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American Morning

Relief Efforts Stepped Up in Earthquake-Ravaged Pakistan; Rescuers Searching for Four People Missing in New Hampshire Floods

Aired October 12, 2005 - 07:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien. Relief efforts stepped up after a much-needed break from the torrential rains in earthquake-ravaged Pakistan. Victims there so desperate for food and water, even Pakistan's old enemy is sending help. We're live with the latest.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Miles O'Brien. Rescuers searching for four people missing in the New Hampshire floods. There's a lot more rain in the forecast and more flooding is likely.

S. O'BRIEN: And did conservative Christian leader James Dobson know something he wasn't to about Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers? Dobson is speaking out, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning. Welcome, everybody.

The situation in Pakistan has become so desperate that, in fact, Pakistan's neighbor and bitter enemy. India and Pakistan have fought three wars against each other. Well, now they're relying on India to send some aid in.

O'BRIEN: And that is where we begin this there morning. The weather has cleared, and earthquake-relief Helicopter are finally flying into the mountains of Pakistan now, but more storms are on the way there. Planeloads of supplies from 30 countries are coming into Pakistan, including help from India. India and Pakistan have gone to war twice over Kashmir, where most of the quake damage was done. Federal officials say at least 20,000 are dead. Local officials say it could be more than 41,000. As you can understand, it would be hard to tally, given all of the confusion. The United Nations is asking for $272 million dollars to pay for food, water and medicine. And with the bitter winter already setting in, cold weather tents and blankets as well.

Satinder Bindra is live on the videophone now from the village of Garyhabibila (ph) in northern Pakistan.

Satinder, is the aid getting to where you are?

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, the aid is getting in, but it's getting in very slowly. The roads here are open, and this morning, I've seen army convoys. People do have some food, but they're complaining bitterly what they need most is blankets and tents, because it is getting very cold here in the night.

Now this area, I must add, Miles, continues to remain emotionally traumatized, and this spot where I am symbolizes the grief of many people. This was once a girls school; 750 students studied here. But last Saturday when the earthquake struck, 150 students perished when the school building collapsed right on top of them. Early this morning, several students came back. They were emotionally traumatized. They didn't want to come inside the school, but then they came in. I asked him what they were looking for, and they said they were searching for their friends, they were searching for their belongings. One girl, in fact, telling me she couldn't understand why God would be so cruel, why God would do something to little children.

Right now we can show you a shot here, Miles. People continuing to dig through the rubble literally with their bare hands. People have been digging through here, but as the sun sets now here in this little village, people fast losing hope of finding any survivors.

Back to you.

M. O'BRIEN: Satinder Bindra, thank you very much.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice just arrived in Pakistan. The secretary will meet with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shakan Aziz (ph). The United States has already committed $50 million in aid, and is going to add two dozen more helicopters to that relief efforts -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: In New Hampshire now, four people are still missing after weekend flooding. It was from Tropical Storm Tammy. Hardest hit was the town of Alstead, which is just about 50 miles from New Hampshire's capital, which is Concord.

Let's get right to Chris Huntington. He's in Alstead for us this morning.

Chris, good morning.

More rain in the forecast. Does that mean more flooding for the folks there?

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It could very likely mean that. It will almost certainly mean more erosion along the banks of the Coal (ph) River. I'm standing down here in the Coal River. I want you to just understand something. This is a river that until Sunday was only about 15 to 20 feet wide. You can probably see by our estimate, it's more than a hundred feet wide now. When the storm surge came through here on Sunday, the river waters were running at about 12 feet, nearly twice my height.

The expectation, with some three to circumstances inches of rain in the next couple of days, there will be likely more flooding, certainly a whole lot more water running through here. Here in Alstead, really a tough little town. The folks are trying to recover from what happened. We spent time yesterday with a family who had lost not only their house, Soledad, but all of their land, an acre and a half of land washed away completely by the river. So a very tough situation with more tough times likely to come in the days ahead.

S. O'BRIEN: That sounds terrible. All right, Chris Huntington for us with an update. Thanks, Chris.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: The last closed area of New Orleans, the Ninth Ward, will be open today, but only for what they're calling a look and leave, a short period of time. The Ninth Ward is some of the lowest ground in the city, some of the most heavily damaged as well. AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho is live in the Lower Ninth Ward.

