Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
On the Trail of Zarqawi; Oakland Bay Bridge Problems
Aired April 26, 2005 - 09:30 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: In Washington, a Senate panel is set to debate President Bush's Social Security's reforms. The Senate Finance Committee will meet in less than an hour. In the meantime, President Bush is on the road again, trying to drum up support for his proposals. The president will take part in a roundtable in Galveston, Texas, a little later today.
In southeastern Wisconsin, boats and aircraft are searching Lake Michigan this morning for the pilot of a single-engine plane. The aircraft apparently ran out of fuel. The Coast Guard says the pilot made a final 911 call from a cell phone while the plane was still floating on top of the water, but contact with him was short.
And General Motors in the middle of six, count them, six separate recalls. The world's biggest automaker says it's taking back more than two million vehicles for various safety repairs. Most of the vehicles being recalled are SUVs and trucks. G.M. says owners, yes, you, will be notified in the mail in the next few weeks.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: That's what you call a bad week, huh?
COSTELLO: You're not kidding. This could drive them out of business. This is serious.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: They're in tough times already. They don't need that. All right. Carol, thanks.
Well, government officials are now confirming that they've nearly captured terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi earlier this year. We're on terrorist trail this morning, along with Barbara Starr. She's at the Pentagon for us.
Hey, Barbara, good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
Officials now telling CNN that in the midst of all of this, there are new indications of two-way communication between Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the most wanted man in Iraq. Officials are now confirming details of a story that CNN first reported several weeks ago, that U.S. troops indeed had come quite close to capturing Zarqawi in Iraq in a raid back in February. It was February 20th, near the city of Ramadi, West of Falluja.
Well, U.S. troops had a tip that Zarqawi might be traveling. U.S. troops deployed. They stopped a suspicious vehicle, they chased it down. By the time they got to it, Zarqawi was gone. But, what was inside the vehicle might be significantly more important, in fact. There was a computer with what one official describes as a treasure trove of intelligence about Zarqawi, also about Osama bin Laden.
But Soledad, officials are also telling CNN that in that raid, they captured a man who they describe as a trusted lieutenant of Osama bin Laden. This was inside Iraq, near Ramadi, during a raid aimed at capturing Zarqawi. They came up with a lieutenant of Osama bin Laden.
Now, of course, what is significant here is this underscores what officials had been saying for some time, that they do believe there is two-way communication between bin Laden and Zarqawi. It is a matter of great concern. It's not the first time they've captured a bin Laden lieutenant inside Iraq. It had happened many, many months ago, but this is the most recent indication and the clearest connection to Abu Musab al Zarqawi, according to officials -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Barbara, you talk about troops. Can you -- has the Pentagon been specific about what troops exactly were involved in the mission?
STARR: The Pentagon officially is not specific about any of this, but sources indeed are confirming to CNN that these were special operations forces that were on this mission. Some of the most highly- trained U.S. commandos operating inside Iraq and what that underscores, Soledad, of course, is that the U.S. felt it had very solid intelligence, a very good inside tip that Zarqawi might be traveling near Ramadi. They deployed their best forces. They feel they just missed him, but they came up with the rest of this information -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Came up with something valuable, anyway. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us. Barbara, thanks, as always.
In other news, actress Maggie Gyllenhaal not backing down from her recent comments about the attack on the Twin Towers. She shared her controversial views last week at the premiere of her new film.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL, ACTRESS: Because I think America has done reprehensible things and is responsible in some way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Bombarded with criticism, Gyllenhaal is now responding with a written statement urging people to, quote, "be brave enough to ask some serious questions about America's role in the world." The actress appears in "The Great New Wonderful." It's the name of a movie about life after 9/11.
HEMMER: Well, 25 minutes now before the hour. Another story now. The mayor in Miami Beach, Florida, proposing to more than double the current buffer zone around schools and parks and playgrounds where registered sex offenders are not allowed to live. If this passes in May, nearly all of Miami Beach will fall within these boundaries. The mayor is David Dermer. He says it would be an effective law enforcement tool. We talked to him earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR DAVID DERMER, MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: The penalties for it would be a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail. This is another tool for law enforcement on a local level to be able to target really the hardcore offenders. This a type of crime with a high recidivism rate, meaning that people are likely to commit it again.
You have a stalking nature to this crime, and there is a lot of evidence to suggest that many of these crimes are committed by perpetrators living within close proximity of the victims. So this, once again, gives law enforcement another tool to be able to look at those offenders that are likely to strike again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Again this is Miami Beach, same area where South Beach is located. Third week of May is when they're set to vote on it.
Our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin says that law does stand a chance, because the courts have consistently upheld sex offender registry rules. But, he says, Toobin says, the problem is that former sex offenders have a right to live somewhere as well. Another issue to be decided -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, last week you'll recall we told you about the financial and safety problems with the so-called big dig project in Boston. On the West Coast, a problem much the same. Claims of mismanagement and safety concerns have halted work on an earthquake- safe replacement for the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge. What's worse, there is now a plan for drivers to foot the bill.
