Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Without DeLay; Killer Tornadoes; Eligible for Execution; Emotional Thanks

Aired April 04, 2006 - 06:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Good morning to you.

An overnight surprise from the embattled Congressman Tom DeLay, he is walking away from Capitol Hill for good.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TOM DELAY (R), TEXAS: I have no regrets today and no doubts. I am proud of the past, I am at peace with the present and I'm excited about the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: The death toll rises in the wake of killer tornadoes in Tennessee. The search for more victims picks up at daybreak today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. CYNTHIA MCKINNEY (D), GEORGIA: I don't understand what it is about my face that certain members of the Capitol Hill Police Department can't remember.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and claims of racial profiling, but prosecutors are trying to decide whether to press criminal charges against her.

M. O'BRIEN: And slugger Barry Bonds gets booed on opening day, but that's not all the fans gave him. We'll tell you.

A bombshell in politics this morning, "The Hammer," Congressman Tom DeLay, one of Washington's big powerbrokers, is resigning. DeLay will bow out of his reelection race in Texas, walk away from his seat in the House.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN (voice-over): Tom DeLay knows how to count votes, and as he surveyed his own prospects, he saw some numbers he didn't like. Despite a convincing primary win last month, a recent poll gave him a 50/50 chance of winning a 12th term to Congress in Sugar Land, Texas, which should be sweet and certain turf for the GOP.

So the man known as "The Hammer" made the kind of hard-nosed political call that marked his tenure as majority leader, he bowed out to clear the field for another conservative. DeLay stepped down as majority leader in September as he faced indictment on charges he misdirected campaign contributions through a political action committee.

But there was more, he ran afoul of the House Ethics Committee three times and faced questions about his ties to former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, just sentenced to nearly six years in prison for bribing members of Congress. DeLay has never wavered, always insisting he did nothing illegal or unethical.

DELAY: In the 21 years that I have been in Congress, I have always acted in an ethical manner, within the rules of the House and the laws of our land. And time, once again, will bear out that truth.

O'BRIEN: A successful pest control entrepreneur, Tom DeLay was first elected to Congress in 1984. He steadily rose through the ranks and became majority whip in 1994, majority leader in 2002. DeLay has always reveled in his role as a fierce partisan, a darling of conservatives. He was despised by liberals for his brass knuckles style. DeLay remained a political realist, even as he assessed his own lot. And with scandals swirling around him, it is clear he worried the numbers were not adding up.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DeLay will change his legal residence to Virginia to prompt an election in his Texas district. He says he will remain active in politics.

Next hour, we'll talk to the "TIME" magazine reporter who broke the news on Tom DeLay -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen plans to get an up- close look today at the damage done to his state by a series of tornadoes. The strong storms are being blamed for 23 deaths. That number could rise again today.

CNN's Ed Lavandera more for us this morning from Dyersburg in Tennessee.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The search for more victims of Sunday's tornadoes will continue today, as will the clean- up process, and it begins in earnest here in Dyersburg, Tennessee, where we have seen hundreds of homes that now look like this, essentially blown off their foundations. Debris of the home really nowhere to be seen, just blown into the woods back there.

The tornado also caused a lot of damage to this heavily wooded area. Look at these massive trees, 100-foot trees, 200-foot trees that I've seen in many places, essentially snapped in half and thrown around like toothpicks.

This was one of the beginning parts of where the storm touched down. And the sheriff who drove me through this area on Monday afternoon says that when he saw the tornado, it was anywhere between a quarter-of-a-mile wide to a half-mile wide. Essentially starting here and cutting back through the forest here about 10 miles. He said the most difficult part of his day on Sunday was discovering the body of an 11-month-old baby boy in the rubble.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dyer County, Tennessee.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Tennessee emergency management officials say about 1,800 homes and businesses have been destroyed. Later this morning, we're going to talk to a woman who came a little bit too close to one tornado as it tore right down her street. That's ahead.

Take a look at these pictures. They're coming to us from Marmaduke in Arkansas. People there say half the town is utterly destroyed. All that's left has some kind of damage. A ruptured gas line is now slowing the search for survivors or even victims.

