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CNN Live At Daybreak
Bolton's Nomination In Jeopardy; Deadly Train Accident in Japan
Aired April 25, 2005 - 06:00 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: Coming up on DAYBREAK, handcuffed by police at the age of five. We'll show you the tape and then you decide. Has preschool come to this or did police go too far?
And stories about John Bolton's bossy demeanor are mounting. Will they destroy his career at the United Nations before it even begins?
And a little bit of idol chatter as America's favorite singing competition goes under the media microscope.
It is Monday, April 25.
You are watching DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
Also this morning, need to ask the boss for more money? Negotiating is an art form and we'll guide you through it. That's later.
But now in the news, a deadly commuter train derailment today in central Japan. Fifty are dead. More than 300 have been injured. We take you live to Japan in six minutes.
Later today, President Bush will ask Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah to boost his nation's oil production. The two will meet at the president's Texas ranch this morning.
The International Space Station crew is back on solid ground this morning. One astronaut, one American astronaut, and an Italian and a Russian cosmonaut, landed in Kazakhstan about three hours after leaving the new space crew behind.
The calendar says late April, oh, but the weather is more like February. A snowstorm has dumped more than a foot of snow on parts of the Midwest and Appalachians. And it's still coming down -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it certainly is, in some spots, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT) COSTELLO: Critics call it religious exploitation, but Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says it was just democracy in action. There is controversy brewing over a Sunday Christian rally which Frist addressed via videotape.
Now, the rally blasted Democrats for stalling President Bush's judicial nominees and calling for an end to filibusters. Frist denies he was exploiting a religious pulpit for political gain. He says he just wants senators to do their job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Americans elect their senators to vote on the people's business. That is a senator's job, to vote. If the senators were not prepared to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities, then why are they here in the first place?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Critics say nonsense. They call the rhetoric "smoke and mirrors."
Here's some reaction, beginning with "New York Times" columnist Frank Rich. He says, and I quote: "Anyone who doesn't get with a program, starting with all Democrats, is damned as a bigoted enemy of people of faith."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: There seems to be this new attitude that if you oppose any of President Bush's judges, then that means that as a senator you're against people of faith. Now, as a person of faith, I really resent that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You know, you keep hearing this word filibuster, but what excellent is a filibuster? It's a 200-year-old tradition in the Senate. It gives 41 senators the right to hold unlimited debate on a topic and it takes 60 votes to end the debate and hold a final vote. The majority hates it, the minority loves it. And depending on who has the majority and minority at whatever time, Republicans may hate it, Democrats may hate it. Right now the Republicans hate it.
There is no delay in the drip, drip, drip against Senator Tom DeLay. The House majority leader is taking some heat over more allegations leveled against him. These allegations concern a credit card, a trip abroad and that controversial lobbyist.
CNN's senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, has details for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is in more hot water as a result of revelations that came out in the "Washington Post" this weekend. Those revelations were that the expenses for a trip that he and members of his staff and family took to London and Scotland in 2000 were charged to the credit card belonging to a lobbyist.
That violates House ethics rules. Even if the lobbyist is ultimately reimbursed by a non-profit foundation, it is inappropriate. In fact, those rules specify that if a trip is sponsored by a non- profit foundation, the member of the House actually has to make an inquiry to make sure that there is no unauthorized source paying for the trip. DeLay does not appear to have done that.
DeLay is arguing that he didn't know that the lobbyist charged the trip to his credit card, but the lobbyist was on the trip with Mr. DeLay, so a lot of people are going to want to look into this and say something is very suspicious about this entire arrangement.
And this isn't the only trip that he took under suspicious arrangements. Other -- at least another trip was sponsored and appears to have been funded by an unauthorized source, a Washington lobbyist. DeLay was admonished three times last year by the House Ethics Committee. And while none of this has led to an indictment and, in fact, the House Ethics Committee isn't even organized under the rules to do an investigation at the moment, nevertheless, it looks very suspicious. And as these revelations keep coming out, one at a time, week after week, sometimes day after day, Tom DeLay is likely to find that his political position is becoming weaker and weaker and members even of his own party are going to want to distance themselves from their own leader.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: A prominent Republican senator says it's too close to call on John Bolton becoming the new United Nations ambassador. Senator Arlen Specter tells CNN's "LATE EDITION" it would be best to have Bolton's nomination come to the full Senate. "Newsweek" magazine is reporting complaints about Bolton by British leaders in 2003. Senator Patrick Leahy calls Bolton's style the proverbial bull in a china shop. The White House calls Bolton the right person at the right time.
However, with three Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee waffling, Bolton's confirmation vote is postponed until next month.
