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American Morning

Northeast Blizzard '06; Alabama Church Fires; Democratic Strategy

Aired February 13, 2006 - 07:30   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: That's Columbus Circle. I just did a little ground inspection of that location there and New York is coming back to life, Zain, I can tell you that. There are people walking their dogs, running through the park.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: You had a good time there in the park with those people.

O'BRIEN: Right.

VERJEE: Breaking the yardstick.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I broke a yardstick. I've got security on my tail on that one. And there -- they call it the White House any old day, but today, even whiter. Look at the roof.

VERJEE: It looks so pretty, though. I mean, you know, these are the moments where you see just that lovely blanket of white. Everything looks so picturesque until, of course, it turns to slush and sludge and everyone's miserable and gets showered by people driving by.

O'BRIEN: Savor the Rockwellian moment because on will come something else.

All right.

VERJEE: Well, you know, thousands of passengers are stranded, really frustrating for them, at New York's LaGuardia Airport. They're hoping to get where they're going today at least. The storm grounded all flights on Sunday and the airport just reopened at 6:00 this morning. Joining us now from LaGuardia is Barbara Peterson, the senior aviation correspondent for "Conde Nast Traveler" magazine.

Thanks so much for being with us. How backed up -- give us a sense of what it's like at the airport this morning.

BARBARA PETERSON, "CONDE NAST TRAVELER" MAGAZINE: Yes. Well, as you reported, LaGuardia is open. But just because it's open doesn't mean it's business as usual. In fact, far from it. They're still clearing some of the snow off the tarmac and there are very few planes at the gate. So, yes, it's open, but it's going to be a while before people get on their way.

A lot of flights have been cancelled. A lot have been delayed. So really there's not much happening right now. VERJEE: Who gets on the planes that get going first? Is it the people who have tickets for Monday morning or the people who have been waiting since Sunday?

PETERSON: Yes, when it comes to air travel, it really is not a democratic system. It's not first come, first serve. Logic would dictate, if you've been waiting a long time, you ought to go first. But if you have a confirmed seat on a flight that's leaving this morning, you actually go first. The reservations that were made weeks ago, those hold. So if you are one of the people who was stranded by cancelled flight, you just have to wait until there's an empty seat on a flight going out and that could take a while.

VERJEE: That's not fair. That's not fair.

PETERSON: Well, there's a lot of -- yes, there's a lot about air travel that isn't fair, as you know.

VERJEE: What about people who got tickets buying -- through miles versus people who bought -- and paid money to buy the tickets? Is there preferential treatment there?

PETERSON: Well, that gets down to how airlines manage their standby list. And a lot of people would love to know how that works. And that's a closely guarded secret at a lot of airlines. What they do is they just establish a list. It's based partly on when you were supposed to fly, but it also can be based on things like what fare you paid. If you're a premium member of their frequent flyer program. So that can be very tricky business. And, obviously, if you're flying on a free ticket, now it may not seem free to you because you earned it, but it may seem that way to the airline and you may be pretty far down the priority list.

VERJEE: How long will it take for things to get back to normal?

PETERSON: Oh, it can take days in a situation like this. And the reason is, is it's not just because the planes may not be where they ought to be, but it's also the crews. Now crews have to be legal to fly. That means they have to have had a certain number of rest hours. Now a lot of crews, of course, were stranded in the same places that their customers were. So to get those crews back to where they ought to be can often take literally days.

VERJEE: Barbara Peterson from "Conde Nast Traveler" magazine, thanks so much for being with us and giving us a reality check of what's going on there at LaGuardia.

Let's check in with CNN's severe weather expert. Did you like that title, severe weather expert? Chad Myers.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VERJEE: Let's check in with the headlines now and Carol Costello.

Hey, Carol. CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Zain.

And good morning to all of you.

The roller caster ride that is the Saddam Hussein trial is over for today. And, once again, it has provided a few ups and downs. You had the Former Iraqi leader complaining that he was dragged into the courtroom. You see him here wearing a blue robe and an overcoat instead of his usual shirt and tie. He screamed "down with Bush." He cursed at the chief judge. You may remember Hussein and his defense team had said they would not return to the courtroom until the judge was removed.

The British military is busy investigating a videotape showing troops allegedly beating Iraqis. And we've just learned that one person has now been arrested. The videotape was made public over the weekend. It's reported to be from 2004. You see it there. It shows British forces dragging, hitting and kicking some Iraqi teens. British Prime Minister Tony Blair is vowing to find out exactly what happened.

