is you send this FASFA form in, and the colleges that you're child has been accepted to send you offers. Those offers -- when you get your offers you're going to get what's called an expected family contribution, an EFC.

Now, the EFC remains constant theoretically regardless of where you go, because that is what has been determined to be the amount of money that your family can afford to pay for your education. That's you, your parents, your children, whoever it is, a combined -- the number.

So, let's say your expected family contribution is $8,000 or $10,000. That's going to be the same whether your kid is going to the state college or going to Harvard. What happens is the colleges than put a package together that involves work study, bursaries, loans, scholarships, whatever the case may be.

You can kind of negotiate. There are lots of college financial aid offices that say -- you know, go back to them, say, look, I really want to go this school, but I can't seem to make the numbers work. Can we do something else? Sometimes they can add a few things and make it a little easier on the parents.

The thing that people should worry about, they should consider, parents, is that don't get alarmed by the fact that you haven't saved enough money for your child's entire college education, and that you're going to have to go for loans. Loans are available. And if you don't get enough money, you can go for one of these federal loans, the Stafford loans or the Plus loans that are not need-based.

So, if you think your parents made too much money, you can still get these loans.

WALLACE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) interesting you said, because people don't always think about it. They think, you know, Ivy League colleges are so expensive. State school is cheaper. They'll get more aid for their state school, but...

VELSHI: Not necessarily true. Yes. A lot of the Ivy League colleges have big trust funds and the ability to pay for students who they want as their students. So, people shouldn't be too worried about this.

The other thing that we get a lot of is people saying, should I take out of my retirement fund to pay for my kid's education? No! You can't get a loan for retirement.

WALLACE: Also, if you come back, you know, if you come back and you don't get as much you want, you say you can go back to the school. But what if you come back and they say sorry, Charlie, you're not getting anything, what can you do?

VELSHI: Let the child take on loans. Even though that is the beginning of debt in people's lives, it is a good debt. If you're going to have debt, college loan debt is not bad. It's OK if the child has to take loans to get through college. That's the way the system works. But loans will be available.

There are also -- and I'll come back and talk about this another time -- there are some very creative scholarships out there. There are ways to get your child through school. Not to lose hope, but don't take out of your retirement to do it.

WALLACE: Important information, because what a pressure for families.

VELSHI: Absolutely, it's huge.

WALLACE: Costs are escalating. All right, Ali Velshi, it's great to see you.

VELSHI: Thank you, Kelly.

WALLACE: Thanks so much.

This is DAYBREAK for a Tuesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WALLACE: Coming up tomorrow on DAYBREAK a series you won't want to miss. Our five-part weight loss series continues. Registered dietitian Lisa Drayer joins us with a crash course on her profession for those of you who think a trip to the nutritionist could help you lose weight.

And on behalf of Chad Myers and everyone here at DAYBREAK, thanks so much for watching. From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Kelly Wallace in for Carol Costello. The news continues with "AMERICAN MORNING" right now.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.


Aired January 11, 2005 - 06:28   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. And welcome to the last half-hour of DAYBREAK. From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Kelly Wallace, in today for Carol Costello.
"Now in the News."

Iraq's police force is once again targeted. Today's car bomb attack was in Tikrit, Saddam Hussein's hometown. At least six police officers were killed, five more were wounded.

A Medivac helicopter has crashed into the Potomac River in Washington. It happened just about seven hours ago. One person was killed, another was rescued. Police are searching a river for a third person.

The northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in Johnston County, North Carolina, will remain closed this morning. Crews are trying to repair damage made by a diesel tanker that flipped over and caught fire. The driver was killed.

And in Southern California a frightening scene. A hillside gives way after five days of torrential rain. Three people are dead, 12 others are missing.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WALLACE: Well, you have been seeing the images this morning of the amazing rescue of an infant boy from the raging California floodwaters. He is safe now after not one but two rescues, both caught on camera.

A look now at the team effort to save him through the lens of our CNN affiliate KTLA and their reporter on the scene, Ted Garcia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED GARCIA, CNN AFFILIATE KTLA REPORTER: If you're not familiar with this area, there are a number of cabins on San Dimas Canyon, up in the Angeles National Forest.

