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CNN Live At Daybreak
President Bush in Europe; Bush's Private Conversations; Olympic Apple; Dollars Denied Bail; Wild Daytona 500 Finish
Aired February 21, 2005 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, President Bush overseas. He's sounding a note of unity and trying to drown out wartime divisions.
Plus, the Big Apple wants the big games. New York makes an Olympic-sized bid.
And 22 lead changes, two crashes, and a three-time champ. NASCAR's best really kick it into high gear.
It is Monday, February 21. This is DAYBREAK.
Good morning to you. From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
"Now in the News."
President Bush speaks in Belgium in about three hours. It's the first major speech in his fence-mending trip to Europe. He'll urge European nations to put differences over the Iraq war behind them. We will bring you a live report from Brussels in just a couple of minutes.
Disturbing pictures out of Baghdad this morning. A roadside bomb went off next to a U.S. military convoy, overturning a Humvee. There are reports of casualties. The details are still sketchy at this time.
Israel has been releasing Palestinian prisoners by the busloads today. In a goodwill gesture, 500 Palestinians have been freed. Israel promised the release at a Mideast summit earlier this month.
Journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson has committed suicide. His son says Thompson shot himself at his home near Aspen, Colorado. Thompson was known for gonzo journalism as practiced in books like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." He was just 67 years old.
To the forecast center now and Chad.
Good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol. You left Vegas, and then you came to snow.
COSTELLO: It certainly woke me up when I stepped outside the airport. (WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: That was some race, Chad.
MYERS: It was. It was a little disappointing, but at least Tony Stewart didn't win.
COSTELLO: We're going to have much more on the Daytona 500 in the minutes to come on DAYBREAK.
MYERS: Fair enough.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: OK.
COSTELLO: Back to our top story now, President Bush in Europe. He's only visiting three nations over five days. But the trip puts him in touch with some major players.
This morning, the president is in Brussels, Belgium. He's meeting with NATO and European Union officials, along with French President Jacques Chirac.
And then it's on to Mainz in southwest Germany for talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. The president will also visit U.S. troops stationed in the region.
And his last stop is in the Slovak Republic, where he'll meet with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
President Bush will deliver a major speech in just a few hours, and he's expected to stress that the U.S. views Europe as a friend despite frayed feelings over the war in Iraq.
Let's head live to Brussels now and Suzanne Malveaux, traveling with the president.
Good morning -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
President Bush, as well as the first lady, kicked off this reconciliation tour, is what it is being called, in Brussels when they arrived last night. And, of course, the big question here is whether or not he's going to be able to win the hearts and minds of the European people, but certainly the leaders seem to be willing to give him a second chance.
President Bush earlier this morning being greeted by his Belgium host, King Albert (AUDIO GAP) Queen Paola at the palace. President Bush also meeting with Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt.
Now, the president also, of course, will meet with NATO, as well as the European Union. He will ask for additional reconciliation, as well as reconstruction funds for Iraq to try to win support.
But he is also, of course, going to be setting the tone, a new tone, for his administration when he delivers a major speech to the European people later today. He will call for tangible political, economic and security assistance to Iraq. And he will use the success of the Iraqi elections to make his case.
He will say specifically: "The alliance of Europe and North America is the main pillar of our society in a new century. Our strong friendship is essential to peace and prosperity across the globe, and no temporary debate, no passing disagreement of governments, no power on Earth will ever divide us."
That, of course, talking about the differences in the Iraq war.
President Bush, of course, later today will be meeting with French President Jacques Chirac. It is expected that he will emphasize, of course, the positive, the work that France has provided in Afghanistan and Haiti. They'll talk about their commonality when it comes to their approach in dealing with Syria, trying to get their military out of Lebanon.
But the big question, of course, too, is the divisions between the United States and the European Union over Iran, how to get it to abandon its nuclear weapons program, what the U.S. believes is a weapons program. Europeans are offering incentives, economic and diplomatic incentives. The U.S. wants sanctions -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Suzanne Malveaux reporting live from Belgium this morning. Thank you.
Let's talk about some secret tapes from President Bush's past. Will they haunt the president? Help him? Or do they really matter? It may be too soon to tell.
The tapes do give a glimpse into then Texas Governor Bush's thinking when considering a run for the presidency.
CNN's Elaine Quijano has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the secretly- taped conversations, first reported in "The New York Times," then Texas Governor George W. Bush candidly discusses his reasons for not answering a question: Did he ever use drugs?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, Doug, but it's not, it doesn't matter, cocaine. It'd be the same with marijuana. I wouldn't answer the marijuana question. You know why? Because I don't want some little kid doing what I'd tried.
DOUG WEAD, SECRETLY RECORDED PRIVATE TALKS WITH BUSH: Yes, and it never stops.
BUSH: But you've got to understand, I want to be president. I want to lead. I want to set -- do you want your little kid to say, hey, daddy, President Bush tried marijuana, I think I will?