All six of the escapees from a Chicago area jail back in custody this morning. The two remaining escapees from Cook County Jail have apparently surrendered peacefully. They've been holding a woman and two children hostage. The prisoners are part of a six-man group that escaped from the jail on Sunday. They escape sparking criticism about a shortage of guards at the prison.

She tried. But in the end, Michelle Kwan could not get over an injury. It means she is giving up her shot at the gold. Kwan has withdrawn from the Olympic games because of her recurring painful groin injury. It was aggravated again after she landed badly after a triple jump in practice. Here's what Kwan had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHELLE KWAN, U.S. FIGURE SKATER: I don't think that I can be 100 percent and I respect the Olympics too much to compete and I don't feel that I can be at my best.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Kwan will be replaced by 17-year-old Emily Hughes. She is the sister of Olympic Champion Sarah Hughes. And imagine how Emily Hughes is feeling today. She's probably pretty darn happy, Miles.

O'BRIEN: I would think so. You know a lot of people felt that she did, in fact, belong on the team all along and might have been -- this might be the way it should be in some respects. But surely Michelle Kwan's career is a wonderful one. It's too bad there's not a gold medal in it. That's the only thing.

COSTELLO: True.

O'BRIEN: Thank you, Carol. Ten fires in ten days. That is what faces Alabama investigators as they try to find out who has been targeting those Baptist churches there. The latest case happened in Beaverton, Alabama. That happened over the weekend. That fire is northwest of where the other nine churches burned. And now investigators are hoping they will get some word from whomever is setting these fires. AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken live now in Beaverton.

And, Bob, they have a sense, at least kind of a profile description, combined with some witness reports, which tell them they believe it's two people, right?

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's a work-in-progress. The way this has worked, is that when the flames go up, as these did Saturday evening, they quickly make this an investigate scene. As you can see, there was considerable damage here and very quickly this was the tenth church to become a crime scene.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED PAULK, ASST. ALABAMA FIRE MARSHALL: We have determined that this fire is as a result of arson.

FRANKEN, (voice over): That was after investigators swarmed to the gutted remains of the tenth Alabama Baptist church to go up in flames in 10 days. Federal officials working with state and local, evidence experts and behavioral experts have now come up with working profiles of two suspects. Men they believe to be in their late 20s or early 30s.

JIM CAVANAUGH, ATF SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: We think they're buddies, partners, an inseparable team. You know when people see these two guys, they're going to say, you know, you always see them together. They're Frick and Frack.

FRANKEN: Saturday's fire meant that one more Alabama Baptist congregation had to find a different place to worship. The members of Beaverton Free Will Baptist were given room to sing and pray in another sanctuary a mile away. The burned-out churches have been spread through several counties in the state. Some have had mainly white congregations, some African-Americans. Officials say they don't understand the motives for these attacks. The lead agent here was among those involved 3 years ago in the D.C. sniper case and he has borrowed a page from that investigation. Special Agent Jim Cavanaugh is calling on the suspects to contact authorities by phone, mail, or e-mail to explain themselves.

CAVANAUGH: We want them to call us. We want to listen. We want to hear what they have to say.

FRANKEN: Rewards are being offered while officials continue to look for leads. Investigators say they've already gotten some good ones from their detailed analysis at each burned out church and from witnesses who spotted two men at the scene of at least one church arson.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: It's like a puzzle, investigators will tell you. A puzzle where they still don't know, Miles, what all the pieces are.

O'BRIEN: Well, and it's not easy to put it all together, Bob. We've got geographic disparities. Some are racial differences. The only threat here is Baptist churches. How are investigators trying to pull it all together right now?

FRANKEN: Well, one of the things that they're trying to do is decide where these people are from. And they've decided they're from the Birmingham area. I mentioned a moment ago I connections with the D.C. investigation. What they learned from that is that somebody will have a familiarity with one particular area and then, in effect, will try and take investigators off by going to other areas. They call it displacement and they believe that that might be at work here.

O'BRIEN: All right. Interesting. Bob Franken on the trail there in Alabama. It's hard to believe that given all that has happened, it is still possible to get near one of these churches. But as you say, it's a different location, maybe people weren't thinking it would happened there. Bob Franken in Beaverton, Alabama.

Coming up, a case of big brother in the workplace. You know, when I come to work, I always get this sense people are watching me.

VERJEE: Really? How?

O'BRIEN: Yes, I don't know. It's something out there.

Anyway, what do you think of getting an electronic I.D. implant so your boss can keep tabs on you? That sounds like a wonderful idea, doesn't it? Yes.

VERJEE: It sounds simply marvelous.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

VERJEE: We'll get more on that from Andy Serwer.

