Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live At Daybreak

High-Flying Fix; King Fahd Funeral; Caught!

Aired August 02, 2005 - 5:00   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is Tuesday, August 2. He has a sweet swing, but will he leave baseball fans with a sour taste? Rafael Palmeiro once said he never ever took steroids. Well, now one of baseball's most prolific hitters is catching some heat.
Also, a high-flying fix. The shuttle's up in space, but NASA wants to make sure it gets back home safely.

And it's really something to bark about. Dogs at home come to the aid of their friends on the front lines.

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.

COSTELLO: And good morning to you. We'll have more on Rafael Palmeiro in just a moment.

Also ahead, in the market for a new car? We'll tell you what companies are cutting prices.

And getting into a country club can be tough, but it just got easier for one California couple.

But first, "Now in the News."

An explosion in Tehran, Iran, this morning. The apparent target, British businesses. An explosive device went off in a building housing British Airways and BP. There was some damage, but nobody got hurt. The device was in a trash bin.

One of the world's most powerful rulers will be laid to rest this morning. The funeral for Saudi Arabia's King Fahd takes place in Riyadh in just about three hours. Fahd died Sunday night. More details for you in a couple of minutes.

You could soon be paying less for clothes and other goods from Latin America. Later this morning, President Bush signs the Central America Free Trade Agreement, better known as CAFTA. It removes trade barriers between the United States and six other nations.

It's already been a busy hurricane season, but is the worst yet to come? Forecasters this morning will update their 2005 Atlantic hurricane outlook. The season usually peaks from late August through October.

But let's head to our own expert, Chad.

Good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I've seen that press release already.

COSTELLO: And?

MYERS: It's embargoed until 10:00. It isn't that good.

COSTELLO: Oh, you mean -- you mean, it's not good news?

MYERS: It's not good news.

COSTELLO: OK. Well, that's...

MYERS: For people who don't want to see hurricanes...

COSTELLO: And who would want to see hurricanes?

MYERS: Well, OK. There's always somebody on the other side of a good news-bad news thing.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: It is something that has never been tried before in space. The Shuttle Discovery is about to get a first-of-its-kind repair. CNN's John Zarrella has details from the Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They couldn't take any chances. NASA managers say they will go ahead and remove two pieces of fiber from Discovery's underbelly because they aren't absolutely certain the shuttle can return home safely if they don't.

WAYNE HALE, DEPUTY SHUTTLE PROG. MANAGER: When we looked at the unknown, versus what we do know about EVA, it was a very easy decision to add the task to EVA number three to go remove the two little gap fillers.

ZARRELLA: Gap fillers are just that, they fill gaps between the shuttle's thermal tiles. The two protruding gap fillers are near Discovery's nose landing gear. For engineering teams and mission managers, the questions were, if the gap fillers are left in as is, will dangerous levels of heat build up behind them on reentry because the shuttle's surface will no longer be smooth? Will the gap fillers simply burn off or fold over on reentry? And how difficult is a never-before-practiced spacewalk?

There were no simple answers to any of the questions. The spacewalk requires one astronaut riding the robotic arm beneath Discovery, and then yank. CINDY BEGLEY, SPACEWALK OFFICER: The first attempt is going to be to pull it out. And we don't expect that to take a lot of force. If it seems to be taking a lot of force, then we're going to look at cutting it off. And we have a number of tools.

ZARRELLA: It is not clear how these fillers came lose. Most likely, engineers believe, it's vibration during liftoff. And it has happened before.

HALE: We have, as you know, on a number of flights prior reentered and found that we had protruding gap fillers after we landed. This is the first time we've ever seen it in -- in flight before entry.

ZARRELLA: They are seeing it for the first time in space because of a new array of cameras and imagers carried onboard the shuttle. Lost in all the talk of shuttle dental work in space was the second successful spacewalk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see two good ones.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great. Thank you. That's what I need to hear. You've got a ticket to ride.

ZARRELLA: Astronauts Robinson and Noguchi changed out a broken gyroscope on the International Space Station.

(on camera): Removal of the gap fillers will be part of the third and final planned spacewalk. That spacewalk is scheduled for Wednesday. But mission managers say it could be delayed a day if the shuttle team decides they need more time to prepare for this new task.

John Zarrella, CNN, at the Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And we'll be hearing from the shuttle astronauts themselves later this morning. They'll join mission controllers by video link for a briefing. That will happen around 6:00 Eastern Time.

DAYBREAK will bring you details again. And that will happen sometime within our 6:00 a.m. Eastern hour. You can never be too specific because you never know.

