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CNN Live At Daybreak

Afghan Blast

Aired June 01, 2005 - 05:30   ET

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

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers. Thank you for waking up with us. Welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK.
Coming up in the next 30 minutes, an explosion inside a mosque in southern Afghanistan. We will bring you the latest.

And we'll hear from the man who launched CNN 25 years ago today.

But first, "Now in the News."

It looks like a suicide car bomb has exploded outside of a U.S. military post at the Baghdad International Airport. The bombing happened at an entrance checkpoint where many civilians line up for work at the base. No word yet on casualties.

Polls show the Dutch are ready to vote no to the new European Union constitution. France rejected the charter on Sunday. A Dutch no would leave Europe's leaders with no clear back-up plan for what to do.

Doctors in Peru have just completed the first of at least three operations on the girl known as the "Mermaid" baby. The girl was born with her legs fused together from her ankles to her thighs. But we just got late word, Chad, that doctors have successfully separated her legs.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Wow!

COSTELLO: And her prognosis looks pretty good this morning. Of course there are many surgeries to come.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: But they're hoping for the best.

MYERS: They were saying yesterday between 13 and 15 years worth of surgery, possibly, Carol, to get -- well, good news.

COSTELLO: But they have her legs apart and that's fascinating.

MYERS: That's awesome. And that's good, because the longer they were together, the more the veins and the arteries were going to grow together. And there's going to be harder, harder surgery eventually. So now, at least, they have something to work with.

(WEATHER REPORT) COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: It seems nothing is sacred to terrorists, not even a mosque. Afghans got a devastating reminder of that this morning after an explosion inside of a mosque killed and wounded dozens of people.

Nick Downie, head of security of Afghan's NGO, non-governmental organizations that is, he joins us live from Kabul with details on this attack.

Good morning -- Nick.

NICK DOWNIE, HEAD OF SECURITY OF AFGHANISTAN NGOS: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Tell us what happened.

DOWNIE: Well, approximately five hours ago, an explosion took place in the mosque, as you said there, during a ceremony being conducted in relation to the death of an important cleric. In fact, who's the chief of all the Islamic scholars in the whole of the southern region of Afghanistan, which includes Kandahar where this bomb took place. It appears that it was a suicide attack. And we have numbers ranging from around 15 to 20 people killed and many, many more wounded in this attack.

COSTELLO: So the man whose funeral it was was a supporter of Hamid Karzai? That's correct, right, and that's why they think this bombing happened?

DOWNIE: Well that's certainly the main theory at this time and certainly everything points to that way. Mullah Abdul Fayaz, he was killed two days before. He was actually gunned down outside of his mosque. And as a result, obviously there was a major ceremony taking place, which included a number of important persons, security persons, politicians and obviously clerics, as well. And they basically hit again.

COSTELLO: We've heard about a number of attacks in Afghanistan, is there an uptick? Is it a serious problem? Is it growing?

DOWNIE: Let me take you through the numbers here. I mean I can just talk about NGOs, OK, non-governmental organizations. These are aid workers. In 2003, 13 were assassinated. In 2004, 24 were assassinated. And now in 2005, we're sitting on around 16 assassinated so far. That's reconstruction being attacked. There've been plenty of other attacks, large and small, governments, security forces and normal civilians, international and intranational aid workers across the country.

COSTELLO: Have there been efforts by the Karzai government to try to thwart these attacks?

DOWNIE: Well they're constantly making efforts throughout the areas of the insurgency itself, which is, has to be said, is the southern and southeastern and eastern parts of Afghanistan. But you know they're quite stretched as well. We have to remember that they're just building their own army, their own police forces and international security forces. Those of the coalition and also the other partners in Kabul, really don't have the capacity to travel the country over a whole.

It's not just about insurgency here, it's about lawlessness, and it's about factionalism, and of course any other tribal issue which takes place. Ultimately, though, it takes place with the gun and with the bomb. And a lot of people are suffering because of it.

COSTELLO: Nick Downie, joining us from Kabul this morning, thank you.

