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American Morning

Tracking Americans; 4 Marines Dead; Mogadishu Killings; Recruit With Autism

Aired May 12, 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. It's Friday.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Bring it on. Bring it on.

S. O'BRIEN: I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us on this Friday morning.

Here's a look at what's happening on this May 12.

We're just getting word this morning that four American Marines have died in Iraq. They drowned Thursday when the M1A1 tank they were in rolled off of a bridge and into a canal about 50 miles west of Baghdad.

The issue of Iraq hurting President Bush in the polls, only 29 percent of Americans think he's doing an excellent or pretty good job. According to a new Harris interactive poll that's down, 35 percent in April, 43 percent in January.

S. O'BRIEN: June 9 will be the last day in Congress for Tom DeLay. The Texas representative giving his official notice to the House. DeLay announced his resignation last month. The 11-term congressman is under indictment for money laundering.

One juror saves Zacarias Moussaoui from a death sentence, apparently. "The Washington Post" is quoting the foreman of the jury in the case as saying only one juror voted for life in prison, all the others voted for the death sentence. The al Qaeda operative got life.

M. O'BRIEN: Investigators in Alabama checking to see if a fire that destroyed another rural church was intentionally set. Arson already blamed for 13 Alabama church fires. Three men have been charged in those cases.

The Minutemen are coming to Washington to push for tough new immigration laws. About a hundred Minutemen and supporters marched through Richmond, Virginia yesterday. The Minutemen are civilians who have appointed themselves as guardians of the U.S.-Mexican border.

S. O'BRIEN: And doctors begin the delicate separation surgery this morning for conjoined twins Abbigail and Isabelle Carlsen. The 5-month-old girls from Fargo, North Dakota are joined at the abdomen and the chest. Doctors at the Mayo Clinic say there's about a 95 percent chance that the girls will survive the 12-hour surgery.

That brings you up to date on some of the stories making news.

Let's get right to the forecast this morning with Chad.

Hey, Chad, good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: People ripping out their tomatoes out of their gardens.

MYERS: Cover them up.

S. O'BRIEN: If you've gone ahead and planted, it's too early, take them out.

MYERS: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: Chad, thanks.

MYERS: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: Air Force General Michael Hayden heads to Capitol Hill today. His visit coming after revelations the National Security Agency is collecting the phone records of millions of Americans. Hayden helped develop the program as a former head of the agency.

CNN's congressional correspondent Andrea Koppel has more for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): This story caught lawmakers by surprise and reaction on both sides of the aisle was fast and furious over the objections of the Senate majority leader.

The Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Arlen Specter, said he was going to call hearings and plans to call up the three major telecommunications companies that reportedly were involved in handing over those phone records to the NSA.

Now all of this is taking place on the eve of the confirmation hearing of General Michael Hayden, President Bush's choice to head up the CIA, also the man involved in developing that NSA program.

Now in the wake of this story, even some of his early supporters, like Democrat Dianne Feinstein, suggesting now that that confirmation hearing next week may be more of an uphill battle for the general.

As for the general himself, after the White House canceled his morning meetings on the Hill yesterday, suddenly the general showed up, along with the second most powerful Republican, Mitch McConnell, in an afternoon photo opportunity. The message of which was General Hayden has nothing to hide.

Today, the general will be back here on the Hill, knocking on doors, defending not just the NSA program, but his role in it.

Andrea Koppel, CNN, Capitol Hill.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: President Bush is expected to sign a $70 billion tax cut package into law next week. The measure was approved by the Senate by a vote of 54 to 44, pretty much along party lines. Republicans say extensions will spur economic growth. Democrats say they cater to the wealthy.

A few key provisions to tell you about. Extends a 15 percent tax rate for capital gains and dividends through the end of the decade. Also, spares 15 million middle-class taxpayers from the unpopular alternative minimum tax. And it extends provisions for small businesses to write off investments -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Four U.S. Marines died in Iraq when their tank rolled off a bridge into a canal west of Baghdad. Separately, three U.S. Army soldiers died in roadside bomb attacks. This year alone, 254 American troops have died in Iraq and 2,434 have died since the war started more than three years ago.

Arwa Damon is embedded with U.S. troops in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

Arwa, what do we know about the Marines and that M1A1 tank that rolled off a bridge?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

Well what we know is what the U.S. military released in a press statement earlier this morning. The incident happened on Thursday. They said it was an accident. It appears the tank rolled off a bridge into a canal in the town of Karma. That is in Iraq's western Al Anbar Province. Not many more details are available at this point.

There have been, as you just mentioned, over 2,400 U.S. troops killed here in Iraq. Of course the dangers are out there every day, be it in the form of an accident or in a form of an insurgent attack -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: I guess it's a reminder that it's just dangerous in general when troops are deployed.

You're in Kirkuk. You're embedded with another unit entirely. Tell us about what they are doing and also is this the kind of thing, are they watching the news closely and does this affect their morale on a day-to-day basis?

DAMON: Well, Miles, I'm with the 101st Airborne here in Kirkuk. And, actually, for many of the troops who are here, they are not able to closely follow the news. The mission takes up pretty much most of their day.