QUIJANO: Mr. Bush also discusses his religious faith and his dealings with Christian conservatives. At one point, he bluntly states he will not give in to pressure to criticize gay people.
WEAD: You promised you would not appoint gays to office.
BUSH: No, what I said was, I wouldn't fire gays. I'm not going to discriminate against people.
QUIJANO: CNN did not independently authenticate the tapes, a process that can take days. But Tom Owen, the expert who authenticated the tapes for "The New York Times," says he spent eight days analyzing excerpts before reaching his conclusion.
TOM OWEN, OWL INVESTIGATIONS, AUDIO VOICE AUTHENTICATION: In listening to the tapes over and over, and listening to various samples of George W. Bush's voice at that time and later, I've concluded that it is the president's voice.
QUIJANO: The man who recorded the tapes, Doug Wead, had a book coming out. We could not reach Wead on Sunday, but he told "The New York Times" the recordings were carried out in states where it was legal. CNN could not independently verify his claim.
Wead told ABC's "Good Morning America" weekend edition he made the recordings for their historical value.
DOUG WEAD, SECRETLY RECORDED PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS: If I had had a chance to tape record Gandhi or had conversations with Churchill, I probably would have recorded them, too.
QUIJANO: But some say history will record these secret tapes as a betrayal.
STUART ROSENTHAL, POLITICAL ANALYST: In a continuum of violations of a personal relationship, a personal confidence, that this is probably the Super Bowl of them all.
QUIJANO: The White House issued a one-sentence response, saying these were casual conversations with somebody he considered a friend.
Historians say there is value in the recordings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When presidents write their memoirs, they're carefully doctored and carefully tailored. So, candid talk by presidents, even before they enter office, is like gold for historians.
QUIJANO (on camera): The tapes were reportedly made in 1998 through part of 2000. Experts say based on the excepts released, they are far from scandalous, and reveal a consistency, a man deeply religious whose private conversations echo his public positions.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: In other news across America this morning, a Colorado man suspected in a series of sexual assaults appeared in court to hear the allegations against him. The judge set bail for Brent J. Brents at $25 million. Brents had been released by Aurora, Colorado, police last fall after allegedly confessing to molesting an 8-year-old boy.
The parents of Terry Schiavo will be in court today to try to delay the removal of her feeding tube. The tube is scheduled to be taken out tomorrow. They say new tests could determine her level of brain function. Schiavo's husband and her parents have been fighting for years over whether to allow her to die.
Heavy rains in California have caused flooding and mudslides in several areas. The weather also caused a 40-foot-wide sinkhole in one Los Angeles roadway. Eight counties are under a landslide advisory this morning.
The weather system also produced other dramatic results. People in Huntington Beach watched as this water spout inched closer to land. Do you see it there? Two tornadoes did touch down in separate areas in Southern California. No injuries reported.
New York City officials rolled out the red carpet for their Olympic dreams. The city is bidding for its first Summer Games in 2012. But does New York really have what it takes to wow the Olympic judges?
We get more from Mark Joyella of CNN affiliate WNYW.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK JOYELLA, CNN AFFILIATE WNYW REPORTER (voice over): A small but loud crowd, many of them Olympic-bid volunteers, greeted the Olympic judges like arriving rock stars, stepping off a bus and onto a red carpet at the Plaza Hotel. The city's wining and dining officially under way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It brings the world together. So, it's NYC's destiny, the biggest city in the world. What a better place to have it?
JOYELLA: New York's bid to host the 2012 Summer Games has plenty of PR power, banners all over town, flags and signs passed out to the crowd. But the 13 judges will surely have questions, especially about the status of the proposed Olympic stadium. Mayor Bloomberg had hoped to have broken ground by now. Instead, the stadium is far from a done deal.
Then, there's the Olympic Village. It would be built alongside New Town Creek in Queens, a waterway described by environmental groups as toxic, still contaminated decades after a massive 17 million gallon oil spill.
U.S. Olympic officials say New York is not the only city struggling with its bid. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Controversies or issues in each of the five cities. They are fully aware of those, but they're not going to dwell on any one thing.
JOYELLA: The IOC judges may not have time. The city set an aggressive schedule, right from their arrival at JFK through their departure on Thursday.
One tourist in town says skeptical New Yorkers should give the Olympics a chance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We experienced the Olympics when they were in Atlanta in '96. It's a great thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: It was a great thing when the Olympics were in Atlanta. But will it be a great thing if it's in New York, the Olympics that is?
That report, by the way, from Mark Joyella of CNN affiliate WNYW.
Olympic delegates still have to visit Paris and Moscow before announcing their decision on July 6.
And, Chad, that does lead us to our e-mail question of the morning.
MYERS: There you go. If you live in the city or around the city, we want to hear from you, or even if you think maybe you're planning on going we want to hear from you.
