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American Morning
Air Strike Fallout; Corruption Investigation; MLK Legacy Battle
Aired January 16, 2006 - 08:59 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.
Angry at America. Protesters in Pakistan want something done after an air strike goes horribly wrong. Details ahead.
California moves closer to another controversial execution, a blind, deaf and wheelchair-bound inmate who turned 76 today. Is it cruel and unusual?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Carol Costello, in for Soledad.
An influential congressman is on the ousts. He's the latest to be caught up in the Washington lobbyist scandal. We are live on Capitol Hill.
And on the 20th anniversary of his holiday, we remember Dr. Martin Luther King. But now a piece of his history could be up for sale.
A live report just ahead here on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And good morning. Are you waiting for me to say something?
O'BRIEN: Absolutely. Ladies first.
COSTELLO: Good morning. Happy Monday.
O'BRIEN: Good morning. Yes, good...
COSTELLO: And I hope you have the day off today.
O'BRIEN: We do hope you have the day off. Clearly, we're working, but that's OK, too.
We begin with some important news coming to you from Pakistan, the backlash of that country, a key ally in the global war on terror brimming with protest after a U.S. missile attack apparently misses the mark. Friday's attack didn't get al Qaeda's number two man, Ayman al-Zawahiri, or so we think now. Now Pakistanis are protesting against America and their own president, Pervez Musharraf, a key ally of President Bush.
Senior International Correspondent Nic Robertson with us now from Atlanta.
Nic, good morning to you. NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
The very latest information coming to us from Pakistan does seem to hint at the sort of information that perhaps led the CIA to initiate that attack.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Rubble. When new reports in Pakistani newspapers say al Qaeda's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was expected for dinner when a CIA-initiated missile attack tried to kill him. The man so often seen next to Osama bin Laden appeared for a few hours at least to have finally been cornered. But CNN intelligence sources and villagers denies Zawahiri or any outsiders were present.
QAZI HUSSAIN, OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): Foreigners and outsiders are not here, nor among the recovered or dead.
ROBERTSON: Eighteen people were killed, including women and children, angering not just this tribal region, but the whole country, threatening the war on terror.
From rain-drenched Durtalis (ph), where tribes are more powerful than government, to the wide, well-ordered affluent boulevards of the nation's capital, Islamabad, the cost of the apparent intelligence mistake is being paid. One of the U.S.' staunchest allies on the world on terror, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, is being told to step down.
FAROOQ SATTAR, PAKISTANI POL. LEADER: The government of Pakistan should resign because they have failed to protect their territory and protect their citizens from the unjustified attack from the American forces.
ROBERTSON: Outrage has been so strong, Musharraf's allies are, for the first time in years, joining forces with the opposition.
Musharraf has been through this before. Most notably, announcing his support for the U.S. after September 11, but he is politically weaker now, and that means catching Osama bin Laden and Ayman al- Zawahiri may be getting harder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Time is running out for all of those who are engaged in this, and they must very seriously address the lapses and the weaknesses in the intelligence.
ROBERTSON: In the war on terror, improving intelligence is proving one of the hardest battles to win.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTSON: And getting that intelligence and getting it right really does seem to be the big challenge right now -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: To say the least. Nic Robertson in Atlanta. Thank you very much.
The controversy over Iran's nuclear program topic number one in London this morning. Diplomats from Washington, Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China discussing the standoff. Those nations, except Germany, are permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.
Washington, Paris, London, Berlin all want the Security Council to possibly impose sanctions on Iran. China and Russia are balking, though. A British official says he's not sure of Iran's intention.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACK STRAW, BRITISH FOREIGN SECRETARY: The onus is on Iran to act to give the international community confidence that its nuclear program has exclusively peaceful purposes. Confidence I'm afraid that has been sorely undermined by its history of concealment and deception.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Now, a British official says he's not sure of Iran's intentions.
Iran is warning that the price of oil will rise if it is sanctioned by the U.N. -- Carol.
COSTELLO: An influential congressman is stepping aside, at least for now. You may not have heard of Ohio Republican Bob Ney. His powerful House Administration Committee handles House budgets and federal elections, but now he's all tied up in the Washington lobbyist scandal.
