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American Morning
Rumsfeld's Troubles; Moussaoui Trial; Swipe At Scientology; Drug Label Warnings
Aired March 23, 2006 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: President Bush takes another stab at changing public opinion on the war in Iraq. Is it working?
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Tragedy on vacation: 12 American tourists killed when their tour bus crashes down a mountainside in Chile. We're there live with the latest.
O'BRIEN: And should you take GM's buy-out offer, or should workers stay on the job? More than 100,000 GM workers are trying to answer that very question.
ROBERTS: And Chef is back as "South Park" takes another swipe at Scientology. That's ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
O'BRIEN: Welcome back. We begin in Iraq, where three Western hostages are free this morning. The Christian Aid Workers, two Canadian, one Britain and one American were kidnapped last November. The American, Tom Fox was found dead two weeks ago, just days after this video tape was released. CNN International Correspondent Nic Robertson is live for us in Baghdad this morning.
Hey, Nic. Good morning.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Hey, Soledad. Good morning to you.
Very interesting details literally just emerging in the last few minutes about how this operation in the west of Baghdad took place. We're told that a multinational force was involved in freeing the three men, that U.S. Special Forces were involved in that, but we have just learned that no shots were fired in this operation.
Indeed, somehow, surprisingly, the captors of these three men were not present when they were released. We don't know why that was. We don't know how exactly that came about. What we do know this was an operation that had been in the planning for several weeks we are told and involved both military and civilian personnel in the planning.
The British embassy says it was involved in long talks, ongoing talks with both Canadian and Iraqi officials to bring this about. But the operation in the west of Baghdad this morning being declared very much a success. All three men alive, well and in safety, unharmed, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Let me ask you a question about Jill Carroll, the American journalist who has been missing for more than two months now, Nic. Any update on what's happened to her?
ROBERTSON: Indeed, sadly, not. Jill Carroll has been in captivity for 76 days. Possibly there will be more information coming with the release of these three men. That may create some sort of momentum with her captors, but absolutely that's not clear and certainly no recent word about her fate at this time, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Final question for you, Nic, about the slew of car bombings you've seen this morning already.
ROBERTSON: Four, in fact, a very deadly one at a police headquarters, killing 15 people, wounding 32 others. The total death toll today so far, 24 people killed -- 23 people killed, rather, and just a few minutes ago I heard another large blast in the city.
O'BRIEN: Nic Robertson, thank you for the update.
Kidnappings, suicide car bombings, assault on police, sectarian violence. In spite of all that, President Bush says there has been progress in Iraq. And for the last five days he's been pushing his Iraq policy to audiences around the country. CNN White House Correspondent Elaine Quijano is live for us at the White House.
Hey, Elaine. Good morning.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning to you, Soledad.
The central message President Bush wants to send with all of these appearances and events is that he has a plan for victory in Iraq. He's used a variety of different settings over recent days to send that message.
On Wednesday it was a town hall-type format in Wheeling, West Virginia with military personnel and military families looking on in the audience. The president understood the sacrifices he was asking of them.
Now, just a short time ago, the counselor to the president, Dan Bartlett, told AMERICAN MORNING that the president recognizes Americans' unease with the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN BARTLETT, WHITE HOUSE COUNSELOR: What he is saying is that the American people -- that he appreciates the anxiety that people feel when you see the type of images coming out of that country, the very nature of the violence that we've seen is very unsettling, but despite that violence, our commander is on the ground, our diplomats on the ground are confident the strategy is slowly but surely working.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: Getting back to some of the events, as we've seen in recent days the president in Wheeling yesterday took questions from the audience. It was a mostly friendly crowd, but the give and take, part of the White House strategy, a chance for the president to show he is willing to engage in debate on this issue -- Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano for us this morning. We heard from White House Counselor Dan Bartlett, a chunk of a full interview that John Roberts did with Dan Bartlett. We'll hear the full interview in the next hour. In a few minutes the Democrat's Iraq policy from DNC Chairman Howard Dean.
ROBERTS: A tragic end for some Americans on a cruise vacation; 12 American tourists died when their bus plunged 260 feet down this mountainside. Two others are in the hospital. Their cruise ship, docked in Arica, Chile as part of a two-week trip. The crash occurred while they were returning to the ship Lauca (ph) National Park.
Joining me on the phone now, is U.S. embassy spokesman, John Vance. He's in Santiago, Chile.
Mr. Vance, what you can tell us about the circumstances surrounding this crash?
VANCE: Good morning. At this stage, information is skill sketchy. It was a group of American tourists, 16 people in total, including the driver and the tour guide, returning from a day-long excursion to a national park near to the border with Bolivia.
