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American Morning

Cleaning Up Congress; Olympic Anxiety; Journalists' Risks

Aired January 19, 2006 - 06:30   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The White House says an American hostage in Iraq is a top priority. Soledad with an exclusive interview with Jill Carroll's mother in just a little bit.
We're just a few weeks away from the Olympics. But is Italy ready for the world stage?

And the long delay to mission to Pluto. It may finally get its opportunity to leave our planet today. We'll take a look at that as well.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you from New York, a split edition of AMERICAN MORNING. Soledad in suburban Washington.

Good morning, Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Miles, good morning to you.

We're reporting this morning and bringing you the very latest on the American hostage Jill Carroll. And this morning there are more desperate pleas for her release. Her kidnappers, as you well know, have threatened to kill her unless the U.S. releases all female Iraqi prisoners by Friday. The "Christian Science Monitor" says it's doing everything it can to save Jill.

Coming up in just about 30 minutes, my exclusive interview with Jill's mother, Mary Beth Carroll, and her special message that she has for Jill's captors. That's coming up at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

Before that, though, of course, other stories making news today. Let's get right back to Carol with a look at that.

Carol, good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks, Soledad. And good morning to all of you.

President Bush is talking about the economy this morning. He's visiting a small business in Virginia, where he is expected to highlight last year's growth and job creation. He'll also make a pitch to Congress to make his tax cuts permanent. CNN will bring you the president's remarks at about 10:10 Eastern.

Former President Gerald Ford is expected to go home today. He's being treated for pneumonia at a southern California hospital. He's been there since Saturday. The 92-year-old former president is showing signs of improvements. Doctors say he's sitting in a chair, and he's reading newspapers.

From the pearly gates to the big house, South Carolina police have arrested a man who say faked his own death nearly 30 years ago. Johnny Martin (ph) is apparently a deadbeat dad who didn't want to pay child support. Back in 1979 he had a relative tell authorities he died in a bar fight. His kids were 6 and 9 at the time. One of his ex-wives finally turned him in. He's set to appear in court tomorrow.

And in Houston, Texas, a two-hour car chase ends after the driver of a BMW got on a highway going the wrong way. And, as you san see, it slammed into an oncoming car. A woman and a baby were in the car that was hit. You see everybody getting out of the car right now. The driver of the BMW was quickly arrested. And amazingly enough, no one was seriously hurt in this accident -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Carol.

To Washington now and lobbygate. With all of the talk of bribes, junkets and jets, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are now scurrying to seize the high ground on reform. And now the debate is who has the better ideas of how to rein themselves in.

Here is congressional correspondent Ed Henry.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The stampede continues today to see which political party can clean up Congress faster.

Republican Speaker Dennis Hastert, under heavy political pressure because of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, has already declared he wants to ban all privately-funded travel and also limit gifts from lobbyists to 20 bucks.

Democrats now want to up the ante, saying they don't just want to limit gifts, they want to ban them altogether.

And as they rolled out their reform plan, Democrats stole a page from the Republican playbook, circa 1994. And just like the Contract with America, Democrats hope that signing a pledge to clean up Congress will help them ride to victory in November.

The critics point out that Congress already has rules in place that some lawmakers chose to ignore. And they say new regulations will be meaningless unless they're strictly enforced.

Ed Henry, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Let's check the weather one more time. Chad Myers in the weather center. (WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: What if you held an Olympics and nobody came? That would be bad, of course. And that's why Italian officials are sweating a little over weak ticket sales to next month's Winter Games.

CNN's Alessio Vinci has more on the last-minute preps.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm standing outside the Olympic Stadium in Turin, which in just a few weeks' time will host the opening ceremony of the 20th Winter Olympic Games. We can't go inside, because the look of the ceremony must remain a secret, a surprise, until the games open on February the 10th.

But as you can see outside, there is still some work to do. Workers are putting finishing touches to what organizers say will be a fantastic event. All of the venues, not just here in Turin but also up in the Alps, are ready. They're telling us that some of them actually have already been used for some test events.

Up there is the Palasport Olimpico which will host the ice hockey games inside. Everything appears to be ready, although workers there, too, are putting some finishing touches. But organizers, again, stress that all Olympic venues will be ready.

