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CNN Live At Daybreak

Could a Deadly Epidemic Require Military-Enforced Quarantines in United States?; Big Question Marks Surrounding President Bush's Latest Nominee for Supreme Court

Aired October 05, 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, October 5. Could a deadly epidemic require military-enforced quarantines in the United States? President Bush says it could, and he wants the power to do something about it. But will you support him?
Plus...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone's like, oh, it's going to be worse, you could go to Iraq. But my experience is, so far, it would indicate that I would rather be deployed back to Iraq than over here, personally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Where's over here? It's Afghanistan, still very much a war zone. And American troops don't want you to forget it.

And they've made a lot of music, and now will the Nobel Prize Committee be singing their tune?

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 avian flu threat in just a minute.

Also ahead, several mothers of children who died in last year's Beslan school attack, well, they turned to a cult, one that promises to raise the dead for a price. Our Matthew Chance has the story and joins us live from Moscow later this hour.

But first, "Now in the News."

An alleged Mexican drug kingpin is behind bars in the United States this morning. He was arrested while trying to cross the border into Arizona. Agustin Haro-Rodriguez is accused of smuggling more than $85 million worth of cocaine into this country.

Russian President Vladimir Putin says thank you. He's in London right now giving awards to the British navy sailors who rescued the crew of a Russian mini sub. The sub got trapped off the Russian coast back in August. Six Pakistani Air Force officers have been convicted for their roles in the 2003 assassination attempt on President Pervez Musharraf. Four have been sentenced to death, two others to life in prison.

Hurricane Stan now pummeling Mexico's Gulf Coast, forcing evacuations and shutting down oil ports. The Category 1 storm is packing -- well, let's go to Chad to find out more.

Chad, tell us about Stan.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it's down to 25 knots, about 35 miles per hour right now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

MYERS: You're welcome.

COSTELLO: Big question marks are surrounding President Bush's latest nominee for the Supreme Court. Republicans and Democrats are asking if Harriet Miers, a White House lawyer who was never a judge, has what it takes. And it seems Miers is getting less support than Chief Justice John Roberts did when the president first nominated him.

In a new CNN "USA-Today"-Gallup poll, 42 percent of people responding have a positive opinion of Miers. Fifty-four percent had a positive opinion of Roberts.

Miers has close ties to the president. You know that. Sixteen percent says that makes them more likely to support her, while 44 percent say less likely. Thirty-eight percent say it makes no difference at all.

President Bush is standing behind his nominee, but he has a lot more to do in his second term than just fill seats on the Supreme Court.

CNN White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Under fire from both the left and the right over Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers, President Bush defended his pick.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She's a woman of enormous accomplishment. She's -- she is -- she understands the law. She's got a keen mind. She will not legislate from the bench.

MALVEAUX: A big concern among some conservatives who suspect Miers may tip the balance of the court. The wide-ranging press conference was aimed at the president gaining his political footing.

Since his last one in May, he's been hit with rising gas prices, sinking poll numbers and violence in Iraq, a Republican leadership charged with wrongdoing, and scathing criticism over his own handling of Hurricane Katrina. Today he gave mixed reviews for the ongoing recovery efforts and continued to hold himself accountable for the government's missteps.

BUSH: I'll take all the responsibility for the failures at the federal level.

MALVEAUX: The president has faced tough criticism from the African-American community, who were impacted especially hard by Hurricane Katrina. For the first time, the president acknowledged that despite his efforts during his re-election campaign, he's been unable to garner significant African-American support.

BUSH: I was disappointed, frankly, in the vote I got in the African-American community. I was. I've done my best to elevate people to positions of authority and responsibility.

MALVEAUX: While Mr. Bush implored Americans to support his foreign policy in Iraq, he admitted the centerpiece of his domestic policy, reforming Social Security, has stalled.

BUSH: Well, Social Security for me is never off. It's a long- term problem that's going to need to be addressed. When the appetite to address it is -- you know, that's going to be up to the members of Congress.

MALVEAUX: One issue the president is vowing to get in front of is how to protect Americans from the dangers of a possible bird flu infection in the U.S.

BUSH: We're watching it, we're careful, we're in communications with the world. I'm not predicting an outbreak. I'm just suggesting to you that we better be thinking about it.

MALVEAUX (on camera): One issue the president did not address is the CIA leak investigation, which is expected to come to a close soon and involves several top administration officials.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Actually, in the middle of that long news conference the president had, he talked a lot about the avian flu and how it might become a pandemic in this country, affecting hundreds of thousands of Americans. It was amazing. A lot of people are paying more attention to this flu.