On the return leg of that trip, at some point, they went over a steep embankment, sounds like 260-300 feet. And unfortunately 12 of the Americans traveling on the bus were killed.
ROBERTS: Looking at the pictures from the scene, we're looking at pictures of survivors being taken to the hospital, looked like a barren mountainside with switchback roads and steep inclines between the switchbacks. There is information from the driver who survived the crash, that he swerved to avoid an oncoming truck. Is that what you've heard? Or have you heard anything different?
VANCE: I've heard the same thing although I've not had it confirmed, but the way characterize the road is what been able to gather. We have sent consular officers, they are currently en route. And those are just the type of questions they're looking into, along with taking care of the survivors and providing all the services they can for family members. They're looking into being in touch directly with Chilean authorities to get some of those answers.
ROBERTS: What can you tell us about the two American survivors now in the hospital in Arica?
VANCE: Well, Celebrity Cruise Lines has sent doctors and nursing staff there to help out, and our folks are on the way as well. According to the hospital workers, the medical staff at the hospital, the two Americans are in stable condition, and that's about all we know at this point.
ROBERTS: Can you tell us whether there was any connection that you know of between the tour bus operator and Celebrity Cruises?
VANCE: I can't directly. I know what Celebrity Cruises has said, in a statement, this was an independent tour group, not directly booked or operated by the cruise company, and that's the extent of our knowledge. That's another one of the questions that we're in touch with Chilean authorities about, and I look forward to finding answers for the family.
ROBERTS: John Vance, U.S. embassy spokesman, from Santiago, Chile. John, thanks very much. We'll get back to you later on today.
If you're concerned about a loved one who was onboard that cruise ship and you are looking for more information. There is a hotline that's been set up. Here's the telephone number for you, it's 888-829- 4050. That's 888-829-4050.
O'BRIEN: The suspect in the brutal rape and murder of a New York City graduate student is being arraigned this morning. Darryl Littlejohn was a bouncer in a bar where Imette St. Guillen was last seen alive. Littlejohn claims he's innocent. CNN's Allan Chernoff is live outside the courthouse in New York.
Hey, Allan, good morning.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Soledad.
Police pointed to Darryl Littlejohn as the prime suspect in this crime about two weeks ago. But they did not arrest or charge him. Police had him on jail on a parole violation. Finally, this morning, Darryl Littlejohn will be arraigned on the charge of raping and murdering Imette St. Guillen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice over): It was 4:00 in the morning, Saturday, February 25th, closing time at the Falls Bar in Manhattan. Police say witnesses saw bouncer Darryl Littlejohn escort grad student Imette St. Guillen out of the bar, the student of criminal justice was only months away from graduating.
And 17 hours later, police found her body laying here in an isolated lot in Brooklyn. St. Guillen had been raped and strangled. Her face was covered with strips of packing tape and her hands and legs bound with plastic ties.
MAUREEN ST. GUILLEN, IMETTE'S MOTHER: She was a beautiful girl. She was, I mean, beautiful inside also. She was kind. She was loving. She wouldn't hurt anyone.
CHERNOFF: Forensic scientists here at the New York medical examiner's office found a small quantity of blood on the ties around St. Guillen's wrists. Their DNA analysis identified the blood as Darryl Littlejohn's.
RAY KELLY, N.Y. POLICE COMMISSIONER: This is a very significant development when you talk about DNA we're talking about the certainty of 1 in 1 trillion, so it is, you know, a very important piece of evidence for us. CHERNOFF: More evidence, hours before the body was found in eastern Brooklyn, cell phone transmission towers tracked Littlejohn's mobile phone to that immediate vicinity, all facts that made Littlejohn the prime suspect.
Littlejohn showed no emotion as he denied killing Imette St. Guillen in his first interview since the murder.
DARRYL LITTLEJOHN, INDICTED FOR MURDER: I'm a likely suspect because I have a criminal background and I wasn't supposed to be there working.
CHERNOFF: Littlejohn, an ex-con, has no history of sexual assault. Some criminal justice experts say that could present a challenge in convicting the former bouncer, because the evidence, they say, points to someone with experience in sexual attacks.
N.G. BERRILL, PROF., JOHN JAY COLLEGE: It's clear that this crime was enacted in a fairly method methodical manner. There was a bunch of supplies involved. There were step by step progressions, I'm sure, beginning with fear, then torture, sex abuse, then death.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: But Littlejohn has a long criminal history, including three convictions for armed robbery. He spent nearly 19 of his 41 years in prison. And today, he'll be facing charges that could put him in prison for the rest of his life -- Soledad?
O'BRIEN: Why the two-week delay? You said he was the prime suspect two weeks ago. Why so long to indict him?
