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CNN Live At Daybreak
Bombings in Iraq; Bush and the Media; It Happens in Vegas; Internet Pharming
Aired April 29, 2005 - 06:28 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: One day after Iraq's National Assembly picked a government, insurgents let loose with a vengeance, exploding car bomb after car bomb after car bomb. Nine in all, seven by suicide bombers, 23 dead, 96 wounded, many of them Iraqi soldiers and security forces.
And, you know, just last night in a televised address, President Bush spoke of how important security forces are to Iraq's future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The more secure Iraq becomes as the result of the hard work of Iraqi security forces, the more confidence the people will have in the process, and the more isolated the terrorists will become. But Iraq has got people there that are willing to kill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And kill security forces, target them.
Let's head live to Baghdad for more from CNN's Ryan Chilcote.
Hello -- Ryan.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, the president had it right here when he said that there are still plenty of people in Iraq willing to kill. We've seen that today, unfortunately. Plenty more violence to talk about.
We start in eastern Baghdad with the most recent attack there, a double bombing. One car bomb goes off. Then as a Reuters crew films, some really dramatic video. That's right. A second car bomb going off there. Now, the Reuters crew was OK. However, one Iraqi civilian was killed in that attack, eight Iraqi policemen wounded.
Now moving on to the north of Baghdad, there four car bombs, Iraqi police telling us all of them detonated by suicide bombers. All of these suicide bombers detonating their explosives just minutes apart. All of this happening within one square mile.
And we move on to just southeast of Baghdad to a city called Madain. There, three car bombs. Again, Iraqi police telling us all of them detonated by suicide bombers. In Baghdad and the immediate vicinity alone today, 11 bombs in total, all of them going off before noon. The casualty count at this point, according to Iraqi police, at least 23 dead, about 100 wounded -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ryan Chilcote live from Baghdad this morning. Thank you.
Iraq wasn't the only overseas hot spot on the president's plate. He was questioned about concerns over Russia, Syria and Iran as well.
Well, we don't have that sound bite from the -- oh, we do have it. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: What do you think of Putin now that he has expressed a willingness to supply weapons to outlaw regimes, specifically his recent comment that he said he would provide short-range missiles to Syria and nuclear components to Iran?
BUSH: We're working closely with the Russians on the issue of vehicle-mounted weaponry to Syria. We didn't appreciate that, but we made ourselves clear. As to Iran, what Russia has agreed to do is to send highly-enriched uranium to a nuclear civilian power plant, and then collect that uranium after it's used for electricity, power purposes. That's what they've decided to do. And I appreciate that gesture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Let's talk to the correspondent now who asked the president that question, CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
Good morning -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: You know, it wasn't so long ago that President Bush and President Putin had such a close relationship. But President Putin certainly isn't backing down.
MALVEAUX: Well, you're right. And it's very interesting to actually follow their relationship here, because, as you know, the two men met just months ago when he was in Europe, and had a joint press conference.
And, you know, it's very interesting, because of course, he says that he's developed this sense of trust with Putin. But at the same time, there are a lot of things that Putin has done that the president and the administration just is not pleased with. And you can bet that these are the kinds of things that will be brought up in the meetings that take place next week when the president actually travels to Moscow. COSTELLO: Was there anything in this news conference last night that surprised you, Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Well, you know, what was interesting is that this was a news conference that had very little news, despite the fact that it went on for more than an hour. And that's not really surprising, because the whole purpose for the press conference really was for the president to talk directly to the people, trying to push his Social Security reform plan and also the energy price issue, to talk about the fact that, hey, I understand high gas prices are a problem for many Americans, but there's very little that I can do about it.
What was interesting -- and you pointed out, too, Carol -- was the fact that the networks, many of the networks were not even going to take his press conference live, because of the way it was scheduled, because of May sweeps. They had all kinds of other shows that people are interesting in watching, and they didn't necessarily believe that it was newsworthy enough to interrupt their programming. So, the president actually changed his press conference to accommodate the networks.
So, the bottom line is, what we got out of this, is he did answer a number of questions, but he didn't really move the ball forward very much on an of these issues.
COSTELLO: Yes, we're taking a look at the CBS, Fox and NBC breaking away for their prime time programming, and -- I don't know. It broke away at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, because it's May sweeps. And, of course, Thursday nights are big nights for advertisers. So, the networks didn't want to lose money. So, it's all very interesting.
Thank you, Suzanne Malveaux, reporting live for us from Washington this morning.
Wonder why the president is not being flexible on the issue of private investment accounts? The "AMERICAN MORNING" gang will try to find out. CNN's Soledad O'Brien joins us now for a look at what's coming up.
Good morning -- Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.
