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CNN Live At Daybreak

Pre-9/11 Intelligence; Desperate Dash; The Fight for Iraq; The Rolling Stones

Aired August 11, 2005 - 05:30   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, thanks a lot, Chad.
Well time now for a CNN "Security Watch."

New evidence shows the FBI was deliberately kept in the dark about al Qaeda links to some of the 9/11 hijackers before the attacks happened, and that's got some Washington officials scrambling for answers.

Here's CNN's David Ensor.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than a year before the 9/11 attacks, a military intelligence unit, working for the Special Operations Command in Florida, identified Mohammed Atta, and three other future hijackers living in the United States, as potential terrorist threats, according to a former defense intelligence official and a member of Congress.

This chart, made last year, shows the connections identified by the unit, the two sources say. After conducting a data-mining program, code-named Able Danger, that looked at unclassified information, the unit determined that Atta, and the others, could be al Qaeda terrorists.

Republican Congressman Curt Weldon says Clinton administration lawyers told the unit not to give the information to the FBI because in the pre-Patriot Act world, intelligence officials could not, legally, share their suspicions with law enforcement.

REP. CURT WELDON (R), PENNSYLVANIA: Lawyers within the administration told the special forces folks three times, "You cannot share this information with the FBI." They even put stickies over top of the faces of Mohammed Atta, saying they're here legally.

ENSOR: Members and staff of the now-disbanded 9/11 Commission are complaining they were not told about the military unit's findings back when they were investigating what went wrong before the attacks.

"I think this is a big deal," former Commissioner John Lehman told "The New York Times." "The issue is whether there was in fact surveillance before 9/11 of Atta, and, if so, why we weren't told about it."

But one of the sources for this story, a man vouched for by Congressman Weldon, who declines to give his name, but says he is a CIA-trained case officer and a former defense intelligence official, insists to CNN that he personally told the 9/11 Commission staff director, and others, about the evidence on Atta during a briefing in October of 2003. At the Pentagon, they are scrambling to find out more.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: And I understand that our folks are trying to look into it and see what they can find out for you.

ENSOR (on-camera): Officials point out that even if the assertions are true, the rules have changed since 9/11. These days, if a Pentagon intelligence unit knew something about possible terrorists who might be in the United States, that information should go straight to the FBI.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Some September 11 widows have been quick to react to the new evidence. They're calling "The 9/11 Commission Report" incomplete and illusory. In a statement, the widows voiced horror at learning officials didn't share information that could have prevented the attacks. The group is calling for a clear and concise response to the new allegations.

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

President Bush puts pen to paper giving a green light to the new highway bill. The president even took time out from his vacation to travel to Illinois to sign the bill. At $286 billion, it's the most expensive public works legislation ever. It's even $30 billion more than the president recommended.

Critics of the Transportation Act say it's loaded down with what are called pork projects. Those are pet projects often found in districts belonging to the bill's chief supporters. We thought we'd take a look at the bill to find some of the big surprises. Here's what we found.

One of the biggest ticket items is a $230 million bridge in Ketchikan, Alaska. The bridge will replace a seven-minute ferry ride from the town to Gravina Island where the local airport is. Alaska Congressman Don Young fought for the fund, saying his state needs more money to catch up with the rest of the country in developing its infrastructure. But critics call it the bridge to nowhere, to an island where the number of residents are counted in dozens.

In the town of Columbus, Georgia, the federal government will spend $400,000 to build biking, jogging trails and a trolley. Columbus is one of the many communities getting money for the trails for everything from bikes to snowmobiles.

One more item of note, the bill earmarks $50 million to reconstruct a road in Montana's Glacier Mountain National Park. Going to the Sun Road runs through the park's high mountain passes, where, due to winter snow, it is impassable for at least six months out of the year.

They crossed two state lines, but the desperate dash is over for the fugitive and his wife. They ran but they couldn't hide, especially after they took a cab. The hot pursuit ended in Columbus, Ohio.

Mariza Reyes of CNN affiliate WSYX has the latest from there.

MARIZA REYES, WSYX-TV REPORTER: That's right, Fredricka. Columbus Police SWAT officers, along with U.S. Marshals officers, found the couple here at the America's Best Value Inn late last night. They arrived here by taxi. And U.S. Marshals officers say the cab driver tipped them off.