CHERNOFF: Well, certainly the police were under tremendous pressure to find a prime suspect, but the district attorney here in Brooklyn certainly not under the same kind of pressure to immediately bring the indictment. There was a lot of investigation going on. The forensic scientists were still analyzing DNA evidence, and the DA wanted to have as much evidence as possible before actually getting the indictment.
O'BRIEN: Allan Chernoff for us this morning, in Manhattan. Allan thanks. John?
ROBERTS: Time for a check of the weather forecast. Reynolds Wolf is in for Chad Myers at the CNN Center.
(WEATHER FORECAST)
O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, Democrats critical of the president's war strategy. Do they have a better plan? We'll talk to DNC Chairman Howard Dean this morning.
ROBERTS: Also ahead, we'll crunch the numbers and look at GM's huge buyout plan. We'll see whether it can really help the troubled automaker. O'BRIEN: And later, an FDA panel wants stronger warnings on drugs for attention deficit disorder. We'll check in with a leading pediatrician to see if those warnings go far enough. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: President Bush making a series of appearances, timed to the third anniversary of the war in Iraq, on Wednesday in, West Virginia, he shook off criticism of his war plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm going to make up my mind based upon the advice of the United States military that's in Iraq. I'll be making up my mind about the troop levels based upon recommendations of those who are on the ground. I'm going to make up my mind based upon achieving a victory, not based upon polls, focus groups, or election-year politics.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Howard Dean is the chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He joins us from Washington.
Nice to see you, Dr. Dean. Thanks for talking with us.
HOWARD DEAN, CHAIRMAN, DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CMTE.: Thanks for having me on.
O'BRIEN: I've noticed that politicians always say I'm not going to look at the poll numbers when they're poll numbers are particularly bad. And I'm going to say, across the board, every politician I've ever interviewed, happy to talk about the poll numbers when the poll numbers are good. President's poll numbers, bad, 38 percent on average, overall approval for the president.
There's another question, when Americans are asked about the Democrats and their plan for Iraq, nearly 70 percent of Americans say that the Democrats don't have a clear plan for Iraq. Why is that number so bad?
DEAN: Well, first let me just say I wish the president would have made up his mind based on military advice before he sent our troops over there because he certainly didn't listen to the military on the way in. And so that's really why the president's in deep trouble and it's why he's not going to be able to recover.
O'BRIEN: But with all the deep trouble, why are you, the Democratic Party, not able to leverage off those terrible poll numbers and have better numbers for your plan for Iraq?
DEAN: Actually, we do have great numbers. Most people in the country say they'd elect a Democrat to serve in Congress before they elected a Republican. Let's get specifically to the question about Iraq. We do have a clear plan about Iraq. I saw it yesterday on this program, one of the Republicans' henchman out there saying, oh, the Democrats want to withdraw immediately. That's not true. You can't believe what the Republicans say, and most people in this country don't believe what the Republicans say anymore.
What we want to do -- we don't believe as the president said that we ought to leave this to the next president. The president got us into this. He needs to plan to get us out of it. We do believe that we can't withdraw immediately. That's not going to stabilize this dreadful situation, which the president has caused by his rash actions and because he did not listen to the military when we went in.
O'BRIEN: OK, so you ...
DEAN: Our plan is pretty clear, that the United States Senate has adopted our plan which is 2006 has to be a transition year, that the Iraqi have to take responsibility now for what's going on. We were the ones that suggested, which is now being adopted by Republicans, that the Iraqis be required to have unity government based on this election. They need to take responsibility for this. We need over the next couple of years to bring our folks home.
This is not something we'll leave to 2009. I was shocked when the president said that. It just shows a total disconnection from what's real in Iraq. We've been lied to about what's going on in Iraq for a long time. This reminds me of Vietnam, President Nixon and Vice President Agnew. We have -- the Defense secretary went before Congress and said the oil money from Iraq was going to pay for all of this, $200 billion later, our folks are out. Homeland security begins with hometown security and we ought to pay attention in America.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: Let's go back to the polls for a second. If there is a plan you're saying and the Democrats are putting up this unified front, why are the numbers so bad? Why are Americans not getting that message? 70 percent say that there is no plan.
DEAN: Because the Republicans have the president of the United States. The president of the United States can say whatever he wants and so do his henchmen, when they get out there. The president blames the media, but the truth is, our problem is getting through to the media. We're not blaming the media. We're just saying, when you're the president you can say what you want and that's what gets covered.