Good morning, Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, good morning to you.

What's interesting about this is that for now, only half of the Lower Ninth Ward will be open to residents. Those are the areas south of North Claiborne Avenue to the Mississippi River. The rest of the Lower Ninth is considered too debris ridden for now.

Now, all of this may not mean much to the people who don't live here, but for the people who do, it means everything. Yesterday, we escorted two documentary photographers to their home in the Lower Ninth Ward so they could have a look for themselves.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Keith Calhoun and wife Chandra have not seen their home in the Lower Ninth Ward since Hurricane Katrina until now. It is not pretty.

KEITH CALHOUN, LOWER NINTH WARD RESIDENT: This is it.

CHANDRA MCCORMICK, LOWER NINTH WARD RESIDENT: It's just a mess.

CHO: The home they've owned for 12 years in the historic Holy Cross section has been flattened.

CALHOUN: Basically, we just got to start over.

CHO: Chandra says there is a hidden blessing.

MCCORMICK: This is not good at all, but we have each other and we have our family, and that's going to keep us going.

CHO: The couple, along with their two children, have temporarily settled in Texas. For six weeks, they've been waiting to come back.

MCCORMICK: That was what I wanted to come back here for, you know, mainly to just see if I had anything of my work.

CHO: There is not much, if anything, that is salvageable. So Keith begins a new chapter of documenting, taking pictures of what's left of his home. Later, the couple checks on Chandra's mother's home. There's a surprise. They found boxes of their photos, pictures that tell the story of the Lower Ninth Ward.

CALHOUN: Do you see these men? Lifting two sacks? They were working for their money, despite how hard they worked, you know? They was able to take care of their family. And we leave this life back in the city.

CHO: The Lower Nine, as locals call it, is home to Fats Domino, a place where corner grocery stores are called "superets," where historically, blacks in New Orleans have found affordable housing. It's a place where neighbors say good morning and good night. It's why the couple says it's important to rebuild, why their family will be back.

CALHOUN: This is where we come back to. At least now I know what I'm facing. I know that, hey, you don't have nothing no more, but you got to keep going.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Now one thing to keep in mind is residents who do want to come back here to the Lower Ninth Ward for this look and leave will have to do so between the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. They will not be allowed in, Miles, after dark.

M. O'BRIEN: Alina Cho in the Lower Ninth Ward, thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, let's go to Washington now. The question is, what exactly did White House adviser Karl Rove reveal to the conservative talk show host James Dobson about Harriet Miers? Dana Bash live at the White House for us on the question.

Hey, Dana, good morning.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

First, a little bit of context here. James Dobson is, of course, a Christian leader with incredible influence, a huge megaphone, and he is somebody that White House adviser Karl Rove checks in with frequently, especially before big decisions, where they want conservative support. That's exactly what Rove did with the Miers nomination, called two days before it announced. But Dobson did stir some controversy, because he suggested that in that conversation, Rove may have given him some inside information to win his endorsement. Well, at the Senate, they said that perhaps they wanted both men to come testify, so Dobson is trying to clarify. He's denying getting assurances on how Miers would vote on the court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JAMES DOBSON: We did not discuss Roe v. Wade in any context, or any other pending issue that will be considered by the court. I did not ask that question. You know, to be honest, I would have loved to have known how Harriet Miers views Roe v. Wade.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: So what did Karl Rove say to James Dobson? Well, apparently, things that mostly we already know. He was trying to push her conservative credentials by talking about Miers personally, saying that she is from a very conservative church that is almost universally pro life.

But there is one thing that Dobson says Rove told him that perhaps we don't know. Many conservatives are up in arms because the president chose somebody who was unknown because there are people out there with clear judicial records that conservatives would have been quite happy with. Dobson said Rove said that some of those candidates took themselves out of the running because of the process, because the process has become so horrible, from their point of view. But, Soledad, the White House is saying that they can't verify exactly which candidates he was talking about, Dobson.