"The New York Times" is reporting 32 Democratic senators sent a letter to President Bush saying the country is greatly unprepared. The president says that's just another reason why he wants Congress to consider allowing the military to play a law enforcement roll.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BUSH: If we had an outbreak somewhere in the United States, do we not then quarantine that part of the country? And how do you then enforce a quarantine? One option is the use of a military that's able to plan and move. And so that's why I put it on the table.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Experts point out that there have been very few cases of bird flu passing between humans, but they also say that a simple quarantine may not be very effective.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: There's never been any evidence that you can really quarantine effectively communities or regions or anywhere against influenza. This is a highly infectious virus. It's one that you actually can be infectious with before you get sick. And so, at the very most, if you tried to quarantine, you might just slow it down a little bit. But we really have no data.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Well, we want to discuss that more. That brings us to our DAYBREAK e-mail "Question of the Day."

MYERS: And Carol, I've been reading all about this avian flu thing here, because it's actually pretty scary. Some of the things that have been put out here, a disease that's already killed tens of millions of birds in Asia. The World Health Organization says maybe 150 million people worldwide.

But the biggest problem with this is people who catch this strain can die of viral pneumonia and acute respiratory distress. It's not really a killer disease by itself, but because of what it does to you and your -- and the rest of your system, that's what actually could kill you, the influenza itself and also the stress of you breathing.

Should the military be used to enforce quarantines? You know, we've had this Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, where it says that you can't use the military to do anything of police force on U.S. territory. Do we need to get rid of that?

COSTELLO: That's right.

MYERS: I mean, that was 1878.

COSTELLO: It would take a change in the Constitution.

MYERS: Absolutely would.

COSTELLO: But the president says, you know, if you have to quarantine large segments of the population, the military is the best bet.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: Of course, the governors of states in the United States, many of them, say, don't send federal troops in here, the National Guard can take car of the problem. And, of course, the fear is, is that, you know, you might be in danger of the United States becoming a military state, a police state.

MYERS: Right, because we're not talking National Guard. We're talking active troops.

COSTELLO: Right. And that's why...

(CROSSTALK)

MYERS: Right?

COSTELLO: ... that's why the Posse Act of 1878 was passed.

MYERS: There you go.

COSTELLO: So we want to know what you think.

MYERS: We'll just call it the Posse Act, because that Comitatus thing sounds like it's some kind of -- it sounds like a rash.

COSTELLO: I know. I left that out, but it is the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.

MYERS: Right.

COSTELLO: Let us know what you think.

MYERS: All right.

COSTELLO: Should the military take a role in maybe quarantining people in the United States? DAYBREAK@CNN.com. That's DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

Investigators will conduct more tests today to determine exactly what caused a tour boat on New York's Lake George to capsize, killing 20 elderly passengers. The Ethan Allen was raised Monday and taken to an airport hangar.

Several people saw the boat capsize. Listen to some of their frantic 911 calls.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

OPERATOR: 911. Where is your emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello. We've got a boat tipped over in Lake George, Diamond Point. It's a commercial boat, it tipped right over. There's 50 people on the boat.

OPERATOR: Fifty people?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

OPERATOR: Where about are you now? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right in Diamond Point in Lake George, right on the water.

OPERATOR: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Boats are trying to help them. It's right in Diamond Point. It tipped right over.

OPERATOR: OK.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

OPERATOR: 911 Emergency.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my god! Oh my god! A boat -- a boat -- a boat went over just -- the Ethan Allen, just outside of Green Harbor.

OPERATOR: Green Harbor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It tipped right over.

OPERATOR: How many people were in the boat?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, a lot of people. They're hanging on to the bottom because it went right over. Oh, please hurry!

OPERATOR: Green Harbor?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Near Green harbor in Lake George. You know Lake George?

OPERATOR: Yes, ma'am.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, please send somebody really quick.

OPERATOR: Yes, ma'am. Will do.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

COSTELLO: One of today's tests will involve putting weight on the Ethan Allen's sister ships, similar to the number of passengers at the time of the accident. Investigators want to determine how stable the craft is when most of the weight is shifted to one side.

In New Orleans, the mayor, Ray Nagin, says his city is broke. That's his reason for laying off thousands of city workers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: After weeks of working to secure these funds to make payroll, the city of New Orleans today announced it has been forced to lay off up to 3,000 classified and unclassified city workers as a result of the financial constraints in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Nagin also says police, firefighters and sanitation workers are exempts from the cuts. Nagin says he's working with the federal government to notify affected workers who still haven't returned home.

