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American Morning
Colorado Blizzard; Protesting Law; Bolton Hearing
Aired April 11, 2005 - 9:00 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: A cruel surprise this April, a blizzard stranding thousands. They thought they were in for a sunny day.
The truth about minivans. Can this family vehicle keep the whole family safe?
And Tiger Woods, on top once again, after putting on a spectacular show at the Masters. Back in form on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. Look who else is back.
Bill, we missed you. It's nice to have you back. Great reporting from Rome.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you. Well, I appreciate that. Good to be home, too.
O'BRIEN: Good.
HEMMER: It's not over, by the way. What a week last week was. Not over in Rome.
The college of cardinals getting ready to pick the next pope. Now a bit of a controversy today over one of them. We'll talk to one of the people at the Vatican today, trying to get her message of dissent out to the people there. That's coming up in a moment.
O'BRIEN: Also, a major test for President Bush. When his nominee for ambassador to the U.N. goes to Capitol Hill, some tough questions are expected for John Boston. Possibly even a Republican defection. We're going to take a look at the high stakes this morning.
HEMMER: All right.
Jack Cafferty is looking good, too, down in Washington.
Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome home, Cardinal Hemmer. Nice to have you back with us. House Republican leader Tom DeLay under fire from members of his own party. There are Republican senators and Congress people who are raising questions about his worthiness to continue serving as the majority leader in the House of Representatives amid new allegations of alleged wrongdoing.
So is it time for DeLay to go? AM@CNN.com.
HEMMER: We should have our own little conclave here.
CAFFERTY: Yes. We do.
O'BRIEN: For the pope or for Tom DeLay? Which one?
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
To the headlines. Here's Carol Costello also with us here.
Carol, good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to you.
"Now in the News," dozens of suspected insurgents in custody this morning following a major raid in Baghdad. U.S. military sources say 500 Iraqi and American forces took part in one of the biggest raids in recent weeks. The arrests come as Iraq's new president, Jalal Talabani, tells CNN U.S. forces could leave Iraq within two years. That's how long he predicts it will take Iraqi troops to be fully trained.
Within the hour, President Bush is meeting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on his Texas ranch. The president is expected to stress U.S. objections to an Israeli plan to build 3,500 new housing units in the West Bank. The plans have angered Palestinians and could threaten Mideast peace talks.
In Florida, the family of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford will push this morning for tougher laws against sex offenders. They say Lunsford may not have been abducted if lawmakers had kept closer tabs on sex offenders, including the use of global tracking devices.
Also, law enforcement sources tell CNN that John Couey, the man accused of killing Jessica Lunsford, told police he buried her alive. Police are checking out Couey's story.
And silicone breast implants could be back on the market. The Food and Drug Administration is now debating whether to lift the ban that's been in place for the past 13 years. Manufacturers say the new implants are safe.
A decision is not expected for several weeks because, as you know, everything moves slowly when it comes to these things.
HEMMER: Yes. You have to get it right.
O'BRIEN: You know, can we get back to that John Couey telling that he buried that little girl alive? I mean, as a parent, you'd think like the worst thing you could imagine, outside of the horrible thing that happened to that little girl, is the idea that her last moments were just -- oh, it's so upsetting, I think.
COSTELLO: We interviewed a "Miami Herald" earlier reporter on DAYBREAK, and he said that John Couey could be making this fact up because he's going to say he's crazy when he goes to trial. And this will help him do that.
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, you kind of hope that he is making that up. You know, that he -- that's just terrible.
HEMMER: Thank you, Carol.
I want to shift our attention now to the weather. Colorado residents got more than April showers over the weekend. There was a blizzard out there that left Denver under a foot of snow, nearby cities with more than 20 inches of snow. And that continued through this morning, shutting down schools around the region and leaving hundreds still without power.
Sean Callebs up early, live in Denver.
Good morning, Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Bill.
Do not adjust your set. These are not file pictures from the dead of winter. We're nearly three full weeks into spring, and just look at these conditions. It does look like a winter wonderland behind me.
Now, last hour we talked to Soledad. She said she was surprised the interstates appeared so clear as rush hour traffic began making its way in. But to give you an idea, it's temperatures right about freezing. It's just basically kind of slushy, so you can see cars are able to maneuver pretty well around here.
And remember, this is also Colorado. They're used to wacky weather conditions, and pretty hardened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS (voice-over): This is wild, even by Colorado's standards of rapidly changing weather systems. Nearly a foot of snow in Denver proper and a mere 24 hours before that, springtime temperatures.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So it was 70 degrees. We had on miniskirts, we had on tank tops, enjoying the weather. It was wonderful. And then today, I'm driving home, and there's cars that have done, like, 180s and rammed into the side of the highway.
