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American Morning
Latest Developments in Search for Natalee Holloway; Progress on 9/11 Commission's Security Recommendations
Aired June 07, 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: The two men charged in the disappearance of an American teenager in Aruba -- expected to find out today if they'll go free. A key ruling as the search for Natalee Holloway continues.
Could scientists give America's enemies a step by step plan to poison the nation's milk supply? Serious questions this morning about putting research in the wrong hands.
And another massive loss of personal information. Citigroup saying oops to four million people. Searching for a solution to identity theft 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 on a Tuesday morning.
Also ahead here, looking at a serious change in tone for Senator Hillary Clinton as she begins to raise money for reelection.
O'BRIEN: Our CNN analyst, Bill Schneider, is going to join us a little bit later. He's reading the tea leaves and taking a look at Senator Clinton's underlying message for 2008.
HEMMER: And making a couple of headlines here and there.
Also, Jack Cafferty is back with "The File" later -- good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Coming up in "The Cafferty File," Bill, John Kerry's report card from Yale is in. It's not very good. We'll compare it to...
O'BRIEN: Really?
CAFFERTY: Yes. We'll compare it to the president's. Among other things, Kerry told his dad that D stood for distinguished.
An indication -- he didn't want this out during the campaign, and you'll see why when we tell you about it.
An indication that our appetite for sex and violence may not be as large as you thought. And New York's famous red-tailed hawks could soon be signing a movie deal.
O'BRIEN: Really?
CAFFERTY: Right after the hard cover book they're writing about this.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
Let's get right to the headlines with Carol Costello -- good morning.
HEMMER: Hi, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
President Bush is set to announce a $674 million aid program for Africa. It's part of a joint initiative with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. And expected to top the agenda when the two leaders meet at the White House later today. CNN will have live coverage for you of that joint news conference. That will happen around 4:45 Eastern.
American and Iraqi forces are attacking suspected insurgents in the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar. It's a new offensive launched just hours ago. These pictures exclusive to CNN. They show the troops and tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles. CNN's Jane Arraf, embedded the with troops, says at least one American soldier has been killed. Twenty-eight suspects have been detained.
To California now, where the jury in the Michael Jackson trial is set to begin its second full day of deliberations. Jurors arrived by vans on Monday. They apparently asked the judge a question during deliberations, but no word on what that question was. Jackson himself not at the courthouse. But his fans were gathered outside awaiting the verdict. Things get started up again less than four hours from now.
And a brazen robbery caught on tape. Check this out. Police in Kansas City, Missouri are looking for the four men -- they drove their SUV into the front of the store and then they're going get out. There's three of them involved in this and they actually pick up an ATM and put it in the back of their SUV and then they drive away. It's not clear how much money they made off with, but apparently, according to police, they've done this before, since everything was so very organized.
HEMMER: Now, did they have to bypass the $1.50 charge to get that?
COSTELLO: I don't know.
O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE).
COSTELLO: When they broke into it...
O'BRIEN: Exactly.
COSTELLO: ... maybe they had to pay again and again.
O'BRIEN: And pry in, yes.
Thank you much.
HEMMER: Thank you, Carol.
We want to go to Aruba right now. Two men in the case of a missing Alabama teen expected to face a judge today in Aruba. Natalee Holloway last seen more than a week ago leaving a nightclub with three men. She was visiting that island with classmates on a senior trip toward the end of her high school days.
And CNN's Karl Penhaul is live in Palm Beach, Aruba.
Any new clues in that search? There was a massive one yesterday -- Karl.
What's happening today?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Bill. About 500 government employees joined Dutch Marines and the Aruba search and rescue teams yesterday. They were combing parts of the windswept eastern tip of the island, looking for clues as to Natalee's whereabouts. Last night, police weren't saying too much about the results of that search. But in the last few minutes, I've talked to a senior police official and he says two items were found. And those are the subject of intense police scrutiny as we speak.
One of those items, Bill, was a white man's shirt. It was stained with blood. Now, that white shirt belongs to a security company. It doesn't corresponded to the name of the security company for whom the two men who have been arrested work for, although we do know they were security guards. And what the senior police official has told me is that those men were subcontractors. So he doesn't rule out that in the past those men may have worked for other security companies, apart from for the hotel that lies just down the road from here, the Holiday Inn.
But as I say, that, as we speak, it's too early to say one way or the other. But that is the subject of intense scrutiny right now.
The second item, Bill, that was found was a pair of sunglasses, ladies' sunglasses. But the police so far haven't said what make of sunglasses those were. Again, too early to determine whether these may be linked to the case. As I say, earlier this week, you'll remember that there was that blood-stained mattress that was found. There was speculation that that could be linked to this case. That was quickly ruled out. Those bloodstains were found to be of a dog. And so we're just taking it easy on this one right now as police -- but over the next few hours, they hope to give us some results, some indications of what those items may be. HEMMER: Hey, Karl, let's talk about these two men in court today or tomorrow. We're not quite sure what time they will appear. But when they do appear, do you have any new information on what charges they may face in court?
