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American Morning
Press-Ing Forward; Danube River Disaster; Ready for 'United 93'?
Aired April 20, 2006 - 06:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's 6:30 Eastern. Checking our top stories right now.
The record U.S. trade deficit with China, $202 billion. That will be among the topics discuss this had morning when China's President Hu Jintao visits the White House.
The federal government is releasing names of people it is holding at Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. Five hundred fifty-eight names are on that list. Detainees from 41 countries, most listed as enemy combatants.
And we expect to learn more today about the Transportation Security Administration's registered travel program. Passengers who sign up and provide personal information will be allowed to use express security lines beginning this summer. That could make it a little bit faster.
Well, you can bet names are being bandied about this morning after one of the president's member announced he is step down. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan resigned Wednesday, but is staying on until someone else is chosen to fill his shoes. It's an unenviable job, but possibly the highest profile position behind the president, of course.
AMERICAN MORNING'S Bob Franken is live in Washington.
Bob, good morning to you.
Some are asking, why would anyone want this job?
BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it inevitably wears you down. The process now has begun for Scott McClellan to forgive and forget, if he's lucky.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN (voice over): Press secretaries describe themselves as the White House pinatas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But don't tell me that you're giving us complete answers when you're not actually answering the question, because everybody knows what is an answer and what is not an answer. And the final...
SCOTT MCCLELLAN, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Well, David, now you want to make this about you, and it's not about you. It's about what happened. And that's what I'm trying...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm sorry you feel that way, but that's not...
MCCLELLAN: And I'm trying to provide answers to the questions.
FRANKEN: The real question is, why would anyone want to go through this? There is the boiler plate answer, service to country, et cetera, et cetera. And there's the investment in the future answer.
MCCLELLAN: I'm ready to move on. I've been in this position a long time. And my wife and I are excited about beginning the next chapter in our life together.
FRANKEN: Former White House press secretaries can make big bucks in that next chapter. Ari Fleischer, who preceded McClellan at the podium of torture, is in demand as a communications adviser. He also earns a lot making speeches, and the audiences are usually a lot friendlier. But he insists the real lure of the job is making it to the big leagues.
ARI FLEISCHER, FMR. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: It's the majors. It's the only way to step out of the farm system and play in the bigs.
FRANKEN: And to be a part of history.
PRESIDENT RICHARD M. NIXON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I am not a crook.
FRANKEN: There are all kinds of scandals.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did not have sexual relations with that woman.
FRANKEN: And it's exciting to work in the Oval Office.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "THE WEST WING": Toby (ph), get me a nose count. What else?
FRANKEN: Oh, sorry, that one was fiction. It's hard to tell what's real sometimes. What is real is the resume. And certainly the references.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I thought he handled his assignment with class, integrity. He really represents, you know, the best of his family, our state, and our country. It's going to be hard to replace Scott, and -- but nevertheless, he's made the decision. And I accept it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: Each White House press secretary leaves a note for his or her successor. Leaves it in a flak jacket. Now it's Scott McClellan's turn -- Betty. NGUYEN: All right. So, what's on those notes? You know?
FRANKEN: Well, we can only guess. I suspect we have ones like, "No violence allowed." "Avoid profanity."
NGUYEN: Yes.
FRANKEN: And Scott McClellan's favorite, "Don't answer the question you're asked. Answer the question you want to answer."
NGUYEN: Oh, Bob Franken. Thank you for that. We'll talk to you later.
Well, an historic summit at the White House this morning between the U.S. and China. President Hu Jintao arriving in Washington last night. Here's a picture of that. He'll meet with President Bush later this morning and is hoping the meeting will help change American perceptions of China.
President Bush is expected to push for China's help to end nuclear standoffs in Iran and North Korea. They'll also discuss economic and political policies.
This morning, Homeland Security and Justice Department officials will reveal a tough new plan to bring criminal charges against employers that hire illegal immigrants. They'll peg that plan off a massive raid spread over at least nine states. You see them here.