CNN's Rusty Dornin has our explanation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Oakland Bay Bridge. There is not a day when Anna Sylvester drives it that she doesn't remember the moment she was crossing the span in 1989 when the Loma Prieta earthquake shook the Bay Area so hard a portion of the bridge in front of her collapsed. It was repaired in a month.
But 16 years later, amid charges of mismanagement, faulty welding and billions in cost overruns, a new quake-safe bridge to replace the existing span is far from finished.
ANNA SYLVESTER, BAY BRIDGE COMMUTER: I do care that from the earthquake perspective that it's taken so long.
DORNIN: Now it's a bridge going nowhere. All work stopped on a section to connect Yerba Buena Island with Oakland, because no one can agree on what it will look like: a suspension tower or a skyway. Tower supporters say it's cheaper to stick with the original design. Caltrans, the state agency charged with building the bridge, claims the suspension design is too complex.
WILL KEMPTON, DIRECTOR, CALTRANS: Complexity breeds uncertainty. And with uncertainty comes the risk of schedule delays and cost increases.
DORNIN (on camera): Speaking of cost increases, in 2001 it was estimated to cost $2.6 billion. Four years later, it's more than tripled, and possibly still rising.
(voice-over): How did that happen? Both sides claim skyrocketing steel and concrete prices, and problems with insurance after 9/11. But...
TOM TORLAKSON (D), CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE: On top of that, some mismanagement of the project, which has cost, I think, a couple of hundred million dollars more on top of these inevitable rises in steel and concrete costs.
DORNIN: Caltrans denies the mismanagement charges. Regardless, someone has to pay for it. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants bay area drivers to ante up by increasing the toll from $3 to $5. Work has also stopped on another section due to charges of faulty welding. It won't start up again until the FBI and state inspectors investigate. Caltrans insists the welds are safe.
And for a survivor of the last collapse, safety is paramount.
SYLVESTER: And you hope that the 5 or 10 minutes that you're crossing it that nothing will ever happen to you.
DORNIN: Even if a design is picked tomorrow, the span won't be finished until 2012 at the earliest. And for many, that's a bridge too far from completion.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Just a mess.
Look at these pictures, though. An amazing scene. This is midtown Manhattan, firefighters, rescuers, swarming a taxi cab that came to rest after a series of collisions. Rescuers had to remove the roof of the taxi to try to take out the driver. The out-of-control cab hit two cars, a pedestrian, a minivan, then a whole row of cars along a full city block. 11 people in all were injured, including the driver and his passenger, who was pregnant. Criminal charges are now pending against that driver.
HEMMER: And that pregnant passenger gave birth later yesterday, too.
O'BRIEN: Man, I tell you. That's a terrible scene.
HEMMER: Wow.
O'BRIEN: 11 people injured in this.
HEMMER: Right near Times Square.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Well, it is the revenge of the nerds. Why one of the world's biggest rock stars spent the night with the world's biggest computer geek. And all that in "Minding Your Business." That's coming up.
HEMMER: Also, the secrets behind a Gotti boy's incredible weight loss. He said he went from fatty Gotti to hotty Gotti. Is that true? We'll ask him. His words in a moment here, on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Frank Gotti Agnello was thrilled, but a little nervous, when he heard his family would star in the reality TV show "Growing Up Gotti." Thirteen-year-old Frankie feared appearing on camera. That's him right there. He was 255 pounds, and his doctor told him he was morbidly obese, and he suffered from high-blood pressure.
So Frankie did something about it. After losing 80 pounds, he wrote a book to help other teenagers. It's called "The Gotti Diet: How I Took Control of My Body, Lost 80 Pounds, and Discovered How to Eat Right and Stay Fit Forever." Frankie is now 15, comes here with his mom, Victoria Gotti.
Nice to see you. Thanks for coming in to talk to us.
Give me a little sense of what it was like before you lost all the weight. We've got before and after pictures to show. You call yourself the fatty Gotti and hotty Gotti, hotty being now. People tease you?
FRANK GOTTI AGNELLO, "THE GOTTI DIET": It wasn't that bad in school, because I grew up with most of the kids. But a lot of my brother's friends, they always, like, teased me. They would shove food in front of my face.
O'BRIEN: Was it painful, or was it the kind of the thing you brushed off? I mean, even before the show, did you worry about your weight, or did you sort of not care? I mean, I don't think of boys as caring about this stuff as much as girls.
AGNELLO: I mean, like, at a young age, probably like 9 or 10, it didn't bother me. And then from, like, 10 to 13, that's when it hit me the most, and then I just realized one day wanted to lose the weight.
O'BRIEN: Why do you think you gained so much weight?
AGNELLO: Just sitting around the house, eating, being bored, not being that active in sports.
O'BRIEN: So you get this call, you're going to do this reality show, and suddenly it's like, uh-oh, I'm going to be on TV in front of lots of people; I need to lose weight. What was your first step?
AGNELLO: Find a diet, and I searched around and I didn't find anything that I liked. So I just on my own.