And take a look at this, not much left of this clothing superstore. This is in Illinois. A 54-year-old man was killed there when a tornado struck. We told you about that yesterday. The roof collapsed. Throughout the state, some 17,000 customers remain without power. That was overnight.

In Fargo, North Dakota, the Red River is rising and fast. It's threatening dozens of homes. Flooding out roads, too. On Monday, hundreds of high school students were happy to skip school helping to sandbag. The river is expected to crest on Wednesday about 20 feet above flood stage. That would be a near record level.

All this brings us to severe weather expert Chad Myers. He's at the CNN Center this morning.

Chad, you know that's kind of a long list. Where do you want to begin?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: With the locusts, you know?

S. O'BRIEN: Kind of, yes.

MYERS: Boy, this has been really a tough week for a lot of folks. And now there is even some snow in upstate New York.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad, thanks.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Chad.

Zacarias Moussaoui is one step closer to death row. The jury was unanimous yesterday. They said he's eligible for execution. Now it's up to the same jurors to decide if that sentence should be carried out.

CNN justice correspondent Kelli Arena has the latest in a CNN "Security Watch."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The two sides have some time to regroup before the trial starts up again for phase two on Thursday. The government cleared the first hurdle, the jury unanimously deciding Zacarias Moussaoui is eligible for the death penalty. It determined that his actions were responsible for at least one death on September 11.

While in court, Moussaoui seemed disinterested in what was going on. But as he left the courtroom, he yelled, you'll never get my blood. God curse you all.

The next step, the same jury will hear new evidence as it considers Moussaoui's sentence, including testimony from September 11 victim family members. Now that's expected to be extremely emotional. Moussaoui's defense team is expected to talk about his troubled past and argue that he's mentally unstable. Now the jury only has two choices, death or life in prison.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up in our next hour, we'll talk with CNN senior legal analyst Jeff Toobin. We'll ask him about the government's roller-coaster case against Moussaoui.

Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: An assault complaint against Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is now in the hands of federal prosecutors. The Georgia lawmaker is accused of hitting a Capitol Hill guard who tried to stop her from entering a House office building.

On CNN's "THE SITUATION ROOM," McKinney likened the incident to racial profiling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCKINNEY: There are only 14 African-American women members of Congress. So I don't understand what it is about my face that certain members of the Capitol Hill Police Department can't remember. The bottom line on this is that it doesn't matter if you're in the United States Capitol or the Georgia Capitol, the issue is racial profiling, and that's something that we're going to have to deal with as a country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Federal prosecutors are considering whether to bring McKinney up on criminal charges.

Of course Wolf Blitzer did that interview. You can watch Wolf in "THE SITUATION ROOM" weekdays at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: The Bruins became Gator bait last night. The Florida Gators dominated last night's NCAA championship game. They beat UCLA 73 to 57, not even close, for the first-ever college basketball championship. Joakim Noah, the son of former tennis star Yannick Noah, was named the most outstanding player. For winning, Florida Governor Jeb Bush wins a feast of California fruit and wine from California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning -- yes, that was a fun game to watch.

A rough day for beleaguered baseball star Barry Bonds. Wait until you hear, amid the booing, what one fan then threw at him. We'll have that story ahead.

M. O'BRIEN: Going to be a long season for Mr. Bonds.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it will.

M. O'BRIEN: Also, should Senator Hillary Clinton run for president in 2008? Some of Hollywood's most famous women weigh in with some surprising answers.

S. O'BRIEN: And then some pretty emotional scenes. Take a look at this. This is at "The Christian Science Monitor." We're going to take you right inside Jill Carroll's first visit back and hear what she said about the paper's efforts to free her. That's right ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Held captive in Iraq for nearly three months, Jill Carroll is speaking out. The reporter for "The Christian Science Monitor" is thanking everybody who pulled for her release, especially the publication that helped make it happen.

AMERICAN MORNING's Dan Lothian has our story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Out of seclusion, former hostage Jill Carroll broke down as she thanked her colleagues for their support during the toughest 82 days of her life.