Hundreds of illegal immigrants were rounded up, and seven executives arrested and charged. The action being taken against the company IFCO Systems. Immigration officials say the company helps immigrants break the law.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIE MYERS, IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: The employees in IFCO have been involved in inducing illegal aliens to work there, telling them that they should doctor their W-2s, giving them fake Social Security cards, and, in fact, telling them they didn't need to fill out any documentation at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Now, the company IFCO Systems is cooperating with this investigation -- Miles.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The Zacarias Moussaoui trial is winding down. More relatives of 9/11 victims expected to testify today for the defense. Six testified yesterday, saying they didn't want to focus on revenge. Among those, the mother of a man who died at the World Trade Center's south tower.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARILYNN ROSENTHAL, SON JOSHUA DIED ON 9/11: Mr. Moussaoui is the wrong man to be -- to be on trial. There are other people who are in the custody of the U.S. government who were central planners for the 9/11 event. Those are the people who should have been on trial. All my research and all the information I have suggests that Mr. Moussaoui is a very marginal and undependable character.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: The trial resume 9:30 Eastern Time.
Thousands of people fleeing to higher ground as one of Europe's major rivers washes away villages and farms.
CNN's Chris Burns is in Bulgaria.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Chris Burns, in Nikopol, Bulgaria, where the cleanup has begun but the rain is still falling. And many streets remain an extension of the Danube, many homes are still ghostly and empty.
You can see some of the cleanup starting over here. But many boats are being used to do that cleanup.
Thousands of people have been evacuated up and down this river in three countries. We'll talk to some of the residents who are homeless here. People are living in temporary housing, some in tent camps. And the effort to shore up defenses continues.
You're going to see over here there's lots -- there's sand being piled up for sandbags. It's all hands on deck. People filling sandbags to shore up those defenses to prevent more evacuations, to prevent more hardship in this region. It's a disaster that this impoverished region can ill afford after last year's floods caused millions of dollars in damage.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: That was CNN's Chris Burns in Nikopol, Bulgaria. The Danube River is reaching its highest levels in more than a century -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Happening "In America" this morning, an attorney for one of the arrested Duke lacrosse players says a deal with prosecutors is out of the question. The lawyer says his client, Collin Finnerty, is innocent. Finnerty and teammate Reade Seligmann were charged with first-degree rape, sexual offense and kidnapping.
Here's a story happening all over America right now. More and more people are fleeing big cities in search of cheaper homes and open spaces. A Census Bureau report shows dwindling numbers of residents in nearly every large metropolitan area.
Northeasterners are moving south and west. West Coast residents are moving inland. And Midwesterners are chasing better job markets.
You could call it the elephant in the room. After months of debate, the Los Angeles City Council is going ahead with plans for a new elephant exhibit at the city zoo. The nearly four-acre enclosure will cost a whopping $39 million. Critics, including L.A.'s mayor, says that's way too small of a space for way too much money.
Now that's a lot of money.
O'BRIEN: Let's check the forecast. Chad Myers in the weather center.
Good morning, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: I tell you, I love the weather up here.
O'BRIEN: Betty, you can come anytime. You bring good weather with you.
NGUYEN: As long as I bring the weather.
O'BRIEN: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: Well, coming up, a nation on the edge of collapse. We will take you live to Nepal, the scene of deadly protests.
O'BRIEN: Also, big changes in the White House flow chart. But is it too little too late? We'll ask former White House insider Mary Matalin about that.
And the first feature film about 9/11 will be in theaters next week. Are audiences ready to relive that tragic day with a movie called "United 93"?
But first, a look what else is making news on this Thursday morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Jack Anderson, the late, great, muckraking journalist, spent decades taking on the government. But even after his passing, he's still fight the establishment.
John Roberts explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SR. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It's the kind of story Jack Anderson, Washington's legendary muckraker journalist, would have loved to chase himself. The FBI wants to comb through his records of decades of work, looking for old classified documents he may have obtained before his death in December of last year.
In a letter this week, Anderson's family told the FBI, "Not a chance are you getting your hands on those documents."
KEVIN ANDERSON, JACK ANDERSON'S SON: If we are ordered by a court, we would not comply. And if that results in jail time, both my 79-year-old mother and I are prepared to sit in jail.
ROBERTS: The FBI claims the documents are government property in a statement, saying, "No private person may possess classified documents that were illegally provided to them. There is no legal basis under which a third party could retain them as part of an estate."
