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American Morning

New Yorkers on the Move Again; News on Troop Reductions

Aired December 23, 2005 - 08:00   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.

Driving or flying or on a train, the holiday travel crunch is on this morning. We're going to see some long lines already, especially at the airports. The travel report just ahead.

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

New Yorkers are on the move again. The transit strike is over for now, but how long is it going to last? Or how long will that last, the fact that they're not on strike anymore? A live report is just ahead.

Also, a surprise trip to Iraq leads to news on troop reductions. How many are coming home and when? We're going to take you live to the Pentagon for the answers.

O'BRIEN: And a major judgment against retail giant Wal-Mart.

Will millions of dollars in damages lead to even more lunchtime lawsuits?

That and much more ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

Good morning.

Welcome, everybody.

We have got your travel forecast for you this morning.

Also, we're updating you on what is happening across the nation, because many people are heading out today to start their holidays a smidge early. And, in some cases, long lines; and in some other cases, inclement weather.

Take a look, New York in the upper left. Things are moving at LaGuardia. We had a report there not long ago. We're going to check in with Alina Cho. She's there for us this morning.

Then to Chicago. That's Union Station. It doesn't look too bad there. Some of the trains, though, we're told, sold out. And, also, you can bring more on the train sometimes than you can on an airplane. It might be a good way to travel.

Washington, D.C. -- that looks like the capital beltway. It's moving along, the commuter traffic this morning, more than anything.

And we had a shot, as well, of Atlanta, Hartsfield Airport. And that looks pretty good, too.

In fact, let's begin with LaGuardia, because Alina Cho is there with an update on what's happening -- good morning, Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, good morning to you.

Pack your patience is the best advice for today. Now, having said that, I can tell you that the early morning rush is over. The lines are moving pretty quickly here at LaGuardia Airport. That is the good news. And the next bit of rush is expected to start around 9:30 a.m. Eastern time. That's about 90 minutes from now.

I can tell you just about an hour ago, though, it was about a 45 minute wait to get to the ticket counter. So the best advice, of course, is to get here early.

We spoke to several travelers today who told us that they were getting here to the airport about two hours before their flight. And on this busy travel day, you certainly are going to need that time. We spoke to one pilot who told us that it's about 25 percent busier than usual.

Now, another bit of advice -- and I know we've been talking about this, this morning -- is not to pack wrapped gifts. Those gifts will be opened and your good work will be lost.

Also keep in mind that there are some new security measures in place. If you're traveling this holiday, something you can do this year that you weren't able to do last year is you will be able to carry some small scissors and some small tools in your carry-on baggage. But also keep in mind you will be subjected to more random searches and more thorough patdowns.

Soledad, an estimated nine million people will be traveling by plane this holiday season. So, of course, you want to call ahead and get here early.

Something we saw just a couple of minutes ago that was interesting is that the TSA screeners are getting some help today in terms of food. They just catered in some sandwiches and brought them in a couple of minutes ago. So these screeners will be well fed today -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: You've got to get in on that, Alina, because, you know, we're not feeding you at the airport this morning.

CHO: I know.

O'BRIEN: All right, Alina Cho for us with an update.

We're going to continue to check in with Alina throughout the morning and throughout the day, of course, because your holiday tradition is important to us. Let's check in on the holiday weather now.

Bonnie Schneider is at the CNN Center with the latest forecast -- hey, Bonnie, good morning again.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, ATS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: New Yorkers are getting a train ride for Christmas and a bus ride, to boot. This morning, people are getting to work on public transportation for the first time in three days. The strike is over. But workers still don't have a contract.

Chris Huntington is live in New York's Penn Station, one of the city's busiest travel points -- how are things going for commuter, so far, Chris?

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Rick, everyone we've spoken to -- and, frankly, I rode the trains myself this morning -- was very relieved to be back to normal. The fact that there is not a contract signed yet between the transit workers and the Transit Authority is still a concern, though, to New Yorkers. There's the very remote possibility that things could all fall apart again.