PENHAUL: It's too early to say precisely what charges they'll say. Dutch law is very different from U.S. law, Bill, and at the moment what they're facing are charges, a menu of charges, if you like, related to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. The way that the prosecutors have explained it to us is that there's a menu of charges. As the investigation gets narrowed down, then the charges become more specific. But it's too early for those charges to be too specific at this stage before we've got any clue as to where Natalee is.
HEMMER: Karl Penhaul there in Aruba with us this morning.
Thanks for that -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: In a CNN "Security Watch" this morning, the federal government is asking the National Academy of Sciences not to publish a research paper, calling it "a road map for terrorists." The paper provides specific details on how terrorists could attack the nation's milk supply, pointing out several specific points of vulnerability. It also offers suggestions on how to safeguard the system.
The paper was briefly published on a password protected area of the Academy's Web site and downloaded by some journalists. Administration officials will meet with members of the National Academy of Sciences today to try to resolve that issue.
Continuing our CNN "Security Watch" with more criticism of the government's anti-terror reforms. Former members of the 9/11 Commission say they're going to keep putting pressure on the government agencies to carry out reforms. They're going to hold a series of hearings over the summer and then issue a report card.
Former 9/11 Commissioner Timothy Roemer in Washington, D.C. this morning.
Nice to see you.
Thanks for talking with us.
TIM ROEMER, FORMER 9/11 COMMISSIONER: Absolutely, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The first panel focused on the FBI and the CIA.
What are the biggest problems there?
ROEMER: Well, first of all, Soledad, we are intending to turn up the heat, increase the pressure and get changes so that America is safer. We have problems in the FBI, transformational problems, training problems, high turnover problems, failure to create a system for technology and computer system for caseloads and sharing information between field offices. We had witnesses yesterday say, Soledad, that this was an unmitigated failure to transform the FBI, excoriating the FBI for failures across-the-board to keep up with the kinds of changes that we need to make America safer.
The CIA also had several witnesses say that in language capability, analytical capability, looking at strategic analysis, we have a long way to go in the CIA, as well.
So the 9/11 Commission is going to continue to insist on reforms to make this country safer.
O'BRIEN: OK, so you've given a list of problems with both agencies and you say you want to turn up the heat and increase the pressure.
How specifically will you do that?
ROEMER: Well, we'll have eight hearings taking place. The first one was yesterday. The next one will be June 13, on the director of national intelligence. Former Governor Jim Thompson and myself will do one on June 27 on weapons of mass destruction and will terrorists try to get nuclear, chemical and biological capabilities.
We say in our report, Soledad, on page 116 of the 9/11 Report, that Osama bin Laden has instructed al Qaeda to try to get weapons of mass destruction and use them on the United States. It's been three- and-a-half years since 9/11. It has been almost a year since the 9/11 Commission issued its report saying there is much to be done yet, and we still haven't done that.
Congress and the White House needs to act and act now.
O'BRIEN: You lack subpoena power, which, of course, you did have when you were on the Commission. But now, as a private group, you don't have that anymore.
Have you found the government forthcoming with information?
ROEMER: Well, ideally we'd love to have the government have people come before the Commission, even though we don't have that subpoena power to request them, to demand that they come. Our hearing on June 27, if we could get high level government people from the State Department or Defense Department or the White House to come, we'd love it.
Right now we have Sam Nunn to talk about weapons of mass destruction and the Nunn-Lugar legislation. And we have some experts to talk about terrorists and how badly they want to get a hold of these weapons. But I would welcome the highest level of White House people to come and I would hope that they would want to take part in these hearings, just as they did in the formal sessions that we had on the 9/11 Commission.
O'BRIEN: In the 9/11 Commission you wanted to see a director of national intelligence, and that's one of the recommendations that actually has been fulfilled. Now that there is one, what do you think of that position and that role and how it's going? Has it been successful?
ROEMER: Well, it's not -- we're not sure yet if it's been successful. It's one thing, Soledad, to pass legislation creating a director of national intelligence. It's another thing to see it work, to see it implemented and administered, to see the kind of people that they hire. I think there will be very, very significant challenges here.
One will be will the president, will President Bush put the time in to make sure that Mr. Negroponte succeeds in this job on personnel decisions, on budgetary fights with Secretary Rumsfeld at the Defense Department, turf battles with Congress. Will they get sufficient money from Congress? Will they -- will Negroponte personally take part in the presidential daily briefing sessions with the president every morning or will he try to hand that off to Porter Goss?
O'BRIEN: You mention...
ROEMER: Those will all be very, very important decisions and the jury is out on whether he's going to be successful in this job.
O'BRIEN: We're almost out of time.
You mentioned a report card.
If you had to give that report card right now, what grade would you give the government for how they've done since 9/11?
ROEMER: Well, that certainly will be something we issue and I know you were just talking about report cards earlier. For instance, with Congress, where I used to serve, Soledad, they certainly deserve some high marks for passing about five out of 10 of the reforms we suggested. They deserve very low marks for institutional reform of their own body, making sure that they have funds going forward based on risk and intelligence to protect our country...
