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American Morning
U.N. Oil-For-Food Scandal; Brothers In Arms
Aired May 16, 2005 - 07:30 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Easy for me to say. Bill Hemmer's has got the day off. Miles O'Brien is helping us out today.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Some time after dawn anyway. Coming up, we're going to meet a couple guys -- I've got to figure out how this happened. They looked and said, "You look familiar." "Yes, you look familiar." It turns out...
S. O'BRIEN: Kind of. Kind of sort of. These are two guys who are buddies in the Navy. They were about to be shipped off to Iraq when they suddenly realized that they're actually long-lost brothers. It's a great story, and they're very cute as well. We're going to talk to them this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: Interesting.
S. O'BRIEN: Before that, let's get a look at the headlines. Carol Costello with us.
Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News."
There is word South Korea is making a new offer to try to get North Korea to resume international talks on its nuclear program. Senior officials from both countries are meeting this morning, their first direct contact in 10 months. No details have been released on what South Korea's proposal might be, though.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is defending the Pentagon's plan to close or restructure 62 military bases. Rumsfeld will be in the hot seat before the Federal Base Closings Commission later today. The Pentagon says its plan would save almost $49 billion over the next two decades, but it would also cut some 28,000 civilian and military jobs. The proposal is up for a congressional vote later this year.
Today, President Bush will visit a factory that converts soybeans into diesel fuel. The president is trying to build momentum behind his energy bill, now in the Senate. It calls for greater use of alternative fuels, but the bill also contains a controversial provision for oil drilling in Alaska's Wildlife Refuge. And in New York, traffic is running again on Manhattan's West Side after a 60-foot-high retaining wall collapsed. Construction crews took away more than 3,000 truckloads of dirt, rocks and trees, while clearing the Henry Hudson Parkway this weekend. The northbound lanes on the parkway are now open, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg warns drivers to expect delays and pack their patience, which isn't easy driving in traffic in this city.
Let's head to Atlanta and the forecast center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: A new congressional report is pointing the finger at top Russian politicians in the U.N. oil-for-food scandal. Some officials implicated have close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as CNN's Richard Roth reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Vladimir Zhirinovsky may be best known for his ultranationalist views, his bawdy behavior during three failed runs for president of Russia, or his antics inside the Russian parliament. But according to U.S. congressional investigators, Russia's deputy parliament speaker was also a recipient of lucrative vouchers from Saddam Hussein's regime to buy Iraqi oil under the U.N.'s oil-for-food program.
A report released today alleges that Zhirinovsky and his political party were allocated 76 million barrels of Iraqi crude between 1997 and 2002. The oil was allegedly a reward for supporting Saddam's regime and calling for an end to economic sanctions against it, according to top Iraqi officials interviewed by Senate investigators.
Iraqi oil ministry records, cited in the report, allege Zhirinovsky even hired an American company, Houston-based Bayoil, as a middleman, to take possession of some of his oil and sell it on the open market. Bayoil and its CEO are under federal indictment for paying Saddam illegal surcharges to get Iraqi oil.
The alleged profits for Zhirinovsky on his deals? About $9 million.
But according to the Senate report, Zhirinovsky was not the only Russian politician rewarded by Iraq. The report says President Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party got oil allocations, as did top Putin advisor Alexander Voloshin and the Russian foreign ministry.
In all, some 90 million barrels to top Russian officials and $3 million profit, according to the Senate report.
Former Iraqi officials told investigators they were "buying influence" and "providing compensation for support," especially at U.N. Security Council.
(on camera): Russia got about a third of the oil sold under oil- for-food. And according to the Senate report, many Russian companies paid surcharges to Saddam Hussein in cash, delivered to the Iraqi embassy in Moscow. When the cash haul reached $3 million to $4 million, the report says it was couriered to Baghdad in a diplomatic pouch.
Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: A Senate panel will hold a hearing tomorrow on those new oil-for-food findings -- Soledad?
S. O'BRIEN: Well, just days before heading off to Iraq, sailors Sean Hurley and Albert Hendrick, Jr., sat down for a game of cards at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. They began the game as friends, but they ended the game as brothers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Sailors Sean Hurley and Albert Hendrick, Jr., are in Tacudem (ph), Iraq.
Good morning to you guys. Thanks for talking with us. Albert, tell us...
ALBERT HENDRICK, JR., SEAMAN, U.S. NAVY: Thank you. Thank you for having us on.
S. O'BRIEN: Sure, our pleasure. Albert, tell us the story a little bit. You're playing cards a couple days before you're set to be deployed to Iraq. And all of a sudden, you make a pretty big discovery. What exactly happened?
HENDRICK: Well, we were two days out of our deployment, leaving for our deployment, actually. And we were playing cards. We were playing spades in the lounge, which is a company office also. And one of my shipmates was behind me playing pool, and me and Sean were partners. And my shipmate behind me asked me to turn around so I could look at his shot.
