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Person of Interest Sought in Idaho Triple Homicide; Grenade Posed Real Threat to Bush
Aired May 18, 2005 - 08:00 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.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: New information this morning on the grenade found last week during the president's speech in Georgia. Was it more dangerous than anybody thought?
A desperate search for one man and two missing children after three people are killed in Idaho. We'll take you live to Coeur d'Alene for the latest developments there.
And a showdown beginning today between Republicans and Democrats over Senate filibuster rules.
And, from breakfast cereal to candy to cell phones, nothing sells like a winner. Which is why Madison Avenue is serving up "Star Wars" everywhere on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody.
8:00 here in New York.
Good to have you along with us today.
In a moment here, a startling scenario laid out in a new book -- blowing up the Saudi Arabian oil fields. We'll talk to the author, who says that plan was crafted by the kingdom itself. We'll get to it in a moment here.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Cafferty has got a sneak peak at "The File" this morning -- hello.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Coming up in "The Cafferty File," Wednesday, time for "Things People Say."
A very big Democrat says Democrats ought to stop being wusses.
We have a reflection on the bladders of the rich and famous.
And California residents make a startling discovery about Arnold
Schwarzenegger.
HEMMER: That's enticing. CAFFERTY: Startling.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it is.
HEMMER: Thanks.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
Let's get right to the headlines with Carol Costello -- good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi being blamed for a new wave of car bombings in Iraq. A senior U.S. military official says intelligence reports indicate Zarqawi has stressed the use of car bombings to his supporters.
In the meantime, there's word of a new car bombing in the central Iraqi city of Ba'qubah. The attack wounded more than a dozen people, including Iraqi police officers.
Israel targeting a group of Hamas militants in Gaza. One Hamas member injured in the strike. The move from Israel apparently in response to a mortar attack. It's the first such strike from Israel since a cease-fire was declared back in February.
Lawmakers are poised to introduce a tougher set of laws for sex offenders. The proposal would make it a federal crime to -- for the commission of -- a federal crime to commit a sex act over the Internet. OK, let me say that better -- a federal crime if, over the Internet, you prey on children. It would also require convicted sex offenders to wear tracking devices. John Walsh, the host of "America's Most Wanted," is helping introduce the bill on Capitol Hill. That will happen less than three hours from now.
The fight over filibusters could reach the Senate floor as early as this week. The focus will first be on Priscilla Owen. Her nomination for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is set for a debate today. If Democrats try to stall Owen's nomination, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist plans to call for a vote on banning judicial filibusters, a move dubbed "the nuclear option."
And one of the largest safety recalls ever from Toyota. The company says problems with the front suspension could block steering. More than 750,000 pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles are affected. There have been no injuries associated with the problems, but you can hear people dialing the phones now, actually punching the buttons to call their Toyota dealership.
HEMMER: That's a heck of a number, three quarters of a million.
COSTELLO: That's a lot of cars.
HEMMER: Carol, thanks.
We want to get to Idaho right now, where police there are looking for a person of interest in connection with a triple homicide and the disappearance now of two children. The search and the investigation are centered in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, the northern part of the state.
Sean Callebs is there live this morning -- Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, behind me you can see a house. That's where the crime took place. What you can't see, police still ringing that home. And we're being kept a pretty far distance away this morning.
And dawn is just now breaking in northern Idaho. And authorities here hope this new day will bring some new developments in this case.
As Bill mentioned, they have identified what they are terming a person of interest. He's 33-year-old Robert Roy Lutner. Now, he is not being called a suspect at this time, apparently someone who was at the house before the crimes took place.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CALLEBS (voice-over): Investigators filed in and out of the modest home just off the interstate in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. They say two small children, ages eight and nine, are missing, and three others were found in the home murdered.
The dead, 40-year-old Brenda Groene; her 13-year-old son Slade; and Groene's apparent boyfriend, Mark McKenzie. Authorities say it is a two pronged investigation -- find out who killed the three and why. And, secondly, using the FBI, a nationwide amber alert and a tip line, to find 9-year-old Dylan Groene. He's four feet tall, 60 pounds, a blond crew cut and blue eyes. And his 8-year-old sister Shasta. She's 3'10," 40 pounds, long auburn hair and hazel eyes.
The search has now moved into its third day.
CAPT. BEN WOLFINGER, KOOTENAI COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: We know the times of the outset. So that's why as soon as we learned about the missing children, we got as much information out to the media as soon as possible and into the amber alert system.
CALLEBS: The Kootenai County Sheriff's office says the children's biological father is emotionally devastated and not considered a suspect.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
CALLEBS: The amber alert still up. Simply driving here, we saw a couple of signs on the interstate pointing -- trying to find some information about those missing children.
A little bit more about this person of interest, 33-year-old Robert Roy Lutner. He is from Hayden, Idaho and sheriff's officers say that he apparently is driving an old pickup truck, either a 1975 silver Ford truck or a 1990 Toyota pickup -- Bill.