If we take a look at some video from late last night, now it all went down around 10:00 last night. George and Jennifer Hyatte were staying in Room 236-B on the second floor when they got a call from U.S. Marshals officers saying they knew that they were in there and to surrender peacefully. Fortunately, the couple did.

But inside the room, officers found a cache of weapons. How many, they're not saying at this point. And what they exactly said when they were arrested is also being withheld at this point.

Jennifer Hyatte did go to Grant Hospital for gunshot wounds. She was treated and released earlier this morning. Both are currently at the Franklin County Jail and will probably face first-degree murder charges. And they'll be taken at Tennessee later today.

Now we're told that Jennifer did answer the phone late last night when U.S. Marshals officers did call. And George Hyatte, her husband, at first didn't believe that they were on the other line. But eventually they opened the door. He walked out with his T-shirt over his head, bent down on his knees and they eventually cuffed him.

So all of it went down peacefully around 10:00 late last night in north Columbus. Now this is about 15 to 20 minutes from downtown Columbus. So we're live in north Columbus at the America's Best Value Inn where the couple was found.

Fredricka, back to you.

WHITFIELD: So, Mariza, are you learning any more about how they made it from point A to point B? We know that there were a couple of vehicles involved initially when they got away and then abandoned. But now there's a cab ride involved. What's the sequence of events?

REYES: Well, initially, I guess, they were in our state probably around noon. They were in Cincinnati, and I believe that's where they abandoned the gold van. And then apparently they took the taxi all the way from Cincinnati to here in Columbus. So it's in the northern part of Columbus, which is just, again, outside of downtown. So why they particularly picked this area, if one of them is familiar with it, I don't know. But this area has a strip of various hotels and motels and there's a concert hall right down the street. That's actually where the Alrosa shooting happened. So this is a typical place where a lot of truckers and people who are in town to visit and just stay for a couple of nights, if they're doing business in Columbus.

WHITFIELD: Mariza Reyes, thanks so much this morning.

Well still to come on DAYBREAK, you won't believe what Jessica Simpson is trying to sell now. Here's a hint. We'll tell you all about it straight-ahead.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Following up now on a tragic story from last month. The man who was killed in a shootout with L.A. police had cocaine, meth and alcohol in his system. That's according to the coroner's report. His toddler daughter, well, remember she was also shot and killed. He was using her, apparently, as a human shield. Traces of cocaine apparently were also found in her system.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It is now 20 minutes before the hour, and here's what's all new this morning.

A fugitive couple from Tennessee were captured late last night at a hotel nearly 400 miles away from Columbus, Ohio. George Hyatte escaped from custody just a day earlier. Police say his wife shot and killed a guard during the escape.

NORAD has been ordered to be more politically correct. The Pentagon agency will no longer be allowed to use Native American terms to describe certain operations. Words like warrior and brave will be replaced by terms such as phantom and dart.

In money, Whirlpool has upped the ante on a possible buyout of Maytag. It's now offering about $1.8 billion in cash and stock. The deal would create the world's largest appliance company.

In culture, Jessica Simpson is going from Daisy Dukes to lots of denim. The star of "The Dukes of Hazzard" has put her name on a new line of plus-size jeans. A spokeswoman says Simpson understands that her fans come in all sizes, from 90 to 300 pounds.

And in sports, Tiger Woods begins his chase for a third Major win of the year. The PGA Championship tees off today in Springfield, New Jersey. Woods already won the Masters and the British Open this year.

And why not go for three -- Chad?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, I think the fans would be disappointed if he didn't try. WHITFIELD: That's right.

MYERS: Should be pretty good weather out there for you for today.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: And then we've got some e-mails that have come in from our "Question of the Day" -- Chad?

MYERS: You know I don't have them for you right now. Are we going to do those?

WHITFIELD: If we have them.

MYERS: Here's our question. Lighting up: should there be a federal law banning smoking in public places? This is really pretty much a black-and-white issue, not a lot of gray going on here. I've been sorting them up here. We'll get to them right after the break.

WHITFIELD: OK, sounds fair enough.

MYERS: OK.

WHITFIELD: Well in the next hour of DAYBREAK, is your passport always valid? Can you pack your bag in a matter of minutes and head straight for the airport? If so, you just might be a jetro-sexual. We haven't heard that before this morning. We'll explain it when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In "The Fight for Iraq," counting down to the constitution and adding up a growing death toll, new developments on several fronts.