And we could get more details this morning about two missing Georgia toddlers. The 2-year-old girl and her 3-year-old brother were last seen at their Warrenton home. Warrenton is about 100 miles from Atlanta. Authorities temporarily halted the search while they questioned the children's mother. She reported them missing on Saturday night.
Temperatures dipped into the 30s in Georgia when Nicole and Jonah Kain vanished. Authorities are still piecing together the circumstances of their disappearance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDY YELTON, WARREN COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: My understanding was that she had left the room that they were in for a few moments. When she came back in, they were gone. She searched through the house and could not find them. And then she came out into the yard and noticed that the gate was open.
We're just going to keep looking until we're told we don't need to anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: We may know more later this morning. Georgia authorities have scheduled a news conference at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
The death toll continues to rise near Osaka, Japan after a tragic commuter train accident. Investigators are trying to determine what caused the train to jump the tracks during this morning's rush hour.
For more, let's head to Tokyo and CNN's Atika Shubert -- hello, Atika.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Firefighters on the scene say the death toll is holding steady at 50 people killed in this accident. But they do warn that that number is likely to rise because there are still passengers trapped inside the car.
As you can probably see from the video, the first few cars in the train crashed into an apartment building, crushing the cars. Rescue workers have had to cut away parts of the train to free passengers. At this moment, we don't know exactly how many passengers are still trapped inside and what their condition is. In addition to that, more than 300 people were injured, many of them brought to the hospital with serious injuries, including multiple fractures.
Now, with that death toll continuing to rise, it is by far the worst train accident in Japan in the last four decades -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Atika Shubert reporting live from Tokyo this morning.
Thank you.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, an angry preschooler, an assistant principal and handcuffs? What happened next has one mother fired up, and many think rightly so.
And concerns about bad behavior. Will his reputation hold him back from the United Nations or is it all just rumors swirling around John Bolton?
Plus, you work hard, you deserve a raise, right? We'll tell you how to negotiate and when. But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The U.S. military in Iraq says it's detained 10 people in connection with last week's downing of a civilian helicopter in Iraq. Ten people on board the helicopter were killed in the crash. The sole survivor was later shot to death by insurgents. Six American security contractors were among those killed. The military says a tip from Iraqis led to the capture.
The Army is taking heat for its findings in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. Pentagon officials say an Army investigation cleared four top Army officers in Iraq of any wrongdoing. Among them was General Ricardo Sanchez, the former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. A human rights watch group says it proves the Army cannot investigate itself. It's now calling for an independent probe.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 6:12 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has warned Democrats he may call for an end to traditional filibuster rules. He made the warning in a speech videotaped for a conservative Christian gathering. Republicans are upset that Democrats are holding up 10 of President Bush's judicial nominees.
In money news, believe it or not, gas prices have fallen nearly $0.05 over the past two weeks. The latest survey shows the average price of self-serve unleaded is $2.24 a gallon.
In culture, international intrigue brought moviegoers out over the weekend. "The Interpreter" starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn made nearly $23 million. The new Ashton Kutcher movie was a disappointment, making just under $8 million. So I guess Ashton Kutcher won't appear in his underwear, huh? Tom O'Neil is sitting beside me.
In sports, the surging Denver Nuggets ambushed the San Antonio Spurs in the first game of their NBA play-off series. Their 93-87 win gives the Nuggets a one game to none lead in the best of seven series -- Chad.
MYERS: Now, only 63 more teams to go. No, that's the NCAA.
Anyway, good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Ever wonder what really happens on "American Idol" when the cameras are not rolling? Well, you may find out soon, because ABC is planning an expose on the television series. Joining us now with the dish, Tom O'Neil from "In Touch Weekly."
First off, it's very strange that one network would be doing an expose on another network's program.
TOM O'NEIL, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Right. And ABC is the waking giant among networks now, with shows, hot shows like "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost." And it's going after "Idol" over on Fox because this is war, baby.
COSTELLO: It is.
What might we find out?
O'NEIL: It gets really juicy. Anybody who watches the show knows how overly chummy these judges are with certain contestants. So it's no surprise to learn that there are accusations that some of them have been a little more than chummy, starting with Paula Abdul, who has been accused in the past of having an affair with Justin Guarini who was, of course, the number two contestant.
COSTELLO: But she has come out and denied that, right?
O'NEIL: Yes, of course. But here's where it gets really juicy. Two years ago there was a contestant who made it into the final nine called Corey Clark, a character who was revealed to have not only beaten up his 15-year-old sister, but four cops that night. And after being hauled in, they found out about kiting check charges.
He claims that he not only had an affair with Paula, his secret affair, but that she paid for his expenses and that they had a secret deal to be in business together after that. She was going to fund his career to the tune of $2 million.
COSTELLO: But he's also writing a book, isn't he?