HEMMER: Sean Callebs reporting from Coeur d'Alene in Idaho -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: There are new developments about the grenade that was found near President Bush last week.
Let's get right to Ed Henry.
He's at the White House this morning -- Ed, good morning to you.
Give us a sense now about what's being concluded about how dangerous that situation was for the president.
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Soledad.
The Georgian Interior Ministry is now confirming to CNN that, in fact, a grenade found near the stage where the president was speaking earlier this month could have exploded. It was capable of exploding. And, in fact, an FBI agent on the ground in Georgia is telling the Associated Press this morning that this was not a dummy grenade. It could have blown up, could have threatened the lives of President Bush and other officials there in Georgia earlier this month.
This completely contradicts initial reports from Georgian officials, who had insisted the grenade was an interactive Soviet era device, that it could not have posed a threat to President Bush.
This is a story that from the get go has had many twist and turns, international mystery, and there's even more intrigue this morning, in fact. I just got off the phone with a spokeswoman for the Secret Service who told me that she could not confirm these reports now coming from Georgia, that, in fact, this is an ongoing investigation from the U.S. Secret Service. They're looking into these new reports. But, again, it's still an ongoing investigation here.
This incident occurred back on May 10, when President Bush wrapped up a five day, four nation tour marking the end of World War 2 in Europe. The president spoke to a crowd that, by some estimates, reached about 200,000 people in Freedom Square, which is the site of the 2003 Rose Revolution.
Now, the Georgian Interior Ministry is now telling CNN that this grenade was, in fact, tossed into the crowd, reached somewhere within 100 to 200 feet of the stage where President Bush was speaking. But it's important to note that at the time, that stage had some bulletproof glass around the president, so it's still unclear, even though it could have exploded, what kind of threat it could have posed to the president -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes, one of those cases where more questions the more details come out, right?
HENRY: That's right.
O'BRIEN: Ed Henry for us at the White House.
Ed, thanks a lot -- Bill.
HEMMER: Also from Washington, it became heated over this U.N. Oil For Food investigation. A member of the British parliament started blasting a Senate committee and denied that he had any role in the scandal. But the story does not end there, not by a long shot.
More now from Richard Roth this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): British parliament member George Galloway stood accused of being rewarded by Saddam Hussein with rights to 20 million barrels of oil for opposing economic sanctions. But right from the start, the fiery Galloway went on the attack.
GEORGE GALLOWAY, BRITISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER: I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought one, sold one. And neither has anybody on my behalf. For a lawyer, you're remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice.
ROTH: Usually, witnesses before a congressional committee show deference. Not the anti-war activist who vowed to appear with both barrels blazing.
GALLOWAY: Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong. And 100,000 people have paid with their lives -- 1,600 of them American soldiers, sent to their deaths on a pack of lies.
ROTH: The bipartisan committee report said Galloway funneled oil allocations through two companies and a charity named after a 4-year- old girl suffering from leukemia.
GALLOWAY: Who paid me hundreds of thousands of dollars of money? The answer to that is nobody. And if you had anybody who ever paid me a penny, you would have produced them here today.
ROTH: Later, Senator Coleman said it wasn't a wrestling match, but important to get on the record.
SEN. NORM COLEMAN (R), MINNESOTA: I think that Mr. Galloway's credibility is certainly very, very suspect. And, in fact, he lied to this committee, then there will have to be consequences to that.
ROTH (on camera): Galloway praised Kofi Annan and U.N. efforts to stop the war in Iraq. He can heap scorn on this Senate panel, but a United Nations approved investigation into Oil For Food and connections between Saddam Hussein and businesses and politicians is anticipated this summer. Galloway says he has nothing to fear.
Richard Roth, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE) HEMMER: And the U.N.'s Oil For Food Program ran for about seven years, 1996 to 2003. It generated revenues of $64 billion -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Almost 10 minutes after the hour.
Let's get right to Chad with a look at the weather this morning -- Chad, first there was the hurricane report, now already a tropical storm to talk about, right?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. Yes, exactly.
Yesterday's tropical report was about the Atlantic. And this storm is in the Pacific. But go figure. Just call it yo, Adrian.
Tropical storm Adrian here. Now, if it was in the Atlantic Ocean, over here, it would be Arlene. It's not. It's a Pacific storm. Typically, they go to the west. This one is moving to the east. And, in fact, it's even gaining strength. The latest advisory at 8:00 has it up to 50 miles per hour. It's going to cross the big mountain range here in El Salvador and Honduras and then move into the Caribbean. We'll see what happens there. But there you see the winds now up to 50 miles per hour. Two hours ago, that was 45. Still gaining some strength.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: "Secret of the Kingdom," a new book revealing how far the Saudis might be willing to go to keep their own oil out of their enemy hands. The author tells us why in a moment here.
O'BRIEN: Also, one of the most common food allergies in the United States is on the rise. Dr. Sanjay Gupta alerts us to this potentially deadly condition.
