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American Morning

House Leaders Planning to Pass Budget Bill; Saddam Hussein Trial; Both Sides in NYC Transit Strike Stalemate Meeting With Mediators

Aired December 22, 2005 - 08:59   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 New York City commuters have their fingers crossed. Both sides in the transit strike stalemate are meeting with mediators this morning. We've got a live report just ahead.

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

Traveling today? There's some new security rules that you may need to know about. We have them for you.

O'BRIEN: Oh, and then the story of this little guy. This tiny penguin's got the whole world's attention now. He is still missing. And some say he only have hours left to live.

Police have a new tip. We're going to tell you about this on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning. Welcome, everybody. Lots to talk about this morning.

We've got the transit strike in day three, and also what's been happening on Capitol Hill. We start with that.

Still lots of work to do, even after that flurry of deal-making that took place in the Senate. Now it's back to the House.

Leaders there are planning to meet and pass a budget bill that includes $40 billion in spending cuts. They're also expected to approve a compromise bill to extend the Patriot Act for six months. Also, a defense spending bill that does not include Arctic drilling. That provision was removed after some pretty dramatic confrontations on the Senate floor.

Let's get right to Andrea Koppel. She's live for us on Capitol Hill.

Hey, Andrea. Good morning.

This compromise with the Patriot Act, where does it stand right now?

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, after Senate Republicans and the White House had been refusing really up until the last minute, late last night, to agree to even a short- term extension, they made an about-face, Soledad, and they've agreed to a six-month extension. As you know, the Patriot Act was set to expire on December 31.

Now, in a statement late last night, President Bush actually thanked the Senate, and even though he had said he wouldn't accept an extension of any kind, he said, "No one should be allowed to block the Patriot Act to score political points, and I am grateful the Senate rejected that approach. The terrorists want to attack our country again and inflict even greater damage than they did on September 11, 2001."

Now, Democrats and at least eight Republicans had refused to sign off on the Patriot Act unless it included a number of revisions on what they considered to be civil liberties infringements -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Andrea, when you look at really the personal defeat that Senator Ted Stevens got, the Alaska oil exploration, the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, years and years and years, literally, he's been trying to push this through and it didn't happen. What happens next on this measure?

KOPPEL: Well, what happens next, this is the $453 billion defense authorization bill, and Stevens had tacked on the Arctic oil drilling really in a sort of last-minute effort to squeeze it through. As you said, he's been pushing for years, and it failed.

The Senate Republicans were unable to get ANWR through, and as a result, they removed it. Needless to say, Senator Stevens was unbelievably disappointed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TED STEVENS (R), ALASKA: This has been the saddest day of my life. It's a day I don't want to remember, and I'm sorry to see it come to an end, because I am drawing the line out with a lot of people I've worked with before. I really am. I really am.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: Senator Stevens is 82 years old, Soledad, and he's been trying for the last 25 years to get the Arctic open to oil drilling -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Unsuccessful yet again. Andrea Koppel for us this morning.

Thanks, Andrea, for the update -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: In an Iraqi courtroom, another tirade today by Saddam Hussein. The fallen dictator lashing out at his American captors, and, listen to this, at the Bush administration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SADDAM HUSSEIN, FMR. IRAQI DICTATOR (through translator): Lies once more. The number one liar in the world, they said in Iraq there is chemicals, and the relationship to terrorism, and then they announced later that we couldn't find any of that in Iraq.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Aneesh Raman is in the courthouse. He's been following the trial and he's joining us now by phone.

Aneesh, Saddam Hussein also alleging again today that his American captors have been beating him up, right?

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's exactly what he said at the end of yesterday's session after he had been sedate all morning, charging that the U.S. had beaten him while he was in custody, saying he had bruises. Today he expanded on that, said he has documented the injuries that he had in front of three American medical groups in two different places, and he said that some of those injuries he's incurred have been for the past three years since the war began, some of them more recent.

Now, he's just speaking now. And the video you're seeing out of the courtroom is, of course, 20 minutes delayed. And he's sort of going on another long tirade. The judge giving him a lot of latitude to speak.

