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American Morning

Port Insecurity; Hip-Hop Now Being Recognized as One of America's Most Revered Institutions

Aired March 06, 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 port controversy moves closer to the Senate floor while the company in question looks past any possible roadblocks.
All smashed up. Cars take a beating in the name of safety. We'll tell you which one came out on top and which one got junked.

And speaking of crashes, this one did pretty well at last night's Oscar awards. That's the movie "Crash."

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. It was a big surprise winner.

O'BRIEN: We should -- I should say.

COSTELLO: And the director from "Brokeback Mountain" was really disappointed. In fact, he was a little verklempt backstage.

O'BRIEN: Yes. He just said -- they asked why do you think and he just said, "I don't know." It wasn't like, you know...

COSTELLO: It wasn't like, oh, I'm really happy for "Crash."

O'BRIEN: Yes. He was clearly taken aback by the whole thing.

Let's talk about that controversial ports deal. It's on the front burner again in Washington today. Congress threatening action. The company, Dubai Ports World, not giving up either.

Here's White House Correspondent Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice over): President Bush came home from South Asia to a harsh reality, leading Republicans are not backing down in opposing a Dubai company operating six U.S. port terminals, saying an administration that prides itself on protecting America never should have embraced it in the first place.

REP. DUNCAN HUNTER, (R) ARMED SERVICES CHAIRMAN: I think they looked at it from a very, a very superficial level and they didn't get the intelligence briefs that go to Dubai's activities.

BASH: House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, a Bush stalwart who's vowing to stop this deal, said the president did not have basic facts about what he calls security red flags because the secretive approval process, led by the Treasury Department, is too weighted toward the business deal, not security. That's something Homeland Security Committee Chairman Susan Collins, another top Republican, says she's introducing legislation to change.

SEN. SUSAN COLLINS, (R) HOMELAND SECURITY CHAIRWOMAN: I think we need to scrap the committee, start again, constituted within the Department of Homeland Security, have the secretary of Homeland Security chair it, have a member of the intelligence community on it.

BASH: While Republicans are distancing themselves from Mr. Bush on the ports issue, one Democratic candidate is already using it in his campaign. Congressman Harold Ford is running for Senate in Tennessee, but made this commercial in Baltimore, one port DP World would operate.

REP. HAROLD FORD, (D) TENNESSEE: President Bush wants to sell this port and five other to the United Arab Emirates. A country that had diplomatic ties with the Taliban, the home of two 9-11 hijackers whose banks wired money to the terrorists.

BASH: Meanwhile, DP World is stepping up its campaign to save the deal. Its CEO telling CNN his company meets security standards on five continents where it operates and they would not get business if they weren't safe.

MOHAMMED SHARAF, CEO, DUBAI PORTS WORLD: Any personnel coming in to work in U.S. will have to go through U.S. immigration, will have to go through U.S. security authorities and then only they can come in and work.

BASH (on camera): The CEO insists there is no need to bring in more U.S. partners to allay concerns about security, but a Republican source involved in negotiations with DP World and the administration says there's a growing realization that opposition is so fierce the company will likely have to make additional changes to get this deal through.

Dana Bash, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Hearings on the port deal are likely to continue this month. It looks like this controversy will not be going away any time soon. Next hour, Wolf Blitzer will join us live from Dubai. He tells us why the chairman of DP World thinks this is already a done deal. "THE SITUATION ROOM" on the road at the United Arab Emirates.

Kelly Wallace in the newsroom looking at headlines for us.

Good morning, Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning again, Miles.

Hello, everyone.

We begin with Iran. The country threatening to resume full-scale uranium enrichment, and that's because the International Atomic Energy Agency is meeting this week and could refer the issue to the U.N. Security Council. Tehran insists it only wants a nuclear program for electricity, but the U.S. and other Western countries believe Iran wants to build nuclear weapons. The IAEA chief says he's hopeful a deal can be reached.