CALLEBS: So they scraped, and scraped, and brought out the heavy-duty stuff to counter the spring storm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am prepared for it. I figured if I'm going out, I might as well, you know, not be miserable.
CALLEBS: And speaking of miserable, the legions stranded at Denver International Airport can vouch for that. The monitors tell the story -- canceled. United Airlines scrapped all its flights Sunday, as did most other major carriers. For hours, nothing coming in and nothing going out. Passengers only choice, simply sit there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the hotels are booked, and none of the shuttles are running. And earlier, none of the taxies were running.
CALLEBS: And even if they were, there were there was nowhere to go. While roads in Denver were passable, interstates crisscrossing the state were shutdown.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: And you're seeing a bunch of cars snowed in, some people sleeping late, taking advantage of this late start to the workday.
Now, for the interstate situation, I-70, east of Denver all the way to the Kansas border, still shut down. Interstate 25 down from Denver to the New Mexico area has opened up.
And Bill, good news about the airport. They expect to have a pretty normal run of things today. Normal considering every flight was canceled yesterday.
And anybody who spends some time out here knows there's not much humidity in the air. So usually very light, fluffy snow. Well, something a lot different today, Bill. It's real heavy stuff, brought down some power lines. Close to 10,000 people without power yesterday, but almost everybody has it back on this morning.
Back to you.
HEMMER: Won't last long. Thank you, Sean.
Checking in with Chad right now at the CNN Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Well, members of a U.S.-based group, the Survivors Network by Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, are in Rome this morning. They are protesting the Vatican's decision to pick Cardinal Bernard Law to lead a mass for the pope in just about two hours from now. Cardinal Law has been accused of covering up abuse by priests.
Barbara Blaine is the group's founder and president. And she's in Rome this morning.
Barbara, nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.
BARBARA BLAINE, SNAP: Good morning. Thanks for having us.
O'BRIEN: It's our pleasure. What's your goal in this protest exactly?
BLAINE: Basically, we're here to prevent any further pain and suffering. We believe that at this time, Catholics across the globe deserve the right to reflect on the life of and to mourn the passing of Pope John Paul II without this embarrassing and painful topic of the sex abuse scandal coming into play.
O'BRIEN: Well, I mean, the topic's coming into play in part because we're talking about it. But basically, you want to keep Cardinal Law out of any of the celebrations and the honoring of the life of Pope John Paul II. I know you're going to be handing out pamphlets. Do you plan to protest the mass that he will be leading?
BLAINE: We won't do anything disruptive to cause any further pain. We're actually trying to prevent pain. But we believe putting Cardinal Law's face and image up there in such a prominent role is just like rubbing salt into the wounds of the victims and family members and the Catholics across the United States who just don't want this being brought up at this time of grieving and mourning.
O'BRIEN: Law, as you well know, leads one of the four basilicas which are under Vatican jurisdiction. To a large degree, some have said what he's doing by leading the mass today is really just protocol, that that's kind of just the way it works. What do you think about that argument?
BLAINE: Well, I think that the protocol could be set aside if we're talking about the extreme pain and suffering that so many victim and family members have gone through. In the Archdiocese of Boston, over a thousand victims and their families were just devastated. The parishes have been split over this. And to just keep bringing it up, especially at a time when Catholics around the world have come together to focus on the life of Pope John Paul II, just putting Cardinal Law's image up there is just inappropriate.
And we believe that the Catholic cardinals know this, and know about this for the American Catholics, and that they should have stopped it.
O'BRIEN: Do you think that Cardinal Law's role at the Vatican overall is an indication that the sex abuse scandal, while will focus attention here in the United States, is really not a focus of attention of the Catholic Church as a whole? You know, that they're focused more on hunger and poverty and sort of what some people might call bigger issues than what's happening here in the U.S.?
BLAINE: Well, unfortunately, we have learned that the sex abuse scandal is not confined to the United States. And actually, goes across international borders.
We're also -- we also believe that the church leaders themselves will not have credibility when they're speaking out about other social issues if they can't deal with the problems within its own -- within the church, where their own priests have raped and sodomized and sexually molested Catholic children.
O'BRIEN: Barbara Blaine is the president of SNAP, talking with us this morning.
Barbara, thanks for your time. Appreciate it.
BLAINE: Thank you, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Bill.
HEMMER: About 11 minutes now past the hour.
The president's choice to represent the U.S. at the U.N. will be in a Senate hot seat this morning. Democrats promising to fight John Bolton's nomination as U.N. ambassador.
To the Hill, and Andrea Koppel with more on there.