Also, who's to blame for the relief failures after Hurricane Katrina? Congress has a new report out. We're going to talk to one of the congressman who helped with the investigation.

O'BRIEN: And next, Democratic Chairman Howard Dean. He's with us here. And we'll ask him what it will take for Democrats to make some gains in the midterm elections. Ask him what he thinks, if Dick Cheney should, in fact, resign.

We'll do that and more next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: You know, it's not too early to start thinking about the midterm elections. Certainly members of both political parties are doing that just now. Joining us to look ahead at what the Democrats are thinking as they set their sights on 2006, gosh, it is 2006 already.

HOWARD DEAN, DNC CHAIRMAN: It's 2006, Miles. It is.

O'BRIEN: It's funny how that happens.

Howard Dean, Democratic National Chairman, who spent eight hours getting here from Washington.

DEAN: I did.

O'BRIEN: Just because of us here on AMERICAN MORNING. No, actually he's got a breakfast. The things these guys will do for a free breakfast.

DEAN: Or for a free piece on CNN, right?

O'BRIEN: There you go. There you go. Good to have you with us.

Let's talk about -- I want to start off, yesterday you were on the talk program "Face the Nation."

DEAN: Yes.

O'BRIEN: You said that the vice president should resign. Why?

DEAN: Well, actually, I didn't say that.

O'BRIEN: Well, why don't you clarify it.

DEAN: What Vice President Cheney's been accuse of doing by his chief aide, who's been indicted, is ordering the chief aide to leak national security information for the purpose of talking about his political opponents and trying to put them down. And that is really a violation. A terrible violation. If Vice President Cheney has, in fact, ordered the leaking of political information, of intelligence information, that means that he has to step aside. We don't know if it's true, but he's been accuse of it. If it's true, he has to step aside.

O'BRIEN: Well, not accused by name though. I mean I guess it's by . . .

DEAN: But when you're the chief of staff -- what Scooter Libby said was my superior . . .

O'BRIEN: Former chief of staff for the vice president.

DEAN: Right. Who was indicted. My superior ordered this. Well, you only have one superior if you're the chief of staff and that's the vice president.

O'BRIEN: All right. Does the vice president have the authority, by your interpretation, to release this kind of information, do you think?

DEAN: Absolutely not. Nobody has the authority to release this information. It's against the law. Classified information, especially when you release it at a time of war, is -- nobody has the authority to do that. There's a process you have to go through to declassify information. And you certainly don't release it to discredit your political opponents.

O'BRIEN: All right. So just to clarify then, you're not calling for his resignation but you're saying what?

DEAN: What I'm saying is, if this true, he has to go. There's no question about that.

O'BRIEN: OK. All right. The Republicans, after you appeared on "Face The Nation" on CBS offered up a statement. Let's put the statement up on the screen there. And it's "Chairman Dean delivered his signature mix of pessimistic and wild-eyed rhetoric today," meaning yesterday. "All the Democrat Party leader was able to offer were negative and baseless attacks and an agenda that the president and the Republican led Congress are already enacting." That was from a spokesman.

What do you say to that when you hear that?

DEAN: That's why the Republicans have been so incredibly unsuccessful in running the country. Whenever you have something to say, have always have to make personal attacks. The truth is, we have a tremendously positive agenda. One, we want honesty and openness back in the government. Two, we want a defense policy that requires telling the truth to the American people and our soldiers. Three, we want jobs in America that will stay in America. Four, we want a healthcare system that covers everybody and not some horrendous farce like this drug benefit program that they put through. And five, we want a public education system that restores optimism and opportunity in America. I think that's a pretty good platform.

O'BRIEN: It's always easy to find critics of the Democratic Party within the Democratic Party, isn't it.

DEAN: Yes, it is.

O'BRIEN: We have Barack Obama, one of your stars. I just want to share this quote with you. This is from "The Times" just a few days ago. "I think that two-thirds of the American people think the country is going in the wrong direction. They're not sure yet whether Democrats can move it in the right direction. We have been in a reactive posture for too long. I think we have been very good at saying no, but not good enough at saying yes."

That's a pretty valid statement, don't you think? I mean When you're kind of on the ropes as you are on the outside, no is the first answer, but you've got to come up with something else, right?

DEAN: Well, I just did.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

DEAN: That's what I'm talking about. We want healthcare for everybody, just like 36 other countries have. We want jobs in America that will stay in America, and decent jobs. And we want a strong defense that's based on telling the truth. Now I think that's a pretty good platform to start with. Not to mention bringing honesty back to our government again. I think that is a positive platform. That's just what we want.

