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American Morning

Bin Laden Tape; CIA Leak Firing; Nepal In Crisis; New Orleans Mayoral Runoff; Beyond The Burbs; Minding Your Business; Bosnian Pyramids

Aired April 24, 2006 - 07:30   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Checking our top story this morning.
The president of Iran holding a news conference in about 45 minutes. He'll answer questions about Iran's nuclear program. Our Aneesh Raman one of the few U.S. reporters there and we'll have it for you.

Five teenagers suspected of planning a Columbine-style attack in their school in Riverton, Kansas. They're due in court today for a bond hearing.

And in California, President Bush is talking immigration today. He'll be pushing his guest worker permit plan.

Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

A new audiotape is airing on Arab network stations. U.S. intelligence experts believe it is the voice of Osama bin Laden. On the tape, more threats against Americans and the west. Live to Washington and National Security Correspondent David Ensor this morning.

Hey, David. Good morning.

DAVID ENSOR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well, as you say, this tape has been authenticate. The White House says that it has been told by the intelligence agencies they do believe that is indeed the voice of Osama bin Laden. That makes it his second tape in 2006. There was silence from him in 2005. He, according to analysts both in and out of the government, the effort here mostly seems to be to keep himself relevant after years of hiding very, very carefully what they believe to be the border area along the Afghan-Pakistani border.

In the tape, bin Laden seeks to present the many conflicts in the world, or many of them, as a war on Islam and he seeks to rally more moderate Muslims towards his world view. He criticizes Hamas, the new winners of the election in Palestine, the new Palestinian government, for getting involved in sitting in a parliament there and he talks about our foreign Sudan as a war of crusaders against Muslims.

Back to you, Soledad. S. O'BRIEN: David, let me ask you a question about the CIA officer who was fired for allegedly leaking classified information. How rare is that or how common is it for the CIA to crack down like this?

ENSOR: This is pretty much unprecedented, but it's a very unusual situation. You have a program which very few people knew about and it was an opportunity for CIA Director Porter Goss to use the polygraph and other techniques to try to crack down and figure out who really was leaking this story about CIA secret prisons in Europe to "The Washington Post." And if he is correct, he has found that Mary O. McCarthy, a senior CIA officer who was working in the inspector general's office most recently, may have been one of the leakers.

Now, that's what is alleged. She has, we understand, been fired from the CIA and the Justice Department is investigating whether additional charges are in order.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: David Ensor for us this morning. David, thanks.

The clock is ticking on the formation of new government in Iraq. The new prime minister designate, Jawad al-Maliki, is holding talks right now. He's got 30 days to form an unity government. A few minutes ago I spoke to U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad about just how he's pushing the process forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: We have been pressing the Iraqis very hard. I, myself, have. And we have told them that during the discussions leading to the selection of six and the nomination of the prime minister, that, you know, not only are the Iraqis losing patience with them, but also the American people are losing patience with them. And that would put at risk of American support or the American people stop supporting what we're doing in Iraq, that would put the entire enterprise at risk.

They understand that. But at the same time, we have to understand from our side that what's happening here, what has been happening here, is not your typical dividing the spoils of victory in an election, but really for leaders of different communities for the first time to talk to each other about what it means to be Iraqi, how they ought to organize themselves in a government, what the rules, procedures and institutions of the government would be. And they are very difficult issues to deal with and I think I have urged our people back home to be patient while pressing Iraqis to hurry along.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: You can catch my full interview with Ambassador Khalilzad. It's coming up at 8:15 a.m. right here on AMERICAN MORNING. That's East Coast Time, obviously.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: The U.S. embassy in the capital of Nepal is being evacuated of all but the most essential personnel. The State Department concerned about protests against the king going or now for two weeks. And tomorrow a huge demonstration planned in Kathmandu. Let's go live now to our Correspondent Dan Rivers who is there.

Dan, bring us up-to-date. What's going on now?

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's been a lull in some of the more extreme violence. There are still people out in the streets of Kathmandu today defying a day-long curfew which has been in place.

Let me bring you up to speed. These people want the king to go. Most of the protesters we've talked to now want the king simply to step down. The monarchy to be abolished altogether.