Good morning, Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, hard-line conservative John Bolton has drawn some pretty harsh criticism here in Washington and around the world for his tough talk. The North Koreans once called him "human scum."
Leading up to today's hearing before the Senate -- before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, there has been a very public battle that's been playing out between Bolton's critics and his supporters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL (voice-over): Love him or hate him, John Bolton provokes strong reactions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this the man we want at the U.N.? America doesn't need a loose cannon; it needs a problem solver.
KOPPEL: In the week since he was named, critics and supporters have turned Bolton's nomination into a public fight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need leaders who will stand up for American values, like John Bolton.
KOPPEL: And dozens of retired ambassadors have fired off dueling letters to Senator Richard Lugar, Republican Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Democrats have promised a confirmation battle.
And Don Kraus with Citizens for Global Solutions is spearheading the grassroots campaign to keep Bolton out of the U.N. at a time when Bush claims he wants to repair relations with U.S. allies.
DON KRAUS, CITIZENS FOR GLOBAL SOLUTIONS: He has the wrong message and he brings with him baggage that would make it difficult for him to be an effective ambassador for the United States at the U.N. KOPPEL: As the State Department's point man on arms control during the first Bush term, Bolton grabbed headlines for his tough talk on North Korea, Iran and Cuba. He led the way to keep the U.S. from joining the International Criminal Court.
But critics say most telling is Bolton's open hostility for the United Nations, expressed here in a 1994 speech when he was out of government.
JOHN BOLTON, AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. NOMINEE: Is there is no United Nations. There is an international community that occasionally can be led by the only real power left in the world and that's the United States.
KOPPEL: Bolton's supporters say as the U.S. pushes for U.N. reform, it needs a strong voice, like past U.N. Ambassadors Jeane Kirkpatrick and Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
DANIELLE PLETKA, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: He believes in taking his case to foreign countries, in making the necessary arguments. That's exactly what we need, not somebody who knows which fork to use.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: Bolton's nomination is anything but a slam dunk. Former State Department intelligence officials are expected to testify here later in the week that Bolton tried to intimidate them at various points during his tenure at the State Department to try to skew intelligence on Iraq and Cuba.
Now, although Bolton himself has declined to comment on this, Bill, the State Department says it will be happy to answer any and all questions here today and he'll try to be as forthcoming as possible -- Bill.
HEMMER: We'll be watching it. Thanks, Andrea.
9:30 a.m. Eastern Time the hearing begins, about 15 minutes away. Thanks -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Straight ahead this morning, new safety ratings are out for the most popular minivans in America. Well, which ones fared the best? We'll get the lowdown from the editor in chief of "Automobile Magazine."
HEMMER: Also, Tiger Woods putting us on the edge on Sunday, and why this victory at the Masters may have been two wins in one. More on that.
O'BRIEN: And the most heavily-guarded duck in America. Why the Secret Service is protecting this feathered friend. We'll explain ahead, on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Another all-time high for gas prices. The average price at the pump is up to $2.29 a gallon.
Drivers in Newark, New Jersey, are getting the best deal at $2.06, while prices in Bakersfield, California, soared to $2.62. Prices in Chicago and Seattle also approaching $2.50 a gallon.
The good news, though, experts say prices have just about peaked.
If you're driving a minivan or a pickup truck, you want to listen up. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is out with its latest crash test results. Jean Jennings is the editor in chief of "Automobile Magazine." She's in Las Vegas this morning.
Jean, as always, nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.
JEAN JENNINGS, "AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE": Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Let's begin with a look at what did pretty well. Let's show you the list, first and foremost, if we can put that up on the screen. And I'll read some of the names.
The Honda -- the Chevy Uplander from GM, the Honda Odyssey, the Toyota Sienna, the Ford Freestar, the Nissan Quest all were rated good. What were they looking for that gave them the good rating?
JENNINGS: Well, this is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. This is not a government-mandated test.
They are looking for cars to be able to, or in this case, minivans, to crash into an offset barrier at 40 miles per hour. It's a very violent crash, so it has to maintain the integrity of the passenger compartment and with a seat-belted passenger sustaining very little injury.
O'BRIEN: You saw the Chevy Uplander was first on that list of good. It wasn't so good back in 1996 when they did the last test. Back then it fared poorly, actually. So what changes did GM make to the Uplander?
JENNINGS: Well, you know, it wasn't just GM. Ten years ago, we didn't know as much about not only materials, but how to maintain the integrity of the passenger compartment, and also how to make sure in a frontal collision the engine, which is a pretty heavy piece, would actually go underneath the passenger compartment.
Back then, you know, the materials were different, and also the safety systems were different. Now, safety is the price of admission. You have to have it, whether or not the government mandates it.
