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CNN Live At Daybreak

Homeland Defense; Iranian Weapons?; Fighting to Survive

Aired August 10, 2005 - 05:30   ET

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


(WEATHER REPORT)
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Fred, back to you.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: We hope it turns...

MYERS: Right.

WHITFIELD: ... away.

MYERS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right, Chad.

Well time now for a CNN "Security Watch."

Did intelligence officials know more than a year before the 9/11 attacks that ringleader Mohammed Atta and three other hijackers had links to al Qaeda? That issue is now before the September 11 Commission. They'll investigate reports that the men were identified in 1999 by a classified military intelligence unit.

Nearly four years after those 9/11 attacks, CNN has found that if you fly on a passenger plane you remain vulnerable to another terrorist attack. It's because of lax screening of the millions of tons of cargo loaded onto the belly of the aircraft. CNN spent three months on this investigation.

A federal judge has ordered the imam of a mosque in Lodi, California, held without bond. The ruling came after an FBI agent testified the cleric was to act as a conduit for orders to a man who trained in an al Qaeda camp in Pakistan.

The military is mapping out a strategy for dealing with the worst: a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear attack here in the U.S.

CNN homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the tsunami hit Southeast Asia last year, the U.S. military helped save lives and ease suffering. If terrorists used a weapon of mass destruction in the United States, the military might play a similar role. MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: And obviously, the Department of Defense has certain capabilities, including the ability to put a lot of hospitals and a lot of personnel in the field, which would be critical if we had a truly mass event.

MESERVE: Military sources have confirmed to CNN that they are drawing up specific plans for homeland defense, how to deal with scenarios involving chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons.

The head of Northern Command, which coordinates military involvement in homeland security, says it's simply another part of the job.

ADM. TIMOTHY J. KEATING, UNITED STATES NORTHERN COMMAND: We're concerned about getting appropriate response capability where it's needed as quickly as possible.

MESERVE: Although the U.S. Air Force already patrols the nation's skies and the Navy assisted with security during the G-8 summit in Georgia last year, this Department of Defense strategy document lays out an expanded role for the military inside the United States.

Former Virginia Governor James Gilmore headed a commission that examined the issue. Though he finds much to praise in the document, he is disturbed that it appears to give the military wide leeway, possibly even opening the door to martial law.

JAMES GILMORE, CHAIRMAN, GILMORE COMMISSION: There's an overarching, larger strategy here that is being articulated, which is one that says that the military has an appropriate role anytime, anyplace, anywhere, including entirely through the homeland. I think that has to be very, very carefully examined.

MESERVE: Admiral Keating says such fears are unfounded.

KEATING: But we understand the Constitution. We understand the Fourth Amendment. We have lawyers in all of our planning processes who are vigilant, vigilant about making sure that those rights are very well protected.

MESERVE: Other experts raise a different concern. It has been almost four years since the September 11 attacks, and they wonder what has taken the Pentagon so long.

For CNN's America bureau, Jeanne Meserve, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Well that was Jeanne Meserve reporting.

Well stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

They died together in Vietnam 37 years ago. Now the remains of 12 U.S. servicemen have been identified and are being returned to their families. The 11 Marines and 1 Green Beret were killed during a 10-hour battle near the border with Laos in 1968. They were formerly listed as Missing in Action. It's the largest, single group of MIAs identified since the end of the war.

It was a picture-perfect landing for the space shuttle Discovery. The crew had to scrap four landing attempts in Florida before landing in California. The first shuttle landing, since the Columbia disaster, was met with cheers and relief.

Shuttle Commander Eileen Collins talked about what the crewed learned and stressed how important spaceflight is to human progress.

Let's go "Beyond the Soundbite."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EILEEN COLLINS, DISCOVERY COMMANDER: We saw some of the most beautiful parts of the Earth. We, during day, we flew over North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Pacific Ocean, Australia. At night, we saw Southern Lights. In fact, we flew through the Aurora and just beautiful moving lights with colors. We saw sunrises and sunsets.

