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American Morning

Day Two of New York Transit Strike; Saddam Hussein Back in Court; More Questions About Secret Wiretapping

Aired December 21, 2005 - 8:59   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Millions of people thrown into disarray by the transit strike in New York City. Hundreds of millions of dollars are being lost, and is there an end in sight? We've got a live report just ahead.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rick Sanchez, in for Miles O'Brien.

Saddam Hussein back in court this morning. We mean in court, and facing more testimony of tortures and executions. We're going to go live to Baghdad for the ver latest on that.

O'BRIEN: And if you're feeling especially stressed out this time of year, well, yes, you're not alone. A look at the winter blues and what you can do about it.

That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.

Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.

Did you know that every day that the New York City transit strike goes on the damage grows millions? Commuters are struggling in the cold; stores are losing up to $200 million a day in what is really now critical pre-Christmas sales.

Take a look at these pictures here, that live shot. Those are people walking across the Brooklyn Bridge. And the traffic at a standstill. Never a good sign when you're walking faster than the traffic is moving. Only way to get in, though, this morning.

There is a crushing million-dollar-a-day fine against the union, and striking workers are losing two days' pay for every day that they're out on strike.

Let's get right to Allan Chernoff. He is live at the Brooklyn Bridge this morning.

Allan, how's it been going?

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, people are doing what they have to do. And in many cases, that means walking eight, nine, even 10 miles to go to work, to go to school, wherever people have to go. But this right behind me is a classic New York City moment. Thousands of people streaming across the bridge. And years from now they'll be able to tell their friends and family where they were during the 2005 transit strike.

We have one of those New Yorkers with us right now, Travis Johnson.

Travis, you're actually a student, right? When did you start off?

TRAVIS JOHNSON, STUDENT: I've been a New Yorker for about six months.

CHERNOFF: No, when did you start this morning? When did you leave to walk across the bridge?

JOHNSON: I left about an hour and a half ago.

CHERNOFF: And how much further do you have to go?

JOHNSON: I've got about another mile and a half, two miles.

CHERNOFF: OK. So it's going to be at least a two -- two-hour walk.

JOHNSON: Yes.

CHERNOFF: Are you going up to school?

JOHNSON: Yes. It's 19th Street. So I've got a little bit left of a hump to go.

CHERNOFF: You moved here a few years ago. Is this anything you might have anticipated?

JOHNSON: I walk quite a bit a day, but this wasn't in the cards.

CHERNOFF: Travis Johnson, thank you very much. Good luck to you.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

CHERNOFF: Of course you never know what you're going to encounter here in New York. And New Yorkers still don't know exactly how long this strike is going to last. A mediator did meet with both sides yesterday, but there's no progress and there are no talks scheduled for today -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Oh, it doesn't sound good. All right. Allan Chernoff reporting for us this morning at the foot of the Brooklyn Bridge.

And just ahead, we're going to talk to the city's controller. He is talking to us and really crunching the numbers about the losses from the strike. It could go into the billions of dollars -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: New developments in the trial of Saddam Hussein this morning. A former dictator back in court after a two-week trial recess.

The afternoon session will start at any moment. This morning, though, the court heard emotional testimony about a massacre 23 years ago after an attempt on Saddam Hussein's life.

Aneesh Raman has been inside the courtroom today. He's been following it for us. He's joining us now.

What was the headline so far on what we've -- or what you've heard and seen yourself there, Aneesh?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, really subdued Saddam. After days of him being in court defying aggressively, characterizing the court as illegitimate and charging the judge was not doing his job, he was very quiet today. He took a moment to pray as the court was going forward.

He tried to interrupt the witness who began testimony this morning and said that he wanted to observe noon prayers. The judge said the testimony will go forward.

And so while the witness was testifying, he sort of turned in his chair to his left, faced Mecca, and for some moments was praying. So a very solemn and somber Saddam Hussein. Different than the image we saw -- seen before.

We should tell you that just moments ago the court's afternoon session began. We're expecting to hear from a number of further witnesses.

We're supposed to hear from five witnesses total in this period before the court likely adjourns for another month. We've only heard from one witness so far. It's unclear how many more we'll hear from today.

They have all, including today's witness, Rick, as you mentioned, detailed abuse, torture, years spent in prison. The witness who testified today is someone I met weeks ago in Dujail, and he told me the same story he told the court, seven brothers killed, 43 relatives thrown into detention, brutal tales of Saddam's regime -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: What did he tell you the motivation for all that was?