O'BRIEN: The vehicles that didn't do so well were these -- let me read the list -- the Chevy Astro, or GMC Safari, the 1996 to 2005 models; the Pontiac Trans Sport, Montana, 1997 to 2005 models; the Chevy Venture, 1997 to 2005 models.
Why, specifically, were these the worst?
JENNINGS: These are old vehicles. For one thing, that Astro is going out of production this May. The other vehicles, as you mentioned, are already out of production. These are designs that have been around for 10 years. So, in...
O'BRIEN: Look at this car, Jean. Forgive me for interrupting you. I mean, this thing just crumbles when it hits that barricade at 40 miles an hour.
JENNINGS: You're absolutely right.
O'BRIEN: It's kind of shocking to me, I guess, because when you think of minivans, you think of a mom and the kids all strapped in the back. I mean, the whole point of buying these vehicles in the first place was because of safety. Is that why these, as you were starting to talk about with the Astro, are no longer being manufactured?
JENNINGS: Absolutely. But, you know, it's -- like I said, these were not big-selling vehicles to start with. And there's a tradeoff. There's always a tradeoff between how much it costs to put systems in a car and what people are willing to pay for it.
O'BRIEN: Final question for you. Gas guzzling, I mean, everybody knows a minivan is not the most fuel-efficient vehicle. Are they getting any better?
JENNINGS: Absolutely getting better. There is no doubt about it.
There are still a few dinosaurs around. I own one, actually. But as far as our analysts say, until there is sustained $3-a-gallon gas, until it is sustained, it will not impact people's buying choices.
O'BRIEN: That in and of itself is pretty shocking. Jean Jennings of "Automobile Magazine." Nice to see you, as always. Thanks.
JENNINGS: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Bill.
HEMMER: There are some stunning allegations from Michael Jackson's past, retold in graphic detail. But based on the credibility of the witnesses, how much is the bombshell testimony really worth? We'll look at that as we continue in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Back to Jack and the "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: Thank you, Bill.
Republican colleagues have begun to turn on House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Sunday, Senate leader Rick Santorum, the number three Republican in the Senate, said that DeLay needs to explain his conduct to the public. And Respective Chris -- Shays, I'm sorry, called on DeLay to resign as House majority leader.
DeLay was admonished by the House Ethics Committee last year. New reports continue to surface about some of his conduct. DeLay says the allegations are nothing more than seedy attacks by House Democrats.
Not to Mr. DeLay: Santorum and Shays are Republicans.
The question is, should Representative Tom DeLay resign as House majority leader?
David in Ames, Iowa, "Yes. After the stink the Republican Party's made about values and morals, I think it's proper they should enforce their own ethics before pointing the finger at everyone else."
Lisa in Texas writes, "There are a number of us living in Texas who are thrilled that DeLay's activities are finally seeing the light of day. The day after he resigns there will be a huge party in Dallas. You're more than welcome to attend, Jack"
Tom in Illinois writes, "Like any American, he should get a fair hearing. However, waiting Ethics hearings, as has now been done, does not look good. If he's guilty, he should step down to avoid further embarrassment."
And finally, Tom in West Virginia, "Holier-than-thou Tom DeLay wallowing in campaign contributions, exploiting the tragedy of Terri Schiavo, surrounded by the stench of nepotism and political manipulation and wrapped in the American flag. Do I think he should resign? No. But I'm a Democrat. I think he makes an excellent poster boy for the Republicans."
O'BRIEN: There are many who say that, in fact, his bigger crime, as opposed to the appearance of impropriety and all those things, was his role in the Terri Schiavo case, that that's where a lot of his Republican colleagues sort of started to turn on him because they didn't like what he said during that whole hubbub about that. And also, afterward, essential a threat to the judges about "you're going to pay." That upset a lot of his Republican colleagues.
CAFFERTY: Yes. I think that was over the line.
And it wasn't just Tom DeLay. I think there was a lot of feeling in this country that the Congress and the president had no business rushing into a special session to legislate a piece of legislation specifically aimed at the Terri Schiavo thing.
They thought it was in keeping, I think, with some of their tenets and values. But the polling that followed that found that a large majority of the American people thought that was something they had no business sticking their noses in.
HEMMER: A good number of Republicans, too.
In a moment here, Tiger Woods looks pretty good in green, doesn't he? O'BRIEN: He thinks so.
HEMMER: There you are. Playing yesterday, though, with a bit of a heavy heart, too. Details in a moment here as we continue after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
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Aired April 11, 2005 - 9:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A cruel surprise this April, a blizzard stranding thousands. They thought they were in for a sunny day.
