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CNN Live At Daybreak

Iraq on Deadline; Football Death; Saddam Letter

Aired August 22, 2005 - 06:00   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 Monday, August 22. Will it be democracy delayed yet again in Iraq? It's starting to look that way. What happens when you can't make your deadline? Well, if you're Iraqis trying to come up with a constitution, you may just have to push that deadline back again, or something worse.
In the meantime, "Long live Palestine," and "Love your nation." Words to live by from none other than Saddam Hussein. A bizarre jailhouse letter coming up.

And the final holdout is about to be moved out. Is the last Jewish settlement in Gaza willing to go quietly? We'll find out this morning on DAYBREAK.

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're going to get you the latest on what could be another day in Iraq's constitution in just a minute.

Also ahead, a pro football player dies after playing a game. The question now, what killed him? We'll take a look.

And while we're talking sports, what offends you? Chances are the name of your favorite sports team is ticking somebody off. Is political correctness going too far on the field? PETA is weighing in. That's ahead.

But first, "Now in the News."

It is deadline day for those drafting Iraq's new constitution. They failed to reach an agreement a week ago and have given themselves until midnight tonight Iraqi time to produce the document. That's 4:00 p.m. Eastern our time. And they may not make it. A senior Iraqi official tells CNN some issues are still unresolved.

Three more American soldiers have been killed in Iraq. The military says two of them died when their vehicle rolled over during a patrol near Tal Afar. And the other soldier was killed in a roadside bombing in Ad Dwar.

1996 Olympic park bomber Eric Rudolph faces sentencing this morning in Atlanta. About a dozen victims are expected to speak out. The bombing killed a woman and injured more than 100 people. Under a plea bargain agreement he'll be sentenced to life in prison. It is the first day of the business week, a big test for Northwest Airlines. The airline's mechanics union began a strike on Saturday. Northwest will be pressured to keep its planes flying.

To the forecast center and Chad.

Good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Time is running out for the Iraq interim government. The next chapter is yet to be written, a draft constitution. Today is the deadline for that to be done, but they're still trying to work some things out.

Live to Baghdad now and our Aneesh Raman. He has the latest.

More progress?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Carol, not sure yet. With just hours to go, 10 to be exact until the deadline, again another day of political uncertainty.

We're told right now Iraq's political leadership are meeting to try and figure out what to do. This follows meetings with U.S. and British officials among the Kurds and the Shia earlier today.

Now, all along, Carol, there had been two major issues crippling this process, the role of religion and the notion of federalism. On the former, we're told an agreement has been reached in principle. The head of Iraq's National Assembly telling me earlier that Islam will be "a main source of Iraqi legislation."

That will raise concerns among women's rights groups, who had hoped Islam would simply "a" source, one of many, something they felt was necessary to ensure their rights. It will also raise questions about role, how prominent a role religious clerics will play in the new Iraq.

But that other issue, federalism, is emerging as an impasse. The Kurds want explicit reference to it in the constitution, maintaining an autonomous region in the north. The Sunnis want all talk of federalism sidelined until a new government comes into power.

And the Shia are perhaps split. Some of them are calling for an autonomous region in the country's south. Others are calling for a unified, single Iraq.

So that is what they are working to try and find compromise on, Carol. They have now just about 10 hours to try and do that -- Carol. COSTELLO: Aneesh Raman, live in Baghdad. We'll check back with you.

In other stories "Across America" this Monday morning, police in suburban Philadelphia find the remains of a missing pregnant woman. The father of her unborn child in custody. Finding the body of 24- year-old Latoiya Figueroa ends a month-long search. The district attorney says Stephen Pouches will be charged with two counts of murder and related offenses.

A New York boy is hailed a hero for trying to shield a girl from gunfire. An unidentified gunman opened fire at the front steps where they were sitting. Thirteen-year-old Ellis Murcado (ph) took a bullet in the back as he covered a wounded 10-year-old friend.

A power parachuter got clothes-lined by high voltage power lines in Montana. Don Beatty (ph) hung upside down for three hours before a crane plucked him out of the 230,000-volt line. "I just screwed up," says Beatty (ph).

It could be several weeks before we know what caused the death of a San Francisco 49ers player. Lineman Thomas Herrion collapsed in the locker room after a game in Denver on Saturday. The team plans a memorial for him tomorrow.

Reporter Chris Vanderveen has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS VANDERVEEN, REPORTER NBC 11 NEWS: A San Francisco 49ers player collapsed after the game. Still, a lot of details that need to be sorted out in all of this, but here is what we do know.