Deep Throat has been revealed after three decades. It is now confirmed that this man, W. Mark Felt, is in fact the source who blew the whistle on the Watergate scandal and brought down the Nixon presidency. Felt's claims were first revealed in a "Vanity Fair" magazine article. It's something his family says they are proud of.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOAN FELT, DAUGHTER OF W. MARK FELT: It's a great moment in American history. It's a great moment for our family. My dad, I know him so well, and he's a great man. He's so kind. He's so attentive to other people and loving. And we're all so proud of him, not only for his role in history, but for that, for the character that he is, the person that he is. We love him very much and we're really happy. And thank you for your acknowledgement and your interest.

What's it like to be the grandson of Deep Throat?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Feels fine. Feels good.

FELT: How about you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we're really proud, really proud.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Felt is now 91 years old. He was the number two man at the FBI during the Nixon administration. He reportedly has mixed feelings now about why he leaked that information back then.

"The Washington Post," journalistic home of the two reporters who code-named their Watergate source, say this today in its op-ed page. I'm quoting from it. It says -- quote -- "Deep Throat was nevertheless crucial to the paper's reporting of Watergate. Following book and movie depictions of his role, he became the most famous anonymous source in the history of American journalism, and a model for government whistle-blowers."

That brings us back to our DAYBREAK e-mail "Question of the Day," what do you think, Deep Throat: an American hero or a turncoat? Should he have leaked that information as the number two guy at the FBI to reporters? Let us know what you think, DAYBREAK@CNN.com. That's DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

Still ahead, our founder looks back on 25 years of CNN, the good, the bad and his willingness to dodge bullets in Iraq.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:43 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Police in Northern Ireland have arrested two men in connection with a highly publicized murder. Forklift driver Robert McCartney was stabbed outside of a Belfast pub in January. His family blames local IRA members.

Saddam Hussein could be back in court soon. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani says the former dictator could go on trial within two months. Saddam is facing war crimes charges.

COSTELLO: In money news, the Supreme Court has unanimously thrown out the conviction of accounting firm Arthur Andersen. The company was convicted of obstructing justice in the Enron case. The justices say there were problems with jury instructions.

In culture, actor Christian Slater, well, you've heard, he's been arrested for allegedly groping a 52-year-old woman. Prosecutors say Slater and his girlfriend were arguing at a Manhattan market when he allegedly grabbed another woman's buttocks. She got mad and she called 911. Slater is denying the charges.

In sports, a tribute to late Green Bay Packers great Reggie White. The team will retire his number, 92, during their home opener on September 18. White died in December at the age of 43. He had suffered from a respiratory illness.

To the Forecast Center now and -- Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

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

Still to come, an over zealous fan or a menace to the music? Why one guy is at odds with rapper Snoop Dogg. Looks ugly.

And a reminder, our e-mail "Question of the Morning," Deep Throat: an American hero or turncoat? Your e-mails are coming in in droves, and we appreciate that. Tell us your thoughts, DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

We're back after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MYERS: Some video just in from San Antonio, large lightning strikes all around the area. San Antonio, you're probably awake more than you want to be this morning. KENS our affiliate there.

Significant lightning, and in fact, all the way -- if we add in the hill country, all the way to about Austin, you can see the lightning flashes there on the horizon because most of the rain has already moved through San Antonio. But there is flooding in San Antonio. Some of the arroyos are not dry this morning. Be careful as you drive.

Look at the number on the top of your screen. In the last hour, in 60 minutes, this area of rain showers and thunderstorm activity, 10,184 lightning strikes in 60 minutes -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Wow!

MYERS: It keeps going up and down because the older strikes get deleted and the new strikes get added in, so that's why the numbers are changing. Ten thousand lightning strikes in 60 minutes across parts of Texas today. Be careful out there.

COSTELLO: So how long will that last -- Chad?