CNN Congressional Correspondent Ed Henry joins us live from Capitol Hill.
Ed, is this a big deal?
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely, Carol. Good morning to you.
In fact, Bob Ney is at the center of this investigation over the disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Ney allegedly took a slew of gifts, including a lavish golf trip to Scotland, in exchange for various officials acts.
Ney says he's only stepping aside temporarily because he believes he did nothing wrong and will be exonerated. But sources familiar with this Justice Department investigation have told CNN that Ney is one of a half-dozen lawmakers and staffers that could face criminal charges in this investigation. And as you mentioned, he may not be a household name to many, but in the hallways up here I can tell you he's very well known, known as the mayor of Capitol Hill because he does handle budgets, doling out office space, small things like that, but big things, as well, such as handling lobby reform legislation.
And it's that last piece that really tripped him up, because Republican leaders were wincing at the possibility that late-night comics would be making fun of the fact that the man in charge of lobbying reform legislation himself is under investigation for his dealings with a disgraced lobbyist. So the bottom line here, Republican leaders are engaged in a House cleaning.
You saw two weekends ago former House majority leader Tom DeLay officially stepping aside, saying he would not try to reclaim that post. Ney now stepping aside as chairman of the House Administration Committee. They're very nervous that more Republicans will be pulled into this scandal, very nervous it will become the dominant issue in the midterm elections -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes, I was going to say they should be more -- more concerned about that than in what the comedians are joking about. But, you know, will it do any good for him to step down? Should he just step aside altogether? Wouldn't that help the Republicans more?
HENRY: Well, for Ney personally, at least for now, it will let him focus on trying to prove his innocence, as he has said over and over. Broader for the party.
You're right, one little act is really not going to change it if -- and that's a big "if" -- a slew of other congressmen and staffers end up facing indictments. Some lobbying reform legislation and other things might be seen as window dressing if, in fact, this investigation widens -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Ed Henry live on Capitol Hill this morning.
Thanks.
O'BRIEN: It is Martin Luther King Day, now 20 years since we first celebrated this day. Imagine that. And as we all remember all that Dr. King accomplished, there is discord among his surviving family members.
The King Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta deeply in debt. His children fighting over what to do about it.
Rusty Dornin in Atlanta for us this morning. She is outside the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church where Dr. King preached and not far from the King Center.
Rusty, tell us about this fight.
RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, Martin Luther King Jr. not only preached here, of course he gave some of his fiery sermons here at the old Ebenezer Baptist Church. You can see some folks just entering the church for the ceremonies to begin in about an hour. And right next door is the Martin Luther King Center for Nonviolent Social Change.
There is a possible sale. Half of his family members want to sell that to the federal government, and that has King's children deeply divided.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN (voice over): He fought furiously for racial equality and social change through nonviolence. Now as the world remembers Martin Luther King Jr. on what would be his 77th birthday, the battles continue among his sons and daughters over his legacy. Specifically, the legacy here at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Change.
The center was founded by King's wife Coretta in 1968. It was her passion and life's work.
The center, located just down the street from his childhood home, is where many of his papers and memorabilia are exhibited. Now two of King's children, center chairman Dexter King, his sister Yolanda, and some board members want to sell it to the National Park Service. No way, say two other siblings, Bernice and Martin Luther King III. They claim the center's independent voice could be compromised by federal ownership. And they also fear it could water down their father's message of social justice.
MARTIN LUTHER KING III, KING CENTER BOARD MEMBER: Bernice and I stand to differ with those who would sell our father's legacy and barter our mother's vision, whether it is for 30 pieces of silver or $30 million.
DORNIN: Her children and others close to the family say Coretta Scott King, who suffered a stroke last summer, has been unable to communicate her wishes. Critics say the center has fallen into disrepair in recent years. It needs a facelift that would cost $11 million.
The brother and sister fighting the sale admit at times they didn't do a good job of taking care of their father's legacy. Now they want an independent group to run the center.
Lifetime King Center board member and former Atlanta mayor Andrew Young says it would be better to let the government do it.
ANDREW YOUNG, KING CENTER BOARD MEMBER: Because of the wear and tear by the visitors that come through there, you do need constant maintenance. That was one of the reasons why I was an advocate of turning over the physical property to the Parks Department.
