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American Morning
Where is Wilma Going?; Children in San Francisco Bay; Warrant for Tom DeLay
Aired October 20, 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: Wilma, a Category 4 hurricane, moving toward Mexico. What happens in the next few days and hours could mean everything for the storm's track to Florida. That forecast is ahead.
Searching for two, maybe three children in San Francisco Bay. Their mother charged on suspicion of murder in the case. We'll have a live report on a startling story ahead.
And could today be a turning point for one of the most powerful men in Washington? Tom DeLay expected to be booked in Texas. Fingerprints, a mug shot, all that possible 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.
O'BRIEN: Well, good morning. Soledad went off to an interview for her kids.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Not for another job.
O'BRIEN: For her kids in school. Not -- no, not that either. And not a news interview. A more important thing to get the youngsters into school, which is a big deal here in New York City.
So, Carol, it's good to have you here. And we're talking about Wilma this morning.
COSTELLO: Oh, I know. And I hope it does miss Florida. But it can only miss Florida if it's over the Yucatan peninsula for an amount of time, which could be bad for them.
O'BRIEN: Yes. We always get into that whole thing, you know, we hope it misses here, but that -- you know, it's going to hit somewhere. So it's not to imply we think it should go there. It's just, given all that has transpired, if it could just go out to sea and stay there.
A fish storm, as Chad would say.
COSTELLO: Yes, that would be nice.
O'BRIEN: So where is Hurricane Wilma going? When will it get there? A wide cone of uncertainty, as they say, with this storm.
Jacqui Jeras is watching it for us in the weather center.
Jacqui, good morning.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, good morning, Miles.
And you talked about what it's going to be doing to the Yucatan peninsula and what kind of impact will's going to be having on us as it gets to Florida. And the reason why we're concerned about that stall-out, possibly, is that the storm has not really turned to the north and west yet.
Look at this satellite loop. And let me put my arm on there for you.
The storm is still basically moving due west, with just a little bit of a turn on up to the north. Now, until we see a more significant turn to the north, we'll have then more confidence that maybe it will be grazing the tip. Otherwise, right now some of the computer model forecast are bringing it right into the peninsula and slowing down a little bit, which, like you said, would be bad news for Mexico, but actually could be very good news for the U.S.
So we'll wait and see as this continues to evolve.
It is expected to be taking a hard right-hand turn then once it gets into the Gulf of Mexico. Winds a little bit less favorable here. But at this time we don't want you to get too excited about some of these possibilities, because this is still an extremely dangerous storm, and it is very likely still that this could be a Category 3, a major hurricane, making landfall in south Florida, maybe in the Florida Keys.
It's going to be moving extremely rapidly after that point. And there you can see any kind of potential threat to parts of the Northeast. Right now, best estimates are keeping that storm system offshore.
There is a little bit of rain just off the Yucatan peninsula right now. Watching that to build into Cancun later on this morning and afternoon -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Jacqui, as the storm moves north are the water temperatures warm enough to keep it going?
JERAS: Well, the problem is, it depends on how strong the storm is. If this is still a Category 3 or 4 when it makes landfall over Florida, and then moves so quickly, 24 hours up to the north and east, certainly possible for that to still be a hurricane. But if it takes its time doing so, I don't think it will be able to support it.
O'BRIEN: OK. So if it moves fast, it kind of has enough fuel. If it slows down the cold water will stop it.
JERAS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Jacqui.
JERAS: OK. O'BRIEN: Appreciate that.
O'BRIEN: Allan Chernoff is in Punta Gorda, Florida. You remember Punta Gorda from Hurricane Charley last year. Charley, which was -- we thought headed toward Tampa, went to Punta Gorda and caused a terrible amount of damage and death and destruction. And people have there have not yet recovered.
It's been, what, 14 months now, right, Allan?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Fourteen months exactly, Miles. And if we had been here 15 months ago, right behind me you'd be looking at a Holiday Inn. All that remains right now is the sign. Beneath the sign just a bunch of parking spaces. It's entirely gone.
What you do see in the distance there is a condo development. And that condo also is severely damaged.
Contractors have been working on it for the past 13, 14 months. This morning they're busy putting tarps over their supplies. They've got $50,000 worth of drywall, they've got doors, they've got kitchen cabinets. All of it could be, of course, severely damaged if we had even heavy rain coming here. So they've got tarps over it, they're busy working on it right now as we speck.
Residents here have been busy shopping, getting their supplies, bottled water, canned food, and, of course, extra gasoline. Lots of people, they still haven't made their decision. They're wondering, should I stay, should I go? The majority, though, that we've spoken with earlier this morning were saying they're going to stay.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH BORDEN, PUNTA GORDA RESIDENT: We are staying. We are staying, yes.