We've steadily put together a solid position on Iraq. There's a middle ground between Jack Murtha and Joe Biden. We think it makes a lot of sense. And we think -- I can guarantee you if the Democrats take over you will not hear talk from us about we're going to leave this to the next president. We need to deal with Iraq right now. And we need to deal with it a thoughtful and sensible way, and we need to listen to the military, not just talk about listening to the military, which is what the president's doing. This president doesn't give a darn what the military tells him and never has. O'BRIEN: Jack Murtha says the election will be all about the war, the midterm election. Do you think that's going to be true?
DEAN: I think it's partly about the war, and I think it's partly about do you want more of same or do you want a real change. We're going to give you a real change. We'll bring honesty and openness back to our government again. We're going to create America jobs that will stay in America. We want a health care system that works for everybody. Look what the president did. Didn't tell us the truth about Medicare Part D, this ridiculous drug program he has for Medicare driving seniors crazy. We need a president who will tell us the truth.
O'BRIEN: When you say we, who are you putting forward? Who is it going to be?
DEAN: For the Democrats?
O'BRIEN: Yes, for the presidential election?
DEAN: That's not my job. That's the voter's job. Unlike the Republicans, we actually believe voters have something to say about who our nominee is.
O'BRIEN: Give your first pick for me.
DEAN: I'm the referee in this one.
O'BRIEN: Who are you putting out as candidates?
DEAN: Well, I'm the referee. The voters will choose the candidates.
Let me just be serious for a second. We're focusing on 2006. We need to take the House and the Senate back. We can stop a lot of the terrible destruction going on in our economy; and stop some of the ridiculous statements by the president we'll be there until 2009 and this is the next president's problem.
Democrats believe we ought to take these problems on ourselves. America is a can-do nation. We'll turn our back on what this president did on Katrina and do it right. It is outrageous seven months later to have people in the Gulf Coast not have homes. Democrats don't do those things.
O'BRIEN: You and I haven't even started talking about -- but we're out of time. DNC Chairman Howard Dean joining us and we're covering a whole range of topics.
We'll check in with Dan Bartlett the White House counselor straight ahead this morning as well. John?
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, it took about 20 hours to catch that coyote on the loose in Central Park, but we want to know how he got there in the first place. We'll ask the head of the New York City Urban Park Rangers. The makers of "South Park" are at it again, a popular character returns, but not without more controversy over religion. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: In the near future there could be a new way to pay your bills, by cell phone. Carrie Lee is "Minding Your Business" for you this morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: This is a cool product from PayPal, called PayPal Mobile. It will hit the U.S. in the next couple of weeks, basically allowing you for pay for purchases through your cell phone.
Now, two different ways to do this. You can send a text message to PayPal, type in p-a-y-p-a-l. PayPal sends you a message back. You confirm the purchase with your PIN. That way if somebody gets a hold of your cell phone, they won't be able to use the account, and you buy the item that way. Or you can call 1-800-paypal and take care of it that way.
But basically simplifying the process. Let's say you're flipping through a magazine. You say, oh, I like this shirt. Put in the product code number and boom! Buy it from your account right away.
ROBERTS: So, what you can do on the computer using PayPal, which is used to a large degree on eBay, you will be able to do with your cell phone.
LEE: That's right. PayPal is basically taking the computer out of the equation. Of course, for those who like to spend and are spontaneous spenders, you have to be careful, but it's a great idea, taking the debit, the credit card out of the equation and the computer.
ROBERTS: This means -- and it does when you use PayPal giving them your credit card information. Should people feel comfortable with that?
LEE: You have to do that anyway.
ROBERTS: But I mean, it's registered with them.
LEE: It's registered with them. Your debit or credit card or fund the account with cash. There's a PIN number involved, so somebody can't just get a hold of it.
ROBERTS: Great.
LEE: Another story from Netflix, here. There has been a settlement that has been delayed, a class-action settlement involving people who were not able to get the DVD rentals they want. Netflix was found to have been favorable to people who don't rent that many movies, those are the best customers. Those customers are the people who have been disadvantageous for this Netflix deal. They'll get a free month of DVD rentals. The judge, though, is delaying this because the lawyers want $2.3 million in this case. So the people get a free month, the lawyers get $2.3 million. The judge says no, that's too much money. He's going to give them significantly less.
ROBERTS: Maybe he should give the attorneys some free rentals.
LEE: That's the way it always works, right? The lawyers make out.
ROBERTS: Carrie Lee, thanks. Always good to see you.
LEE: You, too.
ROBERTS: Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, tough times for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. We'll take a look at the growing calls for his resignation. And tell you why the White House might be listening.
A popular character returns to "South Park" not before the show's creators take another swipe at a former star and his religion. We'll explain all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: You're watching AMERICAN MORNING with Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.
Trying to see what they're doing there but it looks like they're out skateboarding, those two guys.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: A nice day looking day -- well, you know, the Columbus Circle Fountain, that's a great area to do it.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes. Oh, there they are. And the person on the left is definitely a novice. That's how I skateboard, too.