The truth about minivans. Can this family vehicle keep the whole family safe?
And Tiger Woods, on top once again, after putting on a spectacular show at the Masters. Back in form on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. Look who else is back.
Bill, we missed you. It's nice to have you back. Great reporting from Rome.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you. Well, I appreciate that. Good to be home, too.
O'BRIEN: Good.
HEMMER: It's not over, by the way. What a week last week was. Not over in Rome.
The college of cardinals getting ready to pick the next pope. Now a bit of a controversy today over one of them. We'll talk to one of the people at the Vatican today, trying to get her message of dissent out to the people there. That's coming up in a moment.
O'BRIEN: Also, a major test for President Bush. When his nominee for ambassador to the U.N. goes to Capitol Hill, some tough questions are expected for John Boston. Possibly even a Republican defection. We're going to take a look at the high stakes this morning.
HEMMER: All right.
Jack Cafferty is looking good, too, down in Washington.
Good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome home, Cardinal Hemmer. Nice to have you back with us. House Republican leader Tom DeLay under fire from members of his own party. There are Republican senators and Congress people who are raising questions about his worthiness to continue serving as the majority leader in the House of Representatives amid new allegations of alleged wrongdoing.
So is it time for DeLay to go? AM@CNN.com.
HEMMER: We should have our own little conclave here.
CAFFERTY: Yes. We do.
O'BRIEN: For the pope or for Tom DeLay? Which one?
HEMMER: Thank you, Jack.
To the headlines. Here's Carol Costello also with us here.
Carol, good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to you.
"Now in the News," dozens of suspected insurgents in custody this morning following a major raid in Baghdad. U.S. military sources say 500 Iraqi and American forces took part in one of the biggest raids in recent weeks. The arrests come as Iraq's new president, Jalal Talabani, tells CNN U.S. forces could leave Iraq within two years. That's how long he predicts it will take Iraqi troops to be fully trained.
Within the hour, President Bush is meeting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on his Texas ranch. The president is expected to stress U.S. objections to an Israeli plan to build 3,500 new housing units in the West Bank. The plans have angered Palestinians and could threaten Mideast peace talks.
In Florida, the family of 9-year-old Jessica Lunsford will push this morning for tougher laws against sex offenders. They say Lunsford may not have been abducted if lawmakers had kept closer tabs on sex offenders, including the use of global tracking devices.
Also, law enforcement sources tell CNN that John Couey, the man accused of killing Jessica Lunsford, told police he buried her alive. Police are checking out Couey's story.
And silicone breast implants could be back on the market. The Food and Drug Administration is now debating whether to lift the ban that's been in place for the past 13 years. Manufacturers say the new implants are safe.
A decision is not expected for several weeks because, as you know, everything moves slowly when it comes to these things.
HEMMER: Yes. You have to get it right.
O'BRIEN: You know, can we get back to that John Couey telling that he buried that little girl alive? I mean, as a parent, you'd think like the worst thing you could imagine, outside of the horrible thing that happened to that little girl, is the idea that her last moments were just -- oh, it's so upsetting, I think.
COSTELLO: We interviewed a "Miami Herald" earlier reporter on DAYBREAK, and he said that John Couey could be making this fact up because he's going to say he's crazy when he goes to trial. And this will help him do that.
O'BRIEN: Well, you know, you kind of hope that he is making that up. You know, that he -- that's just terrible.
HEMMER: Thank you, Carol.
I want to shift our attention now to the weather. Colorado residents got more than April showers over the weekend. There was a blizzard out there that left Denver under a foot of snow, nearby cities with more than 20 inches of snow. And that continued through this morning, shutting down schools around the region and leaving hundreds still without power.
Sean Callebs up early, live in Denver.
Good morning, Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Bill.
Do not adjust your set. These are not file pictures from the dead of winter. We're nearly three full weeks into spring, and just look at these conditions. It does look like a winter wonderland behind me.
Now, last hour we talked to Soledad. She said she was surprised the interstates appeared so clear as rush hour traffic began making its way in. But to give you an idea, it's temperatures right about freezing. It's just basically kind of slushy, so you can see cars are able to maneuver pretty well around here.
And remember, this is also Colorado. They're used to wacky weather conditions, and pretty hardened.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS (voice-over): This is wild, even by Colorado's standards of rapidly changing weather systems. Nearly a foot of snow in Denver proper and a mere 24 hours before that, springtime temperatures.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So it was 70 degrees. We had on miniskirts, we had on tank tops, enjoying the weather. It was wonderful. And then today, I'm driving home, and there's cars that have done, like, 180s and rammed into the side of the highway.