COSTELLO: Yes. Is New York ready? Should New York host the 2012 Summer Olympics? We want to know what you think whether you live in New York or not.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: Send some e-mails to us, Daybreak@CNN.com. That's Daybreak@CNN.com.
And we're always interested in your responses, because they're always interesting, aren't they?
MYERS: Sometimes well-thought out.
COSTELLO: Sometimes not.
MYERS: That's right.
COSTELLO: Usually they are, though. Much more to come on DAYBREAK this hour.
And, of course, the latest on a Florida couple accused of torturing their foster children.
Also, he spent more than a year in the war zone. Now he's finally back home. We'll bring you a soldier's story.
And 200 laps. This wasn't enough to finish this race. NASCAR's signature event goes into OT. We will wrap up the action.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning, February 21.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:15 Eastern. Here's what's new this morning.
Mending fences, President Bush in Brussels meeting with European leaders. He'll deliver a speech in just about three hours, calling for a fresh start to American-European relations despite disagreements over Iraq.
The U.N. high commissioner for refugees has resigned over a sexual harassment allegation. Ruud Lubbers insists he's innocent, but he indicated Secretary-General Kofi Annan left him little choice but to step down.
In money news, it's small change, but gasoline prices fell a half-penny over the past two weeks. Lucky you. The Lundberg Survey says the average price for self-serve regular nationwide is now $1.90 a gallon.
In culture, moviegoers got hitched for the second straight weekend. Will Smith's romantic comedy, "Hitch," led the way at the box office with $38.8 million.
In sports, there were plenty of dunks to excite the fans watching the NBA All-Star Game. The East team, led by Allen Iverson and Shaquille O'Neal, beat the West 125-115. It is the first win for the East in four years.
To the forecast center now and Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
John and Linda Dollar are in jail in Florida, denied bail by a judge who thinks they might try to escape. The Dollars are accused of starving and torturing five of their eight adopted children.
CNN's Sara Dorsey is following the story from Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Fifty-eight-year- old John Dollar and his 51-year-old wife, Linda, appeared in court together, handcuffed and in jail uniforms, to face child abuse charges. The adoptive parents arrived back in Florida last night, extradited from Utah. They were arrested there earlier this month on a warrant for missing a previous court hearing in Florida on the same charges.
The Dollars' attorney asked for the couple to be released on bail, saying:
CHARLES VAUGHN, DOLLARS' ATTORNEY: What had happened was previously when the attorneys set that bond, it was unknown by my clients that there was an arrest warrant.
DORSEY: But prosecutors argued the couple is still a flight risk. The judge agreed, denying bail.
The allegations of abuse include malnourishment, electric shock, pulling toenails out with pliers, binding the kids with chains and using a hammer to smash their feet.
The investigation began in January after one of the kids, a 16- year-old boy, was treated for a head wound at a local hospital. Police say he was battered and extremely thin, weighing in at only 59 pounds.
GAIL TIERNEY, CITRUS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: I've seen pictures of the children that, you know, have been taken in connection with this case. And, you know, they have very sweet faces, but when you look at their bodies, I mean, it looks like Auschwitz.
DORSEY: The children are now in state custody. Neighbors in Beverly Hills, the Dollars' upscale community located about 60 miles north of Tampa, said they were shocked to find out about the charges.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope they have a better life from now on.
DORSEY (on camera): A sheriff's office spokesman says additional charges will come out in the next few weeks.
Sara Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: They were three prominent figures in American culture. Now they're loss is being mourned.
First, he was a hard-drinking rebel, who wrote about the dark side of American life. Hunter S. Thompson has committed suicide. He was just 67. He pioneered the personal writing style known as gonzo journalism in books like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Generation of Swine." His son says Thompson shot himself at his Colorado home last night.
And the lights will be dim on Broadway tomorrow night in honor of John Raitt. His baritone voice graced the stage in "Carousel, "Annie, Get Your Gun," and the "Pajama Game." He was also the father of singer Bonnie Raitt. He died on Sunday at his California home. John Raitt was 88.
And she was an American sweetheart and a teenage heartthrob. Actress Sandra Dee died in California of complications from kidney disease and pneumonia. She attracted a large teenaged audience during the '60s in movies like "Gidget" and "A Summer Place."
When DAYBREAK continues, for some, it's a hard pill to swallow; for other, a lifesaver. The super painkiller Vioxx, pulled from the market, may be sold again. We'll tell you why.
You are watching DAYBREAK this Monday, February 21.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: They Daytona 500.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: It was one of the wildest finishes ever.
MYERS: Really, it should have been the Daytona 10, because only the last three laps really only counted anyway.
COSTELLO: They were an exciting three laps.
MYERS: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Jeff Gordon is the winner. It's his third Daytona 500 victory. Kurt Busch came in second. Defending champion Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was third. But, boy, he almost pulled it off, didn't he?
