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American Morning

The Fight for Iraq; Alito Hearings; DeLay Over; Sole Survivor; V.P. Cheney in Hospital; Critical Condition

Aired January 09, 2006 - 06:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, I'm Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

We've got a story breaking overnight in Iraq, a pair of suicide attacks inside Baghdad's heavily secured Green Zone, at least 14 people are dead. We've got a live report just ahead.

M. O'BRIEN: Right now doctors bringing Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon out of a coma. We're live in Jerusalem this morning.

S. O'BRIEN: And two big stories to tell you about on Capitol Hill today. A day of tough questioning ahead for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. Confirmation hearings get under way today.

And just who is going to replace embattled Congressman Tom DeLay as leader of the House? We'll take a look at the frontrunners this morning. Got a live report from Washington.

M. O'BRIEN: And we're watching wildfires in four states now. Colorado, right now, fires spreading by wind so strong fire fighting aircraft are grounded. We'll have details on that just ahead.

We begin this morning, however, in Iraq where a wave of violence continues. Within the past few hours, a pair of suicide bombers blew themselves up at the Interior Ministry, as many as 14 dead.

Michael Holmes live in Baghdad on this developing story.

Michael, what's the latest?

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Miles.

Yes, that figure has just come into us in the last few minutes, the death toll at that twin suicide bombing has risen to 14, at least 25 dead. It was police -- Iraqi Police Day here, the 84th anniversary of this event.

And what happened was two suicide bombers, just on about an hour or so ago, got inside the perimeter of the Interior Ministry, at least one of them got through one checkpoint, in fact, and they detonated near simultaneously. And initially the death toll was seven. It's now up to 14. We believe all of them to be police. There were about 1,000 police officers there celebrating this Iraq Police Day outside the Interior Ministry. The actual event was happening at the police academy next door. Now, at that event, the interior minister was there, the defense minister, even the U.S. ambassador were all in attendance. But that was about a kilometer or so away from the actual Interior Ministry where these detonations took place. So twin suicide bombings, Miles. And it is still only an hour or so into this, so the death toll may rise.

M. O'BRIEN: Michael Holmes watching it for us in Baghdad, thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: And these are critical hours for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Just a few hours ago, doctors began the process of bringing him out of his medically induced coma. It is unknown just how much damage last week's stroke did to his brain. He is still in critical condition. And while Sharon remains hospitalized, the government began its work without him.

CNN's Guy Raz is in Jerusalem for us this morning.

Guy, good morning to you. Doctors have said that they think it's very unlikely that Ariel Sharon is going to resume the position of prime minister. So what happens next for the government?

Obviously we're having problems hearing Guy.

Guy, let's try one more time, see if we can get your audio. Guy Raz in Jerusalem. Guy, I assume you heard my question, let's see if we can hear you now.

No, obviously we're having some audio difficulties. We're going to fix that and we'll bring him to us as soon as we get a chance -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Well we are following a couple of major stories on Capitol Hill today, the Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Samuel Alito. The Senate begins questioning him today. And of course the lobbying scandal that has shaken Republicans in the House. Two congressmen now going after Tom DeLay's old job.

AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken live on Capitol Hill. I guess we could call this a bicameral report.

Bob, let's begin with the confirmation hearings of Samuel Alito all week long. What should we look for today?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we using two cameras, by the way?

M. O'BRIEN: We can arrange that for you.

FRANKEN: Well, what we are looking for today is really no questioning of Judge Alito. This is the day that the senators get to, how shall I say it, express their feelings about the matter, or mark their turf is another way to do it. This will be a day devoted mainly to opening statements from the senators. We will find out what we already know that there is going to be quite a fight in the rest of the week. The day will end with the statement, the unchallenged statement, by Judge Alito.

And then tomorrow the real confrontations begin when the senators start questioning. We do know that the judge, with his conservative record on matters such as abortion and presidential power, can expect some very tough questioning throughout the week.

The Democrats are going to have to decide by the time this week is over whether they want to take the political risks of a filibuster down the road and try and block Judge Alito or whether they are going to decide that the expedient thing to do, the smart thing to do, is to just allow him to be approved by the Senate when the vote finally comes -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Lots of talk about the filibuster. I wonder how likely that would be -- Bob?

