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CNN Live At Daybreak

West Bank Pullout; Staying the Course; Left Behind?

Aired August 23, 2005 - 05:00   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 23. For the last of the Israeli settlers it is time to go. Live from the West Bank. Barbed wires, steel bars and determination cannot stop Israeli soldiers from doing their duty. The last Israeli settlers are coming out.
Also, there is no misunderstanding. Conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson, he wants Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez assassinated.

And heartbreak in southern California for Olivia Newton-John. Her boyfriend went fishing back in June, hasn't been seen since.

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

COSTELLO: Good morning to you. We'll have more on the West Bank withdrawal in just a minute.

Also ahead, do you hate filling up your gas tank? Well, you're not alone. We'll tell you how your fellow Americans feel about those rising prices.

And later, we'll meet Sam, perhaps the world's ugliest dog.

But first, "Now in the New."

President Bush is 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 VFW convention in Salt Lake City. After that, he flew on to Idaho.

Jordanian officials say they've arrested a man considered to be a prime suspect in the attack on two U.S. ships in the port of Aqaba. The Friday attack missed the ships. Authorities say three other suspects escaped into Iraq.

The United Nations secretary-general wants to draw attention to Niger's food crisis. Kofi Annan meets today with the president of Niger and will tour villages where residents are facing food shortages.

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: It was expected to be a tough assignment for the Israeli military: removing Israelis from two West Bank settlements as part of Ariel Sharon's disengagement plan. So far, it doesn't appear to be as difficult as military officials anticipated. But let's head live now to our Guy Raz at one of those settlements, Sanur. It's on the West Bank.

Good morning.

GUY RAZ, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Less than a week ago today, the Israeli government began its process of forcibly removing settlers from 21 settlements in Gaza, four in the northern West Bank. By the end of today, we believe the disengagement process will be completed.

Now, just behind us, the last bastion, if you will, the last holdout here in the Sanur settlement. This is the main community center. On top of the community center, dozens of young men dancing on the roofs.

These are hard-line activists. These are people who have vowed to remain in this settlement until the very end.

Now, there are thousands of police and soldiers involved in this operation. Seven thousand, to be exact. This entire disengagement process has been one of the largest Israeli peacetime military operations in history.

Now, so far, this -- the evacuation of this settlement has gone according to plan. Earlier in the day, police stormed a synagogue here. They removed those inside, put them on buses, and those buses were taken out of this settlement.

We expect now, in the coming hours, for police to begin evacuating this fort, this community center that we see here, a fortress that has been essentially taken over by activists, many of whom do not live in this community. But police have said so far the process is going well; not a shot has been fired. A few minor scuffles here and there, a few minor injuries, but by and large, we expect the entire disengagement process to be over by the end of today -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Guy Raz, live in the West Bank this morning.

In Iraq, the deadline has been met, the parliament has a constitution, sort of. The draft document was submitted to the National Assembly late last night, minutes before a deadline, but a vote on the draft is being delayed until Thursday. Officials say some sticking points, major ones, still need to be worked out. Among them, the method of forming provinces and central government control over them.

President Bush says those who worked on the draft are defying the terrorists and the pessimists. And he told an audience in Salt Lake City he'll stay the course in Iraq despite growing public opinion polls against the war.

More from CNN's Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Before an audience of veterans, an unusually blunt call for patience. For the first time, the president confronted critics by using the very number they say proves his Iraq policy is a failure.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've lost 1,864 members of our armed forces in Operation Iraqi Freedom, and 223 in Operation Enduring Freedom. Each of these men and women left grieving families and loved ones back home.

BASH: After eight days out of sight at his Texas ranch while the anti-war protest Cindy Sheehan sparked there held the spotlight, Mr. Bush appeared to respond to her chief complaint, her son died in vain and the troops should come home.

BUSH: We owe them something. We will finish the task that they gave their lives for.

BASH: His rationale for continuing the Iraq mission, vintage Bush, telling Americans they are not yet safe, framing it in the context of the broader war on terror with words that have angered critics before, evoking the mastermind of the September 11 attacks.