President Bush, in fact, talked about Social Security; also the rising prices at the pump on Thursday. But did he offer any real solutions? This morning, we talk with the president's counselor, Dan Bartlett, about all of that.
Also, a possible AIDS scare at a Philadelphia elementary school. More than a dozen third graders were allegedly pricked with a diabetic testing needle. The concern now is that one of those children may have HIV. How likely is it that it could spread? We're going to check in with Dr. Sanjay Gupta on that this morning.
Those stories are ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING" coming to you at the top of the hour -- Carol. COSTELLO: We'll be there. Thank you, Soledad.
Coming up on DAYBREAK, what do you think? Is the Wynn a winner? We're going to find out if the latest Las Vegas hot spot can live up to all of the hype. That's at 40 minutes past the hour.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The Las Vegas Strip has a giant new addition to its landscape. And I guess you could already call it a winner just by virtue of its name. It is the called the Wynn as in Steve Wynn. The casino hotel cost more than $2.7 billion to build. It has 2,700 rooms and suites. And it employs -- get this -- almost 10,000 people. The doors opened officially yesterday with plenty of people waiting in line, and they were willing to talk about it as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I walked up the grounds, I was really amazed. When I walked in the front door, I thought Belagio. And I kept on walking through the casino, and it's the Belagio. The thing that stood out the most was when you walked inside, like, there is all of the fresh flowers and the sky lighting on the ceiling is kind of nice, because it adds, you know, the outdoors touch. That's probably what stands out the most.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just came in and, like, three guards jumped on us, no strollers, no kids are allowed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come back and look at the Ferraris and wait until the gift store gets a little less crowded, because the gift store is packed. Everybody is buying Wynn stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Joining me now to talk more about the Wynn and the changing face of Las Vegas is Tim Jarrell, publisher of the world famous "Fodor's Travel Guides."
Thank you for coming in this morning.
Oh, first of all, tell me how much a room goes for in the Wynn.
TIM JARRELL, PUBLISHER, "FODOR'S TRAVEL GUIDES": Well, you can get a cheap room for $250, but it goes up from there. And you can easily spend a thousand dollars or more a night at Wynn.
COSTELLO: Can Las Vegas handle another huge, gigantic hotel and casino like this?
JARRELL: Well, I think that Vegas can definitely handle Steve Wynn and the property that he's opening. And I think Vegas can handle a lot more. It's growing. It's about 38 million visitors last year, up 5 to 10 percent. Vegas keeps reinventing itself. More and more people go. And more and more properties are opening.
COSTELLO: You know, it's amazing to me, because Las Vegas was always known, you can go there, you can get a cheap hotel room, you can go to a buffet, spend a couple of dollars to eat, and then you'd spend all of your money on gambling. But it's really moving away from that now, isn't it?
JARRELL: Well, it is. Now, you can still get the cheap room and you can still get the cheap buffet and you can still gamble at lower- end properties, but Vegas is going after your entertainment dollar. You can gamble almost anywhere in the U.S. now. And if Vegas was just a gambling town, it wouldn't survive. It has to reinvent itself. Four out of five visitors are repeat visitors. It has to offer something shiny. It has to offer something new. And it's going after your entertainment dollar, not just the gambling dollar.
COSTELLO: And it's attracting Hollywood types as well, because they have these beautiful new condominiums that cost millions of dollars apiece. Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey just bought one.
JARRELL: Absolutely. It's the in place to go. Paris Hilton made a scene at the Palms. If you're a celebrity and you're it, go to Vegas.
COSTELLO: And, Chad, didn't you have your bachelor party in Vegas?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I've been to some bachelor parties in Vegas, but no.
COSTELLO: Oh, that's right. It wasn't yours.
MYERS: You know, I'm curious as to the shows. I've seen only two shows there. Have you heard any reviews? Have they been on yet? What's going on there? That's why I go to Vegas, because you can get so much entertainment for such really good prices sometimes.
JARRELL: You know, you can get great entertainment at Vegas, and it's a passing of an era, because Wayne Newton just retired. But there is still the classic shows, Penn & Teller, Cirque Du Soleil...
COSTELLO: Yes, but those are not cheap shows. You pay 100 bucks to go see those shows.
JARRELL: Oh, sure.
COSTELLO: Cirque Du Soleil, you pay more.
JARRELL: You can. But there are inexpensive shows. There is a bevy of comedians. There are magicians. There are all sorts of places at the casinos, and a lot of casinos want you to get in there. So, they'll offer cheap shows so that you go through their casino. But there's a lot of great entertainment there.
COSTELLO: Yes, but, see, cheap is a relative term, because I went to see a magician show, which was great. But it was 60 bucks a ticket. If I had, like, two or three kids plus my husband, that would be a lot of money for one night of entertainment in Las Vegas.
