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CNN Live At Daybreak

Toledo Riot; Hotel Hassles; National Zoo's Giant Panda Cub Gets Name Today

Aired October 17, 2005 - 06:32   ET

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


ANNOUNCER: From the Time Warner center in New York, this is DAYBREAK with Carol Costello and Chad Myers.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. Thank you for waking up with us. Chad will be along in a minute with your forecast.

Also coming up this half-hour, unrest in Ohio. A controversial Nazi march leads to rioting and arrests. We'll talk live to Toledo's police chief.

But first, "Now in the News."

Investigators are trying to piece together what caused deadly bush crash in Wisconsin. The bus hit an overturned truck as it was returning from a marching band competition. The band director, his wife and three others died in the wreck.

The U.S. military says an estimated 70 insurgents have been killed in separate operations near Ramadi in the Al Anbar province. Twenty were killed after the crew of an F-15 saw them planting explosives at the same site where five U.S. soldiers and two Iraqi soldiers were killed on Saturday.

The U.S. is offering more aid an in effort to stop the bird flu before it mutates. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt offered more than $2 million during his stop in Indonesia. The fear is the virus will change into a more dangerous form.

To the forecast center and Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: More than 100 arrests, businesses burned and neo- Nazis. It was a violent weekend in Toledo, Ohio, complete with extra police, lots of extra police, and curfews. It started with a march by the National Socialist Movement. That's the neo-Nazi group. And it ended with those arrests.

Toledo police chief Mike Navarre joins me live now.

Good morning, chief.

CHIEF MIKE NAVARRE, TOLEDO POLICE: Good morning.

COSTELLO: First of all, let's talk about this Nazi group and why it was invited to Toledo in the first place.

NAVARRE: Well, certainly the invitation did not come from the community leaders. There was contact made with them by a member in a north Toledo neighborhood, a member of a family that has been having some neighborhood disputes with some of the residents.

And the Nazi group, for whatever reason, chose Toledo to stage a rally and a march Saturday afternoon.

COSTELLO: Chief, where did they come from?

NAVARRE: Well, they came from all over the Midwest. There were 24 members of the National Socialist Movement that showed up. Most of them were from out of state -- Michigan, Kentucky. I believe there were some from Virginia.

COSTELLO: We had a -- actually a photographer with one of our affiliates in the Washington area was in Toledo. He said his whole take is these Nazi guys came in and riled all of the community up and got them going real good. He says that was this group's purpose. Was it looking back?

NAVARRE: Well, I know the way that these groups typically work is they come in. They stage a rally. And they try to get as much publicity as they can prior to their arrival and actually during the rally. And there were a lot of counter-protesters there. And some of the groups that came to counter-protest riled up some of the local gang members.

And this is all about recruitment for these neo-Nazi groups. And when they can generate this type of a reaction and publicity, I believe that they can claim victory.

COSTELLO: Well, let's talk about the counter-protesters, because there were hundreds of them -- we're watching pictures right now from Saturday -- where an apartment building was being set on fire. Tell me what it was like at the height of the violence.

NAVARRE: Well, the rally was scheduled for about 11:50. And it was about that time that the vandalism to our equipment vehicles started getting out of hand. And I called the rally.

And we expected that the group would start to dissipate, but what had happened is that group grew from a couple of hundred to about 600 very quickly. And it actually took us about four hours before we were able to dissipate that group.

And they were -- it started about 11:20 in the morning where they started throwing rocks at the police officers and at the Nazis. And once the Nazis left the area shortly after noon, all of the anger and rage was directed at the police officers. A lot of rocks and bottles being thrown. Businesses began to get looted. And a lot of criminal damage to police equipment, media vehicles and fire equipment.

COSTELLO: Nobody from this Nazi group was arrested. And yet, 100 people from this counter-protest group were arrested. Why not arrest some of the Nazi group since they came in, maybe specifically to rile up people?

NAVARRE: Well, the Nazi group came to Toledo and then exercised their rights under the First Amendment. They did not request any type of permit. Certainly, we would not have granted a permit. We were left with the unpleasant task of providing for their safety and trying to keep the peace between that group and the counter-protesters.

The neo-Nazis, other than chanting and riling up folks, really did not break any laws. So, we didn't have any cause to arrest them.

COSTELLO: So, what would you do differently?

NAVARRE: Well, I think the venue played a significant factor here. This rally occurred in the neighborhood. I would -- in the future I would not allow them to go into a neighborhood. I know they have a legal right to do that, but I would go to court, and I would seek an injunction before I would let them go back in a neighborhood.

These types of rallies have to occur on a neutral site, perhaps on a downtown courthouse lawn. We had a KKK rally in '94, and that was held on the Lucas County courthouse lawn, and we didn't have the problems that we had Saturday.

COSTELLO: Chief Navarre, thanks for joining us this morning. We appreciate it. Chief Mike Navarre of the Toledo police force.

Here's a look at stories that will be making news in the week ahead.

