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American Morning
McKinney: I'm Sorry; 'Da Vinci' Decision; Texas Wildfire Danger
Aired April 07, 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: An apology from Cynthia McKinney over that Capitol Hill confrontation, but now another scuffle in her entourage.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's decision day in "The Da Vinci Code" trial. I'm Paula Newton, in London. We're on verdict watch. That story coming up.
M. O'BRIEN: And strong winds fan the flames of a fast-moving Texas wildfire that leads to the evacuation of two complete towns. We'll bring you up to date.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.
M. O'BRIEN: Good to have you with us on this Friday morning.
More than a week after her run-in with Capitol Hill police, Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney says she's sorry. The apology coming on the day a grand jury got to work, deciding whether to bring McKinney up on charges.
CNN's Brian Todd takes a look at McKinney's sudden turnaround.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How do you go from this...
REP. CYNTHIA MCKINNEY (D), GEORGIA: This has become much ado about a hairdo.
TODD: ... and this...
MCKINNEY: It doesn't matter if you're in the United States Capitol or the Georgia Capitol, the issue is racial profiling.
TODD: To this dramatic about face.
MCKINNEY: There should not have been any physical contact in this incident. I have always supported law enforcement, and will be voting for HR756, expressing my gratitude and appreciation to the professionalism and dedication of the men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police. I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened at all. And I regret its escalation and I apologize. TODD: Cynthia McKinney's office tells CNN McKinney was apologizing to anyone who might have experienced discomfort in the scuffle with the Capitol Hill Police officer. But that apology did not come easily.
A member of the Congressional Black Caucus, requesting anonymity, tells CNN other members told McKinney in a closed-door meeting she must apologize, that the situation had to be defused. Other Congressional sources tell CNN the attention on McKinney frustrated the House Democratic leadership.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), MINORITY LEADER: Let me say this on Cynthia McKinney. This is a matter that is under investigation. I have said that I don't see any conceivable reason why someone would strike a Capitol Police officer.
TODD: But as McKinney apologized, a Washington grand jury prepared to hear from two Congressional aides -- one Democrat, one Republican -- who witnessed the incident. Sources familiar with the investigation tell CNN it's unclear what impact her apology will have on the case. But at least one former federal prosecutor believes McKinney's contrition may carry weight.
ROBERT BITTMAN, FMR. FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: It's something certainly that the prosecutor will take into account, whether or not there is true remorse for whatever action she took.
TODD (on camera): When we asked if McKinney herself hoped the apology might sway prosecutors, her communications director said it was his hope that what he called the leadership and courage she displayed on the House floor would enable her to get back to her work for her district.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: But even as McKinney tries to put this one to rest, another scuffle to tell you about. This time involving a man in the congresswoman's entourage.
Watch what happens when a television reporter tries to question McKinney outside the Capitol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello again. Ms. McKinney, did you speak to the grand jury at all? Have you spoken to a grand jury, Ms. McKinney? Have you spoken at all to the grand jury about anything?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to put your ass in jail next time you push me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, do you work for the Capitol Police?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't work for the Capitol Police. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who are you a police officer with, sir?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: All right. You heard McKinney's assistant there and driver tell the reporter he's a police officer. An aide to McKinney, however, describes him as the congresswoman's driver and a personal friend.
Live events can be unpredictable, especially when audience questions are involved, but most of the time when President Bush meets the general public, the questions and the questioners are carefully vetted in advance. Not so yesterday when the president appeared in Charlotte, North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You talk about freedom. I see you assert your right to tap my telephone, to arrest me and hold me without -- without charges, to...
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... to try to preclude me from breathing clean air and drinking clean water and eating safe food. If I were a woman, you'd like to restrict my opportunity to make a choice and decision about whether I can abort a pregnancy on my own behalf.
You are...
BUSH: I'm not your favorite guy. Go ahead.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: Go on. What's your question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. I don't have a question. What I want to say to you is that I -- in my lifetime, I have never felt more ashamed nor more frightened by my leadership in Washington, including the presidency, by the Senate and...
BUSH: Let him speak. Let him speak.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I would hope -- I feel like, despite your rhetoric, the compassion and common sense have been left far behind during your administration. And I would hope from time to time that you have the humility and the grace to be ashamed of yourself inside yourself.
And I also want to say that I really appreciate the courtesy of allowing me to speak what I'm saying to you right now. That it is part of what this country's about.
(APPLAUSE)
BUSH: It is, yes. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I know this doesn't come welcome to most of the people in this room, but I do appreciate that. I don't have a question, but I just want to make that comment to you.
BUSH: I appreciate it. Thank you. The -- let me...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can I ask a question?
BUSH: the -- I'm going to start off with what you first said, if you don't mind.