O'NEIL: Yes, right, right, right. But there are accusations about Simon Cowell and some of the dames. And you know that there's probably some truth to some of this.
COSTELLO: What about Randy Jackson? You never hear anything about him.
O'NEIL: I know.
COSTELLO: He's boring.
O'NEIL: Yes, exactly. It's those other two that are a little sneaky. But the great irony here is that we're going to see the judges being judged. And we know that that's going to be delicious.
COSTELLO: It's going to be delicious but will it really affect "American Idol's" -- the ratings have fallen anyway.
O'NEIL: Right.
COSTELLO: But still an enormous amount of people watch.
O'NEIL: And we've never had that gotcha moment. We know that this show is not fair. There was strong evidence of that during the Clay versus Rubin match-up, that they were jamming some phone lines and pushing others.
Meanwhile, Simon was blatantly telling "Newsweek" magazine that he was pushing Rubin. They're supposed to be judging performances, not characters. And so they get so invested in the characters that I think we're going to see a lot of evidence of that. And if the fan of the show realizes that there's proof, finally, that it's rigged, we're going to -- we're not going to care as much.
COSTELLO: No. I don't think so. Because you want it to be a fair -- you want to believe that you're voting for your candidate and you're going to push them into the limelight.
O'NEIL: That's the magic of that show is that I'm in charge as a voter. And if we find out that's not really the case, the whole chemistry of the show is lost.
COSTELLO: That's like a game show scandal.
O'NEIL: Major.
COSTELLO: Yes.
Tom O'Neil, thank you.
Thank you for dishing the dirt this morning.
O'NEIL: OK.
COSTELLO: Coming up, he is one of the richest men in the world, so wouldn't you like to know a few of Warren Buffett's moves? Now is your chance. We'll take a stroll down the newest boardwalk with Carrie Lee next.
And later, a former Buckeye goes Bronco, when DAYBREAK continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Are you taking about buying a new car? Well, listen to this. Volkswagen's Jetta gets thumbs up in front and side crash tests. The insurance industry rated 15 midsized vehicles and the redesigned 2005 Jetta received very good marks, the industry's highest rating. The Honda Accord, Mitsubishi Gallant and Subaru Legacy also got good ratings.
Sales of hybrid vehicles nearly doubled last year as gas prices began soaring. New registrations of hybrids topped 83,000 in 2004. That's an 81 percent jump over the year before. Major automakers are planning to introduce about a dozen new hybrids in the next three years.
Time for a little "Business Buzz." What companies would you buy and sell if you were a billionaire? Well, you can play like one with the new Warren Buffett Monopoly game.
Carrie Lee is here to tell us about it.
And, wow, we have props.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol.
This is a very fun story. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owns so many companies they can fill up a Monopoly board. So that's what's happening here.
Here's a look at a new version of Monopoly coming out. It's for sale from a company in Omaha, Nebraska called Borsheim's. This is a fine jewelry and gift store and they're selling 5,000 of these special games ahead of Berkshire's annual meeting this week.
Now, Borsheim's itself is one of the companies owned by Buffett. And it occupies the most expensive space on the board. This is where Boardwalk is traditionally on the usual version of the game. Other properties include Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom and instead of railroads, Buffett has insurance companies like Geico.
The traditional game pieces also have changed. Instead of the car, the ship and the thimble, we have the Geico gecko, an ice cream cone for Dairy Queen, and my personal favorite, a diamond ring for the jewelry store, Carol. Here you go.
COSTELLO: Oh, wow!
LEE: This is most, the most expensive spot on the board.
Buffett...
COSTELLO: That's just not big enough, though, Carrie.
LEE: Yes, it's a scaled down version. I'm sure if you go to Borsheim's, you can get some other options there.
Buffet's picture, by the way, graces all of the bills. The community chest and the chance cards feature Buffett and Berkshire's vice president Charlie Munger. There's a look at Mr. Buffett.
If you want to invest like Buffett in real life, Class A shares of Berkshire Hathaway now trade for about $82,000 apiece. They never do stock splits, that's the interesting unique thing about his company's shares.
COSTELLO: $82,000? That's...
LEE: Yes. People have made a lot of money. And if you want to play around and have a little fun, here's a look at the board. You can see, traditional layout, just as the usual boards. But all of the game pieces here and all of the squares quite a bit different.
COSTELLO: I picked a card and it says "Warren needs a new pair of Born shoes. Pay $100."
LEE: You know, it's interesting, he's made so much money, but then you hear these anecdotal stories. He still drives the same car he's had for so many years, brings his lunch in a brown bag. But it's very, a lot of fun here. You can also get this online through Borsheim's. Five thousand versions being sold this week.
COSTELLO: That's really cute.
LEE: Yes.
COSTELLO: Buffett renews "Buffalo News" subscription. Pay $150.