FRANKEN: Well, it's hard to tell now. One of the things that we have learned from these hearings is that the beginning can be quite different from the way things look at the end. But the Democrats, if they do filibuster, are going to be taking a huge political risk, taking on a huge fight.

There are many people who say that the Republicans would like nothing better than for the Democrats to decide just for political reasons. And the Republicans right now really, really need to have some sort of political win, which of course leads us to our second topic here.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, let's get right there. There's an important job opening in the House.

FRANKEN: There is a job opening.

M. O'BRIEN: Tell me who is likely to fill that job.

FRANKEN: Well, we don't know who is likely. We know who is going to be running, at least some of the candidates. The job, of course, is Majority Leader Tom DeLay. In the wake of all the different legal questions that he is facing and former associates of his are facing and all the questions that are raised because of the Jack Abramoff scandal, Tom DeLay, over the weekend, voluntarily decided to step down, although many people will believe he was pushed away from being the majority leader.

The two candidates who are most mentioned so far are the one who has been doing it, Congressman Blunt of Missouri, who took over in a temporary position for DeLay earlier in the year. And also John Boehner, who had been one of the people who had been part of the Newt Gingrich hierarchy, but he was sort of shoved aside, became Chairman of the Education Committee, now he wants to get back into the House leadership. It's certainly going to make things very interesting in the House.

M. O'BRIEN: Bob Franken with some double duty for us this morning. Nice work, thank you.

Live confirmation, or coverage, I should say, of the confirmation hearing begins noon Eastern, a special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Funerals for three victims of the Sago Mine tragedy will be held later today. Six of the victims were laid to rest on Sunday. Family and friends crowded the streets around Upshur County as they headed to the memorials. Two more funerals are scheduled for Tuesday.

And meanwhile, the sole survivor, Randy McCloy Jr., is finally breathing on his own, still has not regained full consciousness.

CNN's Chris Huntington is at the hospital in Morgantown, West Virginia this morning.

Chris, good morning.

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Doctors are hopeful that sometime, perhaps today, but certainly maybe in the next couple of days, they may see signs of wakefulness in Randy McCloy Jr. They stopped the sedative yesterday that had been keeping him in what they have been calling a medically induced coma. Now, as of last night around 5:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m., the doctors were saying that they had not seen any change in his neurological status, but that's a status that had shown some slight improvement for a couple of days.

Now keep in mind Randy McCloy was brought back here to West Virginia on Saturday evening after spending two full days in a hospital in Pittsburgh undergoing specialized high pressure oxygen treatment. Once those treatments were complete, he received three of them, and the doctors deemed that he was stabled enough to come back here, they brought him back here to West Virginia.

We are expecting a press conference at about 8:30 this morning. But yesterday we did hear from the neurologist here at West Virginia University Hospital as to what he expects to see now that the sedative has been taken away from Randy McCloy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. JULIAN BAILES, NEUROSURGEON: We're looking for him to begin to arouse and open his eyes. He was beginning to do that a little bit before we had to sedate him. So we're looking for a progressive awakening and neurological improvement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTINGTON: So, Soledad, that really is the next major development. His major organ systems have shown pretty steady improvement and have stabilized to the point, as you mentioned, he is breathing on his own. He's still attached to a ventilator in case he needs assistance, but his heart is strong, we are told. He is receiving periodic dialmysis to help his kidneys remove excess fluid from his body. Keep in mind he was very, very dehydrated, so they had to pump him with fluid. That's a problem, of course, on another respect, because there wasn't enough kidney power to help process that fluid. He's getting into balance physically. The next question is neurologically. And hopefully we'll have those signs the next day or so -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Everybody just watching and waiting to hear.

Chris Huntington with an update for us.

Chris, thanks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: No relief from the weather today for firefighters trying to douse those wildfires burning in southern Colorado. The fires destroyed at least 5 homes and scorched 6,000 acres near the New Mexico border. More than 200 families evacuated. Fifty-mile-an-hour gusts kept fire crews from attacking the flames by air. The winds are expected to be strong once again today. Other wildfires still burning in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma, which brings us to the weather forecast.

Chad Myers at the CNN Center.