DORNIN: But the brother and sister who are opposed to selling the center say they might take legal action to keep the government out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DORNIN: All four of King's children are expected to be at the ceremonies today. It's unclear whether Coretta Scott King will be there.
She made a surprise visit over the weekend to a dinner, a fund- raiser for the center, Salute to Greatness, where she appeared on stage in a wheelchair smiling. Of course there was a standing ovation for her. But she did not say anything at that function.
Meantime, after the ceremonies here people will gather in downtown Atlanta where they will march to the King Center and have a rally this afternoon -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: Rusty Dornin on Sweet Auburn Avenue in Atlanta.
Thank you very much.
President Bush will speak this afternoon at Georgetown University's Let Freedom Ring celebration. CNN will carry the president's remarks live from the Kennedy Center at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time.
Another chopper down in Iraq. Kelly Wallace in with that and more.
Good morning, Kelly.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Miles.
That's right. And that's what we're beginning with.
That helicopter crash just north of Baghdad. We're just getting in some new video from the scene there, and it is still not clear if there are any casualties. Also not clear if enemy fire brought that chopper down. It is the third time a helicopter has gone down in Iraq this month.
Also in Iraq, the chief judge assigned to Saddam Hussein's trial wants to step down from his post. Rizgar Amin turned in a letter of resignation citing personal reasons, but we still don't know if his request has been accepted.
For the first time in history an African nation has a female president. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was sworn in as Liberia's new president earlier this morning for a six-year term. She becomes Africa's first elected female head of state. These are some images coming to us from a videophone there.
First lady Laura Bush attended the inaugural ceremony, along with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
A first for Chile, as well. That country has also elected a woman president. Socialist candidate Michelle Bachelet beat conservative Sebastian Pinera by seven percent of the vote in a runoff. Bachelet is a one-time political prisoner who currently serves as defense minister for outgoing president Ricardo Lagos. Bachelet takes office March 11.
And trying to restore the soul of New Orleans, its legendary music. New Orleans native Julia Reed and our very good friend here at AMERICAN MORNING hosted a big benefit in the city over the weekend. Other luminaries involved included jazz man Wynton Marsalis and our old boss here at CNN, Walter Isaacson.
The proceeds are being used to help musicians who lost their homes and livelihoods after Katrina.
Chad Myers, a very good cause there for those folks in New Orleans.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It sure is.
WALLACE: What's it looking like today for you?
MYERS: You know -- you know, you see -- I'm really a big live music fan. And even in Atlanta, you see a lot of musicians that used to play in New Orleans now playing in Atlanta trying to find major venues around, trying to make money. Obviously doing what they can before they can get back there to a vibrant city.
Rain showers in Dallas, all the way down to Houston this morning. A couple of showers across the Deep South, all part of a system that may help Dallas out a little bit with the fire danger.
The wind is really going to blow later on this afternoon across the plains. And if it's raining, at least that gets some of the grass drier.
A cold day in the northeast. If you are traveling to the northeast for the next two days, you need to treat it like it's going to be 15 below with the wind-chill factor at times, because it will be.
Forty-eight in Portland. It didn't rain in Seattle yesterday. Almost a record. Twenty-seven days in a row; now the record stopped.
From Houston all the way back up into Memphis, this red zone here, strong to severe weather. And the wind blowing through, down across Nebraska and Colorado. Winds across Nebraska this morning are 45 miles per hour, and those winds are going to make it all the way down into Oklahoma and Texas. Oklahoma did not get the rain, at least Texas got some.
Back to you.
COSTELLO: And they surely need it.
MYERS: Oh, yes.
COSTELLO: Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Thanks, Chad.
Listen up, baby boomers. Middle age not the beginning of the end or so...
COSTELLO: Really?
O'BRIEN: Well, you've got to listen to this one. Coming up, we'll tell you about how to keep your mind sharp at age 40 and beyond. COSTELLO: I think that would be sleep.
And later...
O'BRIEN: That would help, yes.