JILL CARROLL, FORMER HOSTAGE: I just want to say how much -- I'm overwhelmed by how wonderful the paper has been, plus family and everyone.

LOTHIAN: Free at last, she marveled at the Boston-based paper's effort to win her release. JILL CARROLL: The work that went into this and the trouble everyone went to for me, a lowly freelancer, you know, who am I?

LOTHIAN: Carroll is actually no longer a freelancer, "The Christian Science Monitor" placed her on staff after her abduction.

JIM CARROLL, JILL CARROLL'S FATHER: As Jill said, this is like a family here, and we feel part of the family, too.

LOTHIAN: A family the reporter had never met until now.

JILL CARROLL: I've never been here before. I was supposed to come here last summer and planes didn't work out, so I actually never made it to the newsroom. So it's really great to finally be here and meet people in person I've talked to on the phone so many times.

LOTHIAN: Carroll was released last week and returned to the U.S. on Sunday. This home video captures the emotional reunion with her family.

(on camera): Officials say Carroll is not yet ready to tell her story. When she is, details of her abduction and time spent in captivity will first appear in "The Christian Science Monitor." The 28-year-old then plans to hold a news conference and do interviews about her horrifying ordeal.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, we're going to talk to a "Monitor" reporter, Dan Murphy, he spent months searching for Jill Carroll in Iraq. That's ahead.

First, though, a look at the top stories. Carol has got that from the newsroom.

Hey, Carol, good morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Soledad. Good morning to all of you.

Saddam Hussein could face more charges. We're expecting a major announcement from Iraq's high tribunal. It could come within the next 15 minutes.

In the meantime, there have been bombings in Baghdad and Samarra. At least four people were killed, including two children. The blast comes one day after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited the region.

Senate Republicans set to discuss a possible compromise on immigration reform. The plan would give preference to illegal immigrants who have been in the United States for five years or longer. Majority Leader Bill Frist says he's hoping for a vote by the end of the week, but some Democrats could have other ideas. We will be watching Capitol Hill for any developments.

Doctors are putting Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's surgery on hold. Doctors wanted to repair damage to his skull today, but the prime minister, who has been in a coma for three months now, apparently has a respiratory infection.

Sounds like something out of a science fiction movie, growing your own organs. Boy, yes. But researchers say they have successfully grown bladders using patient's own cells. The bladders were implanted into seven people with spina bifida years ago and so far so good. Researchers are now working on replacing more complicated organs, like hearts and lungs. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will have a closer look at this later on on AMERICAN MORNING.

Three people killed in Boston after a 10-ton construction platform collapsed 13 stories onto a busy street. The platform was set up on top of a new building next to a dormitory at Emerson College. A team was checking the remaining scaffolding. Investigators are still not sure what caused the collapse.

And batter up, baseball season is here (ph). President Bush throwing out the ceremonial first pitch. Let's watch. It's a pretty good throw, isn't it? He did that in Cincinnati. The Reds hosted the Chicago Cubs.

Something not so pretty, though, wow, was it a tough opening day for San Francisco slugger Barry Bonds. He's only, what, 48 home runs away from breaking Hank Aaron's record of 755. That's a syringe he's picking up. Apparently somebody in the stands threw that onto the field and of course Barry Bonds was being booed loudly by fans. There's all these steroid allegations swirling around him. He's under investigation. The syringe, by the way, didn't have the needle in it, so everybody was OK. The Padres won 6 to 1 and no home run for Barry Bonds.

It will be a tough season, though, -- Chad.

MYERS: Yes. Yes, let's not throw things onto the field.

COSTELLO: Yes.

MYERS: Let's -- that's just a really bad idea to start the season out anyway.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Back to you guys.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad, thank you very much.

M. O'BRIEN: More bad news. Here's Carrie with that. No, GM.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Would you like to be the bearer of bad news?

S. O'BRIEN: We say that with love. LEE: I know.

M. O'BRIEN: You tend to be, but these days...

S. O'BRIEN: But it's true.

LEE: Hey, the facts are the facts, right?

