Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Social Security Battle; Journalist Kidnapped in Iraq; A Survivor's Message
Aired February 04, 2005 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The Social Security hard sell. The president out again today talking to the American people and sending a message to Washington.
Early election returns from Iraq show a surprising trend. If it holds, some power groups may have to change their plans.
And...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN PHIPPS, SURVIVED TRAIN CRASH: There was plenty of blood. So I wrote "I heart my kids."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Trapped in a wreckage of a mangled train, his heart did the talking. His story of his love for his family on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. Almost the end of the week here. Good to have you along with us. Today it feels like it, doesn't it?
O'BRIEN: Did you hear Jack piping up during my read a little bit?
HEMMER: Not for a word.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I thought it was on tape. I'm very sorry.
O'BRIEN: No, this is a live broadcast. We go for three hours every morning.
CAFFERTY: But we get -- sometimes they tape like that opening part stuff. Is it only three hours? It seems much longer.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Some days it does, doesn't it?
HEMMER: Some of the headlines coming up this hour, a senior U.N. official may be disciplined over the Iraq oil-for-food scandal. But the independent investigation does not end there. Congressman Chris Shays out of Connecticut, he's been on this story since the very beginning. He is not happy, one can imagine. He'll talk about the investigation and we'll hear from him in a moment -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Also, a case of medical ethics. When a patient refused to sign a petition supporting her doctor's political views, the doctor said, "OK, go elsewhere for treatment." We're going to talk this morning to both the patient and the doctor.
HEMMER: Interesting story there.
What's happening, Jack?
CAFFERTY: They call it celebrity worship syndrome. And with all the of the online auction places like eBay, people are scarfing up little kind of weird, almost disturbing bits of celebrities. An uneaten piece of toast sold for $3,000 that Justin Timberlake had chewed upon. Britney Spears...
HEMMER: Isn't that still in your office?
O'BRIEN: I had it framed. It's fabulous, yes.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Hemmer and I split it, actually.
CAFFERTY: It's just -- is celebrity worship over the top? And are there things out there of your favorite celebrities that you'd be willing to part with your hard-earned cash for?
AM@CNN.com. It's Friday. We didn't have much. You probably figured that out.
Actually, I stole the story out of "USA Today." They did a pretty interesting piece.
O'BRIEN: That's a very interesting piece.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack. Thanks.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to our top stories this morning. Carol Costello's got the headlines for us.
Hey, Carol. Good morning again.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I do indeed. Good morning to you. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News," U.S. officials say at least three Americans are believed to be among the 104 people onboard a jet missing near the Afghan-Pakistan border. Afghan authorities have launched a search and rescue mission for the plane similar to the one being shown here. The jet was heading for Kabul but was detoured to a Pakistani airport due to a snowstorm. And there's no record that it ever landed there.
In Massachusetts, jury deliberations set to resume this hour in the sex abuse trial of the defrocked priest Paul Shanley. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of raping an altar boy in the 1980s. Shanley's lawyer says the accusers memories were falsely planted by a friend. But the prosecutor said the memories were too vivid to be lies.
The U.S. has no plan to attack Iran at this point. That's the word from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She spoke while in London this morning, her first stop on her tour through Europe and the Middle East. Rice plans to deliver a major policy speech on expanding democracy from Paris next week.
And a hotspot at the tip of Saturn's south pole. A team of scientists used a giant telescope atop a volcano in Hawaii to take these thermal images that you're seeing. Isn't that cool?
They show the warmest point on the planet is actually in its polar cap. It's the first such discovery in the solar system. More details for you will be published in the journal "Science." So don't ask me anymore because I don't know.
O'BRIEN: That's pretty amazing.
COSTELLO: Isn't that amazing?
O'BRIEN: That's a pretty cool picture, yes.
COSTELLO: The pictures are wonderful.
O'BRIEN: It's spectacular. All right, Carol. Thanks a lot.
President Bush on the road this morning. He's trying to sell his Social Security plan to the American people. It is part of a two-day, five-state tour.
Senior White House correspondent John King is traveling with the president. He joins us from Omaha, Nebraska, this morning.
Hey, John. Good morning.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
And this tour the president's having to promote his Social Security plan very much the air of a campaign. Mr. Bush, of course, won re-election, but changing Social Security is the most ambitious domestic initiative not only of the second term but of his entire presidency.
The president's first task is to try to convince the American people that there's a huge problem 20 and 30 years down the road, and that now is the time to sell it. Another top Bush priority on this trip which began in Fargo, North Dakota, yesterday, is to convince the American people that private retirement accounts, taking money that normally would go into that guaranteed government program of Social Security, and allowing that money to be put into the stock market and bonds, the president is trying to convince the American people that should be part of the solution.