O'BRIEN: That sounds like a C...
ROEMER: ... rather than pork barrel.
O'BRIEN: Are you giving them a C?
ROEMER: It might be lower than that, depending upon their own institutional reforms and lack of making this country safer, the failure to reform themselves and the intelligence community, and then the homeland security committee system. They have a long way to go on weapons of mass destruction, Soledad. There are three recommendations we've made in there. They have not passed any of those recommendations yet.
O'BRIEN: Well, we'll see what that report card comes out to say.
Thanks.
Tim Roemer joining us.
ROEMER: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Former 9/11 Commissioner.
You want to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
HEMMER: About 12 minutes now past the hour.
We woke up in the month of August here in New York City overnight like that -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You went to bed on Sunday night, it was March, and all of a sudden it was August.
HEMMER: I know.
MYERS: Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Coming up, a new spin on therapy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
The key is I don't think Alex felt like he was going to therapy. So there wasn't the stigma of hey, I've got to go to therapy, there's something wrong with me because I'm going to a therapist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: One doctor steps out of the box to help patients open up. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta" just ahead.
HEMMER: Also, Senator Hillary Clinton comes out swinging against Republicans. What does that say about her intentions for 2008? We'll get to that in a moment.
O'BRIEN: And coming up next, more on the massive personal data loss at Citigroup, including four sure fire things Congress could be doing to protect us.
Stay with us.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Citigroup saying it deeply regrets the loss of personal information for nearly four million of its customers. UPS confirming losing a Citigroup package containing tapes of customer names and Social Security numbers. In recent months, Bank of America, Time Warner, CNN's parent company, Lexis-Nexis and ChoicePoint all announcing security breaches and all exposing information about hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions.
Is there any way to protect yourself?
"Money" magazine tackles the topic in its next issue.
Eric Schurenberg is the magazine's managing editor.
Eric is back with me now here in our studios.
Nice to see you.
ERIC SCHURENBERG, MAGAZINE EDITOR, "MONEY" MAGAZINE: Bill, Nice to be here
HEMMER: Good morning to you.
Four million sounds like a big deal.
How big of a deal is it?
SCHURENBERG: Well, it's hard to know just yet. It could be that data is just lost and will never be found. On the other hand, that data could turn up in the wrong hands, in the hands of an international identity theft ring and then four million people are exposed to real trouble.
HEMMER: What is the time frame, Eric? When will we get an answer on what you're suggesting?
SCHURENBERG: The thing about identity theft is you never know. Once your data is hit, you never can be 100 percent sure it's not going to be used against u.
HEMMER: Well, there's a statement from Citigroup, among many, saying, in part: "You should know now that there is little risk of your account being compromised because you've already received your loan."
This is a statement that we can show our viewers at home right now.
Is that true, that your account can't be compromised?
SCHURENBERG: Well, what Citi is talking about is that your Citi Financial credit is safe. You can't have another Citi Financial loan without your knowledge.
But the data that was lost could be used to open an account anywhere else. So it's not really safe anywhere.
HEMMER: And that's the area today that we're talking about, because nobody knows for certain.
A couple of things that your magazine is proposing now, four essential points. Number one is a credit freeze.
What is that, Eric?
SCHURENBERG: A credit freeze is a notification you put on your credit report. It means that no credit can be issued to your or anyone pretending to be you until you lift the freeze.
HEMMER: Why could anyone get your credit report anyway?
SCHURENBERG: Anyone can get your credit report who is in business to get it. Your data is very available to anyone who's -- to any credit issuer.
HEMMER: Which takes us to point number two, third party notification.
What's that?
SCHURENBERG: That means that if someone asks for your credit report, you should be told about it.
HEMMER: All right, personal data alert comes under what category?
SCHURENBERG: This is often referred to as a security breach notification. A lot of states have it. It says that if your data is lost, the data issuer who lost it has to tell you.
HEMMER: It kind of relates to points one and two, in part two, also.
SCHURENBERG: That's right.
HEMMER: Credit history repair.
What is that?
SCHURENBERG: Well, if you're -- the biggest problem with I.D. theft is trying to repair your credit, trying to repair your reputation once someone has used credit in your name. That can take weeks. It could be almost a never ending job.
So, wouldn't it be a lot easier if there were one place that credit issuers could go and you could go and alert them that your identity had been stolen?
HEMMER: Sure. It sounds pretty simple.
What's the chance of these four things becoming a reality and becoming law?
SCHURENBERG: Well, you know, it's against the credit issuers' interests. It's against their business model for credit issuance to be made more difficult. And so there is going to be a lobbying battle and a battle in Congress. But I think in the end that it's just, there is no constituency in favor of I.D. theft. And this is such a problem for consumers, I think in the end we'll get these things.
HEMMER: Oh, I hope you're right.
Interesting proposals, too.
Thanks.
Eric Schurenberg from "Money" magazine with us today.