MYERS: Carol, Carol, Carol, Carol, you just need to shop a little. The Comedy Stop at the Trop, find a coupon in a magazine, and on Thursday, you get two people in for 20 bucks and you get two Budweisers. How do you beat that?
COSTELLO: Your kids aren't going to want to see that. But your kids aren't going to want to see that.
MYERS: Well, no.
COSTELLO: Tim, help me out here.
MYERS: He's 4 months old. What is he going to know?
JARRELL: Look, there's a lot of cheap stuff to do in Vegas. I went there a year ago with my 13-year-old son. And, you know, there's a lot going on in the lobbies of the hotels. There are always people around. And we took in a concert, which was actually relatively inexpensive. But we also went around Vegas. We went horseback riding in the Red Canyon down to the Hoover Dam. Plenty to do, and if you want to do it on the cheap, trust me, I can do it on the cheap, you can do it on the cheap.
MYERS: Tim, I hear the golf course at the Wynn is just phenomenal. Obviously, the Old Desert Inn.
JARRELL: It's phenomenal. It's 18 holes, of course, but it's right on the property.
MYERS: Yes.
JARRELL: I mean, you can roll out of bed and be on the links in no time at all.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: And the other thing they have, Chad, is they have these curved escalators inside the Wynn. They lead down to a patio facing a large pool with a 70-foot wall of water cascading at its back.
MYERS: And 10 chefs, not including the other execs and the pastry chefs and the catering.
COSTELLO: Crazy. Thank you, Tim, for coming in this morning. We appreciate it.
JARRELL: Carol, thank you.
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:43 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
Baghdad has been rocked by several explosions this morning. At least 24 are dead, nearly 100 others injured by a series of car bombs and roadside explosives. Seven of the nine car bombings were suicide attacks.
In money news, Microsoft reported strong earnings in the first quarter but not as strong as industry analysts had hoped. Microsoft saw profits of more than $2.5 billion, which sent its stock price up slightly.
In culture, the Broadway play "Spamalot" received 12 Drama Desk award nominations. The Drama Desk awards are a traditional precursor for the Tony Awards. For those of you who are not in the know, "Spamalot" is a musical based on the 1975 movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
In sports, retiring star Reggie Miller had a big night in leading his Indiana Pacers to a 99-76 win over the Boston Celtics. Miller's 33-point performance put the Pacers up two games to one in the best of seven series.
To the forecast center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: More testimony is expected today from Michael Jackson's ex-wife. So let's check in now with CNN's Bill Hemmer for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.
It gets more and more interesting out there in Santa Maria, California. Much more on what's happening with his ex-wife. We'll get to that today.
Also, we'll get to the latest news out of Iraq today. In Baghdad, as you've been reporting, Carol, already today 24 dead, 100 injured. What's behind this surge in violence? We're talking about 5 different car bombs in the span of about 15 minutes. We'll talk to a top U.S. commander in Baghdad about that.
On a much different note, you know, the president last night was talking about Social Security. That has been out theme throughout the entire week here on "AMERICAN MORNING." Our series on retirement concludes today. Meet some baby boomers who are putting a new spin on this. They say it's never too late to find your dream job, and they will show us how. I guess that means starting up a rock band and going out in the woods and firing up a guitar, Carol.
COSTELLO: That sounds good to me right at this moment.
HEMMER: You will meet them this morning. Happy Friday, by the way. See you later.
COSTELLO: Oh, you've got that right.
HEMMER: Amen! See you.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Bill.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, find out the latest cyber scam to steal your identity. It's so new and so advanced that many experts are still in the dark about it. You will not want to miss this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's 6:49 Eastern. Here is what will be making news today.
In Pennsylvania, the family of a missing district attorney and police will hold a press conference this afternoon. Ray Gricer hasn't been seen since April 15. His daughter says she suspects foul play.
A man suspected of setting dozens of arson fires in the D.C. area is heading to court today. Thomas Sweatt says he set the fires to relieve stress. He's been charged with setting two fires, but may also face murder charges because an elderly woman died in one of those fires two years ago.
And a cross-country skier who survived for eight days in the Colorado back country will talk to reporters today. The 55-year-old skier has a broken leg, frostbite and other injuries, but he's doing pretty good. It's amazing.
MYERS: He dragged himself out of the woods.
COSTELLO: It was really cold, too.
MYERS: Yes, it really was. It's time to give away a mug, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK.
MYERS: The ones from yesterday, here are the questions. FAA rules require that you be at least how old to sit in the exit row of an airplane? We had that on the bottom of the screen yesterday. The number is 15, 15 years old. And which port just became the first in the nation to scan all incoming cargo for radioactive material? Even though bananas show up as radioactive sometimes, so they have to just (INAUDIBLE). The answer there is Oakland, California.