Now, it is five states in two days. It began in North Dakota, moved on late yesterday to Montana. It is Omaha, Nebraska, this morning for the president. Then Little Rock, Arkansas, and then on to Tampa, Florida.
All five states share these traits: Mr. Bush won them on the way to re-election. All five, though, also have Democratic senators who have said they oppose or at least have significant questions about the Bush Social Security plan.
So the president is using a setting he very much likes, the town hall forum, acting like Oprah, if you will, taking questions from people who support his views. And the president hoping to use these forums to increase public pressure on some of the key senators involved.
One of them is Ben Nelson of this state, Nebraska. Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, he said he's willing to listen to the president, but before he can say yes or no to the Bush plan, he needs to know the other details, like will the president raise the retirement age, will the president raise -- or change how they adjust the cost of living increase for Social Security benefits every year. Senator Nelson says the president has yet to offer those details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BEN NELSON (D), NEBRASKA: I think the constituency here, which voted overwhelmingly for the president's re-election, just generally they'll have some skepticism about any kind of tampering with Social Security. It's sort of they're anxious to see the plan. The president has gone from a concept to some content, and now it's time to see the calculations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: So the pressure in this early trip on the Democratic senators, but there are many Republicans who are also quite nervous about this debate. Many say they support the president's goals, but they're worried and they want the president to take the lead in educating the American people.
The president, of course, does not face the voters again. One of the reasons many of those Republicans are nervous is they've been in the majority in Congress for 10 years. They worry the Social Security debate could cost them that majority in the midterm elections two years from now -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: It's a very fair worry. John, I want to ask you a question on another topic coming out of the White House, of course. On "LARRY KING LIVE" we heard from the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, that he offered to resign not just once, but twice in the wake of all the scandal out of Abu Ghraib prison. What do you think comes out of these revelations?
KING: Well, it's a dramatic revelation given the fact that in the midst of the Abu Ghraib scandal everyone at the White House said that the president had confidence in Secretary Rumsfeld, there was no pressure on Secretary Rumsfeld to resign. So that dramatic disclosure from the secretary that he not once but twice gave the president his resignation, and said that Mr. Bush should let him go if he had no confidence in him, quite a dramatic concession, if you will, from a man who has been the center of the storm over Abu Ghraib, over the war in Iraq. The White House says, though, that the president never seriously considered accepting that resignation, had full confidence in Secretary Rumsfeld then and still does now -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right. John King for us. John King for us this morning. John, thanks a lot -- Bill.
HEMMER: There are more developments out of Iraq already today. An Italian journalist kidnapped earlier today off the sidewalks of Baghdad. And early election results now show an overwhelming support for a Shiite coalition. Is it early in the counting, but nonetheless, that's the indication we have now.
Here is Nic Robertson on both topics.
Nic, hello, in the Iraqi capital.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello there, Bill.
Well, Giuliana Sgrena was an experienced journalist in Iraq. She had been here many times, we've been told by a newspaper editor. She just completed interviewing people on the streets of Baghdad near one of the universities, had gotten into her car, was driving away.
The kidnappers pulled up beside -- beside her vehicle, shot into the air, force her driver and interpreter out of the car, pulled her into -- into their car, drove off with her, also with the car she had been traveling in. Her newspaper editor now is trying to work the phones with -- with aid agencies and others here in Iraq to see if he can track down exactly what has happened to her.
We just heard as well in the last hour or so from the electoral commission in Iraq. They now say that they have counted 3.3 million votes in Iraq. Yesterday they had 1.6 million counted. Now they say they have counted 35 percent, about one-third of all the polling stations in Iraq.
However, they do caution the results they have so far because the demographic spread in the country cannot be used to interpret the final outcome. For example, the Sunni areas in the country and the Kurdish areas in the country, the results from those regions have not yet come in. But what -- what is beginning to show from the south of the country, that predominantly Shiite south of the country, is that the religious party, the United Iraqi Alliance, supported by the most senior religious figure in Iraq, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, that party is doing better, much better, in fact, than the more secular Iraqi list party of the -- of the prime minister in Iraq.
An indication, perhaps, of which way the Shia community is going. But not at this time a good indication of how the overall picture will look in Iraq -- Bill.
HEMMER: We were told at the outset it would take anywhere from seven days to two weeks. So we'll continue to wait for more.
Thanks, Nic. Nic Robertson there in Baghdad.
Here's Soledad again.
O'BRIEN: His story touched even the toughest veterans of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Last week, a train collision in Glendale, California, claimed 11 lives, injured hundreds of other people.
Forty-four-year-old John Phipps was stuck in the wreckage. In those desperate moments he left a message that he thought would be his last to his wife and his children. It was written in his own blood.