This goes back about a year and a half when the king dismissed the elected government and took power himself. It started with the people demanding that democracy be restored and now this has gone on for so long, as you said, it's more than two weeks now. The king really has been very trenchenton (ph) in not stepping down, not handing back any more power.

These protests have gone on and on. Now the people saying enough already. We want the king to step down and hand back all power to a democratically elected government.

As you mentioned, the U.S. embassy is now being evacuated of all staff and nonessential personnel and families. They've decided that the security situation has deteriorated to such a point that everyone has to get out and they've said all Americans to get out as well.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. Dan Rivers in Kathmandu, thank you very much.

Happening in America now, a California home may soon be entirely swallowed by a giant hole. One man was killed when the foundation gave way. Experts believe the sink hole under the home in Alta, California, was caused by an old underground mine and triggered by recent rain there. The expanding hole now about 30 feet in diameter. Its kept recovery crews from reaching the body.

New DNA results in the Duke rape investigation due May 15th, happens to be the same day the two players already charged will appear in court for their next hearing. Apparently a coincidence. Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty are both charged with rape and kidnapping. The Durham D.A., Mike Nifong, says the timing is, in fact, just a coincidence.

President Bush visited former President Ford for about an hour on Sunday. Mr. Ford has been staying pretty much out of public eye since a bout with pneumonia in January. Later today, the president -- that's President Bush -- will be talking immigration and pushing his guest worker permit plan. Students at the high school in Riverton, Kansas, did their best to put last week's alleged school shooting plot behind them. The school's prom went on as planned over the weekend. Meanwhile, the five teens suspected in the alleged plot due in court this afternoon.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: The winner of New Orleans' mayoral race will be decided in a run-off. Twenty candidates are out of the picture after a primary in which no candidate got 50 percent of the vote. And that leave incumbent Ray Nagin and Lieutenant Governor Micth Landrieu to face off next month. CNN's Susan Roesgen is live for us in New Orleans this morning.

Hey, Susan, good morning.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Soledad.

You know, usually in New Orleans, no incumbent mayor has lost a re-election bid in 60 years. So usually an incumbent mayor like Ray Nagin would be a shoe-in for re-election. But after Hurricane Katrina, Ray Nagin is fighting to stay in.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN, (voice over): Amber and David Howel (ph) went to vote, determined to cast their ballots against incumbent Mayor Ray Nagin, and that he weren't alone. Although the mayor finished in first place with 38 percent of the vote, 62 percent went to the other candidates. And some political analysts say the mayor may have a tough time winning the run-off.

JEFF CROUERE, POLITICAL ANALYST: Certainly he's going to get the majority of black vote, no doubt about it. But Mitch Landrieu has the ability to pull a sizable block of black voters and I suspect that's going to continue to be the case.

ROESGEN: Mitch Landrieu is the state's lieutenant governor, the son of a former mayor, and a popular long-time politician in both state and local politics. He finished behind Nagin with 29 percent of the vote. Before Katrina, most people thought he was planning to run for governor, but then he decided to run for mayor.

LT. GOVERNOR MITCH LANDRIEU, NEW ORLEANS MAYORAL CANDIDATE: Well, I do think the nation is expecting a new leader here that they can have confidence in. And I think they have a right to expect that. If we have a right to ask the nation to provide the funds necessary to do the thing that we're asking them to do, I think we have a corresponding responsibility to act right.

ROESGEN: The overriding issue in the mayor's race is who's the best person to lead the city's recovery? After the primary, Mayor Nagin urged voters to stay with the man they've got.

MAYOR RAY NAGIN, NEW ORLEANS: Ladies and gentlemen, we have a plan. It's your plan. It's time to implement the plan. I am a doer. I am a pusher. I am a maverick. I crossed the line periodically. But I am you. And I love this city.

ROESGEN: Some say Nagin crossed the line with the "chocolate city" comments in January when he said God wanted New Orleans to be a majority African-American city. But he has campaigned steadily since then trying to mend fences and political analysts say don't count Nagin out.

CROUERE: He's had a -- just an incredible recovery, he really has, to be in the position that he's in now from the depths of where he was back in January. You have to give him credit for his Houdini skills as a politician.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROESGEN: And taking a look at the turnout, Soledad. The turnout on Saturday night was about 35 percent. That's pretty low. But you have to consider that in the last mayoral election, about 134,000 people voted in this city four years ago. On Saturday, the number was about 108,000 people. And so many people say that's not bad considering that fewer than half of the people who used to live in New Orleans have been able to come home.

