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CNN Live At Daybreak

Senate Grill; Dolphin Recovery; Emmy Nod for "Scrubs"

Aired September 16, 2005 - 05:30   ET

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

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. Thank you for waking up with us. Welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK.

Coming up in the next 30 minutes, a follow-up to the incredible story of a dolphin rescue. We brought you that yesterday. We have an update for you this morning. Those dolphins let loose by Katrina found together.

But first, "Now in the News."

A drive-by shooting starts the day in Baghdad. Three Iraqi workers are dead, dozens more wounded. The attack happened at a spot where laborers gather looking for jobs. The gunmen got away. Nearly 200 people have been killed in various attacks over the past three days.

Condoleezza Rice is threatening to freeze North Korea's assets if the stalled nuclear talks don't get off the dime. The Secretary of State says the U.S. is not solely dependent on current negotiations to get North Korea to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

President Bush has declared this a National Day of Prayer and Remembrance. He will attend a mourning service for victims of the hurricane at the Washington National Cathedral.

To the Forecast Center now and, Chad, good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

You see Ophelia behind me here just off the coast of North Carolina. Still pounding waves on this side.

But exactly what we suspected was going to happen called sound side flooding happened last night. Water had been pushed into the Pamlico Sound for so very long that the water was building up, building up, building up. As soon as the storm left, all that water tried to leave all at one time. And it actually flooded the backside of the island, of the Barrier Islands, all the way really almost from Atlantic Beach, Cape Lookout, right on back up to Cape Hatteras. So we do have to watch out for that again today.

There goes the storm. It's off the coast now. There is more rain into parts of Ohio this morning, as well.

Here's your Tropical Storm Ophelia. Here are your numbers, 35.1, 74.8. Winds 65 miles per hour. Missing Nantucket, but barely. And even if this thing is still 60 miles per hour, 50 miles per hour here, that's going to make a battering weekend for you. That's why there are tropical storm watches all the way from Point Judith, all the way up to Plymouth, Massachusetts, including Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. So as this storm continues to pull on up toward the northeast, Halifax, you are in store for it on Sunday. That's Nova Scotia -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jeez!

MYERS: Wow!

COSTELLO: Got some weird weather patterns going on.

MYERS: Sure.

COSTELLO: Thank you -- Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: In his speech to the nation from New Orleans last night, President Bush touched on the poverty of the region. He talked about reducing the number of people living at poverty level in New Orleans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: As all of us saw on television, there's also some deep persistent poverty in this region as well. That poverty has roots in the history of racial discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America.

We have a duty to confront this poverty with bold action. When the streets are rebuilt, there should be many new businesses, including minority owned businesses, along those streets. When the houses are rebuilt, more families should own, not rent, those houses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: President added that the city's flood protection system will be rebuilt stronger than before the storm.

Now the speech may have been step one of the president's Katrina recovery plan proposal. Step two might be the Gulf opportunity zone. It would offer tax incentives and loans for small businesses. Worker recovery accounts would provide up to $5,000 per person for education, job training and child care. And an Urban Homesteading Act would give federally owned property to low-income residents through a lottery.

Now even before the speech, House Speaker Dennis Hastert backed his president's plan for hurricane recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL), HOUSE SPEAKER: Hurricane Katrina is a wake-up call for our nation, reminding us of the power of Mother Nature and the need for federal, state and local governments to always be prepared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: House majority leader had similar praise for the president's plan. And he adds this assurance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DELAY (R-TX), MAJORITY LEADER: We will have strict oversight of every dime spent by government agencies to ensure the wise and efficient use of the taxpayer's money.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Democrats a little more cautious about opening the federal checkbook so freely. The Senate's leading Democrat, and others, had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: We will rebuild the Gulf Coast and billions of dollars, billions of taxpayer dollars will be spent in the process. We Democrats want to be certain that the money goes to help the victims, not to enrich the contractors.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. BENNIE THOMPSON (D), MISSISSIPPI: The National Guard saved FEMA's behinds. That's as politely as I can say it. People would have starved if the National Guard hadn't gone around FEMA and delivered what food they could get their hands on and deliver it by helicopter. They never should have had to do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Even before Katrina, the White House had a hurricane recovery plan. Back in June, no-bid contracts were awarded to major Bush contributors, such as Halliburton, for hurricane cleanup.

The former President Bill Clinton has a few words to say about this disaster. He says FEMA never should have been placed under the Department of Homeland Security. He made that remark in an interview with Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, I think the president did the right thing in taking responsibility. Clearly the FEMA response was slow, and there are lots of reasons that I think that happened. I believe that there should be some reorganization there.