CALLEBS: So they scraped, and scraped, and brought out the heavy-duty stuff to counter the spring storm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am prepared for it. I figured if I'm going out, I might as well, you know, not be miserable.
CALLEBS: And speaking of miserable, the legions stranded at Denver International Airport can vouch for that. The monitors tell the story -- canceled. United Airlines scrapped all its flights Sunday, as did most other major carriers. For hours, nothing coming in and nothing going out. Passengers only choice, simply sit there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All the hotels are booked, and none of the shuttles are running. And earlier, none of the taxies were running.
CALLEBS: And even if they were, there were there was nowhere to go. While roads in Denver were passable, interstates crisscrossing the state were shutdown.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: And you're seeing a bunch of cars snowed in, some people sleeping late, taking advantage of this late start to the workday.
Now, for the interstate situation, I-70, east of Denver all the way to the Kansas border, still shut down. Interstate 25 down from Denver to the New Mexico area has opened up.
And Bill, good news about the airport. They expect to have a pretty normal run of things today. Normal considering every flight was canceled yesterday.
And anybody who spends some time out here knows there's not much humidity in the air. So usually very light, fluffy snow. Well, something a lot different today, Bill. It's real heavy stuff, brought down some power lines. Close to 10,000 people without power yesterday, but almost everybody has it back on this morning.
Back to you.
HEMMER: Won't last long. Thank you, Sean.
Checking in with Chad right now at the CNN Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Well, members of a U.S.-based group, the Survivors Network by Those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, are in Rome this morning. They are protesting the Vatican's decision to pick Cardinal Bernard Law to lead a mass for the pope in just about two hours from now. Cardinal Law has been accused of covering up abuse by priests.
Barbara Blaine is the group's founder and president. And she's in Rome this morning.
Barbara, nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.
BARBARA BLAINE, SNAP: Good morning. Thanks for having us.
O'BRIEN: It's our pleasure. What's your goal in this protest exactly?
BLAINE: Basically, we're here to prevent any further pain and suffering. We believe that at this time, Catholics across the globe deserve the right to reflect on the life of and to mourn the passing of Pope John Paul II without this embarrassing and painful topic of the sex abuse scandal coming into play.
O'BRIEN: Well, I mean, the topic's coming into play in part because we're talking about it. But basically, you want to keep Cardinal Law out of any of the celebrations and the honoring of the life of Pope John Paul II. I know you're going to be handing out pamphlets. Do you plan to protest the mass that he will be leading?
BLAINE: We won't do anything disruptive to cause any further pain. We're actually trying to prevent pain. But we believe putting Cardinal Law's face and image up there in such a prominent role is just like rubbing salt into the wounds of the victims and family members and the Catholics across the United States who just don't want this being brought up at this time of grieving and mourning.
O'BRIEN: Law, as you well know, leads one of the four basilicas which are under Vatican jurisdiction. To a large degree, some have said what he's doing by leading the mass today is really just protocol, that that's kind of just the way it works. What do you think about that argument?
BLAINE: Well, I think that the protocol could be set aside if we're talking about the extreme pain and suffering that so many victim and family members have gone through. In the Archdiocese of Boston, over a thousand victims and their families were just devastated. The parishes have been split over this. And to just keep bringing it up, especially at a time when Catholics around the world have come together to focus on the life of Pope John Paul II, just putting Cardinal Law's image up there is just inappropriate.
And we believe that the Catholic cardinals know this, and know about this for the American Catholics, and that they should have stopped it.
O'BRIEN: Do you think that Cardinal Law's role at the Vatican overall is an indication that the sex abuse scandal, while will focus attention here in the United States, is really not a focus of attention of the Catholic Church as a whole? You know, that they're focused more on hunger and poverty and sort of what some people might call bigger issues than what's happening here in the U.S.?
BLAINE: Well, unfortunately, we have learned that the sex abuse scandal is not confined to the United States. And actually, goes across international borders.
We're also -- we also believe that the church leaders themselves will not have credibility when they're speaking out about other social issues if they can't deal with the problems within its own -- within the church, where their own priests have raped and sodomized and sexually molested Catholic children.
O'BRIEN: Barbara Blaine is the president of SNAP, talking with us this morning.
Barbara, thanks for your time. Appreciate it.
BLAINE: Thank you, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Bill.
HEMMER: About 11 minutes now past the hour.
The president's choice to represent the U.S. at the U.N. will be in a Senate hot seat this morning. Democrats promising to fight John Bolton's nomination as U.N. ambassador.
To the Hill, and Andrea Koppel with more on there.
Good morning, Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Well, hard-line conservative John Bolton has drawn some pretty harsh criticism here in Washington and around the world for his tough talk. The North Koreans once called him "human scum."