S. O'BRIEN: And you wonder now, with the run-off between the two, maybe that will encourage more people to go to the polls next time around.

Susan Roesgen for us this morning. Hey, Susan, thanks a lot. Appreciate that report.

ROESGEN: You bet.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's check the weather. Chad Myers has that.

Hello, Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer, hello.

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning you guys.

Some business news to tell you about. First of all, Ikea returns to a country it never was able to conquer.

Plus, why "The Apprentice" is just not cutting it in Japan. We'll explain coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: This morning, we know many of you are girding for that long daily trek to the office. Despite high gas prices and killer traffic, more and more of you are living a lot farther away from the office than ever before. We asked AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken to take a look at the exurbs.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT , (voice over): Every morning at 5:00, five days a week, Ron and Maxine Thomas get on the train, crowded with other blurry-eyed commuters for the hour and a half ride into Washington, D.C. Every day after work, they take the train 66 miles back. Not to the suburbs of Virginia or Maryland, but on to the next state, West Virginia. To a 5,300 square foot house these government workers couldn't possibly afford closer in.

RON THOMAS, GOVERNMENT WORKER: There was plenty of houses you could get, you know, but not this house. You could get a three bedroom with maybe 2,000 square feet and it was still very expensive.

FRANKEN: They are part of a significant outward migration. Statistics show that more than 40 percent of the nation's fastest growing counties are these suburbs of suburbs.

MAXINE THOMAS, COMMUTER: People leave their doors unlocked, so it's certainly safer, I think, than being closer in.

FRANKEN: They moved with their kids to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, where abolitionist John Brown fought and died.

There's so much history here. Behind me, civil war battlefields. Just around the corner, General Stonewall Jackson had his headquarters. That was then. This is now.

Townhouses and McMansions are sprouting up in place of the trees that were cleared for them. Within a few yards of the Appalachian Trail, there are driveways. The once sparse population here in Jefferson County is up by 20,000 in the last decade and 15,000 more are expected in the next. But the mayor of Harpers Ferry points out they defeat their purpose.

MAYOR JIM ADDY, HARPERS FERRY: Increased demand for housing causes prices to rise. And, also, the demand for better services.

FRANKEN: That means higher taxes for a lifestyle that's physically taxing, even for those who don't have to drive.

MAXINE THOMAS: You have to stay up and run errands and do sports and whatever they need to do. So you're in bed by 10:30, 11:00 and then you're up at 3:00. It's exhausting.

FRANKEN: They used to call this a whistle stop. Now, it's an exurb. And this is not the end of the line. There are more even further out.

Bob Franken, CNN, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: A very interesting business story.

SERWER: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: And more business news now with Andy. He's got that.

Good morning.

SERWER: Good morning, Soledad.

As if we didn't need reminding. Japan is a very different market from the United States, or indeed from many other countries around the world. A couple companies discovering that this morning. Ikea is returning to Japan today, 20 years after failing in that country, to set up a store in which it's very rare for this Swedish furniture juggernaut, which has been successful all around the globe, 230 stores and 33 countries. When they tried Japan previously, the Japanese apparently did not take to making their own furniture. You know, when you buy stuff for Ikea, you have to assemble it yourself. That didn't seem to work. Now they're going to be more into small space living, the stores apparently. When they opened these stores up all over the place, they have huge successes. Thousands of people generally mobbing Ikea openings all around the globe. So it will be interesting to see how that goes. The company founded by Ingvar Kamprad in 1943.

S. O'BRIEN: I could see it working, the small space thing, because I think there's a big overlap in the esthetic.

SERWER: Right. I think so, too.

S. O'BRIEN: But you're right, the whole thing that it comes with its own little screwdriver, no.

SERWER: Right, difficult stuff.

OK. And another story about Japan. "The Apprentice," the hit show, is having a tough time getting going in Japan. They're having a difficult time finding any kind of CEO who is willing to say, "you're fired." Maybe this makes sense because this is a country with lifetime employment. So the CEO saying you fired just sort of . . .

S. O'BRIEN: What does that mean?

SERWER: Yes, it just sort of wouldn't work.