LARRY KING, HOST: Should FEMA not be part of national security?

CLINTON: Well, you know I'm biased, I liked it the way it was. I think the most important thing is we probably should have some sort of requirement that anybody who has the job has prior experience in emergency management. It's a very serious, important job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And you can hear more about what the former president has to say about reaction to Hurricane Katrina and fund raising efforts for the victims tonight. Larry King's interview airs at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific Time.

Talk about the Roberts confirmation hearings. By most accounts, Judge John Roberts is virtually assured to become the nation's 17th chief justice. His three days of grilling are over.

CNN congressional correspondent Joe Johns takes a look at how things went.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the last of the questions for Judge Roberts, Democrat Dianne Feinstein, the only woman on the Judiciary Committee, was still wavering, expressing uncertainty about how she might vote.

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: I don't really know what I'm going to do with respect to voting for you or voting against you.

JOHNS: Roberts did what a skilled advocate does best, closing with his strongest argument.

JUDGE JOHN ROBERTS, CHIEF JUSTICE NOMINEE: But I think if you've looked at what I've done since I took the judicial oath, that should convince you that I'm not an ideologue. And you and I agree that that's not the sort of person we want on the Supreme Court.

JOHNS: But Roberts still has his critics, like Senator Edward Kennedy, who pressed him on memos he wrote two decades ago about affirmative action and civil rights.

SEN. EDWARD KENNEDY (D-MA), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: What do you think in your record would give some sense of hope to women, to minorities, blacks and browns, to those that are disabled, that are not looking for a handout, but just looking for a chance?

ROBERTS: The long and short of it is that if you look at my record on the question of affirmative action, yes, I was in an administration that was opposed to quotas. Opposition to quotas is not the same thing as opposition to affirmative action.

JOHNS: Sensing potential vulnerability on that topic, Democrats invited civil rights leaders, including Georgia Congressman John Lewis, to voice concern about the nomination.

REP. JOHN LEWIS (D), GEORGIA: If the federal courts had abandoned us in the civil rights movement in the name of judicial restraint, we might still be struggling with the burden of legal segregation in America today. Judge Roberts' memos reveal him to be hostile towards civil rights, affirmative action and the Voting Rights Act.

JOHNS: Republicans, already confident that Roberts will be confirmed, used the completion of his testimony to immediately make the case for overwhelming bipartisan support.

SEN. SAM BROWNBACK (R-KS), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: I think the way Judge Roberts has performed and what he's indicated and his willingness to follow the law, he should get a large majority vote in the United States Senate.

JOHNS (on camera): And there is pressure from the other side as well. Late Thursday, leaders of progressive and liberal interest groups met with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid to urge a strong no vote against this nominee. A Democratic source said Reid listened but said he had not made up his mind.

Joe Johns, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: The Judiciary Committee will vote on Roberts' confirmation next Thursday. The full Senate vote should come early the following week.

In other news "Across America" this morning.

In Massachusetts, the state legislature voted to override the governor's veto of a measure that will require hospitals to give rape victims emergency contraception. The measure also makes the medication available without a prescription from pharmacies.

A ranch in northeast Montana is under quarantine because of anthrax. The state's veterinary and -- the state's veterinary -- veterinarian, rather, confirms that anthrax killed 37 cattle on the property near Culbertson. Montana's Department of Health says the disease poses little threat to humans.

From one scary disease to another, authorities in New Jersey say three mice infected with the bacteria carrying Bubonic Plague have been missing for about two weeks from a Newark laboratory. They don't know what happened, could have been stolen, eaten by other lab animals or just misplaced. Still, officials say there is not much of a risk to the public.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, we told you about these dolphins. They were stranded at sea. They just wanted to go home, back to their aquarium. Well did they make it in? More on their story ahead.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Friday. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A follow-up now on a story we told you about yesterday about a dolphin rescue going on in the Gulf of Mexico. If you remember, eight dolphins were washed out of their aquarium tank and time was running out on their survival, but now some good news.

CNN's Gary Tuchman reports from Gulfport, Mississippi.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From this destroyed aquarium in Gulfport, Mississippi, eight dolphins were swept to sea in the middle of Hurricane Katrina. They have all been spotted alive and together. Five minutes after motoring out into the Gulf of Mexico...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dolphins are right there!

TUCHMAN: ... we see the six female and two male bottlenose dolphins, that only know how to survive in captivity, not being used to the wild. Now, after a few days of getting food and medicine, the hard part, rescuing them. A mat, attached to a buoy, is in shallow enough water to pull the dolphins on top, and it works.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got it.