One more.
LEE: Right.
COSTELLO: They're fun.
"Lease truck from Extra Corporation. Pay $50."
Warren Buffett would really do that, huh?
LEE: There you go.
Here's NetJet, Sees Candy. So all of these companies, of course, some of them big ones -- we've all heard of Geico -- but all these small ones, too. So you can learn and have fun at the same time.
COSTELLO: Absolutely.
Thank you, Carrie Lee.
LEE: OK.
Sure.
COSTELLO: Controversy is continuing to swirl around John Bolton, President Bush's pick for United Nations ambassador. The White House is standing behind him. Opponents accuse Bolton of having a terrible temper, to the point of being a bully.
Joining us now to talk about that is "Time" magazine's Viveca Novak.
Good morning.
VIVECA NOVAK, "TIME" CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Interesting article in "Time" magazine. In fact, I especially like this line: "There is a saying in Washington that you -- that when you meet" -- oh, god, I've got to read it right, because it's so good. "There is a saying in Washington that you meet on the way down all the people you stepped over on the way up."
Is that what's really happening to John Bolton? NOVAK: Well, that's certainly a big part of what's happening. We're talking about, you know, intelligence analysts that he tried to have fired when they didn't agree, they didn't provide the support for things he wanted to say in speeches, subordinates that he treated badly. You know, a lot of the allegations really have to do with how he treated people. It's really interesting.
COSTELLO: Well, some of those allegations took place quite a long time ago, like the one from Melody Townsel. And I know you found like at least three witnesses who corroborate her story. But I want to read another quote from "Time" magazine, and I promise I'll do a better job. Just to fill people in on the background of this, she worked for a private subcontractor and Bolton was the company attorney on the other side.
So she writes a letter complaining about a lack of funding for a project to Bolton. She heard from Bolton and this is what she said: "Within hours of dispatching that letter, my hell began. Mr. Bolton proceeded to chase me through the halls of a Russian hotel, throwing things at me, shoving threatening letters under my door and generally behaving like a madman. Mr. Bolton then routinely visited my hotel to pound on the door and shout threats."
NOVAK: Right. Now that, that's, you know, obviously almost -- she calls it almost pathological behavior. If that is true, then it's, it's fairly extreme. I think one thing the committee is going to be, you know, looking into more, in addition to allegations like that, are, you know, other things that get away from more of the he said/she said sort of thing, like his candor with the committee.
Now, the committee really doesn't like it when people lie to them. And it seems that Bolton was not fully, fully truthful when he was saying that the ambassador to South Korea, for instance, supported a speech that he gave, a very fiery speech he gave about North Korea a few years ago. And that apparently is not true. And the former ambassador has written the committee to say that.
So there's a number of allegations out there. And now the committee has until May 12 to look into these, you know, both the he said/she said and the...
COSTELLO: You know what I'm kind of reminded of? You know when everyone says that the White House's vetting wasn't very, wasn't great? You remember Bernard Kerik.
NOVAK: Right.
COSTELLO: Is that true in this case?
NOVAK: Well, it can't be quite as true, because Bernie Kerik was never in the administration. Remember, he was nominated for homeland security secretary and turned out to have a more colorful past than they had realized.
John Bolton has been with the administration, has been with government for quite a long time. So these things were floating around out there. If they didn't know about them, then I find that rather extraordinary.
COSTELLO: It would be.
Viveca Novak.
The article is in "Time" magazine this week.
Thanks so much.
NOVAK: Good to be with you.
COSTELLO: Still to come in the last half hour of DAYBREAK, fighting back against the filibuster. Republicans unite with some religious friends. Did this get-together achieve the goal?
And the art of the deal. Do you need a raise? Do you need your rent lowered? Do you need to win at the poker table? "Money" magazine has seven easy ways to get what you want. We'll share them with you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Good morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
Now in the news, a deadly commuter train derailment today in central Japan. Fifty are dead, more than 300 hurt. It happened during morning rush hour outside of Osaka. Three cars of a seven car train derailed, slamming into several vehicles and an apartment building.
High gas prices will likely dominate talks between President Bush and the Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah today. The two are meeting at the president's Texas ranch. The president is expected to ask the prince to boost his country's oil production.
One day after his formal inauguration, Pope Benedict XVI is meeting with religious leaders at the Vatican. He's also seeing pilgrims who came from his homeland of Germany to attend his inaugural mass.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told his tax officials today to stop terrorizing business. He made the comment in this state of the nation address. He urged Russians to stop spending billions of dollars abroad to avoid the tax man.
To the Forecast Center and Chad -- good morning.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 25, 2005 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Coming up on DAYBREAK, handcuffed by police at the age of five. We'll show you the tape and then you decide. Has preschool come to this or did police go too far?