Good morning -- Chad.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Miles.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Back to you guys.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

Thank you very much, Chad Myers.

Just in to CNN, we have a report that Vice President Cheney is in the hospital this morning.

CNN's Elaine Quijano joining us on the line now from Washington.

Elaine, what can you tell us?

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

Well just a short time ago we learned that Vice President Cheney apparently experienced shortness of breath earlier this morning, went to George Washington University Hospital. Now we're told that he was there around 3:00 a.m. this morning when doctors found that his EKG apparently was unchanged, but they did determine that he was apparently retaining fluid as a result of anti-inflammatory medication that he had been taking for a foot problem.

Now we're told by the vice president's office they have placed him on a diuretic and he is expected to return home later. But again, that news coming to us just a short time ago, Vice President Cheney apparently earlier this morning experiencing shortness of breath, going to George Washington Hospital around 3:00 this morning -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Elaine, as you speak, we're seeing some pictures of him from Friday. He had a cane there, and that is related to his foot problems?

QUIJANO: That's exactly right. And what we are told is that this is an old injury. This wasn't something necessarily new. And as a result, again, of this medication that he had been taking, apparently was retaining fluid and then experiencing this shortness of breath. Of course George Washington University Hospital is where his doctors are. And he has had a history of heart problems. But again, doctors, according to the vice president's office, saying this morning that his EKG apparently was unchanged -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: So unrelated to his medical history as far as heart ailments?

QUIJANO: As far as we can tell, this -- it looks like from the information that we have this is a result again of that medication for that foot problem.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Elaine Quijano tracking that for us.

As soon as we get some more details for you, we'll get them to you. The vice president in the hospital this morning, shortness of breath, appears to be some sort of side effect for some medication he is taking related to a problem he is having with his foot. We'll keep you posted -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, much more on Congressman Tom DeLay's decision to give up his leadership post and what exactly is the fallout for the White House. We'll take a look at that.

M. O'BRIEN: Also, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is recovering this morning. We'll tell you why he was taken to the hospital.

S. O'BRIEN: And we've got an update on the condition of little Baby Noor, undergo what could be a life-saving surgery today. We're going to tell you what the doctors hope they are going to be able to accomplish as we continue here on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Earlier this morning, doctors began the process of bringing the Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, out of his medically induced coma.

CNN's Guy Raz is in Jerusalem this morning.

Guy, good morning again. Doctors say that they think that he is not going to be able to return to the position of prime minister. So what's the next step for the government now -- Guy? GUY RAZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, Israel has no written Constitution. It has what is called the Basic Law, primarily based on British Common Law. And under the provisions of the Basic Law, if a prime minister becomes infirm and the two primary doctors looking after the prime minister determine that he or she can no longer carry out the duties of prime minister, the doctors then inform the country's attorney general, who immediately convenes the sitting Cabinet.

Now the Cabinet must then decide within 12 hours who will become the next prime minister. Under these circumstances, that person has to come from within the Cabinet and from within the ruling political party. Israel is a parliamentary system. Oftentimes there are several political parties involved and coalitions.

In this case, it would be somebody from the Kadima Party, the centrist political party founded by Ariel Sharon, and it would most likely be Ehud Olmert, who is now serving as the acting Prime Minister. After that point, Ehud Olmert would essentially become the permanent Prime Minister. Of course he would only serve for 77 days, because Israelis are already scheduled to go to the polls for general elections on March 28 -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Guy, everybody is watching, obviously, very closely at what the doctors have to say. What's been the reaction on the ground in Jerusalem where you are?

RAZ: Well, ultimately people are still very concerned. And they have been on this kind of emotional roller coaster for the past several days, at one point being told that the prime minister would not survive, at one point being told he would survive but with some difficulty. Now there is a lot of optimism and people essentially are hoping and praying that he comes out of this hospital alive.

Very few people believe he will return as the prime minister, but most people are hoping that the prime minister will maintain some mental faculties and essentially become kind of an informal adviser to the next Israeli government -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Guy Raz with an update on the prime minister's condition for us.

Guy, thanks for the update. Appreciate it.

Let's get to a look at some of the other stories that are making news this morning.

Carol Costello is back from her vaca and she has that.

Good morning, welcome back.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Thank you very much. Good morning to all of you.