RAMAN: Well, again, I think in terms of why they felt that they were being thrown into jail, why they felt they were being persecuted, this failed assassination attempt. And you see him in court today forceful in character. His brother was the man who testified December 5 at that Monday session. Again, did not hide his identity, was talking back to Saddam Hussein.

SANCHEZ: No, I mean -- Aneesh, did his brothers have anything to do with the failed assassination attempt? Was it a direct retribution or just, let's go out and get anybody who happens to live in that neighborhood?

SANCHEZ: No, no, it was a direct connection. When I spoke to him, he said that they had been plotting it for weeks, to try to kill Saddam Hussein on that road in July, 1982.

This was a Shia village, Dujail, in the heart of the Sunni Triangle. They felt persecuted, they felt left out. Many of them had ties to underground parties, like the Dawa Party and the Skiri (ph) Party, with ties to Shia Iran.

SANCHEZ: Wow.

RAMAN: And so they were going out of their way in a very deliberate fashion to try and kill Saddam. He even suggested to me that they were planning to use RPG -- sorry, to use grenades. Instead, they used small arms fire, unaware that the cars would be armored.

SANCHEZ: Wow. Aneesh Raman with that story. Great exclusive interview. We appreciate the information.

And Soledad, over to you.

O'BRIEN: All right, Rick. Thank you.

In Washington today, more questions about the secret wiretapping authorized by President Bush. There is talk of a congressional investigation and a report that the resignation of a federal judge was in protest to the eavesdropping.

Elaine Quijano is live for us at the White House.

Hey, Elaine. Good morning.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

That's right, citing unnamed sources, "The Washington Post" this morning is reporting that U.S. District Judge James Robertson, a member of the Secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, has resigned. "The Post" saying that the judge, a Clinton appointee, had privately expressed concerns to associates about the warrantless surveillance program which has now been made public.

CNN has not confirmed the story. The report, though, comes at a time when others here in Washington have publicly raised questions about the domestic spying program which the Bush administration contends is legal under the Constitution. One of those critics, Democratic Senator Carl Levin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: The president wraps himself in the law, saying that it is totally legal, but he doesn't give what the legal basis is for this. He avoided using the law which we provided to the president, where he even, when there's an emergency and there's a need for urgent action, can first tap the wire and then go to a court.

(END VIDEO CLIP) QUIJANO: But the Bush administration insists that that secret court is not as agile as they need it to be, that it was set up for a different purpose, for more long-term surveillance. White House officials also insist that the program itself, the NSA program, is highly limited, that it targets only the international communications of Americans in the U.S. who are suspected of having terror ties -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano is at the White House for us this morning.

Elaine, thanks.

Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean is also weighing in on the wiretap controversy, comparing it to scandals of past administrations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD DEAN, DNC CHAIRMAN: President Bush's secret program to spy on the American people reminds Americans of the abuse of power during the dark days of President Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew. Why is it that President Bush went in front of the American people and said that a wiretap "requires a court order" after having approved a wiretap program without a court order two years earlier?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: The president has said both the Constitution and post- 9/11 legislation give him authority to take secret action to, in his words, protect the country.

Lots of other stories making news this morning. Let's get right to Carol for an update on the story we've been following.

Good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, yes, Soledad.

We're learning more about that plane crash off Miami Beach, Florida. We told you that the wing broke off. Well, investigators are saying there was a crack in the wing.

Amateur video captured Monday's crash. Twenty people died in this crash. Divers are hoping to bringing up the fuselage and other debris today.

Things on Capitol Hill are heating up. Lawmakers want to dot the I's, cross the T's and get home for the holidays, but they're having a hard time compromising, as you can see Senator Frist there as the Senate session gets under way.

As you know, Vice President Dick Cheney cut short his trip to Asia in case he's needed to break any possible tie votes. The Patriot Act, one of the items on the agenda, it's set to expire in 10 days. Consider it a second royal wedding. Just about four hours ago, Sir Elton John married his longtime partner David Furnish. The wedding comes on the first day that same-sex unions became legal in England. And while the actual ceremony was low key -- that is low key for Elton John, isn't it -- the planned reception is a star-studded extravaganza with a $2 million price tag.

And by the way, the venue for the wedding ceremony was the very same place Prince Charles wed Camilla Parker Bowles back in April.

And if you're waiting for that Christmas card or your cousin Joe, you're not alone. Today is the busiest delivery day of the year for the U.S. Postal Service. New York's transit strike may be throwing a bit of a monkey wrench into the delivery schedule, but the post master general just told Rick Sanchez earlier that carriers are prepared to get the job done.

