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CNN Live At Daybreak

West Bank Pullout; Prescription ATM; Left Behind?; Serial Bomber

Aired August 23, 2005 - 06:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: To the Israeli pullout from four settlements in the West Bank now. A sign atop the last building holding protesters in Sanur says a curse upon any of those who remove us from our home.
Guy Raz is watching developments there. Here joins us live now.

Hello -- Guy.

GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol.

Police and soldiers appear to be waiting it out at the moment, trying to negotiate their entry into this community center right behind us, hoping that those inside will leave on their own.

Now, if we could just take a look at the top of that building you can see a few demonstrators up there. We believe there are several dozen demonstrators up there, most of those hard line settlers, opponents of the government's plan to withdraw Jewish settlers from these four northern West Bank settlements.

Now, earlier in the day police stormed a synagogue in this community and managed to enter that synagogue fairly rapidly and remove all of the people inside of that synagogue.

Right now, what they appear to be doing is waiting it out for this last holding, this community center. Once this center folds, essentially once this center is evacuated, we can say with a fair amount of confidence that the disengagement process that began now just less than a week ago will be over -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Guy Raz reporting live from the West Bank this morning.

Well, you knew it was only a matter of time before automation put even the corner drug dealers out of business. Up next, would you get your prescriptions from an ATM -- or an APM, we should say? Is it a good idea? (INAUDIBLE). We're coming right back.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It's time now for the market report. Mixed trading in the international markets this morning. Japan's Nikkei closes up 20 points, Britain's FTSE is trading down 16, the German DAX down about 34.

It looks like Islam will play a major role in the new Iraqi constitution. So what will that mean for women?

Soledad O'Brien joins us now for a look at what's coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."

Good morning.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Carol, good morning to you.

Yes, actually lots of questions remain in this new constitution or this draft constitution. It's on hold until some key differences can be ironed out. But women's rights advocates already are worried about the draft that was submitted. Will women actually lose some of the rights that they gained under Saddam Hussein's rule? We're going to take a closer look at that this morning.

Also, Carol, our special back-to-school series continues. That's hard to say. Today, are you setting your kids up for burnout with a full day of homework and sports and then other activities? Are some children seriously over-scheduled? You know, that can cause anxiety, depression in little kids. We're going to have some tips to help you help them strike a healthy balance.

That's all ahead on "AMERICAN MORNING" coming up at the top of the hour -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, thank you, Soledad.

Continuing our business news now. You can get food, drinks, tickets and even your money out of a machine. So, how about prescription drugs? That may be coming to a store near you.

And the man hoping to put it there, Bill Holmes, president of Distributed Delivery Networks. He joins us live from San Diego to talk about the ATM-like drug dispensers.

Good morning, Bill.

BILL HOLMES, DISTRIBUTED DELIVERY NETWORKS: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: Thanks for waking up so early.

HOLMES: My pleasure.

COSTELLO: So, tell us about these machines.

HOLMES: Well, the idea is to take the place of a shortage in pharmacists and step in and try to fill the gap by using automation where people just aren't available.

COSTELLO: So, how exactly do they work?

HOLMES: Well, it's a simple four-step process. First, you call a prescription in, a refill prescription in the usual way, drop it by the pharmacy. The pharmacist then fills the prescription in the usual manner, loads the prescription into the APM dispensing machine. The customer approaches the machine, just like an ATM, uses a password, swipes a credit card to make the payment. And then the machine dispenses the prescription and verifies the prescription to the person.

COSTELLO: So, you would call your purchase in to the actual pharmacist. He would fill your prescription actually and just put it in that machine instead of handing it over to you.

HOLMES: Exactly.

COSTELLO: I don't know. Are there are safeguards built in? Because, you know, there are mistakes on ATMs.

HOLMES: Well, the technology isn't brand new. The credit goes to someone named Walter Bain (ph) in Salt Lake City, Utah, who is a 40-year veteran in pharmacy. And over three years where this technology has been deployed in a pharmacy in that area, there has been zero instances of the wrong package going to the consumer. Because we use bar code technology to verify accuracy just prior to delivering the package to the customer, we have the opportunity to prevent that kind of a mismatch.

COSTELLO: You know, some people have to get a lot of prescriptions filled all at once. How many drugs would come out of there at the same time?