TUCHMAN: Twenty-five-year-old Jackie is rescued, the sickest of the dolphins, skinny, with lacerations and abrasions from the hurricane, but now in the care of people she knows. She's put on a stretcher and loaded on the boat. Next, another dolphin brought to safety.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that Tony?

TUCHMAN: This is Jackie's offspring, Tony. She's 15, and like her mother, might have only lived for a few more days in the sea.

(on camera): How do you feel?

DR. MOBY SOLANGI, DIR., MARINE LIFE OCEANARIUM: Speechless. It's unbelievable. Let's keep our fingers crossed for the rest of them.

TUCHMAN: The water started getting choppy, so the rescue effort had to be suspended. They'll try again on Friday to capture the other six dolphins. They'll go out with high hopes, but knowing there are no guarantees.

(voice-over): The 350-pound dolphins are put in a specially- equipped dolphin mobile. And then, a police escort through the streets of Gulfport, to bring them to their temporary home, a swimming pool at the Holiday Inn, where they'll stay for now as plans are put into place to send them to other aquariums around the country.

The dolphins' trainers are also their rescuers. (on camera): Are these like your children?

SHANNON HEYSER, DOLPHINS' TRAINER: Yes. Yes. Yes, they're our babies.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): These two dolphins have been diagnosed as anemic.

(on camera): So what's their prognosis?

DR. CONNIE CHEBIS, DOLPHINS' VETERINARIAN: We get food in them and keep them stable for the next 7 to 10 days, I think we'll do pretty good. So it's kind of critical for these next few days.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The experts and the trainers are amazed all eight dolphins, who were not even together in the aquarium, have stayed together in the Gulf. They hope they'll all be together again very soon.

(on camera): It's late at night and these dolphins are still quite active. We asked the trainer -- nice toss. I'm all soaking wet. We asked the trainer if these dolphins, Jackie and Tony -- nice throw -- might want to catch a few winks tonight. And she told me something very interesting, that the experts -- nice throw -- aren't even sure if dolphins do sleep.

So these dolphins will continue to do their thing while the rescuers continue to do theirs. One more throw. And the hope is -- wow, this is really amazing. The hope is that they get all eight of the dolphins by Monday at the latest.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: How cute is that. I think the dolphin was a better athlete than Gary, no offense meant. That was CNN's Gary Tuchman. He was the one outside the pool.

Over the past week, the dolphins were trained to jump on those mats so they could be rescued. Those rescues are expected to start up again this morning. We'll keep you posted.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:46 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

President Bush will lead the nation today in marking a National Day of Prayer for victims of Hurricane Katrina. The president will attend a prayer service at the National Cathedral this morning. That will happen at 11:00 a.m. Eastern.

Judge John Roberts can relax today, his days in the Senate hot seat are over. And by most accounts, he will be confirmed as the nation's 17th chief justice. The Senate Judiciary Committee will vote next Thursday.

In money news, an upcoming Hurricane Katrina benefit concert will be available on Pay-Per-View. Tuesday's Madison Square Garden show features Simon and Garfunkel, Elton John, Jimmy Buffett, among others. Cable operators say they will donate fees for the show to the relief effort.

In pop culture, Donald Trump is now trying his hand as a soap actor. The Donald will tape an appearance on NBC's "Days of Our Lives." It will air in late October. Trump's own NBC show, "The Apprentice," begins a fourth season next week.

In sports, the punishment has been handed out for that fight before Monday night's Eagles-Falcons game. Three players, including the two at the center of the brawl, were fined $5,000. Six other players received lesser fines -- Chad.

MYERS: That's like 50 bucks to you -- Carol.

COSTELLO: I know, exactly.

MYERS: Exactly.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Sounds nice.

Let's get right to our e-mail "Question of the Morning." We've been telling you that the state of Mississippi is suing insurers to force them to pay for flood damage, even if people didn't have flood insurance. Of course the insurance companies aren't so happy about this.

MYERS: Yes.

Betty (ph) from, it doesn't say where, clearly if there was no flood coverage, no flood insurance, the insurance company should not have to pay. Although, however, in the spirit of cooperation and goodwill, they should maybe take at least half of their costs since this was a disaster of monumental proportions.

From Alex (ph) in Sacramento, homeowners' policies clearly state that flood is not covered, even by driven by wind. Under a policy they just can't pay this. This is not part of the premium. It is not fair to those who have paid premiums to expect their increased premiums, like mine in Sacramento.

And from Pamela (ph) in Pensacola, yes, the insurance company should pay homeowners. My house was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. My insurance company said no, not going to pay, even after 22 years of paying homeowners insurance. My life has been devastated, as well as my house. The surge was a wind event, not a flood event. There is a court case in Florida working its way through the system as well.