Welcome back, everybody.
ROBERTS: Starting to get those hops going.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: A lot to talk about this morning, including drug warning. Interesting story.
ROBERTS: Yes, a couple of drug warnings. You know, there's 2.5 million children and 1.5 million adults in America that are taking drugs for either attention deficit or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. There's some new data that suggests that they may be connected with both heart problems and hallucinations in children. So FDA advisory panel is now thinking that the FDA may have to put some sort of warning label or further explanation on the labels here to warn doctors about prescribing these drugs.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: We'll talk about that this morning in a little bit.
First, though, let's get a look at the top stories. Carol's got that from the newsroom.
Hey, Carol.
ROBERTS: Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
Israeli troops say they stopped a terrorist attack. Three Palestinians were apparently planting an explosive device in a field near the Israeli border. Troops fired down on the group in a morning air strike. They killed at least two Palestinians. Families of two men rushed to the hospital. It's believed the third suspect got away.
An Army dog handler convicted of tormenting prisoners at Abu Ghraib is in jail. Sergeant Michael Smith was found guilty at a court-martial charged with letting his snarling dog mistreat prisoners. A military jury sentenced Smith to 179 days in prison, a reduction in rank to private and a bad conduct charge.
Should be business as usual in public schools in Detroit. Teacher sick-out shut down more than 50 schools on Wednesday. Fifteen hundred teachers protested new policy changes which cut five of their sick days. It's meant to help balance the district's budget. But not everyone felt the cuts. It seems some principals got raises.
Few people can live like a king, but now you can live like a congressman, a corrupt one. Former Congressman Randy Duke Cunningham is in prison for taking more than $2 million in bribes. Dozens of pieces of his furniture and rugs go on the auction block today. The money will help cover back taxes and restitution. And you can own a piece of that if you wish.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Wow, that's a lot of stuff.
COSTELLO: He had a lot of stuff.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Quite nice taste with that $2 million. All right, Carol, thank you.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld pushing the administration's message on Iraq today in a briefing at the Pentagon. It comes, though, at a time when calls for his resignation are growing louder. CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr joins us this morning.
Hey, Barbara. Good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
Well, when the secretary does meet with reporters later today, it is certain one of the questions will be, what about all the talk of resignation? (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR, (voice over): Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld often is angry these days, making it clear he thinks the media is sometimes misrepresenting his views, not telling the whole story about Iraq.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: And if every time I answer every single question, I've got to box the compass we're never going to get anywhere.
STARR: It's tough days for Rumsfeld. "New York Times" columnist Maureen Dowd writing Wednesday that in White House circles, Rumsfeld is "treated as an eccentric old uncle who is ignored." Rumsfeld aides suggest the White House staff is behind some of the anti-Rumsfeld rhetoric, trying to protect the president from declining public support for the war.
Shifting the blame game away from the president, according to one analyst, may be the major reason the White House might think about replacing Rumsfeld.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You're doing a fine job on behalf of the American people.
RUMSFELD: Thank you, sir.
MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: It's a little bit less obvious why you would do it now unless your goal is just to recognize that President Bush's popularity is falling at home and respond based on that trend.
STARR: The latest calls for Rumsfeld to resign gained steam with a side op ed in "The New York Times" Sunday from an unusual corner (ph). Retired Army Major General Paul Eaton wrote, Rumsfeld has "shown himself incompetent strategically, operationally, and tactically. Mr. Rumsfeld must step down."
Behind the scenes, a senior Rumsfeld staffer said Eaton simply was bitter because his work training Iraqi security forces didn't go well. President Bush again defending Rumsfeld at his press conference Tuesday.
BUSH: No, I don't believe he should resign. I think he's done a fine job of not only conducting two battles, Afghanistan and Iraq, but also transforming our military.
STARR: Last year, Rumsfeld revealed that at the height of the prison abuse scandal he twice offered his resignation to President Bush. It was declined.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: But, Soledad, of course, this is a president who is always very loyal to his staff. So the betting money is that Donald Rumsfeld will stay unless Donald Rumsfeld wants to go and there's no sign that the secretary wants to leave. Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And the secretary has consistently blamed the media for the sagging support of the war. You think you're going to hear that again today?
STARR: I would be pretty shocked if we didn't hear it. It's pretty much the common refrain around here these days, Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Well, blame the media. All right, Barbara Starr for us at the Pentagon. Thanks, Barbara.
STARR: Sure.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: The defense secretary's briefing is at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time this afternoon. CNN is going to bring it to you live when it happens.
John.