And the winner, maybe he's French, Carol, Kevin Cuvelier or Cuvelier, if you will, I don't know, Champaign, Illinois, gets the mug today. Congratulations, Kevin.
COSTELLO: And the name of his town is French, too.
MYERS: Champaign, they didn't put the "e" on the end, but they put the "i" in there.
Anyway, temperatures across the country today are going to warm and your temperatures here in Vegas are going to be 75. How many people are employed at that new Wynn casino out there in Vegas?
COSTELLO: Did you forget you had the new quiz coming up?
MYERS: This is it right here.
COSTELLO: OK, I'm ready. You were doing that forecast. You threw me.
MYERS: Oh, no, it's going to be hot in Vegas, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK.
MYERS: And how many people are employed in this new hot casino in Vegas, the Wynn casino, Wynn, Las Vegas? And what state legislature just approved daylight saving time? I'm glad they didn't put the "s" on there. It is "daylight saving time." And everybody always calls it "daylight savings time." And it's not.
Daybreak@CNN.com, your answers there, please. We'll give away a mug on Monday.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You bet.
COSTELLO: Now to our "CNN Security Watch." Fifty-two people have been charged in a scheme involving fake Florida driver's licenses. The commercial licenses would allow drivers to operate trucks, such as fuel tankers and even hazardous waste transports. Federal officials say more than 2,000 of the fake licenses were issued at a cost of about $100 to $200 apiece.
Nine people have been arrested and charged in a bank theft scheme in New Jersey. Authorities say bank employees obtained lists of people who had outstanding balances, and then sold that information to bill collectors. The employees worked for such banks as the Bank of America, Commerce Bank and Wachovia.
Tune in to CNN day and night for more information about your security.
Chances are good that unless you're a hacker you have not heard of this next phenomenon. We've already heard about a phenomenon called phishing. Well, now there's online pharming. That's pharming with a "ph," like fat.
It's the latest computer scam to steal your personal identity. And it's so new security experts are still learning about it.
Julie Vallese joins us live from Washington to talk about pharming.
What exactly is it, Julie?
JULIE VALLESE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Carol.
You know, I don't know what it is about identity theft and this "ph" thing, but pharming is really the latest way on the computer to steal somebody's identity. A wide net is cast, and there's a possible, possible chance that your identity could be stolen. But the really scary thing about this one is that in some cases all you have to do is log on to your computer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALLESE (voice over): The high-tech world that more people are living in is being poisoned by viruses that cause consumer identities to be stolen. The latest form is called pharming. There's no phony e-mail to click. Bad guys infect computers to automatically redirect consumers to fake sites.
DAVID JEVINS, ANTI-PHISHING WORKING GROUP: They can take you to a fake Web site even if you type in the Web site address directly into your Web browser. So, they kind of wait for you to visit your bank or an online commerce site.
VALLESE: If you end up on a pharm site, scammers can steal your personal information. Very diligent consumers may detect the scam only after they review a bank statement. Or modestly diligent consumers may detect it after ordering a credit report.
EILEEN HARRINGTON, FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION: There are some basic protections that consumers should take. Have a firewall. Update it. Have an antivirus program. Keep it updated. Download updates of security patches for the browser.
VALLESE: And do all of this regularly -- some experts say daily. But it's not just up to consumers. The industry is taking precautions as well.
SANDRA THOMPSON, FDIC: We want to make sure that banks are operating in a safe and sound manner and that the computer systems that they're using are very secure.
VALLESE: It is in banks best interest to protect their customers against fraud. And when the financial industry is attacked, they know it and they report it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
While so far the Federal Trade Commission says it is not aware of any widespread pharming attacks, but it does say the threat is real. But that may be all it is, a threat. That's because the tools are available to protect against this kind of fraud. Consumers just have to use them -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Julie Vallese reporting live from Washington this morning. Thanks for the warning.
And you are watching DAYBREAK for a Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: "Now in the News."
There has been a rash of deadly bombings in Baghdad, nine in all. At least 23 have been killed, 96 hurt. And in Basra, a roadside bomb killed one person and injured two others. Most of the bombs have targeted Iraqi police and army member.
A military jury at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, has sentenced Sergeant Hasan Akbar to death for attacking his fellow soldiers in Kuwait just before the outbreak of the Iraq war. Two officers were killed.