Leading up to today's hearing before the Senate -- before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, there has been a very public battle that's been playing out between Bolton's critics and his supporters.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL (voice-over): Love him or hate him, John Bolton provokes strong reactions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this the man we want at the U.N.? America doesn't need a loose cannon; it needs a problem solver.
KOPPEL: In the week since he was named, critics and supporters have turned Bolton's nomination into a public fight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need leaders who will stand up for American values, like John Bolton.
KOPPEL: And dozens of retired ambassadors have fired off dueling letters to Senator Richard Lugar, Republican Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Democrats have promised a confirmation battle.
And Don Kraus with Citizens for Global Solutions is spearheading the grassroots campaign to keep Bolton out of the U.N. at a time when Bush claims he wants to repair relations with U.S. allies.
DON KRAUS, CITIZENS FOR GLOBAL SOLUTIONS: He has the wrong message and he brings with him baggage that would make it difficult for him to be an effective ambassador for the United States at the U.N. KOPPEL: As the State Department's point man on arms control during the first Bush term, Bolton grabbed headlines for his tough talk on North Korea, Iran and Cuba. He led the way to keep the U.S. from joining the International Criminal Court.
But critics say most telling is Bolton's open hostility for the United Nations, expressed here in a 1994 speech when he was out of government.
JOHN BOLTON, AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N. NOMINEE: Is there is no United Nations. There is an international community that occasionally can be led by the only real power left in the world and that's the United States.
KOPPEL: Bolton's supporters say as the U.S. pushes for U.N. reform, it needs a strong voice, like past U.N. Ambassadors Jeane Kirkpatrick and Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
DANIELLE PLETKA, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE: He believes in taking his case to foreign countries, in making the necessary arguments. That's exactly what we need, not somebody who knows which fork to use.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOPPEL: Bolton's nomination is anything but a slam dunk. Former State Department intelligence officials are expected to testify here later in the week that Bolton tried to intimidate them at various points during his tenure at the State Department to try to skew intelligence on Iraq and Cuba.
Now, although Bolton himself has declined to comment on this, Bill, the State Department says it will be happy to answer any and all questions here today and he'll try to be as forthcoming as possible -- Bill.
HEMMER: We'll be watching it. Thanks, Andrea.
9:30 a.m. Eastern Time the hearing begins, about 15 minutes away. Thanks -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Straight ahead this morning, new safety ratings are out for the most popular minivans in America. Well, which ones fared the best? We'll get the lowdown from the editor in chief of "Automobile Magazine."
HEMMER: Also, Tiger Woods putting us on the edge on Sunday, and why this victory at the Masters may have been two wins in one. More on that.
O'BRIEN: And the most heavily-guarded duck in America. Why the Secret Service is protecting this feathered friend. We'll explain ahead, on AMERICAN MORNING.
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O'BRIEN: Another all-time high for gas prices. The average price at the pump is up to $2.29 a gallon.
Drivers in Newark, New Jersey, are getting the best deal at $2.06, while prices in Bakersfield, California, soared to $2.62. Prices in Chicago and Seattle also approaching $2.50 a gallon.
The good news, though, experts say prices have just about peaked.
If you're driving a minivan or a pickup truck, you want to listen up. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is out with its latest crash test results. Jean Jennings is the editor in chief of "Automobile Magazine." She's in Las Vegas this morning.
Jean, as always, nice to see you. Thanks for talking with us.
JEAN JENNINGS, "AUTOMOBILE MAGAZINE": Good morning, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Let's begin with a look at what did pretty well. Let's show you the list, first and foremost, if we can put that up on the screen. And I'll read some of the names.
The Honda -- the Chevy Uplander from GM, the Honda Odyssey, the Toyota Sienna, the Ford Freestar, the Nissan Quest all were rated good. What were they looking for that gave them the good rating?
JENNINGS: Well, this is the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. This is not a government-mandated test.
They are looking for cars to be able to, or in this case, minivans, to crash into an offset barrier at 40 miles per hour. It's a very violent crash, so it has to maintain the integrity of the passenger compartment and with a seat-belted passenger sustaining very little injury.
O'BRIEN: You saw the Chevy Uplander was first on that list of good. It wasn't so good back in 1996 when they did the last test. Back then it fared poorly, actually. So what changes did GM make to the Uplander?
JENNINGS: Well, you know, it wasn't just GM. Ten years ago, we didn't know as much about not only materials, but how to maintain the integrity of the passenger compartment, and also how to make sure in a frontal collision the engine, which is a pretty heavy piece, would actually go underneath the passenger compartment.