Now, we've been here for the fires, now for the rain. One family in one of those cabins got caught off guard. Even though they were urged to evacuate a few days ago, they decided to stay. The water level began to rise. They called 911. They were in trouble. Then the dramatic rescue.

Now, the video you're about to see is frightening, but keep in mind, everything turns out OK.

GARCIA (voice over): Sheriff's deputies and firefighters were in the area of the 9400 block of North San Dimas Canyon, evacuating cabins when they got a 911 call from someone. A family -- a mom, dad, toddler and baby -- needed to be rescued. The water was rising fast.

Swift water rescue teams came out. First in the life raft was the baby, a 2-month-old boy, and a rescuer. Things were going well until the raft flipped over. The baby and the rescuer were thrown into the torrent of water. Fortunately, another rescuer jumped in, grabbed both the baby and the rescuer. They managed to get to the shallow part of the water and get the baby to safety.

The put the boy into an ambulance and off to a local hospital. He'll be OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her and the baby were again taken under, and I was trying to yell at her as she was moving downstream, 'Hold the baby up, hold the baby up.' And every time I would say that she would actually listen, and she would try to get the baby up. But it was quite hard for her.

GARCIA (on camera): All right. So, the baby's temperature, we're told, dropped below 90 degrees, but the little boy, the little baby boy is OK. So is the mom.

Now, an interesting note about the father. The sheriff's department is telling us that he became belligerent right before the rescue and actually physically attacked two firefighters, but no charges have been filed. And apparently he is still in the cabin with his 18-month-old daughter.

And, again, officials are urging everybody here to evacuate. But apparently he is still here with his toddler.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: An unbelievable story there. And that was Ted Garcia from our Los Angeles affiliate KTLA.

Well, CNN will have continuing coverage as the sun rises and rescue operations resume in California.

CNN's Soledad O'Brien joins us now from her office in New York with a look at the coverage ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING."

And, Soledad, I bet you guys are going to be all over this story coming up.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: No, question, as you have been, Kelly. Can you believe this stuff we are seeing out of California? We've got another story for you, another rescue story to tell you about. A guy gets caught in a delay caused by the mudslides for about six hours. It makes him late getting home.

And just as he gets home, he hears another mudslide coming in his own neighborhood. He jumps out his door and manages to rescue two people who are trapped in the debris just around the corner from his own house. We've got his story today.

Luckily, he's an emergency room nurse, and so he was able to provide care to them, saving their lives. We've got his story. It's pretty dramatic. That's coming up this morning on "AMERICAN MORNING." And even more stories like some we're hearing out of these areas today -- Kelly.

WALLACE: They are just incredible, Soledad. And those pictures, all of it captured on videotape.

O'BRIEN: Yes, it's amazing.

WALLACE: OK, Soledad, we'll see you in about 25 minutes. Thanks so much.

O'BRIEN: All right, we'll see you then.

WALLACE: Attorneys for Specialist Charles Graner say he was just following orders, but the prosecution in his court-martial contend he was calling the shots at Abu Ghraib prison.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SPEC. CHARLES GRANER, U.S. ARMY: We're going to find out much monster I am today, and we're going to go play the alligators.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: And for more on the proverbial monsters and alligators, we turn to CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti, who joins us from Fort Hood, Texas, where it is early there.

Susan -- thanks for being with us. We saw in your story earlier on DAYBREAK you caught up with Charles Graner. What is his feeling? Does he seem somewhat optimistic about his chances at this trial?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kelly.

Yes, he does, despite very stinging testimony that started -- the court-martial began yesterday. Specialist Graner says he's pleased with how things are going. And, in fact, he thinks they're going better than expected. When I asked him what he meant by that, he just pointed to his heart and said, "In my heart that's how I feel."

But, really, he had to endure some very extreme testimony from two fellow guards who have since pleaded guilty, who testified that they saw him punch detainees in the head, pile up naked prisoners into a pyramid, and have them pose as if they were performing sexual acts.

WALLACE: And, Susan, of course, we had opening statements yesterday from the prosecution and the defense. Give us a sense of the defense's argument, saying Graner was just following orders, but also saying that he was doing things that other people do every day. What did his defense lawyers mean by that?

