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CNN Live At Daybreak
Bush, Abbas To Meet Today; John Bolton Battle; Port Security Problems; Iraq Claims Zarqawi is Wounded
Aired May 26, 2005 - 06:32 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: Good morning to you. From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
"Now in the News."
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is in the United States for historical talks today with President Bush. It is the first between U.S. and Palestinian leaders since Mideast peace talks broke down five years ago. President Bush is expected to offer tens of millions of dollars in direct aid to the Palestinians.
Word this morning the World Trade Organization has agreed to start membership negotiations with Iran. The United States dropped a longstanding veto after Iran pledged not to pursue development of nuclear weapons.
When it comes to blocked arteries, a new study favors bypass surgery over angioplasty. Doctors say currently twice as many heart patients have arteries cleared by angioplasty to avoid the trauma of bypass surgery.
Country singer Garth Brooks finally popped the question to fellow singer and longtime love Trish Yearwood. That's sweet. He proposed in front of thousands of fans at a California concert. It looks like she said yes, doesn't it? It will be the second marriage for Brooks and the third for Yearwood.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: A historic meeting is just hours away. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet President Bush in Washington.
CNN chief national correspondent John King sat down with Abbas to find out exactly what he expects from today's meeting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAHMOUD ABBAS, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): We hope that we will be able to get something that would reflect the credibility of what we say. And we will be in a position to say to the Palestinian people that the American president is committed, and here is the proof of his commitment. Now, we will see what would happen on this issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, now we know what President Mahmoud Abbas wants. What does President Bush want?
Let's head to Washington now and CNN national correspondent Bob Franken.
Good morning -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
And what all sides seem to be seeking in this is some credibility. As we just heard from Mahmoud Abbas, the president now of the Palestinians, he is seeking to get the president to maintain some credibility about the United States. Of course, the Palestinians and the entire Muslim world are suspicious of the U.S., particularly given the very close relationship between the United States and Israel.
And we are told that that credibility might come in direct financial aid to the Palestinians. Abbas, of course, is so much more preferable than Yasser Arafat was because Arafat had very little credibility in the U.S. or in much of the world.
Now, as far as the other parties are concerned, of course, there is this real dance that's going on between Israel and the Palestinians. Both sides claim that they want to try and create peace in that region. But this is something that has defied diplomacy for decades. So, each side now is trying to establish the kind of credibility that can allow for the very tough decisions that are going to have to be made in order to ever accomplish that peace.
COSTELLO: Do the tens of millions of dollars that the president is supposedly going to pledge to the Palestinian people, will it really be in the tens of millions of dollars? How much exactly are we talking about, Bob?
FRANKEN: Well, that's a little bit foggy, because some money is already in the pipeline. It could come in a variety of forms. The question is not just how much, but how it would be used. The Palestinians are trying to form what is a credible -- there's that word again -- credible security force that requires money. Palestinians also have to deal with Hamas, which is credible within that part of the world. But, of course, the United States considers that a terrorist organization.
So, what the Palestinians have to be able to do is to create a government that is not regarded as corrupt and a government that is not regarded as ineffectual to prevent the kind of activity that Israel considers terrorism; that is to say the brutal attacks that have occurred frequently against the people of Israel.
COSTELLO: Bob Franken live in Washington this morning.
CNN's Soledad O'Brien joins us now for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.
And more on that topic, in fact. As you know, President Bush refused to meet with Yasser Arafat. Ahead this morning, we're going to talk to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. As you know, she played a key role in President Clinton's push for peace between Arafat and Israel's Ehud Barak. Well, those talks, of course, fell apart.
But does Secretary Albright now think that today's meeting can restart the Mideast peace process? We'll take a look at that this morning.
Also, live coverage of New York City's Fleet Week. Thousands of sailors are in town for the annual celebration. Security is tight on both water and land. And tomorrow, I'm going to be live aboard the USS John F. Kennedy. It is, of course, the Navy's third-oldest carrier, the biggest ship in this year's event. So, we're going to bring you a little preview of that this morning -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And it should be warm on Friday, too.
O'BRIEN: I know. And no rain would be nice, too. But, you know...
COSTELLO: Wouldn't it?
O'BRIEN: It would be nice.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Soledad.
The last salvos have been fired in the battle of John Bolton. Some senators debated his nomination as U.N. ambassador.