But when he asked me he called me by my first name. And Sean heard him say my first name. And he asked me, like, "What did that guy call you? What did he call you?" And I said, 'He called me by my first name,' you know, looking at him strange, like, 'Why is he asking me?' And he asked me, was I a junior? And I said, 'Yes, I am a junior.' And then he said, "Well, after the game I've got to ask you something."
So, we finished playing cards, and he pulled me over to the side and he asked me did my father drive the bus for the city of New York. And I said, 'Yes, he drove the bus. He drove in Brooklyn. He retired.' And he's like, "Well." He paused for a minute, and then, he said, "Well, we might be brothers." And, you know that just came as a shock to me, and I couldn't believe it.
S. O'BRIEN: Sean, you thought you were an only child, right? Did you have any idea that you might have a brother?
SEAN HURLEY, PETTY OFFICER, U.S. NAVY: Well, I knew I had an older brother that I was told about, but as for a younger brother, no I didn't have any idea that he existed.
S. O'BRIEN: And this was because your mom, after the relationship with your dad, actually took you to St. Croix, right?
HURLEY: That's right, ma'am.
S. O'BRIEN: Now, Albert, you get on the phone, because you want to call your dad. You want to tell him two things. One, you're heading off to Iraq in just a couple of days. But then you have something else to tell him as well. You have a brother. What's your dad's reaction?
HENDRICK: Well, my father was just, like, real shocked and amazed. And he kind of got teary-eyed. It sounded like he was getting teary-eyed on the phone. And he was just like, "Oh, my god, I can't believe it. Albert, I haven't seen Sean in over 20 years, and I didn't have no contact with him." And it's just unbelievable. He couldn't believe it when it I told him.
S. O'BRIEN: Now, give Sean back the microphone, because I want to ask, Sean, what was your conversation with your dad like? You hadn't even spoken to him or seen him for 20-plus years.
HURLEY: It was pretty amazing. Like I said, I hadn't spoken to him in over 20 years, so, of course, I had a lot of questions, you know, as for, you know, what happened, you know, where was he all this time? So, it was a pretty good feeling talking to my dad in over 20 years. I had always planned to look for him someday and, you know, find out where I come from, from the other side, you know, of the family line. So, it was a pretty good experience to talk to my dad once again.
S. O'BRIEN: You guy are both in the medical field in the same unit. You share a room now, and now you've got a dad who is keeping his fingers crossed and praying for his two sons who are in Iraq. You guys, good luck to you. It's nice to catch up and chat with you.
HURLEY: Thank you.
HENDRICK: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Here is another discovery that the brothers made. It turns out Albert's wife runs a day care center at Camp Lejeune, and one of the children she looks after is Sean's daughter, her niece.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow! That's pretty wild.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's pretty cool.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's pretty cool. All right. You think you got a sweet ride? Find out which cars scored best on a new survey of auto quality. Andy will pimp your business report next.
And Hollywood starlets are stirring concern. Is their recent weight loss healthy? Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Well, we're still talking about uncertainty over oil prices. So, what will the market do for us today? Andy Serwer is here with his crystal ball.
Good morning, Andy.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes, I have all of the answers.
M. O'BRIEN: You do.
SERWER: Thank you, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: We've got a car survey out this morning we want to talk about from a company called Strategic Vision, best of breed in various categories. Foreign cars did pretty well in the major groups. Let's check it out.
As far as the small cars go, the Ford Focus, the Hyundai Accent, the Mazda 3, and the Pontiac. You can see here, GM, when we get to some of the other categories, actually did pretty well when you get to some of the, well, let's call it the not major categories. They captured 6 of the 20 categories, which sounds pretty good. But then you think about it. They have a 25 percent market share in the United States. So, they should be getting at least 5 out of 20 just to match their market share. So, I guess you can argue they did slightly better than their market share.
Let's talk about oil prices, because some good news here. The price for a barrel of oil dropping below $48. And that's the first time we've seen that in a long time. The reason why, is OPEC says it's going to continue to go full bore and produce 30 million barrels a day; this even as reports suggest that U.S. oil supplies are at multiyear highs.
So, as far as what happened last week, though, we still had a bit of damage, particularly on the Dow and the S&P. Nasdaq rebounding slightly.
And, Miles, I am happy to report to you that futures are up this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm glad to hear it.
SERWER: Indeed, I knew you would be. That's why I told you.
M. O'BRIEN: Way out on a limb he goes.
SERWER: Yes, yes, exactly.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you.
SERWER: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: The media is the focus of the "Question of the Day."
Good morning -- Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
"Newsweek" is back-pedaling on a story that U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay flushed a copy of the Quran down the toilet while interrogating Muslim terrorist suspects. The magazine now says the report, which caused riots and deaths in Afghanistan, may have been wrong.