CNN has learned that the shuttle Discovery will not be lifting off in May as originally planned. Concerns over the foam insulation on the external fuel tanks led to the delay. The launch has been pushed back until at least July.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
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Aired April 29, 2005 - 06:28 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: One day after Iraq's National Assembly picked a government, insurgents let loose with a vengeance, exploding car bomb after car bomb after car bomb. Nine in all, seven by suicide bombers, 23 dead, 96 wounded, many of them Iraqi soldiers and security forces.
And, you know, just last night in a televised address, President Bush spoke of how important security forces are to Iraq's future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The more secure Iraq becomes as the result of the hard work of Iraqi security forces, the more confidence the people will have in the process, and the more isolated the terrorists will become. But Iraq has got people there that are willing to kill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And kill security forces, target them.
Let's head live to Baghdad for more from CNN's Ryan Chilcote.
Hello -- Ryan.
RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, the president had it right here when he said that there are still plenty of people in Iraq willing to kill. We've seen that today, unfortunately. Plenty more violence to talk about.
We start in eastern Baghdad with the most recent attack there, a double bombing. One car bomb goes off. Then as a Reuters crew films, some really dramatic video. That's right. A second car bomb going off there. Now, the Reuters crew was OK. However, one Iraqi civilian was killed in that attack, eight Iraqi policemen wounded.
Now moving on to the north of Baghdad, there four car bombs, Iraqi police telling us all of them detonated by suicide bombers. All of these suicide bombers detonating their explosives just minutes apart. All of this happening within one square mile.
And we move on to just southeast of Baghdad to a city called Madain. There, three car bombs. Again, Iraqi police telling us all of them detonated by suicide bombers. In Baghdad and the immediate vicinity alone today, 11 bombs in total, all of them going off before noon. The casualty count at this point, according to Iraqi police, at least 23 dead, about 100 wounded -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ryan Chilcote live from Baghdad this morning. Thank you.
Iraq wasn't the only overseas hot spot on the president's plate. He was questioned about concerns over Russia, Syria and Iran as well.
Well, we don't have that sound bite from the -- oh, we do have it. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: What do you think of Putin now that he has expressed a willingness to supply weapons to outlaw regimes, specifically his recent comment that he said he would provide short-range missiles to Syria and nuclear components to Iran?
BUSH: We're working closely with the Russians on the issue of vehicle-mounted weaponry to Syria. We didn't appreciate that, but we made ourselves clear. As to Iran, what Russia has agreed to do is to send highly-enriched uranium to a nuclear civilian power plant, and then collect that uranium after it's used for electricity, power purposes. That's what they've decided to do. And I appreciate that gesture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Let's talk to the correspondent now who asked the president that question, CNN's White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux.
Good morning -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Hey, good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: You know, it wasn't so long ago that President Bush and President Putin had such a close relationship. But President Putin certainly isn't backing down.
MALVEAUX: Well, you're right. And it's very interesting to actually follow their relationship here, because, as you know, the two men met just months ago when he was in Europe, and had a joint press conference.
And, you know, it's very interesting, because of course, he says that he's developed this sense of trust with Putin. But at the same time, there are a lot of things that Putin has done that the president and the administration just is not pleased with. And you can bet that these are the kinds of things that will be brought up in the meetings that take place next week when the president actually travels to Moscow. COSTELLO: Was there anything in this news conference last night that surprised you, Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: Well, you know, what was interesting is that this was a news conference that had very little news, despite the fact that it went on for more than an hour. And that's not really surprising, because the whole purpose for the press conference really was for the president to talk directly to the people, trying to push his Social Security reform plan and also the energy price issue, to talk about the fact that, hey, I understand high gas prices are a problem for many Americans, but there's very little that I can do about it.
What was interesting -- and you pointed out, too, Carol -- was the fact that the networks, many of the networks were not even going to take his press conference live, because of the way it was scheduled, because of May sweeps. They had all kinds of other shows that people are interesting in watching, and they didn't necessarily believe that it was newsworthy enough to interrupt their programming. So, the president actually changed his press conference to accommodate the networks.
So, the bottom line is, what we got out of this, is he did answer a number of questions, but he didn't really move the ball forward very much on an of these issues.
COSTELLO: Yes, we're taking a look at the CBS, Fox and NBC breaking away for their prime time programming, and -- I don't know. It broke away at 9:00 p.m. Eastern, because it's May sweeps. And, of course, Thursday nights are big nights for advertisers. So, the networks didn't want to lose money. So, it's all very interesting.
Thank you, Suzanne Malveaux, reporting live for us from Washington this morning.
Wonder why the president is not being flexible on the issue of private investment accounts? The "AMERICAN MORNING" gang will try to find out. CNN's Soledad O'Brien joins us now for a look at what's coming up.
Good morning -- Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.