S. O'BRIEN: Fired?

SERWER: And, you know, then there's also the live door scandal. The guys, Takafumi Horie, the CEO who was, you know, kind of found in the scandal and everything. So a lot of difficult times for the show that was a smash hit not only here but also in the U.K.

S. O'BRIEN: Right.

SERWER: Just not getting up to speed over there.

S. O'BRIEN: It's just lost in translation.

SERWER: Yes, that's it.

S. O'BRIEN: As they say.

SERWER: As they say.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Andy.

SERWER: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: You know a sporting events, obviously, can put a city on the map. But could a sporting event wipe a city off the map? We're going to tell you this morning by a rugby game is threatening Ireland's oldest city.

Also ahead this morning, archeologists -- take a look -- archeologists believe that this hill right there -- that one right there -- could be one of the next great wonders of the world. Doesn't look so impressive, but we'll tell you why coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: A world wonder hiding under a hill. That's what a team of scientists in Bosnia are looking into right now. The search there for three pyramids has transformed a tiny town. CNN's Chris Burns has our story from just outside of Seriavo.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS BURNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Bosnian American Sam Osmanagic is an overnight hero in his homeland. In a country devastated by war, the Houston businessman brings hope, claiming he's discovered Europe's first known pyramids, including the world's largest. Having studied Latin American pyramids for 15 years, Osmanagic has mobilized locals here into an army of excavators. Coal miners, grave diggers, farmers, the unemployed. Osmanagic pays about a third of them. The rest are volunteers.

SAM OSMANAGIC, BUSINESSMAN/EXPLORER: All the skepticism will be gone. (INAUDIBLE). They're flying over in the airplane and you see the pyramid walls. What else you can say?

BURNS: Well, some would just say this is just a rock base. It is a mountain. It's got some rock bases.

OSMANAGIC: It can be. It can be. We get the geologists today. Once they see that they're saying it was man-made. It was brought here.

BURNS: And it goes deep underground, too. Osmanagic claims this tunnel leads to three pyramids of the sun, the moon and the dragon. He's got his own pyramid mania headquarters, website and web-cams. With his trademark hat, Osmanagic is revered here as a movie star.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) Indiana Jones.

BURNS: But you're a "Raider of the Lost Ark" here, aren't you?

OSMANAGIC: Yes. It was long lost. Now this here -- the great values here which we're going to show to the world.

BURNS: Souvenir vendors aren't waiting for proof. There are pyramid t-shirts, key chains, wood carvings, postcards. All the hype has fueled its own industry. What was once the Hollywood Hotel is now the pyramid of the sun. All while Osmanagic, armed with satellite imaging, toils to attract donors and neutralize skeptics.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It will be great if it's a pyramid.

BURNS: And what if it isn't?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, that would be a scandal.

BURNS: A Bosnian-American former U.S. soldier, now helping Osmanagic, says even he is skeptical but sees a better good in the effort.

AMER SMAILBEGOVIC, GEOPHYSICIST: I'd rather be digging up here and discovering a pyramid and using all the science in order to find something than looking for mass graves.

BURNS: If anything, the Bosnian Texan has gotten his shattered homeland to think big and to dream.

Chris Burns, CNN, Visoko, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: The excavation work is expected to take another six months.

M. O'BRIEN: In a moment, our top stories, including a rare news conference with Iran's president. We'll take you there live in just a few minutes.

Then more on the burden of ever increasing gas prices.

Closing arguments of the Zacarias Moussaoui trial.

New threats from Osama bin Laden.

And efforts to save a New Orleans institution, Charity Hospital. It is too damaged to reopen? Yes. What will it take to salvage it maybe? There's more on that on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is ridiculous. This is not -- this is not normal.

(END VIDEO CLIP) M. O'BRIEN: Indeed. Up, up and oh my. Gas prices up nearly another two bits and that's left some people searching for a better deal.

S. O'BRIEN: The voice of terror. A new audiotape from Osama bin Laden. We're live with more on what he has to say.

M. O'BRIEN: In just a few minutes, a rare glimpse into Iran's intentions, we hope. Iran's president ready to take journalists' questions.

S. O'BRIEN: And the man right in the middle of the Enron collapse is now ready to talk. Enron's founder, Ken Lay, on the stand today in his own defense.

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