Here's Republican George Voinovich quoting Colin Powell's chief of staff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. GEORGE VOINOVICH (R), OHIO: My objections to what we've been talking about here -- that is, him being our ambassador at the U.N. -- stemmed from two basic things. One, I think he's a lousy leader.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: For more, we're joined from Washington by CNN producer Elise Labott.
Good morning -- Elise.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN PRODUCER: Good morning, Carol.
Well, Republicans do believe now they have the votes needed to get Bolton confirmed. The full Senate began debated Bolton's nomination yesterday after finally ending that gridlock on the president's judicial nominees. And it was a heated debate, capping weeks of investigation into allegations Bolton abused subordinates, mistreated intelligence.
And Senator Voinovich, as we've seen, was really the maverick here, breaking with Republican ranks, asking his Senate colleagues not to vote for Bolton.
Now, at Democrats' insistence, the Senate will have a procedural vote today to delay Bolton's confirmation perhaps until after the Memorial Day recess next week. Those Democrats want time to get the Bush administration to turn over documents they believe would shed light on whether Bolton tried to tamper with intelligence, specifically why he requested names of other government officials whose conversations were secretly recorded. And he wanted transcripts of those intercepts.
Now, if that vote fails, Democrats agreed to vote immediately on Bolton's nomination. And since most of the Republicans who have expressed reservations about Bolton have now said they'll vote for him, like Senator Chafee of Rhode Island, Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, that nomination is expected to pass along party lines, finally, as Bolton would say -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We'll check back with you. Elise Labott live from Washington this morning.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, they were designed to keep WMDs out, but new reports say the security measures at America's ports are not up to snuff. Can anything be done?
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
In just a few hours, President Bush will meet with new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. It is hoped the two can restart Mideast peace talks. CNN will have live coverage coming up at 11:25 Eastern.
In money news, a new commemorative coin honors the Marine Corps. Proceeds from the sale of the silver dollar will go toward building the National Marine Corps Museum. The coin goes on sale in July.
In culture, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So, CBS will premier another reality show. It will be called "Rock Star: INXS" in July. Fifteen hopefuls will compete to become the group's new lead singer.
How can you replace that man, Chad? You don't know INXS, do you?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I do. I still have their first album on vinyl. I'll put it on eBay in a couple of years.
COSTELLO: I do too, actually.
OK. Well, I won't be watching that show.
In sports, former MVP Kurt Warner has been named the starter in Arizona. The move was expected after Warner signed a $4 million deal to join the Cardinals.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Oh, Chad, don't go away, because if you want a new job, this is the job for you.
MYERS: I don't need a new job. I like my job.
COSTELLO: OK.
MYERS: That's the company line, Carol. And I know it.
COSTELLO: I love my job, too. I love it.
MYERS: There you go.
COSTELLO: Anyway, this man really, really loves his job, though. He's named Dr. Beach, and he finds the best beach in the whole country. And then he tells you and me about it, so we'll go there and spend a lot of money.
MYERS: And then wreck it.
COSTELLO: No, not us.
MYERS: No, no.
COSTELLO: This year, the number one beach is in Fort DeSoto Park in Florida. That's near St. Petersburg. Have you been here?
MYERS: You know, I've been down to Sand Key. This is a little bit farther up the coast. It's a beautiful, beautiful place. It is by far my favorite place. It's just really great sand. And nice -- I mean, really great people, too. I love Tampa -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I just like looking at the picture.
MYERS: Really, it takes you away. It doesn't feel like, oh, it's America when you look at that. It feels like the Bahamas or somewhere. But it's a great place. I mean, the entire coast, all the way from Cedar Key right on down to Sand Key and Sanibel Island, it's just great stuff down there.
COSTELLO: I think you should get some money for that, just like Dr. Beach is getting when he names the best -- I'm sure he's getting something, don't you think?
MYERS: If I could work for that Florida Chamber of Commerce, I wouldn't mind that.
COSTELLO: Exactly. All right. Still to come on DAYBREAK, is all of the security around America's ports paying off when it comes to protecting your family?
More news in a moment. But first, it is time to say happy birthday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: This is courtesy of WPIX, our affiliate in New York. You're taking a look at New York's Fleet Week, where big, huge ships come on into the port to honor the military men and women and their families. And hopefully Friday will be a better day for the festivities than today is. But the ships are out in force. The biggest one is the USS JFK. We'll show you more throughout the weekend here on CNN.
