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CNN Live At Daybreak

Rove & the CIA; Nor'easter; Wilma's Aftermath; Got Controversy?

Aired October 26, 2005 - 05:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: "Now in the News."
Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff heads to Florida today. He'll review the government's emergency operations and tour damage in Miami. President Bush plans to tour the area tomorrow.

Some stranded American tourists in Cancun say they're still waiting to hear from the government. Thousands of tourists are stuck in shelters in Mexico after Hurricane Wilma blew through last week. One State Department official says they're trying to reach the tourists and have already helped many to get out of the country.

The power is back on for many people in the northeast. Hurricane Wilma's winds caused tens of thousands to loose electricity. Minor flooding was also reported across parts of the northeast.

I can't believe Wilma is causing snow.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well it's not really, Carol, actually.

COSTELLO: OK, I take it back.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: I'm going to go out into the streets and jump up and down and cheer if I see sunshine.

JERAS: I'm glad I could cheer you up.

COSTELLO: You did.

Thank you, Jacqui.

Karl Rove, one of the president's main men, is in the spotlight of a growing anticipation that indictments could be issued any day now in the CIA leak investigation. The grand jury goes out of business on Friday, so it's coming.

CNN's senior political correspondent Candy Crowley reports on how the White House is handling this political drama.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ... and briefed the Cabinet about Hurricane Wilma... CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The look of business as usual in the Monday morning Cabinet meeting, Karl Rove sitting behind the president. They have been in the bunker before, these two.

PROF. BRUCE BUCHANAN, UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS: That's part of the strategy that he and Rove concocted as the way you deal with a difficult environment is you act like it doesn't bother you and like nothing is wrong and just press ahead.

CROWLEY: The Rove watch is subtle stuff, like watching paint dry. He recently canceled a couple of fund raisers and a speech. No one will say exactly why. But back at the White House, they insist, in unusual times, it's the usual stuff.

SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: But what we got to do is keep our energies focused on those things that we can get done. And that's what we are doing.

CROWLEY: And outside the White House, they say the same thing.

CHARLES BLACK, GOP STRATEGIST: My impression is that Karl is working just as hard and effectively as he ever had. He maybe has to go spend an hour now and then on the special prosecutor's proceedings, but it hasn't been a distraction to him.

CROWLEY: It seems unlikely that a guy whose career and future are in the balance is not at all distracted. But according to conservatives in touch with Rove, he is in the game. He's still on top of key stuff, said one source, talking policy on the phone and via e-mail.

Still, there are signs of stress fractures. In a White House built on message control, they have little of it.

MCCLELLAN: Well, the president made it clear that we're not going to have any further comment from the White House while the investigation continues.

QUESTION: Select surrogates to it?

MCCLELLAN: Go ahead.

No, I didn't say that. You said that.

CROWLEY: In a White House where negative leaks are verboten, there are some. A "Daily News" story about a bitter, testy president.

One Bush insider is quoted as saying, "The president is just unhappy in general and casting blame all about."

While Karl keeps cool and the White House puts fingers in the dike, those who have watched Rove for two decades are surprised, and not.

WAYNE SLATER, AUTHOR, "BUSH'S BRAIN": In this case, the thing that's different is not that Karl was involved in talking to reporters and advancing a leak, however it turns out legally. He's done that for 20 years. The thing that is different is he left fingerprints.

CROWLEY: In the end, it's not hard to believe that while everyone else is talking about his journey to the edge of this precipice, Rove would focus on business as usual. What a hardball, take-charge, push-the-envelope guy is not good at is waiting for things beyond his control.

Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Another concern of Republican leaders in Congress, the prices you and I pay at the gas pump. Right now the average for a gallon of unleaded is $2.81 in Los Angeles, $2.63 in Boston and $2.68 in Atlanta. Since February 1, you can see how prices have gone from $1.95 to $2.46 on August 1. The highest since February was $3.06 in early September.

Now all of these high gas prices are bringing huge profits to oil companies. BP 38 percent profit, or something like that. That's led House Speaker Dennis Hastert to urge the oil industry to build new refineries and pipelines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: Oil and gas companies are enjoying record profits, and that's fine. This is America. I'm not accusing anybody of ripping anything off. But anybody who has that profit and we have this high price, it's time to invest in the infrastructure in this country so that we can start to depend on our domestic oil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is proposing a strategic energy fund. She wants oil companies to put $20 billion a year into the fund for research. She's also proposing rebates and tax breaks for people who can't afford what are expected to be higher- than-usual prices for heating oil this winter.