Coincidentally, a survey out today by the University of Connecticut Department of Public Policy shows the public has serious issues when it comes to the news media. Forty percent of the people surveyed think the media is accurate. Only 40 percent. Sixty percent think the media show bias. Twenty-two percent say the government should censor the press, which is the most absurd idea I've heard in 62 years on the planet.
The question is: Does the press have too much freedom?
Dave in Japan writes: "Journalism is a deeply human and therefore deeply flawed craft, but it's also democracy's best friend. If a free and independent media, attempting to tell the truth without fear or favor, is suffocated for any reason, the oxygen goes out of democracy."
Ann in Pennsylvania writes: "Absolutely. Freedom of the press is completely out of control. It's become tabloid news, half-truths or a complete lie. Now, once again, because of freedom of the press, we find our flag being burned and the Muslim countries rioting because of some idiot reporter wanting to have a big story."
D.W. in California writes: "No, the press does not have too much freedom, but there is a danger it will be curtailed if it's not careful."
Buck in Virginia writes: "There's no such thing as too much freedom in the press. What the press doesn't have a sense of responsibility. It is dearly lacking in judgment, accuracy and has a complete disregard for the consequences of its actions."
And Michelle in Michigan writes: "The press is more interested in being first, 'Rather'" -- she capitalized and put in quotes -- "than being right."
M. O'BRIEN: We get that. S. O'BRIEN: One of the most remarkable things, I think, is to read articles today, and whether you're talking about some tabloid, you know, celebrity, who is dating who, or you're talking about what's happening in Iraq. And they still have just anonymous source after...
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Like, nobody actually quoted who is named. I mean, it can be really a little bit bizarre.
SERWER: It's a real trade-off. I mean, you have to -- the only way to get really great information sometimes is to use anonymous sources, but you're playing with fire when you do that.
M. O'BRIEN: But when it comes time to retract something, do a real retraction. That's a weasel retraction.
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: It was a little strange. All right. Good "Question of the Day," Jack. Thanks.
Up next, Dave Chappelle speaks about why he walked away from his hit TV show and $50 million. Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: I like it. I like it. Welcome, everybody. It's "90-Second Pop" on a Monday. Let's welcome our panelists this morning. Toure is CNN's pop culture correspondent. Jessica Shaw is with "Entertainment Weekly." And Andy Borowitz from borowitzreport.com.
Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Hope you all had a great weekend.
JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right to it. Dave Chappelle does an interview in "TIME" magazine. We were just talking about Dave Chappelle last week...
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: ... because, of course, he sort of disappeared off the face of the planet. He has resurfaced and did a terrific interview with Christopher John Farley. Tell us about that.
TOURE: Right. Well, he's talking about he's not actually in a mental institution. He's staying with a friend of his in South Africa. He needs some time to think. He can talk about religion with this person.
And he also said something very interesting. He said, I want to make sure when I'm doing the show that I'm dancing and not shuffling. And it's kind of like a really deep comment, because dancing is what a brilliant artist does. Shuffling is what, you know, like, Bojangles does, what Stepping Petchutt (ph) does.
And he was knowledgeably playing with that line the whole time he's doing the first two seasons of the show. But now if he's kind of like, whoa, I don't know where that line is anymore, then I can see where he would kind of freak out.
And he also talks about how people inside him have changed. Right? When people get super-famous, they always say, I didn't change. Those around me changed. I wonder what, like, Charlie Murphy, the pressure he's putting on him now, because Charlie Murphy was a huge part of the show.
S. O'BRIEN: Because everyone has -- the people from Comedy Central, for whom he does the show...
TOURE: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: ... said the guy has complete creative control. We could not give him more creative control.
TOURE: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: I mean, and, of course, the question is, what's going to happen to the show?
TOURE: But no, but the people in his circle, like, you know, his co-writer Neal, who is kind of dissing him in "The New York Times" today.
SHAW: Of course he is. He just lost $50 million! My god, I would diss him, too.
TOURE: And, you know, Charlie Murphy has been telling the stories we hear on the "Chappelle Show" for years. Suddenly, if Dave gets $35 million to $50 million, Charlie is going to be, like, where's my cut? And rightfully so.
SHAW: I think a lot of people within the show are also saying that Dave has changed a lot. And I think it's -- you know, we definitely need to look at the fact that he said, I'm going away to, like, stay in the home of a spiritual advisor. I mean, you know, we need to look at that a little.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: You know, whenever there's a big success, and we've seen this with "90-Second Pop." I mean, you all...
S. O'BRIEN: I have not changed. I am the same centered, down to earth...
BOROWITZ: Just to keep the quality. To keep the quality at this high level, I'm going to South Africa actually later today.