BUSH: Terrorists like bin Laden and his ally, Zarqawi, are trying to turn Iraq into what Afghanistan was under the Taliban.

BASH: This speech and one planned for Idaho Wednesday were scheduled months ago, but aides concede they come at a critical time for the president to once again make his case for staying in Iraq. But Cindy Sheehan followed the president here, too, on TV.

CINDY SHEEHAN, SON DIED IN IRAQ: How many more soldiers have to die before we say enough?

BASH: And down the street as the president spoke, hundreds of anti-war protesters. The president's urgent task to reinvigorate support for his Iraq policy is not just from opponents. GOP veteran of Vietnam, Senator Chuck Hagel, has been drawing similarities between that war, one the U.S. lost, and Iraq. Other red state Republicans home for summer recess say they are finding doubts about the war and the Bush plan on the rise.

(on camera): A senior Bush official said the president decided to cite the casualty numbers, in part, because that is a focus of Bush critics. And a room full of veterans is an appropriate place to say their sacrifice was for a worthy cause. Dana Bash, CNN, Salt Lake City, Utah.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: All right. Let's talk gas prices, because, I know, gas prices just keep going up.

Don't they, Chad?

MYERS: They do. I think I paid $2.74 yesterday a gallon.

COSTELLO: Isn't that crazy?

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: It cost me $41 to fill up my gas tank the other day. I think I set a personal record. Anyway...

MYERS: Well, I know. And you know what? I mean, I have an outhouse on wheels, and it's still costing me like, you know, 60 bucks to put in there. It's like, golly.

COSTELLO: I don't know what to say after that.

Anyway, we do have some poll numbers, and they're pretty interesting. They show that women may be worrying more about gas prices than men.

MYERS: Well, sure. Don't women always worry about things they can't do anything about?

COSTELLO: Ooh, you're treading on dangerous ground now, Chad.

MYERS: I'm sorry. I'm just...

COSTELLO: Anyway...

MYERS: I'm just speaking of the two women that I've been married to.

COSTELLO: I hope Sally's asleep.

MYERS: Not all -- oh, she's asleep.

COSTELLO: OK. Yes, that's why you're saying that.

MYERS: Of course.

COSTELLO: Anyway, let's run down the numbers.

Forty-four percent of all the people responding say they are angry about the price of gas. And when you break it down between the sexes, 39 percent of men say they're angry, compared to 48 percent of women.

More Democrats are angry than Republicans. I don't know what that means.

The poll also asked how gas prices are affecting your driving compared to a year ago. Are you driving the same amount, Chad?

MYERS: I'm trying to cut down. Really.

COSTELLO: Are you really?

MYERS: And I went out and I bought one of those high-tech air filters for my car, too. It seems like I'm getting about one more mile per gallon on that.

COSTELLO: What?

MYERS: It wasn't cheap. It was like $40. But I figured at three bucks a gallon, it's going to pay for itself at some point.

COSTELLO: Yes, pretty soon, actually.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: Anyway, half the respondents say they're driving the same amount, nearly a third are driving less. Fourteen percent driving more.

What if gas prices reached $3 a gallon and stayed there? Well, 63 percent say they will cut back on their driving. And, you know, I'll believe that when I see it.

MYERS: Well, you know, one thing you can do is just make sure that all the tires on your car are inflated properly. You get one tire that's down to about 23, 24 pounds, it's going to be sucking more gas than you need to.

COSTELLO: That's the favorite Chad tip of all.

MYERS: And a new air filter. I'll let you know how that goes. We'll see how that -- I even bought one for my dad for his -- he bought a new car down in Florida. I thought, you know, put this thing in the car.

COSTELLO: So you put it -- you FedExed it down to your dad? That's nice. I like that.

Let's talk about Pat Robertson because -- well, just let me read the story. Pat Robertson is not praying for peace these days, apparently. The founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network says the United States should assassinate Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez.