O'BRIEN: But that no -- that sense of people getting the feeling that Democrats are saying no sticks for some reason.

DEAN: Well, there's so much harm that's being done by the administration. The enormous budgets deficits. The disastrous and misleading behavior of the president when Katrina came along. Now it turns out that there's a senior intelligence agency who's retired saying that they did cook the books on intelligence. And these are really serious charges. This is probably the most corrupt administration we've had since maybe ever and certainly since Harding, I would guess.

So there's a lot to say no to. And what I'm hoping is that we'll get a majority back in the House and the Senate so we'll put a stop to this budget philosophy of spend and borrow, and spend and borrow, and then we'll get some honesty back in government and stop the worst excesses. But we have to have a positive program and that's what ours is, jobs, healthcare, a strong national defense and honesty.

O'BRIEN: All right. Final thought. I want to get one of your other marquee talents, Senator Hillary Clinton here, talking about the issue of national security, which is a big issue. The Republicans score very well on this. Let's listen to her quickly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) NEW YORK: I take a back seat to nobody when it comes to fighting terrorism and standing up for national and homeland security. But even there, we could have done a better job than we have done. You cannot explain to me why we have not captured or killed the tallest man in Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: It's a good line, but Democrats are having a hard time in this issue. Americans feel safe with the Republican administration when it comes to national security. What can the Democrats do to change?

DEAN: First of all, the gap has dropped dramatically.

O'BRIEN: Right.

DEAN: They only have a five point difference. Here's what we need to do for a national defense policy. One, we do need to capture or kill Osama bin Laden. The president's spent five years, he hasn't done it. Two, North Korea needs to get rid of its nuclear weapons. The president's been in office five years, he hasn't done it. Three, the president's been in office, Iran is about to get nuclear weapons. This is not a president who's been strong on defense. This is a president who talks tough but doesn't play smart. We need to be much tougher. And the truth is, we need to use our brains and not just our brawn in order to defend America.

O'BRIEN: Howard Dean, Democratic National Chairman, eight-hour trip from Washington, thanks for coming up.

DEAN: Eight-hour trip. Thanks for having me on, Miles.

O'BRIEN: For being here and here for breakfast.

DEAN: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: What a guy will do for a breakfast.

Zain.

VERJEE: Miles, thanks.

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

What do you have for us?

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Zain, how would you like to be tagged with a chip in your arm so your boss can track you?

VERJEE: I would hate that.

SERWER: Yes, the apocalypse is almost upon us. Coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: There may be a surprising new use for those tiny electronic tags that you used for people -- people use to track lost pets. They may be now tracking humans as Andy is going to tell us.

What's going on?

SERWER: Zain, it's amazing stuff.

VERJEE: I don't like the sounds of it.

SERWER: No. It's interesting. 1984 has finally arrived, if you follow. These are called RFID chips and they're used in packages and packages and products more and more and more. Tiny little silicon chips. Now according to the FT, the Financial Time, a company in Cincinnati, Ohio, called citywatcher.com has implanted two RFID chips into the arms of two employees. This to secure a room that holds sensitive data.

This apparently is the first instance of employees having -- this is a voluntary program -- to have these chips in. This company here, VeriChip, you just saw, has planted these chips into other individuals, 70 people in the United States, but for medical reasons to track them and to understand where they are and what their symptoms would be if they got sick. But this is the first time it's being used in business. And, of course, I mean, this is scary stuff, right? I mean . . .

VERJEE: It's just a matter of time.

SERWER: Right. Because instead of carrying our I.D. badges, it will just be right here in the old arm. Right?

VERJEE: Their wives can track them, too? I mean this could pose a problem.

SERWER: Well the company says no but, I mean, it's just one little more algorithm away from doing that, I'm sure.

VERJEE: Equifax getting a cameo role in a movie, "Firewall."

SERWER: Right. We had Harrison Ford on the program last week to talk about his new picture, "Firewall." And it turns out that Equifax, one of the big credit bureaus, along with TransUnion and Experion, gets a cameo roll. Harrison Ford saying someone stole my credit card. Well apparently in the movie he uses Equifax to do a credit check. So sort of an usual cameo product placement. You usually think of a bottle of Coke or something like that. Here it's a credit bureau.

VERJEE: Andy Serwer, you have the best business stories.

SERWER: Thank you. It is fun.

VERJEE: Yes, I really enjoy them.

SERWER: It's all my producers, but thank you.

VERJEE: Yes, thank you, Andy Serwer.

In a moment, the blizzard of 2006. The east coast got a harsh reminder that winter is not over yet. What can people expect today? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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