In Poland, two wild swans have tested positive for bird flu. These are the country's first confirmed cases, although neighboring Germany and Ukraine have also had cases of bird flu. This is the same strain of the virus that's killed dozens of people and devastated poultry stocks in Asia.

So, how does your car stack up when it comes to safety? Well, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety chose the BMW 3 series as a top safety pick for front and side crash tests. The Lexus IS also scored high for its performance in the test. But the 2006 Ford Fusion did a poor job, earning the lowest overall ratings.

If you want to see how your car stacks up against the competition, you can go to CNN.com for more results.

The sparks are expected to fly this week in the Enron trial. The government's star witness, former chief financial officer Andrew Fastow, is taking the stand. His testimony expected to begin as early as tomorrow, and it could prove extremely damaging for Enron founder Ken Lay and former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling. Fastow has agreed to serve 10 years in prison on two counts of conspiracy.

And a big surprise, a huge upset at last night's Oscars. The film "Crash" walking away with the best picture award. It beat out "Brokeback Mountain," which had been favored to win.

Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman took top acting honors for his portrayal of Truman Capote in the movie "Capote."

And Reese Witherspoon won the best actress award for playing June Carter Cash in "Walk the Line."

And Miles and Carol, both thanking their parents along the way.

COSTELLO: I knew you were going to say that...

WALLACE: I know. I love that.

COSTELLO: ... because in the makeup room earlier, Kelly had a tear in her eye thinking about their tributes to their mothers.

WALLACE: I did get -- I'm such a sap for that, but they both honored their moms supporting them all the way and saying, mom...

COSTELLO: Could it have anything to do with you're pregnant?

WALLACE: No, no. Nothing at all to do with that. Maybe just a little bit. All right.

COSTELLO: Let's head to Atlanta to check in with Chad.

Good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Carol.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: You never argue in your marriage, do you?

MYERS: Were you talking to me?

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: I got nothing.

COSTELLO: I know. That's a good -- that's a good guy.

But anyway, you'll be interested in this story, because arguing with your husband or wife could be hazardous to your health. We'll tell you how.

Also, hip-hop finds a place of honor among Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis and The Fonz's jacket.

And later, we'll take you backstage at the Oscars. Some candid comments from the big winners on Hollywood's big night.

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEEN LATIFAH, ACTRESS, SINGER: The Oscar goes to...

(SINGING): It's hard out here for a pimp.

Oh my god!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: They were so much fun.

One of the big stories of last night's Oscars was the rap group 3-6 Mafia. The group won best song. Probably the only winners to pick up their trophies wearing throwback jerseys and sneakers.

They're the first African-American rap group to win the honor and a prime example of the growing respect hip-hop is earning in mainstream culture. And as CNN's Chris Huntington reports, hip-hop is now being recognized as one of America's most revered institutions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(MUSIC)

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In the late '70s, groups like The Sugar Hill Gang, as well as deejays, emcees, graffiti artists and break dancers from New York's South Bronx created a cultural phenomenon known as hip-hop. Thirty years later, the Smithsonian Institution is collecting hip-hop memorabilia for a permanent exhibit it hopes to unveil within three to five years.

Marvette Perez is the curator.

MARVETTE PEREZ, SMITHSONIAN CURATOR: To ignore it or not to take it into consideration, not only the impact it has had in the culture, the economics, in, you know, commerce, in sports, would to be ignore, I think, something important about urban culture and the history of urban America.

HUNTINGTON: D.J. Grandmaster Caz and photographer Joe Conzo are two of hip-hop's pioneers. They applaud the Smithsonian's plan.

D.J. GRANDMASTER CAZ, COLD CRUSH BROTHERS: It's a blessing for hip-hop, it's a blessing for rap music, it's a blessing for graffiti, it's a blessing for B-Boy, for deejays, for everything.

JOE CONZO, HIP-HOP PHOTOGRAPHER: I mean, you hear "Smithsonian." I mean, that is America's museum, you know. And it's long overdue.

