Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Air Marshal Shooting; Deadly Bus Attack; Alternative Minimum Tax Relief
Aired December 08, 2005 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. Soledad is off today. I'm Carol Costello.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Good morning to you.
Coming up, bitter cold temperatures clamping down across the U.S. And the coldest weather is now moving east, bringing snow with it. The forecast is ahead.
Threats of a bomb but nothing found. An unarmed man shot to death by air marshals. Did they go too far? We'll have a live report ahead.
COSTELLO: Also a developing story out of Iraq, a suicide attack just hours ago on a Baghdad bus killed 30 people. Dozens more wounded. We're live with the latest.
Also, is President Bush winning back the public on his strategy for Iraq? We'll take a look at some of the new poll numbers out.
O'BRIEN: And a disturbing scene out of Ohio, why was this 68- year-old grandmother tasered by police? Details are ahead.
We start this morning with bitter cold all over. Denver is close to setting new records for cold temperatures out there. Warnings being issued right now. Some areas could see 37 below zero today. This cold weather is moving east, as we speak. Heavy snow in the Midwest expected today. Eastern cities could get hit as soon as tonight. In some places, that snow is already here.
Check out Syracuse, New York, schools shut down and drivers having a lot of trouble. They should know a little something about snow there.
Bonnie Schneider is at the CNN Center with the latest weather update.
Good morning, Bonnie. It's winter. It's snowing. I said it wasn't a story this morning at the morning meeting. Explain why it is.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It absolutely is.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Thank you, Bonnie, I think, at least.
On to other news now.
One man dead, no bombs found and many unanswered questions this morning. What really went down at the Miami airport? As you know, it's the first use of deadly force by air marshals in the post 9/11 era.
Kathleen Koch live in Miami to tell us more.
Do we know any more than we did last night -- Kathleen?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just a few sketchy details are beginning to emerge. And actually, Carol, more from passengers, from authorities. And apparently it does turn out that this man, the victim, a Florida man, may have been mentally ill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Passengers were boarding American Airlines Flight 924 from Miami to Orlando when federal authorities say a man uttered threatening words and said he had a bomb. Federal air marshals, or FAMs, were on the plane and sprang into action.
JAMES BAUER, FEDERAL MARSHAL SERVICE: There were federal air marshals onboard the aircraft. They came out of their cover, confronted him and he remained noncompliant with their instructions. As he was attempting to evade them, his actions caused the FAMs to fire shots. And, in fact, he is deceased.
KOCH: Marshal Service spokesman Dave Adams explained the man, 44-year-old Rigoberto Alpizar, had agreed to leave the plane but carried a backpack and refused to set it down on the ramp leading from the aircraft. Federal law enforcement sources say he was wearing the backpack on his stomach, further raising suspicions. Adams says Alpizar approached the air marshals in an aggressive manner, appeared to reach into his bag and was shot.
Passengers like Miriam Delgado, who doesn't speech English, were terrified. Her great granddaughter translates.
KARLINA GRIFFITH, MIRIAM DELGADO'S GRANDDAUGHTER: She heard three gunshots and then everyone was running, like everyone was going crazy. They got up and started running.
KOCH: Some passengers say Alpizar's wife claimed he was mentally ill.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard her say he is bipolar. He doesn't have his medicine. I heard the shot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was just saying is her husband was sick, her husband was sick.
KOCH: Alpizar, U.S. citizen, had just flown to Miami from Ecuador. After the shooting, investigators took his luggage off the plane and blew it open on the tarmac. A search of Alpizar's backpack and luggage turned up no explosives.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Miami-Dade police are investigating the incident now to determine whether or not that use of deadly force was appropriate -- Carol.
COSTELLO: You know I don't know what I would have done, but I'm trying to get a picture with my mind of what happened inside of that plane. There were many passengers onboard when this guy started running down the aisle. Was he shouting out that he had a bomb while he was running? And did any other passengers try to interfere with his progress down the aisle?