You can keep track of the shuttle mission, though, just by logging onto CNN.com. Our special "Return to flight" page has up-to- the-minute information on what the astronauts are doing and why. So long on and watch at CNN.com.

This morning's funeral for the late King Fahd of Saudi Arabia includes Islamic tradition and royal protocol. But in the end, he is being buried in a public cemetery among the people he ruled.

Let's get more details on all of this. Nic Robertson in Riyadh this morning. Good morning, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

A very simple service is how it's being described to us. In about three hours, King Fahd's body will be taken from the hospital where he died on a simple -- along a simple procession with close family members, perhaps some of those foreign dignitaries who have been arriving here in Riyadh, taken to the central mosque here in Riyadh.

There will be a simple prayer service in keeping with culture and tradition, very simple. He'll be taken then. His body will then be taken outside the mosque and buried in that cemetery. There'll be no mausoleum built, and that is exactly the way it's been through -- through the decades of the previous monarchs here in Saudi Arabia.

There are lots of world leaders arriving here: Hamid Karzai from Afghanistan, the president from Afghanistan; President Pervez Musharraf from Pakistan; President Bashar al-Asaad from Syria. They're expecting leaders from Jordan, Algeria. We've seen Indonesians arrive, we've seen the Senegalese arrive.

Prince Charles is expected to arriver from Britain. President Chirac from France.

Many world leaders congregating here in the next few hours, Carol, for this -- for this very simple service. And then condolences afterwards -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Nic Robertson, reporting live this morning from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Chad, we have to talk baseball now.

MYERS: What's it about, Carol?

COSTELLO: Can you believe Rafael Palmeiro? When I heard that on -- I heard it on the radio while I was driving home.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: I was stunned.

MYERS: I know.

COSTELLO: Here's a guy -- this is "The Washington Post" this morning. Can you see it?

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: "I Made a Mistake." He said he accidentally took something that had steroids in it, apparently, and that's why he tested positive for...

MYERS: Do you randomly take things that you don't know what they are?

COSTELLO: Especially...

MYERS: Do you mistakenly take drugs?

COSTELLO: Especially if you're a world-class athlete. This guy has a trainer, he's got a chef that I'm sure fixes him nutritious meals. He's got people who gives him the proper supplements, don't you think?

MYERS: You would think.

COSTELLO: How can you accidentally take steroids?

MYERS: We might never know.

COSTELLO: No, we might not never know. You're right about that.

Here's more from CNN's Tim Rury.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM RURY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rafael Palmeiro's career includes 569 homeruns, 3,018 hits, and now one 10-day suspension for a positive steroid test. In a statement posted on MLB.com, the Baltimore Orioles' first baseman denied knowingly taking performance-enhancing drugs, but said his appeal of the suspension had been rebuffed by an independent arbitrator.

He told reporters...

RAFAEL PALMEIRO, SUSPENDED FOR STEROID USE: I put in a lot of time and a lot of effort into my -- into my career. I made a mistake, and I'm facing it. You know, I hope that, you know, people learn from my mistake, and I hope that the fans forgive me.

RURY: Major League Baseball implemented tougher anti-drug policies this spring after allegations of widespread steroid use prompted scolding from President Bush in his State of the Union Address and congressional hearings. While testifying before a House subcommittee in March, Palmeiro denied taking drugs.

PALMEIRO: I have never used steroids, period.

RURY: Two weeks ago, when Palmeiro wrapped his 3,000th hit, fans and sportswriters debated how long it would take Palmeiro to get into the hall of fame. Now after his steroid suspension, the question may not be when, but if.

I'm Tim Rury, reporting from Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: President Bush did comment on this. He says he believes Rafael Palmeiro. The arbitrator says he believes Palmeiro's contention that he did not knowingly use a banned substance. But, you know, Major League Baseball still suspended Rafael Palmeiro.

Now he has to sit out the next 10 games. But it's the days and years that come that will be more interesting. Palmeiro himself says he -- well, as we've been saying, he just doesn't know how it happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PALMEIRO: I accept this punishment and want to address it publicly. I want to apologize to Major League Baseball, the Baltimore Orioles Organization, my teammates, and most of all, my fans.

I don't know what it was. I don't know what caused this. Why would I do this in a year when I went in front of Congress? You know, why would I do this during a season where I was going to get the 3,000 hits?

I would not put my career on the line. I would not put my reputation on the line. And I'm not a crazy person. I'm not stupid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: But, you know, more could happen to Rafael Palmeiro, because Representative Elijah Cummings, a Democrat from Maryland, is quoted in "The Washington Post" as saying that he's going to check into the possibility that Palmeiro committed perjury by testifying that he did not use steroids.