TOURE: But it is a similar fall to what we saw with Lauryn Hill, that she got massively famous and then...
BOROWITZ: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: And then sort of freaked out a little bit.
TOURE: ... crushed from the pressure.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, let's move on to our next topic, because actually there's a lot of pressure for some of these young starlets. And look at these...
SHAW: Think of the incredible pressure.
S. O'BRIEN: Really. I mean, this kind of scares me as the mother of young daughters. This is Lindsay Lohan. Here she was in 2004. Look at what she looks like in this white dress. The girl, I think she even says she's lost 20 pounds or something.
SHAW: Yes, yes.
S. O'BRIEN: She's 5 foot 5. I mean, she looks skinny. Nicole Richie, cute girl before, a cut girl after. But, boy, is she skinny. And then, of course, Mary-Kate Olsen as well had, you know, obviously, well-known bouts with anorexia issues. I mean, what's going on here?
SHAW: You know, I'm no doctor, but I have to say when you look like a different human being two months later, it's definitely a cause for concern. I think, you know, if you look at Nicole Ritchie, the most damning comment has been from Paris Hilton, who has been going on every talk show in the world saying, well, I just hope Nicole is healthy. And that should be, like, a siren going off.
BOROWITZ: So Paris basically got rid of Nicole? Is that the deal?
SHAW: Well, you know, yes, she's going on -- you know, the next season of "The Simple Life" will be with another friend, with...
BOROWITZ: So, like, "The Simple Life" has, like, a weight requirement? Because there's clearly no IQ requirement on the show. I mean, like...
S. O'BRIEN: "The Simple Life" is not quite so simple. But I think this is really concerning. And, you know, even to hear, I guess, it was Lindsay Lohan's mom who said...
SHAW: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: ... well, you know, the girls are shedding their baby fat.
BOROWITZ: Yikes!
SHAW: Listen, you can't go to the Lohans for functional family comment. But even Lindsay Lohan, you know, on the cover of "W" magazine this month, she said that her doctor even said to her, like, well, you've lot a lot of weight. Are you, you know -- he, like, kind of hinted, like, are you having an eating disorder issue? If your doctor is saying that, I mean, definitely...
S. O'BRIEN: It's a problem.
We've got to talk about "Everybody Loves Raymond," because the last show after nine seasons is tonight.
BOROWITZ: Right, right.
S. O'BRIEN: OK, I guess we're done here.
BOROWITZ: Well, you know, I'll tell you, you know, I think -- I know this is a very popular show, and I know that "Everybody Loves Raymond." But I get around. I have yet to meet one person who loves Raymond. I mean, I know people who tolerate Raymond when it's on American Airlines and stuff like that.
S. O'BRIEN: His show has done incredibly well.
BOROWITZ: Incredibly well. But...
S. O'BRIEN: The guy has made a million -- actually, I've watched it a lot. But I...
BOROWITZ: Do you love Raymond?
S. O'BRIEN: I do not love "Everybody Loves Raymond."
BOROWITZ: Have you seen it, though? It's very hard.
S. O'BRIEN: But there are people -- there has got to be somebody? Anybody?
BOROWITZ: This is the biggest...
TOURE: Miles, do you loves Raymond?
S. O'BRIEN: OK. Bob.
M. O'BRIEN: No, I don't love Raymond.
BOROWITZ: No. No one on the set loves Raymond.
SHAW: It's still a comedy that has lasted forever. And I think this week is, you know, up front week. And all of the networks are trying to launch their shows now in New York. They're announcing all of them. And we're going to see that no one can do a sitcom well that will last as many seasons as Raymond lasted.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: Yes, I mean, I wonder if we're going to still see this sort of thing, like big standup gets a show based on his standup. I mean, this sort of era of programming may be ending now. S. O'BRIEN: We'll see. Oh, yes, because now they've got nothing. The show, even if I don't particularly love it, I like it. And it's all right.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: And you're glad it was there just in case you wanted to watch it some day.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm glad it was there, and I'm sorry to see it go. And I watch it on a lot of airlines, mister. You guys, as always, I thank you very much.
And we also want to mention that coming up later in our 9:00 hour, we're going to talk with "TIME" magazine's Christopher John Farley about that interview he did, an exclusive interview with Dave Chappelle. That's ahead.
Thank you, guys -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: So, everybody is (inaudible).
In a moment, today's top stories, plus your outlook on life could make you sick. New links between your personality and your health. We are "Paging Dr. Gupta" ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Extreme violence in Iraq, and now the death toll is mounting. At least five more Iraqis killed today after dozens of bodies found this weekend.
The U.S. military struggles to restore goodwill in Afghanistan after an article in "Newsweek" sparked riots. This morning, the Pentagon's reaction to that magazine's apology.