Let's go live to CNN's Aneesh Raman in Baghdad -- Aneesh.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, good morning.

Days left before the Iraqi government has to write a draft constitution, and now further evidence that this process could be much more complicated than we've assumed. The Shiites are now saying, parts of them at least, that they would like an autonomous region in the south where they have the majority population. Something equivocal to what the Kurds have in the north.

Now the Kurds have had that region for quite some time. They had, essentially, their own government, even under Saddam. And now the reason this could destabilize is it puts the Sunnis in the middle.

The Sunnis are obviously wary of Shi'a dominance in the south, an autonomous region, and not the least of which is an issue of oil distribution. The north and the south have the oil in Iraq. And if you have autonomous regions, do those separate governments or regional governments get to keep the money or does it go to the central government for distribution throughout Iraq?

So this is emerging now as a key issue coming to the forefront. With just days left, they've got to either resolve this or sideline it so that they can reach that deadline -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: This separate region, wouldn't that bring yet more unrest?

RAMAN: Yes. I mean, I think, exactly. What they're confronting is the need to keep this timeline going, to keep themselves on track for the milestones that remain, both the constitution and, of course, the elections that would come later this year.

The thought, though, is that what they have to resolve is something that could be unresolvable, if you will. I mean they have days to figure out enormous issues. So all the will is there to get this done, to make this country seem like it's on the right path, so the Iraqi people have confidence in the government and perhaps undermine the insurgency that is ongoing. But these are huge issues with permanent implications. And so all of that is factoring into these enormously complex negotiations -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, Aneesh, the violence doesn't seem to let up. This month alone being a particularly bloody month for U.S. troops in particular. Some top brass are saying it is likely to get worse before it gets better.

RAMAN: Yes, everyone's always said we see peaks and valleys in the insurgency. The military on the ground, at least, especially around seminal events, like the constitution that's coming out and the elections later this year.

But really the past few weeks have been a deadly one, specifically for U.S. forces, not just for the Iraqi population, who, in often recent times, have borne the brunt of insurgent attacks. And that shows, really, the sophistication that remains in this insurgency.

Fourteen Marines killed last week in al Anbar Province, a hotbed of insurgent activity where the military has had operations for quite some time. The fact that the insurgents are able to still pull off these attacks against U.S. forces that are heavily guarded, heavily protected, does show how dangerous parts of this country remain and how very much still at war, Fredricka, this is for U.S. troops on the ground.

WHITFIELD: Aneesh Raman, thank you so much for that report from Baghdad.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: "Entertainment Headlines" for you this morning reads more like the police blotter.

Designer and TV star Kimora Lee Simmons has agreed to six months probation. She was allowed to plead guilty to careless driving. She had also faced drug possession charges but was allowed to enter an intervention program for her -- for first offenders, rather. If she completes the program, all charges will be dropped.

The L.A. District Attorney's Office says there is not enough evidence to charge paparazzi who chased Reese Witherspoon from her home to the gym. Prosecutors say it was clear that the cameraman -- quote -- "besieged the actress and terrified her." But, they add, there was no evidence of a crime.

A Los Angeles makeup artist has dropped a lawsuit against rapper Snoop Dogg and several of his associates. The woman accused the group of drugging and raping her after a taping of a television show two years ago. No criminal charges were ever filed. Snoop Dogg's publicist says absolutely no money was paid in a settlement.

Twelve members of rapper 50 Cent's entourage have been arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon. This, after their vehicle was stopped for running a red light in New York. Police say two guns were found in the car. All 12 were released and there will be a hearing in December.

Just mention the word retire to The Rolling Stones and all you get is a chuckle and a no way.

CNN's David Haffenreffer talked with Mick and the gang about their latest tour and a controversial song on their latest album.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID HAFFENREFFER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Are The Rolling Stones starting something up with President Bush? Don't get Mick started.

MICK JAGGER, THE ROLLING STONES: It's not an attack on President Bush.

HAFFENREFFER: Some are saying otherwise. A song on The Stones' upcoming new album includes lyrics that some think might be aimed at the commander in chief. The song called "Sweet Neo-Con" includes the lyrics "you call yourself a Christian. I think that you're a hypocrite. You say you are a patriot...I think that you're a crock of...," well, use your imagination.

But when I sat down one-on-one with Stones lead singer Mick Jagger, he said the song off The Stones' upcoming album, "A Bigger Bang," wasn't aimed at any one Republican, including the main one.