Autopsy results may be available today in the death of Atlanta Hawks center Jason Collier. The 28-year-old died early Saturday after having trouble breathing.

The founder of Balco Labs is scheduled to be sentenced in San Francisco tomorrow for illegal steroid distribution and money laundering. Victor Conti has been at the center of a wide-ranging steroids controversy involving several sports.

On Wednesday, Saddam Hussein is set to go on trial in Baghdad. The former dictator will answer to crimes against humanity charges in connection with an alleged massacre of Shiites.

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is scheduled to meet with President Bush at the White House on Thursday. They'll discuss issues from the economy to security to terrorism.

And on Friday, former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is scheduled to appear in court on criminal conspiracy charges. And by the way, DeLay raised a record $1.2 million during the past three months. Much of it came before his indictments.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, do you have business in, oh, say, Houston? Well, you might want to double/triple check your reservations.

And he's black and white and loved all over, but so far no moniker for this marsupial. Well, all of that changes today.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Let's take a look at how the international markets are trading this morning. Tokyo's Nikkei is down 20 points. The London FTSE is up nearly one, the German DAX down just about five-and-a-half

And with Tropical Storm Wilma swirling near the Gulf, wouldn't you know it? The price of a barrel of oil is up $1.25, $64.11 this morning. And you know what that means.

It's time now for a little "Business Buzz."

Hotels all across the South have opened their doors to victims of Hurricane Katrina. But what happens when guests with reservations come for those rooms?

Jennifer Westhoven is here to tell us.

Good morning.

JENNIFER WESTHOVEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That was, like, the cutest reading of the Nikkei I've ever heard.

COSTELLO: Thank you. I try.

WESTHOVEN: All right. There are hundreds of thousands of hurricane victims staying in hotels all across the South. And the Red Cross is helping with that. They are paying for a lot of these rooms in Louisiana, Alabama, Texas, even in Florida.

Now, the good news is that the hotels are giving the Red Cross a discounted rate for the most part. The average rate, about $59 a night -- that sounds pretty reasonable if you've been donating -- to get a lot of people into nearly 10,000 hotels who have been taking in victims. These hotels, though, are jammed-packed now, full of people.

"USA Today" reports that in Houston, the hotels are now 80 percent full.

COSTELLO: Wow!

WESTHOVEN: Yes. Just to give you a sense, last year at this time they were only about 60 percent full. So that's a lot more people, a lot more services they have to provide.

Crowded also Memphis, Dallas and Atlanta. That means that people who have reservations are showing up, and they're being told there is no room at the inn.

Now, in most of the cases the chains are letting the hurricane survivors stay, and they're trying to help the new guests from some other space. Sometimes they have to drive, though, maybe an hour-and- a-half away, even though they had a reservation. So that's tough. COSTELLO: Well, the hotels are trapped, because it would be bad PR to throw out a victim of the hurricane.

WESTHOVEN: And if you have a reservation you might feel OK that, you know, the hotel is not saying, look, you can't stay here. They are saying, look, we have all of these hurricane victims.

COSTELLO: I'm glad you believe in the good of humanity (INAUDIBLE) people are mad.

A look at the futures.

WESTHOVEN: Not so hot this morning. I mean, Friday looked OK. We had this nice little rally. But for two weeks, it's just been kind of a slide on Wall Street. The Dow is down to about 10300.

And GM's results are due before the opening bell this morning. They're supposed to be really ugly. They're just losing a lot of money. Last time it was about a billion dollars in the quarter.

COSTELLO: Oh, yes. And Delphi -- the problems with Delphi is probably driving the stock down as well.

Jennifer Westhoven, thank you.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, a controversial visit to a World War II shrine.

And in a town where few things are as simple as black and white, the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., has an exciting right of passage. Plans for its famous baby panda, now known -- look at this. That's panda-cam. That's live. Look! Mom is scratching her ear. That baby panda is just laying there.

But first, it's time to say happy birthday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Oh, Chad, you have to partake in this.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

COSTELLO: It's a big panda party. It's in Washington this morning.

MYERS: Naming that little guy. Look at him.

COSTELLO: This is the panda-cam. You can actually go on the Internet and look at this wonderful picture of little baby panda sleeping.

MYERS: Nameless baby panda sleeping.

COSTELLO: Yes. He's nameless until today.

MYERS: Correct. COSTELLO: And you're wondering, what will the National Zoo name this little panda? Will it be Yogi or Cubby?

MYERS: No.

COSTELLO: Oh, no.

MYERS: No.

COSTELLO: Of course not.

MYERS: Remember, we had the potential names on the air a little while ago, and then we had told you to go to the Web site and click on so that you can vote. The public gets to vote on this.

COSTELLO: Two hundred thousand people have voted. They officially name the baby panda at 8:15 Eastern this morning.

Let's head out to the National Zoo now, shall we? John Gibbons is there to talk more about this.

Good morning.