The former president, Bill Clinton, visited with hurricane victims in the Louisiana capital. He also saw firsthand the flooding damage in New Orleans' Ninth Ward, and he met with residents who are still sleeping in shelters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm glad to be down here, and I really thank you for taking time to meet with me. But my concern here is to do -- to listen to you and talk about your problems and try to figure out how we can best spend this money we've got to help the largest number of people who would not otherwise be helped by the government programs or by the incredible work the Red Cross has been doing . So that's all I'd like to say, except I'm really sorry for what you've been through, and I'm honored to be here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: The Clinton-Bush fund-raising initiative has raised around $100 million to help the hurricane victims.

CNN's Kelly Wallace traveled with President Clinton, and she'll join us in the next hour of DAYBREAK for more on what she saw.

Judith Miller says she doesn't know any more than anyone else about the investigation into the leaking of CIA operatives' identities. "The New York Times" reporter was jailed for refusing to testify about who revealed the identity of Valerie Plame. She talked with CNN's Lou Dobbs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDITH MILLER, "NEW YORK TIMES": If I had wanted to evade the law, if I thought that I was better than the law or the law didn't apply to us, I wouldn't have sat there for 85 days to make a political point about principle and the principle that we journalists have to safeguard the confidentiality of our sources. And it was a rather extreme way to make it, but I felt I had to.

If people can't trust us to come to us to tell us the things the government and powerful corporations don't want us to know, we're dead in the water. The public won't know.

LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the public is certainly...

MILLER: The public won't know. That's why I was sitting in jail, for the public's right to know. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Miller's confidential source has been identified as Lewis Scooter Libby, who is the chief of staff for Vice President Dick Cheney.

Coming up on DAYBREAK, a tragic loss for a community in southern Russia. Now mothers who are grieving their children fall victim to false hope. We'll take you live to Moscow for a heartbreaking story.

Plus, U.S. forces advance their mission to wipe out insurgents in western Iraq. We've got the latest on Operation River Gate.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: International markets lower this morning. Tokyo's Nikkei down 49 points. The London FTSE down 51. The German DAX down 52.

In futures trading, oil -- we've got to talk about oil -- it's down 15 cents. It now stands at $63.75 a barrel this morning.

Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:17 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

The Supreme Court hears a landmark assisted suicide case today. Oregon is defending a state law that allows doctors to use drugs to help terminally ill patients die more quickly. The Bush administration opposes the law.

A deadly health mystery in Canada. An unidentified respiratory virus has killed 10 people at a Toronto nursing home. Another 40 are in the hospital. Health officials have ruled out avian flu, SARS and influenza.

In money news, take a look at Thomas Jefferson. Hmm. He'll be facing forward on the new nickel, which goes into circulation next year. The tail side of the coin shows the classic rendition of Monticello, which, of course, is Jefferson's home.

In pop culture, "Harry Potter" has conjured up a milestone. The wildly popular series about the boy wizard has now sold more than 300 million books.

In sports, the Yankees will try to take a two-game lead over the Angels in the American League playoff series tonight. New York beat California last night 4-2.

Also in sports, golfer Michelle Wie plans to announce today she is turning pro.

Just six days, Chad, before her 16th birthday.

MYERS: I can't believe she already wasn't pro.

COSTELLO: I thought she was myself.

MYERS: How many tournaments have we been talking about her? I thought she was actually taking home money.

COSTELLO: She was playing against professional men, for goodness sakes.

MYERS: Well, exactly. Obviously there are some advantages of being an amateur and being able to get into tournaments that you can't get as a pro. But I think she could have probably qualified for everything anyway.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.

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

How far would you go to end your pain and grief? The mothers of Beslan, Russia, may be turning to a man who some say isn't healing their wounds as much as preying upon them. The cult of Beslan coming up.

And live fire, dangerous missions, and an unseen threat around every corner. And we're not talking about Iraq. We're talking about Afghanistan.

Remember that war? Some of the soldiers fighting it are afraid you don't.

We'll have more on that story ahead.

You're watching DAYBREAK for Wednesday, October 5.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MYERS: And there is our "Question of the Day." The avian flu, should the military be used if there is a huge outbreak to enforce quarantines?

This one from John: "What, are you serious? How about trying to vaccinate people first?"

Ooh, there's no vaccination.

DAYBREAK@CNN.com. Let us know what you think.

