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CNN Live At Daybreak

Some U.S. Troops Flee to Canada Rather than Fight; Steroid Hearings on Capitol Hill; Items From Marilyn Monroe Estate Go Up For Auction

Aired May 18, 2005 - 06:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: An Amber Alert in Idaho. Police search for two children missing from a scene of a triple homicide.
It's supposed to be a new beginning at ground zero. But rebuilding plans are stalled and one notable New Yorker has some choice words to describe the proposed Freedom Tower. He calls it a pile of junk.

And does the new "Star Wars" film score some points about politicians and war?

It is Wednesday, May 18.

You are watching DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.

Now in the news, a showdown looms in the U.S. Senate. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is expected to call for a debate today on one of President Bush's judicial nominees. Democrats previously have used a filibuster to block the nomination of Priscilla Owen to a federal judgeship.

For the first time in three decades, an incumbent mayor has lost in Los Angeles. In a battle of Democrats, City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa has defeated incumbent James Hahn by a pretty wide margin.

Commissioners of three of the four major sports are expected to testify about steroids today before Congress. Management and labor leaders from baseball, basketball and hockey all involved in this round of hearings.

To the Forecast Center and Chad -- good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Now to a triple slaying and the search for two missing children. An Amber Alert is out for 9-year-old Dillon and his 8-year- old sister Shasta Groene. Idaho police say the children's mother, their 13-year-old brother and another man were found dead in their home. It happened in the quaint community of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Highway signs describe little Dillon and Shasta.

Police are on the lookout for a 1975 silver Ford pickup truck and a 1991 white Toyota pickup, both with Idaho tags. The driver of those vehicles may be this man, Robert Roy Lutner. Police have identified him as a person of interest in both the killings and the children's disappearance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF ROCKY WATSON, KOOTENAI COUNTY, IDAHO: We've got search dogs and the search and rescue area working the immediate area. Also, other law enforcement agencies are notified, Amber Alert, trying to find out where these children are and what happened to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Authorities have set up two hotline numbers. Here they are: 208-446-2292 or 208-446-2293. Please call if you have any information at all.

A new program by the wireless industry will hopefully -- hopefully will help that Amber Alert get out. Cell phone companies announced Tuesday that cell phone users can now subscribe to Amber Alerts.

John Walsh, host of "America's Most Wanted," says cell users will get the Amber Alerts in the area where they live.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN WALSH, CHILDREN'S ADVOCATE: And I want to say they won't be bombarded with Amber Alerts every time they flip on that phone. That's not the intent, to burn people out. They won't see the wire alerts from California if they live in Oregon. They won't see the wireless -- they won't see the Amber Alerts from Florida if they live in Oregon. They won't see the Amber Alerts from North Carolina if they live in Washington, D.C.

They will see the Amber Alerts that they could make a difference on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And the best part, Amber Alerts on cell phones will be free of charge.

New legislation concerning sex offenders will be unveiled on Capitol Hill this morning. It would include lifetime electronic monitoring for twice convicted offenders. The bill also calls for sex offenders to register with police before they leave prison.

On Capitol Hill today, it's on. We're talking about the showdown over President Bush's judicial nominees. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says he'll begin debate today on Priscilla Owen's nomination to an appeals court seat. She's one of the nominees blocked by Democrats using the filibuster, that is, extended debate to stall a v.

Frist says if Democrats try it on this nomination, he will move to ban filibusters.

In the meantime, President Bush says he's done his part to advance the process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have a duty to nominate well-qualified men and women to the federal judiciary. I have done just that and I will continue to do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The Senate will likely spend the rest of the week debating judges. A showdown votes are expected next week.

True to form, British lawmaker George Galloway delivered a tongue lashing to U.S. senators who accuse him of profiting from the U.N. Oil For Food Program in Iraq. Galloway is the first official to publicly face his accusers in the scandal. He described the Senate investigation as "the mother of all smokescreens" and he said senators were trying to divert attention from what he called "a pack of lies" that led to the Iraq invasion.

Galloway spoke to CNN after the hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE GALLOWAY, BRITISH LAW MAKER: Frankly, the credibility of those accusing me is pretty close to zero outside of this neo-con Republican bubble here in Washington. The U.S. Senate majority is almost all pro-Bush, pro-war, pro-Israel. And I think that that's the three card trick that's led us into this disaster that we're in in the world today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The Senate panel accuses Galloway of receiving allocations worth 20 million barrels of Iraqi oil from Saddam Hussein.

In other "News Across America" now, two members of a violent Washington street gang have been convicted by a federal jury in Virginia. They were charged in the murder of a female gang member who was also a government informant. Both could face the death penalty. Two other gang members were acquitted.

Fugitive Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles is behind bars in Miami. The former CIA operative is wanted in Venezuela as a suspected terrorist. He's applied for political asylum in the United States. Homeland Security official have two days to decide what to do with him.

The FBI now says it was a false alarm. But for the second time in less than a week, a terrorist scare forced a Boston-bound plane to be diverted to Bangor, Maine. One passenger was removed from the plane because his name matched one on the government's no fly list.

Have you heard what Donald Trump says about the Freedom Tower, the building designed for the World Trade Center site? He says it's been designed by an egghead architect. He calls it terrible. This is a live shot of ground zero. Actually, it's not. This is the Freedom Tower, the design.

Trump is revealing his proposal for a site later today.

And "The Donald" talked about it with Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE")

DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE ENTREPRENEUR: The buildings are terrible. It's not really a building as such. It's 60 stories of building and it's 40 stories of frame. They're having a hard time structurally even holding up the frame. You know, the top of that building, they say it's 1,776 feet, which is a nice number because of what it represents, but it's not really a building per se. I mean it's ridiculous. It's just a frame at the top of a building and it doesn't look good. And then the buildings surrounding it are all different angles, they're all conflicting angles. And the architecture is terrible.

And what I would like to see -- you know the way I look at it? If they build that, the terrorists win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Plans for the World Trade Center site are months behind schedule. So let's talk about the delays, the players, all of that.

With me is Robert Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association.

He's also chairman of the Civil Alliance to Rebuild Downtown New York.

Good morning, sir.

ROBERT YARO, PRESIDENT, REGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION: Good morning.

Nice to be here.

COSTELLO: I saw you listening to Donald Trump. He's using words like "pile of junk," "egghead architect." I mean it's degenerated into name calling.

Has it become that bad?

YARO: Well, I don't think it has, although, you know, having "The Donald" in the picture obviously elevates the vitriol level.

You know, things are behind schedule, but I think everyone is focused now on trying to get the project back on track. We knew this was going to be a really complicated development project and there are lots of moving parts, and some of them aren't moving as quickly as they ought to be.

COSTELLO: So when you hear Donald Trump saying these things publicly, your thoughts? I mean does it help?

YARO: Hey, welcome to New York. It's "The Donald," you know? So we're used to, you know, to Donald and other, you know, large egos in town having their own points of view.

I think there's a solid master plan here. There are very important pieces of it that are moving ahead. The memorial is moving ahead. There are plans for retail development on the site and other public spaces, museums and so forth, that are moving ahead. And I think we'll see this all come back together.

COSTELLO: OK, so we've seen the design of the Freedom Tower, which took months and months and months to come up with, and there was like a contest, I suppose you would call it. Donald Trump says he's going to unveil this new plan and he's going to build the World Trade Center towers as they were, but stronger and better and all of that.

Is it really possible that a new plan could take the place of the one in existence now?

YARO: I really don't think so. We went through a very elaborate process, you know, with literally thousands of citizens involved in the process of coming up with this new master plan. It wasn't a quote, "egghead architect." Daniel Libeskind is one of the world's most renowned architects. There were international design competitions and so forth. So this plan has broad support.

The key thing now is getting it back on track. And that's what -- and the good news there is that both the mayor and the governor have made a commitment to do that. They've got a talented new team of people who are focused on doing that. So...

COSTELLO: Yes, but one of the problems with this design of the Freedom Tower is that it's too close to the street. The New York City Police Department says, you know, it's just too dangerous.

YARO: Yes.

COSTELLO: A car could pull right up there and, you know, it could be loaded with explosives and then what would happen?

Is it possible to redesign the Freedom Tower to be moved back from the street?

YARO: Yes, we think so, and that's what's underway now, essentially, relocating it, redesigning the building. It's probably going to be slimmed down. It doesn't need to be as bulky as it is. And I think that was one of the criticisms of the earlier tower. So we'll see it refined, we'll see it relocated, we'll see it address the security concerns, which it has to. I mean this has obviously been a terrorist target and no one wants to see a building... COSTELLO: But still, it's a year behind schedule, right? And this is going to put it...

YARO: It's, yes...

COSTELLO: ... behind even more. And it's going to cost more and more money. And I'm sure it's already cost millions and millions of dollars. So, you know, you have to...

YARO: It's terribly frustrating and we've been, we've been among the folks who have been saying let's get this thing back on track, let's get it moving and so forth. So, we're at a frustrating period.

I think we'll see some real progress in the next few weeks, in the next few months.

