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American Morning
Bush Speech on Terror; California Wildfire
Aired October 06, 2005 - 09:01 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush answering his critics on the war of Iraq today. He's making a major speech in about an hour's time. The White House says he'll reveal new information about al Qaeda's ties to Iraq.
A spy inside the White House? A former Marine assigned to the vice president's office is now suspected of passing secrets. How could this happen?
And in California, a wildfire burning out of control about 70 miles east of Los Angeles now. A hundred homes in its path. The wind is expected to blow today on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN Broadcast Center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.
We're gong to take you live to Washington in just a few moments. That's where acting FEMA director David Paulison is facing the Senate. It's going on right now. Actually, he's being peppered with lots of questions about housing for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Supposedly, that's going to be the next crisis. "The Wall Street Journal" has a big piece about how housing is now the next big deal for FEMA, how they're going to keep people, you know, housed and in these tent cities, where the tent cities will be. Once again, the story, red tape.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: You know, how many time do we have to go through this?
S. O'BRIEN: Apparently a lot for this story.
M. O'BRIEN: There's a government form you have to fill out to find out how many times you have to go through this, probably.
And also, in about an hour, the president is scheduled to deliver a major speech with new details on the war on terror.
S. O'BRIEN: In fact, they expect that he's actually going to link the war in Iraq to the battle against al Qaeda.
Suzanne Malveaux is at the White House for us this morning. Suzanne, outside of that sort of broad plan, what are we going to hear from the president?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're certainly not going to hear any new initiatives when it comes to policy from the president. But what he is going to talk about is the relationship between Iraq, as well as the war on terror. Very much of what he said before, that it is the central front. He is also going to make the case again that now is not the time to pull out U.S. troops.
What may be different are new details about a strategy here from the terrorists and how that has evolved. Essentially, that he will talk about how al Qaeda is communicating, cooperating with this loose network of other regional or local cells in the area to undermine the U.S. mission in Iraq, as well as bringing democracy to the Middle East.
And finally, we expect that the president is going address the U.S. troops, how they're on the offensive against the insurgents. Specifically, he's going to be talking about how they've been training the Iraqis, trying to make sure that they essentially -- eventually take over that role.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Over 30 percent of the Iraqi troops are in the lead on these offensive operations. We've got troops embedded with them, and that's an important part of the training mission.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Soledad, initially, this speech was scheduled as a fourth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. It was moved because of Hurricane Katrina. But two important things on the timing here.
It comes at a time when the president has lost a great deal of support from Americans on the Iraq mission. And secondly, when the Iraqis themselves are going to be voting on their constitution sometime next week. That, of course, the president expects there's going to be a huge uptick in violence. He wants to prepare Americans for the worst -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Laying the groundwork is what we're seeing today. Suzanne Malveaux at the White House.
Suzanne, thanks.
And again, a reminder. Just under an hour from now, that speech from the president about the war on terror starting at 10:10 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Also at the White House this morning, a little espionage curfuffle. Or is it a mole hill, or is it a mountain? We don't know. Bob Franken is in Washington to tell us more about the investigation of a former staffer from the vice president who was apparently getting information on behalf of all things Philippine opposition candidates.
Bob, explain what's going on.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm still trying to figure out what a curfuffle is, but...
(LAUGHTER)
M. O'BRIEN: Look it up.
FRANKEN: ... there is an investigation under way to see if Leandro Aragoncillo, who was a Marine assigned to the White House between 1999 and 2001 -- and you can figure the math. That meant he was assigned to both vice presidents Gore and Cheney -- whether at that time he downloaded classified information from White House computers. And as criminal complaint charges, passed it on, not necessarily from the White House, but passed along classified material to opposition groups in the Philippines.
He left the White House in 2001 and got a job as an FBI analyst. And he was -- has been arrested and charged in a criminal complaint with passing the material on to foreign nationals.
Now, it is alleged that he dealt with an associate. An associate identified is Michael Ray Aquino. Aquino is identified as a form member of the Philippine Secret Police. CNN, from government sources, is hearing that he, Aquino, is expected to be indicted some time this week, as early as today, perhaps. Although, we're also told that Aragoncillo has not yet been indicted.
Now, all of this information was originally reported by ABC News and confirmed by several U.S. government officials. The information was passed on to the Philippines, which is enveloped in political turmoil right now, opposition to the current president, Gloria Arroyo. And according to a variety of sources and reports in the Philippines, the information was being passed on to those opposed to President Arroyo.
So this is a story that is very big in the Philippines, and for obvious reasons, very big in the United States -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Bob Franken in Washington. Thank you very much.
Let's get some other headlines in now. Carol Costello with that.
Good morning, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Miles.
Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News," a series of attacks in Baghdad this morning. A bombing near the Iraqi Oil Ministry has killed at least 10 people and wound eight others.