COSTELLO: That's the scariest part.

MYERS: Absolutely.

COSTELLO: I think there are -- I think there are enough -- there's a drug that can fight the avian flu available, but it's only available for two million people. MYERS: Two million people, right.

COSTELLO: Yes. So it's a scary thing. We're going to have a doctor in the next hour of DAYBREAK to talk more about this, too.

But stay right where you are Chad.

MYERS: I'm right here.

COSTELLO: Because, you know, you have to laugh because it's early in the morning.

MYERS: I'm glad this is back. "Late Night Laughs" is back.

COSTELLO: Yeah! You'll recognize the targets, too. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, "THE LATE SHOW": Welcome to "The Late Show," ladies and gentlemen. It's like the Supreme Court. Anybody can get in here.

(LAUGHTER)

LETTERMAN: By the way -- by the way, while you folks were laughing at that first joke, Tom DeLay was indicted again.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY LENO, "THE TONIGHT SHOW": And we're learning more about -- more and more about newly-indicted House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. This is in "Newsweek." It says back in the '70s and '80s, he was nicknamed hot tub Tom.

He got kicked out of Baylor University. He got kicked out of pre-med for drinking and became a wild party animal who drank 10 martinis a night -- or, as they call it in Washington, a Kennedy. That would be a Kennedy.

(LAUGHTER)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And the part about Tom DeLay is in "Newsweek." I just read it.

MYERS: There you go.

COSTELLO: It's really funny.

It's time for our DAYBREAK "Eye Opener" now. Pay attention.

MYERS: Hey.

COSTELLO: Not you. Not you, Chad. The cat. There.

MYERS: Oh.

COSTELLO: Hundreds of finicky felines descended on Lithuania for the 42nd annual international cat show. Some were better behaved than others. Fans were treated to some disturbing images, like cats in hats and cats in little ballerina costumes.

Look at that.

MYERS: Oh, there's the cat in the hat.

COSTELLO: I hate when people dress up their animals.

The winner is a Northern American Maine Coon cat. And that cat comes from -- look how cute.

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: OK. Don't try this at homes, kids. This Chinese strongman actually pulled a bus with his ear.

MYERS: Oh, why do they do this?

COSTELLO: I don't know. Then for an encore, he pulled a woman out of the crowd and lifted her up the same way.

Not to be outdone, Britain's John Evans balances different people on his head. Evans holds a bunch of world records, including balancing 235 glasses of beer on his noggin.

Bet you couldn't do that, Chad.

MYERS: No, but that's one of the guys you can't tell where his head starts and his neck stops. You know, his muscles were so big, like a lineman.

COSTELLO: If you can't be a scantily-clad singer and pop culture princess, why not dress like one?

Well, not you, Chad.

MYERS: No. But for $30,000, Carol?

COSTELLO: I know. I'm stunned myself. Britney Spears has her bra on eBay. It's up for grabs. There it is.

MYERS: Well, to her credit, a lot of other things as well. This just happens to be the highest-priced item so far.

COSTELLO: And it's beautiful, isn't it?

MYERS: It's going for Katrina victims. And $30,000 is the current bid. You can got to -- the easiest way is actually to do "Spears Charity," and then you'll get all of the things. There are like 10 different pages of things she's put up there.

COSTELLO: You've been looking at that site, haven't you?

MYERS: Well, I've been looking at that bra.

COSTELLO: A lot of other people have, too.

MYERS: But I don't have $31,000 to waste on it. So...

COSTELLO: It's a shame, because Sally would look so great in that.

MYERS: She would. And it would be a great donation.

COSTELLO: It would. It would. It's for a good cause.

MYERS: That's right.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the next half-hour of DAYBREAK, charity and goodwill come with the territory for many musicians. They now have the efforts of the two famous rockers. Put them on the short list for the Nobel Peace Prize.

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: 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, the grieving mothers of Beslan may be turning to an unusual place to ease their pain, but some say it's a very dangerous place.

And remember Afghanistan? With all of the attention focused on Iraq, some soldiers are afraid you don't. We'll look at the forgotten war coming up.

But first, "Now in the News."

The federal government alleges Mexican national Agustin Haro- Rodriguez smuggled $85 million of cocaine into the United States. He was arrested Sunday night after trying to illegally enter Arizona from Mexico. He's charged with drug trafficking and is being held in New York City.

The Supreme Court and new Chief Justice John Roberts hear arguments this morning over Oregon's assisted suicide law. Oregon contends the regulation of medical practices is a state matter.

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