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CNN Live At Daybreak

Coping With Chaos; Spy Exposed; Lenin Leaving?

Aired October 27, 2005 - 05:30   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.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. Welcome to the second half-hour of DAYBREAK.

Still to come, it's hard to believe that the body of Lenin has been lying in state for 60 years. Is it time to bury the body of the former communist leader? We'll bring you that story from Moscow.

Also ahead this hour, actually, first, "Now in the News."

A roadside attack in Baghdad has killed two more U.S. soldiers. The members of Task Force Baghdad died when their convoy was hit by an explosive device.

Answers from the Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers could be made public today. Miers was supposed to turn in her second attempt at the Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire last night. Committee leaders from both parties complained that Miers' first questionnaire was inadequate.

Chicago, I bet it's still celebrating this morning. Their White Sox beat the Houston Astros last night. Their first World Series title in nearly 90 years. Unfortunately for Houston fans, their first-ever Series appearance ended in a four-game sweep -- Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Thank you, Jacqui.

Relief is on the way. That's what Florida Governor Jeb Bush is telling the hundreds of people waiting in line for water and food. But the governor also says now isn't a time for blame in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JEB BUSH (R), FLORIDA: I'm going to have a no-criticize zone established as we focus on recovery. And if anybody wants to blame anybody, let them blame me, don't blame FEMA. This is our responsibility, and we are doing a good job. People had ample time to prepare. And it isn't that hard to get 72 hours worth of food and water, just to do the simple things that we asked people to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Governor is referring to his pre-storm warnings to Florida residents that they have three days worth of food on hand. Nearly 4,000 National Guard troops are in Florida to help distribute emergency supplies to people in need.

Some south Floridians are waiting in line, though, at distribution centers. Others are in line for food from the Salvation Army. And there are still others who are finding their own way.

CNN's David Mattingly has more from Hollywood, Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Day two after Hurricane Wilma, and Marilyn Cramer (ph) of Hollywood, Florida, is shopping like her life depends on it.

MARILYN CRAMER, HURRICANE SURVIVOR: Take it while they've got it.

MATTINGLY: Maneuvering through one of the few supermarkets open with generator power, the aisles are dark, more hectic than before a holiday.

CRAMER: Somebody took my cart.

MATTINGLY: Some things, like fresh produce, are in short supply.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No bananas.

CRAMER: No bananas.

MATTINGLY: A half-hour later, four cans of low sodium soup and two packs of water will have to do. She wishes she could buy more, but it's all she'll be able to carry.

CRAMER: Don't grow old. That's my advice to you.

MATTINGLY: Because of no electricity, the elevator is out in her high-rise building, and 74-year-old Marilyn Cramer lives alone on the 11th floor.

MATTINGLY (on camera): How are you doing?

CRAMER: I need to rest just a little bit.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): With nothing more than a flashlight and determination, she makes it up the 160 steps.

(on camera): Where would you like me to put the water?

CRAMER: Right on the -- no, maybe on the floor would be good.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): There's no damage to the condo itself, but it's comfort is compromised, no lights, no air conditioning and sometimes no water.

CRAMER: When the water is on, I either take a shower or flush the toilets or wash the dishes.

MATTINGLY: Cramer considers herself among the lucky. Trying to be self-sufficient during a time marked by long lines, confusion, and growing impatience. For the second straight day in Hollywood, trucks loaded with ice and water kept people waiting. And the line for cold lunches at the Salvation Army grew longer, as residents ran out of supplies.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have three children. We have absolutely nothing. We have no water left, no ice left, no food.

MATTINGLY: But like millions of others in the dark since Wilma hit, Marilyn Cramer is managing to get buy with little more than a good attitude to keep her going.

CRAMER: In life, as in the dance, grace glides on bandaged feet. So what's the point of pissing and moaning? Like, sure my heart is pounding, sure my knees were feeling it, so what else is new? You know you just do it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Good advice.

That was CNN's David Mattingly reporting.

There are still millions of people, like Marilyn Cramer, who have no electricity. Coming up in the next hour, we'll learn more about relief efforts and those long lines when we talk to one member of Florida's Emergency Management Team.

Even before Wilma hit Florida, it swept across Cancun, and there are still American tourists stranded there. Makeshift airline counters were set up in a Cancun high school, while tourists lined up to try to book flights home. Visitors on chartered tours are getting out of Cancun first. The Cancun airport was damaged and the airport is not allowing nighttime flights.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans has several looming problems. Mayor Ray Nagin, presiding over a town hall style meeting last night, said no revenue is coming in from sales taxes or property taxes. He added that only a fraction of the seven million cubic yards of debris have been removed. And he says New Orleans needs to learn how to come together.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: Washington is very skeptical about helping us. And it's very clear to me that if we don't start to help ourselves and we don't come together as a community in the spirit of unity, we're going to get left behind. Because Florida just had a major event and they're getting all kind of resources, and God bless them. But I think as -- when we come together as a community and we start to lobby and we start to make some things happen, we'll make ourselves whole, but they're going to help us also.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Residents of the devastated Ninth Ward in New Orleans will be given bus tours of their neighborhoods today, but it won't be an up-close look. Because of safety concerns, no one will be allowed to leave the buses. Almost all of the homes are unlivable because the flooding, mold and mildew damage.