It's so hard to know, you know, because if you rush off now, and it may not come, you've wasted all that time. And even if you go, you worry about the people who are left behind, and your house. So we will stay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: But of course if that storm does make the turn and comes right towards here, you can bet plenty of people will be packing that highway right behind me, going north trying to get out of here -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Allan Chernoff, thank you very much.
Stay with CNN for complete coverage of Hurricane Wilma. CNN is, of course, your hurricane headquarters -- Carol.
COSTELLO: A mother is behind bars in San Francisco, suspected of tossing her three children into the bay. Only one child's body has been found so far. Rusty Dornin live in San Francisco.
What's the latest, Rusty?
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, this is one of those stories so horrific it's tough to get your arms around it. But first, let's describe where this happened.
Pier 7, it's near the Ferry Building in San Francisco. You're looking out right now towards the Bay Bridge, towards Oakland.
About 5:30 yesterday afternoon, from what we understand, a woman and three children walked out on the pier. And a man saw her allegedly toss the three children, first undressing them, tossing them naked over into the chilly waters of San Francisco Bay.
He immediately went and called 911, called police. They were here within four minutes. But already by then the children were nowhere to be seen. It took about five hours before they discovered the bodies of one of the children, ages believed to be 1, 3 and 6. One of the local newspapers is claiming that the child who was found was the 3-year-old.
Now, I spoke with a "San Francisco Chronicle" reporter who was here just 10 minutes after it happened. He said the woman looked absolutely stunned, that police did tell him that she had been suffering from mental problems, that she had heard voices. He saw a stroller and some clothes lying on the pier right there.
Police have arrested, according to the "Chronicle," Lashaun Harris, 23 years old, of Oakland. She reportedly had been staying in a shelter over in Oakland and has been charged with three counts of homicide.
Just moments ago we saw the Coast Guard cutter go by here, looking like it was going back into the station. I did speak with the Coast Guard. They said there's going to be another three boats going out at first light, which is about an hour from now, along with a helicopter.
Of course, at this point they are not -- it's unlikely that their they will be finding either of those children alive -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Rusty Dornin reporting live from San Francisco. Thanks.
O'BRIEN: Congressman Tom DeLay has a tough day ahead of him, to say the least. It looks like it might include some fingerprints and a mug shot.
Sean Callebs is outside the county jail in Richmond, Texas, where they play hard ball, don't they, Sean?
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed, they do. This apparently a deal that DeLay cut here in his home district, where he is scheduled to show up at some point today. The big question, when exactly?
If you look in front of the courthouse there, you can see a number of still photographers waiting for that all-important shot, hoping to get DeLay as he walks in. But think about it, at some point later today, pictures of DeLay's mug shot could be plastered all over the TV, plastered all over the Internet. Certainly something the GOP doesn't want to see.
Now, all of this stems from charges that were filed by the Austin County prosecutor for conspiracy and money laundering. This in connection with a political action committee that DeLay started with a couple of associates. Their stated goal was to try to take over the majority of the Texas state legislature. But right now, this is really something that's got the attention of not only Texas, but indeed the entire nation.
And a number of Republicans now are, in essence, breaking ranks, saying this not the kind of attention that the Grand Old Party needs right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. CHRIS SHAYS (R), CONNECTICUT: In terms of his impact on us, our Republicans need to get their moral foundation back. We have lost what got us here in '94. And we better grab it pretty soon or we're going to be in deep trouble.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CALLEBS: Now, observers say it's really pretty amazing that it got to this point, the fact that DeLay has an arrest warrant out for him and that he is expected to be photographed and fingerprinted here later today.
Oftentimes in white collar crime prosecutors and defendants simply make a deal and show up at the courthouse and get things taken care of. But clearly, a lot of bad blood between DeLay and Democratic prosecutor Ronnie Earle.
DeLay maintains his innocence and says this is all partisan politics. Well, he is also expected to be in an Austin courthouse tomorrow morning. Basically just the formality. It will take about 20 minutes, according to many experts.
He'll simply designate who his attorney will be. And Miles, of course he could -- the judge in this case could take action on a number of important motions as well, including a defense motion to have this case completely thrown out.
O'BRIEN: Thank you, Sean. Sean Callebs in Texas -- Carol.