You said that I tap your phones. I think that's what you said. You tapped your phone -- I tapped your phones, yes. No, that's right. No, let me finish.
I'd like to describe that decision I made about protecting this country. You can come to whatever conclusion you want. The conclusion is, I'm not going to apologize for what I did on the terrorist surveillance program, and I'll tell you why.
We were accused in Washington, D.C., of not connecting the dots, that we didn't do everything we could to protect you or others from the attack. And so I called in the people responsible for helping to protect the American people and the homeland and said is there anything more we can do?
And there -- out of this national NSA came the recommendation that we -- it would make sense for us to listen to a call outside the country, inside the country from al Qaeda or suspected al Qaeda in order to have real-time information from which to possibly prevent an attack. I thought that made sense, so long it was constitutional.
Now, you may not agree with the constitutional assessment given to me by lawyers, and we've got plenty of them in Washington. But they made this assessment that it was constitutional for me to make that decision.
I then, sir, took that decision to members of the United States Congress from both political parties and briefed them on the decision that was made in order to protect the American people. They -- and so members of both parties, both chambers were fully aware of a program intended to know whether or not al Qaeda was calling in or calling out of the country.
It seems like to make sense. If we're at war, we ought to be using tools necessary within the Constitution on a very limited basis, a program that's reviewed constantly to protect us.
Now, you and I have a different of agreement on what is needed to be protected, but you said would I apologize for that? The answer -- answer is absolutely not.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP) M. O'BRIEN: Harry Taylor (ph) is the man you saw there with those harsh criticisms for the president. He will be joining us coming up in our 8:00 hour and we'll talk to him about the back story that led up to that exchange -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, a decision in "The Da Vinci Code" case is expected in just a couple of hours. The copyright case involving the best-selling book has millions of dollars at stake, and it could mean, could mean a black eye for Dan Brown.
CNN's Paula Newton is live outside the London high court this morning.
Hey, Paula. Good morning to you.
Do you think either side is a clear-cut winner in this case?
NEWTON: Hey, Soledad.
I mean, from the sitting in that I've done at courts, no, I wouldn't say it's a slam dunk. But you've got to say that Dan Brown has got to be pretty happy this morning and pretty confident, because at every turn, the other authors -- the authors of "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail," Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, at every turn when their lawyers tried to argue that, in fact, Dan Brown had stolen their ideas, the judge really was trying to poke holes in their argument.
They got a really tough time throughout this entire trial, Soledad. And at this point, right now, I would say Dan Brown already knows what the verdict is. The lawyers have had it for a few days now and they've had a chance to look over it. I'm sure he's -- there's no mystery to him, he knows what's going on -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: So, how similar, then, do you think the two books really are?
NEWTON: They're not similar at all. And again, what's unprecedented about this case, there's only one other case like it in Britain, and that happened in the late 1970s. This -- you know, what -- "The Da Vinci Code" is a fictional book. "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" purports to be a historical book, a book of fact.
And so that's what's so interesting about this case. This wasn't clear-cut plagiarism, somebody stole one paragraph from this book and plopped it into "The Da Vinci Code" book. No, that's now what this is about. It's about copyright of ideas, and that's what's at stake here at the high court.
S. O'BRIEN: You know, it's the high court, obviously, in Great Britain, but I'm curious to know what you think the impact and the ruling is going to mean here in the United States.
NEWTON: Look, for the United States, if Dan Brown wins, it will definitely mean nothing. And even if Dan Brown loses, really a lot of this will only apply to, let's say, a movie release in the U.K. or book sales in the U.K. But a big impact, really, is all the publicity.
Every time this trial has been in the news, the sales of both "The Da Vinci Code," and interesting, "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" as well, sales have shot up. So, Soledad, that is quite an impact from both sides.
S. O'BRIEN: So a win-win technically, even for whoever loses in this.
NEWTON: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Paula Newton for us this morning.
Paula, thanks.
Lots of other stories to update you on. Carol has got a look at that this morning from the newsroom.
Hey, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, that's something else, isn't it?
Good morning to all of you.
President Bush's credibility on the line this morning. After months of saying he will find those responsible, new documents suggest President Bush was actually the one who approved some intelligence leaks. Lewis "Scooter" Libby has testified that the leaks were used to boost the case for the war in Iraq. That's according to newly- released court documents.
Reliving 9/11. Jurors in the Zacarias Moussaoui sentencing trial hearing details of the terror attacks and their aftermath. Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani among the first to testify. The jury also heard what impact the attacks had on four children who lost their parents.
The trial's in recess today. Testimony resumes on Monday.
Authorities in New Hampshire trying to figure out how a congressional hopeful ended up more than one mile from a crash site. Gary Dodd's (ph) empty car was found on Wednesday, spawning a massive 24-hour search. Officials say he was found in a wooded area drifting in and out of consciousness.