In the meantime, a military spokeswoman says one U.S. soldier was killed in a roadside bombing in the northwestern part of the city. Another U.S. military convoy was targeted by a car bomb. According to early reports, four American soldiers were injured in that attack.
The acting head of the disaster agency FEMA in the hot seat today. Right now, David Paulison is getting ready to speak before a congressional committee. You're looking, actually, at Susan Collins of Maine. She is the chair of this committee, which is the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
But shortly, Mr. Paulison will take the seat, and he will be asked many questions about how FEMA is acting in the affected Gulf Coast region of the United States and about his latest plan to get hurricane evacuees out of the shelters. You heard Miles say FEMA estimates some 68,000 people still live in emergency shelters. Six hundred thousand have registered for a FEMA-sponsored home rental program. So maybe we'll find out how that program is going later this morning.
A possible breakthrough in the prevention of cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women. The drugmaker Merck is announcing an experimental vaccine. Researchers claim the vaccine is 100 percent effective in the short term and say that it blocks two major strands of the human papilloma virus.
The sexually transmitted virus affects more than 20 million Americans. There are no symptoms, and many people have no idea they're even infected. The findings will be presented at a national conference tomorrow.
And Donald Trump's real estate empire appears to be blooming, literally. He has joined forces with a top developer in the Middle East to build...
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, my god!
COSTELLO: Stop that. This is a tulip-shaped hotel. It will be on a manmade island.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, my god!
COSTELLO: The island is shaped like a palm tree.
M. O'BRIEN: Now, you know what he should say to the architect?
COSTELLO: You've got to be kidding.
M. O'BRIEN: You're fired! You're fired!
COSTELLO: Anyway, groundbreaking for the Palm Trump International hotel and tower is set for next year.
S. O'BRIEN: Can we show that picture again?
COSTELLO: Isn't that a bizarre looking hotel?
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, my god!
COSTELLO: But think of the stories you could tell in the pictures.
S. O'BRIEN: What does that cost?
COSTELLO: I don't know.
M. O'BRIEN: It looks like a giant cockroach.
S. O'BRIEN: It...
M. O'BRIEN: Doesn't it? Palmetto bug? You know?
S. O'BRIEN: It looks like a lot of things. Yes, it's just ugly.
COSTELLO: A palmetto bug. That is what it looks like.
M. O'BRIEN: See? Yes. You're fired.
COSTELLO: OK. I'm going.
S. O'BRIEN: That is weird. News of the weird there.
All right, Carol. Thank you.
COSTELLO: Sure.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, hundreds of firefighters are struggling to gain control of that 600,000-acre wildfire in southern California. We've been showing you pictures all day.
Thelma Gutierrez is covering that wood house fire in Moreno Valley in California. It's 70 miles east of downtown L.A.
How's it looking for the firefighters today, Thelma?
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, they have been busy. They've been working nonstop since about 3:00 yesterday afternoon. And I can tell you that just a very short time ago, the flames were actually burning on that ridge right behind me, but the winds then shifted, pushing the fire back toward the other side and down the ridge, which is very good news to the residents who live on this side.
Now, 6,000 acres have burned out here in Riverside County, but we spoke to fire captain a short time ago. He told us he is encouraged. He says the weather is cooperating and that now the 700 firefighters who are working on the ground here can take a very aggressive stand.
When we came out early this morning, we noticed that there were firefighters who were lighting a controlled burn in this area to try to burn the fuel, all of the dry brush, so that in the event that that fire jumps the ridge and heads back down, they will have created a perimeter around it and they can be able to save some of the homes out here. We have also talked to some of the people who are out here. They say that there have been no mandatory evacuations, but they have been told to stand by in the event that they have to go.
Again, the fire captain says he's very encouraged. The winds have died down substantially. They were at 25 miles an hour. They've gone down to 5 miles an hour. And that is a huge help for firefighters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. RICK GRIGGS, RIVERSIDE CO. FIRE DEPT.: With the winds dropping off over the course of the night, it's actually made our job considerably easier. We didn't have to fight them. It does -- it does help us. It takes some of the stress and strain out of that, worrying about where the fire is going to go to next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUTIERREZ: Now, again, no mandatory evacuations in this area, but about 100 different homes are here. People are told to be prepared, to be ready to go, but hopefully they won't have to.
Back to you, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Gosh, we sure hope so. All right. Thelma Gutierrez for us. Thanks a lot.
Let's get right to Chad Myers. He can update us with the forecast.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, why did FEMA suspend a rescue team that saved hundreds of lives in Katrina's aftermath? We'll talk to the official who is a bit outraged over all of this.
S. O'BRIEN: And much more on what's being called a major speech from the president this morning. We'll take a look at what is at stake for the White House coming up next. That's on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: A reminder again. Less than an hour from now we're going to hear from President Bush. He's delivering what is being billed as a major speech, linking Iraq and the war on terror. We're going to carry that speech live when it happens.
