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American Morning
Record Bank Heist in Britain; Port Deal Sparks Concerns; Dorothy Hamill: 30 Years Later
Aired February 23, 2006 - 08:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. We're talking again about port security. Some longshoremen, those who work at the ports, absolutely furious, I think it's fair to say, about this new proposal that would put this UAE company in charge of ports -- of the ports in six cities in this country. We're going to talk a little bit more about that this morning.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The president is standing firm on it, and it is definitely a big controversy up and down the eastern seaboard and in Washington.
And we're going to tell you about this incredible heist. Straight from a Hollywood screenplay or treatment. It involved kidnappings and hostage takings.
S. O'BRIEN: Seventy million bucks, too.
M. O'BRIEN: And then, ultimately more than $70 million, the biggest robbery we know of anywhere, any time, period, as far as we know. So we'll bring you up-to-date on that.
(NEWSBREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about this story that could be the biggest bank heist in Britain, or maybe the biggest bank heist anywhere. It could be up to $73 million stolen. It happened in Tonbridge, which is about 40 miles southeast is of London. Has all of the elements of a professional job. In fact, it has sort of some elements of Hollywood, too, weirdly enough.
Let's get right to CNN's Jim Boulden. He's at the scene for us this morning.
Hey, Jim, good morning. What do police know about these guys, this crew?
JIM BOULDEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Soledad, that's exactly the question we're wondering. What would you do with $73 million and who are these armed raiders who took it? We will be hearing in just a few minutes a police conference a few miles from here, and should be getting up-to-date information.
You have to remember, this happened about 35 hours ago. These men came to this chocolate colored building. This is a bank -- this is a deposit for cash from banks and going to banks. It's not a bank itself. It's a very undescript building. But what they did is they got in here by kidnapping the depot manager and kidnapping his family. And we're told he told the depot manager if they did not get in, they would kill his family.
So Wednesday morning at about 1:00 in the morning, a seven and a half ton white truck pulled up here and for an hour these armed men filled it with anywhere between $40 to $70 million in cash, and they disappeared. And as I say, that happened just over about 35 hours ago. So Soledad, they could be anywhere as we speak.
S. O'BRIEN: Gosh, what an incredible story. All right, thanks for the update. Appreciate it. We'll check back in with you this morning -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: As we've been telling you, an Arab-controlled country would like to manage a half dozen key U.S. seaports. In our "Security Watch" this morning, the question we have is, would the deal open the door to terrorists?
Adaora Udoji takes to us the waterfront.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE GROFFO, LONGSHOREMAN: Zero-six with that.
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Joe Groffo has been working the New Jersey Port, just across the river from New York City, for more than 30 years.
GROFFO: We handle a wide array of containers here.
UDOJI (on camera): From all over the world.
GROFFO: From all over the world.
UDOJI (voice-over): Some of the people who manage the terminals also come from all over the world. Today, a Danish company and a Chinese company each runs a terminal here.
GROFFO: Six level here, so that the people can...
UDOJI: That doesn't bother Groffo, who is the safety director at the company where he works.
GROFFO: None of them are at war with America.
UDOJI: However, he and many of his fellow longshoremen are vehemently opposed to a United Arab Emirates-owned company taking over one of the terminals, a country where, they believe, some are tied to terrorism.
GROFFO: I know how they feel about us. And I -- I don't want something like that to happen here in America, where we possibly could be looking at another 9/11. (CROSSTALK)
UDOJI (on camera): So, you're worried that they are not going to have their eyes open as much as, say, another company would?
GROFFO: I feel that there is a possibility that their backs could be turned.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some people say they might put bombs and things in containers and ship them over here. That's all.
GLENN GOODWIN, LONGSHOREMAN: You know, for the last four years, we have been hearing about -- you know, our president telling us that, you know, the Middle Easterners are the enemies. But, yet -- and, still, now it is OK to go to the negotiation table with them. You know, I mean, it is ridiculous.
UDOJI (voice-over): Longshoremen here say a Dubai Ports World takeover won't change their jobs. And their union acknowledges, security will still be handled by the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Customs, among many others.
But, still, five years after the World Trade Center attacks, they feel betrayed by President Bush.
GROFFO: I thought it was great when he went after Osama bin Laden. I thought was great that he went into Iraq. But, now, I don't understand this, and I want answers. I'm not comfortable.
UDOJI: Groffo is promising to do his best, to tighten security, to remind his fellow workers to keep their eyes and ears open, because they are, he says, a first line of defense for a city that has seen what terrorists can do.
Adaora Udoji, CNN, Newark, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: And we remind you to stay with CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: You know, we've heard about the -- you know, when I say Michael and Magic and LeBron and all that stuff.