A pair of former New York City Police detectives convicted of killing for the mob. Their case one of the most astounding police corruption cases in the city's history. A federal court jury in Brooklyn convicted Louis Eppolito and Steven Caracappa. The pair now faces up to life in prison.
A memorial service is set today for Imette St. Guillen. She's the New York City graduate student whose rape and murder last month shocked the city. St. Guillen's mother and sister are expected to attend the event at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Daryl Littlejohn is charged with three counts of murder in St. Guillen's death. He has pleaded not guilty.
A patch to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in children. A patch. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the first-ever patch to treat ADHD. It's called Daytrana. It has the same stimulant contained in Ritalin, but unlike the pill form, the patch can be quickly removed if it causes side-effects.
And think you've got what it takes to produce in Hollywood? Well, you might get your shot.
Steven Spielberg is teaming up with "Survivor" producer Mark Burnett on a reality TV show. The teams will produce a short film each week. The winner gets a studio deal.
The show will air next season on, what else, FOX.
That's a look at the headline this is morning. Back to you, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Carol.
A fallen pop star from the '70s finds himself behind bars. We'll have that story ahead.
S. O'BRIEN: Plus, if you have any doubts that the "Desperate Housewives" stars are huge, well, let's see, do we have -- there you go. This is the view from an airplane. And a lovely view it is. That's Eva Longoria, of course.
M. O'BRIEN: Turning the page takes a team.
S. O'BRIEN: Scantily clad. They are -- they are marking a big anniversary at the magazine. We'll tell you more about this story just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Happening "In America" this morning...
Florida, talk about being in the right place at right time. Brian Demico (ph) saw flames engulf this RV, Jacksonville, on Thursday. He jumped out to help save the couple inside. Brian (ph), as it turns out, is a professional good Samaritan. He works for Builders Care, which provides construction help for the elderly and disabled.
Atta boy, Brian (ph).
In California, '70s heartthrob Leif Garrett is spending the next few weeks in jail. Did you recognize him?
S. O'BRIEN: Not even slightly.
M. O'BRIEN: I didn't even come close to recognizing him there. He was sentenced after failing several drug tests while in a strict drug live-in drug rehab program. The 44-year-old also faces felony heroin possession charges after cops busted him for riding a subway train without a ticket in January. Garrett pleaded not guilty in that case.
Sad story there.
And check out this view over southern Nevada. The desert has never looked more beautiful.
That's "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria on the cover of "MAXIM" magazine. That's mucho "MAXIM" magazine in that case.
The 110 by 75-foot display is so big, satellites can photograph it from space. The International Space Station enjoying it. They've got their nose pressed against the glass every time they pass by.
The gimmick is to commemorate the magazine's 100th issue, and it apparently is working because we're putting the voiceover on the air.
S. O'BRIEN: You don't even need to look from space. It's on Web sites everywhere.
M. O'BRIEN: Everywhere.
S. O'BRIEN: It's funny.
All right. Let's talk about these wildfires. Taking that easy turn to talk about wildfires, but seriously, there are dangerous wildfire conditions in Texas today.
Nine homes have burned in the Amarillo area. And David Martinez of our affiliate KAMR has a report for us this morning on a pretty stubborn firefight that's going on all day and night.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MARTINEZ, REPORTER, KAMR: Through the morning, the Poter County Volunteer Fire Department, along with the Texas Forest Service has trekked across open land to head off the blaze that at sometimes has threatened structures. Now, this is just an example of what firefighters are having to put up with tonight, as the winds continue to blow, the flames continue to grow. This area was doused with water just a couple minutes ago, but as you can tell, nothing's stopping this.
In the meantime, firefighters continue to fight fires that just dot the horizon. But as quick as the flames kick up, the firefighters regroup, planning out their next attack.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: That was David Martinez of our affiliate KAMR reporting for us.
The wildfires killed 11 people and it burned a million acres in Texas last month.
That brings us right to the forecast and Chad Myers at the CNN Center.
Hey, Chad. Good morning.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: Ooh.
M. O'BRIEN: Ooh. Let me tell you more about it. No, let's press on, shall we?
Democrats are calling President Bush the leaker in chief this morning. Coming up, what's the political fallout from allegations he actually OK'd the leaking of the identification of a CIA agent?
And later, you can put this one in the bank, he will be a hall- of-famer eventually, Cal Ripken, Jr. will join us live in the studio. He's got a new book out. He has the three Ps for parents and kids who play sports. And I can tell you one of the three Ps is not pushy. Don't be pushy.
S. O'BRIEN: I like it. I agree with it.
M. O'BRIEN: You're down with it. Soledad is down with it.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm so down with it.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. That's all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
S. O'BRIEN: God, James Garner is 78.
M. O'BRIEN: He looks good there.
S. O'BRIEN: He does lok good.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow.
Welcome back, everybody. Lots of news to get to this morning. Let's get right to Carol. She's in the newsroom.