"Washington Post" reporter Howard Kurtz, who once worked for Anderson, believes the documents issue is part of a broader government agenda.
HOWARD KURTZ, "WASHINGTON POST": The Bush administration seems to be taking its aggressive policy against the press one step further, now going after a dead journalist.
ROBERTS: Anderson's archives, nearly 200 boxes worth, are being donated to George Washington University, kept in this warehouse outside the nation's capital. They document an aggressive style of journalism that earned Anderson exclusives and enemies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The CIA's trying to botch up Australia (ph) now?
ROBERTS: President Richard Nixon and former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover both had it in for him. But GW professor Mark Feldstein, who is overseeing the archive, is surprised how far the FBI is going now.
MARK FELDSTEIN, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIV. PROFESSOR: Jack Anderson made sport of the FBI for five decades. The irony that they would pursue him now, even past his grave, is something that even J. Edgar Hoover didn't try.
ROBERTS: Anderson's family claims the FBI was devious in trying to obtain access to the archives. Agents claim they were looking for information on a lobbying scandal and convinced Anderson's 79-year-old widow to sign a release.
ANDERSON: If they wanted her to sign something, she signed it. And like I said, she did not understand that it would have led to papers being removed from the collection.
ROBERTS: The FBI wouldn't comment on the accusation. But just like the family, George Washington University officials vow, in the spirit of Jack Anderson, the FBI will get nothing from them.
FELDSTEIN: I think they didn't come after him while he was alive, because he would have died rather than give it to them.
ROBERTS (on camera): A government official says the FBI has it on good authority that there are numerous classified documents that Jack Anderson had in his possession. The family doesn't dispute that -- in fact, confirms to CNN that, yes, there are classified documents in the archive, but the FBI still can't have them.
The FBI could subpoena the archive, but Justice Department officials are worried about the appearance of being heavy-handed with the family.
John Roberts, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN: The CIA and other government agencies have lately been trying to reclassify documents that have already been released to the public -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, an ambitious campaign to get guns off the streets. We'll tell you all about it.
And an intimate look at 9/11. "Flight 93," the movie, is hitting the big screen. Is America ready?
Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Good morning, Norfolk, Virginia -- 82 degrees and sunny. Beautiful day. WVEC with the tower cam looking at the city there. A little lens cleaner might be good.
We'll work on that. We'll send them some.
Top stories right now.
China's president in Washington to meet with President Bush this morning. Two of the world's most powerful men will square off on vital issues to both countries. Trade is one of them, of course. They'll also talk about the nuclear issues that are front and center right now.
International issues driving oil to record highs. And a ripple effect is expected in the economy. Higher prices, less money to spend.
And a deadly spring snowstorm in the northern plains, four dead in North Dakota. We're talking snow here, folks. Two feet of snow, power will be out in some places until tomorrow.
NGUYEN: It's mid to late April. Snow still?
O'BRIEN: So I hear. What up with that?
NGUYEN: Apparently not there.
Well, the first feature film about 9/11 is set to hit the big screens next week. "United 93" has its premier Tuesday in the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, just feet from Ground Zero. But is America really ready to relive those horrors, much less over popcorn and candy? Carol Costello saw the movie and talked to the actors and family members involved in making that film.
How do they feel, Carol?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: They feel pretty good about the movie. The movie itself was intense. It takes you right back to that terrible day.
You feel all those things you felt before, sadness and anger and confusion and helplessness. It takes you on board United Flight 93. You see those desperate passengers trying to take the plane back.
The actors who portrayed those 33 passengers improvised their lines after much discussion with the family members. David Alan Basche, who portrayed Todd Beamer, had a really tough time of it because no one knows exactly when and how Beamer said those now famous words "Let's roll," the signal for the passengers to charge the cockpit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID ALAN BASCHE, "TODD BEAMER" ON "UNITED 93": I'm not even sure I know where it is in the movie. I know it's in there. I've only seen the film once last week, and I know it's there.
I didn't choose. I made a specific effort not to choose and hope, just hope that if I have done my research about Todd and if we had all done our research about our passengers and what happened on that plane, that the spirits of all of us on that plane would rise up halfway and everybody else's spirits would come down the other half, and their words would come out.