KOCH: Carol, what we have heard from passengers is simply that the man was very agitated and was trying to get off the plane. It is from federal authorities that we are hearing that he used threatening language and that he made reference to a bomb. But the passengers simply talked about the man acting very bizarrely, flailing his arms around. And then some passengers saying, again, that his wife said he hadn't taken his medication.
COSTELLO: Kathleen Koch live in Miami.
Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the latest news about your security.
And coming up in the next hour, we'll talk live with Dave Adams, a spokesman for the Federal Air Marshal's office.
O'BRIEN: A developing story in Iraq for you this morning, carnage in Baghdad on a bus packed with passengers. A suicide bomber killing at least 30, wounding 25.
Aneesh Raman live now for us from Baghdad -- Aneesh.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Miles, good morning.
The attack happened just about three hours ago in the southern part of the capital. As you say, a suicide bomber, who was onboard a bus that was headed to the Shi'a city of Nasiriya southeast of the capital, detonating, killing at least 30, wounding some 25 others.
Video from the scene shows the carnage, as well as what little remains of that bus. The bus would have been incredibly crowded, Iraqis heading home for the weekend that begins tomorrow.
Now this attack comes just two days after dual suicide bombers detonated at a Baghdad police academy. That attack killed 40. It is just one week away from Iraq's general election. And U.S. and Iraqi military officials have long said to expect a rise. And so the insurgents, clearly a spike in their attacks in the capital, hitting their two perennial targets, Iraqi security forces and today, Iraqi civilians. Now, Miles, also today, the U.S. military is saying one U.S. solder has been killed, three others wounded, after a roadside bomb detonated in eastern part of the -- in the eastern part, sorry, of the capital. These roadside bombs, these IEDs, a perennial killer, the biggest killer of U.S. forces in Iraq -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Aneesh, tell us about security steps being taken there in general. This, as they ramp up toward those parliamentary elections.
RAMAN: Well, for some days now, no non-Iraqi Arabs have been allowed into this country. The prime minister today announcing a state of emergency in two of Iraq's provinces, Al Anbar, that western volatile province. The border with Syria there has been closed.
And as we head closer to the date itself of the election next week, the airport here will be closed, roads will be closed, curfews will be imposed. And these measures often do succeed. We saw on October 15 at the referendum there were not a huge number of attacks. The question is how do you sustain this sort of security presence without these key dates -- Miles?
O'BRIEN: Aneesh, thank you very much. Back with you later.
The deadline for four Western hostages, meanwhile, in Iraq is extended. And new video of the men showed up on an Islamic Web site. You can see that they are wearing -- well, you can't quite see it there with the banner, but they are wearing orange prison-like jumpsuits and, obviously, they are blindfolded. There you can see them. Islamic militants said they would execute the men if Iraqi prisoners weren't released by today, but they extended that deadline by two days.
British Foreign Minister Jack Straw says no government could meet those demands, but he still wants to hear directly from the hostage takers.
Militants took the Christian aid workers two weeks ago -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Maybe the president's efforts changing your mind about the war are working. We have new poll numbers to show you this morning. Approval of his handling of Iraq is up four points in a "New York Times"-CBS poll.
The president is in the middle of a series of speeches trying to explain what America is accomplishing in Iraq. He's upbeat about how the war is going.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I reject the pessimists in Washington who say we can't win this war. Yet every day we can be confident of the outcome because we know that freedom has got the power to overcome terror and tyranny. We can be confident about the outcome because we know the character and strength of the men and women in the fight. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: But Congressman John Murtha, who wants a pullout in six months, says he doesn't see the president -- he doesn't see the progress the president is talking about. He also makes a distinction between the war in Iraq and the war on terror.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Bin Laden said he attacked the United States because of the troops in Saudi Arabia. That's terrorism. Terrorism was in London, terrorism in Spain, terrorism, obviously, in the United States. That's completely separate from what's going on in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: In the next hour, we'll talk live with Howard Dean, the outspoken chairman of the Democratic Party. And you know what he had to say about the war. He said it was a war that we can't win. So that should be an interesting conversation.