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Aired May 16, 2005 - 07:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It's just about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Easy for me to say. Bill Hemmer's has got the day off. Miles O'Brien is helping us out today.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Some time after dawn anyway. Coming up, we're going to meet a couple guys -- I've got to figure out how this happened. They looked and said, "You look familiar." "Yes, you look familiar." It turns out...
S. O'BRIEN: Kind of. Kind of sort of. These are two guys who are buddies in the Navy. They were about to be shipped off to Iraq when they suddenly realized that they're actually long-lost brothers. It's a great story, and they're very cute as well. We're going to talk to them this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: Interesting.
S. O'BRIEN: Before that, let's get a look at the headlines. Carol Costello with us.
Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News."
There is word South Korea is making a new offer to try to get North Korea to resume international talks on its nuclear program. Senior officials from both countries are meeting this morning, their first direct contact in 10 months. No details have been released on what South Korea's proposal might be, though.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is defending the Pentagon's plan to close or restructure 62 military bases. Rumsfeld will be in the hot seat before the Federal Base Closings Commission later today. The Pentagon says its plan would save almost $49 billion over the next two decades, but it would also cut some 28,000 civilian and military jobs. The proposal is up for a congressional vote later this year.
Today, President Bush will visit a factory that converts soybeans into diesel fuel. The president is trying to build momentum behind his energy bill, now in the Senate. It calls for greater use of alternative fuels, but the bill also contains a controversial provision for oil drilling in Alaska's Wildlife Refuge. And in New York, traffic is running again on Manhattan's West Side after a 60-foot-high retaining wall collapsed. Construction crews took away more than 3,000 truckloads of dirt, rocks and trees, while clearing the Henry Hudson Parkway this weekend. The northbound lanes on the parkway are now open, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg warns drivers to expect delays and pack their patience, which isn't easy driving in traffic in this city.
Let's head to Atlanta and the forecast center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: A new congressional report is pointing the finger at top Russian politicians in the U.N. oil-for-food scandal. Some officials implicated have close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, as CNN's Richard Roth reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Vladimir Zhirinovsky may be best known for his ultranationalist views, his bawdy behavior during three failed runs for president of Russia, or his antics inside the Russian parliament. But according to U.S. congressional investigators, Russia's deputy parliament speaker was also a recipient of lucrative vouchers from Saddam Hussein's regime to buy Iraqi oil under the U.N.'s oil-for-food program.
A report released today alleges that Zhirinovsky and his political party were allocated 76 million barrels of Iraqi crude between 1997 and 2002. The oil was allegedly a reward for supporting Saddam's regime and calling for an end to economic sanctions against it, according to top Iraqi officials interviewed by Senate investigators.
Iraqi oil ministry records, cited in the report, allege Zhirinovsky even hired an American company, Houston-based Bayoil, as a middleman, to take possession of some of his oil and sell it on the open market. Bayoil and its CEO are under federal indictment for paying Saddam illegal surcharges to get Iraqi oil.
The alleged profits for Zhirinovsky on his deals? About $9 million.
But according to the Senate report, Zhirinovsky was not the only Russian politician rewarded by Iraq. The report says President Vladimir Putin's United Russia Party got oil allocations, as did top Putin advisor Alexander Voloshin and the Russian foreign ministry.
In all, some 90 million barrels to top Russian officials and $3 million profit, according to the Senate report.
Former Iraqi officials told investigators they were "buying influence" and "providing compensation for support," especially at U.N. Security Council.
(on camera): Russia got about a third of the oil sold under oil- for-food. And according to the Senate report, many Russian companies paid surcharges to Saddam Hussein in cash, delivered to the Iraqi embassy in Moscow. When the cash haul reached $3 million to $4 million, the report says it was couriered to Baghdad in a diplomatic pouch.
Richard Roth, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: A Senate panel will hold a hearing tomorrow on those new oil-for-food findings -- Soledad?
S. O'BRIEN: Well, just days before heading off to Iraq, sailors Sean Hurley and Albert Hendrick, Jr., sat down for a game of cards at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. They began the game as friends, but they ended the game as brothers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Sailors Sean Hurley and Albert Hendrick, Jr., are in Tacudem (ph), Iraq.
Good morning to you guys. Thanks for talking with us. Albert, tell us...
ALBERT HENDRICK, JR., SEAMAN, U.S. NAVY: Thank you. Thank you for having us on.
S. O'BRIEN: Sure, our pleasure. Albert, tell us the story a little bit. You're playing cards a couple days before you're set to be deployed to Iraq. And all of a sudden, you make a pretty big discovery. What exactly happened?
HENDRICK: Well, we were two days out of our deployment, leaving for our deployment, actually. And we were playing cards. We were playing spades in the lounge, which is a company office also. And one of my shipmates was behind me playing pool, and me and Sean were partners. And my shipmate behind me asked me to turn around so I could look at his shot.