Parts of the northeast are getting hit with wind gusts of more than 70 miles per hour, along with heavy rain, from a Nor'easter fueled by the former Hurricane Wilma.

Let's get a look at that from Ray Brewer of our affiliate WM -- my gosh, Ray, it's snowing there in New Hampshire.

RAY BREWER, WMUR-TV REPORTER: You know, Carol, we have an expression in here in New Hampshire that if you don't like the weather, just wait a minute, it'll change. But even by our standards, this is a little ridiculous.

As you mentioned, dealing with the nor'easter yesterday, and now you can see the snow coming down at a pretty good clip. And it's also starting to accumulate here in New Hampshire, several inches. In fact, in some parts we're getting reports of up to a foot of snow.

Now in neighboring Maine, the snow is being blamed for one death. A woman in her car slid off an icy road.

There are also here in the Granite State about 5,000 customers who remain without power, a result of yesterday's nor'easter. And also this snow that is coming down and the heavy weight of this snow. And I should add here in New Hampshire there is also a flood watch that remains in effect. So it seems we've got a little bit of everything but sunshine.

Reporting live in Sunapee, New Hampshire, Ray Brewer for CNN.

COSTELLO: Is this particularly early for snowfall in New Hampshire? Because you know when I think of New Hampshire, I think of cold.

BREWER: Yes, well, I mean, we expect cold, but we expect snow before a little bit maybe before Thanksgiving, certainly not before Halloween.

COSTELLO: Well it's beautiful. I must say it looks pretty.

BREWER: Unless you have to drive in it. And it's going to melt, we hope. But given this year and the weather this year, who knows what to expect.

COSTELLO: All right.

Ray Brewer from WMUR, a CNN affiliate, joining us live this morning.

Thank you, Ray.

In other news "Across America" this morning, the body of civil rights pioneer Rosa Parks will lie in her former church in Montgomery, Alabama, before being returned for burial in Detroit. Public viewing will be at St. Paul AME Church Saturday and Sunday. Parks died Monday at the age of 92.

Miami International Airport back up and running after Hurricane Wilma knocked out power on Monday. Domestic flights resume today. International flights resumed yesterday. The airport is the busiest hub in the United States for Latin American travel.

And former figure skater turned boxer, Tonya Harding, says she was assaulted by her boyfriend. The boyfriend, Christopher Nolan, says Harding threw him down and bit his finger when she -- when he told her she had too much to drink. Nolan pleaded innocent to an assault charge in Washington's Clark County.

When you think of animals affected by Wilma, you probably think of pets. But what about these guys? The fur flies. Well, not off the turtles, anyway. But it does fly at the zoo. And the question is what now? That's next.

And pouring it on thick. A new ad milks the steroid controversy for all its worth.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Hurricane Wilma closed the doors of many businesses in south Florida, but one in particular will have an even harder time getting back to normal.

CNN's Rob Marciano pays a visit to the Naples, Florida, Zoo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): The Naples Zoo, home to more than 200 animals, 70 species and owned by the Tetzlaff family since 1969.

DAVID TETZLAFF, DIRECTOR, NAPLES ZOO: The animals were brought in by my parents, so we have just been living here and growing this for 36 years. And Mother Nature decided to un-grow it for us. But we're doing our best to put it back to together.

MARCIANO: The zoo was ripped apart when Wilma tore through here on Monday. Lions, zebras, kangaroos, tigers, most of the animals had to brave the storm in emergency containment shelters.

TETZLAFF: My dad designed these buildings, concrete walls, solid concrete roof, so this is --basically it's as hurricane proof as you can get.

MARCIANO: Even still, one of the animals did not make it.

CONRAD SCHMITT, CURATOR, NAPLES ZOO: The only loss that we incurred on this whole adventure was a Parma wallaby, which is a small marsupial from Australia. And she had a joey in her pouch that we weren't able to get out or do anything with.

MARCIANO: But the biggest loss for the Naples Zoo is financial. The place was hammered by Wilma and will be closed indefinitely as work crews tackle a big cleanup job, clearing debris from paths and attractions.

But at least the animals, like these white-handed gibbons from Southeast Asia, are back home in their habitats.

Kelley Juarequi has been releasing primates all day. She's had some help and comfort from her dad.

KELLEY JUAREQUI, NAPLES ZOO: My husband had to fly out of town before the storm hit. And he came to help me at my house, a little bit of help here at the zoo, emotional support, all that good stuff that dads do.

By the way, dad, I lost your knife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you serious?

