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CNN Live At Daybreak
Crash in Peru; Going Too Far?; Feeling the Pinch
Aired August 24, 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 Wednesday, August 24. Twisted wreckage, dozens of deaths in a Peruvian jungle. A passenger plane crashes just short of its destination. Americans were on board.
Also, Pat Robertson just keeps going and going, but some people just want him to go away.
And you can still see this guy on the gridiron at Florida State. The Seminole won't be sacked.
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'll have more on the Peru plane crash in just a minute.
Also ahead, football fallen Army Ranger Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire. Now the Pentagon wants to know why.
And does filling up your tank mean you can't buy other things?
But first, "Now in the News."
Why should U.S. troops stay in Iraq? President Bush will address that question today when he speaks to military families outside of Boise. Idaho has the second highest troop deployment in the nation.
Also in Idaho, prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Joseph Duncan. The sex offender is accused of killing three people in a home and then kidnapping two young children for sex. One of them was killed.
Much of Florida's eastern coast is under a tropical storm watch. A tropical depression churning in the Bahamas could grow into a tropical storm, but let's let the expert tell you about that.
Good morning, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You bet.
COSTELLO: We start with a plane crash in the jungles of Peru. A Peruvian TANS airliner with 100 people on board went down a few miles short of its destination. Peruvian officials say 41 were killed, 58 managed to survive. The AP says 11 Americans were on board. One was killed, two are missing, and the others are in the hospital this morning.
Apparently weather did play a role in this crash.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLAUDIA CISNEROS, JOURNALIST: They said that due to bad weather conditions, the aircraft, which is a Boeing 737 that was flying from Lima, the capital of Peru, to Pucallpa, which is a place in the jungle of Peru, 500 miles from Lima, east from Lima, was due to arrive in an hour flight. And just about 10 minutes before it had to land, it communicated with the tower and then lost communication.
What TANS officials said is that at this point, due to this adverse meteorological conditions, the pilot attempted an emergency landing in an adjacent area of the runway of the airport, which is jungle terrain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: A survivor says the jet began to shake minutes before it went down.
Back here in the states, if you think Pat Robertson is toning down his comments, oh, think again. On Monday, the Christian broadcaster said the United States should assassinate Venezuela's leftist leader. Now Robertson is using the bible to speculate about Islamic terrorism.
On Tuesday's broadcast of "The 700 Club," he notes that Muslims see themselves as descendants of Abraham's son Ishmael. And he goes on to say, and I quote, "The bible talks about Ishmael as being 'a wild ass.' He's just uncontrollable, and it's almost like this seed of rebellion and uncontrolled anger has, you know, seeped into these people."
When it comes to assassinating a foreign leader, top U.S. officials say no way. They are backing away from Robertson's fiery comments.
Wolf Blitzer has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAT ROBERTSON, TELEVANGELIST: He has destroyed the Venezuelan economy and he's going to make that a launching pad for communist infiltration and Muslim extremism all over the continent.
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Pat Robertson, on his program "The 700 Club," firing away at Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his allegation that the U.S. may be conspiring to assassinate him. But Robertson didn't stop there. ROBERTSON: 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.
BLITZER: The Bush administration says any suggestion of assassinating Chavez is ridiculous and that Robertson went too far.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Certainly, it's against the law. Our department doesn't do that type of thing.
SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Pat Robertson is a private citizen, and his views do not represent the policy of the United States. We do not share his view, and his comments are inappropriate.
BLITZER: Robertson's critics had much stronger words. The Reverend Barry Lynn of America's United for Separation of Church and State said, "It's absolutely chilling to hear a religious leader call for the murder any of political leader." Liberal radio pundit Al Franken used humor to slam Robertson.
AL FRANKEN, AIR AMERICA RADIO: Let's have a little fun with Pat Robertson, because he wants to kill somebody again.
BLITZER: There are, of course, people who might agree with Robertson, but so far, at least among prominent Americans, we haven't found any, certainly not publicly. Robertson still has quite a platform. The Christian Broadcast Network says "The 700 Club: airs in 95 percent of the TV markets across the United States, and is seen by approximately one million viewers daily.
Wolf Blitzer, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Of course all of this brings us to our DAYBREAK "Question of the Morning," because how can you not talk about this?
MYERS: Well, of course. Now, where do we go here? Is it censorship? Do we let him talk? Do we let him maybe even potentially harm the U.S. because of what he's saying here and make more heart?