The experience of just being a human in zero gravity is -- it's just a fantastic experience. And we're learning about ourselves medically. We're learning about ourselves in the planet that we live on. And human spaceflight is so important. And we can see that firsthand, the importance of what we've done. And this crew accepted the challenge to do this flight, knowing what risk was involved, because we know how important that spaceflight is.

It's been two-and-a-half years since Columbia. And we have worked very, very hard to do the right things and to make sure that we didn't miss anything. We did miss some things, and you know about that, but we're learning and we're going to go back and fix those things.

We know entries are -- they're basically a hazardous thing that we do with very controlled risks on them. When we're flying, we're busy. We have tasks that we need to perform. So I try to stay focused on the mission. But, yes, I did think about the Columbia mission coming home, but I don't -- I wouldn't say that it was a distraction. But I would say it was more of a we're going to get through this and we're going to press on.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The shuttle crew returns to Houston today. In about a week, Discovery will be flown back to Florida piggyback atop a special Boeing 747.

Now a DAYBREAK follow-up on a bomb threat against Southwest Airlines. A 20-year-old Texas man has been arrested for allegedly leaving the bomb threat on gum wrappers aboard a Southwest plane last week. It turned out to be a hoax, but the suspect was arrested in San Antonio. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, why this guy went head over heels at last night's Yankees game.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Donald Rumsfeld is furious over a truck filled with sophisticated explosives that was stopped at the Iraq's border with Iran. He says Iran should have made sure the explosives didn't leave the country.

Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the latest worry about the Iraq insurgency, the Pentagon has confirmed Iran is now smuggling weapons into Iraq.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: It is true that weapons, clearly, unambiguously from Iran, have been found in Iraq.

STARR: Military officials tell CNN Defense Secretary Rumsfeld is talking about a truckload of explosives seized recently at a border checkpoint. Explosive devices more sophisticated than the improvised explosive devices, IEDs, so many have come to fear on the streets of Iraq.

U.S. intelligence officials believe the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, but not the central government in Tehran, may be behind it. Either way, Rumsfeld is furious.

RUMSFELD: If one sees it there on the ground, you identify it, it's from Iran, and you don't know who brought it in, or who tolerated it being brought in, and who facilitated it to be brought in, who sold it to someone to take in -- to bring in. What you do know of certain knowledge is the Iranians did not stop it from coming in.

STARR: This, as the insurgency continues its march of violence. News agency video from a U.S. military drone showing insurgents scrambling after firing mortars, trying to escape attack by U.S. forces in Haditha a few days ago. But they didn't get very far.

As the violence continues, General Richard Myers says the insurgency retains much of its punch.

GEN. RICHARD MYERS, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: And their capacity has stayed about the same, in terms of numbers of incidents, particularly the number of incidents that have any effect, wounding people, killing people, be they coalition or being the Iraqis or whatever.

STARR (on camera): In one of the worst attacks against U.S. forces, the Pentagon now confirms the roadside bomb that killed 14 Marines in Haditha last week was made up of three mines strung together.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The Iranian government denies any involvement in the shipment of explosives.

The U.S. military said today that four U.S. soldiers have been killed and six others wounded in an attack in northern Iraq. The attack occurred in the oil refining town of Baiji. They were investigating a rocket-propelled incident when their Humvee was hit by an anti-tank mine, followed by small arms fire. That area is patrolled by the 42nd Infantry Division.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A follow-up now on the woman known as the "Runaway Bride." She's apparently not running away from her community service obligations. Yes, that's her, Jennifer Wilbanks, mowing the lawn of a government building in Georgia. It's part of her sentence for lying to police about being kidnapped days before her wedding date.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It is now 15 minutes before the hour. And here's what's all new this morning.

Tennessee police scrambling to find a fugitive couple wanted for killing a prison guard during a brazen escape. The wife allegedly opened fire as her husband was being led from the courthouse. He was the prison inmate. Now he's on the lamb.