A DAYBREAK follow-up for you this morning. The Connecticut State Senate approved a bill that stops sales of junk food and non-diet sodas in schools. But the governor is not sure she will sign it. Governor Jodi Rell says she'd rather have the local school boards set the policy and not the state. Now, lawmakers could try to overturn her veto. We don't know what will happen. Of course, we'll keep you posted.
It is 6:51 Eastern. Here is what will be making news today.
Jurors will begin deliberating the fate of Hillary Clinton's fund-raiser, David Rosen. Prosecutors say he deliberately under- reported the cost of a Hollywood gala that raised money for Clinton's New York Senate run in 2000. He denies the charges.
It is summer travel season. So, get ready to wait in line at the airport. A Senate committee takes a look today at aviation capacity and congestion issues.
And call it war games Internet division. The CIA is holding a three-day exercise known as Silent Horizon to see how government and industry would respond to devastating cyber attacks. The scenario is a full-out electronic assault on the U.S. on the scale of the September 11 -- I know the video is confusing. But it's a video game that they will play to learn serious things about our national security.
A "CNN Security Watch" now. Congressional hearings on port security will not make you feel secure. Two congressional reports say less than 18 percent of cargo coming into the United States is checked, and only a fraction of background checks have been done on shipping companies who are given fast-track access to our ports. So, how concerned should we be?
Live to Atlanta and James Carafano from the Heritage Foundation.
Good morning, James.
JAMES CARAFANO, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Good morning. It's good to be with you.
COSTELLO: Nice to have you. Some in Congress are actually saying our ports are less safe than they were pre-9/11. Is that true?
CARAFANO: No, that's the dumbest statement I've ever heard. You know, quite frankly, what we're doing now is exactly the right thing. We have two initiatives: a container security initiative, which is trying to identify cargo that might be suspicious and having it inspected before it comes here, and then also inspecting it when it gets here. It's something called a Consumer Trade Partnership Against Terrorism.
COSTELLO: Well, wait, wait. Before you go on, if we're saying only 18 percent of the cargo is checking coming into the United States, then how exactly are we so safe?
CARAFANO: Well, before, we checked none. And the 18 percent that we're checking are what's called the high-risk cargo. We do an assessment. They have a targeting center that does an assessment, look at where it's coming from, who is shipping it, what it's supposed to be. Is it an anomaly, for example? Is it a container of salmon that's not refrigerated? And they find these suspicious containers, and they inspect them. This is really appropriate.
I do think the threat -- you know, container threats is way overblown. This notion that somebody is going to put a nuclear weapon in a cargo container and ship it here is just silly. I mean, if you have a nuclear weapon, you're going to keep it under positive control. You're going to smuggle it into the United States like we smuggle in most of the other bad stuff on a private, noncommercial ship and land it somewhere between the ports.
Are there bad things that could come in in containers? Absolutely. Should we have programs to screen them? Absolutely. But they should be reasonable and appropriate. And, quite frankly, the programs we have now, the Consumer Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, which certifies shippers...
COSTELLO: Well, let's get into that just a bit.
CARAFANO: Yes.
COSTELLO: Because critics say you're really relying on foreign governments to inspect the cargo. And then, it's shipped to the United States. And these are with trusted countries. But you're still relying on other countries to make the cargo safe that's coming into the United States. Isn't that true?
CARAFANO: Well, but that's not technically true. I mean, we do rely on them overseas. We do have people overseas working with them. We also have investigators overseas doing immigration and customs investigations that are working with them. But if you don't feel comfortable in the check overseas, if you want to check them again, we also have a system to check them when they get here.
And, again, there are bad things that might come in containers. We smuggle people in them. We smuggle arms in them. We should check them. We should have some security. But checking the millions of containers that move in and out of the world every day, it's simply throwing a lot of money and a lot of resources against things which aren't a problem. It's just like racial profiling. Racial profiling is bad, you know, for whatever reasons, because you spend 99 percent of your time looking at people who aren't a threat.
The millions of containers that move in and out every day, most of those aren't a threat. Putting resources against inspecting things that aren't a problem is just dumb. We really need to invest our resources going out and finding terrorist networks, leadership, breaking up those networks, breaking up the source of funding, the sources of recruiting. That's the most effective bang for the buck. You want to do some security. You want to do what's reasonable. And I think...