And Jack (ph) in Maine, of course they should pay. It's ludicrous to hear that they don't have the money or that it's not in the policy. When you think that 99.9 percent of the whole country was untouched, you get an idea of how little of the pie they'll have to pay out to get these people back on their feet. Why do you think that insurance companies build the largest buildings in all the cities, it isn't because they're losing money.

COSTELLO: No, I just want to mention, because in "The Wall Street Journal" it says the U.S. insurance industry overall is in robust financial health with more than $400 billion in capital. And of course those deep pockets make them appealing targets.

I wanted to read an e-mail from Linda (ph), if you don't mind -- Chad?

MYERS: No, go ahead. Go ahead.

COSTELLO: Because she says I recently moved from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. When I purchases my insurance, which was nearly four times as much as it was in Atlanta, I also had to purchase hurricane insurance and the premium sent to Mississippi windstorm insurance. I was never told I would also need flood insurance. And I'm not sure flood insurance was available, as I was not in an official flood zone.

So what exactly is hurricane insurance if it doesn't cover water damage?

MYERS: Which is a storm surge, which is a hurricane.

COSTELLO: It's confusing.

MYERS: Well it's going to get more convoluted, too, and it's going to end up in the court. There's absolutely no question about it.

COSTELLO: Well it already has.

We're going to talk to a lawyer who is actively going around Mississippi inviting people to join a class action suit against the insurance companies. We're going to talk to Richard Scruggs in the next hour of DAYBREAK.

Also still to come, a look at who could win big at the Emmys this weekend. We're going to lighten up just a little this morning.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Let's lighten up a bit this morning. After five seasons, the TV show "Scrubs" is finally getting its props. The cast and crew will find out Sunday just how many Emmys it gets to take home.

CNN's Sibila Vargas was there for some pre-award show celebrating.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BILL LAWRENCE, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "SCRUBS": The fact that we finally got nominated for an Emmy, I truly feel that it's an award you know nomination for everybody, mostly for me, but also for everybody else. And I just wanted you know to gather everybody together and thank everybody.

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lots of pomp and circumstance on the set of NBC's "Scrubs" as they held a champagne toast.

DONALD FAISON, "SCRUBS": It's wonderful. It's wonderful. Five years now and finally a nomination.

VARGAS: The first nomination for best comedy series.

ZACH BRAFF, "SCRUBS": An Emmy nomination and drinking at work, that is like the best combo.

VARGAS: Four Emmy nominations in all, including outstanding comedy series and outstanding lead actor in a comedy series.

And last weekend it won a Creative Arts Emmy for, you're probably not going to guess this one, multi-camera picture editing.

SARAH CLARKE, "SCRUBS": It's exciting. We're just so excited to get invited to the dance and get to go.

VARGAS (on camera): Well why do you think it's taken Emmy so long to recognize you guys?

BRAFF: Emmys often like shows that are in danger of going away. And I think that -- I think, this is just my assumption, but I think people thought, all right, they're on NBC, they're in a cush time slot, they'll be fine. Let's nominate shows that we like but also have a chance of really going away.

Look, before when you said I'd never be as cool as when I was living with you, you know there's some truth to that. I'm sort of like odd and geeky.

VARGAS (voice-over): For a show that features Zach Braff as an oddball resident surrounded by a cast of eccentrics in a hospital, after nearly five seasons, it still hasn't snagged an actual time slot for the fall season.

BRAFF: We're hoping that these nominations sort of help people actually tune in and check it out.

VARGAS (on camera): What will you be wearing?

BRAFF: I'm going to go naked, because I think everyone wears a tux.

VARGAS: Yes, it's so overdone.

BRAFF: They can blur what needs to be blurred.

VARGAS: Yes. Who will you be taking?

BRAFF: I'm going to bring my girlfriend.

VARGAS: Anyone we know?

BRAFF: I don't know if you've met her or not, she's a lovely girl.

VARGAS: Might I know her name?

BRAFF: No, it will be a surprise.

VARGAS: OK.

(voice-over): In Hollywood, I'm Sibila Vargas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: And stay tuned to DAYBREAK, we'll talk to CNN Radio's Jim Roope on Monday morning. He's wrapping up his trip to the Gulf region today. And then he's on his way to the Emmys on Sunday night. So what a change of assignments. And we'll check in with Jim on Monday, and of course later on DAYBREAK in the next hour.

In fact, the next hour of DAYBREAK is two minutes away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is Friday, September 16.

It's big government to the rescue for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: Throughout the area hit by the hurricane, we will do what it takes. We will stay as long as it takes to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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