HEMMER: And Darth Vader the ultimate pitch man. Yes, he is. The overwhelming power of the "Star Wars" marketing force, still to come this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Explosive charges in a new book by the best-selling author Gerald Posner. He says the Saudi royal kingdom has a scorched earth plan to cripple its oil production in the event of an invasion or a coup. The book is called "Secrets of the Kingdom: The Inside Story of the Saudi-U.S. Connection."
And the author, Gerald Posner, is with me here in New York.
Good morning.
GERALD POSNER, "SECRETS OF THE KINGDOM": Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: And welcome back.
Part of your reporting says this in the book, that the U.S. intercepted these conversations within the Saudi government after the Gulf War saying the country's oil infrastructure could be rigged with explosives and controlled from a central location.
What are you implying?
POSNER: Well, what I'm saying is that today in Saudi there is, according to the NSA files, a self-destruction grid that's nationwide that covers everything from oil platforms to drilling areas to oil wells to pipelines to underground storage facilities mined with a combination of conventional explosives, plastique explosives -- Semtex, and also some radiological dispersal devices, what we call dirty bombs.
The idea from the Saudis -- it has fail safes built in, but if they go down, they're going to take their toys with them and affect the West.
One third...
HEMMER: Why would they do that? And make sense of it, then.
POSNER: The -- because, I think, two things. First of all, this is really an implied threat to the West. What's driven this was their fear after the shah of Iran fell in 1979 that he was one of the great allies to the West and the Americans could then go without even putting up a fight, without raising a ruckus, and that the Americans would do the same thing to them. They've never felt we were a trusted military ally.
So what they've said to us behind-the-scenes -- we now know about this for the first time in the public, but the U.S. governments have known about this for administrations, several.
HEMMER: You mention these intercepted messages, though.
Is there more proof than just this about what you're claiming and writing in your book?
POSNER: The proof is only based upon the words of the Saudi officials who have been intercepted by U.S. intelligence. Now, here's the key question. These officials, did they know that they were being monitored by Israeli and American intelligence? Did they puff this up so it looks like more of a self-destruction system than it really is? Or is it in place exactly as described, which would cause economic havoc in the West?
The only way to determine that, Bill, is to get international inspectors in to some of the sites. As you know, I specifically...
HEMMER: So you're suggesting, then...
POSNER: (INAUDIBLE)...
HEMMER: You're suggesting, then, that that is a possibility, that they were just blowing their own horn? POSNER: Possible. But there are specifics in here, as you know, that I lay out. For instance, Abqaiq is the biggest oil processing plant in the world.
HEMMER: Where's Abqaiq?
POSNER: It's the biggest oil processing field in the world.
HEMMER: Where is it?
POSNER: In Saudi Arabia. And it produces -- if it was taken offline tomorrow, we lose about a quarter of our imported oil. They have 10 enormous cylinders there that are multi-story cylinders. Three of them are wired with conventional explosives and radiological dispersal devices.
This isn't a matter of making a general charge. I'm giving the specifics of what part of the grid are wired. And therefore I think this is easy to verify one way or the other.
HEMMER: Is this oil field Jetta? Is it Riyadh? Where is it in Saudi Arabia?
POSNER: It literally stretches across the country. Shubai (ph), one of the biggest natural oil/gas producers is rigged. The 350-mile pipeline that carries oil to the Red Sea is mined. The big containers that are two football fields wide and seven stories tall that hold 30 million gallons of oil along the Red Sea coast are all mined. And the biggest oil platform in the world, Rostenuer (ph), platform number four, which nobody can even get close to all the time, is mined with conventional explosives.
HEMMER: Hypothetical. If al Qaeda were to overrun the royal family, if a Taliban type government came into play here, what would the U.S. position be, do you believe?
POSNER: Bill, you just hit the nail on the head. Right now, the president can hold hands with the crown prince and everything is fine because we think the Saudis are too sane to pull the trigger on this self-destruct system. But if a Taliban type government, an al Qaeda takes over in an insurrection and they, then, hold the keys to this self-destruction system, they could blackmail the West day in and day out.
That's the real fear of why this system has to be dismantled, to the extent that it exists.
HEMMER: Well, it is an intriguing idea.
Gerald Posner shares that in his new book, called "Secret of the Kingdom."
Good to talk to you, as always.
POSNER: Bill, great to talk to you.
HEMMER: If nothing else, you certainly raise our interest level on a number of items out of Saudi Arabia.
Thank you, Gerald.
POSNER: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: Sure -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: In just a couple of hours, real estate mogul Donald Trump will unveil his vision for the World Trade Center site. Last night, Trump was candid with Larry King about what he thinks of the proposed Freedom Tower.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE")
DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE ENTREPRENEUR: I hate what they're doing with the World Trade Center site.
LARRY KING, HOST: Because? What are they doing?
TRUMP: It's designed by an egghead architect, a guy who really, I mean give me a break. 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.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Trump is backing a plan that would replicate the original Twin Towers, but fortify them -- Bill.