S. O'BRIEN: I know who you're talking about.
M. O'BRIEN: In Rochester, in New York's Greek -- Greece Athena High School, J-Mac is the one word that destroys it all. Jason McElwain. He's the team manager for the varsity basketball team, the manager. You know what the managers do, right? They take care of the towels and keep scores and stuff. He got his big dream, the coach decided to let him play a game, just one game, for only four minutes. Oh what a magical four it was.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JASON MCELWAIN, "J-MAC," SCORED 20 POINTS: The team was excited. Everybody else was excited. I was on fire. I was hotter than a pistol.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Hotter than a pistol.
Hot is right. J-Mac tied the school record, six three-pointers, a total of 20 points in four minutes on the floor. And lest we forget, one little footnote to all of this, J-Mac happens to be autistic.
S. O'BRIEN: Which is so interesting. You wonder, why hasn't the coach played him all year, or maybe he wants to be the manager and doesn't, you know...
M. O'BRIEN: Will he be starting the next game?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes!
M. O'BRIEN: We got to get J-Mac on the phone.
S. O'BRIEN: Fire that coach if he doesn't start J-Mac.
We're "Minding Your Business" just ahead this morning. We're going to tell you why advertisers think sniffing could be the way to get right to your wallet, weirdly enough.
M. O'BRIEN: Are we talking about those magazines that Sandy has?
S. O'BRIEN: No, it's like you smell so good, Miles. I think I want to watch more AMERICAN MORNING. That kind of thing.
M. O'BRIEN: Great. OK, I'll make sure I shower more often.
And Kelly Wallace will take a walk down memory lane, or a skate down memory lane with her childhood idol, Dorothy Hamill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOROTHY HAMILL: Little did I know that day would change my life. You know, I was 19. And you know, it's one of those things you dream about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Dorothy Hamill shares her memories with an old fan -- well, she's not old, but a longtime fan, the good and bad memories, and Kelly shares with her, her special Dorothy Hamill scrapbook.
S. O'BRIEN: Crush.
M. O'BRIEN: You do not want to miss the story of this long-term crush. Stay with us. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MARKET REPORT)
We'll look at what Anderson has coming up on "ANDERSON COOPER 360" while we test out some of the products this morning -- Anderson.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Soledad, imagine wake up on a train and not knowing your name, or your job or your family, anything, total amnesia. Your entire life a mystery. How would you cope? Tonight, see how one man did, and hear how he reconnected with the people he once loved and learned to love again. That's tonight on "360," 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
All right, Anderson, looking forward to that.
Much more AMERICAN MORNING to tell you about straight ahead. We're going to catch up with Dorothy Hamill. She'll talk about how her 1976 gold medal changed her life forever.
Plus, writer and director Tyler Perry joins us. He's got a new movie out. It's called "Medea's Family Reunion." Oh my god, so, so funny. We're going to ask him what it was like to go from -- he was homeless, putting on plays that he was staging out of his own basically his own pocket to becoming a superstar. An interview with him ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
S. O'BRIEN: Oh what a night it's going to be tonight. That's right, ladies' night in Torino. One of the premiere events of the Winter Olympics, of course, hits the ice tonight, the long program in women's figure skating.
American Sasha Cohen currently in the lead by a little teenie little scooch. Her teammates, Kimmie Meissner and Emily Hughes, are also very much in the race. The winner of the gold medal, no doubt, becomes an instant hero.
Remember this other instant hero? It's been 30 years since Dorothy Hamill won her gold medal, and she is still a hero to millions of people. Among them, AMERICAN MORNING's Kelly Wallace, who really -- you fulfilled kind of a childhood dream. Like, this is no joke. This is a dream of yours to meet her and interview her.
WALLACE: I know. I have always said, you know, being a reporter, people always think about who I would like to interview. And I've always said, wouldn't it be a hoot to one day interview Dorothy Hamill? So you can imagine how excited I was.
S. O'BRIEN: When they gave it to you. WALLACE: I don't know if they assigned. I think I begged, pleaded, and said let me do this story! But we thought, wouldn't it be interesting, 30 years later, to check in with Dorothy Hamill?
S. O'BRIEN: Well, she's...
WALLACE: And she was just sweet and darling, and she looks fabulous, fabulous. Because, as you'll see in our story that we're going to show you, 30 years later, she is still skating five days a week. And she also is still amazed at how everything changed for her when she won that Olympic gold.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE (voice-over): She still has it. Grace, speed, and oh, yes, traces of that hairstyle, which was the rave back in 1976.
(on camera): What did you think when girls all across the United States wanted to have the Dorothy Hamill?
DOROTHY HAMILL, 1976 OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: That horrible haircut!
WALLACE: It wasn't horrible! I didn't have it, but I loved it.
HAMILL: Lucky you.