President Bush, in fact, talked about Social Security; also the rising prices at the pump on Thursday. But did he offer any real solutions? This morning, we talk with the president's counselor, Dan Bartlett, about all of that.
Also, a possible AIDS scare at a Philadelphia elementary school. More than a dozen third graders were allegedly pricked with a diabetic testing needle. The concern now is that one of those children may have HIV. How likely is it that it could spread? We're going to check in with Dr. Sanjay Gupta on that this morning.
Those stories are ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING" coming to you at the top of the hour -- Carol. COSTELLO: We'll be there. Thank you, Soledad.
Coming up on DAYBREAK, what do you think? Is the Wynn a winner? We're going to find out if the latest Las Vegas hot spot can live up to all of the hype. That's at 40 minutes past the hour.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The Las Vegas Strip has a giant new addition to its landscape. And I guess you could already call it a winner just by virtue of its name. It is the called the Wynn as in Steve Wynn. The casino hotel cost more than $2.7 billion to build. It has 2,700 rooms and suites. And it employs -- get this -- almost 10,000 people. The doors opened officially yesterday with plenty of people waiting in line, and they were willing to talk about it as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I walked up the grounds, I was really amazed. When I walked in the front door, I thought Belagio. And I kept on walking through the casino, and it's the Belagio. The thing that stood out the most was when you walked inside, like, there is all of the fresh flowers and the sky lighting on the ceiling is kind of nice, because it adds, you know, the outdoors touch. That's probably what stands out the most.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just came in and, like, three guards jumped on us, no strollers, no kids are allowed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come back and look at the Ferraris and wait until the gift store gets a little less crowded, because the gift store is packed. Everybody is buying Wynn stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Joining me now to talk more about the Wynn and the changing face of Las Vegas is Tim Jarrell, publisher of the world famous "Fodor's Travel Guides."
Thank you for coming in this morning.
Oh, first of all, tell me how much a room goes for in the Wynn.
TIM JARRELL, PUBLISHER, "FODOR'S TRAVEL GUIDES": Well, you can get a cheap room for $250, but it goes up from there. And you can easily spend a thousand dollars or more a night at Wynn.
COSTELLO: Can Las Vegas handle another huge, gigantic hotel and casino like this?
JARRELL: Well, I think that Vegas can definitely handle Steve Wynn and the property that he's opening. And I think Vegas can handle a lot more. It's growing. It's about 38 million visitors last year, up 5 to 10 percent. Vegas keeps reinventing itself. More and more people go. And more and more properties are opening.
COSTELLO: You know, it's amazing to me, because Las Vegas was always known, you can go there, you can get a cheap hotel room, you can go to a buffet, spend a couple of dollars to eat, and then you'd spend all of your money on gambling. But it's really moving away from that now, isn't it?
JARRELL: Well, it is. Now, you can still get the cheap room and you can still get the cheap buffet and you can still gamble at lower- end properties, but Vegas is going after your entertainment dollar. You can gamble almost anywhere in the U.S. now. And if Vegas was just a gambling town, it wouldn't survive. It has to reinvent itself. Four out of five visitors are repeat visitors. It has to offer something shiny. It has to offer something new. And it's going after your entertainment dollar, not just the gambling dollar.
COSTELLO: And it's attracting Hollywood types as well, because they have these beautiful new condominiums that cost millions of dollars apiece. Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey just bought one.
JARRELL: Absolutely. It's the in place to go. Paris Hilton made a scene at the Palms. If you're a celebrity and you're it, go to Vegas.
COSTELLO: And, Chad, didn't you have your bachelor party in Vegas?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I've been to some bachelor parties in Vegas, but no.
COSTELLO: Oh, that's right. It wasn't yours.
MYERS: You know, I'm curious as to the shows. I've seen only two shows there. Have you heard any reviews? Have they been on yet? What's going on there? That's why I go to Vegas, because you can get so much entertainment for such really good prices sometimes.
JARRELL: You know, you can get great entertainment at Vegas, and it's a passing of an era, because Wayne Newton just retired. But there is still the classic shows, Penn & Teller, Cirque Du Soleil...
COSTELLO: Yes, but those are not cheap shows. You pay 100 bucks to go see those shows.
JARRELL: Oh, sure.
COSTELLO: Cirque Du Soleil, you pay more.
JARRELL: You can. But there are inexpensive shows. There is a bevy of comedians. There are magicians. There are all sorts of places at the casinos, and a lot of casinos want you to get in there. So, they'll offer cheap shows so that you go through their casino. But there's a lot of great entertainment there.
COSTELLO: Yes, but, see, cheap is a relative term, because I went to see a magician show, which was great. But it was 60 bucks a ticket. If I had, like, two or three kids plus my husband, that would be a lot of money for one night of entertainment in Las Vegas.