John Phipps and his wife Leslie joined me a little bit earlier on AMERICAN MORNING from Los Angeles. And I asked John about that morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIPPS: I don't remember the impact or anything. I remember waking up flat on my back and looking at the sky. That's not a good thing when you're riding a train.
O'BRIEN: Yes, no, definitely. Probably the understatement of the year with that.
Leslie, when did you realize that your husband was actually on that train? Of course we were all looking at these terrifying pictures.
LESLIE PHIPPS, HUSBAND SURVIVED TRAIN CRASH: Well, I was at work. So I hadn't seen any pictures of the crash. So I didn't have to do that, "Oh, was he on that train, was he not on that train," and try to get a hold of him. And fortunately, for me, one of his co- workers also was on the train, and he made phone calls.
So I did know fairly early that he was on that train and he was still alive. And then the gentleman was kind enough to call back and let me know which hospital he'd been transported to.
O'BRIEN: John, you were pinned under the debris and I know you were bleeding pretty profusely from your head. What was going through your mind? And what did you do next?
J. PHIPPS: It was pretty weird to be -- to realize that something serious had gone wrong with the train. I didn't know what at the time. And to be bleeding pretty freely in several places and not be able to get out because your leg's pinned, I really didn't know if I was going to get out or not.
O'BRIEN: What was going through your mind when you decided to use the blood that was coming out of your head and write what you thought was your final message to your wife and children?
J. PHIPPS: It wasn't like a conscious thought, I have to leave a last will and testament. I just happened to, you know, have a head wound that was bleeding. And I happened to just touch part of the debris in the train. And it left a mark.
And I just wrote "I love Leslie." And then there was plenty of ink left, so I wrote, "I love my kids," too.
O'BRIEN: The message, Leslie, pretty -- pretty simple. But I know that it caused a lot of the firefighters to choke up. I mean, veterans were saying how they were touched by that simple message.
The two of you have been married 26 years. You have -- you have three kids. When you heard sort of the details of this story, Leslie, what went through your mind?
L. PHIPPS: Well, there's a lot of things, a lot of feelings that you have. You -- first, you're surprised, and then there's just awe that it would happen at all. And it's -- even as touching as the sentiment is, it is also somewhat chilling that -- you know, that could have been hit. And of course we're all glad it wasn't.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: John Phipps and Leslie Phipps talking with us a little bit earlier today. The seat with the blood-written message on it is going to be kept as evidence in the trial against the man who is now charged in that train derailment -- Bill.
HEMMER: Thirteen minutes past the hour. Check of the weather now on a Friday morning. It is raining here in the Northeast.
How is the rest of the country, Chad? Good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, that's probably the worst spot in the entire country right now, Bill.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Thank you, Chad. We'll talk to you next half-hour.
O'BRIEN: What would you do if your doctor dropped you over politics? We're going to meet a woman who says it happened to her. Her former doctor joins us as well.
HEMMER: Also in a moment here, questions of corruption and bribery. An investigator releasing a scathing U.N. report. How high does the blame go? We'll check that out. O'BRIEN: And just like the teams on the field, authorities in Jacksonville have a game plan. An inside look at Super Bowl security is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: An interim report on the United Nations oil-for-food scandal says the U.N. official in charge of the program earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from illicit oil deals with Saddam Hussein's government. But at the same time, the report found no wrong-doing with the U.N.'s budgeting or accounting.
I spoke with Congressman Chris shays of Connecticut, whose committee held hearings on the matter. And I asked him if he believed only one man was responsible for the mess.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS (R), CONNECTICUT: When I read this report, and when my staff reads it, they basically come to the conclusion that the U.N. made billions of dollars off this program. And one individual likely made millions illegally, and that they didn't properly administer it and oversee it. So it's a pretty powerful report in spite of the fact that Mr. Volcker didn't have subpoena power and he didn't get cooperation from all the member states.
O'BRIEN: The full report we know is due sometime in the middle of the summer. How devastating do you think this report in the end could me, the full one?
SHAYS: Well, I mean, I think it is devastating. Clearly for Benon Sevan. I mean, this was the man in charge of the program, and they're basically saying he steered contracts and made money off of this program. I think it is important to point out that -- that Volcker sides more with Duelfer in saying this was really a $2 billion rip-off and not a $13 billion rip-off. He then says the smuggling side was probably closer to $10 billion.
O'BRIEN: The full scope of the investigation, we'll probably certainly know more at least when it comes to the midsummer. But it looks like they're looking at this point the former U.N. Secretary- General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, also, of course, as we well know, Kofi Annan's role, Kojo Annan's role. At the end of the day, how devastating do you think overall could this be to the U.N. and those three men specifically?