It's supposed to begin at 10:10 a.m. Eastern Time right here on CNN.
So what can we expect to hear from the president? Why is the speech coming right now? Here to take a look at that in Washington, D.C., is CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen. And from Boston is CNN's political analyst, Bill Schneider.
Gentlemen, good morning. Nice to see you.
Bill, let's start with you, if we can.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Give me a sense of the president's goals here. Is he trying to sway public opinion? Is he trying to just keep everyone up to date on what's going on? We've heard reports that, in fact, if you don't keep doing these updates, then people get mired in the sense that it's not going well.
What is it?
SCHNEIDER: Well, I think the president is quite aware that there's an election coming up next week in Iraq, and he's worried that there is going to be a lot more violence. There usually is surrounding these events.
There's a lot of discontent in the Sunni community. You'll remember that there was an effort to change the rules for this election, to make it tougher to defeat the constitution. They then had to reverse that rules change and keep it the way it originally was.
The president is probably expecting an uptick in violence and preparing the American public for that.
S. O'BRIEN: Peter, let's ask you a question about the war on terror. We've heard that the president is going to draw a link between what's happening in Iraq and the bigger picture, the war on terror. Does there -- is there good news to report on the war on terror?
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Is there good news to report? Well, there is -- I mean, there are two areas of good news.
One is no attacks in the United States, which can't be discounted. I mean, that's rather important.
And also, very few indications of really American sleeper cells. The American Muslim community has not embraced any of the al Qaeda ideas, unlike what we've seen in Europe with a lot of attacks in the last few years.
And also in Afghanistan. I think, you know, you can't -- Afghanistan really has gone pretty well. We've had a presidential election just recently, a parliamentary election. The Taliban wasn't able to interfere with either of these in any meaningful way.
So those are the positive things.
On the negative side, we're seeing record amounts of terrorism. And 2004 was the worst year for terrorism since 2003, and 2003 was the worst year since 1982 in terms of significant terrorist attacks.
We're seeing record amounts of anti-Americanism. We're seeing, you know, a situation in Iraq, which even a charitable person would say is not going well.
And the foreign fighters in Iraq are being -- having a very big, strategic impact on what's going on there. Zarqawi, who is a Jordanian, the main insurgent leader is unfortunately having quite a lot of success.
So, on the positive side, there are some positive things. And then on the negative side, there are, depending on how you look at it, some things that might outweigh the positives.
S. O'BRIEN: So, news and big news on the positives and the negatives.
And Bill, what specifics? Because the White House said it's going to be a specific speech. What specifics does the president have to give to sort of bring people around?
SCHNEIDER: Well, I would add one event to what Peter just said, Bali. That made headlines, a terrible terrorist attack there, the first time in a couple of years. A very frightening attack. Not as many people were killed as last time, but that reminds Americans there's still a war on terror.
I think the president has to make some kind of news here for this speech to pick up some notice. For one thing, there's a political imperative.
This president is not doing well in the polls. He's got a lot of problems.
Social Security reform has been essentially shelved. His tax reform plan, no real plans to take that forward.
He's got problems with gasoline prices, economic pessimism. There's a lot of impatience over what's happening in Iraq. There was disillusionment and dismay over the collapse of the safety net following the hurricanes.
Washington seems to be plagued by scandals. Tom DeLay and Bill Frist in Congress, the investigation of Jack Abramoff, which has touched the White House. The investigation of the CIA leak. You can go on and on.
This is a president who has a lot of problems. The war on terrorism is his strength.
In his speech, we'll see if he has anything positive to report to essentially change the subject. You'll remember, one year ago, he got reelected, and that was largely because of his leadership in the war on terror. He may be trying to resurrect that image.
S. O'BRIEN: The war on terror, poll-wise, certainly, Peter, is his strength. And if you look at polls about the war in Iraq, not a strength.
Isn't there a risk you kind of bring down the one doing well by linking it directly, as we've been promised to hear today, with the topic that's not doing well at all?
BERGEN: Well, it will be interesting to see what the linkage is. I mean, there is a school of thought that says, you know, it's better to fight them in Baghdad than in Boston. And that's only a school of thought that the president has attached himself to in the past.
I'm not convinced by that argument for one reason. It pulls a finite group of people that we can attract to one place and then kill.
Unfortunately, it seems that the Iraq war has rather stirred up a much larger group of people who are -- some of them who are coming into the country from places like France, Germany and Spain. We're seeing people volunteering to fight from Europe and also from around the Middle East. And it seems that we've actually increased the pool of people who don't like us and may be prepared to do violence to our troops in Iraq.