And stories about John Bolton's bossy demeanor are mounting. Will they destroy his career at the United Nations before it even begins?
And a little bit of idol chatter as America's favorite singing competition goes under the media microscope.
It is Monday, April 25.
You are watching DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
Also this morning, need to ask the boss for more money? Negotiating is an art form and we'll guide you through it. That's later.
But now in the news, a deadly commuter train derailment today in central Japan. Fifty are dead. More than 300 have been injured. We take you live to Japan in six minutes.
Later today, President Bush will ask Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Abdullah to boost his nation's oil production. The two will meet at the president's Texas ranch this morning.
The International Space Station crew is back on solid ground this morning. One astronaut, one American astronaut, and an Italian and a Russian cosmonaut, landed in Kazakhstan about three hours after leaving the new space crew behind.
The calendar says late April, oh, but the weather is more like February. A snowstorm has dumped more than a foot of snow on parts of the Midwest and Appalachians. And it's still coming down -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it certainly is, in some spots, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT) COSTELLO: Critics call it religious exploitation, but Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says it was just democracy in action. There is controversy brewing over a Sunday Christian rally which Frist addressed via videotape.
Now, the rally blasted Democrats for stalling President Bush's judicial nominees and calling for an end to filibusters. Frist denies he was exploiting a religious pulpit for political gain. He says he just wants senators to do their job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), SENATE MAJORITY LEADER: Americans elect their senators to vote on the people's business. That is a senator's job, to vote. If the senators were not prepared to fulfill their constitutional responsibilities, then why are they here in the first place?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Critics say nonsense. They call the rhetoric "smoke and mirrors."
Here's some reaction, beginning with "New York Times" columnist Frank Rich. He says, and I quote: "Anyone who doesn't get with a program, starting with all Democrats, is damned as a bigoted enemy of people of faith."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: There seems to be this new attitude that if you oppose any of President Bush's judges, then that means that as a senator you're against people of faith. Now, as a person of faith, I really resent that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You know, you keep hearing this word filibuster, but what excellent is a filibuster? It's a 200-year-old tradition in the Senate. It gives 41 senators the right to hold unlimited debate on a topic and it takes 60 votes to end the debate and hold a final vote. The majority hates it, the minority loves it. And depending on who has the majority and minority at whatever time, Republicans may hate it, Democrats may hate it. Right now the Republicans hate it.
There is no delay in the drip, drip, drip against Senator Tom DeLay. The House majority leader is taking some heat over more allegations leveled against him. These allegations concern a credit card, a trip abroad and that controversial lobbyist.
CNN's senior political analyst, Bill Schneider, has details for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is in more hot water as a result of revelations that came out in the "Washington Post" this weekend. Those revelations were that the expenses for a trip that he and members of his staff and family took to London and Scotland in 2000 were charged to the credit card belonging to a lobbyist.
That violates House ethics rules. Even if the lobbyist is ultimately reimbursed by a non-profit foundation, it is inappropriate. In fact, those rules specify that if a trip is sponsored by a non- profit foundation, the member of the House actually has to make an inquiry to make sure that there is no unauthorized source paying for the trip. DeLay does not appear to have done that.
DeLay is arguing that he didn't know that the lobbyist charged the trip to his credit card, but the lobbyist was on the trip with Mr. DeLay, so a lot of people are going to want to look into this and say something is very suspicious about this entire arrangement.
And this isn't the only trip that he took under suspicious arrangements. Other -- at least another trip was sponsored and appears to have been funded by an unauthorized source, a Washington lobbyist. DeLay was admonished three times last year by the House Ethics Committee. And while none of this has led to an indictment and, in fact, the House Ethics Committee isn't even organized under the rules to do an investigation at the moment, nevertheless, it looks very suspicious. And as these revelations keep coming out, one at a time, week after week, sometimes day after day, Tom DeLay is likely to find that his political position is becoming weaker and weaker and members even of his own party are going to want to distance themselves from their own leader.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
COSTELLO: A prominent Republican senator says it's too close to call on John Bolton becoming the new United Nations ambassador. Senator Arlen Specter tells CNN's "LATE EDITION" it would be best to have Bolton's nomination come to the full Senate. "Newsweek" magazine is reporting complaints about Bolton by British leaders in 2003. Senator Patrick Leahy calls Bolton's style the proverbial bull in a china shop. The White House calls Bolton the right person at the right time.
However, with three Republicans on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee waffling, Bolton's confirmation vote is postponed until next month.
And we could get more details this morning about two missing Georgia toddlers. The 2-year-old girl and her 3-year-old brother were last seen at their Warrenton home. Warrenton is about 100 miles from Atlanta. Authorities temporarily halted the search while they questioned the children's mother. She reported them missing on Saturday night.