The other thing to keep in mind is that this is a 16-acre development. The Freedom Tower represents 10 or 15 percent of the whole thing. And there are big pieces of it that are moving ahead and that are ready to go. And that's really where our focus is at the moment.

There's no, there really is no new demand for new commercial office space downtown and no one is focused on that. So if the Freedom Tower is pushed back by a little bit, that's not a bad thing.

COSTELLO: But isn't that another dan -- I mean, Goldman Sachs was supposed to be in that building. It's kind of backed away. There are really no tenants for this big, huge, new building. So isn't that a concern, as well?

YARO: It's a real concern. Goldman was not going to be in the Freedom Tower. They were going to be across the street. And we still hope that they'll reconsider and that they'll make the decision to locate their new tower downtown, across the street from the Trade Center.

But what we're saying is that while the redesign of the Freedom Tower is going ahead, while the office market firms up, let's take the time to get the Freedom Tower right, make sure that it is secure, make sure that it is the icon that people want it to be, and then move ahead with the other activities on the site. There's -- the plans include retail space, a hotel, a number of museums, public spaces, a memorial. All of those should moving ahead.

COSTELLO: OK. And I'm sure Donald Trump will be making much more noise this afternoon, later this morning and in the days to come.

YARO: I'm sure. You can count on it.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Mr. Yaro.

YARO: Thanks.

COSTELLO: We appreciate it.

YARO: Thanks very much.

COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, they signed up but then they backed out. The military calls them deserters. But they say they were proud soldiers.

Also, is there more to "Star Wars" than just light sabers and lasers? Some say this galaxy far, far away is hitting close to home.

And would you like to own Marilyn Monroe's dresses or her divorce papers? We'll tell you how.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.

It's 6:15 Eastern.

Here's what's all new this morning.

Police in Idaho have issued an Amber Alert for two children missing from the scene of a triple homicide. They're also looking for a man they say is a person of interest.

In money news, Toyota's next hybrid car is coming from Georgetown, Kentucky. The company says a hybrid model of the popular Camry will be built late next year. Building it in the United States could mean lower sticker prices for you.

In culture, you can now get a camera that matches your underwear. Singer Gwen Stefani is expanding her new Japanese inspired clothing line to include electronic accessories like digital cameras, and they'll match with things like her Japanese inspired underwear.

In sports, the San Antonio Spurs took control of their play-off series with the Seattle Sonics with a 103-90 victory. The Spurs' win gives them a three games to two lead in the series, with the possible clinching game set for tomorrow night. Then we move into the finals, at least in that division -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes, it seems like we're getting farther and farther away rather than closer in some spots here, huh?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: That's a look at the latest headlines for you this morning.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, in a galaxy far, far away, some people are making a political connection. Do movie lines slam the Bush administration? We're going to talk about that.

And a small town theater owner makes a big statement about Jane Fonda. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "STAR WARS EPISODE THREE," COURTESY 20TH CENTURY FOX)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every single Jedi is now an enemy of the republic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I'm sure you understood that last part. But he said, "Every single Jedi is now an enemy of the republic." Hmmm. It's lines like that in the new "Star Wars" movie that are drawing some controversy. Here's another one for u. At one point, Anakin Skywalker, who is to become Darth Vader says: "If you're not with me, you are my enemy."

Now, some think that's a play of off of President Bush's quote, "either you are with us or you are with the terrorists."

Here to help me get through this "Star Wars" squabble is Tom O'Neil from "In Touch Weekly."

TOM O'NEIL, EDITOR, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: You know, a newspaper asked the star of -- one of the stars of the movie, Hayden Christensen, if there are like little digs at America and the presidencies of both Bushes and President Nixon. He said, "Yes."

O'NEIL: And that only complicates matters because just two days ago, George Lucas, the writer and director, said no, that's not. And I think we really should believe Lucas because this man has made these movies for 30 years. We don't see any politics in there at all. And we thought we had this crisis resolved until we suddenly see that Hayden said this to the "Ottawa Sun."

But it's important to look at when he said it. He said it right before he left for Cannes, so before George explained all of this. But it complicates things worse because it's like well, there's your proof right there.

COSTELLO: Yes, but he went on to say, "the French will love it."

O'NEIL: Well, we know the French just bash Americans any, you know, any chance they get. They love that.

COSTELLO: But he's sort of lending more credence to it by saying that.

O'NEIL: He really is. My theory is if it's true, it's not being inserted by George Lucas, but by the co-writer, Tom Stopper (ph), who does have a kind of liberal history. But it was not inserted -- if there was an agenda here, it wasn't inserted deliberately, and certainly Lucas didn't know about it.

COSTELLO: OK. So this is possible. Sometimes you hear great lines from life.

O'NEIL: Right.

COSTELLO: You put them in your book or movie.

O'NEIL: There you go, too.

The other element here, which is a real stretch, they say well, simply because the Senate yields power to the leader here so he can begin a war, well, there's your parallel right there, too. Well, nobody believes that the United States gave up democracy so that we could go to war in Iraq. Come on.

COSTELLO: No.

O'NEIL: What's so important here, though, Carol, is that...

COSTELLO: Will this hurt the movie? That's really what's important. But can anything hurt this movie?

O'NEIL: Nothing can hurt this movie in a big way except, I think, "Star Wars" fans can be hurt if they take this too seriously. You are about to witness one of the...

COSTELLO: Wait a minute. You're talking about "Star Wars" fans taking things too seriously, people who dress up like characters, standing in line for hours to get -- they take things seriously.

O'NEIL: And why not take this seriously? It's not just any movie, Carol. It is the most successful film series in Hollywood history. It has generated $3.4 billion. That's a billion dollars more than "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. It's generated $9 billion in merchandise.

This isn't just any movie, it's the conclusion of the greatest cycle of movies Hollywood has ever produced in terms of box office terms. This is an event. Don't let this little political squabble spoil this for you.

COSTELLO: Well, I don't think it will somehow.

O'NEIL: I agree with that.

COSTELLO: I think they'll overcome.

O'NEIL: I hope so.

COSTELLO: I think so.

Tom O'Neil.

O'NEIL: Thanks.

COSTELLO: Thanks, as always.

Still on the subject of politics and the movies, a Kentucky theater owner is refusing to show Jane Fonda's new movie, "Monster-In- Law" because he disapproves of Fonda's activist role during the Vietnam War.

Here's his take on the issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IKE BOUTWELL, THEATER OWNER: I was a flight instructor during the Vietnam era. I taught many students, several of whom were shot down over Vietnam, probably by anti-aircraft guns similar to the one that Ms. Fonda decided to congratulate and clap while they shot a B52 down.

I think everyone has to be responsible for their actions and I just choose not to support her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Boutwell also banned earlier Jane Fonda films, along with Michael Moore's documentary, "Fahrenheit 911."

Still to come, American servicemen unwilling to fulfill their duties.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLIFFORD CORNELL, FORMER SPECIALIST, U.S. ARMY: It scared the crap out of me. I mean, that's the last thing you want to do is to tell your soldiers to shoot yourself in the head.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Hear the stories of two young men living in Canada now and what prompted their departure from the military.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Greenpeace, PETA and other groups are teaming up to fight the FBI by using the Freedom of Information Act. They want to know if the agency is targeting political dissidents. ACLU activists and anti-war groups are demanding FBI records on the surveillance and infiltration of political and religious organizations.

And what would you do if you were called to fight in a war you didn't believe in? That was the dilemma for some U.S. troops in the Vietnam War and now some American troops in the Iraq war face the same internal conflict.

Our Maria Hinojosa caught up with two soldiers who chose to flee rather than fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DARRELL ANDERSON, FORMER SPECIALIST, U.S. ARMY: Well, at first I was scared. You know, I'd only ridden a subway twice in my life. MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Back home in Lexington, Kentucky, there aren't any trolleys or subways. But here in Toronto, Darrell Anderson is getting used to them.

ANDERSON: So, you know, I was like, what do I do. How do I go about it?

HINOJOSA: Clifford Cornell is also adjusting to life in the big city. He's from a small town in Arkansas. Now they both call Toronto home.

Clifford and Darrell willingly signed up to serve their country in the U.S. Army. Each had his reasons for wanting to join. Money for school was a big part of it. But enlisting held a special meaning.

CORNELL: The really biggest thing was to prove to me and to prove to my family and friends that I was able, physically capable of doing it.

ANDERSON: Putting on the U.S. Army uniform, you're part of something bigger than most civilians are, so.

HINOJOSA (on camera): So you were a proud soldier?

ANDERSON: Oh, yes. I was a great soldier. You know, I did everything that was asked of me.

HINOJOSA (voice-over): Darrell was a star baseball player, the kind everyone wanted on the team. Clifford was more of a misfit. He got teased a lot as a kid because of a speech impediment. He knew that chances were good he'd end up in combat. But Clifford struggled with basic training. After failing three times, he finally passed, just as his unit was to be deployed to Iraq.

Darrell served seven months on the front lines in Baghdad and Najaf. A gunner, he saw hand-to-hand combat. He was wounded by shrapnel, awarded a Purple Heart.