COSTELLO: And later in "AM Pop," we're getting ready for tonight's Golden Globes. Our panel's pick to take home the gold, that's just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: In California, death row inmate Clarence Ray Allen turns 76 years old today. But it is unlikely he'll get his wish. The convicted murderer wants clemency, something the courts and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has already denied.
CNN's Dan Simon has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Barring a last-minute reprieve, early Tuesday morning Clarence Ray Allen will go to California's death chamber and at 76 become the oldest inmate ever executed in the Golden State, one of the oldest ever put to death in the United States. Because of his age, death penalty opponents are employing an unusual strategy to try and save his life.
ANNETTE CARNEGIE, ALLEN'S ATTORNEY: He is functionally and legally blind. He's hard of hearing. He cannot walk.
SIMON: And that, according to his lawyer Annette Carnegie, is reason enough to spare Allen's life. An execution in this instance, she argues, would amount to a cruel and unusual punishment which the Constitution forbids.
CARNEGIE: The lack of medical care, the degradation, the 23 years that he has been on death row are punishment enough.
SIMON: This is Clarence Ray Allen in his younger days, a wealthy businessman who owned his own airplane.
(on camera): But Allen also had a violent streak. He was convicted in the murder of his son's girlfriend after she helped turn him in following a robbery. The sentence, life in prison. There was no death penalty then.
(voice over): Allen may have been in prison, but his murderous ways continued. In 1980, he ordered the executions of several witnesses to the murder he was already serving time for. By then, the U.S. Supreme Court and California had reinstated the death penalty and Allen's new home was death row at San Quentin Prison.
Mark Klaas is a victim's advocate whose young daughter was murdered. He's unmoved by Allen's arguments for staying alive.
MARK KLAAS, VICTIMS' ADVOCATE: He should have been executed long ago, he wasn't. He should be executed now.
SIMON: California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger shares that sentiment, denying Allen's plea for clemency. The governor said, "The passage of time does not excuse Allen from the jury's punishment."
Unless last-minute appeals succeed, Clarence Ray Allen will be put to death midnight Tuesday, just one day after his 76th birthday.
Dan Simon, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: At age 76, Allen would be the second oldest prisoner to be executed since the death penalty was reinstated. Last month, convicted murderer John Nixon was executed in Mississippi. He was 77.
O'BRIEN: Still to come, those beatings of homeless men in Florida. Two teenage suspects have turned themselves in, but police want to know were others involved?
Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: All right. Listen up, baby boomers.
You listening?
COSTELLO: I'm not a baby boomer.
O'BRIEN: Well, sure you are.
COSTELLO: I know.
O'BRIEN: All right.
COSTELLO: I was just wishing I wasn't.
O'BRIEN: Well, I mean, I didn't ask your age, but I presume a general category of...
COSTELLO: OK. Stop now.
O'BRIEN: All right.
Well, it turns out you can teach -- and I'm not talking about you now -- you can teach an old dog new tricks. That's more for me.
The author of a new book says middle age is not the beginning of the end. It's titled "The Mature Mind: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain." There's my aging brain.
It's kind of a silver lining for the golden years. Can't remember the author's name either. No, just kidding.
I talked to the author, Dr. Gene Cohen, about his work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: Thanks so much for being with us, Dr. Cohen.
What is the biggest myth about aging and the brain?
DR. GENE COHEN, AUTHOR, "THE MATURE MIND": It's still you can't teach an old dog new tricks. And now we know it's never too late.
O'BRIEN: Really?
COHEN: As we see 100-year-olds with best-sellers (INAUDIBLE), like the Delaney (ph) sisters.
O'BRIEN: How did we get the wrong impression over the years?
COHEN: Part of it is it's only been recently that people have been living long lives and healthier lives. And so we haven't seen that many older people, and old images were based on illness in later life, not aging, per se.
O'BRIEN: So there wasn't enough of a database. Now that we have that database, it turns out even though as we get a little older, we get a little more forgetful. It's not as bad as it might seen.
COHEN: Right. There's no denying the problems, but what has been denied is the potential. And we're seeing that more than ever before, great flowering from many people in later life, the late bloomers.
And whole new concepts. We used to be told that you had all your brain cells by the age of three. Now we know they continue to form throughout the life cycle. And brain cells communicate with one another -- with branch-like extensions, sort of like branches from a tree. And the more we challenge our brain, we actually produce more of these branches, these dendrites.