Should there be consequences for Pat Robertson? We want to know what you think. And we're going to read your e-mails today. And we know there is going to be a slew of them.
DAYBREAK@CNN.com -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I can't wait to hear what people think about this. And just to add fuel to the fire, Venezuela's vice president -- and I quote -- this is what he said: "What is the U.S. government going to do about this criminal statement made by one of its citizens?" So at least one officials in Venezuela wants something done.
Hugo Chavez himself, though, says, "Who's Pat Robertson?"
MYERS: Right. But if I call up for the murder of someone, isn't that illegal?
COSTELLO: You know, that's a great question. That is a great question.
Well, what do you think? We want to know what you think. Should there be consequences for Pat Robertson? DAYBREAK@CNN.com.
In other news "Across America" this morning, police in Glendale, Arizona, are trying to learn the motive for the shooting death of two Wal-Mart employees. A suspect is now in custody. Police say he drove his car into the store's parking lot and shot each man several times. Both victims are teenagers.
And an all-points Bulletin is out in Gainesville, Georgia. Sixty-five pounds, four legs, cold nose, slobbers. We're talking about Aris (ph). You can see he's a police dog. He ran away from his handler during training. The police chief says Aris (ph) has been with the department for two years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF FRANK HOPPER, GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA POLICE: It's very disheartening to us because he is a member of our department. He's a well respected member of our department, and we want to try to get him back safe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh. The chief says Aris (ph) is good with people but he should be approached with caution.
How would you like to blow up the St. Louis Cardinals' Busch Stadium? Well, you can if you win a team contest. Ten dollar raffle tickets go on sale on Friday. The winner gets to trigger the implosion that will bring down the stadium. A new stadium is going up just south of the existing ballpark.
Are high gas prices changing your spending habits? Well, if they are, you've got company. And as CNN's Allan Chernoff reports, discount retailers are feeling the pinch, too.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Beth Cioffi spent $64 to fill up her SUV this week.
BETH CIOFFI, DISCOUNT SHOPPER: It's killing me. Killing me and my family. I don't know what we're going to do.
CHERNOFF: What Cioffi is doing is economizing elsewhere, buying only necessities, and telling her 6-year-old twins no.
CIOFFI: No more toys. You know, thank god my kids don't need toys so much. But, you know, when they used to get things that they didn't need, they're not -- you know, they used to get it, but now they'll have to do without it. CHERNOFF: That's why Cioffi is shopping alone.
CIOFFI: Because if I brought them to the store, they'd be asking for every -- you know, every three seconds, "Can I get this? Can I get that?"
And usually I'd say, "Sure. Sure. Sure." But, you know, that's why I come here alone, because I just can't afford to say yes anymore.
CHERNOFF (on camera): Retailers that cater to value-conscious consumers are feeling their customers pain. Even here at Dollar Tree, where everything's a dollar, shoppers are cutting back.
(voice over): Americans with moderate incomes are taking fewer trips to the store, and buying less.
MARIE PHAYER, DISCOUNT SHOPPER: Not buying so many things for my grandchildren that's worth things and things and things just to give them.
CHERNOFF: Retailing experts say prices at the pump are squeezing the country's deepest discounters: Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar General. Not only are their core customers tightening up, but they also have to pay more to get their products delivered.
ERIC BEDER, RETAIL ANALYST: If you're a dollar store, you pretty much have to be a dollar. You can't really raise your prices to pick up for these higher gas prices. So they're being hurt the most.
CHERNOFF: Wal-Mart, the world's number one retailer, says gas prices are slowing its sales growth. Shoppers still buying plenty of food there, but fewer high-profit items.
GINO BRANDONISIO, DISCOUNT SHOPPER: I have to buy the things that I need, but as far as things that I want, I have to cut down on that because of gas prices.
CHERNOFF: If gas prices keep rising, American economizing may have only just begun. While Beth Cioffi is still buying less at the store, she's still spending plenty at the gas pump to keep driving her 2005 GMC Denali.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, Garden City, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Following up now on a story we've been telling you about. The Bush administration is proposing new rules to help make those gas-guzzling SUVs, trucks and minivans more efficient. Automakers won't have to comply with the new rules for another six years. It would also not affect passenger cars or the largest SUVs.