On his show, "The 700 Club," Robertson accused Chavez of trying to export communism, and Robertson says the leftist leader's control over one of the world's biggest oil reserves makes him a threat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PAT ROBERTSON, CHRISTIAN BROADCASTER: If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think we really ought to go ahead and do it. It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Chavez has said he thinks the United States is trying to assassinate him. And he's also threatened to shut off the flow of oil. Venezuela makes up 10 percent of all U.S. oil imports.

In other news "Across America" this morning, Northwest Airlines is in the fourth day of a strike by union mechanics. Management says operations are normal. Union officials disagree. They say the strike is having an impact.

Independent industry watchers report some delays and cancellations. At issue, layoffs and pay cuts. Northwest says it needs to cut labor costs by more than $1 billion.

The yellow caution tape is out for an attraction at Lake State Park in Geneva, New York. More than 2,000 people have shown symptoms of a gastrointestinal illness traced to a water feature called the Sprayground. The feature has water jets that spray an 11,000 square foot area. It's now closed for the summer.

And the summer you see there is 45-year-old Ken Harmon. The swimmer, rather. He swam the length of Lake Tahoe on Monday. That would be 22 miles.

He did it to raise money for an aquatic center at San Ramon Valley High School. Harmon raised $20,000. And we'll bet he's resting today.

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's going to pay for it.

Mark Davis of our affiliate WTNH has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARK DAVIS, REPORTER, WTNH (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 three, five and seven, in addition to the tests that have been conducted in grades four, six, eight 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 mandated, forcing the state and cities and towns to spend money they don't have.

DON WILLIAMS, CONNECTICUT STATE SENATE: It's 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.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, when we say "war zone," you probably think Iraq. But have you forgotten about that other war? We'll bring you a stark reminder about Afghanistan.

Also, it's bag, the red tide creek down South, and that means bad tidings for wildlife.

Plus, Olivia Newton-John desperately searches for a loved one. And she's asking for your help.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Time now for a market check.

Mixed trading in the international markets this morning. Japan's Nikkei closes up 20 points. Britain's FTSE is trading down 19. The German DAX down nearly 28 points.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:17 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning. Developing news out of the Middle East. Israeli troops had to saw through steel bars at a West Bank synagogue this morning. Settlers were holed up inside a protest of Israel's evacuation of four West Bank settlements.

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

In money news, stocks have been rising on news of a major merger. Whirlpool says it's reached a deal to buy Maytag for nearly $2 billion. The merger would create the world's biggest appliance maker.

In culture, think Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston will get back together again? Oh, stop your dreaming. A judge has approved their divorce. It will become official in early October.

In sports, the New York Yankees have moved into a tie for the American League wild-card lead thanks to a 7-0 win over Toronto. New York is now tied with Oakland in the wild race card -- Chad.

MYERS: Wild-card race.

Yes, good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Hey, let's talk about this red tide that's infected Florida's beaches.

MYERS: Oh, yes.

COSTELLO: Pretty bad.

MYERS: Yes. Basically, a lot on the west coast, in the northwest coast as well, Sarasota, San Key (ph), Longboat Key, those areas around there, yes.

COSTELLO: And it's affecting the turtles.

MYERS: Yes. More turtles have been killed this year than we've ever had. This is a new record for a red tide kill.

Most of the time -- and there are like 60 different versions of the algae that will make a red tide. Only four or five are -- are really the ones that are toxic. And unfortunately, this year, one of those four or five is in bloom.

Scientists still don't know exactly what does it, but it's been happening forever. In fact, there's even words of it in the bible of a red tide. So...

COSTELLO: Wow.

MYERS: ... yes. COSTELLO: Well, apparently, it affects the turtles' brains.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: And I know they had some, you know, covers over those turtles, but it's not looking good. I guess 116 have been found dead.

MYERS: Is that the number now? Yes.

Well, the problem is, they eat fish or mussels or, you know, other things, crustaceans that have already ingested this stuff or breathed it in. And they're breathing it in at the same time. So they kind of get a double whammy because of the way they filter -- the way they feed on the...