ANDERSON: I was eager to see combat. I was not afraid to kill somebody. I wanted to go in combat and I wanted to see action.

HINOJOSA: Darrell's unit was on the cover of "Time" magazine and featured in the documentary "Gunner Palace."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to get blown up, man.

HINOJOSA: But the turning point for this once proud soldier came one night in Baghdad.

ANDERSON: And I'm thinking -- our procedures, if fired upon, you open fire on anybody that's around. So I take my weapon, I point it at someone. And I'm aiming and I look, and it's just a 14-year-old boy running, scared, just like me, my fellow soldiers. And, you know, it's -- who am I? Am I this monster? Am I this person killing innocent people? Am I this baby killer? Am I this, you know, this monster to these people?

HINOJOSA: Two all-American soldiers, once ready to give their lives for their country, now faced a decision. Clifford's turning point came, he says, when his captain told his unit what to do if they are captured in Iraq.

CORNELL: It scared the crap out of me. I mean, that's the last thing you want to do is tell your soldiers to shoot yourself in the head.

HINOJOSA: The thought of suicide was too much for Clifford to bear.

Darrell was on leave, due back to his base in Germany, where his unit would be sent again to Iraq.

ANDERSON: You know, I finally put my foot down, I said, this is not who I am. I can't be a part of this no longer. I need to do something.

HINOJOSA: That's when Darrell began thinking about going to Canada and weighed the cost.

ANDERSON: But it's so much to give up. I mean, if I were to put up for two more years, you know, if I come back alive or if I can live with myself after it, you know, I could go to college and I could have a house, I could have the American dream. But the other way is, I'll have my freedoms. I'll have my human rights.

HINOJOSA: Both men turned their backs on the U.S. Army. Each found friends willing to drive them north.

ANDERSON: I rolled my window down and I crossed over Niagara Falls and just, the beauty of Niagara Falls and the freedom that Canada represented to me was just -- there was no fear, no regret, no nothing. It was just complete sigh of relief.

HINOJOSA: Darrell and Clifford finally met in the office of attorney Jeffrey House. House represents 10 deserters. He feels a kinship with them. He himself was a draft dodger who came to Canada to avoid the Vietnam War.

JEFFREY HOUSE, ATTORNEY: They will all tell me very quickly, well, there weren't even any weapons of mass destruction. The president said that the United States was under threat and it turns out to be nonsense. And I'm supposed to go and kill people?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't even fathom the stress and the....

HINOJOSA: Darrell's world has turned upside down. As a soldier, he never spoke publicly against his Army or his government.

For Clifford, there is still fear.

CORNELL: And there's always the chance that you won't get a refugee status, and I'll be forced -- be forced to go back to the States. And once I get back to the States, then I'll be arrested and be prosecuted as a deserter, a traitor. So it's really not an easy choice to make.

ANITA ANDERSON, DARRELL'S MOTHER: This is Darrell on the front page of our local newspaper.

HINOJOSA: Darrell's mother, Anita, may never see her son on U.S. soil again. And yet, she is at peace.

A. ANDERSON: To me, he's a hero. He has made me -- I mean, what mom wouldn't want their son to stand up and say he refuses to hurt innocent people? I mean, I can go to sleep at night.

HINOJOSA: While these former soldiers may for now be welcomed in Canada, they are haunted by these words -- traitor, coward, deserter.

CORNELL: And as long as I feel that I'm doing the right thing, that's all that matters to me.

ANDERSON: If you believe in this cause, you go, you go kill innocent people for this cause, you go lose an arm, you go lose a buddy. You go die for this cause.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

HINOJOSA: Now, Carol, during the Vietnam War, Canada opened up its arms to these war resisters and said, come, this is your haven. Not so now. These young men have to apply for political refugee status. The first one, who was not in our story, applied and was rejected. So that's being appealed.

COSTELLO: So, what's going to happen? He's going to have to come back to the United States. And what could be the ultimate penalty?

HINOJOSA: Well, no. He may decide to live -- or they may decide to live -- quote/unquote -- "underground" in Canada.

COSTELLO: I see.

HINOJOSA: Illegal immigrants in Canada.

COSTELLO: Playing devil's advocate here, if I'm serving in Iraq and I see these men, you know what I'm thinking?

HINOJOSA: Oh, absolutely.

COSTELLO: I'm thinking coward.

HINOJOSA: Right, absolutely. And I asked both of them this question, because, of course, these young men are on the front lines. In Darrell's particular case, he left his troops back there. And interestingly, he said to me, "Those guys would want to be where I am now."

COSTELLO: (INAUDIBLE) that's an easy answer. HINOJOSA: Absolutely, hard to say.

COSTELLO: Yes.

HINOJOSA: But a difficult war.

COSTELLO: You're not kidding. Maria Hinojosa, thank you.

An Army reservist in the Iraqi prison abuse scandal has been sentenced to six months in prison. Specialist Sabrina Harman was seen in one of the most infamous abuse photos taken by guards at the Abu Ghraib prison. She made a tearful apology to the military jury that sentenced her at Fort Hood. With time already served, Harman's actual sentence will be just over four months.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, steroids and sports. It's a hot topic, and some of the biggest names from the front offices go to Capitol Hill today.

Plus, soft spoken and full figured. Some of Marilyn Monroe's most intimate possessions are on the auction block.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Major League Baseball will be back under the congressional microscope today during another round of steroid hearings. But baseball will not be alone this time. Three of the major sports, as well as track and field, could face some tough questions as well.

For a look at what we can expect, let's turn to CNN national correspondent Bob Franken. He's live in Washington this morning.

Hello -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.

Steroids, of course, have become the safe political issue up here. And there are hearings, hearings and more hearings.

What we're going to be getting in the next couple of days is testimony from the commissioners of the various sports. They're being asked to respond to legislation that's being proposed, really severe legislation that would require that the first time a player is found to have an illegal substance, a steroid-like substance in his system, he will be suspended for a year, and then after that a lifetime suspension.

And they're talking about random mandatory testing for every player in professional sports. The commissioners will come from football, baseball, basketball, soccer, from the National Hockey League. It's going to be quite an all-star show of commissioners. We expect to see them squirm quite a bit. COSTELLO: I just find it kind of ironic that hockey is going to be present when there is no hockey season. And there may not be one next year either.

FRANKEN: No, there won't be. And what this really points out is that the commissioners in the various sports say the problem that they have with these policies that they tried to impose is their labor negotiations. And, of course, hockey was shut down because they had unsuccessful labor negotiations.

COSTELLO: Exactly. Bob Franken live from Washington this morning. Thank you.

We'll have much more news in a moment. You are watching DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's time now for a little "Business Buzz." The U.S. warns China about manipulating its currency. What does that mean for us?

Carrie Lee is here to explain it all.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: This is a very interesting story, a little complicated, but interesting nonetheless.

The U.S. says it may name China a manipulative trade partner if it doesn't change its currency policies. Now, China uses exchange controls to artificially keep the value of its currency, the yuan, pegged to the U.S. dollar. This means the yuan is undervalued by up to 40 percent, some experts say.

And what this means for U.S. companies is the price of goods from China is much cheaper than what U.S. companies can charge. So, an adjustment would mean prices for U.S. goods would more competitive with China's overseas. We can raise prices. This puts a crimp on our manufacturers.

Two big areas of dispute are textiles and electronics. China says for its part, it does want to float the yuan, but slowly and steadily. China also says it will not bow to pressure from the U.S. on this issue.

So, rather interesting. Nonetheless, the warning did provide a boost for the markets yesterday. The Dow shot higher when news of this warning came out late afternoon. The Dow ended the session higher by 79 points, building on Monday's gains. Futures, though, are looking a little bit weak for today's session.

Hewlett-Packard was a nice mover last night, up over 4 percent.

COSTELLO: Wow!

LEE: First quarter with new CEO Mark Hurd. Of course, Carly Fiorina left the company earlier this year. They did a little better than Wall Street was expecting. So, we'll see what happens today.

COSTELLO: We will. Thank you, Carrie.

LEE: OK.

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:41 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Police in Idaho want to find 33-year-old Robert Roy Lutner. He's being called a person of interest in the disappearance of two children from a house where three people were killed.

In money news, if you're looking at a rental car for your summer vacation, be prepared to pay more. Online travel booking site Expedia reports auto rental prices are up 12 percent from a year ago.

In culture, it's a phrase and a song that hit it bit. Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" won the Country Music Awards top single and song honors last night.

And in sports, the Detroit Pistons have a three games to two lead over the Indiana Pacers in that Eastern Conference semifinal series. Ben Wallace, he with the big hair, had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks at last night's 86-67 rout.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, the original blond bombshell. Now, you could own a piece of her personal history. Oh, we have some incredible items to show you.

But first, it's time to say happy birthday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: In entertainment headlines for you this morning, are you a fan of The Who? Well, you'll have to shell out 1,500 bucks apiece or up to $30,000 a table for this year's only performance in the United States from the legendary rock band. But it's all for a good cause. Their concert in New York will benefit children's charities.