And one of the most exciting new findings is that up until midlife, while we use both sides of the brain, usually only one at a time. At midlife it's as if we move to all-wheel drive and you use both sides, the left and the right brain, in a more integrated way. And it's a tremendous example of brain reserve.
O'BRIEN: So as you get older you really do get smarter in some respects. Let's talk about the phases, though, the phases of our brain and the way we view the world.
How does it go?
COHEN: These are what I described in my new book, "The Mature Mind." And these are psychological development phases in the second half of life.
And let me just give an illustration of one: the liberation phase. It's midlife reevaluation and then the liberation. In the liberation phase, it's sort of between your 50s and your mid 50s and mid 70s. It's as if these metaphorical inner voices are saying if not now, when? Why not? What can they do to me?
O'BRIEN: Right.
COHEN: And that's an empowering feeling.
O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right.
So those are some of the phases. So we have some things to look forward to here. There's a certain confidence that gets-- that goes along with being older. But as you say, you've got to keep those dendrites in shape, so to speak.
COHEN: Yes.
O'BRIEN: So what -- give us some tips. What can we all do when we reach my age, mid 40s,, and start forgetting -- being a little more forgetful about names, for example? What can you do to try to keep your brain limber?
COHEN: Yes. Exercise in both the mental and the physical sense. The mental exercise actually makes those brain cells sprout new projections, better contact between brain cells. Physical exercise helps keep your arteries in good shape, and that helps tissue in general.
O'BRIEN: So on the treadmill doing "The New York Times" crossword puzzle? Is that what we're talking about?
COHEN: That would be -- that would be great.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
COHEN: You're doing both at the same time.
O'BRIEN: All right. Because we like to multitask.
Go ahead.
COHEN: And then you want to be involved in activities that provide you a sense of mastery or control, taking up a musical instrument, learning a new language, a new hobby that challenges you.
When we're in situations with a sense of mastery, control, we have positive health outcomes. Our immune system, in effect, gets an immune system booth. It's healthy for us.
And then along with that, situations where you have a meaningful social exchange, social support. This, too, is good for your health. So you put all of those together, mental exercise, a new sense of mastery of control, social support, you have a good formula for health and vitality.
O'BRIEN: All right. Those are all excellent tips. And I'm going to put them to work, right away.
Thank you very much. Dr. Gene Cohen. The book is "The Mature Mind: The Positive Power of the Aging Brain."
Thanks for being with us.
COHEN: Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Loving that.
On this Martin Luther King Day, new pictures just in of President Bush. He was at the National Archives just a short time ago to see the original Emancipation Proclamation issued by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863, three years into the Civil War. In essence, the Emancipation Proclamation declared all slaves shall be set free.
The president also gave some remarks. So let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's fitting on Martin Luther King Day that I come and look at the Emancipation Proclamation if its original form. Abraham Lincoln recognized that all men are created equal. Martin Luther King lived on that admonition to call our country to a higher calling. And today we celebrate the life of an American who called Americans to account when we didn't live up to our ideals.
Allen (ph), thanks for having me. I would strongly recommend our fellow citizens come to this house of archives, house that archived a lot of our important documents. It's really an amazing place. It's really fascinating.
And I appreciate you and your staff -- thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: It is an amazing place. You should visit if you haven't gotten the chance.
The president will speak again later today, 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, to be exact. And he'll speak from Georgetown University. And of course we'll cover that for you, as well.
O'BRIEN: They had a big renovation there recently, right? And you can go and you can actually see the Constitution. There it is. You know?
COSTELLO: Oh, it's fascinating.
O'BRIEN: It really is. It's the document. You know, sealed there I guess in nitrogen or something like that to keep it form decaying. Anyway, well worth a visit when you're in Washington some time. There's much more AMERICAN MORNING still to come.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice over): Ahead on "AM Pop," the stars come out tonight for the Golden Globes. And we've got a sneak peek. Is "Brokeback Mountain" going for broke?
And what about the small screen? Not so desperate anymore. "Desperate Housewives" ready to clean up.
We'll make our picks ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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