O'BRIEN: So how did you start your own? I mean, how did you know what you should have been eating? Like if I had to pick my own diet I'd eat Cap'n Crunch all the time and be perfectly happy, but it probably wouldn't work. What did you do?
AGNELLO: I just looked up and I found out what all the bad foods were, and I just eliminating them from my daily dieting.
O'BRIEN: What kinds of things?
VICTORIA GOTTI, FRANK'S MOTHER: He actually modified the Weight Watchers diet. He...
O'BRIEN: So back to basics.
GOTTI: Back to basics. Frank, I think he studied every -- from Atkins to the -- everything, and he just felt it wasn't appropriate for a teenager. So he looked at the -- out of all of them he felt the Weight Watchers was by far the most healthy and the most effective for him. So he just modified that.
O'BRIEN: Yes, 80 pounds. I mean, what were you eating before? Give me a sense of, like, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Fast food?
AGNELLO: Yes, a lot of fast food.
O'BRIEN: Sodas?
AGNELLO: Soda was the worse, yes.
O'BRIEN: Dessert?
AGNELLO: Yes, ice cream.
O'BRIEN: You like it all.
AGNELLO: Yes.
O'BRIEN: So then you cut out everything. What do you eat for breakfast now?
AGNELLO: I'm not up early enough to eat breakfast.
O'BRIEN: Oh, God bless you. I wish I could say the very same things. But give me a sense of what you eat during the day?
AGNELLO: Lunch, I'll have a salad, and then for dinner I'll have like a nice piece of meat.
O'BRIEN: How quickly did you start losing the weight?
AGNELLO: The beginning was where I started losing it the most, the first two months.
O'BRIEN: And you decided to write a book -- why?
AGNELLO: To inspire kids my age to find the confidence.
O'BRIEN: Victoria, you know, you have a chapter in this book, and I was sort of surprised to read the mother's perspective on all of this. I got to imagine, you look over at your son, you see him being teased, even by your own other kids, and you want to just kind of fix it, but weight's one of those things you really can't fix for somebody else, is it?
GOTTI: It was so heartbreaking, really, it is as a parent, because your hands are tied behind your back. You can't hurt your child any further by saying, hey, we have to talk, you know, let's do this. It had to be...
O'BRIEN: But the doctor said to you, you know, hey, he's got a serious problem. He's got high-blood pressure. He's 14 years old.
GOTTI: But the doctor also in the appointment prior to that one, he said it has to be Frank's decision, don't bring it up, don't draw attention to it. This is how the eating disorder starts in teens their age. So let him be the one, and he was. Frank was ready, and came to me and we...
O'BRIEN: Were you surprised, though? I mean, you know, again, you hear about this, every woman's magazine is talking about food issues with women, but not a lot with guys.
GOTTI: I was more surprised at his willingness to do it and his discipline, because I know how hard it is for us women, five pounds, 10 pounds, post-pregnancy. It just...
O'BRIEN: Tell me about it.
GOTTI: Yes. And I couldn't manage a child, so I didn't believe that Frank would be that successful in the beginning, and I thought, uh-oh, this is going to be very, very difficult. When I saw how disciplined he was and how easy the weight came off, it was mind boggling. It really -- I couldn't -- I wish I had that discipline.
O'BRIEN: A lot of, as you know, obesity in children is also tied to how much TV they watch, how many video games they play. Have you changed your whole lifestyle, too?
AGNELLO: Yes, I normally like to sit around and watch TV. I have to walk around and go outside, play basketball.
O'BRIEN: Got a little more active. Well, good for you. Congratulations on the weight loss. Much healthier for you. So that's great. And thanks for coming in to talk to us about it. It's nice. Hope you inspire some other kids to do the same thing.
Nice to see you both. Vicky Gotti Agnello and Victoria Gotti -- Bill. HEMMER: All right, Soledad.
Bill Gates may be filthy rich, but apparently he's not necessarily known for being hip and cool. That may change now he's buds with one of the world's biggest rockers. Andy has that, "Minding Your Business," after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right. Welcome back, everyone. Pampering your little ones is going to cost a bit you more, literally. Andy Serwer has that, "Minding Your Business," and a check of the markets, too. What's happening?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" COLUMNIST: Big news for Soledad. We'll get to that in a second.
Let's talk about the markets, first of all. Stocks trading lower this morning. We've told you this probably was going to happen. Futures are lower, down 32 on the Dow. Chip stocks down. Martha Stewart's down, reported a wider than expected loss.
A couple stories here we're following. Wal-Mart is moving cold and allergy medicines behind-the-counter, following the lead of Target and Long's Drugs and Albertson's. That's because these medications contain pseudophedrine, which is often used to make metamphetamine. And so people have been buying the stuff, drugs like Sudafed, Sinutab, and Afrin nasal spray and using it to make, I think, that's speed.
Now, the Soledad alert part of the program. Diapers, the price of them is going up this summer, Soledad, and that's a big part of your family budget right now.
O'BRIEN: Oh, man.