HUNTINGTON: They should know. They were there when it all started.

CONZO: I documented the birth of a genre of music that I had no idea back then 30 years later would be a multibillion-dollar industry.

CAZ: And you this is way before the bling-bling era and all the cars and this and that because we're on a bike, on a ten-speed.

HUNTINGTON: Perez has already collected such classic hip-hop artifacts as Grandmaster Flash's turntable, the jackets of legendary break dancer Crazy Legs and Zulu Nation founder Afrika Bambaattaa, and the concert T-shirts of rapper Ice-T.

ICE-T, RAPPER: It's absolutely fly. You know, coming from something that was supposed to have been a fad, and now to be accepting something as prestigious as the Smithsonian Institute, that's a great thing.

HUNTINGTON: But hip-hop is not all rhymes and good times. It has spawned gangsta rap with its idolization of thuggery and tough guys shooting each other, sometimes mirrored in real life at concerts.

D.J. KOOL HERC, HIP-HOP LEGEND: You go to a rap concert, casualty. You know? And mainstream America is still fearful of it. And it's at a point right now they want the music but they don't want the element.

HUNTINGTON: But Perez says that element will be in the exhibit.

PEREZ: We will get criticism, of course, but we cannot ignore it and not deal with it because then we will not be doing justice to it and we would be hypocritical.

HUNTINGTON: The hip-hop pioneers just hope the Smithsonian doesn't gloss over how it all started.

CAZ: It's very important that this culture be documented and not only documented for when it became a household word or a full-blown entity, but document it from the beginning, from its roots, to where it started.

HUNTINGTON: Chris Huntington, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: I was going rap this tag, but I won't.

Museum officials think it will take three to five years before they gather enough material for a full-scale exhibit. But they say some pieces will be on display by this summer.

Andy is "Minding Your Business" this morning.

What's up?

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE": Well, I -- that's very good.

COSTELLO: Thanks.

SERWER: You're a big hip-hop fan.

GM slims down again. Sayonara, Suzuki. Plus, a product placement that may cause you to run a red light.

Stay tuned for that coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

SERWER: David Gilmour does not look like a rock star. He looks like a U.S. senator.

COSTELLO: Well, he's getting older.

SERWER: He looks distinguished. He looks clean-cut.

COSTELLO: He's still terrific, though. He's going to play in New York in April.

O'BRIEN: Look at that. Look at that picture. You know...

SERWER: Pink Floyd.

O'BRIEN: Would you associate Pink Floyd with that picture?

SERWER: Have you passed the legislation yet?

(LAUGHTER)

SERWER: Oh, yes.

COSTELLO: Well, we'll all go to his concert providing you can pay for the tickets.

SERWER: Yes, I'll go. All right.

COSTELLO: Did you know how much those babies are going to cost?

SERWER: A hundred bucks minimum.

COSTELLO: Yes.

Anyway, Andy's "Minding Your Business" in a minute. But first, a check of the headlines. Let's head out to the newsroom and Kelly Wallace.

WALLACE: Hello again, Carol. Thanks so much.

It's a question of life or death for Zacarias Moussaoui. He is the only person charged in connection with the September 11 terror attacks. Final jurors expected to be seated this morning and then the trial begins. The jury will be deciding between life in prison or the death penalty for Moussaoui. Moussaoui says he knew about September 11 but had no role in the attacks.

And coming up in the next half-hour, some of Jeanne Meserve's exclusive interview with Moussaoui's mother.

A series of explosions rocking Iraq this morning. At least nine people have been killed. Iraqi police say four car bombs exploded in Baghdad. A fifth explosion took place in a marketplace in Baquba. And that's north of Baghdad.

It could be one of the biggest telecommunications deals ever. AT&T is buying Bell South for $67 billion. The deal would give AT&T full ownership of Cingular Wireless, America's biggest mobile phone firm.