CANDIOTTI: Right. His defense lawyers have maintained, as has Specialist Graner all along, that these things might look bad to you and other people, but after all, they insist that they were following orders from military intelligence to soften up prisoners for interrogation. In fact, his defense lawyer has used this comparison before, saying piling up prisoners into a human pyramid is not unlike what cheerleaders would do.

Now, this seems to be an extreme comparison, but the defense attorney says, well, in other words, I'm not suggesting that cheerleaders would be posing naked or have sandbags over their heads, but he insists that, after all, these detainees were not being hurt by this, by piling them into a pyramid for example; that instead this is a way to control prisoners, simply a technique.

WALLACE: And, Susan, we know, of course, the prosecution is now in the midst of presenting its case. Take us inside the courtroom. What is the mood like there?

CANDIOTTI: Well, it's very professional, as you can imagine. Certainly as compared to a civilian trial, this is moving very quickly, very controlled, oftentimes short, curt answers. Unlike a civilian trial sometimes when evidence is presented, it doesn't necessarily mean the public will be able to see it afterwards. There are different rules to procedure.

And, of course, here you have a military panel, a jury of his peers. You've got six non-commissioned officers and four officers, who are deciding his fate.

WALLACE: All right, Susan Candiotti reporting with us from Fort Hood, Texas. Thanks again for getting up bright and early for us about this trial. We appreciate it.

And in just a minute here, we will look at how Americans view Graner's trial. But first, Frank Newpert (ph) -- Newport, excuse me, editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll. He has a lot to talk about.

And first, Frank, we want to talk about President Bush's approval rating. What are you finding?

FRANK NEWPORT, GALLUP POLL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Well, we asked about approval, Kelly, overall, which is now 52 percent, and also approval for George W. Bush in a variety of different areas. It's quite interesting. There's quite a bit of variance in how Americans look at the job the president is doing.

Fifty-eight percent say he's doing a good job handling terrorism. The economy right at about 50 percent. And then you can see the numbers go down from there. Taxes. Iraq only 42 percent, which is significant. And then Social Security, 41 percent. That's significant as well, because that's one of the key issues on Bush's legislative agenda going into his second term.

By the way, we have approval ratings on a couple of members of his cabinet. Dick Cheney, the vice president, is doing about the same as Bush, 50 percent approval for Dick Cheney. Look at Rumsfeld, Kelly, 48 percent. That's up from 41 percent in December right after the Abu Ghraib -- excuse me -- after his press conference, I should say, where he didn't perform as well in responding to those questions about armoring vehicles. But it's back up now to 48 percent for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

WALLACE: And, Frank, another member of the cabinet, Secretary of State Colin Powell, who was briefing President Bush yesterday about what he saw when it comes to the tsunami disaster in Southeast Asia. What numbers are you picking up from the American public about how they feel the Bush administration is handling this crisis?

NEWPORT: Very positive, Kelly. We asked actually three different questions about U.S. aid to the tsunami victims, and every one of them were very positive. Here's just the basic question: Do you approve or disapprove of how the Bush administration has responded? Seventy-five percent say they approve.

WALLACE: And also, you, I know, are looking at new numbers concerning the situation in Iraq, particularly how do Americans feel about the upcoming elections on January 30 about what might happen on the ground there.

NEWPORT: Well, it's pessimistic, I have to say. Overall, a majority of Americans say things are going badly in Iraq. And we said over the next year -- this is a key question -- how likely is it that peace and security will be established in Iraq? That's on the left- hand side there. Look at how pessimistic those numbers are. Over 7 out of 10 Americans say it is unlikely.

On the right-hand side, if the election coming up January 30 goes off as planned, will there be democracy established in Iraq over the next year? Well, a little more positive, but it's still less than half. Just 47 percent of Americans say they believe democracy will be established in that country.

WALLACE: And, Frank, wrapping up with what we were talking to Susan Candiotti about, the Abu Ghraib prisoner scandal. Are people paying as close attention to this as they did when it unfolded last year?

NEWPORT: Well, they are paying attention. And we asked if the rest of the world was paying attention. We said, as a result of the allegations and the video of the torture, do you think the image of the U.S. as a nation, which supports civil liberties -- and that's how phrased the question -- has been damaged? And here are the results. Sixty-seven percent say at least a moderate amount. Thirty-seven percent say a great deal.