Temperatures dipped into the 30s in Georgia when Nicole and Jonah Kain vanished. Authorities are still piecing together the circumstances of their disappearance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDY YELTON, WARREN COUNTY FIRE DEPARTMENT: My understanding was that she had left the room that they were in for a few moments. When she came back in, they were gone. She searched through the house and could not find them. And then she came out into the yard and noticed that the gate was open.
We're just going to keep looking until we're told we don't need to anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: We may know more later this morning. Georgia authorities have scheduled a news conference at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.
The death toll continues to rise near Osaka, Japan after a tragic commuter train accident. Investigators are trying to determine what caused the train to jump the tracks during this morning's rush hour.
For more, let's head to Tokyo and CNN's Atika Shubert -- hello, Atika.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.
Firefighters on the scene say the death toll is holding steady at 50 people killed in this accident. But they do warn that that number is likely to rise because there are still passengers trapped inside the car.
As you can probably see from the video, the first few cars in the train crashed into an apartment building, crushing the cars. Rescue workers have had to cut away parts of the train to free passengers. At this moment, we don't know exactly how many passengers are still trapped inside and what their condition is. In addition to that, more than 300 people were injured, many of them brought to the hospital with serious injuries, including multiple fractures.
Now, with that death toll continuing to rise, it is by far the worst train accident in Japan in the last four decades -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Atika Shubert reporting live from Tokyo this morning.
Thank you.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, an angry preschooler, an assistant principal and handcuffs? What happened next has one mother fired up, and many think rightly so.
And concerns about bad behavior. Will his reputation hold him back from the United Nations or is it all just rumors swirling around John Bolton?
Plus, you work hard, you deserve a raise, right? We'll tell you how to negotiate and when. But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Monday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The U.S. military in Iraq says it's detained 10 people in connection with last week's downing of a civilian helicopter in Iraq. Ten people on board the helicopter were killed in the crash. The sole survivor was later shot to death by insurgents. Six American security contractors were among those killed. The military says a tip from Iraqis led to the capture.
The Army is taking heat for its findings in the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. Pentagon officials say an Army investigation cleared four top Army officers in Iraq of any wrongdoing. Among them was General Ricardo Sanchez, the former commander of U.S. forces in Iraq. A human rights watch group says it proves the Army cannot investigate itself. It's now calling for an independent probe.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It's 6:12 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist has warned Democrats he may call for an end to traditional filibuster rules. He made the warning in a speech videotaped for a conservative Christian gathering. Republicans are upset that Democrats are holding up 10 of President Bush's judicial nominees.
In money news, believe it or not, gas prices have fallen nearly $0.05 over the past two weeks. The latest survey shows the average price of self-serve unleaded is $2.24 a gallon.
In culture, international intrigue brought moviegoers out over the weekend. "The Interpreter" starring Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn made nearly $23 million. The new Ashton Kutcher movie was a disappointment, making just under $8 million. So I guess Ashton Kutcher won't appear in his underwear, huh? Tom O'Neil is sitting beside me.
In sports, the surging Denver Nuggets ambushed the San Antonio Spurs in the first game of their NBA play-off series. Their 93-87 win gives the Nuggets a one game to none lead in the best of seven series -- Chad.
MYERS: Now, only 63 more teams to go. No, that's the NCAA.
Anyway, good morning, Carol.
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COSTELLO: Ever wonder what really happens on "American Idol" when the cameras are not rolling? Well, you may find out soon, because ABC is planning an expose on the television series. Joining us now with the dish, Tom O'Neil from "In Touch Weekly."
First off, it's very strange that one network would be doing an expose on another network's program.
TOM O'NEIL, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Right. And ABC is the waking giant among networks now, with shows, hot shows like "Desperate Housewives" and "Lost." And it's going after "Idol" over on Fox because this is war, baby.
COSTELLO: It is.
What might we find out?
O'NEIL: It gets really juicy. Anybody who watches the show knows how overly chummy these judges are with certain contestants. So it's no surprise to learn that there are accusations that some of them have been a little more than chummy, starting with Paula Abdul, who has been accused in the past of having an affair with Justin Guarini who was, of course, the number two contestant.
COSTELLO: But she has come out and denied that, right?
O'NEIL: Yes, of course. But here's where it gets really juicy. Two years ago there was a contestant who made it into the final nine called Corey Clark, a character who was revealed to have not only beaten up his 15-year-old sister, but four cops that night. And after being hauled in, they found out about kiting check charges.
He claims that he not only had an affair with Paula, his secret affair, but that she paid for his expenses and that they had a secret deal to be in business together after that. She was going to fund his career to the tune of $2 million.
COSTELLO: But he's also writing a book, isn't he?