HOLMES: Any drug that's verified by the pharmacist and does not require any consultation in states that have that kind of a restriction on the use of these machines could be dispensed in a group or individually if the patient would seek that.

COSTELLO: Of course, the big concern here is you don't get that one on one with your pharmacist. You can't ask him or her questions like, you know, should I take this medication with alcohol, or to make sure that this medication is the right medication.

HOLMES: Yes, the machine asks you when you're in the process of picking up your prescription if you'd like to talk to a pharmacist, and provisions are made for that to take place. The machines are immediately adjacent to a pharmacy, and so there's really no reason why you can't talk to a pharmacist at that point.

COSTELLO: Well, what if the pharmacy is closed though?

HOLMES: Then we would only use the machine if there was a telephone nearby, where that prescription is being vended, so the pharmacist would have access -- would be accessible by the patient. Or if the patient were to say, for example, that they would like a consultation, we would not vend in that case and refer the person to come back the next day.

COSTELLO: OK. I know there are machines up and running in California. Where else?

HOLMES: Utah, California. Our most recent installation is in the Kmart store in Penn Station in downtown Manhattan.

COSTELLO: I didn't even know about that one. So, do you think that this will soon spread countrywide and when?

HOLMES: If people find the machines convenient and if accuracy is improved, as we believe it will be, then they'll be used by retailers who are interested in providing convenience and safety for their customers.

COSTELLO: Bill Holmes, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We appreciate it.

HOLMES: My pleasure, Carol.

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 6:39 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Eric Rudolph has apologized in court for the 1996 Atlanta Olympics bombing. But he didn't say he was sorry for the other bombings he committed, including one at a clinic where abortions are performed. Rudolph was sentenced yesterday in Atlanta to life in prison.

In money news, the NFL is looking for the official beer sponsor of the 2006 season. And, boy, is it worth some big bucks. "USA Today" reporting two brewers in negotiations are Anheuser-Busch and Coors. Coors has a $300 million deal right now, which it is hoping to renew.

In culture, conservative radio host Michael Graham has been fired after he refused to apologize for calling Islam a terrorist organization. Graham's broadcast in late July drew protests from the Council on American Islamic Relations.

In sports, she says she dreamed of it all of her life, and now Maria Sharapova is number one in world tennis rankings. That means she'll probably be the top seed at the U.S. Open, which starts here in New York on Monday.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: From the classroom to the courtroom. Connecticut has become the first state to sue the Bush administration over the No Child Left Behind Act. The federal education law is supposed to raise school standards. But Connecticut wants to know who is going to pay for it.

Mark Davis from our affiliate WTNH has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK DAVIS, CNN AFFILIATE WTNH REPORTER (voice over): Over the next few weeks, 570,000 Connecticut school kids will go back to public schools. But teachers and administrators have been having fits about having to add testing to grades 3, 5 and 7, in addition to the tests that have been conducted in grades, 4, 6, 8 and 10 here in Connecticut for years.

COMM. BETTY STERNBERG, CONN. DEPT. OF EDUCATION: The additional tests as imposed by the requirements of NCLB have questionable merit.

DAVIS: The additional testing mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind Act championed by President George Bush is, according to school administrators, the general assembly and this lawsuit, an illegally-imposed unfunded mandate, forcing the state and cities and towns to spend money they don't have.

DON WILLIAMS, CONNECTICUT STATE SENATE: It is as great as $40 million in unfunded mandates to the state, and as much as $400 million in unfunded mandates to our cities and towns.

DAVIS: Educators say requiring school systems to get the test scores higher will only result in teaching how to take the tests.

H. KAYE GRIFFIN, MADISON SCHOOL SUPT.: In many cases, that can only be done with direct intervention, which is very costly, is one of the major issues that we all face.

DAVIS: The lawsuit seeks to either stop the forced testing or get the federal government to pay for it.

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, CONNECTICUT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Literally, it's give up the illegal mandates or give us the money. One or the other.

DAVIS: Governor Jodi Rell, who originally opposed the idea of a lawsuit against the federal government, seems to now be reluctantly going along. Her education commissioner has been rejected several times in attempts to get the feds to give the state some sort of waiver.