We told you about this just a little bit ago, Vice President Dick Cheney is in the hospital this morning. He was taken to George Washington Hospital for shortness of breath. Doctors say he may be retaining fluid because of medication taken for a foot problem. We'll have much more on this developing story throughout the hour.

A developing story, too, out of Iraq, a new attack on Iraqi police, this one in the middle of a celebration honoring cadets. Officials say a pair of suicide bombers blew up outside the Interior Ministry in Baghdad. The attack came during celebrations for Iraqi Police Day. At least 14 officers were killed, dozens more injured.

Baby Noor goes into surgery today. Baby Noor is the 3-month-old Iraqi girl born with a severe form of spina bifida. She'll be operated on at Children's Healthcare in Atlanta. We will have a live update for you from there in just about 15 minutes.

The confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito opens today. Judge Alito will sit down for opening statements by members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Democrats say they won't rule out a filibuster to try to block the nomination. CNN will have live coverage of the Alito hearing. An extended "SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer starts at noon Eastern.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is sporting a fat lip and 15 stitches after a motorcycle accident Sunday near his home. A spokesman says Schwarzenegger was riding a Harley with his 12-year-old son in a sidecar when another driving backed into the street. Schwarzenegger and son were both treated at a hospital for minor cuts and bruises. And, yes, both father and son were wearing helmets.

Sentencing day for that deadly ferry crash in New York. Eleven people were killed, more than 70 others hurt when the ferry slammed into a pier back in October of 2003. The ferry operator and a supervisor each expected to get prison terms of less than a year. And New York City could face tens of millions of dollars in civil judgments.

And Howard Stern is back without dialogue bleeps to cover the more questionable language is debuting today on Sirius Satellite Radio. And he will not face any FCC restrictions. So, hey, just about anything goes. Sirius is counting on Stern to attract more customers. Last week, the company reportedly gave Stern more than $200 million worth of stock for helping to boost subscriptions.

And in his show this morning, Chad, we hear...

MYERS: Yes.

COSTELLO: ... there are stripper poles and maybe some live sex.

MYERS: But you know he says he's going to keep it clean. I'm not sure what of a clean that is.

Good morning, and welcome back, Carol. It's so nice to have you back.

COSTELLO: It's so nice to hear your voice.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: For warm weather, right,...

MYERS: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: ... that will help keep our price of natural gas down.

All right. Chad, thanks a lot.

Let's talk business. The next generation of SUVs unveiled in Detroit this week.

Carrie has got that.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A very exciting weekend there at the Detroit Auto Show. We see this every year. And for the first time ever, the same manufacturer won the top awards for car and truck of the year. We're talking about Honda.

Let's start with the vehicle, the car, the Civic sedan. This is a larger version than what we've seen in recent years. Has a more futuristic look, if you will, so the Honda Civic taking the top spot there.

And then as far as pickups, we have the Honda Ridgeline. And this has some pretty cool features. Among other things, a trunk hidden under the bed and also there's a tailgate that actually swings out, so people liking that feature.

Honda taking both top spots. Other finalists for cars: the Ford Fusion and the Pontiac Solstice. Other runner-ups for the truck: Ford Explorer and Nissan Xterra.

Here's a look at the car of the year.

M. O'BRIEN: Wow, there they are.

LEE: Waiting for that.

M. O'BRIEN: They have cars now.

LEE: I know. I was talking, talking it up. Hard to describe it when you can't see it.

S. O'BRIEN: Picture if you will.

LEE: But here you go, more futuristic shape there.

M. O'BRIEN: I guess.

LEE: And the Ridgeline looking pretty cool.

So what did GM and Ford have going forward as far as their ideas? You know sales have been slumping. Well GM is continuing to bet that SUVs are going to be hot sellers. They're lowering the base prices. M. O'BRIEN: I'm sorry.

LEE: Also touting more fuel efficiency.

M. O'BRIEN: Really?

LEE: Yes, that's what they're doing.

M. O'BRIEN: They're just going for the big cars?

LEE: They're just going for it.

M. O'BRIEN: Just riding with it?

LEE: Yes. Not so for Ford, Ford focusing more on crossover vehicles. And they have something new called the Edge, and here's a look at that. You saw it there for a second. So...