So, I'm curious what the linkage will be, because, as you say, it might be -- it's a dangerous road to go down because a lot of people believe that the Iraq war is actually inciting more terrorism rather than damping it down.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, we're going to hear what the president has to say really in just about, what, 40 minutes or so? A major speech by President Bush. And we're going to take that live right here on CNN.
Gentlemen, thank you very much.
And of course we'll all be watching that speech together.
BERGEN: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, an update on a story close to home here at AMERICAN MORNING. Take a look at the city of New Orleans. This particular house happens to be the boss' house. Our executive producer, VP of morning programming, actually got a chance to walk inside this morning. And she's going to let us come along with her and show us what survived and what did not.
That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Well, you know, as Dorothy put it, there is no place like home. But this morning, our boss, Kim Bondy, is putting that phrase really to the test, because she's back home, in her home, a home she loves dearly. But it's not the same old house it used to be.
She's revisiting the home she bought four years ago. There it was. Please note the excellent landscaping, as she often points out, on her perfect almost play mobile-like home. For you parents, you understand what I'm talking about there, that kind of perfection thing.
Well, last month this was the scene. It was not a good scene. We took a trip back, 82nd Airborne.
And by the way, just a tip of the hat to them, Kim. I know you'll agree. They couldn't have been nice or that voyage as they helped you out.
KIM BONDY, CNN V.P. OF MORNING PROGRAMMING: Just unbelievably competent.
M. O'BRIEN: They were.
BONDY: Unbelievably competent.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Now her zip code has a green light to return. She's -- and we were on a boat, I should say, probably about six feet above where you're standing now over your pool.
BONDY: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: And Kim, the pool was filled tragically, ironically, coincidentally, whatever you want to say, the day before the storm, right?
BONDY: It was filled actually on the Friday before. I hadn't seen the pool, because I don't live here full time. And so I was going to come home the week of Katrina to finish up details on the pool and start working on the landscaping and that sort of thing, get the gates put back up. And then, of course, we know what happened from there.
So, Miles, I don't know if I'll ever get a chance to swim in this pool. I certainly wouldn't do it right now. But there you go.
So let's take a little tour. I'll show you something...
M. O'BRIEN: It doesn't look so good, though. And, you know, the interesting thing is how sad that that's your first view of the pool that you put in.
BONDY: Right, exactly, because you and I did the interview floating in a boat above this pool.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
BONDY: So I didn't -- I had no idea. I just knew where it was, but I had never seen it completed. So there you have it.
So this...
M. O'BRIEN: Now, that structure right behind there, is that Blaine's (ph)? Is that your brother's structure?
BONDY: Yes, that's my...
M. O'BRIEN: OK.
BONDY: That's my brother's house behind. That's his guest House.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
BONDY: And so, you know, in New Orleans, you know, it's actually sacrilegious to live too far from your family. And we actually put a gate that you can't -- we put a gate entry from his yard to my yard so we didn't have to go out in front.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
BONDY: You know, we could just cross -- cross the yard and have have coffee on the patio. And, you know...
M. O'BRIEN: Just kind of like the Kennedy compound. It's the Bondy compound.
BONDY: The Bondy compound. So let me show you something.
M. O'BRIEN: All right.
BONDY: I had built this room, and it was going to be an exercise room. And then I said, "Oh, there's a gym. I'm not going to go."
I call it -- my girlfriend, my best friend, Sandy, calls this "The Situation Room." She said, "If we ever have a situation, we're going to make martinis and come in here and talk about it." That was pre-Wolf Blitzer, by the way -- "The Situation Room."
M. O'BRIEN: You know what?
BONDY: So let's go quickly...
M. O'BRIEN: You guys -- I think you guys should have a couple of drinks there, nonetheless.
Is that your Jag?
BONDY: See my car?
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, boy.
BONDY: That's my jag. It can't be saved.
M. O'BRIEN: Jag, that's gone.
BONDY: Oh, don't worry about it.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Let's go inside. Let's go in.
BONDY: So we're going to go inside now -- OK.
M. O'BRIEN: Now, you just came in this morning. What was it like that first trip across the portal as we look at the before shot, by the way, of the room we're about to go in? What was it like to...
(CROSSTALK) BONDY: You know, I guess, honestly, I'll tell you the truth, not as bad as I thought.
M. O'BRIEN: Really?
BONDY: It's really bad. Well, look at this -- I don't know if Dominick (ph) can show you, but there's no mold on the ceiling.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
BONDY: Now, this room had about nine feet of water in it at one point. But there's still no mold on the ceiling.
And, you know, I'm a hopeful girl. And so, you know, I'm now at the point where I'm just looking for signs of hope. Not that I don't think I could ever live here again, but, you know, it's an emotional thing for me.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, if you'll excuse the term, it does change the meaning of half full when you start talking about this, because, really, in this case, half empty would be better. But in this case, you have mold everywhere, you look at the ceiling, you go, "Oh, there's no mold there. This is good."