MYERS: Right. We don't know if this was his first test, or were there other subsequent negative tests before this. We don't know anything about that.

COSTELLO: And you know what other -- you know something else? In "The New York Times" this morning, they're reporting that this test came before Rafael Palmeiro hit his 3,000th hit, and that Major League Baseball knew that he had tested...

MYERS: No way.

COSTELLO: That's what "The New York Times" is reporting this morning. And then, you know, Major League Baseball took out this full-page ad congratulating Rafael Palmeiro on his 3,000th hit. So you have to wonder if they wanted the good pub and then they brought it out later.

MYERS: Then they tainted it.

So we want to know what you think. What should happen to Rafael Palmeiro. Give us anything you want today. It's a free-for-all Tuesday.

How do you think it happened? I'll read some of those. But what should happen to Rafael Palmeiro? That's our -- that's our DAYBREAK "Question of the Day."

DAYBREAK@CNN.com. COSTELLO: Yes, should he make the hall of fame? That might be shot, too. Who knows?

Still to come on DAYBREAK, washing up for the war effort. The dogs of war get some help from their canine countrymen.

Also, the London terror probe goes far beyond the borders of Britain. One of the suspects gets a dose of justice, Italian style.

Also, the crops are growing and the rivers are wet. So why are they starving? We'll look at the roots of the Niger famine.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The international markets mixed this morning. Tokyo's Nikkei is down by nearly seven points. The London FTSE is up 17, though. The German DAX up 14.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:15 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

A funeral for Saudi Arabia's King Fahd takes place in just under three hours in the capital of Riyadh. Fahd died on Sunday night. He oversaw the world's biggest oil reserves during his 20-year-plus reign.

A U.S. intelligence review finds Iran is a decade away from making the key ingredient for a nuclear weapon. So says "The Washington Post." The White House has said Iran is moving more quickly toward a nuclear arsenal.

In money news, if you're in the market for a new car, you're in for some good deals. GM and Ford trying to boost U.S. sales. They're cutting sticker prices and adding features on many models.

In culture, you won't see Lauren Bacall jumping on Oprah's couch. She tells "TIME" magazine that Tom Cruise's behavior is shocking. I believe she also added "vulgar." He's drawn fire over his romance with Katie Holmes and his tiff with Brooke Shields over antidepressants.

In sports, the Pittsburgh Pirates have snapped a five-game losing streak. They beat Atlanta 4-1. The Braves lost their six-game winning streak -- Chad.

MYERS: And good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

To the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan now, but on a more optimistic note. When word got back here that some furry members of the U.S. military were in desperate need of supplies, their canine comrades came to the rescue.

CNN's Barbara Starr has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They came in all shapes and sizes, tough little dogs with plenty to yap about. Big dogs just hanging out. And this gang of Golden Retrievers. We'll get back to them in a minute.

One hundred and fifty dogs came to get a bath in support of their canine comrades serving in the military. Humans were asked to donate $10 for each bath. One man with no dog dropped off $1,000 check. All the money will be used to buy veterinary supplies and toys for the nearly 200 military working dogs sniffing for bombs and going on patrols in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mitchell is happy, very happy. His mom explains why he is here.

BRIGETTA JONES, DOG OWNER: I've heard a lot about how their paws get damaged from the heat. Their paws just get all the sand and everything.

STARR: Amy Nichols, owner of the Happy Tails Dog Spa, decided to have a dog wash when she got e-mails from dog handlers in Iraq saying that they were having a tough time.

AMY NICHOLS, DOG SPA OWNER: Seven dogs over there were sharing one toy. And of course we're all -- it broke our hearts. So we had a box out to her right away.

STARR: Like soldiers, dogs are working in 100-degree-plus weather.

NICHOLS: One of the things they asked us for were cooling pads. You lay them out on the ground, the dog can lay on it, and it takes heat off their body.

STARR (on camera): These are Doggles. The soldiers have e- mailed saying they desperately want more of these to put on their dogs in Iraq and Afghanistan. It helps keep the hot desert sand out of their eyes.

(voice-over): This is how they are supposed to look. Our little fashion model doesn't quite have full military discipline.

And those Golden Retrievers, Maggie, Emily and Samantha? It's hard to say who was happiest to get a bath. But we do know all this dog washing raised more than $9,000 to help canine soldiers on the front lines.

Barbara Starr, CNN, Tysons Corner, Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Still to come this morning, we've asked the question, and we've gotten lots of answers about what you think should happen to suspended baseball player Rafael Palmeiro. Should his congressional testimony be called into question since he said before Congress that he never took steroids? What should happen?