SCHURENBERG: My pleasure, Bill.
HEMMER: Sure -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, an unusual type of therapy is showing pretty impressive results with younger patients. Coming up, we are "Paging Dr. Gupta" to tell us about outdoor therapy.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: We're back with Jack.
And crime is the focus of the Question of the Day -- good morning.
CAFFERTY: Good morning.
After increasing in each of the last three years, murder and violent crime rates are down last year. Murder rates were down 3.6 percent. Violent crime, which includes murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, dropped almost 2 percent. The sharpest declines came in the country's largest cities and in rural areas. According to figures released by the FBI, murders dropped 7.1 percent in cities with populations over a million and 12.2 percent in towns with fewer than 10,000 people.
So the question is this, what's behind the decline in violent crime?
Dan writes from Ohio: "Over 40 states now have concealed carry laws and criminals are becoming aware that they could become a statistic of legal defense."
Michael in South Dakota: "Suppose there is no decline? Is federal aid to city or state government contingent upon results? If so, there might be a tendency to not report crimes in order to ensure continuance of next year's funds."
Jim in Texas writes: "The reduction in violent crime totally predictable. At present, we have 5 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of all prison inmates on Earth, 2.2 million people in our prisons.
Laura writes from New York: "I believe that so many people are medicated in America, that fewer people have the energy or the inclination to get violent."
HEMMER: Dedication.
O'BRIEN: A lot of interesting theories.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: You buying that?
O'BRIEN: They're just over medicated? That kind of give...
HEMMER: Look, man, this comes back to the same argument we had 30 minutes ago, it's all about the economy and how well they parallel with what's happening in society.
O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE)...
CAFFERTY: No, there's more to it than that. There's law enforcement...
HEMMER: Prison rates.
CAFFERTY: Well, no.
O'BRIEN: Medication.
CAFFERTY: The sentencing, the kinds of judges that are on the benches, what kind of punishment is meted out by juries. I mean there's a lot of factors.
O'BRIEN: Any indications that it's massaging the numbers, as one previous viewer wrote in?
CAFFERTY: No.
O'BRIEN: No (INAUDIBLE)...
CAFFERTY: I don't have any indication of that. That's an FBI report. It's as believable as the rest of the stuff the government puts out, I suppose.
HEMMER: Did you watch Jon Stewart last night?
CAFFERTY: No.
HEMMER: Oh, I was in bed, too.
O'BRIEN: Good?
HEMMER: Having a laugh last night with the Michael Jackson trial.
Here's Stewart from last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART, COURTESY COMEDY CENTRAL) JON STEWART, HOST: The Michael Jackson trial, with a verdict pending in the case. The singer is dramatically rushed to a hospital last night. "Daily Show" senior Jicologist (ph) Ed Helms (ph) has been covering the trial. He joins us now from California.
Ed Helms, thanks so much for joining us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John I am outside the hospital where it has been reported that -- that's right, John, Jacko had an attack-o in his back-o.
STEWART: That's very clever, Ed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes. I understand he's filled his hospital room with his personal bric-a-brac-o.
Took it too far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Good stuff, Jon Stewart last night.
O'BRIEN: That was pretty funny.
Well, Michael Jackson's trip to the hospital actually is just the latest twist in his trial.
Coming up, we're going to take a look at some of the interesting moments in the case.
That's ahead.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Hillary Clinton unloads on President Bush and the Republicans. Does this mean she's tipped her hand about a run for the White House?
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Good morning, everybody.
It's going to get hot today in the city.
8:30.
O'BRIEN: Ninety degrees, right?
HEMMER: Yes, and humid, too. So we went from, what, February to August overnight in New York.
O'BRIEN: Pretty much. HEMMER: Coming up here in a moment, a campaign fundraiser for Senator Hillary Clinton creating a bit of a political buzz right now in New York State, also down in Washington.
O'BRIEN: The senator blasted Republicans. Her tone noticeably different from the comments that she's made, really, in recent months. We're going to talk about that this morning. Also, see if any of this signals a possible run for the White House.
HEMMER: Something tells me we're going to be talking about this for a while.
O'BRIEN: Probably until about 2008, I'm guessing, but, you know...
HEMMER: And beyond.
O'BRIEN: ... I could be wrong.
HEMMER: First the headlines.
Back to Carol Costello with those now -- good morning, over there.
COSTELLO: Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
We have to tell you about a series of attacks in Iraq this morning. Three car bombings all taking place south of Kirkuk. At least six Iraqi soldiers were killed and about a dozen other people were wounded.
At least one U.S. soldier was killed just hours ago in a new military offensive in Tal Afar. Exclusive pictures just in to CNN show the forces in the field. Nearly 30 suspects have been detained.
A judge in Aruba could rule today on a case in connection with the disappearance of an Alabama teenager. Police are treating the search for 18-year-old Natalee Holloway as a criminal investigation. A judge is being asked to determine if police can legally hold two possible suspects. It is not clear what charges they would face.