M. O'BRIEN: You've got to deal them out. Yes.

LEE: Auto sales for March, some up, some down. You might be able to guess who's who.

General Motors saw sales for the month down almost 15 percent from the year ago period. Ford, sales were down 5 percent in March. Meanwhile, Toyota sales rose 7 percent to over 217,000 vehicles sold, and that is a record for Toyota.

Take a look at some of the top selling vehicles in March, also some of the worst sellers, including the Chevy Silverado and Honda Accord.

Basically what's happening across the board, we're seeing U.S. automaker sales drops, big SUV sales, especially so, and then Toyota and some others coming out with some mid size SUVs that are doing very well. For example,...

S. O'BRIEN: Why is the Accord down?

LEE: The Accord, I'm not sure about...

S. O'BRIEN: That's a lot.

LEE: Maybe people are going for the -- I think the Accord might have a hybrid. Maybe they're going more for that. I'm not exactly sure about that.

I can tell you, though, one huge seller for Toyota, the RAV Crossover. The RAV Crossover saw sales up 117 percent...

S. O'BRIEN: Wow!

LEE: ... from the year ago.

M. O'BRIEN: Wow!

LEE: So we're seeing the real big cars, like the Explorer, things like that, sales down, but the mid size seems to be where people are going.

Another interesting thing, the Toyota Prius did see sales down, but that's only because Toyota was short on production.

S. O'BRIEN: They can't keep up.

LEE: So maybe they're having to rev things up a bit. Yes. And also their Yaris, which is a new subcompact, doing very well. That's a new one.

S. O'BRIEN: The Yaris.

M. O'BRIEN: The Yaris.

LEE: Yes, the Yaris.

M. O'BRIEN: I missed that one. The Yaris.

LEE: I know. I'm not exactly sure what it looks like either, but I'll tell you, you know,...

S. O'BRIEN: How do you spell it? What's a Yaris?

LEE: Y-A-R-I-S. I'll tell you, though, you know just driving around the city and see, hear a lot of those very small subcompact cars. The Mini Cooper, I'm seeing more of those. So it really seems to be a psychological shift, at least in some parts of this country, and GM just not really capitalizing on that.

S. O'BRIEN: I'd get a little Mini Cooper if I could squish everybody in my family in one.

LEE: I know, they're so cute.

M. O'BRIEN: You'd need more -- one problem with the Mini Coopers. You'd need a fleet, a fleet of Mini Coopers.

(CROSSTALK)

LEE: People seem to love them. And the gas mileage of course very good.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes.

LEE: I see more and more of them in my neighborhood.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, you do.

LEE: But you know what we're seeing in March here for the automakers, just more of what we've seen in recent months.

S. O'BRIEN: Which is bad news.

LEE: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: All right.

LEE: Yesterday, a quick check on stocks, we did see a mixed market on the first trading day of the second quarter of the year. And this morning, futures are looking flat to slightly higher, but we started the quarter off with the Dow at 35 points.

S. O'BRIEN: OK.

LEE: That is the latest. S. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

LEE: OK.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Carrie Lee, just dealing the facts out. The chips fall where they may.

Deadline day less than two weeks away. You know what we're talking about, tax time. We have some helpful hints in our AMERICAN MORNING "Tax Guide." Tax experts will tell us about filing online, deductions you may have missed and what to do if you get a refund. That's tomorrow through Friday.

S. O'BRIEN: I know that. What to do about that.

M. O'BRIEN: Spend it. That's it, get a Yaris.

S. O'BRIEN: That I can manage.

M. O'BRIEN: Get a Yaris there or line up for a Prius. All right.

S. O'BRIEN: When did you file your taxes last year?

M. O'BRIEN: In October.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, that's what I thought.

M. O'BRIEN: And so I'm trying to get them in.

LEE: You must have gotten an extension then?

M. O'BRIEN: Multiple.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Multiple. Two extensions.

LEE: Why, you can't get it together?

M. O'BRIEN: No, I couldn't, all right? I mean...

LEE: October, that's like seven months late.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, you got a problem with that?