O'BRIEN: And one of the biggest debates these days between Democrats. I guess that's not news necessarily.
Coming up, more on that shooting at the Miami airport. Air marshals made a split-second decision before they shot and killed. Question this morning, was it the right decision? We'll ask someone who has been in their shoes.
COSTELLO: Also, the tough choice facing Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger this morning, should Stanley "Tookie" Williams live or die? We'll take a closer look.
O'BRIEN: And millions of Americans, you -- of you -- millions of you may soon get a new tax break. I could use a break this morning too. But politics could be standing in the way.
Let's have a break. We'll be back with more in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: A fitting image this morning. It's been 25 years since the death of John Lennon. And you can see people laying out flowers in Strawberry Fields here in New York City near where John Lennon was shot that horrible day 25 years ago. We're going to have much more on John Lennon's death and the 25-year anniversary of it a little later on AMERICAN MORNING.
Right now we want to get to the rest of the day's headlines.
Kelly Wallace is in.
Good morning -- Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol. And hello, everyone.
We're beginning with a massive bombing on a bus in southern Baghdad. It happened just about three hours ago. The bus was leaving one of Baghdad's biggest bus stations, the equivalent of New York's Port Authority. Iraqi police say at least 20 people were killed, 25 others are wounded. And this blast coming just one week before Iraq is set to hold national elections.
A CNN security watch for you. The investigation continuing into the shooting death of a bomb suspect at Miami International Airport. You may have seen this story unfolding yesterday afternoon. Officials say air marshals were forced to shoot the suspect after he claimed to have a bomb and didn't obey the orders. No bomb was found. The suspect was 44-year-old Rigoberto Alpizar. Witnesses say his wife, who was also on the plane, said Alpizar was bipolar and hadn't taken his medicine.
And of course stay with CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
One final chance for Crips gang founder Stanley "Tookie" Williams. His lawyers will meet today with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to plead for clemency for the convicted murderer. Supporters say Williams has become a strong voice against violence and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five times. Prosecutors will also be at today's hearings. Williams is set to be put to death on Tuesday.
A 68-year-old grandmother is suing after being tasered five times by police in Ohio. Surveillance video now showing this incident. Police say the woman was there to be arrested for apparently hitting her adult granddaughter. When she tried to leave, the officer used his taser. The woman says she was unable to move when the officer ordered her to get up and continued to shock her. She says she remains under a doctor's care.
Margaret Thatcher is recovering this morning after spending the night in the hospital. The former British prime minister, nicknamed the "Iron Lady," was admitted after feeling faint. The 80-year-old Thatcher has grown frail in recent years after a series of small strokes. Doctors ran a number of tests and kept Thatcher overnight as a precaution. She is expected to go home later today.
And OK, everybody, all together now, ahh. Yes, that's right, ahh. This is the National Zoo's baby panda, Tai Shan. He's just five months old. And you can see him in person now. The zoo is letting the public view him for the first time, but you're going to need a ticket. This little guy is in such high demand that zoo officials say they may check IDs to prevent scalping and fraud.
O'BRIEN: I think we should do -- I think we should do a panda voice over every day, don't you think?
COSTELLO: That's like...
WALLACE: I think so. COSTELLO: I think we should. You know...
O'BRIEN: Just yes.
COSTELLO: ... I've been to the National Zoo to see the pandas and there are these long, long lines. And the pandas don't move very much. They just sort of sit there. So you know you can kind of watch the line and the people watching the pandas from a little hill at the zoo. And the panda liked moved its paw and a huge cheer went up among -- the panda moved his paw.
O'BRIEN: Moved a paw. He's alive.
WALLACE: Well, if anyone is going to be out today in the national capital, of course, Bonnie, they are going to be cold, right?