Shortly after the game within the 49ers locker room, Thomas Herrion collapsed. It was after a speech, a post-game talk given by the 49ers head coach.

As you might imagine, team physicians were on him immediately, working to revive him. At some point, CPR was performed. And after that, he was transported here to St. Anthony Central here in Denver, where he was pronounced dead. This hospital is literally about two miles away from the stadium.

Herrion, a 6'3" 310-pound guard, was on the field for San Francisco's final touchdown drive. He walked off the field. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary at that time.

He spent the last year on the Dallas and San Francisco practice squads, played in NFL Europe earlier this year, and the 49ers had him listed as the third string left guard.

This death comes a little more than four years after the death of Minnesota Vikings player Korey Stringer. Back then, it was during training camp, and heat exhaustion was the big factor back then. But last night's game, temperatures do not appear, at least on the surface, to be a factor. Temperatures during the game were mostly in the mid 60s, with a high humidity.

Still, a lot of details that need to be sorted out. That will come in the days and weeks to follow. But certainly a big tragedy for the San Francisco 49ers organization, as well as the NFL.

This is Chris Vanderveen, in Denver, for NBC 11 News.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And of course we'll keep you posted on any new developments.

We're going to talk to a member of the Red Cross about Saddam Hussein's letter that ended up in two Jordanian newspapers. That's still to come after a break.

(INAUDIBLE) takes off, but that's not stopping the planes from doing the same thing.

And later, they can do just about everything except make toast. A techy's guide to the latest laptop. What's the best for you? That's coming up.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The Iraqis still struggling to come up with a constitution that people can vote on and accept. And on the heels of that struggle with its constitution and violence in Iraq, the country's former dictator is casting himself as a martyr. And his ruminations wound up in two Jordanian newspapers.

He writes in a letter from jail, saying he's prepared to sacrifice himself for Iraq and Palestine. And he calls on other Arabs to do the same. The letter was delivered by the International Committee of the Red Cross and wound up, as I said, in two Jordanian newspapers.

A spokesman for the organization, Roland Huguenin-Benjamin, joins us live from London.

Good morning, sir.

ROLAND HUGUENIN-BENJAMIN, SPOKESMAN, INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS: Hello. Good morning.

COSTELLO: I know that prisoners are allowed to write letters. Can you just take us through the rules, first off?

HUGUENIN-BENJAMIN: Yes, prisoners are entitled under the Geneva Conventions to send personal letters to the families and the relatives. These letters are collected by the detaining power, by the guards in the prison or in the facilities where they are kept. And these letters are scrutinized. They are censored by the authorities in the camp or the prison, and are delivered to the International Committee of the Red Cross so that they can be transmitted to the family. So the letter that has been delivered...

COSTELLO: And Roland, I noticed -- I noticed you said family and relatives. The man who received this letter was not related to Saddam Hussein. He was an old friend, a Jordanian political figure.

HUGUENIN-BENJAMIN: Yes.

COSTELLO: How did it wind up with him, then?

HUGUENIN-BENJAMIN: Yes, this is exactly what I was saying, that those letters are collected by the detaining authorities, censored and transmitted to the ICRC for distribution. So, in that case, this letter very clearly has been seen, has been censored by the American people in charge at the camp, and has been transmitted. So why the decision was made as to transmit it, we couldn't comment on the ICRC in that case as delivering the letters that are being given. It is acting as a postman, basically.

COSTELLO: OK. So, in other words, what you're saying is the military gave permission to you to deliver this letter to this Jordanian man.

HUGUENIN-BENJAMIN: Yes. We get bunches of letters to all the prisoners. Let's not forget that there are lots of other prisoners detained in Iraq. All of them are entitled to send letters, and these letters are, in turn, circulated, distributed to the recipiendaries (ph). It happens in that case that this recipiendary (ph) was not a direct family relative.

COSTELLO: I want to allow our viewers to -- to look at something from the letter that Saddam Hussein wrote. In the letter, he writes, "It is not too much for a man to answer the call of his nation with all that he possesses and with his soul, yet it is what the nation deserves."

He sort of casts himself as a martyr in this letter and seems to -- it seems to be a call for action from other Arabs. That this letter was published in two Jordanian newspapers, does that concern you at all?

HUGUENIN-BENJAMIN: Yes. The purpose of Red Cross letters are to tranquilize, actually to reassure families about the fate of the relatives in detention whoever they are. The fact that they should be used to transmit political messages or should be eventually published is a matter of concern.