But when he asked me he called me by my first name. And Sean heard him say my first name. And he asked me, like, "What did that guy call you? What did he call you?" And I said, 'He called me by my first name,' you know, looking at him strange, like, 'Why is he asking me?' And he asked me, was I a junior? And I said, 'Yes, I am a junior.' And then he said, "Well, after the game I've got to ask you something."
So, we finished playing cards, and he pulled me over to the side and he asked me did my father drive the bus for the city of New York. And I said, 'Yes, he drove the bus. He drove in Brooklyn. He retired.' And he's like, "Well." He paused for a minute, and then, he said, "Well, we might be brothers." And, you know that just came as a shock to me, and I couldn't believe it.
S. O'BRIEN: Sean, you thought you were an only child, right? Did you have any idea that you might have a brother?
SEAN HURLEY, PETTY OFFICER, U.S. NAVY: Well, I knew I had an older brother that I was told about, but as for a younger brother, no I didn't have any idea that he existed.
S. O'BRIEN: And this was because your mom, after the relationship with your dad, actually took you to St. Croix, right?
HURLEY: That's right, ma'am.
S. O'BRIEN: Now, Albert, you get on the phone, because you want to call your dad. You want to tell him two things. One, you're heading off to Iraq in just a couple of days. But then you have something else to tell him as well. You have a brother. What's your dad's reaction?
HENDRICK: Well, my father was just, like, real shocked and amazed. And he kind of got teary-eyed. It sounded like he was getting teary-eyed on the phone. And he was just like, "Oh, my god, I can't believe it. Albert, I haven't seen Sean in over 20 years, and I didn't have no contact with him." And it's just unbelievable. He couldn't believe it when it I told him.
S. O'BRIEN: Now, give Sean back the microphone, because I want to ask, Sean, what was your conversation with your dad like? You hadn't even spoken to him or seen him for 20-plus years.
HURLEY: It was pretty amazing. Like I said, I hadn't spoken to him in over 20 years, so, of course, I had a lot of questions, you know, as for, you know, what happened, you know, where was he all this time? So, it was a pretty good feeling talking to my dad in over 20 years. I had always planned to look for him someday and, you know, find out where I come from, from the other side, you know, of the family line. So, it was a pretty good experience to talk to my dad once again.
S. O'BRIEN: You guy are both in the medical field in the same unit. You share a room now, and now you've got a dad who is keeping his fingers crossed and praying for his two sons who are in Iraq. You guys, good luck to you. It's nice to catch up and chat with you.
HURLEY: Thank you.
HENDRICK: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Here is another discovery that the brothers made. It turns out Albert's wife runs a day care center at Camp Lejeune, and one of the children she looks after is Sean's daughter, her niece.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow! That's pretty wild.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's pretty cool.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's pretty cool. All right. You think you got a sweet ride? Find out which cars scored best on a new survey of auto quality. Andy will pimp your business report next.
And Hollywood starlets are stirring concern. Is their recent weight loss healthy? Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Well, we're still talking about uncertainty over oil prices. So, what will the market do for us today? Andy Serwer is here with his crystal ball.
Good morning, Andy.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes, I have all of the answers.
M. O'BRIEN: You do.
SERWER: Thank you, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: We've got a car survey out this morning we want to talk about from a company called Strategic Vision, best of breed in various categories. Foreign cars did pretty well in the major groups. Let's check it out.
As far as the small cars go, the Ford Focus, the Hyundai Accent, the Mazda 3, and the Pontiac. You can see here, GM, when we get to some of the other categories, actually did pretty well when you get to some of the, well, let's call it the not major categories. They captured 6 of the 20 categories, which sounds pretty good. But then you think about it. They have a 25 percent market share in the United States. So, they should be getting at least 5 out of 20 just to match their market share. So, I guess you can argue they did slightly better than their market share.
Let's talk about oil prices, because some good news here. The price for a barrel of oil dropping below $48. And that's the first time we've seen that in a long time. The reason why, is OPEC says it's going to continue to go full bore and produce 30 million barrels a day; this even as reports suggest that U.S. oil supplies are at multiyear highs.
So, as far as what happened last week, though, we still had a bit of damage, particularly on the Dow and the S&P. Nasdaq rebounding slightly.
And, Miles, I am happy to report to you that futures are up this morning.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm glad to hear it.
SERWER: Indeed, I knew you would be. That's why I told you.
M. O'BRIEN: Way out on a limb he goes.
SERWER: Yes, yes, exactly.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you.
SERWER: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: The media is the focus of the "Question of the Day."
Good morning -- Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
"Newsweek" is back-pedaling on a story that U.S. interrogators at Guantanamo Bay flushed a copy of the Quran down the toilet while interrogating Muslim terrorist suspects. The magazine now says the report, which caused riots and deaths in Afghanistan, may have been wrong.