MYERS: He really did. And he had nothing of a car all through the race. They did a couple of changes on the last pit stop, and he really moved up through the pack. It was surprising. It was the old DEI of old, where they were the restricted play kings. And I really would have liked to have seen him and Michael, who lost an engine, Michael Waltrip lost an engine. Those two are teammates. If they could have got together, if they could have been nose to tail, it could have been a different outcome.
COSTELLO: Well, don't feel too sorry for Junior, because he won more than $700,000.
MYERS: Oh, there you go.
COSTELLO: CNN's Steve Overmyer has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE OVERMYER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Maybe they should have called this the Daytona 50. After 450 miles of drivers playing it cool, they managed to squeeze all of the excitement in the final 20 laps.
JEFF GORDON, 3-TIME DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION: I can't even really relive all of the moments that happened. I'm going to have to watch it on video, because I don't really know how everything transpired there at the end. All I know is I saw the checkered flag waving, and I was excited.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., 3RD PLACE FINISH: I finally get up there, and I had to drive from back to get there. And I'd been there working all day long. I might have had a little more help. But them guys were, like, surprised to see me there, and I don't think they had much confidence in my car.
OVERMYER: This race was so spectacular it needed overtime. After 200 laps, we still didn't have a winner. It took the first-ever green-white-checkered finish in Daytona 500 history to settle this mess.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, 5TH PLACE FINISH: It was definitely wild racing. Everybody was trying to do all that they can. And, you know, you try to help out, but you also have to defend your own territory and do the best you can for your racecar.
GORDON: We've been coming here for quite a while. We've won two of these things. It's been awesome. But I've got to say, this one was one of the most spectacular finishes and one of the greatest battles and one of the greatest team efforts that I've been a part of. So, this is definitely the sweetest Daytona 500 I've ever had.
OVERMYER (on camera): This was an emotional victory for Jeff Gordon for more than one reason. He dedicated this race to those who lost their lives in the Hendricks Motorsports plane crash late last year.
Steve Overmyer, CNN, Daytona Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: That was an exciting race. I can't believe you're complaining about that.
MYERS: You know what? I'm complaining a little bit about the slow clean-up at the very end of the race. There should have been at least three more laps of real racing. They kept turning the lights back on in the pace car, because they couldn't get the track clean. No excuse for that. So, we had a three-lap shootout.
And then we had these drivers back there in 28th position banging off each other, wrecking, so that the leaders can't actually race. We had to go to yellow. We had so many yellows at the end of the race, because these guys racing for 33rd couldn't keep away from each other.
COSTELLO: Well, maybe that's because -- you know, and I just found this out last week -- that everybody wins money in this case.
MYERS: Yes, I guess (UNINTELLIGIBLE) driver.
COSTELLO: So, if you're losing, if you come 33rd, you're going to win the same amount of money as you would if you came in 32nd. MYERS: Right. No, it goes up, obviously. It goes up. Sponsor money goes up as well the more you get on TV and such. But I would have liked to have seen a little more green flag racing at the end of the race, because these guys were such in a great pack. It would have been such a phenomenal race, even four or five more green flag laps.
COSTELLO: Well, we're going to talk much more about this amazing race in the next hour of DAYBREAK. We'll be joined by a reporter from Turner Sports Interactive, NASCAR writer Marty Smith.
MYERS: Oh good.
COSTELLO: And you can argue with him then, Chad.
MYERS: OK.
COSTELLO: It's time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Opener" now.
The Phoenix Cardinals' new stadium is getting closer to completion, although construction isn't going quite this fast. Workers lifted the main portion of the retractable roof into place on Sunday. The stadium is scheduled to host its first NFL game in 2006 and the Super Bowl in 2008. Wow!
Oh, to be a kid again. The annual International Toy Fair is well under way in New York City. Thousands of new toys, games and gadgets are on display, including some old favorites. The fair continues through Wednesday.
Some elephants in Thailand decided to put the artistic talents to use. Eight of the elephants put paint to canvas. The only assistance they got was in picking the paint colors since elephants are color- blind. I don't know if you knew that, but they are. The pachyderm paintings sold for more than $37,000, which did set the record for the most expensive painting by a group of elephants or set the record by -- what fool would pay $37,000 for a painting done by an elephant? I just had to say it.
Here's what's all new in the next half-hour of DAYBREAK.
A goodwill gesture, 500 Palestinian prisoners enjoy their newfound freedom. We'll take you live to the West Bank to find out how important this step is to the Middle East peace process.
Plus, he was a firefighters at the World Trade Center on September 11 and been a soldier in Iraq. We'll witness this man's remarkable journey home again.
And a reminder, our e-mail question of the morning: Should New York host the 2012 Olympics? Send us your thoughts to Daybreak@CNN.com. That's Daybreak@CNN.com.