MYERS: This is going to go all the way down through, a new watch box has been issued down through and south of San Antonio. The heaviest storm was over Hondo. There was a lot of rotation on that storm, which is to the west of S in San Antonio. That Hondo storm was rotating. Could have had a tornado on it, but it's dark, they didn't see it. We'll keep watching it for you. And if there are reports of damage, we'll get them to you, Carol. It was a significant cell as it rolled right on through San Antonio.

COSTELLO: All right, we know you'll keep an eye on it.

MYERS: Sure.

COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: All right.

COSTELLO: CNN reaches an important milestone today. It was on this day 25 years ago that the Cable News Network aired its very first newscast.

We take you "Beyond the Soundbite" to hear directly from the man who started it all with about $25 million and a vision. Ted Turner changed the face of journalism. Here are his thoughts on our 25th anniversary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED TURNER, CNN FOUNDER: I'm a believer that a war correspondent is a war correspondent. I read and watched the films of World War I and World War II where correspondents went with the troops and they got killed all the time.

I don't like having -- being killed. But if you'll recall, during the last Iraqi war, when it looked like nobody from CNN was going to go over there, that I volunteered that I would go. They wouldn't accept me. And besides, they threw all the foreign reporters out. I shouldn't use that word, the international reporters out. But I would have gone over there without any problem at all and risked my life personally.

You would have absolute chaos without the U.N., just like we'd have chaos without the federal government. So we have to have it. We have no choice. If we hadn't had the U.N., we never would have made it through the Cold War without it getting hot, and we wouldn't be here today. We'd have had a nuclear war.

The U.N. is absolutely essential to the continued existence of mankind. And the stronger and the more effort that we put behind it, the better U.N. we'll have and the better global oversight it will have. And we need to do that.

But I'm extremely proud of what we accomplished at CNN. Other than my family, CNN is obviously -- I regard it as the thing I'm proudest of in my life.

I got to say it was not by my choice. If I had my choice, I still would be here. I love CNN, and always will, and there's a very fond place in my heart for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And a lot of people want him back, too -- Chad.

MYERS: I listened to that entire interview yesterday on Wolf Blitzer's show. It was really great. He actually volunteered for the second Gulf war, the second road to Baghdad. He wanted to be in Baghdad, because it looked like there was no journalist going to be available in Baghdad at all. He said I want to go, I don't want to get paid, I want to be there. And then, obviously, journalists were allowed in, so he didn't have to go, but he was ready.

COSTELLO: There're so many great stories about him just turning up in the newsroom in Atlanta at all hours of the day and night.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: In fact, I think one morning, right after our show, 7:00 a.m., I was wandering the halls at the CNN Center in Atlanta and ran right into Ted Turner.

MYERS: Well, yes.

COSTELLO: I was so nervous, I forgot his name. I just said, my god, it's you.

MYERS: Mr. Man.

COSTELLO: And he said, yes, I just watched DAYBREAK, thought it was a good show.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: And I was like...

MYERS: He really looked good on the air yesterday, too.

COSTELLO: Pardon, I didn't...

MYERS: That's as good as he's looked, to me. Physically he looks really good. He looks 10 years younger than he did five years ago.

COSTELLO: Yes, he did look great.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: All new in the next hour of DAYBREAK, Martians get ready, NASA says it has what it needs to plan for a manned mission to the Red Planet.

Also, a Kentucky judge is raising eyebrows by throwing out your usual jail or rehab sentence. We'll tell you about his unorthodox idea.

Stick around for more DAYBREAK after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Time to read some e-mails now -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes, Carol, and they've been coming in quickly. Deep Throat: American hero or turncoat? And it doesn't seem like there's too much gray area in here, as a lot of times our "Question of the Day" doesn't leave a lot of gray.

Here comes one from Dave (ph) in Vermont. Mr. Felt is a true American hero. He exposed, himself, the true nature of a corrupt and out-of-control administration at great risk to himself and his family. Where are the Mark Felts of today?

Are you attempting to hide history from the most dangerous American in recent history, J. Edgar Hoover, says Joe (ph) from Florida?