SERWER: Procter & Gamble is raising the price of some Pamper's and Luv's, five percent, July 15th. Kimberly Clark, which makes Huggies, said they're following suit.
And then finally this morning, Bono and Bill Gates had a sleepover. That's right, U-2 was playing in Seattle over the weekend and Bill Gates invited Bono to spend the night at his house. The two share an interest in third world debt and healthcare. And so they -- Bill went to the concert and they hung out together, apparently, and then Bono came over and hung out. They asked Bill Gates if he was going to buy a black and red U-2 i-Pod...
HEMMER: Good question.
SERWER: ... made by Microsoft rival Apple, and Bill Gates said, quote, "Absolutely not." End quote. So he didn't win him over completely. Bill Gates says he's a big U-2 fan, but not for the i- Pod.
HEMMER: I bet he can get some pretty good tickets, too.
O'BRIEN: He's so cool.
SERWER: I bet he was in the front row.
HEMMER: Thanks, Andy.
O'BRIEN: Hey, Jack. A final look at "The Question of the Day"?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: "The Question of the Day." Yes. Which pays better at work, being nice or being a jerk? They've done a study that seems to indicate that people who are more toward the jerky side of the spectrum take home a bigger paycheck.
Ruthy in New York writes: "Just plain niceness or meanness won't help you at all. It's important to have a versatile range of behaviors at work, because there are times to be kind and helpful and there are times to be aggressive and demanding."
Sandy in Florida writes: "Jerk in the short term. People will do anything to get a jerk to shut up. But long-term results are done with kindness."
Theresa in New York writes: "My favorite of the morning. There are levels of nice behavior that seem to pay in their own way. Pleasantly nice, like Soledad O'Brien, systematically nice, like Martha Stewart, repellently nice like Bill O'Reilly, and then there's Cafferty nice. This level is unattainable to most and takes years to achieve."
HEMMER: Still working on it.
O'BRIEN: Just an oxymoron all together. Wow. Good "Question of the Day." I liked it.
CAFFERTY: Yes. Something to pass the time.
O'BRIEN: "CNN LIVE TODAY" is coming up next. Daryn, good morning to you. What you working on?
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, Soledad, we have a lot going on today. Good morning to you. You're going to want to stick around at the top of the hour. We have an amazing rescue in the Rocky Mountains. This guy was stranded for eight days in the high country with a broken leg. He's a skier who crawled his way to safety. We'll talk with one of the rescuers and have more on that survival story.
Also, he is one of the hottest stars in gospel music. Donnie McClurkin is my guest. He shares his inspirational story, how he went from troubled childhood to Grammy winner.
That is all coming up at the top of the hour. We'll see you then.
O'BRIEN: All right, Daryn. We will see you then.
Coming up tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, we continue our special week-long retirement series. It's called "Never Too Late." We're going to take a look at the folks who are living the good life in their golden years. Learn about their keys to some easy living. That's tomorrow. We start at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time.
But first, a short break. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Here's Aaron Brown with a preview of what's coming up tonight on "NEWSNIGHT."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Soledad. Tonight on "NEWSNIGHT," life inside the Witness Protection Program. Henry Hill, the man at the center of "Goodfellas," tells what it was like and why he decided to give it up and go it alone.
We'll tell you his story plus all the day's other news, morning papers, everything else that makes "NEWSNIGHT," "NEWSNIGHT." CNN tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Soledad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: All right, Aaron, thanks.
HEMMER: Did you hear the one about the bear and tree?
O'BRIEN: No, I didn't.
HEMMER: Oh, I've got it for you.
O'BRIEN: Tell us. Do tell.
HEMMER: A young bear, waking up in a new home today after leading police on this wild chase yesterday in New Jersey. 240 pounds. Thought he had beat them up when he scrambled up a tree behind a home. Wildlife experts brought in a cherry picker, guess who's they call in for the bears. A biologist could shoot the bear with a tranquilize from that picker. They carefully tied him up with ropes, lowered him down into a net.
SERWER: That's the lowering, right?
HEMMER: Yes.
COSTELLO: His legs.
HEMMER: Say he's in excellent condition...
SERWER: Into the truck, put him in. OK, we have contact. No, not quite yet.
HEMMER: Come on.
SERWER: How do you lower a bear out of a -- look, Mom, there's a bear in the tree. HEMMER: It's a good stretching exercise, too.
O'BRIEN: They could have just shot him, as I'm sure they do in some places.
CAFFERTY: Swollen ankles.
COSTELLO: Why are they missing the truck?
SERWER: Look, yes.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: ... released in a state park out in New Jersey. Now you know the bear and the tree. The story is done.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Bill. Appreciate it.
SERWER: Well done, Bill.
O'BRIEN: We'll wait with baited breath for more of those.
CAFFERTY: Mister Rogers' neighborhood.
SERWER: Fires in the tree.
O'BRIEN: Guess what, we're done. That's it for us. Let's get right to Daryn Kagan. She's going to take you through the next couple hours on CNN "LIVE TODAY." Good morning.