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Aired June 7, 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: The two men charged in the disappearance of an American teenager in Aruba -- expected to find out today if they'll go free. A key ruling as the search for Natalee Holloway continues.
Could scientists give America's enemies a step by step plan to poison the nation's milk supply? Serious questions this morning about putting research in the wrong hands.
And another massive loss of personal information. Citigroup saying oops to four million people. Searching for a solution to identity theft 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 on a Tuesday morning.
Also ahead here, looking at a serious change in tone for Senator Hillary Clinton as she begins to raise money for reelection.
O'BRIEN: Our CNN analyst, Bill Schneider, is going to join us a little bit later. He's reading the tea leaves and taking a look at Senator Clinton's underlying message for 2008.
HEMMER: And making a couple of headlines here and there.
Also, Jack Cafferty is back with "The File" later -- good morning.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Coming up in "The Cafferty File," Bill, John Kerry's report card from Yale is in. It's not very good. We'll compare it to...
O'BRIEN: Really?
CAFFERTY: Yes. We'll compare it to the president's. Among other things, Kerry told his dad that D stood for distinguished.
An indication -- he didn't want this out during the campaign, and you'll see why when we tell you about it.
An indication that our appetite for sex and violence may not be as large as you thought. And New York's famous red-tailed hawks could soon be signing a movie deal.
O'BRIEN: Really?
CAFFERTY: Right after the hard cover book they're writing about this.
O'BRIEN: All right, Jack, thanks.
Let's get right to the headlines with Carol Costello -- good morning.
HEMMER: Hi, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
President Bush is set to announce a $674 million aid program for Africa. It's part of a joint initiative with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. And expected to top the agenda when the two leaders meet at the White House later today. CNN will have live coverage for you of that joint news conference. That will happen around 4:45 Eastern.
American and Iraqi forces are attacking suspected insurgents in the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar. It's a new offensive launched just hours ago. These pictures exclusive to CNN. They show the troops and tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles. CNN's Jane Arraf, embedded the with troops, says at least one American soldier has been killed. Twenty-eight suspects have been detained.
To California now, where the jury in the Michael Jackson trial is set to begin its second full day of deliberations. Jurors arrived by vans on Monday. They apparently asked the judge a question during deliberations, but no word on what that question was. Jackson himself not at the courthouse. But his fans were gathered outside awaiting the verdict. Things get started up again less than four hours from now.
And a brazen robbery caught on tape. Check this out. Police in Kansas City, Missouri are looking for the four men -- they drove their SUV into the front of the store and then they're going get out. There's three of them involved in this and they actually pick up an ATM and put it in the back of their SUV and then they drive away. It's not clear how much money they made off with, but apparently, according to police, they've done this before, since everything was so very organized.
HEMMER: Now, did they have to bypass the $1.50 charge to get that?
COSTELLO: I don't know.
O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE).
COSTELLO: When they broke into it...
O'BRIEN: Exactly.
COSTELLO: ... maybe they had to pay again and again.
O'BRIEN: And pry in, yes.
Thank you much.
HEMMER: Thank you, Carol.
We want to go to Aruba right now. Two men in the case of a missing Alabama teen expected to face a judge today in Aruba. Natalee Holloway last seen more than a week ago leaving a nightclub with three men. She was visiting that island with classmates on a senior trip toward the end of her high school days.
And CNN's Karl Penhaul is live in Palm Beach, Aruba.
Any new clues in that search? There was a massive one yesterday -- Karl.
What's happening today?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, Bill. About 500 government employees joined Dutch Marines and the Aruba search and rescue teams yesterday. They were combing parts of the windswept eastern tip of the island, looking for clues as to Natalee's whereabouts. Last night, police weren't saying too much about the results of that search. But in the last few minutes, I've talked to a senior police official and he says two items were found. And those are the subject of intense police scrutiny as we speak.
One of those items, Bill, was a white man's shirt. It was stained with blood. Now, that white shirt belongs to a security company. It doesn't corresponded to the name of the security company for whom the two men who have been arrested work for, although we do know they were security guards. And what the senior police official has told me is that those men were subcontractors. So he doesn't rule out that in the past those men may have worked for other security companies, apart from for the hotel that lies just down the road from here, the Holiday Inn.
But as I say, that, as we speak, it's too early to say one way or the other. But that is the subject of intense scrutiny right now.
The second item, Bill, that was found was a pair of sunglasses, ladies' sunglasses. But the police so far haven't said what make of sunglasses those were. Again, too early to determine whether these may be linked to the case. As I say, earlier this week, you'll remember that there was that blood-stained mattress that was found. There was speculation that that could be linked to this case. That was quickly ruled out. Those bloodstains were found to be of a dog. And so we're just taking it easy on this one right now as police -- but over the next few hours, they hope to give us some results, some indications of what those items may be. HEMMER: Hey, Karl, let's talk about these two men in court today or tomorrow. We're not quite sure what time they will appear. But when they do appear, do you have any new information on what charges they may face in court?