MARCIANO: Most of the animals fared well. Kenya (ph) the lioness got scraped up in her protective cage and has a few scars from Wilma. But now she's back with her partner, Sabo (ph), and is jumping around like a cat that is very much alive.

Clearly Tetzlaff has long days ahead to get his zoo, his father's legacy, back in business. He is sad but optimistic about the zoo's future.

TETZLAFF: I've grown up here. This is my life. It's the only place I've known, the only place I've worked. So, it is heart wrenching, honestly. But at the same time, I can't sit and mope around. This is the worst that's happened to us, but it's not insurmountable. This will happen. We will reopen.

MARCIANO: At the Caribbean Garden Zoo, Rob Marciano, CNN, Naples, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports. It's 5:44 Eastern. Here's what's all new this morning.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is back on hurricane duty. He heads to Florida state to survey relief efforts after Wilma. President Bush tours the area tomorrow.

New England states get an early blast of winter. A nor'easter, fueled by Hurricane Wilma, brought strong winds, heavy rain and even some snow. And they are still cleaning up from earlier flooding. Also knocked out power to thousands of people.

In money news, Microsoft plans to let you search books and other published content online. The software giant is sidestepping hot button copyright issues for now by focusing first on 150,000 publications already in the public domain.

In pop culture, the Rolling Stones are working on a CD for Starbucks. The nationwide coffeehouses will start selling a compilation of rare Stone songs November 22. It's just the latest foray into music sales at Starbucks, which have included music download of Piaf (ph) and other CD sales.

In sports, New York Giants owner Wellington Mara has died of cancer. Mara began as a Giants ball boy in 1925 when his father first bought the team. As an NFL owner, he devised a revenue sharing plan in the '60s that's been credited with saving the sport. Wellington Mara was 89 years old.

To the Forecast Center and -- Jacqui.

JERAS: Well, Carol, the big weather story again today is what's going on across the northeast.

(WEATHER REPORT) COSTELLO: OK, Jacqui, you're my moment of Zen this morning. Thank you.

Still to come on DAYBREAK, we asked you the question and you have answered. Healthy fast food: do you buy this nutrition craze? I mean what's the difference, if you go eat a Big Mac, you know it's fattening. Why are fast food restaurants pushing nutrition now? So healthy fast food: do you buy into the nutrition craze? DAYBREAK@CNN.com and we will read your e-mails next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: In "Health Headlines" for you this morning, do not eat raw eggs. That is the advice out today from mom, not just from mom, but from the European Union's Food Safety Agency. It's trying to prevent the spread of Bird Flu, which has killed at least 60 people in Asia. The agency also advises that you cook poultry thoroughly.

Wal-Mart plans to offer lower priced healthcare to its employees. The world's biggest retailer is also vowing to cut energy usage and reduce waste. The company has come under attack from labor groups and environmentalists.

It's time to get to our e-mail question. And of course we're basing this question on the premise that McDonald's is now going to put nutrition labels on the wrappers, you know, for French fries and Big Macs and stuff. And you know our estimation is why do you want to know? Do you go to McDonald's to get healthy food, even though the fast food restaurant is pushing it now? I mean, should it?

JERAS: Good question. A lot of people have a lot of opinions about it -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So take it away -- Jacqui.

JERAS: All right.

Vera (ph) from Los Angeles says hey, Carol, let's face it, why is McDonald's really putting nutritional information on food wrappers? To help prevent or minimize financial damages associated with a ridiculous lawsuit. I'm fat, but it's McDonald's fault, a $10 million settlement should help me buy the elliptical machine I need to get into shape.

COSTELLO: That would do it, actually.

JERAS: Yes, it would. Got to exercise.

Mike R. (ph) from British Columbia, Canada, says make junk food more expensive and the healthy organic food cheaper and people will start eating it.

COSTELLO: You know that is so true. It is so expensive to buy vegetables and good food and so cheap to buy junk.

JERAS: Yes, 15 bucks is what I spent last night to feed five people.

COSTELLO: Wow!

JERAS: Pretty cheap at McDonald's, definitely.

COSTELLO: Well wait, you took your family to McDonald's.

JERAS: I was going to tell you, we went through the drive-thru, went to the, you know, a little picnic, whatever.

COSTELLO: I thought it was just you. OK, go on.

JERAS: Just me, no, I have to blame it on other people why I eat fast food.