Still, Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta says the program is expected to save billions of gallons of gas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NORMAN MINETA, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: This plan is good news for American consumers because it will ensure that the vehicles that they will be buying get more miles to the gallon and ultimately save them money.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Will it be a big deal, though? Federal fuel economy standards haven't changed much in recent years. So how about a fact check? Here's CNN's Daryn Kagan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Fuel economy standards made great stride from the 1970s and '80s. But since then, very little has changed.
The oil crisis of the early '70s prompted the government to first institute the Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE standards, in 1975. The goal was to force automakers to more than double the fuel efficiency of cars sold in the U.S. from an average of about 13 miles per gallon in 1974. They were to aim for more than 27 by the model year 1985.
If automakers did make progress every year, they had to pay penalties. More often than not, automakers complied, and the goal was nearly achieved.
Fuel efficiency peaked in 1987 at just more than 26 miles to the gallon. Since then, though, the increasing popularity of larger vehicles has pulled the average down. Federal standards have hardly changed. In 2007, the required average fuel economy will be 27.5 for new passenger cars and 22.2 miles to the gallon for light trucks, minivans and SUVs.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: So they want to bring the fuel efficiency standards up and have a lot of light trucks match the, what, I think 27.2 miles per gallon per car?
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: So they want that to transfer over into light trucks.
MYERS: Yes. You have to think about some of these things. Do you really need a V10? You know, are you ever really going to pull a 24,000-pound trailer with your truck?
And if you are, maybe you can just rent one for the day. You know? Or something like that.
The gas-saving tip of the day, Carol, is to look ahead to where the next red light is. Try to coast to it, rather than charge up to it and slam on the breaks.
COSTELLO: Oh, come on, that's more fun.
MYERS: Well, of course it is. But it doesn't help the gas mileage.
COSTELLO: People who drive like that, you're the passenger, and...
MYERS: Absolutely. I see people driving by me, I'm looking ahead like a half a mile, I see the light is red, and here comes this Nissan. And it's like, where...
COSTELLO: They pass you.
MYERS: ... are you going?
COSTELLO: OK.
MYERS: So try not to do that.
COSTELLO: We like that gas-saving tip. Thank you.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: CNNMoney.com, by the way, wants to know how you're handling higher gas prices. So go to CNNMoney.com/gas, leave your comments and stories about rising gas prices. Keep it clean, though. But we also want to know what changes you've made because of the rising prices.
You can also send an e-mail to GasPrices@CNN.com. And as I said, feel free to vent.
Still to come on DAYBREAK, Lance Armstrong comes out swinging against a French newspaper. Ooh, he's mad at the French. We'll tell you why.
Doctors disagree about the best way to diagnose lung cancer. We'll tell you what you need to know.
And we'll look at how the uproar over a Christian broadcaster's comments might affect America's oil supply.
But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: International markets mixed this morning. Tokyo's Nikkei up 29 points. The London FTSE down 15. The German DAX lower by 34.
Your news, money, weather and sports. It is 5:17 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.
President Bush speaks to military families outside of Boise, Idaho, today. He'll tell them the sacrifices made by U.S. forces in Iraq are worth it. Nearly half the Idaho National Guard is deployed in Iraq.
New York City commuters will see some beefed-up security in a few years. The city's transit system plans to spend more than $200 million to upgrade security on trains and buses. The upgrade includes closed-circuit cameras and motion detectors.
In money news, you now have another option when it comes to high- speed Internet access. Yahoo! and Verizon are teaming up to offer a cheaper Web service. It costs about $15 a month for the first year.
In culture, get ready for some extra spice on the MTV Video Music Awards. R. Kelly has joined the lineup for Sunday's show. He's known for his sexually-charged songs, and of course he's still facing those child porn charges in Chicago.
In sports, Lance Armstrong denies that he ever used a performance-enhancing drug. A French newspaper says he used one to help him win the first Tour de France six years ago. Armstrong's Web site calls the report a witch hunt -- Chad.
MYERS: Did they -- did they have any proof of that?
COSTELLO: I didn't read the article.
MYERS: Or is that one of those, "Hello, sir, when did you stop beating your wife" kind of questions? You know.
COSTELLO: Oh, gee.
MYERS: There's no way to win that one.
Good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right. Thank you, Chad.
That's a look at the latest headlines. Now get ready for some cute pictures. Yes, it's your cute picture alert.
Oh, gosh. Coming up, there's a story behind this, but who really cares? It's got baby monkeys. What more do you need?
The DAYBREAK "Eye Opener" is next. You're watching DAYBREAK for a Wednesday.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MYERS: Here, our DAYBREAK "Question of the Day."