At this point, he's talking about how, in the American democracy that has taken over Iraq, he still is not allowed to have his watch. Evidently, his watch was stolen at the time, he says, that he was taken into custody, a watch his daughter gave him.

It's sort of classic Saddam in this courtroom session. At times he is focused and he is angry about the U.S. or about the trial. At other times he sort of meanders as a man that's looking for something to simply say, as he seems to be doing now. He's quoting the Koran as I just left the courthouse without real relevance to the case at hand -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Most of what they talk about is without any relevance to the case at hand. The only thing that does seem to have relevance are the witnesses that come forward and talk about what he did when he was in power in Iraq. Have we had any -- any more of those today?

RAMAN: Yes, we have had three more witnesses testify. Again, gruesome detail of torture. At 12 years old at the time, one witness thrown into jail, beaten in front of his mother, his mother beaten in front of him. But if you say that is all that should be taking place in this courtroom, discussion on the case, the defendants are allowed to speak in order to question the witnesses, but the judge allows them latitude to speak on anything that they want.

So they are speaking less than they are questioning the witnesses. And they sort of slip around it. And so are the defense attorneys.

Many of them stand up and simply say, "I don't have questions. I have a statement to make." The judge allows it. Now, during the testimony, I should say, as well within the courtroom, a number of people fall asleep. The defense thinks this testimony has all been regurgitated, that these witnesses have been rehearsed and that everyone is essentially saying the same thing.

A defense attorney was asleep this morning, one of the prosecutors dozed off this afternoon. So within the courtroom it's unclear how well this legal process is pushing forward, how much control the judge has, and why he's giving so much latitude to the defendants and the defense team.

SANCHEZ: Wow. Aneesh Raman following the story out of Baghdad.

We thank you for that comprehensive report.

Soledad, over to you.

O'BRIEN: Another story that we're following as well this morning, we're really waiting on word about the New York City transit strike. Mediators talking, but separately with each side this morning. And if nothing positive happens, they're going to be in court two hours from now.

Allan Chernoff is live for us at the Brooklyn Bridge. The Brooklyn Bridge is one of a couple of ways into Manhattan.

Hey, Allan. Good morning.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.

And we still do have plenty of people walking up towards the Brooklyn Bridge. They're all taking the hike. But I can tell you, the traffic pretty much has eased up.

As you see, actually Adams Street, the main thoroughfare to the Brooklyn Bridge, not all that busy. Plenty of cars pulling off trying to get the necessary four passengers into their vehicles, but otherwise, the traffic not all that bad right now. So at least that's one positive that we do have here.

In terms of the negotiations, as you said, the two sides have been meeting separately with a mediator. The whole idea is that the mediator hopefully can get the two sides back together. And adding drama to all of this, within two hours, the head of the union is supposed to show up right over there in state Supreme Court before a judge who has said that he may hold the union leader, Roger Tusant (ph), in contempt of court. And he has said, the judge, that he may actually throw Tusant (ph) into jail.

So, Soledad, lots of drama today, day three of the strike.

O'BRIEN: Yes, but you've taken off your hat, which means it's a little bit warmer today than it was yesterday. Have people been telling you just how bad, how tough it's been for business the last couple of days of the strike? CHERNOFF: Soledad, absolutely devastating. In fact, New York City's comptroller this morning is saying today will be the day where we pass the $1 billion mark.

And where we're standing right here, this is Fulton Mall, one of the biggest shopping centers in Brooklyn. And the mayor yesterday said that some stores in this area, this outdoor mall, have suffered a decline in business by as much as 90 percent.

The reason? Most people who come here to shop take the subway. There are about nine subway lines that converge around here, and there are many bus lines as well. I can tell you that when I was a kid, my mom used to take me to this mall, and we took the subway.

O'BRIEN: Well, not today.

Allan Chernoff with an update for us this morning.

All right, Allan. We're going to be watching the clock as really the countdown continues to this meeting with the judge this morning.

Other stories making news. Let's get right to Kelly Wallace. She has that.

Good morning.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad.

And we have some news just in to CNN. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has arrived in Baghdad. The stop on his trip was kept secret until now because of security concerns, and this is all part of a full court press by the Bush administration. You'll recall Vice President Dick Cheney was in Baghdad just a few days ago.