COSTELLO: So, these congressional hearings are for not, and they really shouldn't bother?
CARAFANO: No, no, these are great. Absolutely. No, these are great, because we need to make these programs better. CSI and CTPAT are not where they need to be. There is a lot of investment in terms of equipment. There is investment in terms of training, adequate personnel. These programs are OK, but they're only OK if they're actually done as they're laid out. And there's a long way to go on that yet.
So, making these programs better and more efficient, that's great. These hearings are terrific. But inspecting 100 percent of containers, a dumb idea. Making every container into a vault, a dumb idea.
COSTELLO: I have to interrupt you, James. We have breaking news out of Iraq. And it concerns Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terrorist supposedly behind all of these insurgent attacks in Iraq.
Jane Arraf is standing by live.
Jane -- what do you have for us?
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Carol, some startling news from a joint press conference this morning. The minister of interior, the new minister says that, yes, they believe that reports that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most-wanted man in Iraq, reports that he has been wounded are true.
Now, he would not say how he knew that, simply telling us it was his job to know.
But I asked him after the press conference did he really believe that Zarqawi has been wounded? And he said, yes, it is true he has been injured. We're not sure how extensively, he said, but he has been wounded.
Now, again, we cannot independently verify that Zarqawi -- who has claimed credit, we have to remember, for the deadliest attacks in Iraq -- has been wounded. But the Iraqi government is now officially saying it believes those reports are true.
COSTELLO: So...
ARRAF: And, Carol, they're announcing -- sorry. Just one last one. They're announcing a major operation in Baghdad. Forty thousand troops, they say, will cordon off the city and try to root out the insurgents here -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Back to Zarqawi for just a bit. So, these reports that Zarqawi is wounded have appeared on Internet sites, right? So, is the Iraqi government saying it has independent confirmation other than those reports that Zarqawi is wounded?
ARRAF: Yes, that's exactly what the minister is saying. It's the minister of interior who controls the intelligence services, the security services to some extent, and essentially all of the people who would know, if indeed it were true.
Again, this is a country that lives to some extent on rumors and unverified information. But the new interior minister has stood up in front of the entire country essentially and said, yes, Abu Musab al- Zarqawi is wounded.
Now, the other part of that, of course, is if he's wounded, where is he? And that's the part that hasn't been answered.
COSTELLO: Well, exactly how is he wounded?
ARRAF: They're not indicating that they...
COSTELLO: Do they know how he was wounded? Some people say he was shot in a heated battle.
ARRAF: Those are the reports. But, again, we have no way of knowing. It would stand to reason that if he were wounded, it would have been in a battle. The reports have been that he was moderately to seriously wounded, and actually one report had him seeking medical treatment.
But, again, U.S. officials we've spoken to have not been able to verify that information. And the Iraqi officials are not saying how they know. They're simply saying essentially, trust us, we know that it's true.
COSTELLO: Well, they're sending these 40,000 security forces out to root out the insurgents. Are those troops also going to look for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi?
ARRAF: They are going to be looking for everyone. And while the defense minister says that the Iraqi people will welcome this operation, to be perfectly honest, it sounds like the potential for a lot of things that Iraqis will not welcome. They're talking about 40,000 troops in Baghdad going into mosques, going into schools, rounding up every Iraqi to check their papers, putting up emergency checkpoints. It sounds like a very good time for everyone to stay indoors, which I'm sure a lot of people will do. But this is what they are describing as perhaps the biggest operation to date by Iraqi security forces.
COSTELLO: Will it all just involve Iraqi security forces? Or will U.S. troops be involved as well?
ARRAF: U.S. troops will definitely be involved. They say (INAUDIBLE). And what we've been seeing more and more of as this battle has progressed is Iraqis increasingly taking the leading role, which they're expected to do here.
Now, if they do do most of the planning and the execution, that will indeed be new. So far it's been very much a joint venture. But U.S. troops have tried to stay in the background, both to minimize themselves as a target and to let the Iraqis take the lead, which is what they say they need to do if American troops are ever going to leave Iraq.
COSTELLO: Jane Arraf, you stay right there, because I've got to wrap up DAYBREAK. I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now. Here's Soledad.
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Aired May 26, 2005 - 06:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.
"Now in the News."
Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is in the United States for historical talks today with President Bush. It is the first between U.S. and Palestinian leaders since Mideast peace talks broke down five years ago. President Bush is expected to offer tens of millions of dollars in direct aid to the Palestinians.
Word this morning the World Trade Organization has agreed to start membership negotiations with Iran. The United States dropped a longstanding veto after Iran pledged not to pursue development of nuclear weapons.
When it comes to blocked arteries, a new study favors bypass surgery over angioplasty. Doctors say currently twice as many heart patients have arteries cleared by angioplasty to avoid the trauma of bypass surgery.
Country singer Garth Brooks finally popped the question to fellow singer and longtime love Trish Yearwood. That's sweet. He proposed in front of thousands of fans at a California concert. It looks like she said yes, doesn't it? It will be the second marriage for Brooks and the third for Yearwood.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: A historic meeting is just hours away. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet President Bush in Washington.
CNN chief national correspondent John King sat down with Abbas to find out exactly what he expects from today's meeting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAHMOUD ABBAS, PRESIDENT, PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY (through translator): We hope that we will be able to get something that would reflect the credibility of what we say. And we will be in a position to say to the Palestinian people that the American president is committed, and here is the proof of his commitment. Now, we will see what would happen on this issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: So, now we know what President Mahmoud Abbas wants. What does President Bush want?
Let's head to Washington now and CNN national correspondent Bob Franken.
Good morning -- Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
And what all sides seem to be seeking in this is some credibility. As we just heard from Mahmoud Abbas, the president now of the Palestinians, he is seeking to get the president to maintain some credibility about the United States. Of course, the Palestinians and the entire Muslim world are suspicious of the U.S., particularly given the very close relationship between the United States and Israel.
And we are told that that credibility might come in direct financial aid to the Palestinians. Abbas, of course, is so much more preferable than Yasser Arafat was because Arafat had very little credibility in the U.S. or in much of the world.
Now, as far as the other parties are concerned, of course, there is this real dance that's going on between Israel and the Palestinians. Both sides claim that they want to try and create peace in that region. But this is something that has defied diplomacy for decades. So, each side now is trying to establish the kind of credibility that can allow for the very tough decisions that are going to have to be made in order to ever accomplish that peace.
COSTELLO: Do the tens of millions of dollars that the president is supposedly going to pledge to the Palestinian people, will it really be in the tens of millions of dollars? How much exactly are we talking about, Bob?
FRANKEN: Well, that's a little bit foggy, because some money is already in the pipeline. It could come in a variety of forms. The question is not just how much, but how it would be used. The Palestinians are trying to form what is a credible -- there's that word again -- credible security force that requires money. Palestinians also have to deal with Hamas, which is credible within that part of the world. But, of course, the United States considers that a terrorist organization.
So, what the Palestinians have to be able to do is to create a government that is not regarded as corrupt and a government that is not regarded as ineffectual to prevent the kind of activity that Israel considers terrorism; that is to say the brutal attacks that have occurred frequently against the people of Israel.
COSTELLO: Bob Franken live in Washington this morning.
CNN's Soledad O'Brien joins us now for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."
Good morning.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.
And more on that topic, in fact. As you know, President Bush refused to meet with Yasser Arafat. Ahead this morning, we're going to talk to former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. As you know, she played a key role in President Clinton's push for peace between Arafat and Israel's Ehud Barak. Well, those talks, of course, fell apart.
But does Secretary Albright now think that today's meeting can restart the Mideast peace process? We'll take a look at that this morning.
Also, live coverage of New York City's Fleet Week. Thousands of sailors are in town for the annual celebration. Security is tight on both water and land. And tomorrow, I'm going to be live aboard the USS John F. Kennedy. It is, of course, the Navy's third-oldest carrier, the biggest ship in this year's event. So, we're going to bring you a little preview of that this morning -- Carol.
COSTELLO: And it should be warm on Friday, too.
O'BRIEN: I know. And no rain would be nice, too. But, you know...
COSTELLO: Wouldn't it?
O'BRIEN: It would be nice.
COSTELLO: Thanks, Soledad.
The last salvos have been fired in the battle of John Bolton. Some senators debated his nomination as U.N. ambassador.