Security, of course, remains a major concern. Paratroopers are already patrolling all of the venues. They are part of a large security plan, which will ultimately involve 9,000 men, including units from the Italian military.

Organizers say there are no specific or credible threats against the games. But they also are aware that a terrorist attack here would give terrorists maximum exposure, and that is why they are deploying a massive amount of security personnel.

The lack of snow is also a concern, although organizers managed to cover the slopes up in the Alps with artificial means, using these water canons. But they are hoping, of course, that some fresh snow will fall. That would also make the whole area much prettier.

And finally, ticket sales. Organizers hope to sell about 830,000 tickets of about a million that are available. So far, just over 600,000 have been sold, most of them outside of Italy. Organizers are telling us the Italians are not very good at making plans ahead. And they hope that as the beginning of the games nears, those tickets will be sold, especially here in Turin.

I'm Alessio Vinci, CNN, reporting from Turin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, the latest on the efforts to save kidnapped American journalist Jill Carroll. Six Iraqi female prisoners are slated for release. Will that save the day for Jill Carroll? We'll take a look at that.

And later, the horror of Jill Carroll's family. Our exclusive interview with her mother. Soledad will have that at the top of the hour.

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Jill Carroll's family is going through hell right now as the clock unwinds toward a deadline issued by her captors in Iraq. We'll hear from her mother shortly, something you will see only here on CNN.

Another thing you will only see on CNN is the courageous reporting of CNN's former Baghdad bureau chief, Jane Arraf. She's here with us now on sabbatical. She knows too well the dangers of the job. And she is joined by Rajiv Chandrasekaran, who knows Jill Carroll well. He's with the "The Washington Post" and also knows the dangers of the job, too, firsthand.

Let me begin with you, Jane. We all can empathize with this situation on some level. You in particular, having been embedded with U.S. forces and in very dangerous situations, must have a very direct connection to the pain here.

JANE ARRAF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think particularly since Jill was the kind of person who felt really strongly what she was doing that she had a reason to be there. She wasn't just someone who showed up and thought it was a thrill. And she was, by all accounts, very careful.

But what it illustrates is obviously the dangers of continuing to tell that story the people like here have felt that they have to keep doing it.

M. O'BRIEN: Rajiv, a lot of people have attested to her commitment almost as if she was, you know, driven. It was almost her fate, is the term that was used yesterday by somebody we spoke to. Would you go along with that? Was she that driven?

RAJIV CHANDRASEKARAN, "THE WASHINGTON POST": She was. She was, in fact, one of the most committed journalists to the Iraq story of any member of the press corps. In a day when fellow reporters would cycle in for 30, 60, 90 days, there were a precious few that really were there for the good long haul. Jane is one of them. Jill is another.

She came to Iraq for the first time right after the fall of Baghdad and stayed literally until her last dollar ran out and went back to Amman, saved up more money, came back and then kept doing it. She couldn't get the Iraq story out of her system. She passionately believed in telling the story of what was happening, of representing the views of Iraqis on the ground and conveying that back to the American public. A truly courageous young woman.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. It's all of the right reasons and all of the right motivations for getting in this business.

Jane, let's talk about what goes through your mind when you're in those positions. You have this commitment, this passion, this desire to tell a story, and that's weighed against clear and present danger. How many times has that crossed your mind in the midst of doing your work in the field? Can you even count the numbers?

ARRAF: If you at all realize what's going on around you all the time, it never leaves you when you're there, as I'm sure it didn't leave Jill, that thought that I have to be really careful. I have to know what's going on around me. And as Rajiv knows, it's particularly prevalent when you're responsible for other people. You're more careful with them than you would be yourself.

I remember going to a dinner party actually with Rajiv with a senior Iraqi official, and I had to negotiate with our security for half-an-hour beforehand to be let out. And there are a lot of times where we think they're being overprotective. And it's a very difficult balancing act, because the safest thing is to do nothing. But if you do nothing, you never learn anything. You never get to go out and report.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's pick up on that point, though, Rajiv, of talking about the security which is provided by a company like CNN or "The Washington Post," a company with a lot of resources and staffers. If you're a freelancer, and you're literally an independent contractor, paying your own way for drivers and fixers and whatever security you can muster, what level of security do you have?

