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American Morning

Bush Poll Numbers; Border Security; Duke Rape Investigation; Around The World; Living With Autism

Aired May 09, 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: Stories for you.
A high level meeting at the United Nations today. They're discussing ways to convince Iran to stop enriching uranium.

A new CNN poll conducted by Opinion Research to tell you about. Among its findings, 65 percent say the price of gas is causing them hardships.

Tonight could be the night for San Francisco's Barry Bonds. He's got 713 homers in his career. This is from previous night. Just one behind Babe Ruth for second on the career home run list. The game at home against the Cubbies.

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

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

Some new poll numbers out to talk about this morning and President Bush's approval rating 34 percent, his disapproval rating 58 percent. And more than half of those who disapprove of the president's job performance, 56 percent say the war in Iraq is the reason. Let's get right to CNN's Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider. He's joining us from Washington, D.C.

Hey, Bill, good morning.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right, let's throw up the graphic so everybody can see what we're talking about here. First we've got a CNN poll, approval 34 percent. That's actually an increase of about two points. Then you have a "USA Today" Gallup poll. The approval, 31 percent. That's actually down three points. Statistically, are these significant polls? Significant numbers?

SCHNEIDER: Well, they are statistically compatible with each other because each poll has a 3 percent margin of error. So 31 plus 3 would be 34. And 34 minus 3, obviously, 31. It means they're in the same ballpark, which is very low. All the poll that have come out in the last few weeks are showing Bush in the low 30s. So the true number is probably somewhere between 31 and 34 percent. It's a very low number for a president. In fact, that 31 reported by Gallup is the lowest number ever reported for this president.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: The reason for disapproval I found very interesting. I thought that gas prices actually might . . .

SCHNEIDER: I did too.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Would be at a higher number than it turned out to be in one of the polls, the CNN poll. Let's throw that poll up and you can talk about it.

SCHNEIDER: Yes. Well, we asked people who said they disapproved of Bush, what's the main reason? Is it the war in Iraq or is it gas prices or some other reason? We thought it would be, as you said, gas prices, gas prices, gas prices. But the answer, as you can see is, Iraq, Iraq, Iraq. Fifty-six percent say it's Iraq, the war there that doesn't seem to be able to end. Thirteen percent say the main reason is gas prices. Other issues, 26 percent. So the biggest complaint, Americans are dying in Iraq and that's something Americans are deeply concerned about. They want to know when will the end be in sight.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Do you think there's a sense that the president's not necessarily the one responsible for the gas prices?

SCHNEIDER: Well, that's an interesting question because Americans don't think that this is a supply and demand issue. They think that somebody's up to no good. They don't think he caused the increase in gas prices, but 70 percent of the public think the president could do something about it. The fact that they increase so suddenly and all went up at the same time convinces an awful lot of people that it's unethical behavior. Over 60 percent say unethical behavior, not supply and demand, and they do believe that President Bush could do something about high gas prices.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Continuing on the CNN poll, here was a question about, has the war in Iraq made those of us here in the U.S. more safe? Again, I was surprised by these poll numbers, Bill.

SCHNEIDER: That's right. Americans no longer buy the main argument for going to war in Iraq, which is that it would make the United States safer from terrorism. Just one third of Americans believe the war in Iraq has made the U.S. safer. And that poll shows that a majority of Americans now say Iraq has made the United States less safe. That's a devastating judgment. It means that Americans aren't sure a sure what they're fighting for, what this country is fighting for in Iraq. Its not making the United States safer.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right. If you're in the White House and you say, clearly the message from the people is Iraq is something that has to be dealt with before you can raise those poll numbers, what's the president got to do?

SCHNEIDER: He's got to figure out how to present an end game, an exit strategy, for Iraq that will start bringing American forces home. There's a lot of political pressure on this president to at least begin bringing forces home before the November midterm election. His party is very nervous about this. And to show that this will somehow reach a successful conclusion so that the United States can disengage. People want to know where's the light at the end of this very dark tunnel. SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Bill Schneider, CNN senior political analyst. Bill, thanks. I thought this was a really interesting poll this time around.

SCHNEIDER: It was.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thanks for explaining it for us. Appreciate it.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: U.S. troops already with their hands full in Iraq are now also focused on securing that country's border with Iran which, of course, itself poses another set of challenges for this country. The military believes the boarder is a pipeline for the insurgency in Iraq. CNN Arwa Damon traveled to the Iraq side of the border.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The Iran-Iraq border runs more than 900 miles. Major Majid and his men with the Iraqi border police are responsible for this small piece of it. From their post, it's just possible to make out the Iranian border post two miles away. Major Majid says the exact borderline here is under dispute. Just days ago, the Iranians fired pot shots out their patrol.