Coincidentally, a survey out today by the University of Connecticut Department of Public Policy shows the public has serious issues when it comes to the news media. Forty percent of the people surveyed think the media is accurate. Only 40 percent. Sixty percent think the media show bias. Twenty-two percent say the government should censor the press, which is the most absurd idea I've heard in 62 years on the planet.
The question is: Does the press have too much freedom?
Dave in Japan writes: "Journalism is a deeply human and therefore deeply flawed craft, but it's also democracy's best friend. If a free and independent media, attempting to tell the truth without fear or favor, is suffocated for any reason, the oxygen goes out of democracy."
Ann in Pennsylvania writes: "Absolutely. Freedom of the press is completely out of control. It's become tabloid news, half-truths or a complete lie. Now, once again, because of freedom of the press, we find our flag being burned and the Muslim countries rioting because of some idiot reporter wanting to have a big story."
D.W. in California writes: "No, the press does not have too much freedom, but there is a danger it will be curtailed if it's not careful."
Buck in Virginia writes: "There's no such thing as too much freedom in the press. What the press doesn't have a sense of responsibility. It is dearly lacking in judgment, accuracy and has a complete disregard for the consequences of its actions."
And Michelle in Michigan writes: "The press is more interested in being first, 'Rather'" -- she capitalized and put in quotes -- "than being right."
M. O'BRIEN: We get that. S. O'BRIEN: One of the most remarkable things, I think, is to read articles today, and whether you're talking about some tabloid, you know, celebrity, who is dating who, or you're talking about what's happening in Iraq. And they still have just anonymous source after...
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Like, nobody actually quoted who is named. I mean, it can be really a little bit bizarre.
SERWER: It's a real trade-off. I mean, you have to -- the only way to get really great information sometimes is to use anonymous sources, but you're playing with fire when you do that.
M. O'BRIEN: But when it comes time to retract something, do a real retraction. That's a weasel retraction.
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: It was a little strange. All right. Good "Question of the Day," Jack. Thanks.
Up next, Dave Chappelle speaks about why he walked away from his hit TV show and $50 million. Stay with us. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: I like it. I like it. Welcome, everybody. It's "90-Second Pop" on a Monday. Let's welcome our panelists this morning. Toure is CNN's pop culture correspondent. Jessica Shaw is with "Entertainment Weekly." And Andy Borowitz from borowitzreport.com.
Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Hope you all had a great weekend.
JESSICA SHAW, "ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY": Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right to it. Dave Chappelle does an interview in "TIME" magazine. We were just talking about Dave Chappelle last week...
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: ... because, of course, he sort of disappeared off the face of the planet. He has resurfaced and did a terrific interview with Christopher John Farley. Tell us about that.
TOURE: Right. Well, he's talking about he's not actually in a mental institution. He's staying with a friend of his in South Africa. He needs some time to think. He can talk about religion with this person.
And he also said something very interesting. He said, I want to make sure when I'm doing the show that I'm dancing and not shuffling. And it's kind of like a really deep comment, because dancing is what a brilliant artist does. Shuffling is what, you know, like, Bojangles does, what Stepping Petchutt (ph) does.
And he was knowledgeably playing with that line the whole time he's doing the first two seasons of the show. But now if he's kind of like, whoa, I don't know where that line is anymore, then I can see where he would kind of freak out.
And he also talks about how people inside him have changed. Right? When people get super-famous, they always say, I didn't change. Those around me changed. I wonder what, like, Charlie Murphy, the pressure he's putting on him now, because Charlie Murphy was a huge part of the show.
S. O'BRIEN: Because everyone has -- the people from Comedy Central, for whom he does the show...
TOURE: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: ... said the guy has complete creative control. We could not give him more creative control.
TOURE: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: I mean, and, of course, the question is, what's going to happen to the show?
TOURE: But no, but the people in his circle, like, you know, his co-writer Neal, who is kind of dissing him in "The New York Times" today.
SHAW: Of course he is. He just lost $50 million! My god, I would diss him, too.
TOURE: And, you know, Charlie Murphy has been telling the stories we hear on the "Chappelle Show" for years. Suddenly, if Dave gets $35 million to $50 million, Charlie is going to be, like, where's my cut? And rightfully so.
SHAW: I think a lot of people within the show are also saying that Dave has changed a lot. And I think it's -- you know, we definitely need to look at the fact that he said, I'm going away to, like, stay in the home of a spiritual advisor. I mean, you know, we need to look at that a little.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: You know, whenever there's a big success, and we've seen this with "90-Second Pop." I mean, you all...
S. O'BRIEN: I have not changed. I am the same centered, down to earth...
BOROWITZ: Just to keep the quality. To keep the quality at this high level, I'm going to South Africa actually later today.