CHANDRASEKARAN: You don't have very much at all, quite frankly, Miles. I mean, CNN and "The Washington Post" and other major news organizations have armored vehicles. They have security guards. We have a large infrastructure over there, which costs us hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars a year.

Freelancers like Jill couldn't afford that. She had a driver. She had a translator. And she has a hotel room in Baghdad. And that's about it. She's responsible for all of her own infrastructure. And that puts freelance journalists at a very dangerous and difficult position.

And I think this case -- and I hope it will end up with a happy ending here. But I do think it will have to result in some soul- searching among news organizations that have freelancers in Iraq without the same resources that the large organizations do and whether that is still a responsible thing to continue to do.

M. O'BRIEN: Jane, what do you think? Let's pick up on that point. Do you think it's responsible for organizations to hire freelancers without any -- in other words, you handle your own security. It's not our problem.

ARRAF: It is obviously everybody's problem. At the same time, what we've seen from the evolution of that story, if you've been there as Rajiv and I have from the very beginning, is that it started out as fairly straightforward, if anything can be straightforward there. And then it became so dangerous that we relied and everyone relied more and more on stringers. In some cases, people we didn't even know very well.

If you're a major news organization you obviously -- or anybody -- you obviously have a responsibility to the people who work for you. But at the same time that process of news gathering is just getting more and more diffused (ph) in who you use.

M. O'BRIEN: Of course, Rajiv, sometimes the best security is exactly the way she approached it, which was, you know, dress in the local garb and keep a low profile.

CHANDRASEKARAN: Of course, Miles. And I don't mean to suggest that Jill did anything wrong here. In fact, she probably was doing everything she could and behaved very smartly about this. She was wearing a head-to-toe black abaya (ph), as we call it, a full-on head covering. And it is much easier for women to get around because they're exposing much less of their body than men. And she was traveling in a non-descript civilian vehicle. You know, she was trying to be very inconspicuous. And that is what a lot of journalists there are trying to do.

And it is a good strategy, but as we've unfortunately seen from her case, it is not a foolproof strategy. In fact, there nothing is. Even if you were in an armored vehicle with security guards, you could get ambushed. You could hit a roadside bomb.

There are inherent dangers there. But Jill, like all of us, believed that it is of paramount importance to be in Iraq and to tell the truth and tell the story of what's going on there and report back to the American public. That's what drove Jane Arraf to stay there for so many years. It's what's driven me to be there. And it's what drove Jill to be there for so many months.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. You're a courageous breed. We appreciate your efforts on our behalf. Rajiv Chandrasekaran. Jane Arraf, former Baghdad bureau chief on sabbatical. She'll be back, though, right?

ARRAF: I will be back.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Good to have you both with us.

ARRAF: Back in Iraq.

M. O'BRIEN: Stay with us for an exclusive interview with Jill Carroll's mother. Soledad is meeting with the family as we speak. And the interview will be at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time, about 13 minutes from now.

Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business" just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

Andy, what you got?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Miles. Changing gears here a little bit. Bill Maher gets a new talk show. You'll never guess where. Plus, is Mickey Mouse ready to shake hands with Mr. Incredible? Stay tuned to American.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business." That's coming up very shortly. But first, let's check in with Carol.

Carol, good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning, Miles. Good morning to all of you.

We're expecting to learn more today about the first American woman kidnapped in Iraq. Jill Carroll, a freelance reporter, was abducted January 7 in western Baghdad. Her captors ordered a 72-hour deadline on Tuesday. They're demanding the release of Iraqi women prisoners. A delegation trying to help secure her release is holding a news conference today. And Soledad is now meeting with the Carroll family. She'll have an exclusive interview for you just about 15 minutes from now.

Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito could learn today if he's getting the support of a key Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senator Patrick Leahy is expected to reveal how he plans to vote during a speech at Georgetown University Law Center. In the meantime, Alito is holding meetings again today with senators.