S. O'BRIEN: Green.

LEE: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: That was just a sliver of the Edge there, but...

LEE: The Edge hugging the edge of that road.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

LEE: But, anyway, that's their ideas going forward. Of course GM big labor problems, they're going to try to get rid of these guaranteed jobs for workers who are laid off. They still get close to full pay. Clearly a luxury GM can't afford. So look for that in their labor negotiations coming up.

M. O'BRIEN: Next they're going to be pushing tail fins.

LEE: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: You know what I mean, what the heck.

S. O'BRIEN: When they're laid off they still get full pay?

LEE: They still get pretty close to full pay, so obviously not a situation that's good for General Motors. They have been losing billions of dollars and they are going to need to break away from that if they want to maintain strong business objectives.

S. O'BRIEN: Sticking with SUVs...

LEE: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: ... strategy. We'll see.

LEE: OK.

S. O'BRIEN: Carrie Lee, thanks. We're back in a moment right after "Morning Coffee" -- in a moment for our "Morning Coffee." That's coming up in just a few seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

Time for a little "Morning Coffee."

COSTELLO: Are you ready?

M. O'BRIEN: Carol is back.

COSTELLO: I am back.

And you know singer Harry Belafonte has a new best buddy. He seems to be actually singing a very antagonistic tune these days. While in Caracas meeting with his new best buddy, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, he called President Bush the greatest tyrant and greatest terrorist in the world. That's from Harry Belafonte. Harry Belafonte is 78.

He also took part in a national TV and radio broadcast in which he said millions of Americans are behind Chavez's revolution. Earlier, Belafonte had praised Chavez for his program to supply heating fuel for poor families in some parts of the United States. Belafonte, by the way, is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador. He made the trip with a group of civil rights activists, including actor Danny Glover, who also seems to like Mr. Chavez.

S. O'BRIEN: What happened to his hair? All those pictures is Harry Belafonte is -- he looks like Pete (ph).

COSTELLO: That question I cannot...

S. O'BRIEN: Bald and a cue ball.

COSTELLO: Well, he's 78, maybe he didn't want to bother with it anymore.

M. O'BRIEN: That's the look. It's the look. Yes, just shave it off.

COSTELLO: I think that's the least of the controversy surrounding Mr. Belafonte now.

A New York woman is upset that her son was served alcohol. Of course that could be because her son is 5, 5 years old. So now she is suing the restaurant chain Applebee's and a local restaurant that served up the drink. Her son ordered apple juice and he ended up with Long Island Ice Tea. That's what the waiter brought him.

M. O'BRIEN: You know what's in that, right? You know what's in that?

COSTELLO: Something strong.

S. O'BRIEN: A lot.

M. O'BRIEN: Equal parts vodka, gin, rum and triple sec with a splash of Coca-Cola.

COSTELLO: You've had experience, huh?

S. O'BRIEN: That's one nasty drink.

M. O'BRIEN: I have had way too much experience of these. But that is a nasty drink to put in a sippy cup.

COSTELLO: Well, 5 years old, and it was in a little apple juice cup.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: Anyway, mom, Cynthia Pereles, says the manager told her it was just a mistake that the drink even, as I said, came in one of those little plastic cartoon cups that kids get.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CYNTHIA PERELES, SUING OVER ALCOHOLIC DRINK: When you're looking at your 5-year-old and you're asking him you know quiet down, Seth (ph), or sit still, and you see him that mentally and physically he cannot comply with what you are asking him to do.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Because he was drunk. She's asking for $75,000 in damages. She says her son has now developed an extreme aversion to apple juice.

S. O'BRIEN: The same thing happens to people who have Long Island Ice Teas, suddenly you develop an extreme aversion to them.

Wow, I think she's going to win that case, 75 grand, sure.

COSTELLO: I think she's going to win, too. Applebee's should do something really nice for her, because this is kind of a PR nightmare, don't you think?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Think he wants to do play dates at firm bars (ph) now, so, anyway.

S. O'BRIEN: Carol, thanks.

COSTELLO: Sure.

S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, as we mentioned earlier, Vice President Dick Cheney is in the hospital this morning. We've got an update on his condition. That's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Short break, we're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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