Earlier, Secretary Rumsfeld said that pulling out from Afghanistan or Iraq too quickly would hurt the war on terror. The secretary making those comments earlier after a meeting with Afghan leader Hamid Karzai.

Rumsfeld, of course, back on the move. He left Kabul this morning, and as we mentioned, he arrived in Baghdad. We'll have much more on his trip throughout the morning here on AMERICAN MORNING and throughout the day on CNN.

Some important information if you're headed to the airport this morning. You should expect to get a more thorough pat-down when you go through security. That's because new screening procedures kick in today. There will now be more random passenger searches, but you can now bring along some small scissors and tools when you get on your flight.

In Miami, police are warning people to be on the lookout for an accused serial rapist. Reynaldo Rapalo escaped from prison on Tuesday after climbing down from the prison roof on bed sheets that he apparently tied together. Police are looking for anyone who might have information about the escape and believe the suspect had some extra help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JOHN TIMONEY, MIAMI POLICE DEPT.: I'm convinced that somebody assisted him once he got over the prison wall. There was somebody assisting him in the escape. And so my sense is there are people out there that know where he is, and they need to come forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALLACE: Another prisoner tried to escape with Rapalo but was caught, and police hope to question him today.

And in New Orleans, union officials are vowing to fight the dismissal of two police officers involved in a videotaped beating on Bourbon Street. And you probably remember seeing this videotape back in October.

Two officers were fired after this incident, a third one has been suspended. The union blames the media frenzy, saying the officers did not get a fair hearing. We will speak with the attorney representing the two officers later this hour.

So we want to know what the weather is going to look like, especially for all of us last-minute Annies out there doing some holiday shopping.

Bonnie, what are we going to expect?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Kelly, we've got some good news for you and anyone else who is going to do their last-minute shopping.

The weather in New York, for example, is warming up, and even though it doesn't seem very warm at 31 degrees, that's one degree shy of getting above the freezing mark. So we'll start to warm up when that sun is out. That's helping things. It does feel like it's 22, but I'm trying to be optimistic here, because we are looking at a better situation for New York weather over the next few days, climbing up to 46 on Friday and then, look at this, Saturday, the last-minute holiday shopping looks great with high temperatures in the low 50s.

As we check things out across the country, and we head to San Francisco, we do have an airport delay to tell you about. Over an hour for arriving flights at the San Francisco Airport, same thing like yesterday, low clouds, low visibility, some spotty showers in the vicinity. We had a few earlier this morning in Santa Rosa right now, and low clouds for San Francisco and for Oakland. So if you're traveling there, give yourself extra time and expect the arriving passengers to come in just a little bit late.

Mild air across much of the country all the way to the east, and another system of high pressure working its way to the east across areas of the four corners. Now, that means Phoenix, wow, is it going to be a hot Christmas. We've got temperatures all in the low 80s straight through the holidays there. That is above normal, even for Phoenix. The record high for today is 78 degrees. So it looks like we're going to top out above that and stay hot for the holidays in the Southwest -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Thank you so much, Bonnie.

O'BRIEN: Eight-one degrees? I can't even imagine a Christmas 81 degrees.

SANCHEZ: I can.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I bet you can.

SANCHEZ: I spent most of my life in that. And sometimes it is a little depressing.

O'BRIEN: Oh.

SANCHEZ: Because you don't want to be sweating on the night before Christmas.

O'BRIEN: Why not? You don't have to bundle up. It's a huge upside.

Still to come this morning, the new screening rules take effect today at the airport. We're going to find out just how much extra time you're going to need to get through security now.

SANCHEZ: And then an art project that's helping young victims of Katrina. We're going to meet one of the young artists. He's got a heartbreaking story but is making breakthroughs with his drawings. How they bring them, that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

There's New Yorkers, we can see right there, trying to figure out how to get to work today, day three of the strike. We're going to have a CNN "Security Watch" right now.

We're talking about the new airport screening rules that go into effect today. The head of the TSA says new rules that call for increased individual searches shouldn't add any time to your travels.