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Aired February 21, 2005 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Straight ahead on DAYBREAK, President Bush overseas. He's sounding a note of unity and trying to drown out wartime divisions.
Plus, the Big Apple wants the big games. New York makes an Olympic-sized bid.
And 22 lead changes, two crashes, and a three-time champ. NASCAR's best really kick it into high gear.
It is Monday, February 21. This is DAYBREAK.
Good morning to you. From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
"Now in the News."
President Bush speaks in Belgium in about three hours. It's the first major speech in his fence-mending trip to Europe. He'll urge European nations to put differences over the Iraq war behind them. We will bring you a live report from Brussels in just a couple of minutes.
Disturbing pictures out of Baghdad this morning. A roadside bomb went off next to a U.S. military convoy, overturning a Humvee. There are reports of casualties. The details are still sketchy at this time.
Israel has been releasing Palestinian prisoners by the busloads today. In a goodwill gesture, 500 Palestinians have been freed. Israel promised the release at a Mideast summit earlier this month.
Journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson has committed suicide. His son says Thompson shot himself at his home near Aspen, Colorado. Thompson was known for gonzo journalism as practiced in books like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." He was just 67 years old.
To the forecast center now and Chad.
Good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol. You left Vegas, and then you came to snow.
COSTELLO: It certainly woke me up when I stepped outside the airport. (WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: That was some race, Chad.
MYERS: It was. It was a little disappointing, but at least Tony Stewart didn't win.
COSTELLO: We're going to have much more on the Daytona 500 in the minutes to come on DAYBREAK.
MYERS: Fair enough.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: OK.
COSTELLO: Back to our top story now, President Bush in Europe. He's only visiting three nations over five days. But the trip puts him in touch with some major players.
This morning, the president is in Brussels, Belgium. He's meeting with NATO and European Union officials, along with French President Jacques Chirac.
And then it's on to Mainz in southwest Germany for talks with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. The president will also visit U.S. troops stationed in the region.
And his last stop is in the Slovak Republic, where he'll meet with the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
President Bush will deliver a major speech in just a few hours, and he's expected to stress that the U.S. views Europe as a friend despite frayed feelings over the war in Iraq.
Let's head live to Brussels now and Suzanne Malveaux, traveling with the president.
Good morning -- Suzanne.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
President Bush, as well as the first lady, kicked off this reconciliation tour, is what it is being called, in Brussels when they arrived last night. And, of course, the big question here is whether or not he's going to be able to win the hearts and minds of the European people, but certainly the leaders seem to be willing to give him a second chance.
President Bush earlier this morning being greeted by his Belgium host, King Albert (AUDIO GAP) Queen Paola at the palace. President Bush also meeting with Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt.
Now, the president also, of course, will meet with NATO, as well as the European Union. He will ask for additional reconciliation, as well as reconstruction funds for Iraq to try to win support.
But he is also, of course, going to be setting the tone, a new tone, for his administration when he delivers a major speech to the European people later today. He will call for tangible political, economic and security assistance to Iraq. And he will use the success of the Iraqi elections to make his case.
He will say specifically: "The alliance of Europe and North America is the main pillar of our society in a new century. Our strong friendship is essential to peace and prosperity across the globe, and no temporary debate, no passing disagreement of governments, no power on Earth will ever divide us."
That, of course, talking about the differences in the Iraq war.
President Bush, of course, later today will be meeting with French President Jacques Chirac. It is expected that he will emphasize, of course, the positive, the work that France has provided in Afghanistan and Haiti. They'll talk about their commonality when it comes to their approach in dealing with Syria, trying to get their military out of Lebanon.
But the big question, of course, too, is the divisions between the United States and the European Union over Iran, how to get it to abandon its nuclear weapons program, what the U.S. believes is a weapons program. Europeans are offering incentives, economic and diplomatic incentives. The U.S. wants sanctions -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Suzanne Malveaux reporting live from Belgium this morning. Thank you.
Let's talk about some secret tapes from President Bush's past. Will they haunt the president? Help him? Or do they really matter? It may be too soon to tell.
The tapes do give a glimpse into then Texas Governor Bush's thinking when considering a run for the presidency.
CNN's Elaine Quijano has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the secretly- taped conversations, first reported in "The New York Times," then Texas Governor George W. Bush candidly discusses his reasons for not answering a question: Did he ever use drugs?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, Doug, but it's not, it doesn't matter, cocaine. It'd be the same with marijuana. I wouldn't answer the marijuana question. You know why? Because I don't want some little kid doing what I'd tried.
DOUG WEAD, SECRETLY RECORDED PRIVATE TALKS WITH BUSH: Yes, and it never stops.
BUSH: But you've got to understand, I want to be president. I want to lead. I want to set -- do you want your little kid to say, hey, daddy, President Bush tried marijuana, I think I will?
QUIJANO: Mr. Bush also discusses his religious faith and his dealings with Christian conservatives. At one point, he bluntly states he will not give in to pressure to criticize gay people.