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 26, 2005 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In Washington, a Senate panel is set to debate President Bush's Social Security's reforms. The Senate Finance Committee will meet in less than an hour. In the meantime, President Bush is on the road again, trying to drum up support for his proposals. The president will take part in a roundtable in Galveston, Texas, a little later today.
In southeastern Wisconsin, boats and aircraft are searching Lake Michigan this morning for the pilot of a single-engine plane. The aircraft apparently ran out of fuel. The Coast Guard says the pilot made a final 911 call from a cell phone while the plane was still floating on top of the water, but contact with him was short.
And General Motors in the middle of six, count them, six separate recalls. The world's biggest automaker says it's taking back more than two million vehicles for various safety repairs. Most of the vehicles being recalled are SUVs and trucks. G.M. says owners, yes, you, will be notified in the mail in the next few weeks.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: That's what you call a bad week, huh?
COSTELLO: You're not kidding. This could drive them out of business. This is serious.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: They're in tough times already. They don't need that. All right. Carol, thanks.
Well, government officials are now confirming that they've nearly captured terrorist Abu Musab al Zarqawi earlier this year. We're on terrorist trail this morning, along with Barbara Starr. She's at the Pentagon for us.
Hey, Barbara, good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
Officials now telling CNN that in the midst of all of this, there are new indications of two-way communication between Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the most wanted man in Iraq. Officials are now confirming details of a story that CNN first reported several weeks ago, that U.S. troops indeed had come quite close to capturing Zarqawi in Iraq in a raid back in February. It was February 20th, near the city of Ramadi, West of Falluja.
Well, U.S. troops had a tip that Zarqawi might be traveling. U.S. troops deployed. They stopped a suspicious vehicle, they chased it down. By the time they got to it, Zarqawi was gone. But, what was inside the vehicle might be significantly more important, in fact. There was a computer with what one official describes as a treasure trove of intelligence about Zarqawi, also about Osama bin Laden.
But Soledad, officials are also telling CNN that in that raid, they captured a man who they describe as a trusted lieutenant of Osama bin Laden. This was inside Iraq, near Ramadi, during a raid aimed at capturing Zarqawi. They came up with a lieutenant of Osama bin Laden.
Now, of course, what is significant here is this underscores what officials had been saying for some time, that they do believe there is two-way communication between bin Laden and Zarqawi. It is a matter of great concern. It's not the first time they've captured a bin Laden lieutenant inside Iraq. It had happened many, many months ago, but this is the most recent indication and the clearest connection to Abu Musab al Zarqawi, according to officials -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Barbara, you talk about troops. Can you -- has the Pentagon been specific about what troops exactly were involved in the mission?
STARR: The Pentagon officially is not specific about any of this, but sources indeed are confirming to CNN that these were special operations forces that were on this mission. Some of the most highly- trained U.S. commandos operating inside Iraq and what that underscores, Soledad, of course, is that the U.S. felt it had very solid intelligence, a very good inside tip that Zarqawi might be traveling near Ramadi. They deployed their best forces. They feel they just missed him, but they came up with the rest of this information -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Came up with something valuable, anyway. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us. Barbara, thanks, as always.
In other news, actress Maggie Gyllenhaal not backing down from her recent comments about the attack on the Twin Towers. She shared her controversial views last week at the premiere of her new film.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL, ACTRESS: Because I think America has done reprehensible things and is responsible in some way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Bombarded with criticism, Gyllenhaal is now responding with a written statement urging people to, quote, "be brave enough to ask some serious questions about America's role in the world." The actress appears in "The Great New Wonderful." It's the name of a movie about life after 9/11.
HEMMER: Well, 25 minutes now before the hour. Another story now. The mayor in Miami Beach, Florida, proposing to more than double the current buffer zone around schools and parks and playgrounds where registered sex offenders are not allowed to live. If this passes in May, nearly all of Miami Beach will fall within these boundaries. The mayor is David Dermer. He says it would be an effective law enforcement tool. We talked to him earlier.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR DAVID DERMER, MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: The penalties for it would be a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 60 days in jail. This is another tool for law enforcement on a local level to be able to target really the hardcore offenders. This a type of crime with a high recidivism rate, meaning that people are likely to commit it again.
You have a stalking nature to this crime, and there is a lot of evidence to suggest that many of these crimes are committed by perpetrators living within close proximity of the victims. So this, once again, gives law enforcement another tool to be able to look at those offenders that are likely to strike again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Again this is Miami Beach, same area where South Beach is located. Third week of May is when they're set to vote on it.
Our senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin says that law does stand a chance, because the courts have consistently upheld sex offender registry rules. But, he says, Toobin says, the problem is that former sex offenders have a right to live somewhere as well. Another issue to be decided -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Well, last week you'll recall we told you about the financial and safety problems with the so-called big dig project in Boston. On the West Coast, a problem much the same. Claims of mismanagement and safety concerns have halted work on an earthquake- safe replacement for the San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge. What's worse, there is now a plan for drivers to foot the bill.