SCHNEIDER: Absolutely, it's 19 degrees right now in Washington, D.C.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: Can't wait. Got my woolies on now.
Hey, calling all taxpayers, and that includes you, extended tax relief clears a major hurdle on Capitol Hill.
Carrie Lee has that story and the rest of the financial news.
Good morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
A lot of people are going to be happy about this. The House has overwhelmingly approved a tax bill that's going to prevent millions of Americans from paying higher taxes next year because of the AMT. That's the Alternative Minimum Tax, a lot of folks familiar with it.
Basically, it's going to protect 17 million taxpayers from paying higher taxes last year -- next year, rather. That's the good news. The bad news, the government is going to lose about $31.5 billion in tax revenue. But the bill basically extends for one year, through 2006, an increase in the income levels that would be exempt from the AMT.
For people not familiar with the AMT, well, it's sometimes called the stealth tax because it sneaks up on you. It has to be paid if your tax liability is higher than in a regular tax code. And it does disallow many deductions and exemptions.
Now, Carol, you know there are some people calling for the elimination of the AMT altogether. It's a very controversial issue. The idea back in 1969 was to prevent rich people from avoiding paying their fair share from tax loopholes. The numbers, though, haven't been adjusted for inflation.
COSTELLO: Yes. LEE: So every year...
COSTELLO: But didn't hit the hardest, though, the middle class.
LEE: Well now it is, yes. Every year more people get caught in the net. So 17 million will be exempt next year, but that compares to 3 million paying this year, so a big jump, but now it's going to be avoided.
COSTELLO: OK, I'll look at the glass half full.
LEE: There you go.
COSTELLO: It's almost Friday, after all.
Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, your "Morning Coffee." Today, one man's extreme plan to fight against Bird Flu and that includes food, water and a whole lot of guns. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: You could use a little blah, blah, blah, don't you think?
COSTELLO: We're talking about Ann Coulter, yes.
O'BRIEN: Ann Coulter, yes. Yes, you could.
COSTELLO: You want to talk about that first, because it is time for "Morning Coffee."
O'BRIEN: Yes, "Morning Coffee," yes.
COSTELLO: And we're talking about Ann Coulter. And everybody knows who she is, right? Well she was invited to UConn to give a speech. And she began her speech by saying...
O'BRIEN: That's the University of Connecticut.
COSTELLO: Yes.
O'BRIEN: For those of you who aren't...
COSTELLO: Those of you not in the know.
O'BRIEN: They're thinking she's up in Canada somewhere.
COSTELLO: No, UConn in Connecticut.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: Anyway, she began her speech by saying it's always nice to talk to an audience stupider than me -- stupider than you. What did she say exactly? I'm getting it wrong.
WALLACE: Right, she said, that's right, stupider than herself, you know.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: Right.
WALLACE: So you know basically saying it's a room full of stupid people and here she is...
COSTELLO: Right, and that got the crowd going.
O'BRIEN: Not the most gracious way to begin a speech, right?
WALLACE: Not a very creative way to start off. That's right.
COSTELLO: No, no, no, and then she made some other pointed comments. And the students literally booed her off the stage. In fact, she could not finish her speech. And she opened it up to questions and answers and that didn't go well, either. And she didn't have a good experience at UConn.
O'BRIEN: We'd love to show you the tape, but it doesn't exist, as far as we know. There was no...
COSTELLO: Not the booing part.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: Yes, there is some protesting, but not the booing part.
O'BRIEN: Yes. OK. Yes. The back story of this is that the campus has been in an uproar over her appearance.
COSTELLO: Yes, you can see the protesters there.
O'BRIEN: And so...
COSTELLO: They were already outside.
O'BRIEN: So...
COSTELLO: And they were already waiting for her, so.
O'BRIEN: So she was revved up and said, OK, stupid people, and off it went.
COSTELLO: Well she expected it. That's part of her shtick.
O'BRIEN: And, hence, we're talking about it now and therefore my whole theory on Ann Coulter. This is all part of the...