Negotiations continue now in secret. There is a media blackout so we're not going to really hear much about what is being said behind closed doors for quite some time.

Folks, though, very much happy to be able to return to normal, so to speak. You know, commuting in and around New York City is a trying endeavor even under the best of commuters. But relative to what people have had to do over the last few days, people are very relieved that they can get back to their normal routine.

Mayor Bloomberg looking forward to people coming into the city to shop today. The city has taken, by the mayor's office's estimate, about a billion dollar hit to the economy just in three days of the strike. That's loss to retailers, to theaters, to restaurants, lost tax revenues for the city and, of course, extra costs for overtime for police.

So there's a lot to make up for what happened in the last few days. And as the "Daily News" put it on the cover of that tabloid paper: "There Are No Winners" in this situation. Though right now we are back to normal -- Rick.

SANCHEZ: Chris Huntington following that story for us.

And we certainly thank you.

Soledad -- over to you.

O'BRIEN: All right, thanks.

Troop reductions coming soon in Iraq. The Pentagon canceling the deployment of thousands of military personnel and bringing home thousands more.

Barbara Starr live for us at the Pentagon this morning -- hey, Barbara, good morning.

Can you give us the crunch of the numbers?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, it is, in fact, a Christmas present that's going to make an awful lot of military families very happy.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, speaking in Fallujah, Iraq, made it official about what the plan exactly is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

RUMSFELD: Thanks for what you're doing.

President Bush has authorized an adjustment in U.S. combat brigades in Iraq from 17 to 15. The size and composition of U.S. forces, of course, will fluctuate as commanders continue to shift their focus to emphasize training and supporting the Iraqi security forces.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: Soledad, what does this exactly mean?

Well, when he's talking about shifting from 17 brigades or so down to 15, they're really talking about 7,500 troops, the beginning of what they hope will be a shift in a long-term strategy to less combat; 7,500 troops that might have had to have gone to Iraq early next year now having their deployment orders canceled. They will be able to stay home.

That will bring the troop levels below 138,000. That 138 has been the magic number. That's been the steady state, if you will, of the number of troops in Iraq. Of course, there had been a plus up of about 20,000 troops for the election security in December, for those elections earlier this month. Those 20,000 already knew they were coming home. But now another 7,500 that might have had to have gone to Iraq early in 2006, their deployment orders canceled, all part of this shift, they hope, of more troops training Iraqi security forces, less troops in direct combat -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: So that, essentially, in a nutshell, is the strategy, then. You begin the draw down and then you can change things on the ground in Iraq?

STARR: Well, that is the strategy, exactly. That's what the secretary is really talking about. That's what officials are talking about here. But what they're also trying to say is that the exact numbers may still shift around a bit. There's been so much focus in Congress and the American public with the Bush administration on the precise number of troops in Iraq.

As they shift to these missions of support, training, helping the Iraqi security forces, there may not be as much focus, they hope, on the exact numbers, because with different jobs it will take different amounts of troops to do those jobs.

So they're trying to get everybody away from focusing on exactly how many boots are on the ground.

We'll see if that really works in 2006 -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, we'll see.

Thanks, Barbara.

Barbara Starr at the Pentagon for us this morning.

Kelly Wallace has some headlines to get to -- hey, Kelly, good morning.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again, Soledad.

More violence to tell you all about in Iraq today. At least 18 people have been killed in two separate incidents. Officials say a suicide bombing outside a Shia mosque north of Ba'qubah killed nine people and wounded four. In another incident, nine people were killed in a shooting at a checkpoint in the same area.

A court in Italy has issued arrest warrants for 22 purported CIA agents suspected of kidnapping an Egyptian cleric. This is all according to wire reports. The alleged kidnapping apparently took place back in 2003. The suspected Islamic militant was turned over to Egyptian authorities. He claims he was tortured.