Actor Warren Beatty is suing for rights to "Dick Tracy." Beatty wants to make a new movie featuring the comic book detective. But Tribune Media, which claims control over Tracy's character, is blocking his efforts.

It seems just about everybody really did love Raymond. About 33 million viewers tuned in for Monday's final episode of the hit CBS sitcom, and another 24-and-a-half mourners watched the series' retrospective.

You can get more entertainment news every night on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." That's at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on Headline News.

Bidding is almost open on some interesting pieces of Hollywood history. Fascinating, I should say. What we're talking about are items that once belonged to Marilyn Monroe. From letters and pictures to garters and stockings, more than 200 items from her estate go on sale next month.

Joining me to talk about this lot is Darren Julien, whose company is running the Monroe bidding.

Welcome.

DARREN JULIEN, PRESIDENT, JULIEN AUCTIONS: Good morning.

COSTELLO: And you have some fascinating -- I'm just a Marilyn Monroe freak, so this is very exciting to me. Let's start with her dress.

JULIEN: Sure. This is one of four prototype dresses that was made for the film "Let's Make Love." And what's interesting about the dress is there's a photograph of her wearing the dress with co-star Yves Montand. And there's a stain that's on the dress, and that very stain matches up perfectly with this stain.

COSTELLO: Oh, isn't that something.

JULIEN: So...

COSTELLO: I don't know if we can see it. Do we have -- there. OK, we're seeing the picture, and you can see the stain right here.

JULIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: Right? And the stain is on the dress. So that perhaps is the very same dress that she wore in this picture.

JULIEN: It's the exact same dress, absolutely. So there is a lot of history behind this dress. We may not ever know what it is, but a lot of history.

COSTELLO: Can you hold up the dress so that we can see more of it?

JULIEN: Sure, yes.

COSTELLO: And tell us what size it is, because we've always heard Marilyn Monroe was, like, a size 12.

JULIEN: Yes. Marilyn fluctuated between a size 6 and a size 10 throughout her life. So...

COSTELLO: That looks like a very tiny dress.

JULIEN: It's a very small dress. I mean, the majority of her career she was a size 6-7, around that. So...

COSTELLO: And I would think that sizes were smaller back then than they are now.

JULIEN: They definitely were.

COSTELLO: A size 6 wouldn't be the same as a size 6 back then.

JULIEN: No, that's correct. And I think where the myth of the size 12 comes from is that we have some of her dresses that say size 12, but they're in reality size 9 or size 10.

COSTELLO: Gotcha. So, she was tiny. What, about 117 pounds?

JULIEN: Yes, when she died she was about 117 pounds, and she was 5 foot 5-and-a-half.

COSTELLO: Wow! OK. Let's move on to the hair salon.

JULIEN: Yes. This is an interesting piece. This is a hair salon note that was from her beautician. And what's interesting about the note is she describes -- her beautician describes how to color her hair blond and the process and, you know, the roots and what exactly to do. So, it's a formula to make her hair blond.

COSTELLO: Let's put this -- I don't know if people can really see the writing, but she wrote kind of slanted backwards in cursive.

JULIEN: Yes, yes. Yes, this was actually her hair salon stylist that wrote it.

COSTELLO: OK.

JULIEN: And she addressed the letter to Ms. Monroe. And it's just making sure as she traveled that others would know how to make sure that her hair stayed the same color.

COSTELLO: And it was a difficult process, too. It was not easy to keep her hair that color of blond.

JULIEN: Exactly, exactly.

COSTELLO: OK. To her divorce papers.

JULIEN: Yes, this is a divorce paper between her and Joe DiMaggio. The divorce was finalized on October 31 in 1955. And it shows that Marilyn was the plaintiff and Joe was the defendant.

COSTELLO: OK. And we're going to hold this up.

JULIEN: Sure.

COSTELLO: Which camera are we on here? This one over here? There you go. I don't know if you can see it, but that's pretty cool. It says, attorney for the plaintiff, it has her address I would assume.

JULIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: Right?

JULIEN: Yes, yes. And it refers to her as Norma Jean DiMaggio.

COSTELLO: Yes. Norma Jean DiMaggio, that's something.

OK. Let's move on to her will.

JULIEN: And this is another interesting piece. This is her last will and testament. It's a copy of it, one of the original copies. And what's great about it is, you know, Marilyn, as a child, was abandoned by her mother and didn't really have a relationship with her mother, who was Gladys Baker. And she was in an institution. And Marilyn in her will makes sure that until her death that she has everything, all of her expenses and everything covered. And her mother died in 1984 in a mental institution in Florida.

COSTELLO: Wow!

JULIEN: So, you know, it kind of shows a side of Marilyn that here is somebody that abandoned her, and she still wanted to make sure she was taken care of.

COSTELLO: Awesome. OK. On to this artwork that she dedicated to none other than to JFK.

JULIEN: JFK. Now, what's interesting -- and Marilyn was known for doing watercolors. We also have some of her watercolors in the sale. But this is of a red rose that she painted. And...

COSTELLO: Put it straight up.

JULIEN: Sure. And at the bottom, she inscribes it to President Kennedy for his birthday. Now, there's a lot of mystery behind this painting, because why she didn't give it to him for his birthday -- his birthday was actually in May. Hers was June 1, 1962. And there was a lot of turmoil at that time between their relationship. So, she didn't give it to him. We don't know why. But then, she inscribed it to herself on her birthday, almost like, you know, wishing herself a happy birthday.

COSTELLO: Wow! Was that the same year she sang the famous "Happy Birthday" song to President Kennedy?

JULIEN: It was the same year, absolutely, yes.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's fascinating.

JULIEN: And so she dates it June 1, 1962 on the second signature, which is her birthday.

COSTELLO: OK. Quickly, tell people if they're interested in bidding on these items what they can do.

JULIEN: Yes, go to juliensauctions.com. The auction is live in Los Angeles on June 4 at Barclay Butera in Los Angeles. And the highlights are on display through this Friday at Planet Hollywood in Times Square.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much for coming in.

JULIEN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Fascinating.

We'll be getting more details on that Idaho Amber Alert in the next hour on "AMERICAN MORNING." So it's time to check in with Bill Hemmer to see what's up.

Good morning -- Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.

Live in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, that's the town in the northern part of the state. The latest now on the search for those two missing children. We'll also talk to the county sheriff, Carol, about this so-called person of interest, said to be a man, aged 33, perhaps was at the home over the weekend, maybe on Sunday night. And we'll also talk about any new leads in that triple homicide investigation there.

Also, Carol, this alarming number of 3 and 4-year-olds being kicked out of preschool -- 3 and 4 year olds being kicked out of preschool. We'll talk with a child psychologist. He says he is not surprised at all, and he'll explain why as our program continues here about eight minutes away. See you at the top of the hour there. A very interesting study, too, and we'll try to get some answers for you. See you then.

COSTELLO: We'll be there. Thank you, Bill.

HEMMER: All right. Bye-bye.

COSTELLO: It is time for Chad and the DAYBREAK coffee mug.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I hold in my hand the winner, Carnack (ph) the magnificent.

Here we go, Carol. Here are your questions from yesterday and the answers. When did prohibition end in the United States? That was 1933. And a school in what state punished a student for hugging her boyfriend? And that was Oregon.

And the winner, Alice Kinells from Bunell, Florida. Congratulations, Alice. You are the winner of today's DAYBREAK coffee mug.

Here are the questions now for today. These may not be quite so easy. The first one is a piece of cake, but the second one is not. Who will unveil a new design for the World Trade Center sites today in about five hours? Name the actor who portrays Anakin Skywalker.

Carol, CNN.com/daybreak.

COSTELLO: Those are easy questions.

MYERS: OK. Well, not for me, because I'm not a real big "Star Wars" fan.

COSTELLO: I know. You only like "American Idol," which (INAUDIBLE).

MYERS: And DAYBREAK.

COSTELLO: And DAYBREAK. CNN.com/daybreak if you want to participate. And you are watching DAYBREAK for a Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We've got a lot of people who are in airports this morning, so give us a travel update.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: "Now in the News."

Police in Idaho have identified a person of interest in the disappearance of two children. An Amber Alert was issued for the 9- year-old boy and 8-year-old girl after police found three people murdered in their home.

The fight over filibusters could reach the Senate floor today. Majority Leader Bill Frist has warned that he'll change the filibuster rules if Democrats try to stall votes on some of President Bush's judicial nominees.

And for the first time in three decades, an incumbent mayor has lost in Los Angeles. In a battle of Democrats, city councilman Antonio Villaraigosa has defeated incumbent James Hahn by a pretty wide margin, too.

Weapons in space? According to this morning's "New York Times," the Air Force wants President Bush to approve a special order. It would move the U.S. closer to deploying space weapons to protect the country.

And North and South Korea have agreed to hold at least one more day of talks; this, after South Korea failed to convinced the north to rejoin six-nation negotiations on its nuclear ambitions.