HEMMER: That could be a debate that continues for years, Soledad.
In a moment here, an alarming number of 3 and 4 year olds kicked out of pre-school. Does the punishment fit the crime? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HEMMER: All right, here's Jack, the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Thanks, Bill.
The Air Force wants President Bush to OK a weapons program in space. The "New York Times" reporting the proposed national security directive would represent a big shift in policy away from the 1996 Clinton policy that emphasized using space for peaceful purposes. The new initiative would require the Pentagon to come up with more weapons, more space satellites, new ways of doing battle, and, of course, hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars.
The question is this, how important is it for the United States to have a weapons program in space?
Joanne in Knoxville, Tennessee writes: "Jack, the economy isn't bad enough, I guess. We have to waste more money on defending what doesn't belong to us in the first place -- the sky."
J.R. in California: "I'm not convinced the holy warriors who have taken the place of the Soviet Union at the top of our enemies list will be affected one iota by a space-based weapons system. We'd be better off spending that money on the ground, bolstering homeland security and better compensating and arming our troops."
Nathan in New Jersey: "In the wake of continuing nuclear proliferation, a space weapons program may be of absolute importance for national defense, maybe not now, but 10 or 20 years from now. Therefore, we should get started as soon as possible. I must say, however, I shudder at the thought of the cost."
And John in Wisconsin writes: "If we'd had space weapons in place, we might have prevented Michael Jackson from coming to our planet."
O'BRIEN: Has anyone put a number on it? I mean is there like a cost being batted about?
CAFFERTY: No. No.
O'BRIEN: Billions and billions?
CAFFERTY: Hundreds of billions.
O'BRIEN: Ooh.
HEMMER: And they're not quite sure even this, what, this land- based initiative that they're firing off in the Pacific even works at this point.
O'BRIEN: And the human intel, which seems to be another huge problem, you know, bringing it down just a few kilometers.
HEMMER: Yes. And, still, there's a part of me that thinks, you know, technology, once it takes root, it's just a question of time before it's developed. We'll see. If you've got the cash.
Jay Leno taking a crack at "HEADLINE NEWS." Apparently, he was watching "CNN HEADLINE NEWS." Condoleezza Rice came on. His interpretation was a bit different than our own interpretation.
Here's Leno from last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO," COURTESY NBC)
JAY LENO, HOST: Remember last week President Bush was holding hands with the Saudi prince? Remember them holding hands? Well, you should see what Condoleezza Rice did. Did you see her when she was in Iraq? I mean she took it even one step further. The sacrifice this woman made for her country. Take a look. You see (INAUDIBLE). Yes, like this. Yes. This is lovely. She married him. Yes. Exactly. It's just right there, right there on "CNN HEADLINE NEWS." You see? It was right there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: With the ticker.
Thanks, Jack.
O'BRIEN: Well, for you, the peanut might be a little tasty snack. But many folks, of course, are allergic, and, in fact, it can be deadly. It's on the rise. We're paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta for what you need to know ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Some good sunshine here.
8:30 in the morning in New York.
Good morning to you.
In a moment here, some alarming numbers about kids in pre-school.
O'BRIEN: Little kids. I mean these are kids who are 3 and 4 and sometimes 5 years old. It turns out they are three times as likely to be expelled as kids in all other grades, from pre-school. And pretty shocking numbers. We're going to talk to a psycho -- a child psychologist to find out why.
HEMMER: Why, indeed? You've got a few running around at home. But they are so well behaved.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: Across-the-board, every night and every day.
O'BRIEN: No one has been expelled yet. I will go that far to say, but you know...
HEMMER: Still pending.
O'BRIEN: Right. It can always be pending.
HEMMER: Here are the headlines now with Carol Costello -- good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: I know. She may look sweet but she's a tough mom, and that's a good thing.
Good morning, everyone. Now in the news, a search underway this hour for a person of interest in an Idaho triple slaying and abduction. An amber alert has been issued for 8-year-old Shasta and 9-year-old Dylan Groene. Their mother and older brother were among the victims found dead early Tuesday. Police now want to talk to 33-year-old Robert Roy Lutner. He's possibly driving a white or silver pickup truck. Police stress he is just a person of interest at this time.
The U.S. has two days to decide what to do with Luis Posada Carriles. He's a former CIA operative suspected of plotting to kill Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Agents from the Department of Homeland Security seized Posada in Miami, apparently on his way out of the country. He's also wanted in Venezuela for the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner. Posada denies any connection.
Better security for our nation's judges is the focus of a hearing on Capitol Hill. It's going on right now. Judge Joan Lefkow is expected to speak at the hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She'll ask lawmakers to provide better protection for judges, both in the courtroom and in their homes. Judge Lefkow's husband and mother were killed in Chicago earlier this year. This will be the first time she speaks publicly about the murders.
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Aired May 18, 2005 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: New information this morning on the grenade found last week during the president's speech in Georgia. Was it more dangerous than anybody thought?