And while they are aware, many of them are here for a second time. And they have just been back home in the United States and they are aware of the reports that are going out across the networks. They are aware of rising -- a rising death toll and of rising casualty numbers. But as so many of them have said, the war does not wait for a mourning period, the mission does go on. They do have to go out there every day.

Now here in the city of Kirkuk, they are focusing on two things. It's a very oil-rich area, which is crucial to getting Iraq's economy jumpstarted. They need to secure those pipelines, those vital locations, alongside the Iraqi security forces. And also, they are just trying to maintain stability within the entire region. And this is a mission that is not going to wait. No matter what, they do have to go out there every day.

And while the losses do have a profound impact on them, they say that they cannot afford right now to think about that, the mission is the priority. I was speaking to a young captain a few days ago with the 101st, asking him what he was going to remember most about his experience here. And he said that it was going to be the faces of the soldiers around him -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Arwa Damon in Kirkuk embedded with the 101st Airborne, thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: A bloody battle to tell you about in Somalia's capital of Mogadishu. Government forces pitted against Islamic fighters. At least 130 people have been killed since Sunday, mostly innocent civilians. Nearly 300 other people have been wounded.

Let's get right to Mohamed Amin of Somalia's Radio Shabelle. He's on the phone from Mogadishu.

Thanks for talking with us. What's happening right now?

MOHAMED AMIN, RADIO SHABELLE OF SOMALIA: Thank you, Soledad.

There is heavy fighting in Mogadishu that's going on. I mean 130 people were killed up to now and 280 were injured. And this is one of the heaviest fighting in the last decade, which struck at Mogadishu.

S. O'BRIEN: And how long has the fighting at this level -- as tough as this is now, how long has that been going on?

AMIN: The fighting is going on for the last (INAUDIBLE) days, but it has increased (INAUDIBLE). Yesterday up to now produce (ph) -- at the moment, it's sporadic.

Now I have been to one of the major hospitals in Mogadishu and I have seen there an infant who is 5 months old injured in the leg. So that's -- it's just a very, very heavy fighting. And while I was in the hospital, three dead persons were drove (ph), killed in fighting.

S. O'BRIEN: The U.S., as you well know, has long viewed Somalia as a haven, frankly, for terrorists. Is that, in your mind, a correct assessment?

AMIN: I accidentally see (ph) -- I don't know about this. But people are just saying that there are some infamous, non-terrorists suspected hiding in Somalia and that this fighting is all about that, you know. One of the groups is asking the handover of those terroristic men who are numbered around some persons (ph). And the other side, which is Islamico (ph), are rejecting and are fighting against that.

S. O'BRIEN: Brutal, brutal fighting there.

That was Mohamed Amin joining us by phone from Radio Shabelle in Somalia. Thank you for the update.

As we mentioned, at least 130 people there have been killed since Sunday, mostly civilians in the area -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Happening now in America.

In Tennessee, a sheriff's deputy and his friend gunned down, one suspect in custody, a manhunt under way this morning for the suspect's brother. It happened last night in Kingston near property owned by the men. The deputy and a friend were in a patrol car. The motive unclear, but the deputy may have been trying to serve a warrant on one of the suspects.

A cab driver who provided an alibi for one of those Duke lacrosse players accused of rape arrested by Durham police. It was a 3-year- old shoplifting warrant, but the cabbie, Moez Mostafa, told police he gave Duke lacrosse player Reade Seligmann a ride at the time of the alleged sexual assault that the lacrosse team is involved in. An attorney for Seligmann says the arrest of Mostafa is little more than intimidation.

Kentucky's governor may be forced to leave office after being indicted of criminal conspiracy. Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher now facing charges stemming from an alleged plan to steer state jobs to political supporters. Fletcher called the indictment by the state's Democrat attorney general politically motivated.

A pair of cold-hearted human smugglers to face a judge today on charges they helped hide 56 illegal immigrants inside a refrigerated truck. All 56 found huddled together in a locked refrigerated truck abandoned in Laredo, Texas. Most of them have already been returned to Mexico.

National Guard troops could soon be federalized to help patrol the U.S.-Mexico border. The Defense Department looking into military options for the border. This comes on the heels of a House vote Thursday giving Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld the ability to use the U.S. military for extra border security -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: The U.S. Army is now taking a closer look at its recruiting methods. This, after a teenager with autism was enlisted.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JARED GUINTHER, RECRUIT WITH AUTISM: I just want to get on with my life and get this over with.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Eighteen-year-old Jared Guinther is at the center of a military recruiting controversy. The Oregon teenager was diagnosed with autism when he was 3 years old. That, apparently, didn't stop U.S. Army recruiters in Portland from signing him up as a cavalry scout, considered one of the Army's most dangerous jobs.

PAUL GUINTHER, JARED'S FATHER: The main concern is him getting hurt. That is the bottom line right there.

S. O'BRIEN: Jared's parents say combat in Iraq is no place for someone with autism. And they claim Army recruiters took advantage of their son. Jared says he was up front about his condition and that the recruiter left the door open.