President Bush apparently wanted broad war making authority in the United States right after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle says congressional negotiators turned down the administration's request. He reveals that in an opinion page article in today's "Washington Post," Senator Daschle saying: "This last minute change would have given the president broad authority to exercise expansive powers not just overseas, but right here in the United States, potentially against American citizens."

More and more Americans are winning the battle against cancer. The National Cancer Institute says Americans are smoking less and more people are testing for cancer. As a result, the Institute says the death rates for prostate, breast, lung and colorectal cancer continues to fall.

And a South Korean professor has resigned in shame after a panel proved that his stem cell tests results were fake. The breakthrough seemed to be just another in a series of cloning successes for the team. Earlier this year, the scientists unveiled a cloned dog named Snuppy. Officials are now checking whether Snuppy is also a fake.

This story definitely getting huge headlines in the science world, Rick and Soledad, because when his report was issued in the journal "Science" back in May, people thought he had created all these stem cell lines. And that was great news, of course, for a scientific breakthrough.

SANCHEZ: So Fluffy is really just somebody's dog?

O'BRIEN: Well, it's unclear --

WALLACE: Unclear.

O'BRIEN: And it's Snuppy.

SANCHEZ: Oh.

O'BRIEN: Fluffy!

SANCHEZ: But he's not a stem cell dog.

O'BRIEN: It's unclear.

SANCHEZ: Yes.

WALLACE: They're checking.

O'BRIEN: They're doing research now to see if Snuppy is just a puppy.

SANCHEZ: And no, nothing special.

WALLACE: Or not.

O'BRIEN: Nothing special.

SANCHEZ: Nothing special.

WALLACE: We'll keep you posted.

O'BRIEN: Thanks, Kell.

SANCHEZ: Still to come, a court orders Wal-Mart to pay up for not letting its workers take lunch breaks. And lawyers say Wal-Mart also tried to cover it up. We're going to talk to an attorney for the plaintiffs next.

O'BRIEN: Then, a Mississippi town devastated by Katrina that lost virtually everything. Residents, though, have not lost Christmas, and that's thanks to the kindness of strangers. We'll explain, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SANCHEZ: A jury in California slapped a $172 million judgment on retail giant Wal-Mart. The suit was over lunch breaks. Thousands of employees said they didn't get theirs and they weren't paid for them or compensated in either way.

Jessica Grant is the co-lead attorney for the plaintiffs in this case and she's good enough to join us now from San Francisco.

Let me see here, it says there were 116,000 current and former employees. This was a class action lawsuit. It looks like a pretty good verdict for you.

Are you happy with it?

JESSICA GRANT, ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFFS: We're very pleased and gratified with the verdict. And we think after four months of trial, the jury sent a strong message to Wal-Mart with the punitive damages that it is not OK in California to violate the law by denying your workers meal breaks.

SANCHEZ: Yes, compensatory and punitive, it looks like, correct? $57 million in general damages, $115 million in punitive damages.

What do these -- what those this mean for these particular workers, you know, some of them who make about minimum wage, right?

GRANT: You're right. I mean the majority of Wal-Mart's workers actually make $7 or $8 in California. And so I think it's important not only that they get the money that they have been owed for four- and-a-half years that Wal-Mart has refused to pay, but that it shows the importance of a class action, that people can come together and they can actually get justice against the world's largest retailer. It's very important.

SANCHEZ: Let me show you what Wal-Mart's saying, to be fair. And this is their statement. We're going to try and put it up so we can share it with you. They say: "We appreciate the jury's service, but disagree with its conclusion and will appeal. This case involved a meal period statute that is unique to California. It has no bearing on any other state."

Are they right?

GRANT: No, I think what you're seeing is Wal-Mart's attempt to do some damage control, because these claims are exactly the same as class actions pending in 40 different states. And this case was the first one to go to trial and I think it sends a very clear message that Wal-Mart's conduct is not only illegal, but unacceptable. And I think it's a precedent for what's going to be coming along in the next cases next year.