From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

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 May 18, 2005 - 06:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: An Amber Alert in Idaho. Police search for two children missing from a scene of a triple homicide.
It's supposed to be a new beginning at ground zero. But rebuilding plans are stalled and one notable New Yorker has some choice words to describe the proposed Freedom Tower. He calls it a pile of junk.

And does the new "Star Wars" film score some points about politicians and war?

It is Wednesday, May 18.

You are watching DAYBREAK.

And good morning to you.

From the Time Warner Center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.

Now in the news, a showdown looms in the U.S. Senate. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is expected to call for a debate today on one of President Bush's judicial nominees. Democrats previously have used a filibuster to block the nomination of Priscilla Owen to a federal judgeship.

For the first time in three decades, an incumbent mayor has lost in Los Angeles. In a battle of Democrats, City Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa has defeated incumbent James Hahn by a pretty wide margin.

Commissioners of three of the four major sports are expected to testify about steroids today before Congress. Management and labor leaders from baseball, basketball and hockey all involved in this round of hearings.

To the Forecast Center and Chad -- good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Now to a triple slaying and the search for two missing children. An Amber Alert is out for 9-year-old Dillon and his 8-year- old sister Shasta Groene. Idaho police say the children's mother, their 13-year-old brother and another man were found dead in their home. It happened in the quaint community of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Highway signs describe little Dillon and Shasta.

Police are on the lookout for a 1975 silver Ford pickup truck and a 1991 white Toyota pickup, both with Idaho tags. The driver of those vehicles may be this man, Robert Roy Lutner. Police have identified him as a person of interest in both the killings and the children's disappearance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF ROCKY WATSON, KOOTENAI COUNTY, IDAHO: We've got search dogs and the search and rescue area working the immediate area. Also, other law enforcement agencies are notified, Amber Alert, trying to find out where these children are and what happened to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Authorities have set up two hotline numbers. Here they are: 208-446-2292 or 208-446-2293. Please call if you have any information at all.

A new program by the wireless industry will hopefully -- hopefully will help that Amber Alert get out. Cell phone companies announced Tuesday that cell phone users can now subscribe to Amber Alerts.

John Walsh, host of "America's Most Wanted," says cell users will get the Amber Alerts in the area where they live.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN WALSH, CHILDREN'S ADVOCATE: And I want to say they won't be bombarded with Amber Alerts every time they flip on that phone. That's not the intent, to burn people out. They won't see the wire alerts from California if they live in Oregon. They won't see the wireless -- they won't see the Amber Alerts from Florida if they live in Oregon. They won't see the Amber Alerts from North Carolina if they live in Washington, D.C.

They will see the Amber Alerts that they could make a difference on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And the best part, Amber Alerts on cell phones will be free of charge.

New legislation concerning sex offenders will be unveiled on Capitol Hill this morning. It would include lifetime electronic monitoring for twice convicted offenders. The bill also calls for sex offenders to register with police before they leave prison.

On Capitol Hill today, it's on. We're talking about the showdown over President Bush's judicial nominees. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist says he'll begin debate today on Priscilla Owen's nomination to an appeals court seat. She's one of the nominees blocked by Democrats using the filibuster, that is, extended debate to stall a v.

Frist says if Democrats try it on this nomination, he will move to ban filibusters.

In the meantime, President Bush says he's done his part to advance the process.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have a duty to nominate well-qualified men and women to the federal judiciary. I have done just that and I will continue to do so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The Senate will likely spend the rest of the week debating judges. A showdown votes are expected next week.

True to form, British lawmaker George Galloway delivered a tongue lashing to U.S. senators who accuse him of profiting from the U.N. Oil For Food Program in Iraq. Galloway is the first official to publicly face his accusers in the scandal. He described the Senate investigation as "the mother of all smokescreens" and he said senators were trying to divert attention from what he called "a pack of lies" that led to the Iraq invasion.

Galloway spoke to CNN after the hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE GALLOWAY, BRITISH LAW MAKER: Frankly, the credibility of those accusing me is pretty close to zero outside of this neo-con Republican bubble here in Washington. The U.S. Senate majority is almost all pro-Bush, pro-war, pro-Israel. And I think that that's the three card trick that's led us into this disaster that we're in in the world today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The Senate panel accuses Galloway of receiving allocations worth 20 million barrels of Iraqi oil from Saddam Hussein.

In other "News Across America" now, two members of a violent Washington street gang have been convicted by a federal jury in Virginia. They were charged in the murder of a female gang member who was also a government informant. Both could face the death penalty. Two other gang members were acquitted.

Fugitive Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles is behind bars in Miami. The former CIA operative is wanted in Venezuela as a suspected terrorist. He's applied for political asylum in the United States. Homeland Security official have two days to decide what to do with him.

The FBI now says it was a false alarm. But for the second time in less than a week, a terrorist scare forced a Boston-bound plane to be diverted to Bangor, Maine. One passenger was removed from the plane because his name matched one on the government's no fly list.

Have you heard what Donald Trump says about the Freedom Tower, the building designed for the World Trade Center site? He says it's been designed by an egghead architect. He calls it terrible. This is a live shot of ground zero. Actually, it's not. This is the Freedom Tower, the design.

Trump is revealing his proposal for a site later today.

And "The Donald" talked about it with Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE")

DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE ENTREPRENEUR: The buildings are terrible. It's not really a building as such. It's 60 stories of building and it's 40 stories of frame. They're having a hard time structurally even holding up the frame. You know, the top of that building, they say it's 1,776 feet, which is a nice number because of what it represents, but it's not really a building per se. I mean it's ridiculous. It's just a frame at the top of a building and it doesn't look good. And then the buildings surrounding it are all different angles, they're all conflicting angles. And the architecture is terrible.

And what I would like to see -- you know the way I look at it? If they build that, the terrorists win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Plans for the World Trade Center site are months behind schedule. So let's talk about the delays, the players, all of that.

With me is Robert Yaro, president of the Regional Plan Association.

He's also chairman of the Civil Alliance to Rebuild Downtown New York.

Good morning, sir.

ROBERT YARO, PRESIDENT, REGIONAL PLAN ASSOCIATION: Good morning.

Nice to be here.

COSTELLO: I saw you listening to Donald Trump. He's using words like "pile of junk," "egghead architect." I mean it's degenerated into name calling.

Has it become that bad?

YARO: Well, I don't think it has, although, you know, having "The Donald" in the picture obviously elevates the vitriol level.

You know, things are behind schedule, but I think everyone is focused now on trying to get the project back on track. We knew this was going to be a really complicated development project and there are lots of moving parts, and some of them aren't moving as quickly as they ought to be.

COSTELLO: So when you hear Donald Trump saying these things publicly, your thoughts? I mean does it help?

YARO: Hey, welcome to New York. It's "The Donald," you know? So we're used to, you know, to Donald and other, you know, large egos in town having their own points of view.

I think there's a solid master plan here. There are very important pieces of it that are moving ahead. The memorial is moving ahead. There are plans for retail development on the site and other public spaces, museums and so forth, that are moving ahead. And I think we'll see this all come back together.

COSTELLO: OK, so we've seen the design of the Freedom Tower, which took months and months and months to come up with, and there was like a contest, I suppose you would call it. Donald Trump says he's going to unveil this new plan and he's going to build the World Trade Center towers as they were, but stronger and better and all of that.

Is it really possible that a new plan could take the place of the one in existence now?

YARO: I really don't think so. We went through a very elaborate process, you know, with literally thousands of citizens involved in the process of coming up with this new master plan. It wasn't a quote, "egghead architect." Daniel Libeskind is one of the world's most renowned architects. There were international design competitions and so forth. So this plan has broad support.

The key thing now is getting it back on track. And that's what -- and the good news there is that both the mayor and the governor have made a commitment to do that. They've got a talented new team of people who are focused on doing that. So...

COSTELLO: Yes, but one of the problems with this design of the Freedom Tower is that it's too close to the street. The New York City Police Department says, you know, it's just too dangerous.

YARO: Yes.

COSTELLO: A car could pull right up there and, you know, it could be loaded with explosives and then what would happen?

Is it possible to redesign the Freedom Tower to be moved back from the street?

YARO: Yes, we think so, and that's what's underway now, essentially, relocating it, redesigning the building. It's probably going to be slimmed down. It doesn't need to be as bulky as it is. And I think that was one of the criticisms of the earlier tower. So we'll see it refined, we'll see it relocated, we'll see it address the security concerns, which it has to. I mean this has obviously been a terrorist target and no one wants to see a building... COSTELLO: But still, it's a year behind schedule, right? And this is going to put it...

YARO: It's, yes...

COSTELLO: ... behind even more. And it's going to cost more and more money. And I'm sure it's already cost millions and millions of dollars. So, you know, you have to...

YARO: It's terribly frustrating and we've been, we've been among the folks who have been saying let's get this thing back on track, let's get it moving and so forth. So, we're at a frustrating period.

I think we'll see some real progress in the next few weeks, in the next few months.

The other thing to keep in mind is that this is a 16-acre development. The Freedom Tower represents 10 or 15 percent of the whole thing. And there are big pieces of it that are moving ahead and that are ready to go. And that's really where our focus is at the moment.