SHAYS: Well, it would devastating to the U.N. and to these individuals if people don't come clean and they don't open their books. I mean, this is the one thing that astounds me.
I mean, no one seems to have a right to know. Any member state can keep documents secret. And we provide 25 percent, basically, of the budget, 22 to 25 percent of the budget. It seems to me we should demand open books and that no member state can close them. O'BRIEN: You certainly have said that you're concerned that Volcker's investigation lacks the tools to do a completely thorough job. And you sort of mentioned another concern of yours as well right there. So what does he need? What should he do?
SHAYS: Well, I mean, I think he's about as honest and respected an individual as you can find. So without the tools that he needs, he still gets a lot of information.
He has a wonderful staff and he has a decent budget. So I think what he needs is to point out where he's not getting the cooperation. But I think he needs to have the power to subpoena information.
I think he has -- should have the ability to say, "I want this document and no one can prevent me from having it." I might also add, you know, we're getting the Iraqi government writing our committee asking for documents because they're not getting it from the U.N.
O'BRIEN: Sevan is being paid $1 a year, I believe. Keep on the payroll, essentially, which makes him available to the investigators. At the same time, there are concerns that that could also buy him diplomatic immunity. Are you concerned about that?
SHAYS: Oh, I'm concerned that he may feel he has diplomatic immunity. And also, you know, while he's in the U.N. he's working his will, he's interacting with people that I don't think he should interact with.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: And Secretary-General Kofi Annan has announced disciplinary action against Benon Sevan next week and another U.N. official who headed the sanctions branch -- Bill.
HEMMER: A break here in a moment. He's a young boy so weak he nearly collapses after walking only 15 feet. Thanks to an international effort and one special soldier there is hope. Their touching bond is ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Well, President Bush's State of the Union address the focus of late night TV this week. But Jay Leno was not talking about the speech. He was watching what was happening in the background. Here's from last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, TALK SHOW HOST: Isn't Vice President Cheney supposed to be watching his cholesterol? Did you see what he was munching on last night behind President Bush? Well, show the footage from the speech.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... and build the institutions of a peaceful, independent democratic state. To promote this democracy, I will ask Congress for $350 million to support Palestinian political, economic and security...
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
LENO: That can't be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Oh, a little bit of technology there, huh?
O'BRIEN: That was pretty funny.
Jack's back with the "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: The old thing, don't believe everything you see and only half of what you read.
O'BRIEN: A little clever editing.
CAFFERTY: How much would you pay for a piece of celebrity? $1500 recently for a billiard ball from Elvis' pool table. How do you know it's from -- they're all the same, billiard balls.
HEMMER: Talking about -- yes.
CAFFERTY: They're all little round ivory deals. A million dollars for ordinary household junk that belonged to Jackie Kennedy, mason jars and oven mitts.
"USA Today" has got a great piece on the boom in celebrity auction business. A partially eaten piece of toast that Justin Timberlake gnawed on went for three grand.
The question, has celebrity worship gone too far?
Mark writes from Yellow Springs, Ohio, "I'll give 79 cents for one of Jack's ties. Spring is coming. There will be tomato plants to tie up."
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: Oh, come on.
CAFFERTY: Tim in Cleveland, Tennessee, "It's just humans being humans. We need to reach beyond the mundane and control a piece of the world we would like to join. Religion has long had relics, and in today's nihilistic world, celebrity is a substitute for the divine."
Louis in Middle Village, New York, "Jack, celebrity worship definitely gone too far. This is the easiest way to scam people. The only thing I'll pay big bucks for is to have a cup of coffee with you guys, especially Soledad and Carol."
O'BRIEN: Well, hey, we'll ask Carol. How much is he willing to pay? We'll get back to you on that. CAFFERTY: They're available and I can set the whole thing up. What does that make me?
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: No, no.
Eric writes this: "I think paying for a famous person's uneaten food is disgusting and a potential health hazard. Just out of curiosity, did Soledad finish her bagel this morning?"
O'BRIEN: Yes, I did. But I've got some leftover fruit chunks that I can send your way.
CAFFERTY: I didn't do this right. We could have made some extra money here this morning.
O'BRIEN: You know what? Clearly you missed the boat on that. A few bucks here and there. Thanks, Jack.
CAFFERTY:
O'BRIEN: And we're back in just a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SIMPSONS")
DAN CASTELLANETA, VOICE, HOMER SIMPSON: Oh, here's something I'm good at.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Ahead on "90-second Pop," Fox might be skittish. It's the first Super Bowl since Ms. Jackson's wardrobe malfunction. But don't worry. "The Simpsons" are cooking up a whole new controversy.