Here's Republican George Voinovich quoting Colin Powell's chief of staff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. GEORGE VOINOVICH (R), OHIO: My objections to what we've been talking about here -- that is, him being our ambassador at the U.N. -- stemmed from two basic things. One, I think he's a lousy leader.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: For more, we're joined from Washington by CNN producer Elise Labott.
Good morning -- Elise.
ELISE LABOTT, CNN PRODUCER: Good morning, Carol.
Well, Republicans do believe now they have the votes needed to get Bolton confirmed. The full Senate began debated Bolton's nomination yesterday after finally ending that gridlock on the president's judicial nominees. And it was a heated debate, capping weeks of investigation into allegations Bolton abused subordinates, mistreated intelligence.
And Senator Voinovich, as we've seen, was really the maverick here, breaking with Republican ranks, asking his Senate colleagues not to vote for Bolton.
Now, at Democrats' insistence, the Senate will have a procedural vote today to delay Bolton's confirmation perhaps until after the Memorial Day recess next week. Those Democrats want time to get the Bush administration to turn over documents they believe would shed light on whether Bolton tried to tamper with intelligence, specifically why he requested names of other government officials whose conversations were secretly recorded. And he wanted transcripts of those intercepts.
Now, if that vote fails, Democrats agreed to vote immediately on Bolton's nomination. And since most of the Republicans who have expressed reservations about Bolton have now said they'll vote for him, like Senator Chafee of Rhode Island, Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, that nomination is expected to pass along party lines, finally, as Bolton would say -- Carol.
COSTELLO: We'll check back with you. Elise Labott live from Washington this morning.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, they were designed to keep WMDs out, but new reports say the security measures at America's ports are not up to snuff. Can anything be done?
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Thursday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
In just a few hours, President Bush will meet with new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. It is hoped the two can restart Mideast peace talks. CNN will have live coverage coming up at 11:25 Eastern.
In money news, a new commemorative coin honors the Marine Corps. Proceeds from the sale of the silver dollar will go toward building the National Marine Corps Museum. The coin goes on sale in July.
In culture, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So, CBS will premier another reality show. It will be called "Rock Star: INXS" in July. Fifteen hopefuls will compete to become the group's new lead singer.
How can you replace that man, Chad? You don't know INXS, do you?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I do. I still have their first album on vinyl. I'll put it on eBay in a couple of years.
COSTELLO: I do too, actually.
OK. Well, I won't be watching that show.
In sports, former MVP Kurt Warner has been named the starter in Arizona. The move was expected after Warner signed a $4 million deal to join the Cardinals.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Oh, Chad, don't go away, because if you want a new job, this is the job for you.
MYERS: I don't need a new job. I like my job.
COSTELLO: OK.
MYERS: That's the company line, Carol. And I know it.
COSTELLO: I love my job, too. I love it.
MYERS: There you go.
COSTELLO: Anyway, this man really, really loves his job, though. He's named Dr. Beach, and he finds the best beach in the whole country. And then he tells you and me about it, so we'll go there and spend a lot of money.
MYERS: And then wreck it.
COSTELLO: No, not us.
MYERS: No, no.
COSTELLO: This year, the number one beach is in Fort DeSoto Park in Florida. That's near St. Petersburg. Have you been here?
MYERS: You know, I've been down to Sand Key. This is a little bit farther up the coast. It's a beautiful, beautiful place. It is by far my favorite place. It's just really great sand. And nice -- I mean, really great people, too. I love Tampa -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I just like looking at the picture.
MYERS: Really, it takes you away. It doesn't feel like, oh, it's America when you look at that. It feels like the Bahamas or somewhere. But it's a great place. I mean, the entire coast, all the way from Cedar Key right on down to Sand Key and Sanibel Island, it's just great stuff down there.
COSTELLO: I think you should get some money for that, just like Dr. Beach is getting when he names the best -- I'm sure he's getting something, don't you think?
MYERS: If I could work for that Florida Chamber of Commerce, I wouldn't mind that.
COSTELLO: Exactly. All right. Still to come on DAYBREAK, is all of the security around America's ports paying off when it comes to protecting your family?
More news in a moment. But first, it is time to say happy birthday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: This is courtesy of WPIX, our affiliate in New York. You're taking a look at New York's Fleet Week, where big, huge ships come on into the port to honor the military men and women and their families. And hopefully Friday will be a better day for the festivities than today is. But the ships are out in force. The biggest one is the USS JFK. We'll show you more throughout the weekend here on CNN.