So, Americans clearly, Kelly, believe that all of this visibility with that scandal is hurting the image of the country, at least to a moderate degree.

WALLACE: Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of the Gallup Poll, nice to talk to you on this Tuesday morning. Thanks for being here. NEWPORT: My pleasure.

WALLACE: Up next here on DAYBREAK, are you trading your beer for a martini? You aren't alone. And it's giving the beer companies a hangover.

Plus, we'll tell you how to get more cash for college later on DAYBREAK.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Tuesday morning, January 11.

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WALLACE: And now for a little business buzz, and this might come as a surprise to some of us that beer may be losing its popularity. That's right.

Carrie Lee joins us from the Nasdaq Marketsite with the -- quote -- "sobering report."

Good morning -- Carrie.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kelly.

A lot of people seem to be getting bored with beer. This is a trend that's been happening since the 1990s. Since then, wines and distilled spirits are gaining a bigger share of the alcoholic beverage market at the expense of beer.

One analyst even goes as far as to say there's an image crisis with beer.

A couple of things are happening. First of all, appealing to young consumers. That's what wine and distilled spirits companies are doing. Aging Baby Boomers are also buying more wine and spirits.

And according to "Beer Marketers insights" -- this is a trade publication -- they estimate the beer accounted for 59.5 percent of the alcohol content sold in its peak year back in 1995. But in 2003, that dropped to just 56.7 percent. So, people really are changing their drinking tastes. Perhaps the low-carb craze had something to do with this as well.

So that is the latest on the alcoholic trends going on in this country.

Turning to the markets, futures are looking pretty weak for today's session. So, we could see some selling.

Aluminum giant Alcoa out with profits that missed the Wall Street estimate last night. That stock lost a little bit of ground. Tonight, we'll hear from chip giant Intel. It's big competitor, Advanced Micro Devices, warned last night on fourth quarter sales. So, it could be a warning sign for Intel's numbers tonight. Kelly -- that's the latest. Back to you.

WALLACE: Carrie, as you talked about an image crisis for beer, I couldn't help think that, you know, politicians have an image crisis. Beer, it is so -- what is the world coming to, right?

LEE: Well, you know, it's interesting, because you see all of those very hip vodka ads and all of these things.

WALLACE: Yes.

LEE: And beer is kind of, you know, the same product it's been year in and year out. So, who knows?

WALLACE: Yes.

LEE: Maybe they'll revamp their ad campaign as well.

WALLACE: Oh, we'll be watching. OK, Carrie Lee, thanks so much. Have a great day.

LEE: You, too.

WALLACE: Well, with less than a week and a half to go, security forces are working to make sure President Bush's inauguration goes off next week without a hitch. And that is one of the stories you will get on "AMERICAN MORNING" this morning.

Let's check in now with CNN's Bill Hemmer.

Good morning -- Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Kelly. Good morning to you.

You're right. Inauguration is a week from Thursday in D.C. It's the first since 9/11, which means incredible security measures are in place there. You might remember what happened four years ago. We are told it will be much more intense now in 2004 (sic). Cameras are all over this city, new gadgets now in place to deal with a possible chemical attack.

And also this question, Kelly: What do police there think is the most likely security threat? We'll put that question to Capitol Police Chief Terrence Gainer live in D.C., part of our program this morning.

See you in about 13 minutes now on a Tuesday -- Kelly.

WALLACE: All right, Bill, I was talking to someone else shortly, a little bit ago, unprecedented security. Someone described the new commander center as almost like the set of a "Star Wars" movie, it's so high-tech.

HEMMER: Wow! And that parade route is going to be locked down from the Capitol Building down to the White House. So, we'll see what we can find out this morning about the changes now four years later. WALLACE: Look forward to that.

HEMMER: OK.

WALLACE: See you soon. Thanks, Bill.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's about 47 minutes after the hour, and here's what is all new this morning.

Twelve people are still missing after a mudslide crushed 15 homes near San Francisco. At least three people are dead. Search and rescue efforts are expected to resume later this morning. They were suspended last night due to bad weather.

CBS fires a news producer and asked three network executives to step down. That's the latest chapter in the fallout over the now- disputed "60 Minutes" report on President Bush's National Guard service.