A desperate search for one man and two missing children after three people are killed in Idaho. We'll take you live to Coeur d'Alene for the latest developments there.
And a showdown beginning today between Republicans and Democrats over Senate filibuster rules.
And, from breakfast cereal to candy to cell phones, nothing sells like a winner. Which is why Madison Avenue is serving up "Star Wars" everywhere on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Bill Hemmer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody.
8:00 here in New York.
Good to have you along with us today.
In a moment here, a startling scenario laid out in a new book -- blowing up the Saudi Arabian oil fields. We'll talk to the author, who says that plan was crafted by the kingdom itself. We'll get to it in a moment here.
O'BRIEN: Mr. Cafferty has got a sneak peak at "The File" this morning -- hello.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Coming up in "The Cafferty File," Wednesday, time for "Things People Say."
A very big Democrat says Democrats ought to stop being wusses.
We have a reflection on the bladders of the rich and famous.
And California residents make a startling discovery about Arnold
Schwarzenegger.
HEMMER: That's enticing. CAFFERTY: Startling.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it is.
HEMMER: Thanks.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
Let's get right to the headlines with Carol Costello -- good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi being blamed for a new wave of car bombings in Iraq. A senior U.S. military official says intelligence reports indicate Zarqawi has stressed the use of car bombings to his supporters.
In the meantime, there's word of a new car bombing in the central Iraqi city of Ba'qubah. The attack wounded more than a dozen people, including Iraqi police officers.
Israel targeting a group of Hamas militants in Gaza. One Hamas member injured in the strike. The move from Israel apparently in response to a mortar attack. It's the first such strike from Israel since a cease-fire was declared back in February.
Lawmakers are poised to introduce a tougher set of laws for sex offenders. The proposal would make it a federal crime to -- for the commission of -- a federal crime to commit a sex act over the Internet. OK, let me say that better -- a federal crime if, over the Internet, you prey on children. It would also require convicted sex offenders to wear tracking devices. John Walsh, the host of "America's Most Wanted," is helping introduce the bill on Capitol Hill. That will happen less than three hours from now.
The fight over filibusters could reach the Senate floor as early as this week. The focus will first be on Priscilla Owen. Her nomination for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals is set for a debate today. If Democrats try to stall Owen's nomination, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist plans to call for a vote on banning judicial filibusters, a move dubbed "the nuclear option."
And one of the largest safety recalls ever from Toyota. The company says problems with the front suspension could block steering. More than 750,000 pickup trucks and sports utility vehicles are affected. There have been no injuries associated with the problems, but you can hear people dialing the phones now, actually punching the buttons to call their Toyota dealership.
HEMMER: That's a heck of a number, three quarters of a million.
COSTELLO: That's a lot of cars.
HEMMER: Carol, thanks.
We want to get to Idaho right now, where police there are looking for a person of interest in connection with a triple homicide and the disappearance now of two children. The search and the investigation are centered in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, the northern part of the state.
Sean Callebs is there live this morning -- Sean.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Bill, behind me you can see a house. That's where the crime took place. What you can't see, police still ringing that home. And we're being kept a pretty far distance away this morning.
And dawn is just now breaking in northern Idaho. And authorities here hope this new day will bring some new developments in this case.
As Bill mentioned, they have identified what they are terming a person of interest. He's 33-year-old Robert Roy Lutner. Now, he is not being called a suspect at this time, apparently someone who was at the house before the crimes took place.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
CALLEBS (voice-over): Investigators filed in and out of the modest home just off the interstate in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. They say two small children, ages eight and nine, are missing, and three others were found in the home murdered.
The dead, 40-year-old Brenda Groene; her 13-year-old son Slade; and Groene's apparent boyfriend, Mark McKenzie. Authorities say it is a two pronged investigation -- find out who killed the three and why. And, secondly, using the FBI, a nationwide amber alert and a tip line, to find 9-year-old Dylan Groene. He's four feet tall, 60 pounds, a blond crew cut and blue eyes. And his 8-year-old sister Shasta. She's 3'10," 40 pounds, long auburn hair and hazel eyes.
The search has now moved into its third day.
CAPT. BEN WOLFINGER, KOOTENAI COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: We know the times of the outset. So that's why as soon as we learned about the missing children, we got as much information out to the media as soon as possible and into the amber alert system.
CALLEBS: The Kootenai County Sheriff's office says the children's biological father is emotionally devastated and not considered a suspect.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
CALLEBS: The amber alert still up. Simply driving here, we saw a couple of signs on the interstate pointing -- trying to find some information about those missing children.
A little bit more about this person of interest, 33-year-old Robert Roy Lutner. He is from Hayden, Idaho and sheriff's officers say that he apparently is driving an old pickup truck, either a 1975 silver Ford truck or a 1990 Toyota pickup -- Bill.
HEMMER: Sean Callebs reporting from Coeur d'Alene in Idaho -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: There are new developments about the grenade that was found near President Bush last week.
Let's get right to Ed Henry.