PENHAUL: It's too early to say precisely what charges they'll say. Dutch law is very different from U.S. law, Bill, and at the moment what they're facing are charges, a menu of charges, if you like, related to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway. The way that the prosecutors have explained it to us is that there's a menu of charges. As the investigation gets narrowed down, then the charges become more specific. But it's too early for those charges to be too specific at this stage before we've got any clue as to where Natalee is.
HEMMER: Karl Penhaul there in Aruba with us this morning.
Thanks for that -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: In a CNN "Security Watch" this morning, the federal government is asking the National Academy of Sciences not to publish a research paper, calling it "a road map for terrorists." The paper provides specific details on how terrorists could attack the nation's milk supply, pointing out several specific points of vulnerability. It also offers suggestions on how to safeguard the system.
The paper was briefly published on a password protected area of the Academy's Web site and downloaded by some journalists. Administration officials will meet with members of the National Academy of Sciences today to try to resolve that issue.
Continuing our CNN "Security Watch" with more criticism of the government's anti-terror reforms. Former members of the 9/11 Commission say they're going to keep putting pressure on the government agencies to carry out reforms. They're going to hold a series of hearings over the summer and then issue a report card.
Former 9/11 Commissioner Timothy Roemer in Washington, D.C. this morning.
Nice to see you.
Thanks for talking with us.
TIM ROEMER, FORMER 9/11 COMMISSIONER: Absolutely, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: The first panel focused on the FBI and the CIA.
What are the biggest problems there?
ROEMER: Well, first of all, Soledad, we are intending to turn up the heat, increase the pressure and get changes so that America is safer. We have problems in the FBI, transformational problems, training problems, high turnover problems, failure to create a system for technology and computer system for caseloads and sharing information between field offices. We had witnesses yesterday say, Soledad, that this was an unmitigated failure to transform the FBI, excoriating the FBI for failures across-the-board to keep up with the kinds of changes that we need to make America safer.
The CIA also had several witnesses say that in language capability, analytical capability, looking at strategic analysis, we have a long way to go in the CIA, as well.
So the 9/11 Commission is going to continue to insist on reforms to make this country safer.
O'BRIEN: OK, so you've given a list of problems with both agencies and you say you want to turn up the heat and increase the pressure.
How specifically will you do that?
ROEMER: Well, we'll have eight hearings taking place. The first one was yesterday. The next one will be June 13, on the director of national intelligence. Former Governor Jim Thompson and myself will do one on June 27 on weapons of mass destruction and will terrorists try to get nuclear, chemical and biological capabilities.
We say in our report, Soledad, on page 116 of the 9/11 Report, that Osama bin Laden has instructed al Qaeda to try to get weapons of mass destruction and use them on the United States. It's been three- and-a-half years since 9/11. It has been almost a year since the 9/11 Commission issued its report saying there is much to be done yet, and we still haven't done that.
Congress and the White House needs to act and act now.
O'BRIEN: You lack subpoena power, which, of course, you did have when you were on the Commission. But now, as a private group, you don't have that anymore.
Have you found the government forthcoming with information?
ROEMER: Well, ideally we'd love to have the government have people come before the Commission, even though we don't have that subpoena power to request them, to demand that they come. Our hearing on June 27, if we could get high level government people from the State Department or Defense Department or the White House to come, we'd love it.
Right now we have Sam Nunn to talk about weapons of mass destruction and the Nunn-Lugar legislation. And we have some experts to talk about terrorists and how badly they want to get a hold of these weapons. But I would welcome the highest level of White House people to come and I would hope that they would want to take part in these hearings, just as they did in the formal sessions that we had on the 9/11 Commission.
O'BRIEN: In the 9/11 Commission you wanted to see a director of national intelligence, and that's one of the recommendations that actually has been fulfilled. Now that there is one, what do you think of that position and that role and how it's going? Has it been successful?
ROEMER: Well, it's not -- we're not sure yet if it's been successful. It's one thing, Soledad, to pass legislation creating a director of national intelligence. It's another thing to see it work, to see it implemented and administered, to see the kind of people that they hire. I think there will be very, very significant challenges here.
One will be will the president, will President Bush put the time in to make sure that Mr. Negroponte succeeds in this job on personnel decisions, on budgetary fights with Secretary Rumsfeld at the Defense Department, turf battles with Congress. Will they get sufficient money from Congress? Will they -- will Negroponte personally take part in the presidential daily briefing sessions with the president every morning or will he try to hand that off to Porter Goss?
O'BRIEN: You mention...
ROEMER: Those will all be very, very important decisions and the jury is out on whether he's going to be successful in this job.
O'BRIEN: We're almost out of time.
You mentioned a report card.
If you had to give that report card right now, what grade would you give the government for how they've done since 9/11?
ROEMER: Well, that certainly will be something we issue and I know you were just talking about report cards earlier. For instance, with Congress, where I used to serve, Soledad, they certainly deserve some high marks for passing about five out of 10 of the reforms we suggested. They deserve very low marks for institutional reform of their own body, making sure that they have funds going forward based on risk and intelligence to protect our country...