COSTELLO: I think that of all the passengers on board the flight, your son was probably -- became the most known. Do you think that this movie puts him back in perspective of who he really was?
DAVID BEAMER, SON DIED ON UNITED 93: I think the movie has it right, because the production shows what really happened. And it was -- it was a collective thing. We know that. Todd's last words to Lisa Jefferson, and the last words she heard him say, happened to -- happened to be the signal that said, "Let's roll," it's time to execute the plan. And I also think that the movie's portrayal of how that likely happened is accurate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Next to Beamer's father is his mother. And you saw Elsa Strong (ph), the blonde woman you saw there. She lost her sister on Flight 93.
And I know many of you are wondering if it's too soon to make a movie about 9/11. I did talk to the director about that, and you could hear what he said coming your way in the 7:00 hour of AMERICAN MORNING.
NGUYEN: Yes, looking forward to that. Carol, thank you.
O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer is here "Minding Your Business."
Hello, Andy.
NGUYEN: Hi, Andy.
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE": Good morning, you guys.
What will be top of mind when President Bush meets with China's Hu Jintao this morning?
Also, in Chicago, trading in guns for grocery money.
We'll tell you all about that coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Here's a look now at some stories that we are working on for you -- the high-stakes summit between China's president and President Bush.
And immigration bust. Agents rounding up hundreds of illegal aliens and their employers.
And a possible shift power shift in the Iraqi parliament.
Then, there's a little known disorder that affects many new moms, postpartum OCD.
And tense situations in Nepal. We'll tell you about that. Hundreds of thousands of protesters in the streets. We'll take you there live.
Those stories ahead, but first...
O'BRIEN: An important summit today. The Chinese president will arrive at the White House amid much pomp and circumstance. Andy Serwer is here to tell us what's really going to be discussed.
SERWER: That's right.
Hu Jintao and President Bush are going to be meeting today. And at the fore, besides human rights, military matters, nuclear arms, Taiwan, Nepal, will be economic issues. For instance, the trade gap, $202 billion, the largest ever between two nations. And also, the Chinese currency.
You can see here, by the way, the Chinese president yesterday at Microsoft and Boeing. So you can see him up in the Pacific Northwest in Washington State.
But the yuan, the Chinese currency, some say is undervalued relative to the dollar by 40 percent. That makes Chinese goods cheaper. No wonder the world buys so much of their goods relative to our goods. Piracy is another huge issue.
And then, also, the loss of jobs. Three million jobs have been lost, some say to outsourcing to countries like China.
So, we don't expect a whole lot of progress to be made here. These issues are huge...
NGUYEN: Yes, they are.
SERWER: ... but the discussions will begin. And it will be interesting to see if there's any sort of headway at all.
O'BRIEN: Well, isn't this one of those things, looking at the broad scheme, that will take care of itself? Because, as wages go up in China, that trade deficit is going to balance out more, won't it?
SERWER: There is a lot to be said for that. However, because the Chinese are keeping the yuan so undervalued, that would mitigate that sort of growth. So, it will be interesting to see.
The yuan is the key issue. It's kind of complicated, but it's an important thing.
Switching gears here and talking about a domestic issue, gun violence, handgun violence. In Chicago, a program is going to be rolled out on April 29th, whereby people can exchange their guns for $100 gift certificates to Jewel-Osco, the grocery chain.
And, you know, these have been done before to some success. They had one in 1994 in Chicago. They got 1,100 guns.
NGUYEN: Really?
SERWER: And you could argue that that would reduce violence and deaths and murders by -- by people using guns. They've set aside $10,000, which you do the math, about 1,000 guns.
NGUYEN: Yes. Interesting program.
SERWER: So -- yes. And it's been -- it's going to be interesting to see how it goes, because at some point, you kind of tap it out, I guess.
O'BRIEN: You would think.
NGUYEN: If it works, yes.
SERWER: You would think.
O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Andy.
O'BRIEN: Thanks.
Approaching the top of the hour. Let's check in with Chad.
MYERS: And good morning, Miles.
Good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elaine Quijano, at the White House, where the president of China will get a 21-gun salute and some tough questions from President Bush.
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