He's at the White House this morning -- Ed, good morning to you.
Give us a sense now about what's being concluded about how dangerous that situation was for the president.
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Soledad.
The Georgian Interior Ministry is now confirming to CNN that, in fact, a grenade found near the stage where the president was speaking earlier this month could have exploded. It was capable of exploding. And, in fact, an FBI agent on the ground in Georgia is telling the Associated Press this morning that this was not a dummy grenade. It could have blown up, could have threatened the lives of President Bush and other officials there in Georgia earlier this month.
This completely contradicts initial reports from Georgian officials, who had insisted the grenade was an interactive Soviet era device, that it could not have posed a threat to President Bush.
This is a story that from the get go has had many twist and turns, international mystery, and there's even more intrigue this morning, in fact. I just got off the phone with a spokeswoman for the Secret Service who told me that she could not confirm these reports now coming from Georgia, that, in fact, this is an ongoing investigation from the U.S. Secret Service. They're looking into these new reports. But, again, it's still an ongoing investigation here.
This incident occurred back on May 10, when President Bush wrapped up a five day, four nation tour marking the end of World War 2 in Europe. The president spoke to a crowd that, by some estimates, reached about 200,000 people in Freedom Square, which is the site of the 2003 Rose Revolution.
Now, the Georgian Interior Ministry is now telling CNN that this grenade was, in fact, tossed into the crowd, reached somewhere within 100 to 200 feet of the stage where President Bush was speaking. But it's important to note that at the time, that stage had some bulletproof glass around the president, so it's still unclear, even though it could have exploded, what kind of threat it could have posed to the president -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Yes, one of those cases where more questions the more details come out, right?
HENRY: That's right.
O'BRIEN: Ed Henry for us at the White House.
Ed, thanks a lot -- Bill.
HEMMER: Also from Washington, it became heated over this U.N. Oil For Food investigation. A member of the British parliament started blasting a Senate committee and denied that he had any role in the scandal. But the story does not end there, not by a long shot.
More now from Richard Roth this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): British parliament member George Galloway stood accused of being rewarded by Saddam Hussein with rights to 20 million barrels of oil for opposing economic sanctions. But right from the start, the fiery Galloway went on the attack.
GEORGE GALLOWAY, BRITISH PARLIAMENT MEMBER: I have never seen a barrel of oil, owned one, bought one, sold one. And neither has anybody on my behalf. For a lawyer, you're remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice.
ROTH: Usually, witnesses before a congressional committee show deference. Not the anti-war activist who vowed to appear with both barrels blazing.
GALLOWAY: Senator, in everything I said about Iraq, I turned out to be right and you turned out to be wrong. And 100,000 people have paid with their lives -- 1,600 of them American soldiers, sent to their deaths on a pack of lies.
ROTH: The bipartisan committee report said Galloway funneled oil allocations through two companies and a charity named after a 4-year- old girl suffering from leukemia.
GALLOWAY: Who paid me hundreds of thousands of dollars of money? The answer to that is nobody. And if you had anybody who ever paid me a penny, you would have produced them here today.
ROTH: Later, Senator Coleman said it wasn't a wrestling match, but important to get on the record.
SEN. NORM COLEMAN (R), MINNESOTA: I think that Mr. Galloway's credibility is certainly very, very suspect. And, in fact, he lied to this committee, then there will have to be consequences to that.
ROTH (on camera): Galloway praised Kofi Annan and U.N. efforts to stop the war in Iraq. He can heap scorn on this Senate panel, but a United Nations approved investigation into Oil For Food and connections between Saddam Hussein and businesses and politicians is anticipated this summer. Galloway says he has nothing to fear.
Richard Roth, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE) HEMMER: And the U.N.'s Oil For Food Program ran for about seven years, 1996 to 2003. It generated revenues of $64 billion -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Almost 10 minutes after the hour.
Let's get right to Chad with a look at the weather this morning -- Chad, first there was the hurricane report, now already a tropical storm to talk about, right?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. Yes, exactly.
Yesterday's tropical report was about the Atlantic. And this storm is in the Pacific. But go figure. Just call it yo, Adrian.
Tropical storm Adrian here. Now, if it was in the Atlantic Ocean, over here, it would be Arlene. It's not. It's a Pacific storm. Typically, they go to the west. This one is moving to the east. And, in fact, it's even gaining strength. The latest advisory at 8:00 has it up to 50 miles per hour. It's going to cross the big mountain range here in El Salvador and Honduras and then move into the Caribbean. We'll see what happens there. But there you see the winds now up to 50 miles per hour. Two hours ago, that was 45. Still gaining some strength.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: "Secret of the Kingdom," a new book revealing how far the Saudis might be willing to go to keep their own oil out of their enemy hands. The author tells us why in a moment here.
O'BRIEN: Also, one of the most common food allergies in the United States is on the rise. Dr. Sanjay Gupta alerts us to this potentially deadly condition.