W. Felt was Hoover's number one and took a tactic from Edgar's playbook to bring down a president. Felt was a turncoat. He will never be charged with it now that the statute of limitations has since faded into memory. But Felt was right to feel the shame his entire life and his role in forcing the president that got our nation out of Vietnam.

COSTELLO: Wow!

MYERS: From D.S. (ph). As an FBI official, Mr. Felt violated his oath of office by trying to undermine the government of the U.S. during a very crucial time. It's not known the level that President Nixon had of the third-rate burglary, but it can sure be caused a national crisis, and it did. I don't know if Mr. Felt is a hero, but he'll undoubtedly be painted one by the media.

Lisa (ph) in Virginia, anyone who stands up and lets the truth be known about something being done that's wrong should be thought of as anything -- shouldn't be thought of as anything but an American hero.

And Dan (ph) in Warner Robins, Georgia says, he's a turncoat, a self-serving, despicable slimbag, a truly evil man.

See, Carol, there's nothing...

COSTELLO: That is something else. Boy, you were right.

MYERS: There's nothing gray about that at all.

COSTELLO: No, but I'm just looking through because we just got -- as you started to read the e-mail, we just got about 200.

MYERS: Yes, they get dumped in really fast one after another after another.

COSTELLO: And most people really do consider him a hero.

MYERS: I think so.

COSTELLO: But you're right, but the ones who don't, do not. Interesting.

Thank you for your e-mails this morning. We'll get to some in the next hour of DAYBREAK as well.

It starts right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is Wednesday, June 1, and one of the biggest mysteries in American history is solved.

DAYBREAK starts right now.

Deep Throat revealed. We may know his name, but why did he hold out for so long?

Plus, you did the crime, now pray the time. I'll speak to a judge who aims to put criminals on their knees.

And later this hour, online shoppers beware, you could be paying more and getting less than other customers.

And good morning to you, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.

We'll have more on the identity of Deep Throat in just a minute. Also ahead, as CNN marks 25 years on the air today, we'll revisit one of the most intense mornings of DAYBREAK, the Beslan school tragedy.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com


Aired June 1, 2005 - 05:30   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers. Thank you for waking up with us. Welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK.
Coming up in the next 30 minutes, an explosion inside a mosque in southern Afghanistan. We will bring you the latest.

And we'll hear from the man who launched CNN 25 years ago today.

But first, "Now in the News."

It looks like a suicide car bomb has exploded outside of a U.S. military post at the Baghdad International Airport. The bombing happened at an entrance checkpoint where many civilians line up for work at the base. No word yet on casualties.

Polls show the Dutch are ready to vote no to the new European Union constitution. France rejected the charter on Sunday. A Dutch no would leave Europe's leaders with no clear back-up plan for what to do.

Doctors in Peru have just completed the first of at least three operations on the girl known as the "Mermaid" baby. The girl was born with her legs fused together from her ankles to her thighs. But we just got late word, Chad, that doctors have successfully separated her legs.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Wow!

COSTELLO: And her prognosis looks pretty good this morning. Of course there are many surgeries to come.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: But they're hoping for the best.

MYERS: They were saying yesterday between 13 and 15 years worth of surgery, possibly, Carol, to get -- well, good news.

COSTELLO: But they have her legs apart and that's fascinating.

MYERS: That's awesome. And that's good, because the longer they were together, the more the veins and the arteries were going to grow together. And there's going to be harder, harder surgery eventually. So now, at least, they have something to work with.

(WEATHER REPORT) COSTELLO: All right, thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: It seems nothing is sacred to terrorists, not even a mosque. Afghans got a devastating reminder of that this morning after an explosion inside of a mosque killed and wounded dozens of people.

Nick Downie, head of security of Afghan's NGO, non-governmental organizations that is, he joins us live from Kabul with details on this attack.

Good morning -- Nick.

NICK DOWNIE, HEAD OF SECURITY OF AFGHANISTAN NGOS: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Tell us what happened.