COSTELLO: So when will it go away?

MYERS: Well, you never know. It's when the wind blows a good direction. If the wind blows offshore, it could take that whole bloom out to see. Obviously, it might still be there somewhere else, but not affecting the shore life and the sea life around the shore.

COSTELLO: I guess it doesn't smell very nice either.

MYERS: No. It usually doesn't last more than four or five weeks, but sometimes it can.

COSTELLO: Hope not.

Still to come this morning, poor pooch. Doesn't he have the face only a mother could love? We'll meet one of the ugliest dogs on the planet just ahead.

You're watching DAYBREAK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Our theme song.

This next story is certainly an eye-opener. But we warn you: you might be shutting your eyes. When it comes to ugly dogs, there's one that really makes people howl. Jeanne Moos shows us this hideous hound.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Good doggie. Good and ugly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, ahh!

MOOS (on camera): Is it the ugliest dog you've ever seen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: By far.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, disgusting. Looks like they dug him up. MOOS: He is the three-time undefeated winner of the world's ugliest dog contest at the Sonoma-Marin fair in California.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See? That's the hand that feeds you.

MOOS: The hand that feeds him belongs to Susie Lockheed, who's used to rude questions.

SUSIE LOCKHEED, SAM'S OWNER: They often ask me if he's a burn victim.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, what happened?

MOOS: Sam is just an accident of breeding. A Chinese crested hairless -- here's what a normal one looks like -- gone astray.

LOCKHEED: I think one of Sam's most attractive features is his hernia lump on his rump. Dangling flesh like a turkey gullet.

MOOS: With this neck, it's no stretch to conjure up ET.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, ET's cuter.

MOOS: Susie calls his choppers Austin Powers teeth. The few hairs Sam has can be rustled by his own breath.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Foulest, most demon-looking dog I've ever seen, and he's beautiful in every way.

MOOS: Well, no wonder he likes Sam. They share a patch of hair.

(on camera): Would you pet this dog?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I and I wouldn't let him share my apartment for the world.

MOOS (voice-over): Susie took Sam in five years ago when he was considered unadoptable. He's now 14 years old.

LOCKHEED: Yeah, he has quite a personality. He can get a little cranky.

MOOS: Sam won the ugliest dog contest back in June, but he became a star when the "Los Angeles Times" published his mug. Now he's got several Web sites. He's inspired other contests to find even uglier dogs. But even a six-legged pooch can't compete with Sam.

At Susie's Web site, samugliestdog.com, you can buy t-shirts and refrigerator magnets. It may keep you from eating.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would pet him, I would hold him, I would feed him, I would breed him.

MOOS (on camera): Breed him?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, why not? MOOS: That's going too far.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody's got to want an ugly dog.

MOOS (voice-over): Alas, Sam is neutered. As one cyber wit put it, "We do not want another Son of Sam."

LOCKHEED: Sometimes, dogs seem to not quite know if he's canine or not. I mean, they have to have a good sniff, and even then they're -- they're a little afraid of Sam. Be very afraid!

MOOS: Did we mention Sam is blind? This woman was ready to take him home.

(on camera): With his skin like this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, why not?

MOOS: I mean, he has these little bumps on it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He looks like half the people in New York before they have surgery.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a frightening little creature. Look at its skin. I mean -- is this really a dog?

MOOS: Yeah.

(voice-over): No wonder Sam's on the Internet myth debunking site Snopes, status true. The show "Insider" gave Sam a makeover.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A moisturizing bath and, of course, a bow. So, did it work? Check out the before and after.

MOOS: Before or after...

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: Ahhh!

MOOS: ... Sam's enough to make a kid turn tail and run.

(on camera): You ought to hear the noise he makes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, he's no Billie Holiday.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: In the next half-hour of DAYBREAK, we'll tell you about a Washington talk show host. He was fired after refusing to apologize for some of his on-air comments. We'll have more on that story ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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