O'NEIL: Yes, right, right, right. But there are accusations about Simon Cowell and some of the dames. And you know that there's probably some truth to some of this.
COSTELLO: What about Randy Jackson? You never hear anything about him.
O'NEIL: I know.
COSTELLO: He's boring.
O'NEIL: Yes, exactly. It's those other two that are a little sneaky. But the great irony here is that we're going to see the judges being judged. And we know that that's going to be delicious.
COSTELLO: It's going to be delicious but will it really affect "American Idol's" -- the ratings have fallen anyway.
O'NEIL: Right.
COSTELLO: But still an enormous amount of people watch.
O'NEIL: And we've never had that gotcha moment. We know that this show is not fair. There was strong evidence of that during the Clay versus Rubin match-up, that they were jamming some phone lines and pushing others.
Meanwhile, Simon was blatantly telling "Newsweek" magazine that he was pushing Rubin. They're supposed to be judging performances, not characters. And so they get so invested in the characters that I think we're going to see a lot of evidence of that. And if the fan of the show realizes that there's proof, finally, that it's rigged, we're going to -- we're not going to care as much.
COSTELLO: No. I don't think so. Because you want it to be a fair -- you want to believe that you're voting for your candidate and you're going to push them into the limelight.
O'NEIL: That's the magic of that show is that I'm in charge as a voter. And if we find out that's not really the case, the whole chemistry of the show is lost.
COSTELLO: That's like a game show scandal.
O'NEIL: Major.
COSTELLO: Yes.
Tom O'Neil, thank you.
Thank you for dishing the dirt this morning.
O'NEIL: OK.
COSTELLO: Coming up, he is one of the richest men in the world, so wouldn't you like to know a few of Warren Buffett's moves? Now is your chance. We'll take a stroll down the newest boardwalk with Carrie Lee next.
And later, a former Buckeye goes Bronco, when DAYBREAK continues.
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COSTELLO: Are you taking about buying a new car? Well, listen to this. Volkswagen's Jetta gets thumbs up in front and side crash tests. The insurance industry rated 15 midsized vehicles and the redesigned 2005 Jetta received very good marks, the industry's highest rating. The Honda Accord, Mitsubishi Gallant and Subaru Legacy also got good ratings.
Sales of hybrid vehicles nearly doubled last year as gas prices began soaring. New registrations of hybrids topped 83,000 in 2004. That's an 81 percent jump over the year before. Major automakers are planning to introduce about a dozen new hybrids in the next three years.
Time for a little "Business Buzz." What companies would you buy and sell if you were a billionaire? Well, you can play like one with the new Warren Buffett Monopoly game.
Carrie Lee is here to tell us about it.
And, wow, we have props.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Carol.
This is a very fun story. Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway owns so many companies they can fill up a Monopoly board. So that's what's happening here.
Here's a look at a new version of Monopoly coming out. It's for sale from a company in Omaha, Nebraska called Borsheim's. This is a fine jewelry and gift store and they're selling 5,000 of these special games ahead of Berkshire's annual meeting this week.
Now, Borsheim's itself is one of the companies owned by Buffett. And it occupies the most expensive space on the board. This is where Boardwalk is traditionally on the usual version of the game. Other properties include Dairy Queen, Fruit of the Loom and instead of railroads, Buffett has insurance companies like Geico.
The traditional game pieces also have changed. Instead of the car, the ship and the thimble, we have the Geico gecko, an ice cream cone for Dairy Queen, and my personal favorite, a diamond ring for the jewelry store, Carol. Here you go.
COSTELLO: Oh, wow!
LEE: This is most, the most expensive spot on the board.
Buffett...
COSTELLO: That's just not big enough, though, Carrie.
LEE: Yes, it's a scaled down version. I'm sure if you go to Borsheim's, you can get some other options there.
Buffet's picture, by the way, graces all of the bills. The community chest and the chance cards feature Buffett and Berkshire's vice president Charlie Munger. There's a look at Mr. Buffett.
If you want to invest like Buffett in real life, Class A shares of Berkshire Hathaway now trade for about $82,000 apiece. They never do stock splits, that's the interesting unique thing about his company's shares.
COSTELLO: $82,000? That's...
LEE: Yes. People have made a lot of money. And if you want to play around and have a little fun, here's a look at the board. You can see, traditional layout, just as the usual boards. But all of the game pieces here and all of the squares quite a bit different.
COSTELLO: I picked a card and it says "Warren needs a new pair of Born shoes. Pay $100."
LEE: You know, it's interesting, he's made so much money, but then you hear these anecdotal stories. He still drives the same car he's had for so many years, brings his lunch in a brown bag. But it's very, a lot of fun here. You can also get this online through Borsheim's. Five thousand versions being sold this week.
COSTELLO: That's really cute.
LEE: Yes.