MAJOR MAJID, IRAQI BORDER POLICEMAN, (through translator): They think it's theirs. But it's ours.

The U.S. says keeping this border secure is critical. Why? Because U.S. and Iraqi forces believe this may be a supply route for the insurgency. A smuggler's haven for both weapons and people.

MAJOR MIKE WILLIAMS, U.S. ARMY: When was the last time you got (ph) the Iranians?

DAMON: The U.S. Army has a small presence here. Major Mike Williams and his border transition team.

WILLIAMS: Our job is to make sure we get these people up and running and make sure we secure these borders and keep the people that want to come in and make things fail not.

DAMON: The Americans call the new Iraqi posts castles. Many are built next to the rubble of old forts destroyed in the 1980's during Iraq's war with Iran.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is all minefields out here.

DAMON: While these minefields are meant to keep people from crossing, it's believed here these mines have also become a source of explosives for the insurgency.

The border was the main front line in the Iran-Iraq war back in the 1980s. U.S. and Iraqi security forces are still finding stockpiles of weapons buried in old fighting positions from back then, some containing hundreds of old artillery rounds.

And for the U.S. and Iraqi forces, it's a race to find those stockpiles before the insurgents do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see a trench line dug in over there if you look right there.

DAMON: Conditions are dreadful for the Iraqi border police. At this checkpoint, two policemen show us where they sleep. Foam pads on a bare concrete floor. Their luxury in the swelters heat, a little clean drinking water. This policeman has been posted here three years.

WILLIAMS: It does hurt you when you see these guys and you want to give them the shirt off your back, but you also got to tell them that, you know, your system, you've got to make it work and this is why. And that's the importance of trying to push that is to make that system work.

DAMON: The challenge? Helping the Iraqi system work soon to prevent the insurgency from getting the upper hand.

Arwa Damon, CNN, on Iraq's border with Iran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Thirty-seven minutes past the hour. Time to check the weather with Chad at the CNN Center.

Hey, Chad, what are you looking at this morning?

(WEATHER REPORT)

MILES O'BRIEN: New information this morning about the Duke rape case. The university admits it was slow to respond but they blame the police. We'll go live to Durham, North Carolina, for more on that.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Also ahead this morning, a popular tax preparation company is accused of scamming its customers. Andy's looking at that as he "Minds Your Business" just ahead.

MILES O'BRIEN: Plus, the challenges of autism. No one knows what causes it. There is no cure. How can families deal with it? We'll tell you about one family's struggle ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MILES O'BRIEN: Duke University admits it was slow to respond to those rape charges leveled at members of the lacrosse team. But the university claims it did not act faster because police apparently doubted the credibility of the woman who made the accusations. We get more now from Julia Lewis with our affiliate WRAL. She's in Durham, North Carolina, this morning. Julia, good morning.

JULIA LEWIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

You know, Durham Police, as well as Duke University, are under fire this morning for the initial way they responded to this case. You'll remember that these rape allegations involve an exotic dancer, as well as members of Duke's lacrosse team.

Now the rape report came in March 14th, but Duke University President Richard Brodhead didn't find out about it until 10 days later. Duke officials say that's because they were going on the word of Durham Police who said the woman's story wasn't credible. Here's the latest reaction from Duke and from one of the defense attorneys.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUE WASIOLEK, DUKE UNIVERSITY DEAN OF STUDENTS: Did not appear as though this case was really going to go very far because there were some real inconsistencies in some of the information that the alleged victim was providing.

WADE SMITH, ATTORNEY FOR COLLIN FINNERTY: It goes straight to her credibility, which is ground zero in this case. That credibility of that woman is ground zero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEWIS: Wade Smith represents Collin Finnerty, one of the two lacrosse players charged with rape in this case. He saying that the fact that Durham Police told Duke police that the woman changed her story several times at the beginning. In fact, one time they say she said that 20 players raped her. Wade Smith says that will be critical to his case.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: I'm still curious, Julia, how, if this occurred on the 14th, how it took 10 days before this ended up in the media. Were the police holding back this information in some way?