We're going to be reading your e-mails next. You're watching DAYBREAK for Tuesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We're getting a lot of e-mails, aren't we?

MYERS: We are.

COSTELLO: They're good ones, too.

MYERS: I love them.

COSTELLO: Before we get to the e-mail segment, though, we have to do "Late Night Laughs," because of course they were poking fun at Rafael Palmeiro...

MYERS: Of course.

COSTELLO: ... and President Bush. Here's David Letterman.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, "THE LATE SHOW": President Bush had his annual physical a couple of days ago, and the doctors say that President Bush is likely our most fit president in the history of the United States.

That's good, isn't it?

(APPLAUSE)

LETTERMAN: That means if anything happens to Cheney, he can jump in and take over.

(LAUGHTER)

LETTERMAN: Bush passed his physical. No word yet on his mental.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": Over the weekend, President Bush had his annual physical. The good news, he is in amazing shape, incredible shape. They said his heartbeat at rest is down from 52 beats a minute to 47 beats per minute, which is pretty impressive when you realize a lot of time Dick Cheney has no heartbeat at all.

(LAUGHTER)

LENO: So that's -- that's good.

All right. Rafael Palmeiro was having a steroid Slurpee.

Did you all hear about that? Baltimore Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro suspended for 10 games by Major League Baseball for testing positive for steroids. You know what you call baseball players that don't take steroids? Dodgers.

But, you know -- but, you know...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MYERS: That was good.

COSTELLO: That's pretty good.

MYERS: Now, was he the one that got -- that got called for -- that said that he was taking them, and he said, "No, no, no, how dare you say that I did. I never did"?

COSTELLO: Rafael Palmeiro, you mean?

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Remember Jose Canseco's book "Juiced"?

MYERS: Yes. Yes.

COSTELLO: Well, Jose Canseco said he actually injected steroids into Rafael Palmeiro. Rafael Palmeiro was called before Congress, along with Jose Canseco and Sammy Sosa.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Rafael Palmeiro said that Jose Canseco was an out-and- out liar and he never, never took steroids ever. And now he's saying that, you know, he tested positive for steroids, but I don't know how it happened.

MYERS: Yes. I don't know how it happened.

It's all coming back to me now, Carol. Thank you.

Peter says, "Aren't we making more of this story than it's really worth? He took performance-enhancing drugs, he broke the rules, he pays the price. But what price is that?" he says. "He'll retire on his yacht, while the rest of us who are playing by the rules will retire on scraps."

COSTELLO: Oh, that's depressing. Gee.

MYERS: Andrew in San Jose says, "If Palmeiro wants us to believe that he took and unknowingly took illegal substances, he has to tell us what he took, when he took it, where he got it from, and better yet, do it with a lie detector test attached."

COSTELLO: Ooh.

MYERS: But if he still doesn't really know...

COSTELLO: Yes, but this is what he's saying now, Chad. He's warning all the kids out there, be careful what you take, because you never know what could be in that vitamin pill.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK. Go on.

MYERS: But then he says, "I made a mistake."

COSTELLO: Right. And he says he's going to take his punishment like a man and serve his 10-game suspension.

MYERS: But what mistake did he make?

COSTELLO: Well, that he accidentally took that piece of lettuce that had steroids in it. I don't know.

MYERS: Anyway, from Courtney, "Nothing should happen to Palmeiro. The lords of baseball knew, and they knew everyone was taking this steroid. They knew it when it was rampant and they did nothing about it. You know why? Because fans loved the long ball, and so did everyone else."

"It was going to be that homerun explosion that brought back baseball after the strike. They knew it was going on. They did nothing about it. They, along with the government, are a bunch of hypocrites."

COSTELLO: Ooh. We're going to read more later because we're getting so many, and they're so good this morning.

MYERS: Not very kind.

COSTELLO: Our viewers -- our viewers are in rare form. We kind of like that at times, though. Pointed e-mails.

Here's what's all new in the next half-hour -- here's to you, viewers.

Here's what's all new.

More arrests in the London terror probe and how the search for would-be bombers got all the way to Italy.

We'll be back with much more on DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.

COSTELLO: And good morning to you. Thank you for waking up with us.

Coming up in the next 30 minutes, how much would you pay for a light saber? A light saber? Still ahead, the going rate for one used by Luke Skywalker.

And it's a legendary club in New York City, the so-called home of underground rock. We'll tell you about the struggle to keep its doors open.

But first, "Now in the News."

Frazzled nerves this morning for workers at British Airways and BP Oil in Tehran. An explosive device went off in the building housing their offices. Windows are broken, there's some damage. No casualties reported.

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