ROBERTS: In our CNN "Security Watch," prosecutors are presenting their final witnesses in the Zacarias Moussaoui sentencing trial. In court on Wednesday, the FAA's former security chief said that if not for Moussaoui's lies, the government might have been able to head off the 9/11 attacks. Here's CNN's Kelli Arena.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLI ARENA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The government could have tightened airport security before 9/11 if Zacarias Moussaoui had revealed al Qaeda's plan to hijack and crash planes into buildings. That's according to an aviation security officer who testified in the Moussaoui trial Wednesday. Moussaoui was arrested in August 2001, three weeks before September 11th.
Robert Cammaroto said the FAA could have banned short bladed knives from being taken on board and mandated physical searches of passengers who's bags are selected for screening. According to the government, that would have affected about half of the 9/11 hijackers, some of whom are shown here going through security at Dulles Airport.
ELENI KOUSOULIS, 9/11 FAMILY MEMBER: I mean it does gets emotional because, you know, with different testimony just bringing up, you know, events from that day and it makes you think about it.
ARENA: Cammaroto was a substitute for other aviation officials. The judge barred them from testifying because Carla Martin, a TSA lawyer, improperly coached them before they would have testified. The death penalty phase of the trial rests on the theory the government could have acted to prevent the 9/11 attacks if Moussaoui had not lied. The defense says the government would not have acted swiftly enough, if at all.
Jurors also heard from flight school employees about how the FAA did nothing when two of the men who later became 9/11 hijackers abandoned a plane at Miami International Airport, or when the FAA was informed that another would-be hijacker could barely speak English, an FAA requirement for a pilot's license.
TIMOTHY HEAPHY, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: The defense can argue now that there were in fact warnings. That had Mr. Moussaoui come forward, nothing would have changed because these warnings were essentially ignored by officials of our government.
ARENA: The government's about ready to rest its case with a final witness from the FBI.
Kelli Arena, CNN, Alexandria, Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And Moussaoui, of course, is facing either death or life in prison without parole.
Stay with CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
Let's check on the weather now. Reynolds Wolf at the CNN Center with the latest weather update for us.
Good morning to you, Reynolds.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: GM is offering huge buyouts to get workers to leave. We're going to crunch the numbers, see if it's actually going to help get the troubled car maker back on track as we "Mind Your Business" just ahead.
ROBERTS: And, Chef returns to "South Park" as the show gets in a few more digs at a former star and his religion.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: And we told you about how the coyote running lose in Central Park, how did he end up in the city? We're going to ask the head of New York City's urban park rangers just ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Ric Ocasek is 57.
ROBERTS: Fifty-seven years old.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Wow.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That was the first CD I ever bought.
ROBERTS: Really?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Really?
LEE: The Cars "Candy-o." Oh, yes. I'm making up for the "West Side Story," right? SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: That's right. We've all moved on from that.
LEE: The song I didn't know yesterday. OK.
ROBERTS: General Motors banking on a big buyout offer to save its bottom line, but that's only if the workers bite on the buyout. Carrie Lee here "Minding Your Business" this morning.
LEE: And that's the big question, how many will bite? GM's big plan is to cut 30,000 jobs by 2008. So now they're offering over 125,000 workers buyouts to leave the company. Now it depends on how long they've worked here. Let's give a breakdown.
Service time of more than 30 years, well those folks are offered $35,000, plus full benefits. For people who have been there over 10 years, $140,000, a pension no, healthcare benefits though. And then for those who have been at GM for fewer than 10 years, they're offered $70,000, a pension and no healthcare. So you can see where GM is breaking this down, trying to save money as it competes with other big companies.
The financial savings, well, that's going to be determined when they figure out how many workers get the buyout. But in terms of generosity, Wall Street seems to think these offers are pretty generous.
ROBERTS: Right.
LEE: Because if you look at what the average GM worker earns, well, it's about $27 on average per hour. But with benefits, it's about $74. So the number's washing out . . .
ROBERTS: But the real goal here is to get out from under that pension liability, right?
LEE: Exactly. And the big thing here is one plus, when GM originally calculated pension plans, they assumed people would work through the full pensions. Well now if a lot of people take these buyouts, those costs are going to be drastically reduced.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, save some money on a couple of fronts.
LEE: Yes. Shareholders like the news. GM stock up 4 percent this week. As for the Dow, you know, we are just 21 points away from a six-year high. So we've seen some nice momentum on the industrials. Here's a look at a five year chart. Here's a look at yesterday's action. Looking a little weak for today's market open, but so much can happen in a trading day.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: So much. Good and bad.
ROBERTS: Did I hear you right when you said The Cars was the first album that you bought?
LEE: That I bought. The Cars "Candy-O." The first tape I ever owned. ROBERTS: How young are you?