COSTELLO: President Bush is expected to call on Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to help end militant violence in the Middle East. The president is hosting Abbas at the White House this morning. The two will hold a joint news conference. CNN will have a live coverage of that conference. That begins at 10:50 Eastern. A final report of the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister, Rafik Hariri, could implicate senior Syrian and Lebanese officials. Last week, one of seven Syrian officials questioned in the February attack apparently committed suicide. The report is set to be delivered to the United Nations secretary-general, Kofi Annan. It could then go to the U.N. Security Council.
We're learning a little bit more about that five-alarm fire in the Bronx, New York. We showed you these pictures earlier.
Some 200 firefighters now battling this massive fire. It apparently started in a restaurant, and some nearby shops were affected. A rail line near at the scene here and subway service on the Number 4 line in that neighborhood now suspended. There are no reports of injuries, at least so far.
And have you heard this story? A California surfer lucky to be alive after being attacked by a great white shark. The 20-year-old was apparently lying on her surfboard when she was pulled underwater by a 14-foot shark. Authorities say the shark released her after she hit it on the tail.
Two men that apparently tried to help her, they pulled her to safety. Actually, they did help her. She suffered two bites that stretched from her thigh to her calf. She is expected to make a full recovery.
O'BRIEN: What a story. What a story. I'm very anxious to hear her account of this. But just hearing her rescuer earlier, did you hear that?
COSTELLO: I did.
O'BRIEN: And he was just -- you always -- I always ask myself, what would I do in that situation? Would I freeze? Would I panic? Would you go in there and go up against a 14-foot shark? You know, and they say punch him in the nose. In this case, the tail, or whatever.
COSTELLO: Yes, and the interesting thing is she was pulled underneath the water, and they thought she was a goner.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: But they went out anyway.
O'BRIEN: Good for them.
COSTELLO: Yes.
O'BRIEN: She owes them a little something. A little something. A Christmas gift, whatever. Forever.
All right. Still to come, could there be a cure for breast cancer? We're going to look at a drug so promising for women in the early stages that doctors are using the "C" word, cure. COSTELLO: Yes.
Also ahead, rebuilding New Orleans. We'll check in with our friend Julia Reed for an update on how things are going from her point of view.
O'BRIEN: And later, we'll talk with a man who knows the terror caused by Saddam Hussein firsthand. He's a Kurd, and he was a victim of one of those chemical attacks that Saddam Hussein allegedly ordered. We'll have his story coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: The most exciting breast cancer breakthrough in decades, that's what the experts are saying. They're using words like "stunning" and "revolutionary." They're talking about a new cancer drug called Herceptin.
Elizabeth Cohen is at the CNN Center with more details about this.
Could it really be a cure?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, Carol, no one is using the "cure" word. That would be way too strong. What they are finding is that this drug called Herceptin, which has been out for quite a while now, is proving to be useful in ,any more patients than anyone ever expected.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN (voice over): She found the lump herself one morning.
ELIZABETH RUSSO, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: I was petrified.
COHEN: Then her doctor confirmed the worst.
RUSSO: I had only been married for about a year and a half, and I felt like my world was falling down around me. You know, the first question that goes through your head is, am I going to die? And that really was what I was thinking at the time. It was extremely frightening.
COHEN: At age 29, Elizabeth Russo had breast cancer. And there was more. Doctors told her she had a particular kind that grew quickly and was more likely to come back. This happens to one out of every four patients.
But there was a twist. Because she had this particular type of tumor, she was a candidate for a study on a drug called Herceptin. Doctors knew it worked when the cancer had spread to other parts of the body, but they weren't sure if it could help women like Elizabeth, who were at the early stages.
At first she wasn't sure what to do, because the drug in a small number of women had caused heart failure. RUSSO: There was a little bit of fear there, but obviously in my situation the chances absolutely outweighed the frighteningness of the whole situation. I mean, I had to take the risk, because there was still the chance that I could die.
COHEN: She took Herceptin, along with chemotherapy and radiation. And a year after finding that lump she's cancer-free.
In the studies at the National Cancer Institute, when women did not take Herceptin, 30 percent of them had the cancer come back. When they did take Herceptin, only 15 percent had the cancer come back. It cut the recurrence rate in half, an extraordinary impact, experts say, meaning this drug is one of the most promising in a new generation of cancer treatments.
Unlike chemotherapy or radiation, which attack healthy and unhealthy tissue, medicines like Herceptin are designed to attack only the specific protein that causes problems.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Targeted therapy, which we've talked a lot about for the last couple of years, are really coming to fruition.
COHEN: Now Elizabeth Russo, once afraid she would die, is alive for the big moments, like her godson's christening next month. The cancer could come back, but now it seems that's less likely.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN: Now, it's important to remember that Herceptin only works in one out of every four women who have a certain type of breast cancer tumor -- Carol.