O'BRIEN: That sounds like a C...
ROEMER: ... rather than pork barrel.
O'BRIEN: Are you giving them a C?
ROEMER: It might be lower than that, depending upon their own institutional reforms and lack of making this country safer, the failure to reform themselves and the intelligence community, and then the homeland security committee system. They have a long way to go on weapons of mass destruction, Soledad. There are three recommendations we've made in there. They have not passed any of those recommendations yet.
O'BRIEN: Well, we'll see what that report card comes out to say.
Thanks.
Tim Roemer joining us.
ROEMER: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Former 9/11 Commissioner.
You want to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
HEMMER: About 12 minutes now past the hour.
We woke up in the month of August here in New York City overnight like that -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes. You went to bed on Sunday night, it was March, and all of a sudden it was August.
HEMMER: I know.
MYERS: Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
O'BRIEN: Coming up, a new spin on therapy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
The key is I don't think Alex felt like he was going to therapy. So there wasn't the stigma of hey, I've got to go to therapy, there's something wrong with me because I'm going to a therapist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: One doctor steps out of the box to help patients open up. We're "Paging Dr. Gupta" just ahead.
HEMMER: Also, Senator Hillary Clinton comes out swinging against Republicans. What does that say about her intentions for 2008? We'll get to that in a moment.
O'BRIEN: And coming up next, more on the massive personal data loss at Citigroup, including four sure fire things Congress could be doing to protect us.
Stay with us.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Citigroup saying it deeply regrets the loss of personal information for nearly four million of its customers. UPS confirming losing a Citigroup package containing tapes of customer names and Social Security numbers. In recent months, Bank of America, Time Warner, CNN's parent company, Lexis-Nexis and ChoicePoint all announcing security breaches and all exposing information about hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions.
Is there any way to protect yourself?
"Money" magazine tackles the topic in its next issue.
Eric Schurenberg is the magazine's managing editor.
Eric is back with me now here in our studios.
Nice to see you.
ERIC SCHURENBERG, MAGAZINE EDITOR, "MONEY" MAGAZINE: Bill, Nice to be here
HEMMER: Good morning to you.
Four million sounds like a big deal.
How big of a deal is it?
SCHURENBERG: Well, it's hard to know just yet. It could be that data is just lost and will never be found. On the other hand, that data could turn up in the wrong hands, in the hands of an international identity theft ring and then four million people are exposed to real trouble.
HEMMER: What is the time frame, Eric? When will we get an answer on what you're suggesting?
SCHURENBERG: The thing about identity theft is you never know. Once your data is hit, you never can be 100 percent sure it's not going to be used against u.
HEMMER: Well, there's a statement from Citigroup, among many, saying, in part: "You should know now that there is little risk of your account being compromised because you've already received your loan."
This is a statement that we can show our viewers at home right now.
Is that true, that your account can't be compromised?
SCHURENBERG: Well, what Citi is talking about is that your Citi Financial credit is safe. You can't have another Citi Financial loan without your knowledge.
But the data that was lost could be used to open an account anywhere else. So it's not really safe anywhere.
HEMMER: And that's the area today that we're talking about, because nobody knows for certain.
A couple of things that your magazine is proposing now, four essential points. Number one is a credit freeze.
What is that, Eric?
SCHURENBERG: A credit freeze is a notification you put on your credit report. It means that no credit can be issued to your or anyone pretending to be you until you lift the freeze.
HEMMER: Why could anyone get your credit report anyway?
SCHURENBERG: Anyone can get your credit report who is in business to get it. Your data is very available to anyone who's -- to any credit issuer.
HEMMER: Which takes us to point number two, third party notification.
What's that?
SCHURENBERG: That means that if someone asks for your credit report, you should be told about it.
HEMMER: All right, personal data alert comes under what category?
SCHURENBERG: This is often referred to as a security breach notification. A lot of states have it. It says that if your data is lost, the data issuer who lost it has to tell you.
HEMMER: It kind of relates to points one and two, in part two, also.
SCHURENBERG: That's right.
HEMMER: Credit history repair.
What is that?
SCHURENBERG: Well, if you're -- the biggest problem with I.D. theft is trying to repair your credit, trying to repair your reputation once someone has used credit in your name. That can take weeks. It could be almost a never ending job.
So, wouldn't it be a lot easier if there were one place that credit issuers could go and you could go and alert them that your identity had been stolen?
HEMMER: Sure. It sounds pretty simple.
What's the chance of these four things becoming a reality and becoming law?
SCHURENBERG: Well, you know, it's against the credit issuers' interests. It's against their business model for credit issuance to be made more difficult. And so there is going to be a lobbying battle and a battle in Congress. But I think in the end that it's just, there is no constituency in favor of I.D. theft. And this is such a problem for consumers, I think in the end we'll get these things.
HEMMER: Oh, I hope you're right.
Interesting proposals, too.
Thanks.
Eric Schurenberg from "Money" magazine with us today.
SCHURENBERG: My pleasure, Bill.