That and more later on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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 February 4, 2005 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The Social Security hard sell. The president out again today talking to the American people and sending a message to Washington.
Early election returns from Iraq show a surprising trend. If it holds, some power groups may have to change their plans.
And...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN PHIPPS, SURVIVED TRAIN CRASH: There was plenty of blood. So I wrote "I heart my kids."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Trapped in a wreckage of a mangled train, his heart did the talking. His story of his love for his family on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. Almost the end of the week here. Good to have you along with us. Today it feels like it, doesn't it?
O'BRIEN: Did you hear Jack piping up during my read a little bit?
HEMMER: Not for a word.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I thought it was on tape. I'm very sorry.
O'BRIEN: No, this is a live broadcast. We go for three hours every morning.
CAFFERTY: But we get -- sometimes they tape like that opening part stuff. Is it only three hours? It seems much longer.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Some days it does, doesn't it?
HEMMER: Some of the headlines coming up this hour, a senior U.N. official may be disciplined over the Iraq oil-for-food scandal. But the independent investigation does not end there. Congressman Chris Shays out of Connecticut, he's been on this story since the very beginning. He is not happy, one can imagine. He'll talk about the investigation and we'll hear from him in a moment -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Also, a case of medical ethics. When a patient refused to sign a petition supporting her doctor's political views, the doctor said, "OK, go elsewhere for treatment." We're going to talk this morning to both the patient and the doctor.
HEMMER: Interesting story there.
What's happening, Jack?
CAFFERTY: They call it celebrity worship syndrome. And with all the of the online auction places like eBay, people are scarfing up little kind of weird, almost disturbing bits of celebrities. An uneaten piece of toast sold for $3,000 that Justin Timberlake had chewed upon. Britney Spears...
HEMMER: Isn't that still in your office?
O'BRIEN: I had it framed. It's fabulous, yes.
(LAUGHTER)
O'BRIEN: Hemmer and I split it, actually.
CAFFERTY: It's just -- is celebrity worship over the top? And are there things out there of your favorite celebrities that you'd be willing to part with your hard-earned cash for?
AM@CNN.com. It's Friday. We didn't have much. You probably figured that out.
Actually, I stole the story out of "USA Today." They did a pretty interesting piece.
O'BRIEN: That's a very interesting piece.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack. Thanks.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to our top stories this morning. Carol Costello's got the headlines for us.
Hey, Carol. Good morning again.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I do indeed. Good morning to you. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News," U.S. officials say at least three Americans are believed to be among the 104 people onboard a jet missing near the Afghan-Pakistan border. Afghan authorities have launched a search and rescue mission for the plane similar to the one being shown here. The jet was heading for Kabul but was detoured to a Pakistani airport due to a snowstorm. And there's no record that it ever landed there.
In Massachusetts, jury deliberations set to resume this hour in the sex abuse trial of the defrocked priest Paul Shanley. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of raping an altar boy in the 1980s. Shanley's lawyer says the accusers memories were falsely planted by a friend. But the prosecutor said the memories were too vivid to be lies.
The U.S. has no plan to attack Iran at this point. That's the word from Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She spoke while in London this morning, her first stop on her tour through Europe and the Middle East. Rice plans to deliver a major policy speech on expanding democracy from Paris next week.
And a hotspot at the tip of Saturn's south pole. A team of scientists used a giant telescope atop a volcano in Hawaii to take these thermal images that you're seeing. Isn't that cool?
They show the warmest point on the planet is actually in its polar cap. It's the first such discovery in the solar system. More details for you will be published in the journal "Science." So don't ask me anymore because I don't know.
O'BRIEN: That's pretty amazing.
COSTELLO: Isn't that amazing?
O'BRIEN: That's a pretty cool picture, yes.
COSTELLO: The pictures are wonderful.
O'BRIEN: It's spectacular. All right, Carol. Thanks a lot.
President Bush on the road this morning. He's trying to sell his Social Security plan to the American people. It is part of a two-day, five-state tour.
Senior White House correspondent John King is traveling with the president. He joins us from Omaha, Nebraska, this morning.
Hey, John. Good morning.
JOHN KING, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
And this tour the president's having to promote his Social Security plan very much the air of a campaign. Mr. Bush, of course, won re-election, but changing Social Security is the most ambitious domestic initiative not only of the second term but of his entire presidency.
The president's first task is to try to convince the American people that there's a huge problem 20 and 30 years down the road, and that now is the time to sell it. Another top Bush priority on this trip which began in Fargo, North Dakota, yesterday, is to convince the American people that private retirement accounts, taking money that normally would go into that guaranteed government program of Social Security, and allowing that money to be put into the stock market and bonds, the president is trying to convince the American people that should be part of the solution.