Following up on the investigation to some of those Memorial Hospital deaths in New Orleans. The state's attorney general has now issued subpoenas for 73 hospital employees. There have been allegations that some patients were euthanized. Thirty-four patients died at the hospital after it was cut off by floodwaters.

Know what a NOC is? Well, it's what Valerie Plame used to be. Up next, how the outing of a CIA operative could now be breaking bonds, James Bond, in the spy game.

And some say it's literally a revolutionary idea whose time has come. The battle over burying Lenin is ahead.

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: We are still awaiting an announcement in the CIA leak investigation. Going beyond whatever politics may be involved, though, the fact remains an undercover spy was exposed. The implications of that extend far beyond Washington.

National security correspondent David Ensor has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Forty-two-year-old Valerie Plame Wilson, whose husband has referred to her as "Jane Bond," is clearly now the most famous female spy in America. Exposing her as a CIA undercover officer did damage to U.S. intelligence, U.S. officials say. They refuse to be more specific.

MICHAEL SCHEUER, FORMER CIA ANALYST: To have someone exposed deliberately and, on top of that, for a political reason, I think, yes, it probably sent a chill throughout the clandestine service.

ENSOR: What made it worse is that she was not just an undercover officer, she spent part of her 20-year career as a NOC, a spy with non-official cover, that is, without the protection of diplomatic status. She was working, officials say, to recruit foreigners who knew about murky international deals involving weapons of mass destruction. But potential foreign agents, potential spies, have now seen a CIA officer apparently betrayed by officials in her own government.

JAMES MARCINKOWSKI, FORMER CIA OFFICER: The issue here is how are you going to tell that agent that their identity is going to be protected, when this government can't even protect the home team?

ENSOR: And if any other CIA officers used the same cover as Plame, their work is in jeopardy, too. That cover was Brewster Jennings & Associates, an energy consulting firm, a front company that apparently had no real address.

NOCs are harder to train, can remain undercover longer than conventional spies and can go places and meet people that other CIA officers cannot. Some of them, like Plame, use loose cover, a false job. Others under deep cover use false names as well, complete fictional identities with forged documents, even disguises.

But NOCs are also much more vulnerable than regular spies. And intelligence sources developed by a CIA undercover officer are immediately in question if that officer is exposed.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: The consequences for the U.S. government can range from embarrassment to having to pull a source out of an area because they have become jeopardized by this knowledge.

ENSOR: After her name appeared in Robert Novak's newspaper column, at least two foreign governments reportedly assigned their spy catchers to figure out whether Plame had ever worked on their soil, and, if so, what she'd done there.

(on camera): And that is where the most damage was likely done, other nations tracking down Valerie Plame Wilson's contacts and sources and shutting them down.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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

President Bush heads to Florida's hurricane zone today. He'll get a firsthand assessment of the government's response to Hurricane Wilma.

A New York jury finds the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey negligent in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing that killed 6 people and injured 1,000. Damages will be determined in a second trial.

In money news, former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman and former HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy have been indicted in a corruption case. Scrushy is accused of giving Siegelman half a million dollars in exchange for an appointment to a medical review board.

In culture, CBS News President Andrew Heyward says he's calling it quits after 10 years at the helm. Heyward will be replaced by Sean McManus, President of CBS Sports. He'll do both jobs beginning next month. In sports, it is confirmed, Duke University basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski will coach the U.S. basketball team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He is the first college coach to lead the team since NBA players were allowed in 1992.

And maybe, Jacqui, he'll lead them to victory. Let's hope so.

JERAS: Maybe so, I know.

COSTELLO: Because it was embarrassing the last time around.

JERAS: A little bit.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: OK. Are you going to dress up for Halloween to go along with your kids?

JERAS: I'm debating. I did last year. We were the Royal Family, as my daughter thinks she's a princess.

COSTELLO: Were you Camilla? Did you dress up like Camilla?

JERAS: No, I just had kind of a little Royal cape and crown and that kind of thing.

COSTELLO: Well you wear that to work every day.

JERAS: Yes, right.

COSTELLO: You just take it off for airtime.

Thank you.

JERAS: But you love the holiday.

COSTELLO: I do, I love the holiday.

JERAS: Are you dressing up?

COSTELLO: No, but I will be handing out candy...

JERAS: All right.

COSTELLO: ... since you know I'm childless. But maybe I should dress up and just go trick or treating. Who knows?

JERAS: Why not?

COSTELLO: Yes.

JERAS: I'd give you candy.

COSTELLO: Thanks, Jacqui.

More than 60 years since his death, is it time to finally bury Lenin? Both sides have strong feelings. We're live from Moscow just after a break. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: The once unthinkable is now being openly discussed. In Russia, the Red Square tomb of Vladimir Lenin may soon be empty. So we must ask, has the former symbol of the Soviet State outlasted being revered as a Russian revolutionary?