A DAYBREAK follow-up for you this morning. The Connecticut State Senate approved a bill that stops sales of junk food and non-diet sodas in schools. But the governor is not sure she will sign it. Governor Jodi Rell says she'd rather have the local school boards set the policy and not the state. Now, lawmakers could try to overturn her veto. We don't know what will happen. Of course, we'll keep you posted.
It is 6:51 Eastern. Here is what will be making news today.
Jurors will begin deliberating the fate of Hillary Clinton's fund-raiser, David Rosen. Prosecutors say he deliberately under- reported the cost of a Hollywood gala that raised money for Clinton's New York Senate run in 2000. He denies the charges.
It is summer travel season. So, get ready to wait in line at the airport. A Senate committee takes a look today at aviation capacity and congestion issues.
And call it war games Internet division. The CIA is holding a three-day exercise known as Silent Horizon to see how government and industry would respond to devastating cyber attacks. The scenario is a full-out electronic assault on the U.S. on the scale of the September 11 -- I know the video is confusing. But it's a video game that they will play to learn serious things about our national security.
A "CNN Security Watch" now. Congressional hearings on port security will not make you feel secure. Two congressional reports say less than 18 percent of cargo coming into the United States is checked, and only a fraction of background checks have been done on shipping companies who are given fast-track access to our ports. So, how concerned should we be?
Live to Atlanta and James Carafano from the Heritage Foundation.
Good morning, James.
JAMES CARAFANO, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Good morning. It's good to be with you.
COSTELLO: Nice to have you. Some in Congress are actually saying our ports are less safe than they were pre-9/11. Is that true?
CARAFANO: No, that's the dumbest statement I've ever heard. You know, quite frankly, what we're doing now is exactly the right thing. We have two initiatives: a container security initiative, which is trying to identify cargo that might be suspicious and having it inspected before it comes here, and then also inspecting it when it gets here. It's something called a Consumer Trade Partnership Against Terrorism.
COSTELLO: Well, wait, wait. Before you go on, if we're saying only 18 percent of the cargo is checking coming into the United States, then how exactly are we so safe?
CARAFANO: Well, before, we checked none. And the 18 percent that we're checking are what's called the high-risk cargo. We do an assessment. They have a targeting center that does an assessment, look at where it's coming from, who is shipping it, what it's supposed to be. Is it an anomaly, for example? Is it a container of salmon that's not refrigerated? And they find these suspicious containers, and they inspect them. This is really appropriate.
I do think the threat -- you know, container threats is way overblown. This notion that somebody is going to put a nuclear weapon in a cargo container and ship it here is just silly. I mean, if you have a nuclear weapon, you're going to keep it under positive control. You're going to smuggle it into the United States like we smuggle in most of the other bad stuff on a private, noncommercial ship and land it somewhere between the ports.
Are there bad things that could come in in containers? Absolutely. Should we have programs to screen them? Absolutely. But they should be reasonable and appropriate. And, quite frankly, the programs we have now, the Consumer Trade Partnership Against Terrorism, which certifies shippers...
COSTELLO: Well, let's get into that just a bit.
CARAFANO: Yes.
COSTELLO: Because critics say you're really relying on foreign governments to inspect the cargo. And then, it's shipped to the United States. And these are with trusted countries. But you're still relying on other countries to make the cargo safe that's coming into the United States. Isn't that true?
CARAFANO: Well, but that's not technically true. I mean, we do rely on them overseas. We do have people overseas working with them. We also have investigators overseas doing immigration and customs investigations that are working with them. But if you don't feel comfortable in the check overseas, if you want to check them again, we also have a system to check them when they get here.
And, again, there are bad things that might come in containers. We smuggle people in them. We smuggle arms in them. We should check them. We should have some security. But checking the millions of containers that move in and out of the world every day, it's simply throwing a lot of money and a lot of resources against things which aren't a problem. It's just like racial profiling. Racial profiling is bad, you know, for whatever reasons, because you spend 99 percent of your time looking at people who aren't a threat.
The millions of containers that move in and out every day, most of those aren't a threat. Putting resources against inspecting things that aren't a problem is just dumb. We really need to invest our resources going out and finding terrorist networks, leadership, breaking up those networks, breaking up the source of funding, the sources of recruiting. That's the most effective bang for the buck. You want to do some security. You want to do what's reasonable. And I think...