I'm proud of you.
BONDY: Yes, exactly. Yes. You know, you do what you can.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Next room.
BONDY: And so, we're going to go now into the dining area. And I believe you have some before pictures.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. There's the before. We're looking at the before shot. It looks lovely.
BONDY: OK.
M. O'BRIEN: It looks like you're ready for a dinner party. And let's look now.
BONDY: It was Thanksgiving. It was my first Thanksgiving in the house.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow.
BONDY: And I cooked dinner for my family. Don't tell anybody that I cook. OK? I don't want that rumor started.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, come on. You catered it. You catered it. I know you did.
BONDY: And I think you have some before pictures of the kitchen...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. BONDY: ... if you want to put those up.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, let's do that real quick.
BONDY: And we can't even really...
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, there she is. She's calling the shots, even from her place in New Orleans. There's the kitchen.
All right. Let's see it now. Oh, wow. Wow.
BONDY: Yes. Not so good, right?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, not so good.
BONDY: You wouldn't eat a meal cooked in there, would you?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes, that's not so good.
BONDY: Now Dominick, show them -- show them these two sofas here, because these two sofas were actually in my living room. And as you can see, they're upright, pretty much. And the floodwaters actually...
M. O'BRIEN: Wait. Wait. How did that pillow stay there? How did those pillows stay on there?
BONDY: I know, it's amazing. The little details...
M. O'BRIEN: What are they Velcroed on there? That's so weird.
BONDY: I know. It did not move. We didn't touch any of this. And beyond us -- Dominick's just going to show you a picture of my living room, which is a disaster, as you can see.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, gosh.
BONDY: But Dominick, if you can show them beyond that room, back there is my bedroom. The pillows -- the bed is still perfectly made. The pillows are on the bed.
M. O'BRIEN: That is so creepy, isn't it?
BONDY: It is amazing.
M. O'BRIEN: That's weird.
BONDY: It is really -- again, it's really, really weird, like they were untouched. But there's a huge armoire that fell and is blocking. So I think Dominick is going to lead us -- he's going to lead us upstairs.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Go on up. Go on up.
BONDY: And this is what I found amazing.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. So the water was about nine feet there.
BONDY: I found this really amazing.
M. O'BRIEN: And look, even -- look at the risers on the -- risers on the steps there. All of a sudden they look normal. So you know where you're out of the water zone here.
And look at this, it's like a pristine house. Is there no damage up there. Oh, my gosh.
BONDY: No damage. Miles, there's no mold. There's no smell, and my floors are just now a little muddy because we were tracking mud up here, but I came up here, and I'm thinking, oh, my goodness, it's like the tale of two homes. Downstairs, you know, is horrific, and upstairs is like, if we just tidied up a little bit, you'll be fine.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, you know what, you've got to wipe your feet. Get a doormat there and start wiping your feet.
BONDY: I know. I know.
This is a guest room upstairs, and what's interesting about this room is when my parents, as you know, didn't evacuate, but this is where they were the first night of the storm. Nine feet of water downstairs, they're upstairs in this room, bed is made. The room looks completely fine.
M. O'BRIEN: Look at the remote just there, probably watching CNN, trying to figure out what was going on.
And they put a lot of your pictures and you have some artwork and so forth. All of that was up here, right?
BONDY: Yes, which, by the way, we're taking out of here today.
M. O'BRIEN: I would definitely do that, so don't even try to go to Legion Fields and go to Kim's house. She's going to take it out.
BONDY: No, no, no. It will all be gone.
M. O'BRIEN: You were worried about a lot of this stuff that was up on the top floor.
BONDY: And, Miles, I found my stepfather -- sorry about that. My stepfather reads the local paper every day, and this was the last paper he bought, which was on the Saturday, or the last one I can find, and there was an article talking about the Mississippi River and a drought and worst drought since 1988.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh, my God. Wow.
BONDY: I don't think we have that issue anymore, do we? Let me just show you one more thing.
M. O'BRIEN: What's the surprise? Is this the surprise coming up? You said you had one surprise for us. BONDY: The surprise is this: Even when things get really bad for us, people here in New Orleans, we never, ever, sort of lose our party cool.
My parents are here stranded, nine feet of water. And yet, by the bedside, what did I find? A bottle of Grand Marnier.
M. O'BRIEN: You know, I don't know them well. I had a wonderful drive with them for two hours, and having spent that time with them, not surprised. I'm glad they had that there.
Your final thought here, and this is the $64 or $164,00, or $364,000 question, whatever it is, are you going rebuild? Do you know yet?
BONDY: You know, Miles, I said to you when we were here, and it's hard to not be emotional about it, I'd never come back and I never thought I'd come to the house again. But when we opened up the shutters and I actually got to see my home, it became sort of kind of my cute little house again, sort of, kind of. It just needs, you know, a new first floor, I guess, and I'm actually going see what the structural engineers say before I make a final decision.