WEAD: You promised you would not appoint gays to office.
BUSH: No, what I said was, I wouldn't fire gays. I'm not going to discriminate against people.
QUIJANO: CNN did not independently authenticate the tapes, a process that can take days. But Tom Owen, the expert who authenticated the tapes for "The New York Times," says he spent eight days analyzing excerpts before reaching his conclusion.
TOM OWEN, OWL INVESTIGATIONS, AUDIO VOICE AUTHENTICATION: In listening to the tapes over and over, and listening to various samples of George W. Bush's voice at that time and later, I've concluded that it is the president's voice.
QUIJANO: The man who recorded the tapes, Doug Wead, had a book coming out. We could not reach Wead on Sunday, but he told "The New York Times" the recordings were carried out in states where it was legal. CNN could not independently verify his claim.
Wead told ABC's "Good Morning America" weekend edition he made the recordings for their historical value.
DOUG WEAD, SECRETLY RECORDED PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS: If I had had a chance to tape record Gandhi or had conversations with Churchill, I probably would have recorded them, too.
QUIJANO: But some say history will record these secret tapes as a betrayal.
STUART ROSENTHAL, POLITICAL ANALYST: In a continuum of violations of a personal relationship, a personal confidence, that this is probably the Super Bowl of them all.
QUIJANO: The White House issued a one-sentence response, saying these were casual conversations with somebody he considered a friend.
Historians say there is value in the recordings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When presidents write their memoirs, they're carefully doctored and carefully tailored. So, candid talk by presidents, even before they enter office, is like gold for historians.
QUIJANO (on camera): The tapes were reportedly made in 1998 through part of 2000. Experts say based on the excepts released, they are far from scandalous, and reveal a consistency, a man deeply religious whose private conversations echo his public positions.
Elaine Quijano, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: In other news across America this morning, a Colorado man suspected in a series of sexual assaults appeared in court to hear the allegations against him. The judge set bail for Brent J. Brents at $25 million. Brents had been released by Aurora, Colorado, police last fall after allegedly confessing to molesting an 8-year-old boy.
The parents of Terry Schiavo will be in court today to try to delay the removal of her feeding tube. The tube is scheduled to be taken out tomorrow. They say new tests could determine her level of brain function. Schiavo's husband and her parents have been fighting for years over whether to allow her to die.
Heavy rains in California have caused flooding and mudslides in several areas. The weather also caused a 40-foot-wide sinkhole in one Los Angeles roadway. Eight counties are under a landslide advisory this morning.
The weather system also produced other dramatic results. People in Huntington Beach watched as this water spout inched closer to land. Do you see it there? Two tornadoes did touch down in separate areas in Southern California. No injuries reported.
New York City officials rolled out the red carpet for their Olympic dreams. The city is bidding for its first Summer Games in 2012. But does New York really have what it takes to wow the Olympic judges?
We get more from Mark Joyella of CNN affiliate WNYW.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARK JOYELLA, CNN AFFILIATE WNYW REPORTER (voice over): A small but loud crowd, many of them Olympic-bid volunteers, greeted the Olympic judges like arriving rock stars, stepping off a bus and onto a red carpet at the Plaza Hotel. The city's wining and dining officially under way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It brings the world together. So, it's NYC's destiny, the biggest city in the world. What a better place to have it?
JOYELLA: New York's bid to host the 2012 Summer Games has plenty of PR power, banners all over town, flags and signs passed out to the crowd. But the 13 judges will surely have questions, especially about the status of the proposed Olympic stadium. Mayor Bloomberg had hoped to have broken ground by now. Instead, the stadium is far from a done deal.
Then, there's the Olympic Village. It would be built alongside New Town Creek in Queens, a waterway described by environmental groups as toxic, still contaminated decades after a massive 17 million gallon oil spill.
U.S. Olympic officials say New York is not the only city struggling with its bid. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Controversies or issues in each of the five cities. They are fully aware of those, but they're not going to dwell on any one thing.
JOYELLA: The IOC judges may not have time. The city set an aggressive schedule, right from their arrival at JFK through their departure on Thursday.
One tourist in town says skeptical New Yorkers should give the Olympics a chance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We experienced the Olympics when they were in Atlanta in '96. It's a great thing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: It was a great thing when the Olympics were in Atlanta. But will it be a great thing if it's in New York, the Olympics that is?
That report, by the way, from Mark Joyella of CNN affiliate WNYW.
Olympic delegates still have to visit Paris and Moscow before announcing their decision on July 6.
And, Chad, that does lead us to our e-mail question of the morning.
MYERS: There you go. If you live in the city or around the city, we want to hear from you, or even if you think maybe you're planning on going we want to hear from you.
COSTELLO: Yes. Is New York ready? Should New York host the 2012 Summer Olympics? We want to know what you think whether you live in New York or not.