Back then, you know, the materials were different, and also the safety systems were different. Now, safety is the price of admission. You have to have it, whether or not the government mandates it.
O'BRIEN: The vehicles that didn't do so well were these -- let me read the list -- the Chevy Astro, or GMC Safari, the 1996 to 2005 models; the Pontiac Trans Sport, Montana, 1997 to 2005 models; the Chevy Venture, 1997 to 2005 models.
Why, specifically, were these the worst?
JENNINGS: These are old vehicles. For one thing, that Astro is going out of production this May. The other vehicles, as you mentioned, are already out of production. These are designs that have been around for 10 years. So, in...
O'BRIEN: Look at this car, Jean. Forgive me for interrupting you. I mean, this thing just crumbles when it hits that barricade at 40 miles an hour.
JENNINGS: You're absolutely right.
O'BRIEN: It's kind of shocking to me, I guess, because when you think of minivans, you think of a mom and the kids all strapped in the back. I mean, the whole point of buying these vehicles in the first place was because of safety. Is that why these, as you were starting to talk about with the Astro, are no longer being manufactured?
JENNINGS: Absolutely. But, you know, it's -- like I said, these were not big-selling vehicles to start with. And there's a tradeoff. There's always a tradeoff between how much it costs to put systems in a car and what people are willing to pay for it.
O'BRIEN: Final question for you. Gas guzzling, I mean, everybody knows a minivan is not the most fuel-efficient vehicle. Are they getting any better?
JENNINGS: Absolutely getting better. There is no doubt about it.
There are still a few dinosaurs around. I own one, actually. But as far as our analysts say, until there is sustained $3-a-gallon gas, until it is sustained, it will not impact people's buying choices.
O'BRIEN: That in and of itself is pretty shocking. Jean Jennings of "Automobile Magazine." Nice to see you, as always. Thanks.
JENNINGS: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Bill.
HEMMER: There are some stunning allegations from Michael Jackson's past, retold in graphic detail. But based on the credibility of the witnesses, how much is the bombshell testimony really worth? We'll look at that as we continue in a moment here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
Back to Jack and the "Question of the Day."
CAFFERTY: Thank you, Bill.
Republican colleagues have begun to turn on House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Sunday, Senate leader Rick Santorum, the number three Republican in the Senate, said that DeLay needs to explain his conduct to the public. And Respective Chris -- Shays, I'm sorry, called on DeLay to resign as House majority leader.
DeLay was admonished by the House Ethics Committee last year. New reports continue to surface about some of his conduct. DeLay says the allegations are nothing more than seedy attacks by House Democrats.
Not to Mr. DeLay: Santorum and Shays are Republicans.
The question is, should Representative Tom DeLay resign as House majority leader?
David in Ames, Iowa, "Yes. After the stink the Republican Party's made about values and morals, I think it's proper they should enforce their own ethics before pointing the finger at everyone else."
Lisa in Texas writes, "There are a number of us living in Texas who are thrilled that DeLay's activities are finally seeing the light of day. The day after he resigns there will be a huge party in Dallas. You're more than welcome to attend, Jack"
Tom in Illinois writes, "Like any American, he should get a fair hearing. However, waiting Ethics hearings, as has now been done, does not look good. If he's guilty, he should step down to avoid further embarrassment."
And finally, Tom in West Virginia, "Holier-than-thou Tom DeLay wallowing in campaign contributions, exploiting the tragedy of Terri Schiavo, surrounded by the stench of nepotism and political manipulation and wrapped in the American flag. Do I think he should resign? No. But I'm a Democrat. I think he makes an excellent poster boy for the Republicans."
O'BRIEN: There are many who say that, in fact, his bigger crime, as opposed to the appearance of impropriety and all those things, was his role in the Terri Schiavo case, that that's where a lot of his Republican colleagues sort of started to turn on him because they didn't like what he said during that whole hubbub about that. And also, afterward, essential a threat to the judges about "you're going to pay." That upset a lot of his Republican colleagues.
CAFFERTY: Yes. I think that was over the line.
And it wasn't just Tom DeLay. I think there was a lot of feeling in this country that the Congress and the president had no business rushing into a special session to legislate a piece of legislation specifically aimed at the Terri Schiavo thing.
They thought it was in keeping, I think, with some of their tenets and values. But the polling that followed that found that a large majority of the American people thought that was something they had no business sticking their noses in.
HEMMER: A good number of Republicans, too.
In a moment here, Tiger Woods looks pretty good in green, doesn't he? O'BRIEN: He thinks so.
HEMMER: There you are. Playing yesterday, though, with a bit of a heavy heart, too. Details in a moment here as we continue after this.
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