The purpose of Red Cross letters is just to be family, to help the families and to help the detainees. It's not meant to be used in that way. And it's something that's really not under the control of the ICRC at all.

COSTELLO: So does it surprise you that -- that all of this letter wasn't censored?

HUGUENIN-BENJAMIN: It came to us at it came along, with a bunch of other letters from many other detainees, and it has been circulated. Why it is kept and why it was circulated is a matter than can be addressed by the people in charge of the place of detention itself.

COSTELLO: How many letters are allowed to be delivered to family and friends from those in captivity?

HUGUENIN-BENJAMIN: There is no maximum quantity. It is just a matter of practicality. If the people in charge of a place of detention can handle a large number of letters and are willing to do so, they can.

There is a minimum, though, stated by the Geneva Conventions, which is, I believe, two letters and four postcards per month, per person. But this is not necessarily the case. In many, many countries where the ICRC has been visiting detainees, it does collect letters only during its visits. In the case of Iraq, we also do get letters collected by the detaining power itself, and they are transmitted.

COSTELLO: Thank you for joining us. Roland Huguenin-Benjamin from the Red Cross. We appreciate your comments this morning.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 6:15 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

The space shuttle Discovery back at the Kennedy Space Center. It got there riding piggyback on a jumbo jet. As you might remember, Discovery's space mission ended in California when bad weather kept the shuttle from landing in Florida.

In money news, "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" scored big at the box office this weekend. Actor Steve Carell's comedy raked in more than $20 million, debuting in the number one spot.

In culture, China reportedly will soon have its own version of the reality show "The Apprentice." A Chinese newspaper says Donald Trump will be the show's executive producer. It will be hosted by a Beijing property mogul.

In sports, here they come. Jeremy Mayfield, in the red car, heads towards the finish line. This is the Michigan International Speedway.

You tell the rest, Chad.

MYERS: MIS in the Irish Hills. I've been there many times.

There you go. If you get good gas mileage, you can win a race. Or you can not pay so much to pump, like I did yesterday -- $43 to fill up the car. That hurt yesterday.

(WEATHER REPORT) COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

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

The plan was to ground Northwest Airlines. It may be back to the old drawing board instead of back to the old negotiating table for striking mechanics. We'll have the latest for you next.

And in the next half-hour, they saved the toughest for last. The final Jewish settlement in Gaza is being cleared, but is it going quietly?

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Time now for a little "Business Buzz." As summer wanes, higher heating bills are on the horizon. On top of sharply- higher gas prices, the Energy Department warns that consumers will see a double-digit rise in natural gas and heating oil this winter. But did I need to tell you that?

Google's new Internet search program debuts today. Google Desktop 2 is free and delivers personalized information based on a Web user's surfing habits. It's Google's latest attempt to go up against Microsoft and Yahoo! as all three battle it out for desktop dominance.

And we're entering three -- day three, I should say, of the Northwest Airlines mechanics strike. But as Carrie Lee tells us, the real test for Northwest is about to begin.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

COSTELLO: Building a better laptop is next. Don't go away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Now some tech talk.

For the first time ever, people are buying more laptops than they are PCs. "Sync" magazine takes a look at the best ones out there, and here to talk about that is Rob Bernstein, a deputy editor of "Sync."

Thanks for coming in this morning.

ROB BERNSTEIN, "SYNC" MAGAZINE: Thanks for having us, Carol.

COSTELLO: Those look fancy and small. Some of them look very small.

BERNSTEIN: They're getting very compact. When you're looking at laptops today, you want to look at power, portability and battery life. These are all very portable, you can see.

Very powerful as well. They pack a lot of punch into a small footprint. So that's important. And good battery life. So that's why we selected this at "Sync."

COSTELLO: Yes, we like good batteries. That's very important.

BERNSTEIN: You've got to make it from the East Coast to the West Coast on that long flight. You don't want to conk out in the middle of your game.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes. Playing a game would be...

BERNSTEIN: Or your movie.

COSTELLO: ... fun. Not working.

BERNSTEIN: You know, you don't want to watch the movies on the plane, you can bring your own with you. So...

COSTELLO: Very cool. OK. So let's talk specifics.

BERNSTEIN: Sure.

COSTELLO: First one up, Dell.

BERNSTEIN: Yes, this is the Dell Inspiron 6000. Stripped down, about $650. So that's really cheap. Laptop prices have really come down.

This is for the beginner user. It's really nice. It has good power, but it's got a great screen here.