MYERS: Right.
COSTELLO: Send some e-mails to us, Daybreak@CNN.com. That's Daybreak@CNN.com.
And we're always interested in your responses, because they're always interesting, aren't they?
MYERS: Sometimes well-thought out.
COSTELLO: Sometimes not.
MYERS: That's right.
COSTELLO: Usually they are, though. Much more to come on DAYBREAK this hour.
And, of course, the latest on a Florida couple accused of torturing their foster children.
Also, he spent more than a year in the war zone. Now he's finally back home. We'll bring you a soldier's story.
And 200 laps. This wasn't enough to finish this race. NASCAR's signature event goes into OT. We will wrap up the action.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning, February 21.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:15 Eastern. Here's what's new this morning.
Mending fences, President Bush in Brussels meeting with European leaders. He'll deliver a speech in just about three hours, calling for a fresh start to American-European relations despite disagreements over Iraq.
The U.N. high commissioner for refugees has resigned over a sexual harassment allegation. Ruud Lubbers insists he's innocent, but he indicated Secretary-General Kofi Annan left him little choice but to step down.
In money news, it's small change, but gasoline prices fell a half-penny over the past two weeks. Lucky you. The Lundberg Survey says the average price for self-serve regular nationwide is now $1.90 a gallon.
In culture, moviegoers got hitched for the second straight weekend. Will Smith's romantic comedy, "Hitch," led the way at the box office with $38.8 million.
In sports, there were plenty of dunks to excite the fans watching the NBA All-Star Game. The East team, led by Allen Iverson and Shaquille O'Neal, beat the West 125-115. It is the first win for the East in four years.
To the forecast center now and Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning.
John and Linda Dollar are in jail in Florida, denied bail by a judge who thinks they might try to escape. The Dollars are accused of starving and torturing five of their eight adopted children.
CNN's Sara Dorsey is following the story from Atlanta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA DORSEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Fifty-eight-year- old John Dollar and his 51-year-old wife, Linda, appeared in court together, handcuffed and in jail uniforms, to face child abuse charges. The adoptive parents arrived back in Florida last night, extradited from Utah. They were arrested there earlier this month on a warrant for missing a previous court hearing in Florida on the same charges.
The Dollars' attorney asked for the couple to be released on bail, saying:
CHARLES VAUGHN, DOLLARS' ATTORNEY: What had happened was previously when the attorneys set that bond, it was unknown by my clients that there was an arrest warrant.
DORSEY: But prosecutors argued the couple is still a flight risk. The judge agreed, denying bail.
The allegations of abuse include malnourishment, electric shock, pulling toenails out with pliers, binding the kids with chains and using a hammer to smash their feet.
The investigation began in January after one of the kids, a 16- year-old boy, was treated for a head wound at a local hospital. Police say he was battered and extremely thin, weighing in at only 59 pounds.
GAIL TIERNEY, CITRUS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: I've seen pictures of the children that, you know, have been taken in connection with this case. And, you know, they have very sweet faces, but when you look at their bodies, I mean, it looks like Auschwitz.
DORSEY: The children are now in state custody. Neighbors in Beverly Hills, the Dollars' upscale community located about 60 miles north of Tampa, said they were shocked to find out about the charges.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope they have a better life from now on.
DORSEY (on camera): A sheriff's office spokesman says additional charges will come out in the next few weeks.
Sara Dorsey, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: They were three prominent figures in American culture. Now they're loss is being mourned.
First, he was a hard-drinking rebel, who wrote about the dark side of American life. Hunter S. Thompson has committed suicide. He was just 67. He pioneered the personal writing style known as gonzo journalism in books like "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Generation of Swine." His son says Thompson shot himself at his Colorado home last night.
And the lights will be dim on Broadway tomorrow night in honor of John Raitt. His baritone voice graced the stage in "Carousel, "Annie, Get Your Gun," and the "Pajama Game." He was also the father of singer Bonnie Raitt. He died on Sunday at his California home. John Raitt was 88.
And she was an American sweetheart and a teenage heartthrob. Actress Sandra Dee died in California of complications from kidney disease and pneumonia. She attracted a large teenaged audience during the '60s in movies like "Gidget" and "A Summer Place."
When DAYBREAK continues, for some, it's a hard pill to swallow; for other, a lifesaver. The super painkiller Vioxx, pulled from the market, may be sold again. We'll tell you why.
You are watching DAYBREAK this Monday, February 21.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: They Daytona 500.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: It was one of the wildest finishes ever.
MYERS: Really, it should have been the Daytona 10, because only the last three laps really only counted anyway.
COSTELLO: They were an exciting three laps.
MYERS: Exactly.
COSTELLO: Jeff Gordon is the winner. It's his third Daytona 500 victory. Kurt Busch came in second. Defending champion Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was third. But, boy, he almost pulled it off, didn't he?