CNN's Rusty Dornin has our explanation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Oakland Bay Bridge. There is not a day when Anna Sylvester drives it that she doesn't remember the moment she was crossing the span in 1989 when the Loma Prieta earthquake shook the Bay Area so hard a portion of the bridge in front of her collapsed. It was repaired in a month.
But 16 years later, amid charges of mismanagement, faulty welding and billions in cost overruns, a new quake-safe bridge to replace the existing span is far from finished.
ANNA SYLVESTER, BAY BRIDGE COMMUTER: I do care that from the earthquake perspective that it's taken so long.
DORNIN: Now it's a bridge going nowhere. All work stopped on a section to connect Yerba Buena Island with Oakland, because no one can agree on what it will look like: a suspension tower or a skyway. Tower supporters say it's cheaper to stick with the original design. Caltrans, the state agency charged with building the bridge, claims the suspension design is too complex.
WILL KEMPTON, DIRECTOR, CALTRANS: Complexity breeds uncertainty. And with uncertainty comes the risk of schedule delays and cost increases.
DORNIN (on camera): Speaking of cost increases, in 2001 it was estimated to cost $2.6 billion. Four years later, it's more than tripled, and possibly still rising.
(voice-over): How did that happen? Both sides claim skyrocketing steel and concrete prices, and problems with insurance after 9/11. But...
TOM TORLAKSON (D), CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE: On top of that, some mismanagement of the project, which has cost, I think, a couple of hundred million dollars more on top of these inevitable rises in steel and concrete costs.
DORNIN: Caltrans denies the mismanagement charges. Regardless, someone has to pay for it. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wants bay area drivers to ante up by increasing the toll from $3 to $5. Work has also stopped on another section due to charges of faulty welding. It won't start up again until the FBI and state inspectors investigate. Caltrans insists the welds are safe.
And for a survivor of the last collapse, safety is paramount.
SYLVESTER: And you hope that the 5 or 10 minutes that you're crossing it that nothing will ever happen to you.
DORNIN: Even if a design is picked tomorrow, the span won't be finished until 2012 at the earliest. And for many, that's a bridge too far from completion.
Rusty Dornin, CNN, San Francisco.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Just a mess.
Look at these pictures, though. An amazing scene. This is midtown Manhattan, firefighters, rescuers, swarming a taxi cab that came to rest after a series of collisions. Rescuers had to remove the roof of the taxi to try to take out the driver. The out-of-control cab hit two cars, a pedestrian, a minivan, then a whole row of cars along a full city block. 11 people in all were injured, including the driver and his passenger, who was pregnant. Criminal charges are now pending against that driver.
HEMMER: And that pregnant passenger gave birth later yesterday, too.
O'BRIEN: Man, I tell you. That's a terrible scene.
HEMMER: Wow.
O'BRIEN: 11 people injured in this.
HEMMER: Right near Times Square.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Well, it is the revenge of the nerds. Why one of the world's biggest rock stars spent the night with the world's biggest computer geek. And all that in "Minding Your Business." That's coming up.
HEMMER: Also, the secrets behind a Gotti boy's incredible weight loss. He said he went from fatty Gotti to hotty Gotti. Is that true? We'll ask him. His words in a moment here, on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Frank Gotti Agnello was thrilled, but a little nervous, when he heard his family would star in the reality TV show "Growing Up Gotti." Thirteen-year-old Frankie feared appearing on camera. That's him right there. He was 255 pounds, and his doctor told him he was morbidly obese, and he suffered from high-blood pressure.
So Frankie did something about it. After losing 80 pounds, he wrote a book to help other teenagers. It's called "The Gotti Diet: How I Took Control of My Body, Lost 80 Pounds, and Discovered How to Eat Right and Stay Fit Forever." Frankie is now 15, comes here with his mom, Victoria Gotti.
Nice to see you. Thanks for coming in to talk to us.
Give me a little sense of what it was like before you lost all the weight. We've got before and after pictures to show. You call yourself the fatty Gotti and hotty Gotti, hotty being now. People tease you?
FRANK GOTTI AGNELLO, "THE GOTTI DIET": It wasn't that bad in school, because I grew up with most of the kids. But a lot of my brother's friends, they always, like, teased me. They would shove food in front of my face.
O'BRIEN: Was it painful, or was it the kind of the thing you brushed off? I mean, even before the show, did you worry about your weight, or did you sort of not care? I mean, I don't think of boys as caring about this stuff as much as girls.
AGNELLO: I mean, like, at a young age, probably like 9 or 10, it didn't bother me. And then from, like, 10 to 13, that's when it hit me the most, and then I just realized one day wanted to lose the weight.
O'BRIEN: Why do you think you gained so much weight?
AGNELLO: Just sitting around the house, eating, being bored, not being that active in sports.
O'BRIEN: So you get this call, you're going to do this reality show, and suddenly it's like, uh-oh, I'm going to be on TV in front of lots of people; I need to lose weight. What was your first step?
AGNELLO: Find a diet, and I searched around and I didn't find anything that I liked. So I just on my own.