Now, it is five states in two days. It began in North Dakota, moved on late yesterday to Montana. It is Omaha, Nebraska, this morning for the president. Then Little Rock, Arkansas, and then on to Tampa, Florida.
All five states share these traits: Mr. Bush won them on the way to re-election. All five, though, also have Democratic senators who have said they oppose or at least have significant questions about the Bush Social Security plan.
So the president is using a setting he very much likes, the town hall forum, acting like Oprah, if you will, taking questions from people who support his views. And the president hoping to use these forums to increase public pressure on some of the key senators involved.
One of them is Ben Nelson of this state, Nebraska. Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, he said he's willing to listen to the president, but before he can say yes or no to the Bush plan, he needs to know the other details, like will the president raise the retirement age, will the president raise -- or change how they adjust the cost of living increase for Social Security benefits every year. Senator Nelson says the president has yet to offer those details.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BEN NELSON (D), NEBRASKA: I think the constituency here, which voted overwhelmingly for the president's re-election, just generally they'll have some skepticism about any kind of tampering with Social Security. It's sort of they're anxious to see the plan. The president has gone from a concept to some content, and now it's time to see the calculations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: So the pressure in this early trip on the Democratic senators, but there are many Republicans who are also quite nervous about this debate. Many say they support the president's goals, but they're worried and they want the president to take the lead in educating the American people.
The president, of course, does not face the voters again. One of the reasons many of those Republicans are nervous is they've been in the majority in Congress for 10 years. They worry the Social Security debate could cost them that majority in the midterm elections two years from now -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: It's a very fair worry. John, I want to ask you a question on another topic coming out of the White House, of course. On "LARRY KING LIVE" we heard from the secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, that he offered to resign not just once, but twice in the wake of all the scandal out of Abu Ghraib prison. What do you think comes out of these revelations?
KING: Well, it's a dramatic revelation given the fact that in the midst of the Abu Ghraib scandal everyone at the White House said that the president had confidence in Secretary Rumsfeld, there was no pressure on Secretary Rumsfeld to resign. So that dramatic disclosure from the secretary that he not once but twice gave the president his resignation, and said that Mr. Bush should let him go if he had no confidence in him, quite a dramatic concession, if you will, from a man who has been the center of the storm over Abu Ghraib, over the war in Iraq. The White House says, though, that the president never seriously considered accepting that resignation, had full confidence in Secretary Rumsfeld then and still does now -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: All right. John King for us. John King for us this morning. John, thanks a lot -- Bill.
HEMMER: There are more developments out of Iraq already today. An Italian journalist kidnapped earlier today off the sidewalks of Baghdad. And early election results now show an overwhelming support for a Shiite coalition. Is it early in the counting, but nonetheless, that's the indication we have now.
Here is Nic Robertson on both topics.
Nic, hello, in the Iraqi capital.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello there, Bill.
Well, Giuliana Sgrena was an experienced journalist in Iraq. She had been here many times, we've been told by a newspaper editor. She just completed interviewing people on the streets of Baghdad near one of the universities, had gotten into her car, was driving away.
The kidnappers pulled up beside -- beside her vehicle, shot into the air, force her driver and interpreter out of the car, pulled her into -- into their car, drove off with her, also with the car she had been traveling in. Her newspaper editor now is trying to work the phones with -- with aid agencies and others here in Iraq to see if he can track down exactly what has happened to her.
We just heard as well in the last hour or so from the electoral commission in Iraq. They now say that they have counted 3.3 million votes in Iraq. Yesterday they had 1.6 million counted. Now they say they have counted 35 percent, about one-third of all the polling stations in Iraq.
However, they do caution the results they have so far because the demographic spread in the country cannot be used to interpret the final outcome. For example, the Sunni areas in the country and the Kurdish areas in the country, the results from those regions have not yet come in. But what -- what is beginning to show from the south of the country, that predominantly Shiite south of the country, is that the religious party, the United Iraqi Alliance, supported by the most senior religious figure in Iraq, the Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, that party is doing better, much better, in fact, than the more secular Iraqi list party of the -- of the prime minister in Iraq.
An indication, perhaps, of which way the Shia community is going. But not at this time a good indication of how the overall picture will look in Iraq -- Bill.
HEMMER: We were told at the outset it would take anywhere from seven days to two weeks. So we'll continue to wait for more.
Thanks, Nic. Nic Robertson there in Baghdad.
Here's Soledad again.
O'BRIEN: His story touched even the toughest veterans of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Last week, a train collision in Glendale, California, claimed 11 lives, injured hundreds of other people.
Forty-four-year-old John Phipps was stuck in the wreckage. In those desperate moments he left a message that he thought would be his last to his wife and his children. It was written in his own blood.