MYERS: He really did. And he had nothing of a car all through the race. They did a couple of changes on the last pit stop, and he really moved up through the pack. It was surprising. It was the old DEI of old, where they were the restricted play kings. And I really would have liked to have seen him and Michael, who lost an engine, Michael Waltrip lost an engine. Those two are teammates. If they could have got together, if they could have been nose to tail, it could have been a different outcome.
COSTELLO: Well, don't feel too sorry for Junior, because he won more than $700,000.
MYERS: Oh, there you go.
COSTELLO: CNN's Steve Overmyer has more for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE OVERMYER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Maybe they should have called this the Daytona 50. After 450 miles of drivers playing it cool, they managed to squeeze all of the excitement in the final 20 laps.
JEFF GORDON, 3-TIME DAYTONA 500 CHAMPION: I can't even really relive all of the moments that happened. I'm going to have to watch it on video, because I don't really know how everything transpired there at the end. All I know is I saw the checkered flag waving, and I was excited.
DALE EARNHARDT, JR., 3RD PLACE FINISH: I finally get up there, and I had to drive from back to get there. And I'd been there working all day long. I might have had a little more help. But them guys were, like, surprised to see me there, and I don't think they had much confidence in my car.
OVERMYER: This race was so spectacular it needed overtime. After 200 laps, we still didn't have a winner. It took the first-ever green-white-checkered finish in Daytona 500 history to settle this mess.
JIMMIE JOHNSON, 5TH PLACE FINISH: It was definitely wild racing. Everybody was trying to do all that they can. And, you know, you try to help out, but you also have to defend your own territory and do the best you can for your racecar.
GORDON: We've been coming here for quite a while. We've won two of these things. It's been awesome. But I've got to say, this one was one of the most spectacular finishes and one of the greatest battles and one of the greatest team efforts that I've been a part of. So, this is definitely the sweetest Daytona 500 I've ever had.
OVERMYER (on camera): This was an emotional victory for Jeff Gordon for more than one reason. He dedicated this race to those who lost their lives in the Hendricks Motorsports plane crash late last year.
Steve Overmyer, CNN, Daytona Beach, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: That was an exciting race. I can't believe you're complaining about that.
MYERS: You know what? I'm complaining a little bit about the slow clean-up at the very end of the race. There should have been at least three more laps of real racing. They kept turning the lights back on in the pace car, because they couldn't get the track clean. No excuse for that. So, we had a three-lap shootout.
And then we had these drivers back there in 28th position banging off each other, wrecking, so that the leaders can't actually race. We had to go to yellow. We had so many yellows at the end of the race, because these guys racing for 33rd couldn't keep away from each other.
COSTELLO: Well, maybe that's because -- you know, and I just found this out last week -- that everybody wins money in this case.
MYERS: Yes, I guess (UNINTELLIGIBLE) driver.
COSTELLO: So, if you're losing, if you come 33rd, you're going to win the same amount of money as you would if you came in 32nd. MYERS: Right. No, it goes up, obviously. It goes up. Sponsor money goes up as well the more you get on TV and such. But I would have liked to have seen a little more green flag racing at the end of the race, because these guys were such in a great pack. It would have been such a phenomenal race, even four or five more green flag laps.
COSTELLO: Well, we're going to talk much more about this amazing race in the next hour of DAYBREAK. We'll be joined by a reporter from Turner Sports Interactive, NASCAR writer Marty Smith.
MYERS: Oh good.
COSTELLO: And you can argue with him then, Chad.
MYERS: OK.
COSTELLO: It's time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Opener" now.
The Phoenix Cardinals' new stadium is getting closer to completion, although construction isn't going quite this fast. Workers lifted the main portion of the retractable roof into place on Sunday. The stadium is scheduled to host its first NFL game in 2006 and the Super Bowl in 2008. Wow!
Oh, to be a kid again. The annual International Toy Fair is well under way in New York City. Thousands of new toys, games and gadgets are on display, including some old favorites. The fair continues through Wednesday.
Some elephants in Thailand decided to put the artistic talents to use. Eight of the elephants put paint to canvas. The only assistance they got was in picking the paint colors since elephants are color- blind. I don't know if you knew that, but they are. The pachyderm paintings sold for more than $37,000, which did set the record for the most expensive painting by a group of elephants or set the record by -- what fool would pay $37,000 for a painting done by an elephant? I just had to say it.
Here's what's all new in the next half-hour of DAYBREAK.
A goodwill gesture, 500 Palestinian prisoners enjoy their newfound freedom. We'll take you live to the West Bank to find out how important this step is to the Middle East peace process.
Plus, he was a firefighters at the World Trade Center on September 11 and been a soldier in Iraq. We'll witness this man's remarkable journey home again.
And a reminder, our e-mail question of the morning: Should New York host the 2012 Olympics? Send us your thoughts to Daybreak@CNN.com. That's Daybreak@CNN.com.
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