TOURE: But it is a similar fall to what we saw with Lauryn Hill, that she got massively famous and then...
BOROWITZ: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: And then sort of freaked out a little bit.
TOURE: ... crushed from the pressure.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, let's move on to our next topic, because actually there's a lot of pressure for some of these young starlets. And look at these...
SHAW: Think of the incredible pressure.
S. O'BRIEN: Really. I mean, this kind of scares me as the mother of young daughters. This is Lindsay Lohan. Here she was in 2004. Look at what she looks like in this white dress. The girl, I think she even says she's lost 20 pounds or something.
SHAW: Yes, yes.
S. O'BRIEN: She's 5 foot 5. I mean, she looks skinny. Nicole Richie, cute girl before, a cut girl after. But, boy, is she skinny. And then, of course, Mary-Kate Olsen as well had, you know, obviously, well-known bouts with anorexia issues. I mean, what's going on here?
SHAW: You know, I'm no doctor, but I have to say when you look like a different human being two months later, it's definitely a cause for concern. I think, you know, if you look at Nicole Ritchie, the most damning comment has been from Paris Hilton, who has been going on every talk show in the world saying, well, I just hope Nicole is healthy. And that should be, like, a siren going off.
BOROWITZ: So Paris basically got rid of Nicole? Is that the deal?
SHAW: Well, you know, yes, she's going on -- you know, the next season of "The Simple Life" will be with another friend, with...
BOROWITZ: So, like, "The Simple Life" has, like, a weight requirement? Because there's clearly no IQ requirement on the show. I mean, like...
S. O'BRIEN: "The Simple Life" is not quite so simple. But I think this is really concerning. And, you know, even to hear, I guess, it was Lindsay Lohan's mom who said...
SHAW: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: ... well, you know, the girls are shedding their baby fat.
BOROWITZ: Yikes!
SHAW: Listen, you can't go to the Lohans for functional family comment. But even Lindsay Lohan, you know, on the cover of "W" magazine this month, she said that her doctor even said to her, like, well, you've lot a lot of weight. Are you, you know -- he, like, kind of hinted, like, are you having an eating disorder issue? If your doctor is saying that, I mean, definitely...
S. O'BRIEN: It's a problem.
We've got to talk about "Everybody Loves Raymond," because the last show after nine seasons is tonight.
BOROWITZ: Right, right.
S. O'BRIEN: OK, I guess we're done here.
BOROWITZ: Well, you know, I'll tell you, you know, I think -- I know this is a very popular show, and I know that "Everybody Loves Raymond." But I get around. I have yet to meet one person who loves Raymond. I mean, I know people who tolerate Raymond when it's on American Airlines and stuff like that.
S. O'BRIEN: His show has done incredibly well.
BOROWITZ: Incredibly well. But...
S. O'BRIEN: The guy has made a million -- actually, I've watched it a lot. But I...
BOROWITZ: Do you love Raymond?
S. O'BRIEN: I do not love "Everybody Loves Raymond."
BOROWITZ: Have you seen it, though? It's very hard.
S. O'BRIEN: But there are people -- there has got to be somebody? Anybody?
BOROWITZ: This is the biggest...
TOURE: Miles, do you loves Raymond?
S. O'BRIEN: OK. Bob.
M. O'BRIEN: No, I don't love Raymond.
BOROWITZ: No. No one on the set loves Raymond.
SHAW: It's still a comedy that has lasted forever. And I think this week is, you know, up front week. And all of the networks are trying to launch their shows now in New York. They're announcing all of them. And we're going to see that no one can do a sitcom well that will last as many seasons as Raymond lasted.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: Yes, I mean, I wonder if we're going to still see this sort of thing, like big standup gets a show based on his standup. I mean, this sort of era of programming may be ending now. S. O'BRIEN: We'll see. Oh, yes, because now they've got nothing. The show, even if I don't particularly love it, I like it. And it's all right.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: And you're glad it was there just in case you wanted to watch it some day.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm glad it was there, and I'm sorry to see it go. And I watch it on a lot of airlines, mister. You guys, as always, I thank you very much.
And we also want to mention that coming up later in our 9:00 hour, we're going to talk with "TIME" magazine's Christopher John Farley about that interview he did, an exclusive interview with Dave Chappelle. That's ahead.
Thank you, guys -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: So, everybody is (inaudible).
In a moment, today's top stories, plus your outlook on life could make you sick. New links between your personality and your health. We are "Paging Dr. Gupta" ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Extreme violence in Iraq, and now the death toll is mounting. At least five more Iraqis killed today after dozens of bodies found this weekend.
The U.S. military struggles to restore goodwill in Afghanistan after an article in "Newsweek" sparked riots. This morning, the Pentagon's reaction to that magazine's apology.
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