John Phipps and his wife Leslie joined me a little bit earlier on AMERICAN MORNING from Los Angeles. And I asked John about that morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHIPPS: I don't remember the impact or anything. I remember waking up flat on my back and looking at the sky. That's not a good thing when you're riding a train.
O'BRIEN: Yes, no, definitely. Probably the understatement of the year with that.
Leslie, when did you realize that your husband was actually on that train? Of course we were all looking at these terrifying pictures.
LESLIE PHIPPS, HUSBAND SURVIVED TRAIN CRASH: Well, I was at work. So I hadn't seen any pictures of the crash. So I didn't have to do that, "Oh, was he on that train, was he not on that train," and try to get a hold of him. And fortunately, for me, one of his co- workers also was on the train, and he made phone calls.
So I did know fairly early that he was on that train and he was still alive. And then the gentleman was kind enough to call back and let me know which hospital he'd been transported to.
O'BRIEN: John, you were pinned under the debris and I know you were bleeding pretty profusely from your head. What was going through your mind? And what did you do next?
J. PHIPPS: It was pretty weird to be -- to realize that something serious had gone wrong with the train. I didn't know what at the time. And to be bleeding pretty freely in several places and not be able to get out because your leg's pinned, I really didn't know if I was going to get out or not.
O'BRIEN: What was going through your mind when you decided to use the blood that was coming out of your head and write what you thought was your final message to your wife and children?
J. PHIPPS: It wasn't like a conscious thought, I have to leave a last will and testament. I just happened to, you know, have a head wound that was bleeding. And I happened to just touch part of the debris in the train. And it left a mark.
And I just wrote "I love Leslie." And then there was plenty of ink left, so I wrote, "I love my kids," too.
O'BRIEN: The message, Leslie, pretty -- pretty simple. But I know that it caused a lot of the firefighters to choke up. I mean, veterans were saying how they were touched by that simple message.
The two of you have been married 26 years. You have -- you have three kids. When you heard sort of the details of this story, Leslie, what went through your mind?
L. PHIPPS: Well, there's a lot of things, a lot of feelings that you have. You -- first, you're surprised, and then there's just awe that it would happen at all. And it's -- even as touching as the sentiment is, it is also somewhat chilling that -- you know, that could have been hit. And of course we're all glad it wasn't.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: John Phipps and Leslie Phipps talking with us a little bit earlier today. The seat with the blood-written message on it is going to be kept as evidence in the trial against the man who is now charged in that train derailment -- Bill.
HEMMER: Thirteen minutes past the hour. Check of the weather now on a Friday morning. It is raining here in the Northeast.
How is the rest of the country, Chad? Good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, that's probably the worst spot in the entire country right now, Bill.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Thank you, Chad. We'll talk to you next half-hour.
O'BRIEN: What would you do if your doctor dropped you over politics? We're going to meet a woman who says it happened to her. Her former doctor joins us as well.
HEMMER: Also in a moment here, questions of corruption and bribery. An investigator releasing a scathing U.N. report. How high does the blame go? We'll check that out. O'BRIEN: And just like the teams on the field, authorities in Jacksonville have a game plan. An inside look at Super Bowl security is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: An interim report on the United Nations oil-for-food scandal says the U.N. official in charge of the program earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from illicit oil deals with Saddam Hussein's government. But at the same time, the report found no wrong-doing with the U.N.'s budgeting or accounting.
I spoke with Congressman Chris shays of Connecticut, whose committee held hearings on the matter. And I asked him if he believed only one man was responsible for the mess.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS (R), CONNECTICUT: When I read this report, and when my staff reads it, they basically come to the conclusion that the U.N. made billions of dollars off this program. And one individual likely made millions illegally, and that they didn't properly administer it and oversee it. So it's a pretty powerful report in spite of the fact that Mr. Volcker didn't have subpoena power and he didn't get cooperation from all the member states.
O'BRIEN: The full report we know is due sometime in the middle of the summer. How devastating do you think this report in the end could me, the full one?
SHAYS: Well, I mean, I think it is devastating. Clearly for Benon Sevan. I mean, this was the man in charge of the program, and they're basically saying he steered contracts and made money off of this program. I think it is important to point out that -- that Volcker sides more with Duelfer in saying this was really a $2 billion rip-off and not a $13 billion rip-off. He then says the smuggling side was probably closer to $10 billion.
O'BRIEN: The full scope of the investigation, we'll probably certainly know more at least when it comes to the midsummer. But it looks like they're looking at this point the former U.N. Secretary- General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, also, of course, as we well know, Kofi Annan's role, Kojo Annan's role. At the end of the day, how devastating do you think overall could this be to the U.N. and those three men specifically?