SANCHEZ: What do you mean by that?

GRANT: Well, I think that the jury very clearly decided that Wal-Mart's executives knew, from as far back as 1998, in their own internal documents, that this was happening. And instead of fixing the problem, Wal-Mart took steps to conceal it and...

SANCHEZ: You mean squeezing -- an effort to try and squeeze their employees for everything they can and not compensate them?

GRANT: Absolutely. This is a systemic practice nationwide, where Wal-Mart runs skeleton crews in its store to keep labor as cheap as possible, so that employees end up working through their meal breaks, their rest breaks. And after they've punched out and are ready to go home, their managers just make them keep working without pay.

SANCHEZ: Well, when this was brought to Wal-Mart's attention, did they try and take care of the situation? Or how did they deal with it?

GRANT: No. Actually, when it was brought to their attention, they continued their pattern of concealment. Instead of doing the audits that they had done back in 2000, they shut down the audit department so that there would be no evidence of this happening.

But we were able to get their pay records that actually show exactly the pattern throughout California when this was occurring.

SANCHEZ: Is this the only accusation against Wal-Mart? Or do you expect that in the coming year we'll see it not only in other states, but other forms of accusations, as well?

GRANT: Well, it is in almost every state, as I mentioned. But what you're -- what is also in play here is Wal-Mart has also engaged in time shaving, where, in order to make their budget numbers in Bentonville, the managers would actually shave time off employees' paychecks.

So I think you're going to see a lot of that in some of the cases to come in the future.

SANCHEZ: And, once again, we tried to reach Wal-Mart. They did issue the statement that I read to you, but wouldn't do anything beyond that.

Attorney Jessica Grant, thank you so much for being with us.

We certainly appreciate it.

GRANT: Thank you, Rick.

SANCHEZ: Soledad -- over to you.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

Still to come this morning...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VERNON DOBARD, ARTIST: It's like losing a family member. It's just strange, you know? You just feel a sense of loss. You know, it goes here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: And artist from New Orleans loses his paintings in hurricane Katrina. Well, now a viewer has managed to restore his hope. We'll explain, just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: In the weeks following hurricane Katrina, we told you the story of one artist in New Orleans. In fact, he's a cousin of CNN White House reporter Suzanne Malveaux. And his home, and, for him, more importantly, his art work, were all nearly destroyed by floodwaters.

Well, one of our viewers came to the rescue, devoting his gallery to restoring the pieces.

Suzanne Malveaux was there as the artist was finally reunited with his work.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When we first arrived at my cousin Vernon Dobard's house in New Orleans in September, this is what we found.

(on camera): I don't know what to do. I have no idea what to do. I should try to bring something back. Now I can take one, maybe just one.

(voice-over): In the aftermath of Katrina, Vernon's art work was submerged in six feet of water and in danger of being lost forever. When we told this story on CNN three months ago, a Pensacola, Florida gallery took notice.

MARK BAKER, GALLERY OWNER: I pretty much lost my studio and everything that I had during hurricane Andrew in Miami in 1992, which was devastating.

MALVEAUX: In an act of goodwill, Mark Baker, the owner of Imago Art Studio, and his team, offered to rescue Vernon's life's work.

(on camera): Good to see you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good to see you.

MALVEAUX: In October, we went back to Vernon's house, where we found the studio in even worse shape than when we first arrived.

(on camera): I have to warn you, it's...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty bad?

MALVEAUX: ... it's pretty nasty inside.

(voice-over): We had no idea whether anything would be salvageable.

(on camera): Wow! This is finished.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the other side.

MALVEAUX: That's history.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see where all the mold's just going wild there.

MALVEAUX: But under a refrigerator, we discovered pieces we didn't even know existed.

(on camera): Look at this.

(voice-over): Curious neighbors and friends stopped by to offer encouragement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, well, where's Vernon? Vernon's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) out of Baltimore, huh?