This whole deal still needs approval from the FCC and the U.S. Department of Justice. And the deal could be announced later today.

And new evidence that arguing with the one you love really, truly can break your heart. Psychologists at the University of Utah have found a link between the quality of relationships and heart disease. It seems marital spats can harden the arteries. The researchers' advice, try a little tenderness.

Keep in mind this was a small study. A very small study. Only about 150 couples took part in it.

Chad Myers doesn't need that advice.

MYERS: No.

WALLACE: I think you are probably very tender at home. Right, Chad? MYERS: Oh, my heart is like a rock.

(LAUGHTER)

MYERS: And that hardens the arteries, yes.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: Ah, now that's a forecast. Thank you, Chad. No complaints at all.

Big auto news out this morning. GM appears to get out of the Suzuki business and BMW is getting into the book business?

SERWER: Yes.

COSTELLO: Books? Like book books?

SERWER: Yes. It's interesting. We'll get to that.

Let's start with the GM one, though, first.

They, of course, are trying to right themselves, laying off thousands of employees and selling businesses. The latest this morning, GM selling a major stake in Suzuki.

It owned about 20 of that Japanese automaker, made mini cars, which makes mini cars. The Swift car, not to be confused with the swift boat. Suzuki makes -- they make motorcycles.

That's one, I think, right there. It's a new car.

O'BRIEN: It's a cute little thing.

SERWER: Yes, it is.

They make mini cars, they make motorcycles. You'll remember they made the Samurai, an SUV here in the U.S., but it rolled over a lot, according to "Consumer Reports," which killed sales. And they sued "Consumer Reports."

Anyway, this is part Kirk Kerkorian's plan, an activist to make them rid themselves of extraneous businesses.

And listen to this. From the CEO of Suzuki, "We have been under support of GM for a long time. Now it's our turn to help GM."

GM needs help. This from the CEO of Suzuki. Suzuki Motor.

O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this...

SERWER: Yes?

O'BRIEN: ... why -- why would Kerkorian insist on divesting of a profitable entity that makes vehicles? That's -- that's corp. business, right? SERWER: Well, interesting. And he also wants them to get rid of Saab, as well, which is a little bit less profitable. But it's money.

They could get about $2 billion out of this. And they just need cash pretty desperately at this point.

O'BRIEN: OK.

SERWER: Let's switch over to this BMW and book deal.

Now, suppose you are reading or listening to a book. "It as a dark and stormy night, and Dr. Smith hopped into his snug and warm BMW." Would you think that that's a product placement in a book?

Yes, it is. It is a product placement. Here's what's going on.

BMW is paying Random House to commission four novels that would include the word "BMW" a lot in it.

COSTELLO: Oh, come on.

SERWER: "The doctor drove a BMW."

O'BRIEN: Is this part of a trend? Are there other products that are starting to be injected into books?

SERWER: This is the first I know of it in books. It's kind of unusual in books.

COSTELLO: It's gross.

SERWER: It's an audio book that you would download from a Web site, BMW-audiobooks.com, and then you would listen to it. And...

COSTELLO: So how explicit are they going to get? "He's driving his plush BMW 500 Series with a..."

SERWER: Well, how about this one? This is a great line. Supposedly, in the book the guy -- the guy -- the character Ted's wife accuses him of loving the car more than he loves her and the character Ted responds, "It's not a car, it's a BMW Z4."

So to answer your question, Carol...

O'BRIEN: Oh. Now, that's dialogue, baby.

SERWER: That is. That just gets me going, right?

O'BRIEN: That is dialogue. Right.

COSTELLO: Thank you, Andy. That's good.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you very much.

Top stories coming up. Congressional leaders take action against that controversial port deal. The Pentagon orders a criminal probe into Pat Tillman's death.

Safety worries after a fire traps four power plant workers in West Virginia.

New crash test results from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

And a big upset at the Oscars. Hollywood's big night ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: We're about at the top of the hour, which means it's time to check in with Chad -- Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

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