"So head on down to the post office and mail," he said. And I think that was a direct quote.

Let's head to the forecast center in Atlanta to check in with Bonnie Schneider.

Good morning.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

For those of you in New York City that have to walk to work, temperatures have warmed up only a slight bit. The feels like temperature, or the wind-chill factor, is at 19 degrees. That's a little bit warmer where it was, let's say, 6:00 this morning, but not much. At least the sun is shining.

Temperatures actual are at 27 degrees. The winds are out of the northwest at 12 miles per hour.

And if it feels cold out there, there's a reason for it. Today is the first -- official first day of winter, December 21 at 1:35 p.m. Shortest day, longest night. So we're going to see less daylight, at least for today. But then as we work our way through towards the summer solstice, we see a little more daylight every single day, maybe minute by minute.

Looking ahead to Denver, Colorado, though, it's actually getting warmer. We had those down-sloping winds coming from the West, and that will help warm things up so it won't feel like winter at all by Friday, with a high of 61 degrees. So that's some good news there.

Across the country, this area of high pressure, this big ridge of high pressure that's sliding to the east, will actually bring southwesterly winds not only to Denver, but also to Chicago. And that will help things feel a little bit more comfortable there if you're going to be out and about doing last-minute Christmas shopping or traveling.

At least we have clear skies in Chicago, a major airport. No delays there reported.

And as you can see, here's the reason why: lots of sunshine. Eventually warming up to 37. And there's a big difference between 25 and 37. So you'll feel it if you're out and about on Friday. So that's some good news in the forecast there.

Not such great news into northern California. We're looking at more rain in the forecast.

It's raining right now in San Francisco. We have low clouds, and that's causing some airport delays, 45 minutes, mainly for arriving flights at the San Francisco Airport.

So keep that in mind. Call ahead to your individual carrier, though, to get a better idea of how much of a delay you're facing if you're headed to the airport.

This is the only delay, though, across the country, as far as airports go -- Soledad, Rick.

O'BRIEN: All right. Then not so bad. Thanks, Bonnie.

Still to come this morning, the New York City transit strike not only chaotic and frustrating, it costs a lot of money, too. It is costing the city as much as $400 million every day. Could those numbers reach the billions? We're going to talk about that just ahead.

SANCHEZ: And then god versus science. A huge defeat for intelligent design supporters. And the judge blasting the school board that tried to mandate it.

O'BRIEN: And the holidays supposed to be a happy time. Many people, though, get depressed this time of year. We're going to talk to a clinical psychologist about how you can handle the holiday blues.

Those stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Take a look at this. This is a Web site. It's the New York City Department of Transportation Web site. And the videotape you can see right there is live.

That's what it looks like at the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel as folks are trying to come into the city. Because it's before 11:00, got to have four people in the car. It has slowed things down. A little bit hard to see, but I'll tell you, things are not moving there, and in lots of places around the city today.

According to the city's mayor, the strike could cost the city about $400 million every day in lost revenue.

The city's top money man is comptroller William Thompson. He joins us this morning. You've been crunching the numbers, and it's not good. So let's talk about yesterday first. How much money was lost by the city?

WILLIAM THOMPSON, NEW YORK CITY COMPTROLLER: OK. It was our projection that it cost the city about $400 million yesterday.

O'BRIEN: Break it down for me.

THOMPSON: Lost revenue in retailing, theater tickets, people could -- not being able to get there, lost productivity. Just a number of different things. Restaurants where people couldn't get there. We figured that the first day of the strike would cost about $400 million.

O'BRIEN: How about the additional days? Because right now it looks like nobody is talking. I mean, it looks pretty dire, and there's not going to be a solution soon.

THOMPSON: No. And that appears to be the unfortunate truth. But we figured about $300 million a day after that.

O'BRIEN: Why do you say that?

THOMPSON: Well, people start to adjust a little bit. So, the first day where people hadn't adjusted and things were difficult, about $400 million. Days after that, as people have adjusted a little more, $300 million today, $300 million tomorrow, and Friday.

O'BRIEN: Does that number shrink as you head into -- well, the weekend, I have to imagine, and also the holiday week. A lot of people take that week off between Christmas and New Year's.

THOMPSON: Exactly, but you still have a lot of activity going on in the city. And some of it isn't going to be able to happen -- you know, to occur, because people can't get around.

So, no, next week -- and the one thing -- we haven't, you k now, done projections for next week. It would probably be lower than the normal $300 million that we're looking at today, because, you're right, people take the week off next week, people take a few days off. They work part of the week.