S. O'BRIEN: So I think they used the words "vicious" and "vitriolic."

Dana Bash at the White House for us. Thanks, Dana -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: We have more this morning on that intercepted letter between a pair of Al Qaeda terror masterminds. The letter is addressed to the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab Zarqawi. It comes from Osama Bin Laden's righthand man, Ayman Al Zawahiri. Al Zawahiri urges Zarqawi to create an Islamic state in Iraq and recruit more Muslims to join the fight, but he also warns of a possible backlash, that the violence might alienate the very Muslims Al Qaeda is trying to reach. We quote from the letter now: "The Muslim populous who love and support you will never find it palatable, the scenes of slaughtering the hostages," end of quote. The letter is dated two days after the London terror attacks of July 7th, but it makes no mention of those attacks.

Still to come on the program, more on the controversy surrounding Harriet Miers. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will join us to talk live about that.

M. O'BRIEN: And also former FBI director Louis Freeh will join us live. We're going to ask him about some allegations he's making in his new book.

S. O'BRIEN: And later, Dr. Sanjay Gupta will stop by with a "New You" checkup. Former marathon runner Harold Fricker wanted to lose a hundred pounds. If you stay tuned, you'll find out if he succeeded. That's on AMERICAN MORNING, ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: President Bush is predicting his Supreme Court nominee, Harriet Miers, will be confirmed by the Senate. The appointment of Miers, White House counsel and the president's former personal attorney, has come under fire most notably from conservatives. U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has worked with Harriet Miers for years. He joins us now from the Justice Department.

Mr. Gonzales, good to have you back on the program.

Are you surprised the conservatives have been so critical of Miers' nomination?

ALBERTO GONZALES, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I think a lot of people who have expressed concerns are operating at a position of incomplete information. We are in the process now where the Senate Judiciary Committee and the American public will have an opportunity to learn more about Mrs. Miers, the type of person that she is, her approach to judging. That's what these hearings are all about. And so I think we just need to wait and give her an opportunity to make her case.

M. O'BRIEN: But are you surprised, though, at the reaction? It's been very vocal and from the far right wing of the party.

GONZALES: Listen, these decisions regarding the nominations of the Supreme Court are very important. They're probably the most important decision, other than sending men and women into battle, probably the most important decision that a president of the United States can make. It represents perhaps his most lasting legacy. And so no, I'm not surprised that people are very vested, they're interested in this decision. It is very important. The decision the court makes has an impact on upon the lives of every American. So I think it's a good thing that people are -- care about this decision, care about the work of the Supreme Court.

M. O'BRIEN: James Dobson, Focus on the Family, a conservative voice in this nation, has shed a little bit of light on a conversation he had with Karl Rove of the administration. Let's listen to what he said as he tried to clarify what he heard on this phone call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOBSON: What did Karl Rove say to me that I knew on Monday that I couldn't reveal? Well, it's what we all know now, that Harriet Miers is an evangelical Christian, that she is from a very conservative church, which is almost universally pro life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: So really, there's less there than meets the eye, or originally thought met the eye. Let me ask you this. Why all the sort of the winking and nodding on this subject? If Harriet Miers is strongly anti-abortion, why don't the admission say that?

GONZALES: Well, you know, I don't know about the winking and nodding. I'm not personally familiar with this conversation and what was said between Karl and Mr. Dobson. We do not do apply litmus tests. We do not ask people their personal views on issues such as abortion.

My own judgment it is, is that is irrelevant in terms of how someone will approach a case that interprets Roe v. Wade.

M. O'BRIEN: Why would that be irrelevant, sir?

GONZALES: Well, because we expect judges to come to the bench without a personal addenda, that their own personal views should not matter in the way that they interpret the Constitution. We want judges with strong convictions, no question about that, but we want judges who disciplined enough to understand that their own personal convictions about a personal issue have to be set aside.

M. O'BRIEN: But of course those convictions shade the way we view the facts.

GONZALES: There's no question about it. But again, I think a good judge consciously understands that and works very, very hard to not let their personal views affect the way that they're going to approach it -- a decision on an issue such as abortion.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, the criticism on the right is one thing. We've also seen stuff, which many people would interpret as sexism. One newspaper yesterday was trying to give her a makeover, for gosh's sake.