WALLACE: No!
(voice-over): Thirty years ago, Hamill was just 19, a shy kid from Connecticut who, by winning Olympic gold, suddenly became America's sweetheart.
WALLACE (on camera): That shot, you know, where they're putting the gold medal around your neck. What's going on through your mind?
HAMILL: Oh, my gosh, there's so many emotions. I remember thinking oh, my gosh, I did it, and I wanted to look at the medal and see what it actually looked like.
WALLACE (voice-over): Millions of little girls around the country wanted to be just like her, including OK, full disclosure here, this reporter.
HAMILL: Is this your little scrapbook?
WALLACE (on camera): My little scrapbook!
HAMILL: Oh, my gosh.
WALLACE: Look at you!
HAMILL: Isn't that scary? You got a real autograph. That's not the forged one.
WALLACE: I got the real. And you say "To Kelly, thank you for the lovely flowers."
(voice-over): Our interview turned into a walk down memory lane, recalling the good times and the toughest.
(on camera): This is Ice Capades. I think this is when your first show -- and you're getting ready to perform in Madison Square Garden.
HAMILL: Yes. Oh, my gosh. I was not prepared to handle any of that. That's a time I would never want again. I was just painfully shy. That's one of the reasons I took up skating, because I didn't have to talk to anybody. And all of a sudden everybody wanted five minutes and I didn't get to practice, and I was so unprepared.
WALLACE (voice-over): Hard to believe she's nearly 50 now, a twice divorced single mother with a 17-year-old daughter, who still skates five days a week and travels around the country, performing in the ice show "Broadway on Ice." But now she's also on the other side of the rink.
HAMILL: You guys are hot.
WALLACE: She's a judge on Fox's new show "Skating With Celebrities."
So how does she size up the Olympic competition?
HAMILL: I'll tell you, we got some great girls.
WALLACE (on camera): I know...
HAMILL: Emily Hughes.
WALLACE: Tell me about the great girls, the great young women.
(voice-over): Cohen, Meissner, Hughes. But she says don't count out Slutskaya of Russia.
(on camera): Twenty-seven, too.
HAMILL: Yes! I know.
WALLACE: So, you go!
HAMILL: For the old people, right?
WALLACE: Exactly, the old ones.
HAMILL: Twenty-seven.
WALLACE: The older ones are at it.
(voice-over): The sport has changed so much, she says, with new scoring and greater media attention, that she's glad she's not a 19- year-old competitor again. But oh, how she loves it, just as much as she did as a little girl, dreaming of gold. HAMILL: It's the freedom, I love the edges. I love the lean, I love the -- you know, the wind at my face. I love interpreting music. It's just something that, you know, gets right to my core.
WALLACE: An idol 30 years ago, an icon now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WALLACE: Yes, this is definitely one of my favorite stories. That's for sure. You know, Soledad, I joked with her, because she said she loved skating so much. So I said, OK, so retirement's not an option. She said no, no, at some point, you know, the body, things hurt a little more.
S. O'BRIEN: Ninety, 95.
WALLACE: But she said she's always going to skate because she loves it so much.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, I bet, I bet. She looks fabulous. I mean, she really does look absolutely fantastic. Good for her.
WALLACE: You know, part of it is skating five days a week and still traveling with the "Broadway on Ice" team.
S. O'BRIEN: She seems really at peace, too, kind, you know, accepting the upsides and the downsides of the fame. You know, kind of made peace with it.
WALLACE: And I asked her how often does she think about that moment, you know, 1976?
S. O'BRIEN: Every day?
WALLACE: No, you know, she said every four years, though. You know, it's Olympic time and she's watching another...
S. O'BRIEN: Right, she watches the -- that's interesting. That's really interesting.
WALLACE: She thinks they'll have it a little easier, though, because they're already used to media, media training, doing more professional work even as amateurs. So she thinks...
S. O'BRIEN: Things have changed in 30 years.
WALLACE: Things have changed so much.
S. O'BRIEN: Kelly, thank you. Terrific report.
WALLACE: Sure, thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles?
M. O'BRIEN: Isn't it great you met your idol and she was wonderful and you had a good experience? WALLACE: I know, I know, I know. What if she were not incredibly darling? What would I have said?
S. O'BRIEN: We'd be prying you off.
(CROSSTALK)
WALLACE: I knew she would be.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Kelly. Great job.
Coming up, some top stories we're looking at. A roof collapse in Moscow. The death toll now stands at 40. There are people trapped and there's desperate effort to try to save them.
Deadly protests spread in Iraq, after an explosion at a sacred mosque there.
The White House releasing its own Katrina report. Top senators get a briefing on that controversial port deal, as well.
And British police investigate a heist which may get into the $70 million range.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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