O'BRIEN: So how did you start your own? I mean, how did you know what you should have been eating? Like if I had to pick my own diet I'd eat Cap'n Crunch all the time and be perfectly happy, but it probably wouldn't work. What did you do?
AGNELLO: I just looked up and I found out what all the bad foods were, and I just eliminating them from my daily dieting.
O'BRIEN: What kinds of things?
VICTORIA GOTTI, FRANK'S MOTHER: He actually modified the Weight Watchers diet. He...
O'BRIEN: So back to basics.
GOTTI: Back to basics. Frank, I think he studied every -- from Atkins to the -- everything, and he just felt it wasn't appropriate for a teenager. So he looked at the -- out of all of them he felt the Weight Watchers was by far the most healthy and the most effective for him. So he just modified that.
O'BRIEN: Yes, 80 pounds. I mean, what were you eating before? Give me a sense of, like, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Fast food?
AGNELLO: Yes, a lot of fast food.
O'BRIEN: Sodas?
AGNELLO: Soda was the worse, yes.
O'BRIEN: Dessert?
AGNELLO: Yes, ice cream.
O'BRIEN: You like it all.
AGNELLO: Yes.
O'BRIEN: So then you cut out everything. What do you eat for breakfast now?
AGNELLO: I'm not up early enough to eat breakfast.
O'BRIEN: Oh, God bless you. I wish I could say the very same things. But give me a sense of what you eat during the day?
AGNELLO: Lunch, I'll have a salad, and then for dinner I'll have like a nice piece of meat.
O'BRIEN: How quickly did you start losing the weight?
AGNELLO: The beginning was where I started losing it the most, the first two months.
O'BRIEN: And you decided to write a book -- why?
AGNELLO: To inspire kids my age to find the confidence.
O'BRIEN: Victoria, you know, you have a chapter in this book, and I was sort of surprised to read the mother's perspective on all of this. I got to imagine, you look over at your son, you see him being teased, even by your own other kids, and you want to just kind of fix it, but weight's one of those things you really can't fix for somebody else, is it?
GOTTI: It was so heartbreaking, really, it is as a parent, because your hands are tied behind your back. You can't hurt your child any further by saying, hey, we have to talk, you know, let's do this. It had to be...
O'BRIEN: But the doctor said to you, you know, hey, he's got a serious problem. He's got high-blood pressure. He's 14 years old.
GOTTI: But the doctor also in the appointment prior to that one, he said it has to be Frank's decision, don't bring it up, don't draw attention to it. This is how the eating disorder starts in teens their age. So let him be the one, and he was. Frank was ready, and came to me and we...
O'BRIEN: Were you surprised, though? I mean, you know, again, you hear about this, every woman's magazine is talking about food issues with women, but not a lot with guys.
GOTTI: I was more surprised at his willingness to do it and his discipline, because I know how hard it is for us women, five pounds, 10 pounds, post-pregnancy. It just...
O'BRIEN: Tell me about it.
GOTTI: Yes. And I couldn't manage a child, so I didn't believe that Frank would be that successful in the beginning, and I thought, uh-oh, this is going to be very, very difficult. When I saw how disciplined he was and how easy the weight came off, it was mind boggling. It really -- I couldn't -- I wish I had that discipline.
O'BRIEN: A lot of, as you know, obesity in children is also tied to how much TV they watch, how many video games they play. Have you changed your whole lifestyle, too?
AGNELLO: Yes, I normally like to sit around and watch TV. I have to walk around and go outside, play basketball.
O'BRIEN: Got a little more active. Well, good for you. Congratulations on the weight loss. Much healthier for you. So that's great. And thanks for coming in to talk to us about it. It's nice. Hope you inspire some other kids to do the same thing.
Nice to see you both. Vicky Gotti Agnello and Victoria Gotti -- Bill. HEMMER: All right, Soledad.
Bill Gates may be filthy rich, but apparently he's not necessarily known for being hip and cool. That may change now he's buds with one of the world's biggest rockers. Andy has that, "Minding Your Business," after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: All right. Welcome back, everyone. Pampering your little ones is going to cost a bit you more, literally. Andy Serwer has that, "Minding Your Business," and a check of the markets, too. What's happening?
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" COLUMNIST: Big news for Soledad. We'll get to that in a second.
Let's talk about the markets, first of all. Stocks trading lower this morning. We've told you this probably was going to happen. Futures are lower, down 32 on the Dow. Chip stocks down. Martha Stewart's down, reported a wider than expected loss.
A couple stories here we're following. Wal-Mart is moving cold and allergy medicines behind-the-counter, following the lead of Target and Long's Drugs and Albertson's. That's because these medications contain pseudophedrine, which is often used to make metamphetamine. And so people have been buying the stuff, drugs like Sudafed, Sinutab, and Afrin nasal spray and using it to make, I think, that's speed.
Now, the Soledad alert part of the program. Diapers, the price of them is going up this summer, Soledad, and that's a big part of your family budget right now.
O'BRIEN: Oh, man.
SERWER: Procter & Gamble is raising the price of some Pamper's and Luv's, five percent, July 15th. Kimberly Clark, which makes Huggies, said they're following suit.