There's no, there really is no new demand for new commercial office space downtown and no one is focused on that. So if the Freedom Tower is pushed back by a little bit, that's not a bad thing.

COSTELLO: But isn't that another dan -- I mean, Goldman Sachs was supposed to be in that building. It's kind of backed away. There are really no tenants for this big, huge, new building. So isn't that a concern, as well?

YARO: It's a real concern. Goldman was not going to be in the Freedom Tower. They were going to be across the street. And we still hope that they'll reconsider and that they'll make the decision to locate their new tower downtown, across the street from the Trade Center.

But what we're saying is that while the redesign of the Freedom Tower is going ahead, while the office market firms up, let's take the time to get the Freedom Tower right, make sure that it is secure, make sure that it is the icon that people want it to be, and then move ahead with the other activities on the site. There's -- the plans include retail space, a hotel, a number of museums, public spaces, a memorial. All of those should moving ahead.

COSTELLO: OK. And I'm sure Donald Trump will be making much more noise this afternoon, later this morning and in the days to come.

YARO: I'm sure. You can count on it.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Mr. Yaro.

YARO: Thanks.

COSTELLO: We appreciate it.

YARO: Thanks very much.

COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, they signed up but then they backed out. The military calls them deserters. But they say they were proud soldiers.

Also, is there more to "Star Wars" than just light sabers and lasers? Some say this galaxy far, far away is hitting close to home.

And would you like to own Marilyn Monroe's dresses or her divorce papers? We'll tell you how.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports.

It's 6:15 Eastern.

Here's what's all new this morning.

Police in Idaho have issued an Amber Alert for two children missing from the scene of a triple homicide. They're also looking for a man they say is a person of interest.

In money news, Toyota's next hybrid car is coming from Georgetown, Kentucky. The company says a hybrid model of the popular Camry will be built late next year. Building it in the United States could mean lower sticker prices for you.

In culture, you can now get a camera that matches your underwear. Singer Gwen Stefani is expanding her new Japanese inspired clothing line to include electronic accessories like digital cameras, and they'll match with things like her Japanese inspired underwear.

In sports, the San Antonio Spurs took control of their play-off series with the Seattle Sonics with a 103-90 victory. The Spurs' win gives them a three games to two lead in the series, with the possible clinching game set for tomorrow night. Then we move into the finals, at least in that division -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes, it seems like we're getting farther and farther away rather than closer in some spots here, huh?

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: That's a look at the latest headlines for you this morning.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, in a galaxy far, far away, some people are making a political connection. Do movie lines slam the Bush administration? We're going to talk about that.

And a small town theater owner makes a big statement about Jane Fonda. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "STAR WARS EPISODE THREE," COURTESY 20TH CENTURY FOX)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every single Jedi is now an enemy of the republic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I'm sure you understood that last part. But he said, "Every single Jedi is now an enemy of the republic." Hmmm. It's lines like that in the new "Star Wars" movie that are drawing some controversy. Here's another one for u. At one point, Anakin Skywalker, who is to become Darth Vader says: "If you're not with me, you are my enemy."

Now, some think that's a play of off of President Bush's quote, "either you are with us or you are with the terrorists."

Here to help me get through this "Star Wars" squabble is Tom O'Neil from "In Touch Weekly."

TOM O'NEIL, EDITOR, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: You know, a newspaper asked the star of -- one of the stars of the movie, Hayden Christensen, if there are like little digs at America and the presidencies of both Bushes and President Nixon. He said, "Yes."

O'NEIL: And that only complicates matters because just two days ago, George Lucas, the writer and director, said no, that's not. And I think we really should believe Lucas because this man has made these movies for 30 years. We don't see any politics in there at all. And we thought we had this crisis resolved until we suddenly see that Hayden said this to the "Ottawa Sun."

But it's important to look at when he said it. He said it right before he left for Cannes, so before George explained all of this. But it complicates things worse because it's like well, there's your proof right there.

COSTELLO: Yes, but he went on to say, "the French will love it."

O'NEIL: Well, we know the French just bash Americans any, you know, any chance they get. They love that.

COSTELLO: But he's sort of lending more credence to it by saying that.

O'NEIL: He really is. My theory is if it's true, it's not being inserted by George Lucas, but by the co-writer, Tom Stopper (ph), who does have a kind of liberal history. But it was not inserted -- if there was an agenda here, it wasn't inserted deliberately, and certainly Lucas didn't know about it.

COSTELLO: OK. So this is possible. Sometimes you hear great lines from life.

O'NEIL: Right.

COSTELLO: You put them in your book or movie.

O'NEIL: There you go, too.

The other element here, which is a real stretch, they say well, simply because the Senate yields power to the leader here so he can begin a war, well, there's your parallel right there, too. Well, nobody believes that the United States gave up democracy so that we could go to war in Iraq. Come on.

COSTELLO: No.

O'NEIL: What's so important here, though, Carol, is that...

COSTELLO: Will this hurt the movie? That's really what's important. But can anything hurt this movie?

O'NEIL: Nothing can hurt this movie in a big way except, I think, "Star Wars" fans can be hurt if they take this too seriously. You are about to witness one of the...

COSTELLO: Wait a minute. You're talking about "Star Wars" fans taking things too seriously, people who dress up like characters, standing in line for hours to get -- they take things seriously.

O'NEIL: And why not take this seriously? It's not just any movie, Carol. It is the most successful film series in Hollywood history. It has generated $3.4 billion. That's a billion dollars more than "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. It's generated $9 billion in merchandise.

This isn't just any movie, it's the conclusion of the greatest cycle of movies Hollywood has ever produced in terms of box office terms. This is an event. Don't let this little political squabble spoil this for you.

COSTELLO: Well, I don't think it will somehow.

O'NEIL: I agree with that.

COSTELLO: I think they'll overcome.

O'NEIL: I hope so.

COSTELLO: I think so.

Tom O'Neil.

O'NEIL: Thanks.

COSTELLO: Thanks, as always.

Still on the subject of politics and the movies, a Kentucky theater owner is refusing to show Jane Fonda's new movie, "Monster-In- Law" because he disapproves of Fonda's activist role during the Vietnam War.

Here's his take on the issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IKE BOUTWELL, THEATER OWNER: I was a flight instructor during the Vietnam era. I taught many students, several of whom were shot down over Vietnam, probably by anti-aircraft guns similar to the one that Ms. Fonda decided to congratulate and clap while they shot a B52 down.

I think everyone has to be responsible for their actions and I just choose not to support her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Boutwell also banned earlier Jane Fonda films, along with Michael Moore's documentary, "Fahrenheit 911."

Still to come, American servicemen unwilling to fulfill their duties.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLIFFORD CORNELL, FORMER SPECIALIST, U.S. ARMY: It scared the crap out of me. I mean, that's the last thing you want to do is to tell your soldiers to shoot yourself in the head.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Hear the stories of two young men living in Canada now and what prompted their departure from the military.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Greenpeace, PETA and other groups are teaming up to fight the FBI by using the Freedom of Information Act. They want to know if the agency is targeting political dissidents. ACLU activists and anti-war groups are demanding FBI records on the surveillance and infiltration of political and religious organizations.

And what would you do if you were called to fight in a war you didn't believe in? That was the dilemma for some U.S. troops in the Vietnam War and now some American troops in the Iraq war face the same internal conflict.

Our Maria Hinojosa caught up with two soldiers who chose to flee rather than fight.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DARRELL ANDERSON, FORMER SPECIALIST, U.S. ARMY: Well, at first I was scared. You know, I'd only ridden a subway twice in my life. MARIA HINOJOSA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Back home in Lexington, Kentucky, there aren't any trolleys or subways. But here in Toronto, Darrell Anderson is getting used to them.

ANDERSON: So, you know, I was like, what do I do. How do I go about it?

HINOJOSA: Clifford Cornell is also adjusting to life in the big city. He's from a small town in Arkansas. Now they both call Toronto home.

Clifford and Darrell willingly signed up to serve their country in the U.S. Army. Each had his reasons for wanting to join. Money for school was a big part of it. But enlisting held a special meaning.

CORNELL: The really biggest thing was to prove to me and to prove to my family and friends that I was able, physically capable of doing it.

ANDERSON: Putting on the U.S. Army uniform, you're part of something bigger than most civilians are, so.

HINOJOSA (on camera): So you were a proud soldier?

ANDERSON: Oh, yes. I was a great soldier. You know, I did everything that was asked of me.

HINOJOSA (voice-over): Darrell was a star baseball player, the kind everyone wanted on the team. Clifford was more of a misfit. He got teased a lot as a kid because of a speech impediment. He knew that chances were good he'd end up in combat. But Clifford struggled with basic training. After failing three times, he finally passed, just as his unit was to be deployed to Iraq.

Darrell served seven months on the front lines in Baghdad and Najaf. A gunner, he saw hand-to-hand combat. He was wounded by shrapnel, awarded a Purple Heart.