DOWNIE: Well, approximately five hours ago, an explosion took place in the mosque, as you said there, during a ceremony being conducted in relation to the death of an important cleric. In fact, who's the chief of all the Islamic scholars in the whole of the southern region of Afghanistan, which includes Kandahar where this bomb took place. It appears that it was a suicide attack. And we have numbers ranging from around 15 to 20 people killed and many, many more wounded in this attack.

COSTELLO: So the man whose funeral it was was a supporter of Hamid Karzai? That's correct, right, and that's why they think this bombing happened?

DOWNIE: Well that's certainly the main theory at this time and certainly everything points to that way. Mullah Abdul Fayaz, he was killed two days before. He was actually gunned down outside of his mosque. And as a result, obviously there was a major ceremony taking place, which included a number of important persons, security persons, politicians and obviously clerics, as well. And they basically hit again.

COSTELLO: We've heard about a number of attacks in Afghanistan, is there an uptick? Is it a serious problem? Is it growing?

DOWNIE: Let me take you through the numbers here. I mean I can just talk about NGOs, OK, non-governmental organizations. These are aid workers. In 2003, 13 were assassinated. In 2004, 24 were assassinated. And now in 2005, we're sitting on around 16 assassinated so far. That's reconstruction being attacked. There've been plenty of other attacks, large and small, governments, security forces and normal civilians, international and intranational aid workers across the country.

COSTELLO: Have there been efforts by the Karzai government to try to thwart these attacks?

DOWNIE: Well they're constantly making efforts throughout the areas of the insurgency itself, which is, has to be said, is the southern and southeastern and eastern parts of Afghanistan. But you know they're quite stretched as well. We have to remember that they're just building their own army, their own police forces and international security forces. Those of the coalition and also the other partners in Kabul, really don't have the capacity to travel the country over a whole.

It's not just about insurgency here, it's about lawlessness, and it's about factionalism, and of course any other tribal issue which takes place. Ultimately, though, it takes place with the gun and with the bomb. And a lot of people are suffering because of it.

COSTELLO: Nick Downie, joining us from Kabul this morning, thank you.

Deep Throat has been revealed after three decades. It is now confirmed that this man, W. Mark Felt, is in fact the source who blew the whistle on the Watergate scandal and brought down the Nixon presidency. Felt's claims were first revealed in a "Vanity Fair" magazine article. It's something his family says they are proud of.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOAN FELT, DAUGHTER OF W. MARK FELT: It's a great moment in American history. It's a great moment for our family. My dad, I know him so well, and he's a great man. He's so kind. He's so attentive to other people and loving. And we're all so proud of him, not only for his role in history, but for that, for the character that he is, the person that he is. We love him very much and we're really happy. And thank you for your acknowledgement and your interest.

What's it like to be the grandson of Deep Throat?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Feels fine. Feels good.

FELT: How about you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we're really proud, really proud.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Felt is now 91 years old. He was the number two man at the FBI during the Nixon administration. He reportedly has mixed feelings now about why he leaked that information back then.

"The Washington Post," journalistic home of the two reporters who code-named their Watergate source, say this today in its op-ed page. I'm quoting from it. It says -- quote -- "Deep Throat was nevertheless crucial to the paper's reporting of Watergate. Following book and movie depictions of his role, he became the most famous anonymous source in the history of American journalism, and a model for government whistle-blowers."

That brings us back to our DAYBREAK e-mail "Question of the Day," what do you think, Deep Throat: an American hero or a turncoat? Should he have leaked that information as the number two guy at the FBI to reporters? Let us know what you think, DAYBREAK@CNN.com. That's DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

Still ahead, our founder looks back on 25 years of CNN, the good, the bad and his willingness to dodge bullets in Iraq.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:43 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Police in Northern Ireland have arrested two men in connection with a highly publicized murder. Forklift driver Robert McCartney was stabbed outside of a Belfast pub in January. His family blames local IRA members.

Saddam Hussein could be back in court soon. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani says the former dictator could go on trial within two months. Saddam is facing war crimes charges.

COSTELLO: In money news, the Supreme Court has unanimously thrown out the conviction of accounting firm Arthur Andersen. The company was convicted of obstructing justice in the Enron case. The justices say there were problems with jury instructions.