I made an emotional decision early on. I'm going to try to make a smart decision. I love this town, and I love this house, and I put a lot of work and a lot of love into it.
The tragedy is my family is no longer here, so even if I can salvage the house, you know, what I wanted out of this experience was to be next door to my family, and so they've all moved on, and so it's going to be tough.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, that's kind of the hard part. I wonder if your brother, Blaine, will come back? He might. He might. You never know.
BONDY: He might. You know, he's coming into town today, and you know, before he was, like, never, never, never, never, never, then he said, well, you know, we'll see, we'll see, we'll see. So I think it's what a lot of people here are going through.
But I'll tell you what, I just want to say this one thing, if you are not able bodied and healthy, do not try to go into your home. I'm lucky because I have a two-story home. You know, as bad as this looks, I actually did not so bad, so.
M. O'BRIEN: Kim Bondy, do us a favor, will you? We'll keep viewers posted on this progress, OK?
BONDY: We will. Thank you, guys.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, and, Wow, what amazing optimism. Good job. Good job.
Let's go over to Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Get the Grand Marnier out and start digging out the first floor is what it sounds like to me.
All right, Kim, that was an interesting tour.
Hey, Carol. Carol's got the update with the other headlines making news.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm just amazed at her optimism as well.
Good for you, Kim. You go, girl! That's right.
Good morning to all of you.
Now in the news, firefighters near Los Angeles are trying to contain a 6,000 acre wildfire threatening some 100 homes. Hundred of firefighters are on the scene now. As of this morning, the blaze is only about five percent contained. Officials are encouraging people who live in the area to voluntarily evacuate. There's concern that those Santa Ana Winds might pick up and hamper firefighter's efforts.
Also in California, the home of Bruce Wayne, AKA Batman, is no more. An overnight fire destroyed the Pasadena mansion. The 16,000- square-foot home was used in a series of TV shows and movies including the 1960s TV series "Batman." No word on how the fire started. Officials say the owners were in the process of having it remodeled.
A new role for actress Katie Holmes. That would be motherhood. A spokeswoman confirms that Holmes is indeed preggers. She and actor Tom Cruise announced their engagement about four months ago. No word on when the baby is due. Holmes is said to be feeling pretty good.
And, Soledad, the entire family is very excited.
And we showed you this earlier, but take a look again at these incredible pictures. Oh, this is amazing. This is a high-speed chase, comes to a crashing halt, as you can see. The suspect's van slams into that police car which was parked alongside the road. These images captured with a dashboard camera on a second police car. The trooper -- you can see him running away -- he managed to escape moments before the impact. The suspect is hospitalized. This took place in Idaho. The suspect was wanted on a battery charge.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank God he got out of the way.
Literally, he's, like, what, three yards away.
COSTELLO: Yes, but the driver of the van is in critical condition this morning, as you might expect.
S. O'BRIEN: And then faces charges when he gets out of the hospital.
COSTELLO: Exactly.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Carol, thanks. COSTELLO: A little over half an hour to go until President Bush speaks about terrorism to the nation. According to the White House, he's going to be more specific about how the war in Iraq is related to the broader war against Al Qaeda. National security correspondent David Ensor is in our Washington bureau this morning.
David, good morning to you.
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATL. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: How are we doing on the war on terror?
ENSOR: Well, you'd have to say, Soledad, it's a mixed picture. There's been no attack by Al Qaeda since the U.S. since 9/11. That's very important. And intelligence officials are confirming that 75 percent of the group's leaders at the time of 9/11 are now wrapped up, dead or in custody. There's been a lot of successful cooperation with others around the world against terror, but you also have to remember, there's been a rash of attacks claimed by Al Qaeda affiliates around the world -- London, Madrid, Bali, twice, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and of course most of all Iraq, so many experts are predicting that our children will still be fighting this battle -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: But does it matter that Osama Bin Laden is not captured, he's not killed?
ENSOR: It matters. He's a powerful symbol and getting him will send a powerful message. But experts say Bin Laden's legacy is already bigger than he is. He's become kind of a posterboy for terror. You see his face everywhere, must as you used to see Che Guevera's face years ago on college campuses.
And dead or alive, he's definitely going to continue to inspire terrorism for years to come. So it's not over as far as he's concerned -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: David Ensor for us this morning. David, thanks a lot -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, they came to help. This is a -- we're talking about a search-and-rescue team based in Phoenix, Arizona, and they're credited with more than 400 rescues in the city of New Orleans, but they also came with some armed supports, some armed marshals, and for security purposes, and FEMA says no firearms for search-and-rescue teams. So now FEMA has suspended this particular team out of Phoenix, and officials there are calling for an apology and they would like a rule change as well.
Joining me now is Phoenix Mayor Phil Gordon.