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: She's 23, like us. We all are up here.
LEE: It's all in the way you phrase the question, right?
ROBERTS: The first album I bought was "Help" by the Beatles when it came out.
LEE: A classic. See (INAUDIBLE).
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, that's exactly her point, I think.
ROBERTS: When it came out, yes.
LEE: And I put the CD player in my box. Remember those boom boxes you used to carry around? Too much information.
ROBERTS: I am just so old.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: I'm 23. I don't know what any of you are talking about.
The creators of "South Park" never seem to be the kind who back away from a fight, so no big surprise now that the show's new episode last night took aim at their most recent controversy which pitted the show against one of the stars and his religion. CNN's Entertainment Correspondent Brooke Anderson takes a look for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, everybody. Chef's back!
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It was title "The Return of Chef," the first new episode since R&B Singer and scientologist Isaac Hayes quit the show after voicing the character for nearly a decade.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right. Thank you. Good-bye, everybody.
ANDERSON: But this chef wasn't quite the same. Hayes's voice appeared to be cobbled together from previous episodes.
CRAIG TOMASHOFF, TV GUIDE: You can hear how it was spliced together and it was clearly disjointed.
ANDERSON: TV Guide's Craig Tomashoff and I watched the show together.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chef has been and still is a pedophile.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to make love to the children.
ANDERSON: In the episode, Chef had fallen under the influence of a club of pedophiles. In what appeared to be a swipe at Scientology, the club's tenants seemed intended to parallel those of the controversial religion.
TOMASHOFF: This is their revenge again against everybody, against the church.
ANDERSON: Last week, Hayes abruptly announced he wanted out of the show, complaining that "South Park's" frequent religious satires were going too far.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great news, Stan, the Vatican is burning down.
ANDERSON: But "South Park" creators, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, told David Letterman Hayes never objected until they ridiculed Scientology.
TREY PARKER, CO-CREATOR, "SOUTH PARK": We did a show last season about Scientology and Isaac Hayes is a scientologist.
DAVID LETTERMAN: He's a scientologist.
PARKER: And we knew. We're like, boy, you know, Isaac might quit over this and sure enough he did.
ANDERSON: It wasn't exactly a fond farewell to Hayes. Despite the grizzly death, the eulogy didn't place blame on Chef, or by extension Hayes, but rather his beliefs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We shouldn't be mad at Chef for leaving us. We should be mad at that fruity little club for scrambling his brains.
ANDERSON: In the end, Chef was resurrected as Darth Chef, leaving the possibility Chef could be part of future "South Park" episodes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love the children.
ANDERSON: Brooke Anderson, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: As for the repeat episode on Scientology that was pulled from the schedule, some "South Park" fans are organizing a website petition against one of the episodes main characters, Tom Cruise. They're calling for a boycott of his new film "Mission Impossible 3," until that episode re-airs.
ROBERTS: You had to know that the guys from "South Park" weren't going to go quietly over this whole issue.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes, I was going to say -- that was like, set it up, get it over the net.
ROBERTS: Boom. Just a nice lob into your zone.
An FDA panel wants better warning labels on drugs for ADD and ADHD. But some folks think that the new labels won't go far enough. We'll see what a leading pediatrician has to say about that.
And later on, our health series for people in the 30s, 40s and 50s. Today we'll look at cancer screenings and tell you what tests you should be getting as you get older. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: An FDA advisory panel says doctors and patients should know more about side effects from drugs used to treat ADHD and ADD, attention deficit hyperactivity and attention deficit disorders. The panel says the drugs need "clearer warning labels." But they stopped short of recommending the strongest possible health warnings, the so called black box warnings. Dr. Andrew Adesman from Schneider's Children's Hospital here on Long Island in New York joins us to talk more about the risks.
And the most recent risk that was a potential association between some these stimulant drugs used to treat these two disorders and hallucinations. That sounds pretty serious. What do you know about that?
DR. ANDREW ADESMAN, SCHNEIDER'S CHILDREN HOSPITAL: Well, this is something that we've known about with the stimulants for quite awhile. You know, fortunately, this is a side effect is generally reversible. If the child has an hallucination, typically it involves, you know, insects or bugs.
ROBERTS: Any particular reason why?
ADESMAN: We don't know why. It's that type of hallucination, but it does seems, you know, somewhat specific to these medications. But the good news is for families, number one, it's very, very rare and, number two, once you stop the medication it disappears.
ROBERTS: What's the incidence when you say it's rare?
ADESMAN: Well, I've seen in recent newspaper reports, you know, 2 percent or less. I think in my clinical experience over the past 20 years, it's certainly much less than even 2 percent. So I think it's a very, very uncommon . . .