In culture, actor Christian Slater, well, you've heard, he's been arrested for allegedly groping a 52-year-old woman. Prosecutors say Slater and his girlfriend were arguing at a Manhattan market when he allegedly grabbed another woman's buttocks. She got mad and she called 911. Slater is denying the charges.

In sports, a tribute to late Green Bay Packers great Reggie White. The team will retire his number, 92, during their home opener on September 18. White died in December at the age of 43. He had suffered from a respiratory illness.

To the Forecast Center now and -- Chad.

MYERS: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

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

Still to come, an over zealous fan or a menace to the music? Why one guy is at odds with rapper Snoop Dogg. Looks ugly.

And a reminder, our e-mail "Question of the Morning," Deep Throat: an American hero or turncoat? Your e-mails are coming in in droves, and we appreciate that. Tell us your thoughts, DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

We're back after this. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MYERS: Some video just in from San Antonio, large lightning strikes all around the area. San Antonio, you're probably awake more than you want to be this morning. KENS our affiliate there.

Significant lightning, and in fact, all the way -- if we add in the hill country, all the way to about Austin, you can see the lightning flashes there on the horizon because most of the rain has already moved through San Antonio. But there is flooding in San Antonio. Some of the arroyos are not dry this morning. Be careful as you drive.

Look at the number on the top of your screen. In the last hour, in 60 minutes, this area of rain showers and thunderstorm activity, 10,184 lightning strikes in 60 minutes -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Wow!

MYERS: It keeps going up and down because the older strikes get deleted and the new strikes get added in, so that's why the numbers are changing. Ten thousand lightning strikes in 60 minutes across parts of Texas today. Be careful out there.

COSTELLO: So how long will that last -- Chad?

MYERS: This is going to go all the way down through, a new watch box has been issued down through and south of San Antonio. The heaviest storm was over Hondo. There was a lot of rotation on that storm, which is to the west of S in San Antonio. That Hondo storm was rotating. Could have had a tornado on it, but it's dark, they didn't see it. We'll keep watching it for you. And if there are reports of damage, we'll get them to you, Carol. It was a significant cell as it rolled right on through San Antonio.

COSTELLO: All right, we know you'll keep an eye on it.

MYERS: Sure.

COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: All right.

COSTELLO: CNN reaches an important milestone today. It was on this day 25 years ago that the Cable News Network aired its very first newscast.

We take you "Beyond the Soundbite" to hear directly from the man who started it all with about $25 million and a vision. Ted Turner changed the face of journalism. Here are his thoughts on our 25th anniversary.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TED TURNER, CNN FOUNDER: I'm a believer that a war correspondent is a war correspondent. I read and watched the films of World War I and World War II where correspondents went with the troops and they got killed all the time.

I don't like having -- being killed. But if you'll recall, during the last Iraqi war, when it looked like nobody from CNN was going to go over there, that I volunteered that I would go. They wouldn't accept me. And besides, they threw all the foreign reporters out. I shouldn't use that word, the international reporters out. But I would have gone over there without any problem at all and risked my life personally.

You would have absolute chaos without the U.N., just like we'd have chaos without the federal government. So we have to have it. We have no choice. If we hadn't had the U.N., we never would have made it through the Cold War without it getting hot, and we wouldn't be here today. We'd have had a nuclear war.

The U.N. is absolutely essential to the continued existence of mankind. And the stronger and the more effort that we put behind it, the better U.N. we'll have and the better global oversight it will have. And we need to do that.

But I'm extremely proud of what we accomplished at CNN. Other than my family, CNN is obviously -- I regard it as the thing I'm proudest of in my life.

I got to say it was not by my choice. If I had my choice, I still would be here. I love CNN, and always will, and there's a very fond place in my heart for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And a lot of people want him back, too -- Chad.