Mayor Gordon, good to have you with us.
MYR. PHIL GORDON, PHOENIX, ARIZONA: Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: FEMA says -- as a matter of fact, let's put the quote up right now. This is the response to this whole team. "Only one team, the Arizona team, our of some 28 search-and-rescue teams, were sent home from the operation in New Orleans after a series of serious judgment errors by team leaders while violated the FEMA rules. The FEMA rules are very clear, you can't be armed if you're a search- and-rescue team." Why did your team, of all teams, need to be armed?
GORDON: Well, first of all, miles. I appreciate having the opportunity to let everyone know these were U.S. marshals that were deputized over a year ago as part of two unique teams in the country where marshals were with the FEMA team, but they weren't part of the FEMA team. They were there to protect both the team, and the equipment and re-establish some order in a very dangerous situation that even your own station showed.
M. O'BRIEN: But the question is, why did your team, of all of the teams, require armed support?
GORDON: Actually there was a lot of support in terms of armed individuals. At the time our team got there, they were advised by FEMA members on the ground to bring the marshals. That's where we are disputing what the FEMA representative is saying.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm sorry, who at FEMA advised that, if the rules were so explicit, according to what they've said here.
GORDON: But, Miles, the rule was that the firefighters would not carry arms, and that's exactly what happened. These were U.S. marshals that are authorized to go anywhere in the United States to protect federal equipment and equipment. They were designated by the U.S. marshal in Arizona a year ago, and authorized all of the way up to Washington D.C. to go and work with a team. In fact this, is exactly what we want. We don't want to deplete the limited resources of local areas. Our firefighters and others were in areas where they were shot at. They were in areas where the alligators were. They were in areas where armed security personnel confronted them and a hundred evacuees at a time.
So this is really just bureaucratic gobbley-gook that is trying to say, you know what, some person on the ground that -- and by the way, Miles, this is the second time the team was there within 10 days in terms of rescuing people.
M. O'BRIEN: You know, I see your point of the bureaucratic end, and I don't think anybody would quibble with you on the security issues. Our crews had security, as well. Everybody at that time, when there really was a breakdown in law and order there, needed some security. I think probably the root of the bureaucratic rule here is you don't want to create this Wild West scenario, where each team has its own posse, if you will. And I can see their point there.
GORDON: Absolutely. But again, this wasn't even Phoenix police or armed vigilantes, as some FEMA members have said. These are deputized U.S. marshals with over a year of training with the federal government that are -- in fact, the U.S. Marshal Service has been asked to provide marshals in this area, and over 200 marshals from the rest of the United States have been there and are there now. M. O'BRIEN: We're just about out of time. But final thought here. You bowed out of any future, you know, joint efforts along these lines. Mutual aid, whatever you want to call them. And you want an apology from FEMA. You think that's likely?
GORDON: Absolutely, because it is so ridiculous. First of all, we've been suspended -- this team was sent home four days early. Instead of even talking about it,m they had time to write a two-page letter, send it, send the team home early, while there's still the need for our team and any team. Secondly, we said we want to be part of it. This team, 84 heroes, are really hurting to get back into action. They've been suspended from all indefinite operations for the future.
And what we're saying is we can't send our fire personnel into a dangerous situation unless there's security. If they want to provide it, fine. If we're going to have U.S. marshals provide it, fine. But, heaven, let's do the right thing.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Well, if you need an apology from FEMA, you might have to fill out a form in triplicate for that. I don't know.
GORDON: Well, if they had time to write a two-page letter and send it...
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm sure it was copied around. Thank you very much...
GORDON: Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: ... Phoenix mayor Phil Gordon, for being with us this morning -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, how a 2-year-old boy was saved by cries of coyotes. We're going to meet the little boy and his grateful parents and the man who saved him, all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: A Missouri couple really was just panicked when their 2-year-old son went missing for more than eight hours. Tristan Owens was found in the woods by a search party. They were brought to that exact location by howling coyotes, who were also looking for the little boy.
Joining us this morning, Officer Mike Runge. He's Moscow Mills, Missouri, police officer. He was involved in the search effort. Also, little Tristan right there, who's a little bit of a wiggler this morning, and his mom and dad Stacy and Eric Owens.
Good morning, nice to see you all. Oh, I know, he's, like, don't hold me down. I want to walk around. Good morning to you.
Stacy, let's begin with you. I know you were out gardening. It was sort of late in the afternoon. And suddenly Tristan, like any 2- year-old, walks away in a flash. What happened?
It looks like we just took a hit on the satellite. There you guys are back. Could you hear my question, Stacy?
STACY OWENS, MOTHER: Yes. It just -- I mean, it happened so fast. I went around to get a watering can. I was gone so briefly, under a minute, and came back, and he wasn't there.