MYERS: Carol, Carol, Carol, Carol, you just need to shop a little. The Comedy Stop at the Trop, find a coupon in a magazine, and on Thursday, you get two people in for 20 bucks and you get two Budweisers. How do you beat that?
COSTELLO: Your kids aren't going to want to see that. But your kids aren't going to want to see that.
MYERS: Well, no.
COSTELLO: Tim, help me out here.
MYERS: He's 4 months old. What is he going to know?
JARRELL: Look, there's a lot of cheap stuff to do in Vegas. I went there a year ago with my 13-year-old son. And, you know, there's a lot going on in the lobbies of the hotels. There are always people around. And we took in a concert, which was actually relatively inexpensive. But we also went around Vegas. We went horseback riding in the Red Canyon down to the Hoover Dam. Plenty to do, and if you want to do it on the cheap, trust me, I can do it on the cheap, you can do it on the cheap.
MYERS: Tim, I hear the golf course at the Wynn is just phenomenal. Obviously, the Old Desert Inn.
JARRELL: It's phenomenal. It's 18 holes, of course, but it's right on the property.
MYERS: Yes.
JARRELL: I mean, you can roll out of bed and be on the links in no time at all.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: And the other thing they have, Chad, is they have these curved escalators inside the Wynn. They lead down to a patio facing a large pool with a 70-foot wall of water cascading at its back.
MYERS: And 10 chefs, not including the other execs and the pastry chefs and the catering.
COSTELLO: Crazy. Thank you, Tim, for coming in this morning. We appreciate it.
JARRELL: Carol, thank you.
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:43 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
Baghdad has been rocked by several explosions this morning. At least 24 are dead, nearly 100 others injured by a series of car bombs and roadside explosives. Seven of the nine car bombings were suicide attacks.
In money news, Microsoft reported strong earnings in the first quarter but not as strong as industry analysts had hoped. Microsoft saw profits of more than $2.5 billion, which sent its stock price up slightly.
In culture, the Broadway play "Spamalot" received 12 Drama Desk award nominations. The Drama Desk awards are a traditional precursor for the Tony Awards. For those of you who are not in the know, "Spamalot" is a musical based on the 1975 movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail."
In sports, retiring star Reggie Miller had a big night in leading his Indiana Pacers to a 99-76 win over the Boston Celtics. Miller's 33-point performance put the Pacers up two games to one in the best of seven series.
To the forecast center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: More testimony is expected today from Michael Jackson's ex-wife. So let's check in now with CNN's Bill Hemmer for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.
It gets more and more interesting out there in Santa Maria, California. Much more on what's happening with his ex-wife. We'll get to that today.
Also, we'll get to the latest news out of Iraq today. In Baghdad, as you've been reporting, Carol, already today 24 dead, 100 injured. What's behind this surge in violence? We're talking about 5 different car bombs in the span of about 15 minutes. We'll talk to a top U.S. commander in Baghdad about that.
On a much different note, you know, the president last night was talking about Social Security. That has been out theme throughout the entire week here on "AMERICAN MORNING." Our series on retirement concludes today. Meet some baby boomers who are putting a new spin on this. They say it's never too late to find your dream job, and they will show us how. I guess that means starting up a rock band and going out in the woods and firing up a guitar, Carol.
COSTELLO: That sounds good to me right at this moment.
HEMMER: You will meet them this morning. Happy Friday, by the way. See you later.
COSTELLO: Oh, you've got that right.
HEMMER: Amen! See you.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Bill.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, find out the latest cyber scam to steal your identity. It's so new and so advanced that many experts are still in the dark about it. You will not want to miss this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: It's 6:49 Eastern. Here is what will be making news today.
In Pennsylvania, the family of a missing district attorney and police will hold a press conference this afternoon. Ray Gricer hasn't been seen since April 15. His daughter says she suspects foul play.
A man suspected of setting dozens of arson fires in the D.C. area is heading to court today. Thomas Sweatt says he set the fires to relieve stress. He's been charged with setting two fires, but may also face murder charges because an elderly woman died in one of those fires two years ago.
And a cross-country skier who survived for eight days in the Colorado back country will talk to reporters today. The 55-year-old skier has a broken leg, frostbite and other injuries, but he's doing pretty good. It's amazing.
MYERS: He dragged himself out of the woods.
COSTELLO: It was really cold, too.
MYERS: Yes, it really was. It's time to give away a mug, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK.
MYERS: The ones from yesterday, here are the questions. FAA rules require that you be at least how old to sit in the exit row of an airplane? We had that on the bottom of the screen yesterday. The number is 15, 15 years old. And which port just became the first in the nation to scan all incoming cargo for radioactive material? Even though bananas show up as radioactive sometimes, so they have to just (INAUDIBLE). The answer there is Oakland, California.