SHAYS: Well, it would devastating to the U.N. and to these individuals if people don't come clean and they don't open their books. I mean, this is the one thing that astounds me.
I mean, no one seems to have a right to know. Any member state can keep documents secret. And we provide 25 percent, basically, of the budget, 22 to 25 percent of the budget. It seems to me we should demand open books and that no member state can close them. O'BRIEN: You certainly have said that you're concerned that Volcker's investigation lacks the tools to do a completely thorough job. And you sort of mentioned another concern of yours as well right there. So what does he need? What should he do?
SHAYS: Well, I mean, I think he's about as honest and respected an individual as you can find. So without the tools that he needs, he still gets a lot of information.
He has a wonderful staff and he has a decent budget. So I think what he needs is to point out where he's not getting the cooperation. But I think he needs to have the power to subpoena information.
I think he has -- should have the ability to say, "I want this document and no one can prevent me from having it." I might also add, you know, we're getting the Iraqi government writing our committee asking for documents because they're not getting it from the U.N.
O'BRIEN: Sevan is being paid $1 a year, I believe. Keep on the payroll, essentially, which makes him available to the investigators. At the same time, there are concerns that that could also buy him diplomatic immunity. Are you concerned about that?
SHAYS: Oh, I'm concerned that he may feel he has diplomatic immunity. And also, you know, while he's in the U.N. he's working his will, he's interacting with people that I don't think he should interact with.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: And Secretary-General Kofi Annan has announced disciplinary action against Benon Sevan next week and another U.N. official who headed the sanctions branch -- Bill.
HEMMER: A break here in a moment. He's a young boy so weak he nearly collapses after walking only 15 feet. Thanks to an international effort and one special soldier there is hope. Their touching bond is ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Well, President Bush's State of the Union address the focus of late night TV this week. But Jay Leno was not talking about the speech. He was watching what was happening in the background. Here's from last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, TALK SHOW HOST: Isn't Vice President Cheney supposed to be watching his cholesterol? Did you see what he was munching on last night behind President Bush? Well, show the footage from the speech.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... and build the institutions of a peaceful, independent democratic state. To promote this democracy, I will ask Congress for $350 million to support Palestinian political, economic and security...
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
LENO: That can't be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Oh, a little bit of technology there, huh?
O'BRIEN: That was pretty funny.
Jack's back with the "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: The old thing, don't believe everything you see and only half of what you read.
O'BRIEN: A little clever editing.
CAFFERTY: How much would you pay for a piece of celebrity? $1500 recently for a billiard ball from Elvis' pool table. How do you know it's from -- they're all the same, billiard balls.
HEMMER: Talking about -- yes.
CAFFERTY: They're all little round ivory deals. A million dollars for ordinary household junk that belonged to Jackie Kennedy, mason jars and oven mitts.
"USA Today" has got a great piece on the boom in celebrity auction business. A partially eaten piece of toast that Justin Timberlake gnawed on went for three grand.
The question, has celebrity worship gone too far?
Mark writes from Yellow Springs, Ohio, "I'll give 79 cents for one of Jack's ties. Spring is coming. There will be tomato plants to tie up."
(LAUGHTER)
HEMMER: Oh, come on.
CAFFERTY: Tim in Cleveland, Tennessee, "It's just humans being humans. We need to reach beyond the mundane and control a piece of the world we would like to join. Religion has long had relics, and in today's nihilistic world, celebrity is a substitute for the divine."
Louis in Middle Village, New York, "Jack, celebrity worship definitely gone too far. This is the easiest way to scam people. The only thing I'll pay big bucks for is to have a cup of coffee with you guys, especially Soledad and Carol."
O'BRIEN: Well, hey, we'll ask Carol. How much is he willing to pay? We'll get back to you on that. CAFFERTY: They're available and I can set the whole thing up. What does that make me?
(LAUGHTER)
CAFFERTY: No, no.
Eric writes this: "I think paying for a famous person's uneaten food is disgusting and a potential health hazard. Just out of curiosity, did Soledad finish her bagel this morning?"
O'BRIEN: Yes, I did. But I've got some leftover fruit chunks that I can send your way.
CAFFERTY: I didn't do this right. We could have made some extra money here this morning.
O'BRIEN: You know what? Clearly you missed the boat on that. A few bucks here and there. Thanks, Jack.
CAFFERTY:
O'BRIEN: And we're back in just a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE SIMPSONS")
DAN CASTELLANETA, VOICE, HOMER SIMPSON: Oh, here's something I'm good at.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Ahead on "90-second Pop," Fox might be skittish. It's the first Super Bowl since Ms. Jackson's wardrobe malfunction. But don't worry. "The Simpsons" are cooking up a whole new controversy.
That and more later on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