In an extraordinary move, the Army has sacked a four-star general. An official says General Kevin Byrnes was the subject of a Defense Department investigation into alleged sexual misconduct.

In money, a judge has ruled ex-Disney President Michael Ovitz is entitled to a $140 million severance package. Still, in rejecting a shareholder's lawsuit, he said the director's conduct -- quoting here -- "fell significantly short of the best practices of corporate governance" -- end quote.

In culture, a Chicago woman will pay more than $6 million to settle a lawsuit over a disputed Picasso. The "Woman in White" was stolen from a Jewish family by Nazi soldiers during World War II. You're looking at the wrong videotape, obviously. The current owner bought it from a New York gallery in 1975.

And now, in conjunction with the video that you were just now seeing, in sports, last night's Yankees game was delayed by a fan who jumped out of the upper deck. Police say the 18-year-old wanted to see if the safety net behind him -- behind home plate, rather, would hold him. Well it did. He was arrested shortly after the 40-foot free fall. By the way, the Yankees lost to the White Sox.

And, Chad, has that net ever tempted you?

MYERS: No, not really. I know it's supposed to stop a baseball. I don't think it's supposed to stop people.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: And, Chad, what about the e-mails, have you been receiving any? We've been asking folks should Kenny Rogers have been reinstated? And what did your readers say?

MYERS: Got one from Ken (ph) in Texas...

WHITFIELD: Or writers.

MYERS: ... that says I agree with the arbitrators, he should be allowed to play, although he signed it Ralph Patton.

Anyway, Tom (ph) in Indian Lake, Michigan, Kenny Rogers and Todd Bertuzzi should be thrown out of sports for life. These over-paid, coddled athletes should be taught a lesson that just because they make millions of dollars they're not above the law.

And then from Tonya (ph) in Tuscaloosa, Kenny Rogers' reinstatement is only a system of Major League Baseball. Selig needs to take control of suspensions and not allow a players association to run the league. There needs to be mandatory suspensions for infractions. It is for this reason that steroids are rampant in professional baseball.

And from Paul (ph), I think it's laughable that Kenny Rogers is walking around free. I also think that the arbitrators must have been smoking something to reduce this guy's small suspension. They should have added a year to it. It sends a strange message to people that if you play sports, laws don't apply to you. I know I'd be in jail without bail for it. That was from Paul.

WHITFIELD: Nobody in Kenny Rogers' corner.

MYERS: He is.

WHITFIELD: Well he is, yes.

MYERS: Ken. No, that guy, from Ken in Texas.

WHITFIELD: And back out on the field and playing.

MYERS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much -- Chad.

MYERS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: New next hour, the beauty of Africa like you've never seen before. Meet the man behind these amazing photographs of creatures on the continent.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Doctors say Dana Reeve is one of the growing number of non-smoking middle-aged women being diagnosed with lung cancer. The widow of actor Christopher Reeve has just announced she is battling that disease.

And as CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen reports, Reeve is not alone.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Three winters ago, Sandy Britt had a feeling that something was terribly wrong.

SANDY BRITT, CANCER SURVIVOR: I had noticed over the winter that I was getting one cold after the other.

COHEN: Sandy, who was 43, told her doctor she was worried about lung cancer. Her father and brother had died of the disease. She says the doctor told her not to worry.

BRITT: I could have been saved. I was, you know, at that point, it was completely curable, and now it's not. Now I have a terminal diagnosis.

COHEN: Three years later, her suspicions turned out to be true. She was diagnosed with lung cancer so advanced it had already spread to other parts of her body. Doctors told her she had eight months to live.

BRITT: I really believe that the reason I was ignored was that I was a young, healthy-looking woman who never smoked.

COHEN: Sandy Britt, Dana Reeve, part of a group you don't hear much about. Studies show that as many as 17 percent of newly- diagnosed lung cancer patients are lifelong non-smokers, 80 percent of those patients are women.