GOV. JODI RELL (R), CONNECTICUT: And while I would have preferred, as I said, to work through a different mechanism, I believe if he wants to pursue, he certainly should be able to do so.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Mark Davis from our affiliate WTNH.

The death toll continues to rise, and the president's approval rating continues to fall. Up next, an in-depth look at how the war is going and the perception of how the war is going.

Plus, we'll tell you what else will be making news today.

But first, say happy birthday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And welcome back. It is 6:46 Eastern. Here is what will be making news today.

It could save you some money -- gas money in the future. This morning, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta announces a big overhaul of fuel economy standards. The plan would require SUVs, light trucks and minivans to get better gas mileage. CNN will bring you Mineta's news conference in Atlanta live. Our coverage begins at 9:00 a.m. Eastern.

And finally, Pat Robertson is talking tough. The Christian broadcaster says the U.S. should assassinate Venezuela's leftist president, Hugo Chavez. Robertson says Chavez is trying to spread communism, and he says Chavez's control over a huge oil reserve makes him a threat.

How is this for strange bedfellows? The presidential adviser and Jimi Hendrix? They're both coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."

Miles, Jimi Hendrix couldn't possibly be coming up on "AMERICAN MORNING."

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: No, we definitely don't have Jimi Hendrix. But that would be an event, wouldn't it? Yes.

COSTELLO: It would. I'd be tuned in.

M. O'BRIEN: All of the exclusives are here on CNN. No, we will be joined by the presidential counselor, Dan Bartlett. Although a draft of the new Iraqi constitution has been submitted, a lot of people would say it isn't soup yet. We'll find out what the White House thinks about all of this. A bit of a setback, but some could look at it as progress as well. It depends on who you ask, of course.

And then we'll talk to the author behind the new Jimi Hendrix biography. "Room Full of Mirrors," it is called. Lots of interesting details about Jimi Hendrix.

You know, I knew a lot about his music, Carol, but not so much about him. How about you?

COSTELLO: I know. And some fascinating details are coming out.

M. O'BRIEN: A veracious appetite, you might say. And I'll just leave it at that.

COSTELLO: For many things.

M. O'BRIEN: We'll fill in the details later. Yes, Carol.

COSTELLO: For the best thing in life.

M. O'BRIEN: We'll see you here soon.

COSTELLO: All right, thanks, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

COSTELLO: When we come back, more headlines and a look at your travel forecast. You're watching DAYBREAK for a Tuesday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Eric Robert Rudolph, once a defiant terrorist, is now an apologetic prisoner. The convicted serial bomber tells victims and their families he's sorry for their pain. He made those remarks during a court appearance in Atlanta.

Paula Zahn reports on the homegrown terrorist.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): January 16, 1997, two bombs explode at a women's clinic in an Atlanta suburb, an abortion clinic. Seven people are injured. February 21, 1997, another bombing attack on a gay nightclub in Atlanta injures four people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bomb explosion, the New Women's Abortion Clinic.

ZAHN: January 29, 1998, a bomb explodes outside a Birmingham, Alabama, abortion clinic. A security guard is killed, a nurse seriously injured. A suspect is spotted. A witness catches his license plate. It's traced back to this man, Eric Robert Rudolph.

While searching Rudolph's trailer home in North Carolina, police make a startling discovery. Bomb-making material they say is linked to the 1996 Atlanta Olympic terrorist bombing that killed one person and injured more than 100.

But why did Eric Rudolph choose these targets? He's not saying, but someone who knows him well paints a portrait of an extremist filled with hate.

(on camera): Who does Eric Rudolph hate and why?

DEBORAH RUDOLPH FORMER SISTER-IN-LAW OF ERIC RUDOLPH: The government would be one.

ZAHN: And why?

RUDOLPH: They control everything. And I think that he -- you know, I think he has issues with control.

ZAHN (voice-over): Deborah Rudolph was married to Eric's brother, Joel, for six years. She watched Eric grow up and saw him harden into a man with very strong opinions.

RUDOLPH: A lot of people say that he's a racist. I wouldn't classify him as a racist, knowing him personally. He's more of a separatist. He believes that every -- each race should be true to themselves. He believes that the Bible is the history of the white race, and that the other races in the Bible, you know are, are just -- he would call them mud people.