CNN's senior international correspondent Matthew Chance joins us from Moscow to explain further.

Hello -- Matthew.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Carol, hello to you.

It is a bizarre legacy of the Soviet Union, isn't it, that the fact that 60 years since his death, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin is still his embalmed body is laid in state very much on public view for anybody who cares to visit his mausoleum in Red Square in the center of Moscow. I have to say most of those visitors these days are tourists who just go there for the bizarre curiosity value, perhaps.

But the fact is that the issue of what to do with that corpse is a very controversial one in this country. That people here do have strong opinions about whether he should be buried or whether he should be allowed to remain in that mausoleum and what a decision either way would mean about where this country is going to.

Here's what we found out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): He's Russia's most controversial corpse, preserved behind glass as a waxy relic of the Soviet Union. But more than six decades since his death, time may have finally come for Lenin to be laid to rest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I think the right thing would be to bury Vladimir Lenin. It would be done in a civilized way, carefully and correctly. And if we do it right, I think that people will understand.

CHANCE: But opinions are bitterly divided. To a generation of old communists, still influential in modern Russia, removing their mummified hero would be sacrilege and provoke mass protests, they say.

GENNADY ZYUGANOV, COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER (through translator): Conservative provocative forces have launched another crusade against the idea, against the tomb and against our history. We have to be strong about resisting it and show our character and resolve.

CHANCE: It's a sensitive issue among those who remember the Soviet superpower with Lenin its founder and its heart. (on camera): The debate itself isn't new. Post Soviet Russia has, for years, been agonizing over what to do with Lenin and the other skeletons of its past. What's different now are the hints being dropped by the Kremlin that it may favor a funeral. Vladimir Putin, the Russian president long accused of returning Russia to its Soviet ways, may be the leader that finally buries its most revered icon.

(voice-over): With Russian elections on the horizon, it may be a political statement, Russia is looking forward, not back. Opinion polls suggest most, but not all, Russians are in favor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I think he should be buried according to the Christian tradition. His body shouldn't be dragged around like a mummy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): He should stay in the mausoleum. He is a part of Russia's history. People should have a chance to see him.

CHANCE (on camera): And most people just don't care?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, of course the main part of the simple people are thinking about their wages, their homes, about the winter which is coming. And this is the main thing for us, not Lenin.

CHANCE (voice-over): And so the arguments continue for and against. The morbid debate that, like Lenin himself, won't easily be laid to rest.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And, Carol, as we say, there is a debate that's been going on for some time now, at least in the background, but it recently came to the fore after comments announced by a figure in the Kremlin that it was a possibly. Being interpreted here as the Kremlin, the Russian government, sort of attempting to sound out what public reaction would be if they were to make the decision to finally bury Lenin and to lay his embalmed body to rest -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And I was just going to ask you when a final decision would be made, but apparently we just don't know.

CHANCE: Absolutely. I mean it's something that's just being discussed right now. No one is setting a time limit on this.

But, as I indicated in that report, it is a very controversial sort of political issue here in Russia. The country is still very much divided between those who look back to the Soviet era and see, you know, with sort of rose-tinted spectacles, if you will, and see Vladimir Ilyich Lenin as the main revered icon of that period, somebody who should be revered in the future of Russia. And those Russian who think that this country should put this in the ground now, quite literally, and move on to a new, more modern, forward-looking future.

COSTELLO: Matthew Chance live in Moscow this morning. When we come back, we will read your e-mails. We've gotten about, what, 300 so far? We're asking you this question: do you care if athletes are gay? DAYBREAK@CNN.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Jacqui, I am surprised at how many e-mails that our question elicited.

JERAS: Wow!

COSTELLO: There's (INAUDIBLE) e-mails this morning, and interesting ones, too.

JERAS: Just a few, yes. People feel kind of strongly about this, so it seems. Either they don't seem to care or they want to know why we care, why we're posing that question. That kind of seems to be the consensus here.

COSTELLO: Well you know what, the story of Sheryl Swoopes was number one on CNN.com for much of the day yesterday. It made all the papers. People were very, very interested in this story.

JERAS: That's right. Well let's check in and see what some of them had to say.

Paul G. (ph) in Chicago, home of the world champion White Sox, he adds, says I don't want to know the sexual orientation of athletes. As role models, they ought to keep their private lives private and avoid extramarital affairs.

Susan (ph) in Des Moines says, no, sexual preference doesn't have anything to do with athletic ability.

Carol (ph) from Odessa, Texas, no, I don't care if they are gay. What I do wonder about is why it has to be announced? Should I announce that I'm a heterosexual? I have never understood the need for public announcements. Just live your life.

Johnny (ph) from Saint Petersburg, Florida, on the contrary, I think it can only be considered a good thing, he says. Her demonstration of her honesty and openness should be viewed as a positive, solidifying even more to young girls that in this day and age they can be whoever they want to be.

COSTELLO: Thank you for your comments this morning. We appreciate them.

The next hour of DAYBREAK starts in 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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