You've got Christmas, and then following into New Year's. So it will be less of an impact, but, you know, I don't know you can measure just in economic impact. It's the -- you know, the discomfort, the difficulties, the chaos that has really happened and occurred in the city yesterday and today.

O'BRIEN: Oh, it's been completely a mess, I mean, from start to finish.

THOMPSON: It's been a nightmare.

O'BRIEN: You must sit around with the mayor and do an estimate on how long the strike is going to last. Maybe not officially, what do you think? THOMPSON: No, I mean, at this point, I don't know that anybody knows. I don't think that anybody really believed -- and this is my office, other elected officials, the mayor -- I don't know that anybody would have believed that a strike would have occurred.

And then because it did, I mean, you plan for the worst. But at the same point, you really hope for the best.

Right now people aren't talking. They're not sitting at a table and negotiating. People are on a strike line, and others are kind of going about their business.

So there really hasn't been, you know, people sitting at a table, still going. So the one thing that we've -- that I've urged people is that, you know, end the strike right away and get back to the negotiating table. And I think all other elected officials in the city and those who care about the city need to urge people to do that, also.

O'BRIEN: What about the impact on tourism? If I'm a tourist coming in, even just from the suburbs, coming in, and I look at this traffic mess, I mean, why would you want to drive in? Even if you've got four people in your car, why would you want to do that?

THOMPSON: That's part of the lost revenue and the difficulties. Today is Wednesday, it's matinee day over in the theaters. Who is coming in? Who's not? How difficult is it to get into New York City?

You know, if you don't -- trying to drive in is one thing. It's difficult to do that.

Metro North Long Island Railroad is jam-packed. You don't want to come into that also. And looking at the scenes of people trying to leave and go home last night, it was just an absolute nightmare.

So, no, we're going to -- if you're a tourist, whether it is in, you know, in a surrounding area in Connecticut or Massachusetts or some place, and you're coming in just for the day, or if it's a tourist who is in California, you've got to be thinking about changing your plans right now, which, you know, just complicates a holiday season for us where revenue would have been up.

O'BRIEN: Oh, it's going to be ugly. Well, I'm sure we'll be talking again when we do the math once the strike has finally ended.

THOMPSON: Hopefully soon.

O'BRIEN: Yes, everybody has got to get back to the table because there can be no resolution they are not talking.

THOMPSON: Absolutely. Exactly.

O'BRIEN: William Thompson is New York City's comptroller.

Nice to have you. Thanks for talking with us.

THOMPSON: Good seeing you.

O'BRIEN: And, you know, we were talking about the last New York City strike which was 25 years ago. Let me show you a shot of our control room. Take a look.

These are our staffers. You see four of our staffers standing right there. We've got Jean (ph) and Joe and Madana (ph) and Suzie (ph). They weren't even born during the last transit strike, and now they'll have stories to tell their children about how they schlepped into work and then walked home because that's what you've got to do these days.

THOMPSON: Well, I remember the last transit strike. It wasn't good. And unfortunately, having to repeat it again brings back bad memories.

O'BRIEN: It was long. It was long. And a long time ago.

THOMPSON: Exactly.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks for talking with us.

THOMPSON: OK.

O'BRIEN: Rick.

SANCHEZ: Only four people, huh?

Still to come, old man winter has arrived. It's the shortest day of the year and the longest night. And nowhere is that more extreme than in Alaska.

We're going to talk to a travel guide there who has survived dozens of dark winters and get some tips on how to cope with winter blues in general whether you live in Alaska or not.

Stay with us for AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: I want to show you some pictures now just across Central Park. See that little shadow there? Well, it's going to start getting a little darker here a little early. Obviously not this early, but the reason for that is this is the very first day of winter. And we welcome you all to it.

Today, officially being that, the winter solstice brings us our shortest day and our longest night. So it works both ways. But for people in the nation's northernmost points, the nights are especially long.

Arlene Bowden, for example, she's a travel guide. And you know where she lives? You're looking at the map. She's in Alaska.

She joins us now by phone.

Arlene, thanks so much for being with us. What's it like living in a place where you only have five hours of daylight on this day?

ARLENE BOWDEN, ALASKA RESIDENT: It's wonderful. It looks like a Christmas card here.

SANCHEZ: Wonderful? You know, a lot of people would wonder if because you have that much night at times you get a little depressed.

BOWDEN: Well, I find that some of my friends do. But I live a regimented life and press on, and we get so much daylight in the summer that the good far outweighs the bad.

SANCHEZ: Yes, you're right, exactly. You have the longest days in the summer, the shortest days in the winter.