MALVEAUX: Vernon's staying with me now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

MALVEAUX: He's living with me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Take my -- take my cell number and have him call me.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): It took us several hours to prepare the works for their three hour journey...

(on camera): Flip it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

MALVEAUX: ... separating those damaged by gasoline, sewage and debris from those in better condition.

When the paintings arrived in Pensacola, Baker and his team went to work, cleaning and drying Vernon's art.

BAKER: It will be cleaned. It will be put in front of a shadow box and mounted. And it'll be displayed as is.

MALVEAUX: Two months later, they were ready for display.

(on camera): Is it good to be, too (ph), finally?

BAKER: Finally.

MALVEAUX: Are you nervous?

BAKER: Oh, very.

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Shortly after, Vernon arrived, having never met Mark or seen his paintings since the hurricane.

DOBARD: I live with these paintings. Every day I work on them, each day. And so it's like losing a family member. It's just strange, you know? You just feel a sense of loss, you know? It goes here. Overwhelming joy, gratitude. It's so incredible, you know, that someone would be that generous. That's like seeing a family member again, in a sense, you know your creations. Yes. It sounds strange, but it's true, you know?

MALVEAUX: Now, shared with many. As a sign of his gratitude, Vernon gave the only thing that he had left to show Mark what his generosity has meant -- a piece of the family's history.

DOBARD: That's my gift to you.

BAKER: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: A gift that marks the end of a journey taken over the course of three months and more than 200 miles, which now offers one New Orleans artist a new beginning.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

O'BRIEN: Well, Suzanne is back at her day job at the White House.

Suzanne, I've got to ask you, how is your family doing overall? I mean that's -- and how are you doing?

This is such an emotional, you know, punch to the stomach to take, I think.

MALVEAUX: Absolutely. And really thanks for asking.

The family is doing well. They are in Baton Rouge now. Vernon was staying with me for a couple of months while all of that was taking place, but he wanted to be back with his brothers, as you know. And so they're about an hour outside of New Orleans. They are staying in a hotel now, about five -- five grown men to a room now, is how they are living.

But since that aired and, actually, since they discovered the paintings there, there have been quite a few offers, people who want to buy his works and some commissioned works. So it really is -- it's a good chance for Vernon. He's -- the generosity of the people in Florida, and a lot of e-mails and calls that we got from folks, really was great. It's really a second chance for him.

O'BRIEN: Gosh, It's good to see you smiling so broadly, too, when you're talking about your family situation in the wake of hurricane Katrina.

Thanks for sharing that.

I know, you know, we don't talk a lot about our families, sometimes. But that was just such an amazing piece to see. Thank you.

MALVEAUX: Thanks, Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Katrina survivors from Mississippi, well, they often feel overshadowed by what's happened in New Orleans.

We've got one story ahead from Mississippi. People in one town holding onto Christmas thanks to the help of some new friends they've made.

That story is ahead.

But first, we have a holiday message from one of our troops overseas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SGT. FELICIA DORSEY: Hi. My name is Sergeant Felicia Dorsey from Al-Assad, Iraq (ph).

I would like to say hello to my daughter, Tatiana (ph) in Scott Ridge, Georgia. Dana and Jordan, I love you and miss you. Happy Holidays.

SPEC. GREGORY DOWNS: Hi. My name is Specialist Gregory Downs.

And I would like to send special holiday greetings out to my wife, Tyra (ph), and my two children. I love you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Who do you think were the top newsmakers in 2005? All next week on AMERICAN MORNING, we're going to count down to 2006 by talking about the top five people who shaped the dramatic events of the past year. The Top Five In '05 -- that's all next week right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

And a reminder, we begin at 6:00 a.m. Eastern.

Still to come this morning, yes, viewers, there is a Santa Claus. We're going to take you right to his mailroom and find out where all those letters to Santa end up and how they get answered, too.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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