HEMMER: And Darth Vader the ultimate pitch man. Yes, he is. The overwhelming power of the "Star Wars" marketing force, still to come this hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Explosive charges in a new book by the best-selling author Gerald Posner. He says the Saudi royal kingdom has a scorched earth plan to cripple its oil production in the event of an invasion or a coup. The book is called "Secrets of the Kingdom: The Inside Story of the Saudi-U.S. Connection."
And the author, Gerald Posner, is with me here in New York.
Good morning.
GERALD POSNER, "SECRETS OF THE KINGDOM": Good morning, Bill.
HEMMER: And welcome back.
Part of your reporting says this in the book, that the U.S. intercepted these conversations within the Saudi government after the Gulf War saying the country's oil infrastructure could be rigged with explosives and controlled from a central location.
What are you implying?
POSNER: Well, what I'm saying is that today in Saudi there is, according to the NSA files, a self-destruction grid that's nationwide that covers everything from oil platforms to drilling areas to oil wells to pipelines to underground storage facilities mined with a combination of conventional explosives, plastique explosives -- Semtex, and also some radiological dispersal devices, what we call dirty bombs.
The idea from the Saudis -- it has fail safes built in, but if they go down, they're going to take their toys with them and affect the West.
One third...
HEMMER: Why would they do that? And make sense of it, then.
POSNER: The -- because, I think, two things. First of all, this is really an implied threat to the West. What's driven this was their fear after the shah of Iran fell in 1979 that he was one of the great allies to the West and the Americans could then go without even putting up a fight, without raising a ruckus, and that the Americans would do the same thing to them. They've never felt we were a trusted military ally.
So what they've said to us behind-the-scenes -- we now know about this for the first time in the public, but the U.S. governments have known about this for administrations, several.
HEMMER: You mention these intercepted messages, though.
Is there more proof than just this about what you're claiming and writing in your book?
POSNER: The proof is only based upon the words of the Saudi officials who have been intercepted by U.S. intelligence. Now, here's the key question. These officials, did they know that they were being monitored by Israeli and American intelligence? Did they puff this up so it looks like more of a self-destruction system than it really is? Or is it in place exactly as described, which would cause economic havoc in the West?
The only way to determine that, Bill, is to get international inspectors in to some of the sites. As you know, I specifically...
HEMMER: So you're suggesting, then...
POSNER: (INAUDIBLE)...
HEMMER: You're suggesting, then, that that is a possibility, that they were just blowing their own horn? POSNER: Possible. But there are specifics in here, as you know, that I lay out. For instance, Abqaiq is the biggest oil processing plant in the world.
HEMMER: Where's Abqaiq?
POSNER: It's the biggest oil processing field in the world.
HEMMER: Where is it?
POSNER: In Saudi Arabia. And it produces -- if it was taken offline tomorrow, we lose about a quarter of our imported oil. They have 10 enormous cylinders there that are multi-story cylinders. Three of them are wired with conventional explosives and radiological dispersal devices.
This isn't a matter of making a general charge. I'm giving the specifics of what part of the grid are wired. And therefore I think this is easy to verify one way or the other.
HEMMER: Is this oil field Jetta? Is it Riyadh? Where is it in Saudi Arabia?
POSNER: It literally stretches across the country. Shubai (ph), one of the biggest natural oil/gas producers is rigged. The 350-mile pipeline that carries oil to the Red Sea is mined. The big containers that are two football fields wide and seven stories tall that hold 30 million gallons of oil along the Red Sea coast are all mined. And the biggest oil platform in the world, Rostenuer (ph), platform number four, which nobody can even get close to all the time, is mined with conventional explosives.
HEMMER: Hypothetical. If al Qaeda were to overrun the royal family, if a Taliban type government came into play here, what would the U.S. position be, do you believe?
POSNER: Bill, you just hit the nail on the head. Right now, the president can hold hands with the crown prince and everything is fine because we think the Saudis are too sane to pull the trigger on this self-destruct system. But if a Taliban type government, an al Qaeda takes over in an insurrection and they, then, hold the keys to this self-destruction system, they could blackmail the West day in and day out.
That's the real fear of why this system has to be dismantled, to the extent that it exists.
HEMMER: Well, it is an intriguing idea.
Gerald Posner shares that in his new book, called "Secret of the Kingdom."
Good to talk to you, as always.
POSNER: Bill, great to talk to you.
HEMMER: If nothing else, you certainly raise our interest level on a number of items out of Saudi Arabia.
Thank you, Gerald.
POSNER: Thank you, Bill.
HEMMER: Sure -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: In just a couple of hours, real estate mogul Donald Trump will unveil his vision for the World Trade Center site. Last night, Trump was candid with Larry King about what he thinks of the proposed Freedom Tower.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN'S "LARRY KING LIVE")
DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE ENTREPRENEUR: I hate what they're doing with the World Trade Center site.
LARRY KING, HOST: Because? What are they doing?
TRUMP: It's designed by an egghead architect, a guy who really, I mean give me a break. 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.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Trump is backing a plan that would replicate the original Twin Towers, but fortify them -- Bill.