It's about 15.4 inches. So it's good visuals, good for playing DVDs, and nice size keyboard, which I like. It's important. So if you have the big beefy fingers, you know, sometimes these keyboards get so small it's hard to type away. This one's really easy to type on.

COSTELLO: Great.

BERNSTEIN: So it's a very good beginner system.

COSTELLO: Voodoo Envy. I've never heard of this one.

BERNSTEIN: Yes, this is sort of a specialty item. This is for the gaming dorks. You look like a pretty big gamer yourself, so this might be the system for you, Carol.

You can see it has beautiful color. It's really snazzed (ph) out with that metallic blue.

COSTELLO: Blue.

BERNSTEIN: It's Bavarian blue, apparently it's called. And the important thing about this is it has -- is a great graphics chip inside. It's an ATI graphics chip, for gamers who know. It just means it's really powerful, can play all the state-of-the-art games.

COSTELLO: Great. The next one is the Sony Vaio. BERNSTEIN: For travelers, great travel system. You can see it's only three pounds.

COSTELLO: Tiny.

BERNSTEIN: It's so tiny. A little 10.6 inch screen. What's great about this, though, it's the first laptop that has built-in edge singular service.

What that means is most of these have Wi-Fi in it. So if you go to Starbucks, you can start playing around wirelessly on the Internet. You can do that with this as well, but it also can send you wireless with just a cellular signal.

So, if you're within cell phone range, you can get onto the Internet. So that means at the beach, anywhere. Work, of course. Anywhere.

COSTELLO: At the beach.

BERNSTEIN: Yes. Well, hey...

COSTELLO: And you know people will -- I know.

BERNSTEIN: ... people are using it at the beach, believe it or not.

COSTELLO: I'm still stunned people talk on their cell phone on the beach. It's like, just have fun.

BERNSTEIN: Yes.

COSTELLO: The next one is Toshiba.

BERNSTEIN: Yes, I love this one.

COSTELLO: And this is really great.

BERNSTEIN: This is great. And you can see the unique -- this is great for students. This is about $2,200, $2,000. It's a little pricey for students, but the great thing about it is it's a Tablet PC.

So what you can see is the screen actually swivels, which is nice. And you can flip it all the way around and lock it into place.

COSTELLO: Wow.

BERNSTEIN: And you can see here it turns into an actual pad that you can write it. There it is. It goes -- I'll show that to you. You can actually write on it.

COSTELLO: Yes, it's great.

BERNSTEIN: And if you use the back side, it becomes an eraser. So that's very note. And I should note, by the way, not all these PCs, but a bunch we're giving away in the new issue of "Sync." And we're giving away MP3 players and TVs. So people should check it out if you're looking for a good, free laptop.

COSTELLO: Plug for the magazine.

BERNSTEIN: There you go. You've got to plug the mag.

COSTELLO: That's fine with us. And, you know, the interesting thing about that one is you can get used to actually writing again.

BERNSTEIN: Well, it's great because you can write away on it, and then you can import your text, because you don't know how to type and I don't know how to type. You just scribble away. It takes that data and then puts it into a Word document for you and cleans it up. It can even take little doodles and put it right into your Word document for you.

COSTELLO: Fascinating.

BERNSTEIN: Pretty neat.

COSTELLO: Rob Bernstein, thank you for joining us from "Sync" magazine.

BERNSTEIN: Thanks for having us. Thanks, Carol.

COSTELLO: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

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

Do you think political correctness has gone too far when it comes to the names of your favorite sports teams? We're going to be looking into that, because PETA is weighing in now. They're having a problem with the Gamecock name.

Also coming up this half-hour, it's moving day for the final Jewish settlement in Gaza. We'll take you there live in just a minute.

And Eric Rudolph learns his sentence today for a series of bombings. First, though, he will have to face some of his victims in court. That's ahead.

But first, "Now in the News."

Iraqi leaders have until midnight to draft a new constitution. That's 4:00 p.m. Eastern our time. A senior Iraqi official tells CNN some issues are still unresolved and a second deadline extension may be needed. Brazilian officials will be in London today, looking for answers in the shooting death of an innocent man. London police shot Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes, thinking he may have been a suicide bomber. It happened after the failed attacks on London's transit system last month.

It's not perfected, but researchers at Harvard say they may be on the verge of a breakthrough. They've created a new human embryonic stem cell. They fused an embryonic stem cell to an ordinary skin cell. The accomplishment could someday lead to medical treatments without destroying human embryos.

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