Let's check in with CNN's Kathleen Koch. She's at Reagan National Airport in D.C.

Hey, Kathleen. Good morning.

KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

And not only will there be new searches, but there will be items like these that once forbidden on an aircraft that passengers can now carry on with them.

O'BRIEN: Well, let me ask you...

KOCH: OK.

O'BRIEN: Kathleen, let me ask you a question, because it looks like -- and I know you did a story running down the new rules. There's been a lot of debate over these rules. And when you hold up those things -- I mean, those -- for some people, that's essentially -- a pair of scissors is as dangerous potentially as a knife. A lot of back and forth certainly about these new rules, aren't there?

KOCH: There is a lot of back and forth, Soledad, and flight attendants and also a number of lawmakers say -- again, they agree. They say this is a weapon just as much as a four-inch long knife. But what the Transportation Security Administration says and -- is that basically it's time to look for something that's a greater threat.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH (voice over): Since the 9/11 attacks, the government has seized tens of thousands of scissors, screwdrivers and other tools from airline passengers because they were potential weapons. But starting today, the ban has been lifted because the government is worried about a bigger threat.

KIP HAWLEY, DIR. TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION: Virtually any object can cause harm, my hands, a tie, belt, you know, whatever. But our perspective at TSA and Homeland Security is the system, and what can hurt the United States. And the big threat is explosives to the United States; scissors and small tools do not represent much of a threat to the country.

KOCH: The government says screeners will now spend more time looking for bombs.

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We're seeing an ever-increasing sophistication in the kinds of explosive devices that we encounter all over the world. And we have to train our screeners now to become more alert and more adept at detecting devices that are not as obvious as they might have been 10 years ago.

KOCH: But critics warn the decision could leave aircraft and their crew vulnerable to terrorists.

REP. EDWARD MARKEY (D), MASSACHUSETTS: TSA can't have it both ways. If this knife is too dangerous to be in a passenger cabin, then this scissors is too dangerous to be in a passenger cabin.

PAT FRIEND, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF FLIGHT ATTENDANTS: We believe that the TSA's decision is reckless and it endangers the people who work on that aircraft and it endangers the people who fly on that aircraft, and potentially endangers thousands of people on the ground.

KOCH: Government screeners will also step up random passenger screenings and pat-downs, including arms and legs instead of just the torso. (END VIDEOTAPE)

KOCH: And the TSA does not think that this increases the risk at all on board aircraft. They point out that, since 9/11, all of the cockpit doors have been hardened, many pilots armed, and there are a lot more air marshals. So, again, they believe that this just gives their people the ability to focus on what they consider to be a greater threat -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right. Kathleen Koch at Reagan National Airport for us this morning.

Thanks, Kathleen.

KOCH: You bet.

O'BRIEN: Be sure to stay to CNN -- tuned to CNN for -- day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Still to come this morning, we're going to introduce to you a mom who took care of her 11 children all by herself for a year while dad was off fighting in Iraq.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNA SCHULTZ, TOOK CARE OF 11 KIDS WHILE HUSBAND WAS IN IRAQ: He missed a whole year of our lives. There's no way that you can get that back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: An emotional story with a very happy ending. You don't want to miss this one. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back.

For the thousands of families with loved ones who've returned from Iraq this year, the holidays should be extra special. It's an honor for these families, and they've been -- all that they've been through, that we decided to showcase one particular household, one very large household which is counting its blessings this holiday.

AMERICAN MORNING'S Kelly Wallace joins us now with this particular story.

Wow. Big family.

WALLACE: Wow. It's hard for any of to us get our hands around it, 11 kids. I keep talking about the demands. You know, 40 loads of laundry a week.

But then imagine this: imagine that one of the parents is sent off to Iraq, leaving the other to oversee the entire household all alone. And that's what happened to an extraordinary family we were very fortunate to meet, the Schultzes of Cleveland, Ohio.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SCHULTZ: This is like one of 40 loads a week.

WALLACE (voice over): Donna Schultz, a mother of 11, says she never let the kids see her cry while her husband Karl was away in Iraq. Only now that he's home safe and sound can she let it all out.