JAGGER: I mean it certainly criticizes policies he espouses, I'm sure. But you know it was really a spark off by some rows I had with some Republican friends of mine, so, we disagreed and we argued about Iraq. We argued about this and that.

HAFFENREFFER: Be that as it may, Mick did have a mini argument about the song with Stones guitarist Keith Richards.

KEITH RICHARDS, THE ROLLING STONES: I said to Mick, well, yes, you know that's pointy-pointy.

HAFFENREFFER: Keith certainly knows what happened to one musical act that got pointy-pointy with President Bush. Country music band The Dixie Chicks touched off protests and boycotts with their on-stage Bush bashing two years ago. I asked Keith if he's worried about The Rolling Stones getting Dixie Chicked because of "Sweet Neo-Con."

RICHARDS: My only thing about this song was that the album's cool is good buy stuff (ph). I don't even want to be sidetracked by some little political storm in a teacup.

HAFFENREFFER: Keith might be talked into being sidetracked with a movie role. Rumor is actor Johnny Depp is trying to recruit Keith Richards to play his father in the sequel to "Pirates of the Caribbean."

JOHNNY DEPP, ACTOR: Do you have the courage and fortitude to follow orders and stay true in the face of danger and almost certain death?

HAFFENREFFER: You have to admit the resemblance is striking. And while Keith told me...

RICHARDS: I can neither confirm nor deny it.

HAFFENREFFER: He did suggest to me that if the scheduling works out, he may be walking the plank with Depp pretty soon.

RICHARDS: And I'd love to do it. I don't mind giving up a couple of weeks of spare time for a laugh like that, you know. So I told Johnny, yes, yes, I'm in, as long as they can sort out all the business.

HAFFENREFFER: Mick Jagger is courting political controversy, Keith Richards is possibly doing movie blockbusters and The Stones are about to drop a new CD and begin a world tour. Not bad for a band that's a combined 245 years old. And as Keith and Mick near retirement age, I had to ask them, will The Stones ever stop rolling?

(on camera): Any thoughts on when you might want to hang it up, or if you'll ever hang it up?

JAGGER: I don't really think about that moment. I've got a whole year and a half in front of me, honestly.

HAFFENREFFER: You've got a long road ahead.

JAGGER: Well, the end of it, I might think differently. Now I'm all like, yes; but the year and a half from now I might tell you, god, I'm exhausted.

RICHARDS: The wheels haven't fallen off. I mean we retire when you know your backside hits the ground and there's a cloud of dust on the horizon and you realize you're retired. Otherwise, no, no, no way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: No retirement for that gang.

That was CNN's David Haffenreffer.

And you can get more entertainment news every night on "ShowBiz Tonight." That's at 7:00 p.m. Eastern on Headline News.

All right, Chad, now how about some e-mail?

MYERS: Sure, have a couple of them here that I want to read. Kind of interesting...

WHITFIELD: Yes.

MYERS: ... how these went today. I was a little shocked.

Lighting up: should there be a federal law banning smoking in public places? The city of Louisville is going to try to pass that law today. We'll see how that goes.

And from R.E.B. (ph), as a non-smoker, I applaud no smoking in public places. But I believe such personal decisions should be left up to the local residents, not legislated on high by the feds.

And from Ewing (ph) in Georgia, yes, sure, let's make another federal case out of smoking in public, then the FBI can chase down all these lawbreaking smokers and let the child molesters and the bank robbers go.

Define public places, says Tina (ph). Next time I light up on my deck and my smoke wafts over to my neighbor's yard, am I going to get arrested? If you're going to consider that, let's just go all the way and make smoking illegal altogether.

And Michael (ph) says people need to remember that this is the land of tolerance. Just because you don't agree with something doesn't mean it should be banned. It's a slippery slope. Once you open these doors to the federal government, they're going to dictate for all of your well-being. If smoking is banned from public places today, what's next, the vegetarians will ban meat consumption in public places as well?

WHITFIELD: All right, interesting. Well we'll find out what Louisville thinks today.

MYERS: That's right.

WHITFIELD: Thanks a lot -- Chad.

MYERS: All right.

WHITFIELD: The next hour of DAYBREAK begins right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Captured, the manhunt ends for an escaped prisoner and his wife.

It's Thursday, August 11.

The Tennessee couple on the run for more than 24 hours is caught in Columbus, Ohio. We're there live.

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