ROBERTS: But you have seen this?
ADESMAN: Yes, I've seen it in a couple of patients over the years.
ROBERTS: How serious are the hallucination?
ADESMAN: I think it's, you know, it's obviously concerning. It's a little scary. It's a typical for parent or child.
ROBERTS: No, but I mean, like what manifestation does the child actually go through?
ADESMAN: Well, the child -- they'll report either, you know, bugs crawling on his skin or perhaps seeing bugs. You know, typically it has been bugs and, as I said, if you stop the medication, it disappears right away.
ROBERTS: Any idea what it would be in the medication that's causing this? I mean, you know, we hear about those types of hallucinations associated with heroin withdrawal and, you know, narcotic drugs, not with these stimulants.
ADESMAN: Well, certainly the medications and these effects are not related in any way in terms of what's going on, as far as we know, with, you know, heroin and narcotic withdrawal. This seems to be just an unusual reaction that's specific to a very, very small number of children.
ROBERTS: So in terms of these hallucinations, what are these proposed warnings intended to do?
ADESMAN: Well, I think it's -- first of all, it's going to make both parents and physicians more aware of this as a rare side effect because it's not presently included in the package information that goes out to families, number one. Number two, if a child develops a hallucination, the last thing you want to do is have a doctor try to treat that hallucination or treat that side effect with another medicine. The key is to stop the medicine right away.
ROBERTS: There's also another potential associated side effect that was identified by an FDA advisory panel back on February the 9th. And this is potential cardiovascular risks among children and adults, as I think there are, you know, 2.5 million children in this country taking these medications. But also 1.5 million adults.
ADESMAN: Well, this was something that was highlighted with considerable media attention following that advisory committee meeting and there's been much discussion about a black box. I think that the FDA at this point is not likely going to pursue a black box warning but will indeed include some information about this risk in the package label. I think what's key is that at this point families understand that we don't have any direct evidence linking these medications and the most serious heart effects in terms of stroke or heart attack.
ROBERTS: I guess we should point out that a black box warning is a very, very bold . . .
ADESMAN: Right.
ROBERTS: Strict warning that says, you know, beware when using this drug, basically.
ADESMAN: Absolutely. And I think that the reason that it's not happening, not likely to happen from the FDA, is in part because of how rare it is, and number two, because they haven't necessarily tied it causally.
ROBERTS: So what should a parent do?
ADESMAN: Well, I think if a child is being successfully and effectively treated with stimulant medication, there's probably nothing to do differently. If the child has a history of fainting, if there's a history in the child medically of unexplained loss of consciousness or if the child's got structural heart disease, they want to make sure the prescribing pediatrician or physician is aware of that. I think going forward, stimulants will probably continue to be the first -- one of the first line medications being used because they have proven to be the single most effective treatment for ADHD over the years.
ROBERTS: Ritalin has been used for decades. Why are these problems suddenly cropping up?
ADESMAN: Well, it's hard to know. I think partly because, you know, there continues to be considerable controversy and the numbers of children and adolescence being treated are much greater. And whenever you have, you know, 2.5 million children being treated with a medication, undoubtedly certain things are going to pop up.
ROBERTS: And, of course, there were all these issues about whether or not it's over-prescribed. We'll have to leave that for another day. But I guess bottom line is, watch your children, stay in good contact with your doctor and if anything pops up make sure that you contact your physician, right?
ADESMAN: Absolutely.
ROBERTS: Doctor Andrew Adesman, thanks for being with us this morning. Appreciate it.
ADESMAN: Absolutely (ph).
ROBERTS: Soledad.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thanks, guys.
Top stories ahead this morning.
Three western aide workers are free in Iraq.
A tour bus crash kills 12 Americans in Chile.
A reward is offered in the search for two missing boys in Milwaukee.
And we'll take a look at why thousands of Katrina trailers still sit empty.
And how did that coyote end up loose in Central Park? We're going to check in with the head of the New York City urban park rangers as we continue right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Get the latest e-mail every morning in the news. Sign up for AMERICAN MORNING quick news at cnn.com/am.
Still to come this morning, the Army says one soldier is combat ready, but because of an old ankle sprain the post office says he's unfit to deliver the mail. Ahead we're going to talk to the Iraq War veteran about that.
AMERICAN MORNING is back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Good morning. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
ROBERTS: And I'm John Roberts, in this week for Miles O'Brien.
Good Thursday morning to you.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: There's elation in Iraq today as three hostages are finally freed. We'll take you live to Baghdad with the very latest on that story.
Public opinion and the war in Iraq. We're going to talk to White House Counselor Dan Bartlett about the president's push to change minds.
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