ANDERSON: I was eager to see combat. I was not afraid to kill somebody. I wanted to go in combat and I wanted to see action.

HINOJOSA: Darrell's unit was on the cover of "Time" magazine and featured in the documentary "Gunner Palace."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to get blown up, man.

HINOJOSA: But the turning point for this once proud soldier came one night in Baghdad.

ANDERSON: And I'm thinking -- our procedures, if fired upon, you open fire on anybody that's around. So I take my weapon, I point it at someone. And I'm aiming and I look, and it's just a 14-year-old boy running, scared, just like me, my fellow soldiers. And, you know, it's -- who am I? Am I this monster? Am I this person killing innocent people? Am I this baby killer? Am I this, you know, this monster to these people?

HINOJOSA: Two all-American soldiers, once ready to give their lives for their country, now faced a decision. Clifford's turning point came, he says, when his captain told his unit what to do if they are captured in Iraq.

CORNELL: It scared the crap out of me. I mean, that's the last thing you want to do is tell your soldiers to shoot yourself in the head.

HINOJOSA: The thought of suicide was too much for Clifford to bear.

Darrell was on leave, due back to his base in Germany, where his unit would be sent again to Iraq.

ANDERSON: You know, I finally put my foot down, I said, this is not who I am. I can't be a part of this no longer. I need to do something.

HINOJOSA: That's when Darrell began thinking about going to Canada and weighed the cost.

ANDERSON: But it's so much to give up. I mean, if I were to put up for two more years, you know, if I come back alive or if I can live with myself after it, you know, I could go to college and I could have a house, I could have the American dream. But the other way is, I'll have my freedoms. I'll have my human rights.

HINOJOSA: Both men turned their backs on the U.S. Army. Each found friends willing to drive them north.

ANDERSON: I rolled my window down and I crossed over Niagara Falls and just, the beauty of Niagara Falls and the freedom that Canada represented to me was just -- there was no fear, no regret, no nothing. It was just complete sigh of relief.

HINOJOSA: Darrell and Clifford finally met in the office of attorney Jeffrey House. House represents 10 deserters. He feels a kinship with them. He himself was a draft dodger who came to Canada to avoid the Vietnam War.

JEFFREY HOUSE, ATTORNEY: They will all tell me very quickly, well, there weren't even any weapons of mass destruction. The president said that the United States was under threat and it turns out to be nonsense. And I'm supposed to go and kill people?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't even fathom the stress and the....

HINOJOSA: Darrell's world has turned upside down. As a soldier, he never spoke publicly against his Army or his government.

For Clifford, there is still fear.

CORNELL: And there's always the chance that you won't get a refugee status, and I'll be forced -- be forced to go back to the States. And once I get back to the States, then I'll be arrested and be prosecuted as a deserter, a traitor. So it's really not an easy choice to make.

ANITA ANDERSON, DARRELL'S MOTHER: This is Darrell on the front page of our local newspaper.

HINOJOSA: Darrell's mother, Anita, may never see her son on U.S. soil again. And yet, she is at peace.

A. ANDERSON: To me, he's a hero. He has made me -- I mean, what mom wouldn't want their son to stand up and say he refuses to hurt innocent people? I mean, I can go to sleep at night.

HINOJOSA: While these former soldiers may for now be welcomed in Canada, they are haunted by these words -- traitor, coward, deserter.

CORNELL: And as long as I feel that I'm doing the right thing, that's all that matters to me.

ANDERSON: If you believe in this cause, you go, you go kill innocent people for this cause, you go lose an arm, you go lose a buddy. You go die for this cause.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

HINOJOSA: Now, Carol, during the Vietnam War, Canada opened up its arms to these war resisters and said, come, this is your haven. Not so now. These young men have to apply for political refugee status. The first one, who was not in our story, applied and was rejected. So that's being appealed.

COSTELLO: So, what's going to happen? He's going to have to come back to the United States. And what could be the ultimate penalty?

HINOJOSA: Well, no. He may decide to live -- or they may decide to live -- quote/unquote -- "underground" in Canada.

COSTELLO: I see.

HINOJOSA: Illegal immigrants in Canada.

COSTELLO: Playing devil's advocate here, if I'm serving in Iraq and I see these men, you know what I'm thinking?

HINOJOSA: Oh, absolutely.

COSTELLO: I'm thinking coward.

HINOJOSA: Right, absolutely. And I asked both of them this question, because, of course, these young men are on the front lines. In Darrell's particular case, he left his troops back there. And interestingly, he said to me, "Those guys would want to be where I am now."

COSTELLO: (INAUDIBLE) that's an easy answer. HINOJOSA: Absolutely, hard to say.

COSTELLO: Yes.

HINOJOSA: But a difficult war.

COSTELLO: You're not kidding. Maria Hinojosa, thank you.

An Army reservist in the Iraqi prison abuse scandal has been sentenced to six months in prison. Specialist Sabrina Harman was seen in one of the most infamous abuse photos taken by guards at the Abu Ghraib prison. She made a tearful apology to the military jury that sentenced her at Fort Hood. With time already served, Harman's actual sentence will be just over four months.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, steroids and sports. It's a hot topic, and some of the biggest names from the front offices go to Capitol Hill today.

Plus, soft spoken and full figured. Some of Marilyn Monroe's most intimate possessions are on the auction block.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Major League Baseball will be back under the congressional microscope today during another round of steroid hearings. But baseball will not be alone this time. Three of the major sports, as well as track and field, could face some tough questions as well.

For a look at what we can expect, let's turn to CNN national correspondent Bob Franken. He's live in Washington this morning.

Hello -- Bob.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.

Steroids, of course, have become the safe political issue up here. And there are hearings, hearings and more hearings.

What we're going to be getting in the next couple of days is testimony from the commissioners of the various sports. They're being asked to respond to legislation that's being proposed, really severe legislation that would require that the first time a player is found to have an illegal substance, a steroid-like substance in his system, he will be suspended for a year, and then after that a lifetime suspension.

And they're talking about random mandatory testing for every player in professional sports. The commissioners will come from football, baseball, basketball, soccer, from the National Hockey League. It's going to be quite an all-star show of commissioners. We expect to see them squirm quite a bit. COSTELLO: I just find it kind of ironic that hockey is going to be present when there is no hockey season. And there may not be one next year either.

FRANKEN: No, there won't be. And what this really points out is that the commissioners in the various sports say the problem that they have with these policies that they tried to impose is their labor negotiations. And, of course, hockey was shut down because they had unsuccessful labor negotiations.

COSTELLO: Exactly. Bob Franken live from Washington this morning. Thank you.

We'll have much more news in a moment. You are watching DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's time now for a little "Business Buzz." The U.S. warns China about manipulating its currency. What does that mean for us?

Carrie Lee is here to explain it all.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: This is a very interesting story, a little complicated, but interesting nonetheless.

The U.S. says it may name China a manipulative trade partner if it doesn't change its currency policies. Now, China uses exchange controls to artificially keep the value of its currency, the yuan, pegged to the U.S. dollar. This means the yuan is undervalued by up to 40 percent, some experts say.

And what this means for U.S. companies is the price of goods from China is much cheaper than what U.S. companies can charge. So, an adjustment would mean prices for U.S. goods would more competitive with China's overseas. We can raise prices. This puts a crimp on our manufacturers.

Two big areas of dispute are textiles and electronics. China says for its part, it does want to float the yuan, but slowly and steadily. China also says it will not bow to pressure from the U.S. on this issue.

So, rather interesting. Nonetheless, the warning did provide a boost for the markets yesterday. The Dow shot higher when news of this warning came out late afternoon. The Dow ended the session higher by 79 points, building on Monday's gains. Futures, though, are looking a little bit weak for today's session.

Hewlett-Packard was a nice mover last night, up over 4 percent.

COSTELLO: Wow!

LEE: First quarter with new CEO Mark Hurd. Of course, Carly Fiorina left the company earlier this year. They did a little better than Wall Street was expecting. So, we'll see what happens today.

COSTELLO: We will. Thank you, Carrie.

LEE: OK.

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:41 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Police in Idaho want to find 33-year-old Robert Roy Lutner. He's being called a person of interest in the disappearance of two children from a house where three people were killed.

In money news, if you're looking at a rental car for your summer vacation, be prepared to pay more. Online travel booking site Expedia reports auto rental prices are up 12 percent from a year ago.

In culture, it's a phrase and a song that hit it bit. Tim McGraw's "Live Like You Were Dying" won the Country Music Awards top single and song honors last night.

And in sports, the Detroit Pistons have a three games to two lead over the Indiana Pacers in that Eastern Conference semifinal series. Ben Wallace, he with the big hair, had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks at last night's 86-67 rout.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Still to come on DAYBREAK, the original blond bombshell. Now, you could own a piece of her personal history. Oh, we have some incredible items to show you.

But first, it's time to say happy birthday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: In entertainment headlines for you this morning, are you a fan of The Who? Well, you'll have to shell out 1,500 bucks apiece or up to $30,000 a table for this year's only performance in the United States from the legendary rock band. But it's all for a good cause. Their concert in New York will benefit children's charities.