COSTELLO: OK, I'll move on then.
O'BRIEN: Part of Ann Coulter Inc.
COSTELLO: I'll move on then to the next talker. WALLACE: It's time to move on.
O'BRIEN: All right.
COSTELLO: A controversial University of Kansas professor says he was beaten up by intelligent design supporters. Professor Paul Mirecki says he received hundreds of e-mails critical of a course he was planning to teach this spring. It was called "Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, Creationism and other Religious Mythologies." Intelligent design supporters complained about being lumped in with the myths.
But the worst of it was getting beaten up on a country road. This actually happened. Mirecki says his two attackers referred to the course. Last week he decided not to teach the class after all, and Wednesday he stepped down as head of the school's Religious Studies Department.
O'BRIEN: I...
COSTELLO: And you know this all goes back to the Kansas school board saying that it's OK to teach intelligent design in high school.
WALLACE: Really sad state of events there. I mean, come on.
O'BRIEN: Not so intelligent, you might say.
WALLACE: Not -- yes.
COSTELLO: Yes, those two were not of intelligent design.
O'BRIEN: No. No.
WALLACE: OK.
O'BRIEN: No.
COSTELLO: You know one man outside of Washington, actually he lives in Virginia, he's taking the Bird Flu very, very seriously. And I mean seriously. Will Stewart is actually stockpiling food, water and weapons. You see him there with his family in his flu bomb shelter, I guess. He says he needs all the food and the drugs and the guns when the pandemic panic sets in. He's got enough food and water to keep his family going for at least three months. He's also buying guns.
WALLACE: Guns, I couldn't believe guns.
COSTELLO: Well, because, Kelly, he says gangs of marauders could start roaming around looking for people with supplies. Guess what Stewart does for a living?
WALLACE: I love this. This is great.
COSTELLO: This is the best part.
WALLACE: This is the punch line.
COSTELLO: He does risk assessments for a living, so.
O'BRIEN: He could build Bird Flu shelters, too. Maybe he should go into that, you know.
WALLACE: Then it might be a business.
O'BRIEN: Reopen all those Cold War bomb shelters, start stocking them, right.
COSTELLO: Yes, he might have some takers, you never know.
O'BRIEN: You never know. All right.
WALLACE: All right.
O'BRIEN: Guys like that scare me...
WALLACE: Yes.
O'BRIEN: ... on several levels.
All right. Thank you very much.
Coming up, brutally cold temperatures putting much of you in a deep freeze this morning. We'll look at what you can expect when you head out the door. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Air marshals kill a man over a bomb threat, but there was no bomb. Did they overstep their bounds? We have a live report ahead.
Plus a developing story in Baghdad, a suicide bomber killing 30 on a crowded city bus.
And bitter cold takes hold across the Midwest headed east. Your forecast is coming up. It's coming like a freight train.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.
COSTELLO: It's cold outside.
O'BRIEN: And it's...
COSTELLO: It's already cold outside here.
O'BRIEN: Yes, well it is winter, I should point out, you know.
COSTELLO: I know, I always forget that.
O'BRIEN: I hate to be a spoilsport, I'm making a big deal out of this, it's December, it gets cold outside. COSTELLO: Hey, technically it is not winter yet -- Mr. Smarty- pants.
O'BRIEN: That is right. You're right. If it were -- you're right. If this were after December 22, right, December 22?
COSTELLO: I don't know.
O'BRIEN: Isn't that it? Isn't that it?
COSTELLO: I don't know. We...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
COSTELLO: Yes.
O'BRIEN: That is it. Then we could say that. For now, this is a big news story because it's pre-winter.
(LAUGHTER)
COSTELLO: So there you go -- Kelly Wallace.
WALLACE: Yes, exactly. I was going to point out it's not exactly winter, but then Miles brought that up.
Hello, everyone.
O'BRIEN: No, no, Carol did.
WALLACE: No, Carol. Carol, excuse me.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