SCHULTZ: He missed a whole year of our lives. There's no way that you can get that back, you know, no matter how much you share. And you can't get that year back. It doesn't make any difference. But...

WALLACE: Once the tears come, they are so hard to stop.

SCHULTZ: It comes because I've -- I really, really, really, really tried hard to keep it normal for them, because they -- I could understand. They cannot.

WALLACE: They are her children. Nine still live at home here in Cleveland, Ohio. Eight, ages 13 and younger, are adopted, and most of them have special needs.

SCHULTZ: OK.

WALLACE: Like 9-year-old Curtis (ph), who is mildly autistic and is home schooled by Donna every day and 7-year-old Taisha (ph), whose development is similar to that of a 6-month-old. Managing this complex household all by herself this past year meant prioritizing and definitely letting some things go.

SCHULTZ: We ate a lot of macaroni and cheese and hotdogs because kids like that and it's quick.

WALLACE (on camera): And quick is key.

SCHULTZ: Quick is key.

WALLACE: And socks I guess just had to go.

SCHULTZ: Exactly. I could not sort by boys and girls, and I just kept putting them together and throwing them in the drawer. And you find the pair that fits you.

WALLACE (voice over): It was almost exactly one year ago on Christmas Day when Karl, an Army reservist, had to say good-bye to his family and head for the unknown in Iraq.

(on camera): How hard is that? I mean, as a father, as a husband, as a friend?

KARL SCHULTZ, ARMY RESERVIST: You try not to cry, but, you know, you're around other people, but you do, you know. And you look at it like, OK, it's time to go. WALLACE (voice over): One of the toughest times for this family was back in August, when Donna took the kids to a memorial for 14 Marines from Cleveland who were killed in Iraq. Eleven-year-old Samuel, who tags along with his dad just about everywhere, took it the hardest.

D. SCHULTZ: And I kept trying to tell him, you know, that daddy was going to be safe, that it would be OK. But I'm sure the wives told their children the same thing. So, anyway...

WALLACE: Donna says her faith helped her when she worried most, so did her family. Her son Daniel says there was also something else.

DANIEL SCHULTZ, DONNA'S SON: Obviously the piano. I mean, that's kind of mom's therapy, as far as I'm concerned.

WALLACE: Now the family is preparing to celebrate. On Christmas, Karl says he's not going anywhere. He plans to stay up late admiring the tree.

K. SCHULTZ: And thank god, you know, I made it through that year.

WALLACE: Donna says she's not think being all the shopping she still hasn't done. Her thoughts are elsewhere.

D. SCHULTZ: It's just hard to explain, because the -- all the other junk that goes along with the holiday, I'm not even thinking about. He's just -- he's here. That's just it, he's here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE: A really lovely family.

And Donna told us something else. She says she appreciates her husband more now than she ever did. She says -- you know, Rick, they've been married 27 years, you sometimes take your partner for granted. That was the case with them. But she said as he was gone, so many people would come up to her and say, "We really miss Karl," and she realized how special he was to so many people around her and how special he was to her and the family.

SANCHEZ: And to the kids, too, because you mentioned eight of them are adopted?

WALLACE: Eight are adopted.

SANCHEZ: So these are kids who, when that dad's away, they're probably thinking, man, it's important for him to come back to me.

WALLACE: Also, some of them, you know, coming from abusive families, some problems with other issues.

SANCHEZ: Right. So they finally have this unit, right?

WALLACE: Right. And the stability is so important. And that's what we asked. She said there were definitely some behavioral issues when he left, some acting out, some sleeplessness. Even 11-year-old Samuel, who was having nightmares, would sleep on the floor for months.

And so they adjusted. She became sort of the stable force. But it was a very difficult thing for the family because he was gone. And they're still adjusting now.

SANCHEZ: Wow. Great story.

WALLACE: Oh, thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: Thanks. Appreciate it.

WALLACE: Lovely family.

SANCHEZ: Soledad, back over to you.

O'BRIEN: All right, Rick. Thanks.

Still to come this morning, two New Orleans police officers fired for their part in this beating that was caught on tape. Their lawyer says no way does this videotape tell the whole story. We're going to talk to him just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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