HEMMER: That could be a debate that continues for years, Soledad.
In a moment here, an alarming number of 3 and 4 year olds kicked out of pre-school. Does the punishment fit the crime? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HEMMER: All right, here's Jack, the Question of the Day.
CAFFERTY: Thanks, Bill.
The Air Force wants President Bush to OK a weapons program in space. The "New York Times" reporting the proposed national security directive would represent a big shift in policy away from the 1996 Clinton policy that emphasized using space for peaceful purposes. The new initiative would require the Pentagon to come up with more weapons, more space satellites, new ways of doing battle, and, of course, hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars.
The question is this, how important is it for the United States to have a weapons program in space?
Joanne in Knoxville, Tennessee writes: "Jack, the economy isn't bad enough, I guess. We have to waste more money on defending what doesn't belong to us in the first place -- the sky."
J.R. in California: "I'm not convinced the holy warriors who have taken the place of the Soviet Union at the top of our enemies list will be affected one iota by a space-based weapons system. We'd be better off spending that money on the ground, bolstering homeland security and better compensating and arming our troops."
Nathan in New Jersey: "In the wake of continuing nuclear proliferation, a space weapons program may be of absolute importance for national defense, maybe not now, but 10 or 20 years from now. Therefore, we should get started as soon as possible. I must say, however, I shudder at the thought of the cost."
And John in Wisconsin writes: "If we'd had space weapons in place, we might have prevented Michael Jackson from coming to our planet."
O'BRIEN: Has anyone put a number on it? I mean is there like a cost being batted about?
CAFFERTY: No. No.
O'BRIEN: Billions and billions?
CAFFERTY: Hundreds of billions.
O'BRIEN: Ooh.
HEMMER: And they're not quite sure even this, what, this land- based initiative that they're firing off in the Pacific even works at this point.
O'BRIEN: And the human intel, which seems to be another huge problem, you know, bringing it down just a few kilometers.
HEMMER: Yes. And, still, there's a part of me that thinks, you know, technology, once it takes root, it's just a question of time before it's developed. We'll see. If you've got the cash.
Jay Leno taking a crack at "HEADLINE NEWS." Apparently, he was watching "CNN HEADLINE NEWS." Condoleezza Rice came on. His interpretation was a bit different than our own interpretation.
Here's Leno from last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO," COURTESY NBC)
JAY LENO, HOST: Remember last week President Bush was holding hands with the Saudi prince? Remember them holding hands? Well, you should see what Condoleezza Rice did. Did you see her when she was in Iraq? I mean she took it even one step further. The sacrifice this woman made for her country. Take a look. You see (INAUDIBLE). Yes, like this. Yes. This is lovely. She married him. Yes. Exactly. It's just right there, right there on "CNN HEADLINE NEWS." You see? It was right there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: With the ticker.
Thanks, Jack.
O'BRIEN: Well, for you, the peanut might be a little tasty snack. But many folks, of course, are allergic, and, in fact, it can be deadly. It's on the rise. We're paging Dr. Sanjay Gupta for what you need to know ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Some good sunshine here.
8:30 in the morning in New York.
Good morning to you.
In a moment here, some alarming numbers about kids in pre-school.
O'BRIEN: Little kids. I mean these are kids who are 3 and 4 and sometimes 5 years old. It turns out they are three times as likely to be expelled as kids in all other grades, from pre-school. And pretty shocking numbers. We're going to talk to a psycho -- a child psychologist to find out why.
HEMMER: Why, indeed? You've got a few running around at home. But they are so well behaved.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
HEMMER: Across-the-board, every night and every day.
O'BRIEN: No one has been expelled yet. I will go that far to say, but you know...
HEMMER: Still pending.
O'BRIEN: Right. It can always be pending.
HEMMER: Here are the headlines now with Carol Costello -- good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: I know. She may look sweet but she's a tough mom, and that's a good thing.
Good morning, everyone. Now in the news, a search underway this hour for a person of interest in an Idaho triple slaying and abduction. An amber alert has been issued for 8-year-old Shasta and 9-year-old Dylan Groene. Their mother and older brother were among the victims found dead early Tuesday. Police now want to talk to 33-year-old Robert Roy Lutner. He's possibly driving a white or silver pickup truck. Police stress he is just a person of interest at this time.
The U.S. has two days to decide what to do with Luis Posada Carriles. He's a former CIA operative suspected of plotting to kill Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Agents from the Department of Homeland Security seized Posada in Miami, apparently on his way out of the country. He's also wanted in Venezuela for the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner. Posada denies any connection.
Better security for our nation's judges is the focus of a hearing on Capitol Hill. It's going on right now. Judge Joan Lefkow is expected to speak at the hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. She'll ask lawmakers to provide better protection for judges, both in the courtroom and in their homes. Judge Lefkow's husband and mother were killed in Chicago earlier this year. This will be the first time she speaks publicly about the murders.
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