What are the coping mechanisms? You'd think that people would use full-spectrum lighting in their houses or something, or create windows, perhaps, to make it look like the light is coming in by putting a bulb in the back of the drapes or something. Do people do things like this?

BOWDEN: Well, I don't have drapes to begin with. And that solves that problem. And I have a megawatt bulb outside on the cabin. And I have fluorescent lights in my kitchen.

So I'm sitting here in a flood of light. And we just have to make the light when we don't have it. And then when it comes it's wonderful.

SANCHEZ: So it seems to me from listening to you that you've got some wonderful coping mechanisms, but I guess not everybody does, right? Now, I imagine, and studies do seem to show in situations like this, people tend to become a little depressed, take more drugs, maybe even use more alcohol.

Do you see that up there? And is that a problem?

BOWDEN: Yes, unfortunately, we have a lot of alcoholism and a high, high rate, maybe the highest in the nation, for suicide. And they do attribute it to the lack of light.

But one just has to make sure that they live a lifestyle that is regimented, and you get up in the morning, about the same time. Some people have an especially prescribed light where it comes up gradually and then takes out as if the sun were outside. But I've not found it necessary, but I found -- I come from the south, and originally...

SANCHEZ: Yes, you're from Texas.

BOWDEN: ... and I found that southern women have a hard time with it.

SANCHEZ: Yes, I bet they do. That's interesting. Thanks so much for sharing.

And it's interesting to note that there are people who actually find ways to cope with that. Arlene Bowden, in Anchorage, Alaska, thanks so much for joining us.

Well, it's this time of the year that not just Alaskans, but people from all over the country suffer from something called a seasonal effective disorder. This is a type of depression that's brought on by a lack of sunlight, too much darkness.

Here for our "House Call" is Dr. James Halpern.

You're a clinical psychologist. And you can help some people who might be perhaps going through this, this time of year.

Combine it with the fact that we're going through the holidays, and sometimes people's expectations are so high through the holidays. What do you say to those folks?

DR. JAMES HALPERN, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Try to keep your expectations in check. I mean, I think it's important for people to note that there is this kind of normal discrepancy between the expectations that people have about wonderful cheer and joy and great friends and best family relationships, and it just doesn't match with the reality of the situation, which that's often what leaves people feeling down, especially when you add a transit strike and...

SANCHEZ: Everything else going on.

HALPERN: Yes, people being maybe short on money and time.

SANCHEZ: You know, you listen to the conversation I just had with Arlene, and she was gracious enough to share some of that information about the problems they have up there with alcohol abuse and perhaps drug abuse. You know, it's dark, you start to get sad, you're depressed, and you go there.

I imagine you, as a clinical psychologist, would say that's probably the one thing we need to avoid.

HALPERN: Absolutely. In fact, alcohol is a depressant. It certainly is one of the ways that people cope, and it is an ineffective coping mechanism.

SANCHEZ: Ineffective because you might feel good for a moment, but?

HALPERN: It's a depressant. It's going to leave you feeling depressed.

SANCHEZ: Distinguish for us, if you would, between what we would perceive as the holiday fantasy and the reality of the holidays.

HALPERN: Well, I think what can be hard for a lot of folks, too, is that Christmas and holidays can remind us that someone or something is missing. It can be a poignant time for folks. It could be a parent, grandparent, it could be a kid who's away. It could be a relationship that didn't go right. And those tend to be the kinds of thing that become very salient for folks around the holiday time.

SANCHEZ: We talked about coping mechanisms with Arlene. There's some coping mechanisms you can use as well if you're going through the holiday blues. And one of them that you suggest is do things for other people. Interesting that you would go there.

HALPERN: Well, yes, I mean, there seems to be very good research that it's very good therapy to help somebody else. I think helping your kids getting involved in that, as well, picking out toys to send to folks to the Gulf, working in a soup kitchen or a food pantry, doing volunteer work, it helps people to feel much better.

SANCHEZ: It comes...

HALPERN: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: It comes back to you.

HALPERN: It comes back around, absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Yes. That's great advice. And I'm glad you shared that with us.

And I guess one of the things we always need to remember is, don't spend too much money, because it will come back and make you depressed later on, if nothing else.

HALPERN: Yes.

SANCHEZ: Doctor, thanks for coming in.

HALPERN: Thank you very much.

SANCHEZ: We certainly appreciate.

Dr. James Halpern, clinical psychologist.

Still to come, by the way, some new information this morning on what caused that vintage seaplane to crash off Miami Beach. We're going to be live with the very latest on that right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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