And then finally this morning, Bono and Bill Gates had a sleepover. That's right, U-2 was playing in Seattle over the weekend and Bill Gates invited Bono to spend the night at his house. The two share an interest in third world debt and healthcare. And so they -- Bill went to the concert and they hung out together, apparently, and then Bono came over and hung out. They asked Bill Gates if he was going to buy a black and red U-2 i-Pod...
HEMMER: Good question.
SERWER: ... made by Microsoft rival Apple, and Bill Gates said, quote, "Absolutely not." End quote. So he didn't win him over completely. Bill Gates says he's a big U-2 fan, but not for the i- Pod.
HEMMER: I bet he can get some pretty good tickets, too.
O'BRIEN: He's so cool.
SERWER: I bet he was in the front row.
HEMMER: Thanks, Andy.
O'BRIEN: Hey, Jack. A final look at "The Question of the Day"?
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: "The Question of the Day." Yes. Which pays better at work, being nice or being a jerk? They've done a study that seems to indicate that people who are more toward the jerky side of the spectrum take home a bigger paycheck.
Ruthy in New York writes: "Just plain niceness or meanness won't help you at all. It's important to have a versatile range of behaviors at work, because there are times to be kind and helpful and there are times to be aggressive and demanding."
Sandy in Florida writes: "Jerk in the short term. People will do anything to get a jerk to shut up. But long-term results are done with kindness."
Theresa in New York writes: "My favorite of the morning. There are levels of nice behavior that seem to pay in their own way. Pleasantly nice, like Soledad O'Brien, systematically nice, like Martha Stewart, repellently nice like Bill O'Reilly, and then there's Cafferty nice. This level is unattainable to most and takes years to achieve."
HEMMER: Still working on it.
O'BRIEN: Just an oxymoron all together. Wow. Good "Question of the Day." I liked it.
CAFFERTY: Yes. Something to pass the time.
O'BRIEN: "CNN LIVE TODAY" is coming up next. Daryn, good morning to you. What you working on?
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, Soledad, we have a lot going on today. Good morning to you. You're going to want to stick around at the top of the hour. We have an amazing rescue in the Rocky Mountains. This guy was stranded for eight days in the high country with a broken leg. He's a skier who crawled his way to safety. We'll talk with one of the rescuers and have more on that survival story.
Also, he is one of the hottest stars in gospel music. Donnie McClurkin is my guest. He shares his inspirational story, how he went from troubled childhood to Grammy winner.
That is all coming up at the top of the hour. We'll see you then.
O'BRIEN: All right, Daryn. We will see you then.
Coming up tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, we continue our special week-long retirement series. It's called "Never Too Late." We're going to take a look at the folks who are living the good life in their golden years. Learn about their keys to some easy living. That's tomorrow. We start at 7:00 a.m. Eastern time.
But first, a short break. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Here's Aaron Brown with a preview of what's coming up tonight on "NEWSNIGHT."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you, Soledad. Tonight on "NEWSNIGHT," life inside the Witness Protection Program. Henry Hill, the man at the center of "Goodfellas," tells what it was like and why he decided to give it up and go it alone.
We'll tell you his story plus all the day's other news, morning papers, everything else that makes "NEWSNIGHT," "NEWSNIGHT." CNN tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern -- Soledad.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: All right, Aaron, thanks.
HEMMER: Did you hear the one about the bear and tree?
O'BRIEN: No, I didn't.
HEMMER: Oh, I've got it for you.
O'BRIEN: Tell us. Do tell.
HEMMER: A young bear, waking up in a new home today after leading police on this wild chase yesterday in New Jersey. 240 pounds. Thought he had beat them up when he scrambled up a tree behind a home. Wildlife experts brought in a cherry picker, guess who's they call in for the bears. A biologist could shoot the bear with a tranquilize from that picker. They carefully tied him up with ropes, lowered him down into a net.
SERWER: That's the lowering, right?
HEMMER: Yes.
COSTELLO: His legs.
HEMMER: Say he's in excellent condition...
SERWER: Into the truck, put him in. OK, we have contact. No, not quite yet.
HEMMER: Come on.
SERWER: How do you lower a bear out of a -- look, Mom, there's a bear in the tree. HEMMER: It's a good stretching exercise, too.
O'BRIEN: They could have just shot him, as I'm sure they do in some places.
CAFFERTY: Swollen ankles.
COSTELLO: Why are they missing the truck?
SERWER: Look, yes.
(CROSSTALK)
HEMMER: ... released in a state park out in New Jersey. Now you know the bear and the tree. The story is done.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Bill. Appreciate it.
SERWER: Well done, Bill.
O'BRIEN: We'll wait with baited breath for more of those.
CAFFERTY: Mister Rogers' neighborhood.
SERWER: Fires in the tree.
O'BRIEN: Guess what, we're done. That's it for us. Let's get right to Daryn Kagan. She's going to take you through the next couple hours on CNN "LIVE TODAY." Good morning.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