HEMMER: Sure -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, an unusual type of therapy is showing pretty impressive results with younger patients. Coming up, we are "Paging Dr. Gupta" to tell us about outdoor therapy.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: We're back with Jack.
And crime is the focus of the Question of the Day -- good morning.
CAFFERTY: Good morning.
After increasing in each of the last three years, murder and violent crime rates are down last year. Murder rates were down 3.6 percent. Violent crime, which includes murder, rape, robbery and aggravated assault, dropped almost 2 percent. The sharpest declines came in the country's largest cities and in rural areas. According to figures released by the FBI, murders dropped 7.1 percent in cities with populations over a million and 12.2 percent in towns with fewer than 10,000 people.
So the question is this, what's behind the decline in violent crime?
Dan writes from Ohio: "Over 40 states now have concealed carry laws and criminals are becoming aware that they could become a statistic of legal defense."
Michael in South Dakota: "Suppose there is no decline? Is federal aid to city or state government contingent upon results? If so, there might be a tendency to not report crimes in order to ensure continuance of next year's funds."
Jim in Texas writes: "The reduction in violent crime totally predictable. At present, we have 5 percent of the world's population and 25 percent of all prison inmates on Earth, 2.2 million people in our prisons.
Laura writes from New York: "I believe that so many people are medicated in America, that fewer people have the energy or the inclination to get violent."
HEMMER: Dedication.
O'BRIEN: A lot of interesting theories.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: You buying that?
O'BRIEN: They're just over medicated? That kind of give...
HEMMER: Look, man, this comes back to the same argument we had 30 minutes ago, it's all about the economy and how well they parallel with what's happening in society.
O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE)...
CAFFERTY: No, there's more to it than that. There's law enforcement...
HEMMER: Prison rates.
CAFFERTY: Well, no.
O'BRIEN: Medication.
CAFFERTY: The sentencing, the kinds of judges that are on the benches, what kind of punishment is meted out by juries. I mean there's a lot of factors.
O'BRIEN: Any indications that it's massaging the numbers, as one previous viewer wrote in?
CAFFERTY: No.
O'BRIEN: No (INAUDIBLE)...
CAFFERTY: I don't have any indication of that. That's an FBI report. It's as believable as the rest of the stuff the government puts out, I suppose.
HEMMER: Did you watch Jon Stewart last night?
CAFFERTY: No.
HEMMER: Oh, I was in bed, too.
O'BRIEN: Good?
HEMMER: Having a laugh last night with the Michael Jackson trial.
Here's Stewart from last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART, COURTESY COMEDY CENTRAL) JON STEWART, HOST: The Michael Jackson trial, with a verdict pending in the case. The singer is dramatically rushed to a hospital last night. "Daily Show" senior Jicologist (ph) Ed Helms (ph) has been covering the trial. He joins us now from California.
Ed Helms, thanks so much for joining us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John I am outside the hospital where it has been reported that -- that's right, John, Jacko had an attack-o in his back-o.
STEWART: That's very clever, Ed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Yes. I understand he's filled his hospital room with his personal bric-a-brac-o.
Took it too far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Good stuff, Jon Stewart last night.
O'BRIEN: That was pretty funny.
Well, Michael Jackson's trip to the hospital actually is just the latest twist in his trial.
Coming up, we're going to take a look at some of the interesting moments in the case.
That's ahead.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Hillary Clinton unloads on President Bush and the Republicans. Does this mean she's tipped her hand about a run for the White House?
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HEMMER: Good morning, everybody.
It's going to get hot today in the city.
8:30.
O'BRIEN: Ninety degrees, right?
HEMMER: Yes, and humid, too. So we went from, what, February to August overnight in New York.
O'BRIEN: Pretty much. HEMMER: Coming up here in a moment, a campaign fundraiser for Senator Hillary Clinton creating a bit of a political buzz right now in New York State, also down in Washington.
O'BRIEN: The senator blasted Republicans. Her tone noticeably different from the comments that she's made, really, in recent months. We're going to talk about that this morning. Also, see if any of this signals a possible run for the White House.
HEMMER: Something tells me we're going to be talking about this for a while.
O'BRIEN: Probably until about 2008, I'm guessing, but, you know...
HEMMER: And beyond.
O'BRIEN: ... I could be wrong.
HEMMER: First the headlines.
Back to Carol Costello with those now -- good morning, over there.
COSTELLO: Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
We have to tell you about a series of attacks in Iraq this morning. Three car bombings all taking place south of Kirkuk. At least six Iraqi soldiers were killed and about a dozen other people were wounded.
At least one U.S. soldier was killed just hours ago in a new military offensive in Tal Afar. Exclusive pictures just in to CNN show the forces in the field. Nearly 30 suspects have been detained.
A judge in Aruba could rule today on a case in connection with the disappearance of an Alabama teenager. Police are treating the search for 18-year-old Natalee Holloway as a criminal investigation. A judge is being asked to determine if police can legally hold two possible suspects. It is not clear what charges they would face.
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