Jack (ph), 65 years old. Jack from New York, from Clifton Park, has never eaten a Big Mac. He says most people know what is healthy and what is not. However, some people just do not understand or care what they are doing to themselves with food. I thought McDonald's food from the onset was too greasy. I chose instead the local restaurant or diner, which provides more healthy food options at a very reasonable price. And he says it's still true today.

And one more, this one is kind of interesting from Marilyn (ph) in Rifle, Colorado. She says do other restaurants carry nutritional facts about their foods? Can you imagine the calories and cholesterol amounts being cited on the Mexican menu for an enchilada or how about on a French menu for chocolate cheesecake, for example? Laugh out loud. Who would eat?

COSTELLO: You know she's got a point, though.

JERAS: I know. Everywhere you go there's always going to be fattening choices. But you know what, I have tried at McDonald's they have an apple salad, apples and grapes and a little bit of yogurt. And some of their new salads that they have really aren't too bad.

COSTELLO: OK, well maybe I'll zoom on over and try them.

JERAS: You've never eaten there, have you? I can tell. You're not saying anything about it.

COSTELLO: I can't -- well you know...

JERAS: Have you ever done McDonald's?

COSTELLO: When I was little.

JERAS: Yes. You know, you're right, good for you.

COSTELLO: I know.

JERAS: Yes, you're a runner and a health nut.

COSTELLO: I know, but I'm a nutrition -- I know I'm like obsessed. JERAS: Wait until you have kids, you'll be hanging out with Ronald McDonald in no time.

COSTELLO: Don't even say that.

Thank you, Jacqui.

When we come back, milk mustaches and major leaguers.

And speaking of baseball, here's a quick look at what's all new coming up in the second hour of DAYBREAK. It's a commanding lead in the World Series for the Chicago White Sox, but it took 14 innings to get there. And the roof remained open.

And the Air Force Academy football coach flies into a firestorm over comments about minority players.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: What do Major League Baseball players and cows have in common, other than playing on grass and the whole leather glove thing? There is really nothing. So why is baseball upset over the new Got Milk ads?

CNN's Jeanne Moos has more for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It figures someone would try to milk the subject of steroids. And who better than the folks famous for saying...

ANNOUNCER: Got milk?

MOOS: Got milk has injected steroids into five new commercials launched during the baseball playoffs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Home run hitter Dave Laden was pulled from last night's lineup after testing positive for a performance enhancing substance. The substance, said to help rebuild muscles and maintain bone strength, was found in the hitter's locker before game time.

DAVE LADEN, ACTOR: I don't know how that got in there.

MOOS: The ad agency was careful not to use real uniforms or real names in its parody commercials.

Here, the guilty verb isn't inject, it is pour.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This stuff is everywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you pour?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's it, guys.

MOOS: The ad agency, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, says that to prepare, its creative people viewed news clips from the real steroids scandal.

JOSE CANSECO, FORMER BASEBALL PLAYER: I injected him and at the same time showed him the injection sites.

MOOS: From the real steroid user, Jose Canseco, to the parody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In fact, you claim to have introduced home run hitter Javier Castillo to the substance and that you would privately pour for him before games?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He'd pour from me, too.

MOOS: From the real Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro.

RAFAEL PALMEIRO, BALTIMORE ORIOLES PLAYER: I have never intentionally used steroids, never, ever.

MOOS: To the parody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, I never knowingly use that stuff, all right.

MOOS: But when it comes to the Got Milk ads, Major League Baseball is lactose intolerant saying, "there is nothing humorous about steroid abuse." To which the ad agency says it's not about steroid abuse, it is about milk.

Milk and baseball have had previous run-ins.

(on camera): Got milk? Got sick. A few months back, Dodgers pitcher Brad Penny bet a Florida Marlins bat boy $500 that he couldn't drink a gallon of milk in less than an hour without getting sick. Not only did the bat boy fail, but the Marlins suspended the bat boy for six games for accepting the dare.

(voice-over): The bat boy ended up on "Letterman," while the pitcher who made the bet complained "it's kind of ridiculous that you get a 10-game suspension for steroids and a 6-game suspension for milk."

Good old milk, as this carton proclaims, fat free from real cows. Are we to infer some milk comes from fake cows? If Jose Canseco can write a book on steroid use called "Juiced," what's next, "Milked?"

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Oh my.

The next hour of DAYBREAK starts in one minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: It is Wednesday, October 26. Hints and allegations or trouble behind closed doors? More reports surface in the CIA leak case that could be quite damaging for some of the president's men.

Celebrations in the streets as Iraqis pass a new constitution, but not everyone is happy. Could this incite more violence?

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