COSTELLO: So what should you say to your doctor if you'd like to try it?
COHEN: If you want to try it, you say, can I be tested to see if I have this type of tumor? Because as I said, three out of four women are not going have this time of tumor. So what a doctor can do is they can actually test the tumor, look at its genetics and see if you have that type.
COSTELLO: Elizabeth Cohen, reporting live in Atlanta. Thank you.
O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, Iraqis react to seeing their former leader in a court of law. Of course he doesn't think he's the former leader. He says he's still the president of Iraq and that he doesn't even recognize the courtroom.
What do Iraqis think about all this, though? We'll have a report live from Baghdad ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: This morning, Iraqis are still talking about the image of Saddam Hussein in court. A lot of us are talking about it, too. Aneesh Raman live in Baghdad.
Good day to you, Aneesh. What is the buzz in the streets there about what we witnessed yesterday?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, good morning to you.
There's any number of reactions among Iraqis here to yesterday's session, but for the majority of them it was simply about reconciling with the past.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAMAN (voice over): Sad Hassan (ph) and his family huddled around their TV waiting for a moment they never thought possible. The man that ruled their every moment for decades sitting as a defendant on trial charged, with crimes against humanity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I have been waiting. I did not even go to work. Not only me, but all Iraqis are waiting for this moment. If you go outside, you will see nothing, just empty streets.
RAMAN: But not in Dujail, the village that was the scene of the alleged crime in this first case. Here, the streets were filled. The posters spoke of simple retribution, "Death for Saddam." And the survivors spoke with voices of simple desperation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): We want the tribunal to ask Saddam about the mass graves, why he did that.
RAMAN: Such questions will come out in court. The answers, no doubt, will satisfy none, especially those in the town of Halabja, where 5,000 Kurds were gassed in 1988. It was, as always, personal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): My father was killed by a chemical gas attack. If they want tro try Saddam in Iraq, try him in Halabja. Let him be tried by Kurds, because the Kurds know the pain.
RAMAN: The Shiites know the pain as well. In Najaf, they gathered to watch. The sentiment similar, that it is time, at last, for a former dictator to face his alleged wrongdoing. And soon, they hope, it will be time for him to die. That is why many in Iraq watched, to see the start of a process that could lead to Saddam's death.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): He deprived me of my husband and deprived his sons of him. I want him to be executed.
RAMAN: Saddam also has his supporters, notably in his hometown of Tikrit, chanting praise for their president in a country now trying to move beyond his rule.
(END VIDEOTAPE) RAMAN: And Miles, now Iraqis throughout this country will wait until November 28, when this trial is set to begin in earnest -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: I've got to ask you, Aneesh, do people have a lot of faith in this tribunal? Do they think it's fair? Or does it really matter so long as they get this revenge they seem to be seeking?
RAMAN: Well, there's two groups really that see this tribunal as unfair. You have the Saddam loyalists who think any court is going to be unjust and that it's going to be a show trial of sorts. You also have those who think it's about the legitimacy of Iraq. They wanted this court to only be created once sovereignty had been passed and legislation was written by the national assembly.
But for the majority of Iraqis, it seems, that we spoke to, at least, the trial honestly is an aside. It's really, as you say, about justice and a defendant -- a dictator becoming a defendant and facing punishment -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Aneesh Raman in Baghdad. Thanks very much -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Still to come, Hurricane Wilma is on the way, but where it's going is still tough to pinpoint. An update just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Oh, it is going to be one beautiful day in -- hey, pay attention. It's going to be a beautiful day.
O'BRIEN: I'm trying to find -- you want to talk about something.
COSTELLO: No, I wanted to talk about the NBA's new dress code. The commissioner came forward and said that...
O'BRIEN: Let me guess, sneakers, shorts and a shirt -- and a uniform, no?
COSTELLO: Some players were looking bad.
O'BRIEN: Oh, this is like before and after the game. Is that what you're talking about?
COSTELLO: Yes, this is at NBA events.
O'BRIEN: At NBA...
COSTELLO: I mean, not on the court.
O'BRIEN: OK.
COSTELLO: Not their uniforms, but when they...
O'BRIEN: This is out of uniform. COSTELLO: Out of uniform at NBA events they have to wear a suit. Some players like Allen Iverson don't like that because, you know, Mr. Stern is telling him how to dress. But he was one of the offenders, alleged offenders by his way of dress.
O'BRIEN: And how did he dress that was so egregious?
COSTELLO: Kind of like, you know, a teenager.
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