LEWIS: I don't know that they were holding it back. Some Duke administrators that we talked to said when they learned of it, some Duke administrators on the lower levels, when they found out about it, they were trying to do some fact finding, some research, trying to gather more information before they went to President Brodhead. Unfortunately, President Brodhead, I believe when he found out about it, he didn't find out about the direction this case was taking until he saw it in the media and then he realized just how serious it was.

MILES O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Julia. That's Julia Lewis with our affiliate WRAL in Raleigh Durham.

Soledad.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: A quick look at some of the stories our correspondents are following around the globe today. From the heat wave in India, to the immigration debate in France.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello. I'm Satinder Bindra in New Delhi.

At least 27 people have died as India reels under a blistering heat wave. The temperature now is 112 degrees Fahrenheit. So hot that all schools have been shut down and tens of millions are sweltering without any electricity. India just can't produce enough to meet its huge needs. Adding to the shortage, another problem, theft. Thousands are just hot wiring electricity directly from transmission cables. Anything to try to beat the heat

ROBIN OAKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Robin Oakley reporting from Paris where interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy is pushing through tough immigration measures. New skills and talents visas will allow in qualified workers on three-year residents permits, but it will be made harder for immigrants to bring in their families. Newcomers will be forced to learn French and they will no longer qualify automatically for residence after 10 years in the country. Churches say the new laws will penalize the poor. Sarkozy says immigrants must learn to integrate or face deportation.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: For more on these stories or any of our top stories, in fact, you can go right to our website at cnn.com.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN: Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business."

Andy, hello.

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning you guys.

H&R Block in the news again. Allegation that employees would be fired if they didn't do the wrong thing.

Plus, another CEO in trouble too. This guy's being forced to repay millions of dollars. We'll explain coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Oh, more problems for H&R Block. It just keeps coming.

SERWER: Could they just get in anymore trouble? Is it possible?

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Although now the problems are after tax time.

SERWER: Yes.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Before it was all running up to tax time. SERWER: Well, there are twelve months in a year.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Yes.

SERWER: I mean there's plenty of time.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: It's a big cycle, isn't it?

SERWER: It is. And, of course, Soledad, we're talking about H&R Block, the nation's largest tax preparation company. They're battling Elliot Spitzer. That is not a good thing for a company history shows.

New allegations from the New York state attorney general saying that H&R Block management threatened employees with termination if they didn't push those IRAs that he is saying were, well, very, very bad for people to buy. That basically these are ripoff IRAs that were targeted for poor people and they'd put money in and they would end up 85 percent of the time lose money. So he's saying if employees weren't selling these they would "be shown the door." There's the door.

The company hasn't respond specifically to this newest set of allegations. However it said generally it will vigorously defend itself.

Now a CEO paying money back to the government. Henry Yuen, who is the CEO of Gemstar TV Guide. He is being forced to repay $22 million or pay the government $22 million. Some of it is repaying ill gotten gains. He perpetrated $250 million fraud at this company.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: What did he do?

SERWER: He basically inflated profits, inflated revenue numbers and pled guilty to that. And this is a company, Gemstar TV Guide, they own TV Guide, as well as an interactive service that lets people see what's on TV. So it's interesting to see people actually having to pay some money back.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Is he in prison now?

SERWER: I don't think so. He pled guilty to one charge. Didn't have to go to jail for it, though.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Just write a check for the $22 million.

SERWER: Yes.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Interesting.

SERWER: Who knows how much other money he's (INAUDIBLE).

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thank you.

SERWER: Thanks.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN: Miles. MILES O'BRIEN: If you're a parent and you're rushing around right now trying to get your kids ready for school, I want you to take a moment now to count your blessings. You're about to meet a family grappling with the daily challenges of autism. Three hundred thousand American school children have been diagnosed with autism. And despite all the research, no one knows what causes it and there is no cure. It's getting a lot of attention, though. It's this week's cover story for "Time" magazine and AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho has been looking into it as well.

Just heart breaking stories, aren't they?

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. Count your blessings is right, Miles. You're a parent.

You know you may be surprised to hear that autism is five times more prevalent than downs syndrome, three times as common as juvenile diabetes. And yet, as a nation, there is still so much we don't know about autism. But ask the parent who are affected by it and they'll tell you how it changes their entire world.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO, (voice over): Spend a moment with 6 1/2-year-old twins David and Aly (ph) Slatkin and it's impossible to tell that anything is wrong, yet there is a lot that is not right. David can run and play, even swim, but has never spoken a word. He's one of hundreds of thousands of American children with autism spectrum disorder. His parents, Harry and Laura, noticed very early on something strange about the way he walked.