Actor Warren Beatty is suing for rights to "Dick Tracy." Beatty wants to make a new movie featuring the comic book detective. But Tribune Media, which claims control over Tracy's character, is blocking his efforts.

It seems just about everybody really did love Raymond. About 33 million viewers tuned in for Monday's final episode of the hit CBS sitcom, and another 24-and-a-half mourners watched the series' retrospective.

You can get more entertainment news every night on "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." That's at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on Headline News.

Bidding is almost open on some interesting pieces of Hollywood history. Fascinating, I should say. What we're talking about are items that once belonged to Marilyn Monroe. From letters and pictures to garters and stockings, more than 200 items from her estate go on sale next month.

Joining me to talk about this lot is Darren Julien, whose company is running the Monroe bidding.

Welcome.

DARREN JULIEN, PRESIDENT, JULIEN AUCTIONS: Good morning.

COSTELLO: And you have some fascinating -- I'm just a Marilyn Monroe freak, so this is very exciting to me. Let's start with her dress.

JULIEN: Sure. This is one of four prototype dresses that was made for the film "Let's Make Love." And what's interesting about the dress is there's a photograph of her wearing the dress with co-star Yves Montand. And there's a stain that's on the dress, and that very stain matches up perfectly with this stain.

COSTELLO: Oh, isn't that something.

JULIEN: So...

COSTELLO: I don't know if we can see it. Do we have -- there. OK, we're seeing the picture, and you can see the stain right here.

JULIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: Right? And the stain is on the dress. So that perhaps is the very same dress that she wore in this picture.

JULIEN: It's the exact same dress, absolutely. So there is a lot of history behind this dress. We may not ever know what it is, but a lot of history.

COSTELLO: Can you hold up the dress so that we can see more of it?

JULIEN: Sure, yes.

COSTELLO: And tell us what size it is, because we've always heard Marilyn Monroe was, like, a size 12.

JULIEN: Yes. Marilyn fluctuated between a size 6 and a size 10 throughout her life. So...

COSTELLO: That looks like a very tiny dress.

JULIEN: It's a very small dress. I mean, the majority of her career she was a size 6-7, around that. So...

COSTELLO: And I would think that sizes were smaller back then than they are now.

JULIEN: They definitely were.

COSTELLO: A size 6 wouldn't be the same as a size 6 back then.

JULIEN: No, that's correct. And I think where the myth of the size 12 comes from is that we have some of her dresses that say size 12, but they're in reality size 9 or size 10.

COSTELLO: Gotcha. So, she was tiny. What, about 117 pounds?

JULIEN: Yes, when she died she was about 117 pounds, and she was 5 foot 5-and-a-half.

COSTELLO: Wow! OK. Let's move on to the hair salon.

JULIEN: Yes. This is an interesting piece. This is a hair salon note that was from her beautician. And what's interesting about the note is she describes -- her beautician describes how to color her hair blond and the process and, you know, the roots and what exactly to do. So, it's a formula to make her hair blond.

COSTELLO: Let's put this -- I don't know if people can really see the writing, but she wrote kind of slanted backwards in cursive.

JULIEN: Yes, yes. Yes, this was actually her hair salon stylist that wrote it.

COSTELLO: OK.

JULIEN: And she addressed the letter to Ms. Monroe. And it's just making sure as she traveled that others would know how to make sure that her hair stayed the same color.

COSTELLO: And it was a difficult process, too. It was not easy to keep her hair that color of blond.

JULIEN: Exactly, exactly.

COSTELLO: OK. To her divorce papers.

JULIEN: Yes, this is a divorce paper between her and Joe DiMaggio. The divorce was finalized on October 31 in 1955. And it shows that Marilyn was the plaintiff and Joe was the defendant.

COSTELLO: OK. And we're going to hold this up.

JULIEN: Sure.

COSTELLO: Which camera are we on here? This one over here? There you go. I don't know if you can see it, but that's pretty cool. It says, attorney for the plaintiff, it has her address I would assume.

JULIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: Right?

JULIEN: Yes, yes. And it refers to her as Norma Jean DiMaggio.

COSTELLO: Yes. Norma Jean DiMaggio, that's something.

OK. Let's move on to her will.

JULIEN: And this is another interesting piece. This is her last will and testament. It's a copy of it, one of the original copies. And what's great about it is, you know, Marilyn, as a child, was abandoned by her mother and didn't really have a relationship with her mother, who was Gladys Baker. And she was in an institution. And Marilyn in her will makes sure that until her death that she has everything, all of her expenses and everything covered. And her mother died in 1984 in a mental institution in Florida.

COSTELLO: Wow!

JULIEN: So, you know, it kind of shows a side of Marilyn that here is somebody that abandoned her, and she still wanted to make sure she was taken care of.

COSTELLO: Awesome. OK. On to this artwork that she dedicated to none other than to JFK.

JULIEN: JFK. Now, what's interesting -- and Marilyn was known for doing watercolors. We also have some of her watercolors in the sale. But this is of a red rose that she painted. And...

COSTELLO: Put it straight up.

JULIEN: Sure. And at the bottom, she inscribes it to President Kennedy for his birthday. Now, there's a lot of mystery behind this painting, because why she didn't give it to him for his birthday -- his birthday was actually in May. Hers was June 1, 1962. And there was a lot of turmoil at that time between their relationship. So, she didn't give it to him. We don't know why. But then, she inscribed it to herself on her birthday, almost like, you know, wishing herself a happy birthday.

COSTELLO: Wow! Was that the same year she sang the famous "Happy Birthday" song to President Kennedy?

JULIEN: It was the same year, absolutely, yes.

COSTELLO: Oh, that's fascinating.

JULIEN: And so she dates it June 1, 1962 on the second signature, which is her birthday.

COSTELLO: OK. Quickly, tell people if they're interested in bidding on these items what they can do.

JULIEN: Yes, go to juliensauctions.com. The auction is live in Los Angeles on June 4 at Barclay Butera in Los Angeles. And the highlights are on display through this Friday at Planet Hollywood in Times Square.

COSTELLO: Thank you so much for coming in.

JULIEN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Fascinating.

We'll be getting more details on that Idaho Amber Alert in the next hour on "AMERICAN MORNING." So it's time to check in with Bill Hemmer to see what's up.

Good morning -- Bill.

BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.

Live in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, that's the town in the northern part of the state. The latest now on the search for those two missing children. We'll also talk to the county sheriff, Carol, about this so-called person of interest, said to be a man, aged 33, perhaps was at the home over the weekend, maybe on Sunday night. And we'll also talk about any new leads in that triple homicide investigation there.

Also, Carol, this alarming number of 3 and 4-year-olds being kicked out of preschool -- 3 and 4 year olds being kicked out of preschool. We'll talk with a child psychologist. He says he is not surprised at all, and he'll explain why as our program continues here about eight minutes away. See you at the top of the hour there. A very interesting study, too, and we'll try to get some answers for you. See you then.

COSTELLO: We'll be there. Thank you, Bill.

HEMMER: All right. Bye-bye.

COSTELLO: It is time for Chad and the DAYBREAK coffee mug.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I hold in my hand the winner, Carnack (ph) the magnificent.

Here we go, Carol. Here are your questions from yesterday and the answers. When did prohibition end in the United States? That was 1933. And a school in what state punished a student for hugging her boyfriend? And that was Oregon.

And the winner, Alice Kinells from Bunell, Florida. Congratulations, Alice. You are the winner of today's DAYBREAK coffee mug.

Here are the questions now for today. These may not be quite so easy. The first one is a piece of cake, but the second one is not. Who will unveil a new design for the World Trade Center sites today in about five hours? Name the actor who portrays Anakin Skywalker.

Carol, CNN.com/daybreak.

COSTELLO: Those are easy questions.

MYERS: OK. Well, not for me, because I'm not a real big "Star Wars" fan.

COSTELLO: I know. You only like "American Idol," which (INAUDIBLE).

MYERS: And DAYBREAK.

COSTELLO: And DAYBREAK. CNN.com/daybreak if you want to participate. And you are watching DAYBREAK for a Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We've got a lot of people who are in airports this morning, so give us a travel update.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: "Now in the News."

Police in Idaho have identified a person of interest in the disappearance of two children. An Amber Alert was issued for the 9- year-old boy and 8-year-old girl after police found three people murdered in their home.

The fight over filibusters could reach the Senate floor today. Majority Leader Bill Frist has warned that he'll change the filibuster rules if Democrats try to stall votes on some of President Bush's judicial nominees.

And for the first time in three decades, an incumbent mayor has lost in Los Angeles. In a battle of Democrats, city councilman Antonio Villaraigosa has defeated incumbent James Hahn by a pretty wide margin, too.

Weapons in space? According to this morning's "New York Times," the Air Force wants President Bush to approve a special order. It would move the U.S. closer to deploying space weapons to protect the country.

And North and South Korea have agreed to hold at least one more day of talks; this, after South Korea failed to convinced the north to rejoin six-nation negotiations on its nuclear ambitions.

From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

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