Good morning.
COSTELLO: Good morning.
Good morning to all of you. The Senate try to hammer out an immigration bill before lawmakers leave for a two-week break. A possible compromise stalled last night. Republican and Democratic senators fighting over amendments and procedures. It caused Republican Senator Lindsey Graham to complain, "If you think our borders are broken, you ought to look at the Senate."
President Bush has nominated David Paulison to be the new FEMA chief. Paulison was already the acting director of the agency. He took over the reins after embattled FEMA chief Michael Brown stepped down in the wake of the government's response to Hurricane Katrina.
It is judgment day for "The Da Vinci Code." In two hours we're expecting to hear a British judge to read the verdict. At issue, whether author Dan Brown infringed the copyright of two other writers' work.
"American Idol" -- "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul telling police she's been assaulted. Abdul filed a report claiming she was at a private party when a man grabbed her by the arm and threw her up against a wall.
She says she has a concussion and spinal injuries. The Los Angeles Police Department now investigating.
I want to know month about this, Chad.
MYERS: Well, we'll do some digging, Carol. I'm sure we can get right on it.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: Back to you guys.
M. O'BRIEN: Good riddance to them all.
MYERS: Yes, exactly.
S. O'BRIEN: Absolutely.
MYERS: Yes.
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE": You can run out of names, though, at some point, way down the road.
S. O'BRIEN: No.
SERWER: No. A lot of names.
S. O'BRIEN: They haven't even started with, like, all of the foreign names you can go with.
SERWER: That's true.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Unfortunately, you know what? There are a lot to get to. M. O'BRIEN: That's right. There could be an Andy coming your way.
SERWER: Yes, well, Hurricane Andrew.
S. O'BRIEN: I was going to say there was...
M. O'BRIEN: Well, Andy.
SERWER: Andy.
(CROSSTALK)
SERWER: Business news, you guys. Layoffs, pay cuts-benefits, but guess who's still raking in millions and millions of dollars in retirement benefits? We'll tell you all about that next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: A look now at some of the stories we're working on this morning.
President Bush is now at the center of that CIA leak case.
An immigration bill stalls in the Senate.
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney apologizes for her scuffle with Capitol Police.
We're on verdict watch in "The Da Vinci Code" copyright case.
And an amazing avalanche adventure to tell you about. A family packed in their SUV is swept away in the slide. They're all fine. We'll have their amazing story ahead.
Ooh, big money to talk about this morning. Big, big, big, big, big money.
SERWER: Big money, as they say on the game shows, right?
S. O'BRIEN: Big money.
SERWER: Only it's not a game, it's real life, it's corporate America. You know, with all of the outcry about the ill treatment that workers are getting in this country, you would think CEOs would wise up and maybe not take so much out of the cookie jar.
Not so, according to the AFL-CIO. They have a new survey out called "CEO Golden Years." The top 25 largest CEO pensions, and some of this stuff is just, well, shocking.
Let's go to the -- to the board here and look at the top three. This is according to the AFL-CIO, the pensions, but it's pretty accurate.
These are the annual pensions of the top three executives. Now, this is staggering.
Henry McKinnell, Pfizer, $6.52 million a year. Or he could have taken an $83 million lump sum.
Lee Raymond, Exxon, $6.5 million.
M. O'BRIEN: Go for the lump sum.
SERWER: Ed Whitacre -- you like the lump sum -- $5.4 million.
Now, interestingly, Pfizer has been a very poor performing stock over the past...
S. O'BRIEN: OK. So, ExxonMobil, they're making money.
SERWER: They're making a lot of money.
S. O'BRIEN: They're good.
SERWER: And both McKinnell and Raymond have been at those respective companies for decades. But Pfizer, the stock is down 30 percent over the past five years, way under-performing the stock market. And, you know, the only thing you can say is this company had done well when he got to that position. He signed this contract and there you go.
So, you know, it's not fair. Some of the other people on the list, the CEOs of PepsiCo and Valera got a lot of money, too, but those stocks also have done very, very well. There's just not a lot of pay for performance correlation going on here. And it's just huge money, and it's probably not right.
I mean, that's my take on it.
M. O'BRIEN: It's the platinum years.
SERWER: Yes, right. Forget about gold.
M. O'BRIEN: Gold not enough.
SERWER: Gold, platinum, silver and everything else, right?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Andy Serwer.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks.
SERWER: Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: See you in a little bit.
As we approach the top of the hour, let's check the forecast.
Chad Myers, how's your pension looking? Big goose egg, right?
MYERS: Well, no. It's better than that, but I do have this 17- month-old that it's probably go to for college. (WEATHER REPORT)
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