In money, oil prices are steady, about $45 a barrel this morning. Traders, though, are concerned about colder weather in the Eastern United States and global supply disruptions.

In culture, Florida's Gulf Coast is getting its own Trump Tower. Developer Donald Trump is building a $220 million high-rise in Tampa, Florida. It will be the tallest residential building on the Gulf, and you'll only have to shell out between $700,000 to $5.5 million to live in it.

In sports, the antics of Randy Moss in Green Bay have the NFL considering a fine. Moss made like he was mooning the fans, and that has upset some folks.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WALLACE: Much more ahead on the final minutes of CNN's DAYBREAK. We'll be right back after this.

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WALLACE: And we have been talking this morning about getting financial aid for college. DAYBREAK contributor Ali Velshi is here. Important information.

So, we talked last hour. If you fill out the forms...

ALI VELSHI, CNN DAYBREAK CONTRIBUTOR: Fill out the forms and get them in. The sticker shock of the price of college is what gets most people. In many cases, it's your second biggest expense after your home, your child's education. That's if you've got one. If you've got a brood you've got problems.

But in many cases it's actually the biggest expense people have, and they're very shocked. When they see the amount they have to pay for college, people get shocked. And then what happens is you send this FASFA form in, and the colleges that you're child has been accepted to send you offers. Those offers -- when you get your offers you're going to get what's called an expected family contribution, an EFC.

Now, the EFC remains constant theoretically regardless of where you go, because that is what has been determined to be the amount of money that your family can afford to pay for your education. That's you, your parents, your children, whoever it is, a combined -- the number.

So, let's say your expected family contribution is $8,000 or $10,000. That's going to be the same whether your kid is going to the state college or going to Harvard. What happens is the colleges than put a package together that involves work study, bursaries, loans, scholarships, whatever the case may be.

You can kind of negotiate. There are lots of college financial aid offices that say -- you know, go back to them, say, look, I really want to go this school, but I can't seem to make the numbers work. Can we do something else? Sometimes they can add a few things and make it a little easier on the parents.

The thing that people should worry about, they should consider, parents, is that don't get alarmed by the fact that you haven't saved enough money for your child's entire college education, and that you're going to have to go for loans. Loans are available. And if you don't get enough money, you can go for one of these federal loans, the Stafford loans or the Plus loans that are not need-based.

So, if you think your parents made too much money, you can still get these loans.

WALLACE: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) interesting you said, because people don't always think about it. They think, you know, Ivy League colleges are so expensive. State school is cheaper. They'll get more aid for their state school, but...

VELSHI: Not necessarily true. Yes. A lot of the Ivy League colleges have big trust funds and the ability to pay for students who they want as their students. So, people shouldn't be too worried about this.

The other thing that we get a lot of is people saying, should I take out of my retirement fund to pay for my kid's education? No! You can't get a loan for retirement.

WALLACE: Also, if you come back, you know, if you come back and you don't get as much you want, you say you can go back to the school. But what if you come back and they say sorry, Charlie, you're not getting anything, what can you do?

VELSHI: Let the child take on loans. Even though that is the beginning of debt in people's lives, it is a good debt. If you're going to have debt, college loan debt is not bad. It's OK if the child has to take loans to get through college. That's the way the system works. But loans will be available.

There are also -- and I'll come back and talk about this another time -- there are some very creative scholarships out there. There are ways to get your child through school. Not to lose hope, but don't take out of your retirement to do it.

WALLACE: Important information, because what a pressure for families.

VELSHI: Absolutely, it's huge.

WALLACE: Costs are escalating. All right, Ali Velshi, it's great to see you.

VELSHI: Thank you, Kelly.

WALLACE: Thanks so much.

This is DAYBREAK for a Tuesday morning.

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WALLACE: Coming up tomorrow on DAYBREAK a series you won't want to miss. Our five-part weight loss series continues. Registered dietitian Lisa Drayer joins us with a crash course on her profession for those of you who think a trip to the nutritionist could help you lose weight.

And on behalf of Chad Myers and everyone here at DAYBREAK, thanks so much for watching. From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Kelly Wallace in for Carol Costello. The news continues with "AMERICAN MORNING" right now.

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