COSTELLO: So, these congressional hearings are for not, and they really shouldn't bother?
CARAFANO: No, no, these are great. Absolutely. No, these are great, because we need to make these programs better. CSI and CTPAT are not where they need to be. There is a lot of investment in terms of equipment. There is investment in terms of training, adequate personnel. These programs are OK, but they're only OK if they're actually done as they're laid out. And there's a long way to go on that yet.
So, making these programs better and more efficient, that's great. These hearings are terrific. But inspecting 100 percent of containers, a dumb idea. Making every container into a vault, a dumb idea.
COSTELLO: I have to interrupt you, James. We have breaking news out of Iraq. And it concerns Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terrorist supposedly behind all of these insurgent attacks in Iraq.
Jane Arraf is standing by live.
Jane -- what do you have for us?
JANE ARRAF, CNN BAGHDAD BUREAU CHIEF: Carol, some startling news from a joint press conference this morning. The minister of interior, the new minister says that, yes, they believe that reports that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most-wanted man in Iraq, reports that he has been wounded are true.
Now, he would not say how he knew that, simply telling us it was his job to know.
But I asked him after the press conference did he really believe that Zarqawi has been wounded? And he said, yes, it is true he has been injured. We're not sure how extensively, he said, but he has been wounded.
Now, again, we cannot independently verify that Zarqawi -- who has claimed credit, we have to remember, for the deadliest attacks in Iraq -- has been wounded. But the Iraqi government is now officially saying it believes those reports are true.
COSTELLO: So...
ARRAF: And, Carol, they're announcing -- sorry. Just one last one. They're announcing a major operation in Baghdad. Forty thousand troops, they say, will cordon off the city and try to root out the insurgents here -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Back to Zarqawi for just a bit. So, these reports that Zarqawi is wounded have appeared on Internet sites, right? So, is the Iraqi government saying it has independent confirmation other than those reports that Zarqawi is wounded?
ARRAF: Yes, that's exactly what the minister is saying. It's the minister of interior who controls the intelligence services, the security services to some extent, and essentially all of the people who would know, if indeed it were true.
Again, this is a country that lives to some extent on rumors and unverified information. But the new interior minister has stood up in front of the entire country essentially and said, yes, Abu Musab al- Zarqawi is wounded.
Now, the other part of that, of course, is if he's wounded, where is he? And that's the part that hasn't been answered.
COSTELLO: Well, exactly how is he wounded?
ARRAF: They're not indicating that they...
COSTELLO: Do they know how he was wounded? Some people say he was shot in a heated battle.
ARRAF: Those are the reports. But, again, we have no way of knowing. It would stand to reason that if he were wounded, it would have been in a battle. The reports have been that he was moderately to seriously wounded, and actually one report had him seeking medical treatment.
But, again, U.S. officials we've spoken to have not been able to verify that information. And the Iraqi officials are not saying how they know. They're simply saying essentially, trust us, we know that it's true.
COSTELLO: Well, they're sending these 40,000 security forces out to root out the insurgents. Are those troops also going to look for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi?
ARRAF: They are going to be looking for everyone. And while the defense minister says that the Iraqi people will welcome this operation, to be perfectly honest, it sounds like the potential for a lot of things that Iraqis will not welcome. They're talking about 40,000 troops in Baghdad going into mosques, going into schools, rounding up every Iraqi to check their papers, putting up emergency checkpoints. It sounds like a very good time for everyone to stay indoors, which I'm sure a lot of people will do. But this is what they are describing as perhaps the biggest operation to date by Iraqi security forces.
COSTELLO: Will it all just involve Iraqi security forces? Or will U.S. troops be involved as well?
ARRAF: U.S. troops will definitely be involved. They say (INAUDIBLE). And what we've been seeing more and more of as this battle has progressed is Iraqis increasingly taking the leading role, which they're expected to do here.
Now, if they do do most of the planning and the execution, that will indeed be new. So far it's been very much a joint venture. But U.S. troops have tried to stay in the background, both to minimize themselves as a target and to let the Iraqis take the lead, which is what they say they need to do if American troops are ever going to leave Iraq.
COSTELLO: Jane Arraf, you stay right there, because I've got to wrap up DAYBREAK. I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now. Here's Soledad.
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