COSTELLO: Buffett renews "Buffalo News" subscription. Pay $150.
One more.
LEE: Right.
COSTELLO: They're fun.
"Lease truck from Extra Corporation. Pay $50."
Warren Buffett would really do that, huh?
LEE: There you go.
Here's NetJet, Sees Candy. So all of these companies, of course, some of them big ones -- we've all heard of Geico -- but all these small ones, too. So you can learn and have fun at the same time.
COSTELLO: Absolutely.
Thank you, Carrie Lee.
LEE: OK.
Sure.
COSTELLO: Controversy is continuing to swirl around John Bolton, President Bush's pick for United Nations ambassador. The White House is standing behind him. Opponents accuse Bolton of having a terrible temper, to the point of being a bully.
Joining us now to talk about that is "Time" magazine's Viveca Novak.
Good morning.
VIVECA NOVAK, "TIME" CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: Interesting article in "Time" magazine. In fact, I especially like this line: "There is a saying in Washington that you -- that when you meet" -- oh, god, I've got to read it right, because it's so good. "There is a saying in Washington that you meet on the way down all the people you stepped over on the way up."
Is that what's really happening to John Bolton? NOVAK: Well, that's certainly a big part of what's happening. We're talking about, you know, intelligence analysts that he tried to have fired when they didn't agree, they didn't provide the support for things he wanted to say in speeches, subordinates that he treated badly. You know, a lot of the allegations really have to do with how he treated people. It's really interesting.
COSTELLO: Well, some of those allegations took place quite a long time ago, like the one from Melody Townsel. And I know you found like at least three witnesses who corroborate her story. But I want to read another quote from "Time" magazine, and I promise I'll do a better job. Just to fill people in on the background of this, she worked for a private subcontractor and Bolton was the company attorney on the other side.
So she writes a letter complaining about a lack of funding for a project to Bolton. She heard from Bolton and this is what she said: "Within hours of dispatching that letter, my hell began. Mr. Bolton proceeded to chase me through the halls of a Russian hotel, throwing things at me, shoving threatening letters under my door and generally behaving like a madman. Mr. Bolton then routinely visited my hotel to pound on the door and shout threats."
NOVAK: Right. Now that, that's, you know, obviously almost -- she calls it almost pathological behavior. If that is true, then it's, it's fairly extreme. I think one thing the committee is going to be, you know, looking into more, in addition to allegations like that, are, you know, other things that get away from more of the he said/she said sort of thing, like his candor with the committee.
Now, the committee really doesn't like it when people lie to them. And it seems that Bolton was not fully, fully truthful when he was saying that the ambassador to South Korea, for instance, supported a speech that he gave, a very fiery speech he gave about North Korea a few years ago. And that apparently is not true. And the former ambassador has written the committee to say that.
So there's a number of allegations out there. And now the committee has until May 12 to look into these, you know, both the he said/she said and the...
COSTELLO: You know what I'm kind of reminded of? You know when everyone says that the White House's vetting wasn't very, wasn't great? You remember Bernard Kerik.
NOVAK: Right.
COSTELLO: Is that true in this case?
NOVAK: Well, it can't be quite as true, because Bernie Kerik was never in the administration. Remember, he was nominated for homeland security secretary and turned out to have a more colorful past than they had realized.
John Bolton has been with the administration, has been with government for quite a long time. So these things were floating around out there. If they didn't know about them, then I find that rather extraordinary.
COSTELLO: It would be.
Viveca Novak.
The article is in "Time" magazine this week.
Thanks so much.
NOVAK: Good to be with you.
COSTELLO: Still to come in the last half hour of DAYBREAK, fighting back against the filibuster. Republicans unite with some religious friends. Did this get-together achieve the goal?
And the art of the deal. Do you need a raise? Do you need your rent lowered? Do you need to win at the poker table? "Money" magazine has seven easy ways to get what you want. We'll share them with you.
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COSTELLO: Good morning to you.
From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
Now in the news, a deadly commuter train derailment today in central Japan. Fifty are dead, more than 300 hurt. It happened during morning rush hour outside of Osaka. Three cars of a seven car train derailed, slamming into several vehicles and an apartment building.
High gas prices will likely dominate talks between President Bush and the Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah today. The two are meeting at the president's Texas ranch. The president is expected to ask the prince to boost his country's oil production.
One day after his formal inauguration, Pope Benedict XVI is meeting with religious leaders at the Vatican. He's also seeing pilgrims who came from his homeland of Germany to attend his inaugural mass.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told his tax officials today to stop terrorizing business. He made the comment in this state of the nation address. He urged Russians to stop spending billions of dollars abroad to avoid the tax man.
To the Forecast Center and Chad -- good morning.
MYERS: Good morning, Carol.
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