And yesterday, on another program, on "The Today Show," Laura Bush, the first lady, was asked if this was sexism. Let's listen to her response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: I think that's possible. I think she is so accomplished, and you know, I think people are not looking at her accomplishments and not realizing that she was the first elected woman to be the head of the Texas Bar Association, for instance, and all the other things. She was the first woman managing partner of a major law firm. She was the first woman hired by a major law firm.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Is it sexism? And does she have a thin resume?

GONZALES: Well, I'm not going to get into the motivation behind some of the concerns that have been raised. I do think, though, that some of her accomplishments are being discounted, and I think the fact that she can bring a diversity of experience to the court is something that I think people are not placing enough weight on. I think that's very, very important. If you look at the past 35 justices appointed to the Supreme Court, 13 had no prior judicial experience. I think it's a good thing to have people with different experiences come to the court, bring those experiences to the court. I think she is a woman -- she's extremely intelligent, very hard working, and I think that she will be very prepared to do her job as an associate justice of the Supreme Court.

M. O'BRIEN: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, thanks for being with us this morning -- Soledad.

GONZALES: Thanks, Miles.

S. O'BRIEN: "New York Times" reporter Judith Miller will be back before a grand jury today. It's her second time testifying in connection with the leak of a CIA operative's identity.

AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken is live outside the federal courthouse in Washington D.C. this morning.

Bob, good morning to you.

The newfound notes, is that why she's back?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's why she's back. She discovered the notes. They were discovered in "The New York Times" newsroom, we're told, and they reflect conversations, according to our sources, that she had with Scooter Libby before she had described conversations in her earlier testimony.

Now, remember, this is the same Judy Miller who spent 85 days in jail for refusing to testify. And now, she's coming back after conversations she had yesterday, a long meeting with the special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. It was at the conclusion of those meetings last night, in the building also occupied by her lawyer, that Fitzgerald decided to bring her back before this grand jury.

The notes involve conversations she had with Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who is the vice president's chief of staff and a person whose name comes up repeatedly as one of the sources into this investigation what was the identity of the person who leaked the identity of Valerie Plame, the now no-longer-undercover CIA agent, the wife of Joe Wilson, who had been such a harsh administration critic. We're also led to believe that this investigation is winding up. We are also told that Karl Rove, who is the president's deputy chief of staff, is expected to appear before the grand jury or at least talk to Mr. Fitzgerald. If he does come before the grand jury, expected this week, it would be his fourth opinion. We are also expecting to hear some conclusion of whether there are charges, and if so, what charges and against whom -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: A lot to happen then. Bob Franken for us this morning. Thanks, Bob.

Still to come on the program, Apple Computer shares tumbled Tuesday despite massive earnings. Will a new iPod help perhaps. We're back in a nanosecond on that.

Stay with us.

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody. Here is something we haven't heard in a little while. Bad news from Apple Computer. Shares have dropped a little bit. Let's get right to Gerri Willis. She's in for Andy, who's got the day off.

Good morning.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. Good to see you.

Apple Computer, if you needed any evidence that Wall Street is a crazy place, indeed, listen to this report. Apple Computer reported its highest earnings in revenue in the company's history, and yet the stock was hammered 10 percent. Why? Well, the company sold fewer iPods than Wall Street analysts wanted them to, selling 6.5 million in the quarter. That's against eight million expectations. Shares are down 10 percent. Could fall more; iPod revenues below expectations. So no big surprise there that Wall Street is a crazy place.

S. O'BRIEN: How many iPods can one person own?

WILLIS: Maybe a limit. They've got new products, though, coming out that they're hoping will take the place of the iPod, including possibly, this is in the rumor mill, a Madonna iPod that would be Pink. You remember U2, black iPod. This is expanding on that idea. Also possible a bigger iPod with 80 gig, because you know what, 60 gig with 15,000 songs, it's just not enough.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I agree. Well, then maybe those numbers will go back up.

Gerri, thanks.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, former FBI director Louis Freeh will join us live in the studio. We're going to ask him about his new book. He outlines his frosty relationship with his former boss, the former President Bill Clinton, and talks about how some of those the scandals, he says, might have hurt the war against terror. We're back in a moment. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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