That's approximately 11,000 women diagnosed each year. And the overall survival rates for lung cancer are grim: 6 out of 10 people will die within a year of being diagnosed; 8 out of 10 people will die within two years.

BRITT: There's a whole subculture of us that people don't know about. And if I can get lung cancer, if Dana Reeve can get lung cancer, then nobody is safe. Anyone can get lung cancer.

COHEN: Sandy says it's bad enough that she has a fatal disease. But people who don't know her, well, often assume she brought it on herself. But she's never smoked, not ever.

BRITT: People don't care, because they say, well, you know, you smoked, you brought it on yourself. It absolutely infuriates me to have lung cancer, to have a smoker's disease when I actually hate smoking. You know I belong to Americans for Non-Smokers Rights. I do everything possible my whole life to avoid it.

COHEN: Sandy is fighting for more money for lung cancer research.

BRITT: Twice as many women die of lung cancer than breast cancer, but breast cancer is something that everybody knows women get. So I think it's just more -- it's more logical, it's more easy to accept.

COHEN: Her statistics are on target. But today, thanks to an experimental therapy, Sandy has lived three months longer than her doctors expected, but she's also writing her will.

BRITT: One to five years. If I'm lucky, I'll live five years. I mean, it could be anytime.

COHEN: While she's still alive...

BRITT: You know my mantra is, I am a miracle, I'm going to go the distance. And I -- you know, I do hope and pray that I will be one of the few that actually survives this disease. I mean, I am a realist, and I have to plan for, you know, the fact that there's a good chance I'm going to die.

COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And without a doubt, smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer. Many of you might think secondhand smoke also is a leading cause of lung cancer, but that's not the case. We looked to the experts, the American Lung Association, for a look at the causes of lung cancer. And here is what we found.

Radon gas is colorless and odorless and it can be a killer. The American Lung Association says it is the second leading cause of lung cancer. It results in between 15,000 and 22,000 deaths per year. What's frightening for homeowners is that radon gas seeps up from the soil and into a home or building through cracks in the foundation. In fact, the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that nearly 1 in every 15 homes in America has indoor radon gas levels above the acceptable safe range.

How do you know if your home has a radon gas problem? The only way to measure the invisible killer is by using a radon detector. And you can buy them at most major hardware stores.

CNN takes you inside the war against cancer. Don't miss an all- new "CNN PRESENTS: TAMING THE BEAST," Sunday evening at 8:00 Eastern.

DAYBREAK will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: "Entertainment Headlines" for you this morning. Irish rockers U2 will be honored in Portugal, not for their singing, but for their humanitarian work. Portugal's president will present the band with the nation's Order of Liberty. A presidential spokeswoman says the band deserves a reward for their work defending human rights and the world's poor.

Rapper 50 Cent's autobiography hits bookstores today. The book "From Pieces to Weight" tells the modern-day Cinderella story of how the hip-hop giant got his start selling crack cocaine on the streets of New York, survived getting shot nine times, then hit the big time in music.

New York City is getting ready for Fashion Week. And this year, fashion is going to rock. Concerts from David Bowie, Destiny's Child, Gwen Stefani, Nelly and Tim McGraw will lead the lineup. Fashion Rocks will be held September 8 at New York's Radio City Music Hall. CBS will broadcast the show next -- the next day, rather.

And the next hour of DAYBREAK begins in a few moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It is Wednesday, August 10.

And the manhunt continues for an escaped prisoner and his wife. George and Jennifer Lyn Hyatte are still on the run almost 24 hours after a deadly shootout outside the Kingston, Tennessee courthouse. We'll have the latest on the search.

Tough talk from the defense secretary on the link between Iranian arms and Iraqi insurgents. We're live from Baghdad.

And inside North Korea and only on CNN, our Mike Chinoy is there.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is DAYBREAK. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in for Carol Costello.

We'll have more from Tennessee in a moment.

Also ahead, water facts and fiction. Are eight glasses a day really the best thing for your health?

And out of Africa and into a beautiful new book. One photographer's obsession with what he calls the last place on Earth.

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