Did you hear at all what Pat Robertson's been saying lately? Should there be consequences to his actions for the assassination call, and also for, well, you know, the insulting comments he made about Islam? DAYBREAK@CNN.com.
What do you think -- Carol. COSTELLO: We're getting a lot of interesting comments already.
MYERS: We certainly are. If there could be smoke coming out of the back of my computer, if I didn't have a fan on it right now, wow!
COSTELLO: It's on fire.
Well, Chad, you just had to know Robertson comments were going to make it on the "Late Night Laugh" circuit. Comedy Central's Jon Stewart took aim at the Christian broadcaster. Ooh, and he hit it right on target.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JON STEWART, "THE DAILY SHOW": "It's cheaper than war."
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: Pat Robertson is advocating a policy of assassination for the savings.
(LAUGHTER)
STEWART: That's the kind of thing you can say when you own your own network.
ROBERTSON: It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war. And I don't think any oil shipments will stop.
STEWART: Which is really the only consideration when you're talking about murder, whether or not the oil shipments will stop. I believe it's in the bible. I believe the commandment is Thou shalt not kill if any of the oil would stop.
(APPLAUSE)
STEWART: If it's not going to stop, kill the oil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: You know -- I mean, that's really funny, but there are serious consequences...
MYERS: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: ... attached to this because Hugo Chavez is sort of a champion among the disenfranchised in Latin America. This is just adding fuel to the fire. And, of course, for a long time, he had said that the United States is trying to assassinate him. So, well...
(CROSSTALK)
MYERS: Well, we gladly poor our oil into -- his oil into our SUVs, don't we?
COSTELLO: We certainly do. MYERS: Anyway, from J.R., "Pat Robertson is as radical and as hateful as Osama bin Laden. They both use religion as a tool to control and guide people. Religion has been the root of most world wars and wars in general throughout history. When is the human race going to wake up and quite listening to these radical hate mongers?"
And from Gray, "We can't censor him. That would make us as bad as he is. But I'd like to see Hugo Chavez call for his assassination and see how he likes it."
And from Dennis, "I call for the arrest of Pat Robertson. He has made a call for the assassination of a duly elected president of a country. He has made a terrorist threat."
And we now have "Pat bin Robertson," as he calls him, and this is from Connie -- her. "The far right wing using fatwas, same kind of thing. CBN should have its tax exempt status revoked for its political affiliations and terrorist classification."
COSTELLO: Whew.
MYERS: And they're still coming in -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Oh. Well, keep them coming...
MYERS: You bet.
COSTELLO: ... because we're going to read a lot more later on, on DAYBREAK.
MYERS: All right.
COSTELLO: Time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Opener" now, though.
What's the buzz? The family that lives in this North Carolina home certainly knows. They found tens of thousands of honey bees inside their walls.
A beekeeper will relocate the hive. The homeowners say the bees were never much of a bother, and they never considered calling an exterminator until, of course, the bees came out.
MYERS: Until the number came to like 50,000. Forty-nine thousand was OK, but 50,000 was...
COSTELLO: Well, that's a little much.
Also in North Carolina, Chad, police say it's lucky no one was hurt. A pickup truck jumped a curb and smashed into the newly- renovated gym at a Raleigh high school. It ended up in the lobby. Police say the 75-year-old driver accidentally hit the gas pedal and lost control.
Oh.
Why are these baby monkeys in Brazil cozying up to a stuffed doll? It's an amazing story, Chad, I promise. They were expelled from their real mother's womb when she was hit by a car and killed in a Rio neighborhood.
MYERS: Oh.
COSTELLO: Doctors say it is a miracle the babies were not hurt. And they're using the doll to simulate mom.
Oh, look how tiny they are.
MYERS: They are.
COSTELLO: OK. That's our cute video alert of the morning.
Still to come, more about Pat Robertson. He sure doesn't like Hugo Chavez, but why? We'll get some insight in the next half-hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner Center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.
COSTELLO: And good morning, everyone. Welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK.
Coming up in the next 30 minutes, the Pentagon wants to learn more about the so-called friendly fire incident that killed Army Ranger Pat Tillman.
And getting tested for lung cancer, is it the right decision? Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes a look.
But first, "Now in the News."
President Bush takes his "stay the course" Iraq speech to a suburb of Boise, Idaho, today. He'll speak to military personnel and their families. He'll also meet with some families who have lost relatives in the war.
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