NASA tries to reach for the stars again today. It plans to launch an unmanned space probe on a trip to Pluto. The launch of the New Horizons probe has been scrubbed for the past two days. NASA has until mid-February to send it into space. A launch this month will allow the probe to use Jupiter's gravity to knock five years off the three billion mile trip.

Seventy's singing teen idol Leif Garrett pleads not guilty to possession of heroin. Garrett entered the plea in a Los Angeles courtroom. The 44-year-old Garrett was arrested on an L.A. subway platform for not having a ticket. It is the first time he's had trouble with drugs. Actually, it isn't the first time. Garrett pleaded guilty in March to attempted possession of cocaine-based narcotics, and he was placed on probation.

Powerful winds bring big problems for parts of the Northeast. Hundreds of thousands of people have lost power after winds gusting to more than 60 miles an hour whipped through some areas. Power is out to hundreds of thousands of customers from Maine to Philadelphia. It could take days before the power is restored in some areas. But hopefully the winds have died down now.

Let's check in with Chad to find out.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Pixar and Disney, interesting. I thought there was some bad blood there. Now there's talk that Disney, in fact, will acquire Pixar.

Andy Serwer is here.

SERWER: Miles, good morning.

Here is what's been going on. These two companies had a close relationship for years, because Disney distributed Pixar's hit movies like "Toy Story" and "Nemo," "Mr. Incredible." But there was a falling out between Steve Jobs, the head of Pixar, and Michael Eisner, the former CEO of Disney.

Now, apparently, that's been patched up, because Disney has a new CEO, Bob Iger. And, in fact, things seem to be heating to the extent that "The Wall Street Journal" is reporting that -- whoa! -- is reporting this morning that Disney -- Woody, calm down -- is buying Pixar, close to buying Pixar. This has been talked about for a couple of weeks now. Of course, Steve Jobs is also the CEO of Apple Computer.

Interesting, if this deal goes through, the "Journal" says, Steve Jobs would become Disney's largest shareholder and would also go on the board of Disney. Maybe a combination of Disney and Apple Computer after that down the road?

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, there's global domination.

SERWER: Yes, it sure would.

M. O'BRIEN: Steve Jobs will be king of the world.

SERWER: Mr. Incredible.

M. O'BRIEN: Mr. Incredible himself.

SERWER: He sure is.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about Bill Maher on the Internet.

SERWER: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Amazon. Explain that one.

SERWER: Well, this is another one of these convergence deals, Miles. And what we're talking about is Bill Maher. You know him. He's on "LARRY KING" from time to time, has an interesting perspective on the world. Amazon.com is going to give him an online weekly talk show. That's right. Amazon is having an online weekly talk show. This is all about retail getting into the entertainment business, entertainment getting into the retail business. We talked about Starbucks going into the movie business.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

SERWER: There are Disney stores. You can see all of the world coming together.

Here is his first show. Stephen King to talk about his new book, "Cell," which we talked about the other day.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, right, right.

SERWER: Rob Thomas the singer, Toni Collette and Armistead Maupin.

And it's coming -- it will be coming out pretty soon. And then the real thing rolls out in June.

M. O'BRIEN: My favorite part is Amazon asking him to steer clear of political opinions. We'll see how long that lasts.

SERWER: Yes. Like about five seconds.

M. O'BRIEN: Five seconds.

SERWER: And Howard Stern's new show is going to be completely clean, too.

M. O'BRIEN: There you go.

SERWER: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Exactly.

SERWER: It does make sense.

M. O'BRIEN: And there's a tooth fairy, too.

SERWER: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Andy Serwer.

SERWER: You're welcome.

M. O'BRIEN: We'll see you back in just a few minutes.

SERWER: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, Soledad's exclusive interview with the mother of kidnapped American journalist Jill Carroll. She has a special message for her daughter's captors. That's at the top of the hour. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: In just a few minutes, Soledad's exclusive sit-down interview with the mother of kidnapped American Jill Carroll. It will be seen all around the world. Find out how the family is dealing during this incredibly trying time. And you'll hear her message aimed directly at Jill Carroll's captors. That's right here on AMERICAN MORNING. So please stay with us.

As we approach the top of the hour, let's check the forecast. Chad with that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Good morning. I'm Miles O'Brien in New York.

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