MYERS: I listened to that entire interview yesterday on Wolf Blitzer's show. It was really great. He actually volunteered for the second Gulf war, the second road to Baghdad. He wanted to be in Baghdad, because it looked like there was no journalist going to be available in Baghdad at all. He said I want to go, I don't want to get paid, I want to be there. And then, obviously, journalists were allowed in, so he didn't have to go, but he was ready.

COSTELLO: There're so many great stories about him just turning up in the newsroom in Atlanta at all hours of the day and night.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: In fact, I think one morning, right after our show, 7:00 a.m., I was wandering the halls at the CNN Center in Atlanta and ran right into Ted Turner.

MYERS: Well, yes.

COSTELLO: I was so nervous, I forgot his name. I just said, my god, it's you.

MYERS: Mr. Man.

COSTELLO: And he said, yes, I just watched DAYBREAK, thought it was a good show.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: And I was like...

MYERS: He really looked good on the air yesterday, too.

COSTELLO: Pardon, I didn't...

MYERS: That's as good as he's looked, to me. Physically he looks really good. He looks 10 years younger than he did five years ago.

COSTELLO: Yes, he did look great.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: All new in the next hour of DAYBREAK, Martians get ready, NASA says it has what it needs to plan for a manned mission to the Red Planet.

Also, a Kentucky judge is raising eyebrows by throwing out your usual jail or rehab sentence. We'll tell you about his unorthodox idea.

Stick around for more DAYBREAK after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Time to read some e-mails now -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes, Carol, and they've been coming in quickly. Deep Throat: American hero or turncoat? And it doesn't seem like there's too much gray area in here, as a lot of times our "Question of the Day" doesn't leave a lot of gray.

Here comes one from Dave (ph) in Vermont. Mr. Felt is a true American hero. He exposed, himself, the true nature of a corrupt and out-of-control administration at great risk to himself and his family. Where are the Mark Felts of today?

Are you attempting to hide history from the most dangerous American in recent history, J. Edgar Hoover, says Joe (ph) from Florida?

W. Felt was Hoover's number one and took a tactic from Edgar's playbook to bring down a president. Felt was a turncoat. He will never be charged with it now that the statute of limitations has since faded into memory. But Felt was right to feel the shame his entire life and his role in forcing the president that got our nation out of Vietnam.

COSTELLO: Wow!

MYERS: From D.S. (ph). As an FBI official, Mr. Felt violated his oath of office by trying to undermine the government of the U.S. during a very crucial time. It's not known the level that President Nixon had of the third-rate burglary, but it can sure be caused a national crisis, and it did. I don't know if Mr. Felt is a hero, but he'll undoubtedly be painted one by the media.

Lisa (ph) in Virginia, anyone who stands up and lets the truth be known about something being done that's wrong should be thought of as anything -- shouldn't be thought of as anything but an American hero.

And Dan (ph) in Warner Robins, Georgia says, he's a turncoat, a self-serving, despicable slimbag, a truly evil man.

See, Carol, there's nothing...

COSTELLO: That is something else. Boy, you were right.

MYERS: There's nothing gray about that at all.

COSTELLO: No, but I'm just looking through because we just got -- as you started to read the e-mail, we just got about 200.

MYERS: Yes, they get dumped in really fast one after another after another.

COSTELLO: And most people really do consider him a hero.

MYERS: I think so.

COSTELLO: But you're right, but the ones who don't, do not. Interesting.

Thank you for your e-mails this morning. We'll get to some in the next hour of DAYBREAK as well.

It starts right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is Wednesday, June 1, and one of the biggest mysteries in American history is solved.

DAYBREAK starts right now.

Deep Throat revealed. We may know his name, but why did he hold out for so long?

Plus, you did the crime, now pray the time. I'll speak to a judge who aims to put criminals on their knees.

And later this hour, online shoppers beware, you could be paying more and getting less than other customers.

And good morning to you, I'm Carol Costello, along with Chad Myers.

We'll have more on the identity of Deep Throat in just a minute. Also ahead, as CNN marks 25 years on the air today, we'll revisit one of the most intense mornings of DAYBREAK, the Beslan school tragedy.

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