S. O'BRIEN: It must be the most horrific thing for a parent to experience. Eric, you know, you came in a little bit later. What went through your mind when you knew hours and hours were going by and no sight of your little boy?
ERIC OWENS, FATHER: Well, he's been known to take his own little adventures. Certainly not this long. But we were really hopeful that he was just out there and, you know, playing in the woods somewhere. Hoping for the best.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, and he was out there. He's such a wiggler. He's such a 2-year-old, isn't he? Look at him. The big lie down. And, you know, and he's been staring at Officer Mike Runge. I know, officer, your plan was to kind of have a grid system, have the search parties go out and sort of formally go through this grid system. Then somebody hears coyotes howl, and what did you do?
OFFICER MIKE RUNGE, MOSCOW MILLS POLICE: Well, once we heard the coyotes off in the distance howling, my team -- there was -- I was with three other men, volunteers. We decided to go and investigate what the coyotes were after. I knew that the coyotes were tracking something that was in distress, which is what is in their nature to do. So we decided to investigate that. And once we tracked down the coyotes, we scared them off and they led us within 10 feet of the little boy.
S. O'BRIEN: Because they were really close to him. Would coyotes bite or eat a child?
RUNGE: I could not -- I cannot answer that question. I do believe that the coyotes were only tracking his screams for help. Any animal that's in distress and is screaming out for its mother or is in pain is what attracts the coyotes. And I believe that's why they were tracking to his location. So we decided to track them and they would lead us to the little boy, if, in fact, that's what they were after. And it turned out to be it was him that they were tracking.
S. O'BRIEN: And he was pretty much right there. What did he say when you found him? Anything?
RUNGE: Yes, he asked me to take him home. That's when I first knew -- that's when I knew for sure that it was him, he was there. And I looked underneath a tree and some branches that were hanging down and he was standing there. And he ran and I grabbed him and then that was it. That's when we knew we found him.
S. O'BRIEN: Stacy, you know, I would imagine that the word relief doesn't even come close. And Eric, too. I mean, you know, there's not a word that describes what it feels like when someone comes back with the news that they have found your 2-year-old. You must be so grateful to the men and women who took part in this search.
S. OWENS: You know, I can't say enough about Wentzville Police Department. Chief Noonan (ph), who organized everything, from the infared cameras to the dogs, to the helicopters, to the search teams, to the SWAT team. I mean, we're talking about a community effort here that is just incredible.
S. O'BRIEN: I can see how he slipped away, because he is such a little wiggler. And apparently trying to add his voice, as well, to his grateful thanks for the team that rescued him. We're out of time, you guys. And I'm just so glad that this is a story with a really happy ending that we're able to share. Because, of course, these things often, as you know, don't end up that way. Thanks for being with us. We really appreciate it.
S. OWENS: Thank you.
E. OWENS: Thanks, everybody, who helped.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, now, they got their thanks.
We're back in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: My goodness, we've been talking to much today. A minute and 15 left for Andy Serwer. There you go. Take the time. All right, go.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: All right, thank you.
Let's check out stock trading this morning, moving up on Wall Street at this hour. We'll go down to the Big Board and see we're up 10 points in the Dow Jones Industrials. Some positive comments from General Electric and lower oil prices there.
Now, let's take about a couple of companies facing problems because of higher energy prices, two of them. Federal Express, they're going to be raising prices. They cut an energy surcharge, but they're raising prices five percent next year. Higher fuel costs. You can see that would be a problem for that company.
Clorox says its profits will cut and it will be raising prices. There's that familiar Clorox bottle. Why, higher fuel prices, raw material prices, oil resin used to make Clorox bottles presumably at issue there.
Some good news for folks who have been victimized by the two hurricanes. The Justice Department will be easing the toughest parts of that new bankruptcy law that takes effect on October 17th. We've been waiting for some relief from the government because of this one. The means test used to determine whether or not you'd have to file chapter 13, which would be to repay your debts, will be waived for some of these folks, who will just be facing chapter 7, which means you simply don't have to repay.
M. O'BRIEN: And so this is just for people affected in the Gulf area and that kind of thing; they get a special waiver from the tougher rule.
SERWER: That's right. Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, good. I'm glad to hear to that.
SERWER: Good news!
M. O'BRIEN: Good news. Excellent. Thank you.
SERWER: You're welcome.
M. O'BRIEN: Dr. Doom sometimes comes through with a good one.
SERWER: Occasionally.
M. O'BRIEN: Once again, live coverage of the president's speech, said to be an important one, on the subject of terror and the war against the same, 10:10 Eastern Time right here on CNN. We invite you to tune in for that, and we are back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: We're back to tell you that we're out of time.
M. O'BRIEN: Just enough time to tell you we're out of time. That's about it.
Daryn Kagan is here, though, and she'll be joining us this moment to take us through, to the president's speech coming up about 10 minutes from now.
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