JOHN GIBBONS, NATIONAL ZOO: Good morning. How are you?

COSTELLO: We're fine. We're looking at little baby panda. How much does he weigh? And is he doing OK, first of all?

GIBBONS: He's doing great. He is a plump 13 pounds, about 13 pounds now. And according to all of the charts we have of all other baby pandas that have been recorded, he's just above the curve.

COSTELLO: He looks like he sleeps a lot.

GIBBONS: He does. Yes, he has a rather pampered life. You know, he has his mom come in and feed him. He doesn't even have to go get his food. His food is brought to him, and then he sleeps the rest of the day.

COSTELLO: Oh, like most babies. Very, very spoiled. Let's talk about the names, because Chad was really into these names. Chad, do you want to read these names?

MYERS: Well, if you remember, yes, there were like -- there are five of them, right, that they want through?

GIBBONS: That's right.

MYERS: And then you actually had the name and also the translation as well.

GIBBONS: Exactly.

COSTELLO: There they are. So, John, go through the names for us. GIBBONS: OK. I don't know what order you have them in there. But we have Hua Sheng, which is Washington and China. The opposite of that is Sheng Hua. And then we are on to Tai Shan...

MYERS: Right.

GIBBONS: ... which is peaceful mountain. Long Shan, which is dragon mountain. And then Qiang Qiang, which is strong and powerful. How did I do?

MYERS: You were right on target. Now, you obviously know the winner. Was it a runaway? Or was it close?

GIBBONS: The winning name got 44 percent of the vote.

MYERS: Excellent.

GIBBONS: So, there was definitely a strong favorite in the contest.

COSTELLO: And these 200,000 people who voted on line for this name, they came from far and wide, didn't they?

GIBBONS: Absolutely. I mean, we had votes come in from as far away as New Zealand, Japan, Poland, Finland. So, you know, today when we reveal the name, it really is the fruition of, you can say, a global event.

COSTELLO: OK, John. It's time for us to lean on you. Chad, are you ready to lean on John?

MYERS: Go ahead.

COSTELLO: Oh, come on.

MYERS: Oh, come on.

COSTELLO: John, narrow the names down to two.

GIBBONS: The camera is off, right? I can tell you?

COSTELLO: Yes, the camera is off. No one is listening.

GIBBONS: No, no, no, you'll have to wait like everyone else. But today at 8:40 the whole world will know what the name is.

MYERS: Now, this is a big deal, because I just read this. There are only 20 pandas outside of China, right?

GIBBONS: About that, yes.

MYERS: Wow!

GIBBONS: Yes, it's definitely a big, big deal. It's a big deal that we have pandas here. There are only four zoos in the United States where people can go and see pandas. But on top of that, we're treated to have not only a panda baby, but also a really healthy, vibrant one that hopefully in about a month or so the public can come and see in person.

MYERS: Oh, that would be awesome.

GIBBONS: But for right now, they'll have to log on to our Web site and see.

COSTELLO: How many people do you expect will file through to see this baby panda in a couple of months?

GIBBONS: Well, I'll tell you, about a year ago in November the National Zoo had its first litter of cheetah cubs born. And when we had them debut, the very first day we had over about 2,500 people file through just for them. And I don't mean to make it a popularity contest, but they were nowhere near as popular before their debut as this panda cub.

So, I definitely think thousands would be a safe word to use.

COSTELLO: Big money maker for the zoo that little sleeping panda. Thank you, John Gibbons, for joining us this morning.

GIBBONS: Absolutely. Come down to visit us.

COSTELLO: I did just a couple of weeks ago.

GIBBONS: Oh, good, good.

COSTELLO: I saw the elephants. Thank you so much for joining us this morning.

GIBBONS: Take care.

MYERS: Thanks, John.

COSTELLO: When we come back, more headlines and a look at your travel forecast. You're watching DAYBREAK for a Monday.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We're leaving them happy today. First, a panda story. Now we have to give away a mug.

MYERS: (INAUDIBLE) TV.

COSTELLO: This news of sponsored by Velveeta.

MYERS: Excellent. Very good. A DAYBREAK coffee mug for somebody probably out there this morning. What year did the Million Man March take place? That was the question from Friday. That was number one. And the CDC recommends high-risk patients receive a flu vaccine by which date? The answers, 1995 for the first one and October 24. That's about a week away.

The winner, Vicky Harris from Las Vegas, Nevada. What are you doing up so early, or maybe so late Vegas time?

COSTELLO: It is Vegas.

MYERS: It is Vegas time after all.

Here are the questions now for today. Where did China's taikonauts land? And what is the name of the mama panda at the National Zoo? We will know the baby panda's name later today.

Go to CNN.com/daybreak. Those are your two questions for today.

COSTELLO: A quick travel forecast before you go.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: From the Time Warner center in New York, I'm Carol Costello along with Chad Myers. "AMERICAN MORNING" starts right now.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Carol. I'm Miles O'Brien.

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