(CROSSTALK)

S. O'BRIEN: All right, break it up. Break it up. Break it up. Back out.

M. O'BRIEN: Well I couldn't, OK?

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right to Carol. What's coming up in "Morning Coffee," -- Carol?

COSTELLO: I think that means he owed Uncle Sam, because if he was getting a refund, he would have had those taxes in.

Coming up on "Morning Coffee," is Big Bird trying to poison the minds of your babies? Say it isn't so. We'll tell you about the "Sesame Street" controversy.

Plus, a Hollywood star who says Hillary Clinton should not run for president because of her sexual power.

"Morning Coffee" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Hello.

COSTELLO: Hi.

M. O'BRIEN: How do you do?

COSTELLO: I'm doing just fine.

It's time for "Morning Coffee."

And I asked you this question this morning, what is the definition of liberal? Some might say Hillary Clinton's name ought to appear in Webster's right along with Hollywood elite. But wait, on the subject of Senator Clinton's alleged bid to be president in 2008, Susan Sarandon has called her a big disappointment. Madonna chimes in. She says the country may not be ready for a woman president because men are afraid of women and women don't trust women.

But the most interesting comment came from I love my naked body actress Sharon Stone. This is how the interview went down. The reporter said, hey, Ms. Stone, do you carry condoms in your purse? And then it was on to the Hillary for president question. Stone said a woman should be passed her sexuality when she runs and she thinks Hillary Clinton still has sexual power.

S. O'BRIEN: I can't tell if that means she supports her or does not support her.

M. O'BRIEN: What the heck was that about?

COSTELLO: She does not. She thinks Hillary should wait a few more years until her sexual power goes away.

S. O'BRIEN: How does she know her sexual power will dissipate in just four years?

COSTELLO: I guess you have to be a certain age. I don't know.

S. O'BRIEN: Weird. All right Sharon.

COSTELLO: OK, just thought that was a little food for thought this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: With supporters like that, you know. S. O'BRIEN: Right, exactly.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, let's put it that way, all right.

COSTELLO: Hey, Big Bird controversial, Elmo out to destroy the minds of your babies?

S. O'BRIEN: I knew it.

COSTELLO: My gosh! A new set of "Sesame Street" videos is causing quite a bit of controversy. The "Sesame Beginnings" videos are meant for children as young as 6 months old. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that is too young. It says kids under 2 years old should not watch any television. There are charges "Sesame Street" is trying to get an early start on future customers. You know kind of brainwash them into watching when they're babies.

S. O'BRIEN: Don't have to brainwash us.

M. O'BRIEN: Wow, really?

S. O'BRIEN: We're in. We're in.

COSTELLO: I love Elmo.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: Anyway, the "Sesame Street" people say they have found a way to encourage interaction between parents and children under 2, so you could sit down with your baby and watch these videos.

S. O'BRIEN: Interacting.

M. O'BRIEN: No TV under 2 at all.

S. O'BRIEN: That's the American Academy of Pediatrics says, no TV under...

COSTELLO: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: But the reality is...

M. O'BRIEN: I taste a little draconian.

S. O'BRIEN: ... everybody watches.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: A bunch of people watch TV.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: A bunch of 2 year olds.

S. O'BRIEN: A bunch of 2 year olds watch TV, come on.

COSTELLO: They sit there like this.

S. O'BRIEN: Some days it's the only break you get in the day.

M. O'BRIEN: "Teletubbies," come on.

COSTELLO: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: Exactly.

S. O'BRIEN: Not that I would plunk my baby -- no.

COSTELLO: So that is "Morning Coffee" for this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Not that you would use that as a babysitter. Not you, -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Never.

M. O'BRIEN: No.

S. O'BRIEN: But if I needed to, I would.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, -- Carol.

COSTELLO: That's all I got.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Carol.

This morning's top stories are straight ahead, including new worries about the health risks of a popular sugar substitute. Plus, the latest on Tom DeLay's bombshell, his decision to leave Congress. We're going to go live to his district in Texas. We'll get some reaction from there. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com