LAURA SLATKIN, MOTHER: He would run back and forth in our hallways, back and forth giggling and laughing and he looked adorable but his gait was very wide and it wasn't tightening.

CHO: He parents also noticed David was staring at light bulbs and examining hardware on the door. So they took him to the doctor. He was just 17 months old.

HARRY SLATKIN, FATHER: David was diagnosed with PDDNOS, which is Pervasive Development Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, which for me was like hearing something from Mars. And Laura was traveling on business, so I went to my computer in my office and I looked it up and everything had the word autism attached. And I sat there frozen for two hours in my office because the word autism to me was like a monster. It was scary.

CHO: Laura came home that night. Harry broke the news.

HARRY SLATKIN: And we actually cried ourselves to sleep that night.

CHO: And then the next day?

HARRY SLATKIN: And the next day we rolled our sleeves up and we started to fight. CHO: Laura calls the first year following the diagnosis a year of hope because some autistic children with the right therapy can go on to live what she calls mainstream lives. But David is severely autistic. At times he exhibits aggressive behavior. A telltale sign of autism.

HARRY SLATKIN: To this day, David's aggressive behaviors have gotten better. But to this day, every time I pick David up, I have the fear of a scratch and they're severe scratches. I have the fear of a bite. It stays with you.

CHO: To deal with the problem, David goes to a school for autistic children. The Slatkins also have full-time help and they sought help for Aly so she could learn to accept and be proud of her twin brother.

ALEXANDRA SLATKIN, SISTER: He doesn't talk. And he makes really weird noises. And he's autistic. And we -- and I love him but I hate his autism.

CHO: Laura admits dealing with David's autism can be overwhelming.

LAURA SLATKIN: Parents sometimes wish that something tragic would happen to their child. That our son would walk in our pond or get hit by a car or something to just end the tragedy and the stress and the devastation. And it's OK to feel that way because it's tough.

CHO: Harry says it's like being on a roller coaster that never ends.

HARRY SLATKIN: And once you're on this roller coaster, you just continue the ride. It's got its ups, its downs, it's got its calm periods, but it also has its surprises. And for us, this roller coaster will be for the rest of our lives because David will be autistic for the rest of his life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Now the Slatkins say their biggest goal is to keep David at home and away from an institution. Harry Slatkins says his greatest wish is to hear his son say daddy. He is still waiting for that.

Now having said that, David has shown signs of improvement in recent weeks. His parents say lately he has shown a need to be with them. They have also tried to teach him certain signs, Miles, over the past three years. This means eat. This means drink. This means bathroom. Laura Slatkins says just last week they were in the car and David went like this. And she said, oh my goodness. She turned to her husband and said, oh my goodness, he says he wants to eat. This is such a break through.

MILES O'BRIEN: A big breakthrough communicating.

CHO: Right. It's really impossible to know whether that is actually happening. It could be. But it certainly gives these parents a lot of hope.

MILES O'BRIEN: Well, you know they want to grasp on to any sort of shred of improvement.

CHO: Yes.

MILES O'BRIEN: And, once again, remember, count your blessings as you consider this.

CHO: That's right.

MILES O'BRIEN: We don't know the cause, do we? Is it genetic? What is it?

CHO: Well, there are a lot of theories. You're right, we don't know the cause. I mean genetics certainly plays a role. If the mothers takes certain drugs like falidimide (ph), which treats certain cancers, that has been shown to play a role in autism in children. It's also more prevalent in boys than it is in girls. If you have identical twins, there's a 60 to 90 percent chance that both twins will be autistic. Aly and David, of course, are fraternal twins, so the risk is far lower. But certainly, if you have an autistic child and you get pregnant again, the likelihood of having another child with autism is very high. So the Slatkins and other families like them have decided no to have other children. And the Slatkins say they're actually considering adoption.

MILES O'BRIEN: Yes. For parents out there who might think they might have a child showing some of these symptoms, how can they tell?

CHO: Well certainly the parent will know. You know, they're with the child the most. Get to a doctor right away, obviously. You know, early diagnosis, early detection is really key. Ten years ago doctors used to say, why break a parents' heart because there's no way to treat this. That has changed. People are talking about autism now. We are talking about autism now. And doctors are diagnosing it much earlier. So that is encouraging.

MILES O'BRIEN: Alina Cho, thank you very much.

Back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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