ZAHN: Eric was raised by his mother, a former nun who eventually turned the family to darker beliefs. RUDOLPH: There were always mercenary magazines laying around the house, philosophy books, newspapers, controversial newspapers, like "The Lightning Bolt" or "The Thunderbolt," different kind of papers like that. I would always see them laying around when we would go to the mountains.

ZAHN (on camera): Who bought those?

RUDOLPH: I would assume that it was something that, you know, the family subscribed to.

ZAHN (voice-over): After Eric's father was diagnosed with cancer, the family's attitudes towards the government turned to hate. Mrs. Rudolph wanted to treat her husband with an illegal substance called laetrile.

RUDOLPH: They thought it was a natural way to cure or slow down cancer, made from apricot pits. They were a very self-sufficient family. And I think that that really was the topping on the cake. His mother wanted to treat him with laetrile. They wouldn't allow it. And, you know, she was very outspoken about it. And the children, of course, pick up on that.

ZAHN (voice-over): So, the family hunkered down in the North Carolina mountains, generating their own electricity and filtering their own water. Eric loved to smoke marijuana and watch movies, but not TV. Deborah says he thought that was controlled by Jews.

RUDOLPH: He would actually watch the TV and watch the credits roll. See, see, Steinbergs, this and that. And he would -- you know, he would just go on this. He would become very animated and go off on a tyrant, you know, just a fit about, you know, all these Jews that are in the media and on the news, so they control the information that we as a people are receiving.

ZAHN: As Eric Rudolph got older, he turned into a man willing to use terror to make his point.

CNN senior investigative reporter Henry Schuster has written a new book about Eric Rudolph.

HENRY SCHUSTER, CNN PRODUCER: Friends who saw Eric up to the time of the Olympic Games said that, increasingly, he would sit in his house with the curtains drawn. He would be ranting against the government. He would be watching TV and going into these terrific rages. He was increasingly paranoid about surveillance from the government.

ZAHN: So, why did Eric Rudolph choose the Olympics and abortion clinics as his targets? Deborah Rudolph thinks she knows.

RUDOLPH: And I think it goes back to a race thing, again, back to this idea that the majority of abortions performed in this country are performed on white women. But yet black women, Hispanic women are allowed to have all these kids, and the government is going to support them. So, I think that was the issue with that. The Olympics, I think it's a matter of all of these people coming from all different countries and cultures and colors and races and religions, all coming together in one place.

ZAHN: But Deborah Rudolph also says she saw something in her former brother-in-law that perhaps the world will never see: an intelligence that was wasted.

RUDOLPH: I've always said that he was either going to be famous for something or infamous for something. Eric could have been a great leader of people. He could have been a great leader of men. That's how smart he was.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: CNN's Paula Zahn.

Eric Robert Rudolph did not apologize for the bombings that targeted two abortion clinics and a gay nightclub.

"Now in the News."

A West Bank showdown this morning. With Gaza emptied, Israeli forces are using some force to evacuate two West Bank settlements. Police broke down a barricade at a synagogue in the Sanur settlement and forced protesters out.

President Bush taking a vacation within his vacation. He's spending two days at a resort in Idaho. He left his Texas ranch yesterday for a pro-Iraq war speech at the V.F.W. Convention in Salt Lake City. After that, he flew on to Idaho.

Iraq's draft constitution is showing signs of progress. That's what Iraq's prime minister said this morning. But in remarks carried here on DAYBREAK within the last hour, he also admits more work has to be done. Lawmakers have delayed voting on the draft to iron out some sticking points.

To the forecast center now and Chad. And before you give your travel forecast, we might as well give away a mug.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We'll give away a mug. We can't ask questions today, because our questions actually were covered up by that developing news story. So, that's OK. We'll certainly give away one tomorrow.

Here are the winner from yesterday. Who authenticated the Saddam Hussein jailhouse letter? And that was the ICRC -- the International Committee of the Red Cross. And who is protesting the name of the South Carolina Gamecocks? And that is PETA.

And the winner from California. What are you doing awake? Cheryl Abbate from Palm Springs, California, wins the DAYBREAK coffee mug today.

(WEATHER REPORT) COSTELLO: From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

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