And the winner, maybe he's French, Carol, Kevin Cuvelier or Cuvelier, if you will, I don't know, Champaign, Illinois, gets the mug today. Congratulations, Kevin.
COSTELLO: And the name of his town is French, too.
MYERS: Champaign, they didn't put the "e" on the end, but they put the "i" in there.
Anyway, temperatures across the country today are going to warm and your temperatures here in Vegas are going to be 75. How many people are employed at that new Wynn casino out there in Vegas?
COSTELLO: Did you forget you had the new quiz coming up?
MYERS: This is it right here.
COSTELLO: OK, I'm ready. You were doing that forecast. You threw me.
MYERS: Oh, no, it's going to be hot in Vegas, Carol.
COSTELLO: OK.
MYERS: And how many people are employed in this new hot casino in Vegas, the Wynn casino, Wynn, Las Vegas? And what state legislature just approved daylight saving time? I'm glad they didn't put the "s" on there. It is "daylight saving time." And everybody always calls it "daylight savings time." And it's not.
Daybreak@CNN.com, your answers there, please. We'll give away a mug on Monday.
COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You bet.
COSTELLO: Now to our "CNN Security Watch." Fifty-two people have been charged in a scheme involving fake Florida driver's licenses. The commercial licenses would allow drivers to operate trucks, such as fuel tankers and even hazardous waste transports. Federal officials say more than 2,000 of the fake licenses were issued at a cost of about $100 to $200 apiece.
Nine people have been arrested and charged in a bank theft scheme in New Jersey. Authorities say bank employees obtained lists of people who had outstanding balances, and then sold that information to bill collectors. The employees worked for such banks as the Bank of America, Commerce Bank and Wachovia.
Tune in to CNN day and night for more information about your security.
Chances are good that unless you're a hacker you have not heard of this next phenomenon. We've already heard about a phenomenon called phishing. Well, now there's online pharming. That's pharming with a "ph," like fat.
It's the latest computer scam to steal your personal identity. And it's so new security experts are still learning about it.
Julie Vallese joins us live from Washington to talk about pharming.
What exactly is it, Julie?
JULIE VALLESE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning to you, Carol.
You know, I don't know what it is about identity theft and this "ph" thing, but pharming is really the latest way on the computer to steal somebody's identity. A wide net is cast, and there's a possible, possible chance that your identity could be stolen. But the really scary thing about this one is that in some cases all you have to do is log on to your computer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALLESE (voice over): The high-tech world that more people are living in is being poisoned by viruses that cause consumer identities to be stolen. The latest form is called pharming. There's no phony e-mail to click. Bad guys infect computers to automatically redirect consumers to fake sites.
DAVID JEVINS, ANTI-PHISHING WORKING GROUP: They can take you to a fake Web site even if you type in the Web site address directly into your Web browser. So, they kind of wait for you to visit your bank or an online commerce site.
VALLESE: If you end up on a pharm site, scammers can steal your personal information. Very diligent consumers may detect the scam only after they review a bank statement. Or modestly diligent consumers may detect it after ordering a credit report.
EILEEN HARRINGTON, FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION: There are some basic protections that consumers should take. Have a firewall. Update it. Have an antivirus program. Keep it updated. Download updates of security patches for the browser.
VALLESE: And do all of this regularly -- some experts say daily. But it's not just up to consumers. The industry is taking precautions as well.
SANDRA THOMPSON, FDIC: We want to make sure that banks are operating in a safe and sound manner and that the computer systems that they're using are very secure.
VALLESE: It is in banks best interest to protect their customers against fraud. And when the financial industry is attacked, they know it and they report it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
While so far the Federal Trade Commission says it is not aware of any widespread pharming attacks, but it does say the threat is real. But that may be all it is, a threat. That's because the tools are available to protect against this kind of fraud. Consumers just have to use them -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Julie Vallese reporting live from Washington this morning. Thanks for the warning.
And you are watching DAYBREAK for a Friday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: "Now in the News."
There has been a rash of deadly bombings in Baghdad, nine in all. At least 23 have been killed, 96 hurt. And in Basra, a roadside bomb killed one person and injured two others. Most of the bombs have targeted Iraqi police and army member.
A military jury at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, has sentenced Sergeant Hasan Akbar to death for attacking his fellow soldiers in Kuwait just before the outbreak of the Iraq war. Two officers were killed.
CNN has learned that the shuttle Discovery will not be lifting off in May as originally planned. Concerns over the foam insulation on the external fuel tanks led to the delay. The launch has been pushed back until at least July.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.
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