J. GUINTHER: He told me I can back out, but which I already knew that, basically, because they realize I'm not stupid.

S. O'BRIEN: Military rules prohibit enlisting anyone with a mental disorder that interferes with school or work. The Army released a statement saying -- quote -- "Jared Guinther is being released from his military enlistment contract. The Portland Recruiting Battalion continues to investigate the circumstances leading up to his enlistment."

An Oregon congressman says Jared's case may be symptomatic of widespread abuses by recruiters under pressure to boost enlistment.

REP. EARL BLUMENAUER (D), OREGON: Get back on top of this to make sure they understand why it happened and to make sure it doesn't happen again.

S. O'BRIEN: As for Jared, instead of gearing up for basic training, the high school senior is preparing for college.

J. GUINTHER: I've been studying martial arts for a while, and I'm interested in studying the Chinese culture.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: Congressman Blumenauer, you just heard him there a moment ago, well he's asking Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to have the Army's inspector general also investigate Guinther's case -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come, dread in New Orleans as another storm season approaches. With hurricane season three weeks away now, some say the city isn't ready, again.

S. O'BRIEN: And Delta Air Lines still flying in the red after a massive restructuring plan. Carrie Lee is going to join us with that in a moment.

M. O'BRIEN: And why is Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue hanging out with this fat cat?

S. O'BRIEN: That's a fat cat.

M. O'BRIEN: That is a fat cat.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow!

M. O'BRIEN: Look at that. A little too...

S. O'BRIEN: That's got to be like, what, 35 pounds?

M. O'BRIEN: Easy. Easy. Don't mess with him.

S. O'BRIEN: Like a stool. Looks like a little stool.

M. O'BRIEN: It's a 45-pound cat. All right.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow!

M. O'BRIEN: Let's get a look at what else is making news on this Friday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: CIA Director-nominee, Michael Hayden, is on Capitol Hill today. Revelations that the National Security Agency is collecting phone data on millions of Americans could complicate his confirmation hearings. Hayden headed up the NSA.

The president's poll numbers slipping once again. A Harris interactive poll finds that only 29 percent of Americans think he is doing an excellent or pretty good job. You'll remember that number was at 35 percent back in April.

Conjoined twins Abbigail and Isabelle Carlsen of Fargo, North Dakota are undergoing separation surgery at the Mayo Clinic today. They're expecting that surgery is going to take about 12 hours.

M. O'BRIEN: A bad day for Wall Street, to say the least.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Indeed.

M. O'BRIEN: The fat cats on Wall Street. Matter of fact, let's get another picture of the fat cat, because we're just loving that picture.

LEE: I love that cat.

M. O'BRIEN: Forty-five pounds worth of cat.

LEE: He looks similar to my cat, but my cat isn't quite as large, but the same markings, so.

S. O'BRIEN: That's, you know, a 45-pound cat. That's a terrible thing. I mean that's unhealthy.

M. O'BRIEN: Isn't it though?

S. O'BRIEN: It is.

LEE: Why did he do that?

M. O'BRIEN: Well supposedly...

S. O'BRIEN: It's not healthy and that's fat. That cat is probably, you know, 10 minutes away from dying. It's just too big.

M. O'BRIEN: The owners say they feed it just a cup of cat food a day.

LEE: Better get him...

M. O'BRIEN: But I think they better check their refrigerator, see if he's eating some cake.

LEE: Get him on a treadmill, yes, exactly.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Anyhow.

LEE: Get him working.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, fat cats on Wall Street not happy.

LEE: Not happy. Fat cats slimming down a little bit. You know earlier in the week we were just about 80 points away on the Dow from the all-time record high. Well we are much further away now, folks. Yesterday, the Dow down 142 points. That's the worst one-day decline since January. Nasdaq also down about 2 percent.

The reason, well, interest rate hike fears. Fears that we may see more rate hikes. This, because gold yesterday hit a new, fresh 25-year high. Also oil prices topped the $73 a barrel mark. So both of those things leading to inflation concerns.

Another thing hurting sentiment yesterday, April retail sales came in weaker than expected, up just half a percent. The whole increase pretty much due to higher gasoline prices. So take that out of the equation, the increase would have been just up one-tenth of 1 percent.

Now we all know consumer spending drives two-thirds of our economy, so when things like retail sales are weak and a sign that there's going to be a crimp in spending, well that doesn't bode well for the overall economy.

Finally, Delta Air Lines reporting big losses for the recent quarter. The carrier lost $2.1 billion, $1.6 billion in March alone. Earlier this week, you might remember they said that their threat alone of a pilot strike cost them millions of dollars a day.

S. O'BRIEN: Looks like it's still costing them money, too.

LEE: Absolutely. So Delta, the story doesn't seem to be getting too much better since they went bankrupt -- or since they filed for bankruptcy, they have lost about $14 billion, so big losses there.

M. O'BRIEN: Wow!

S. O'BRIEN: You are little Mary gloom and doom today on the business front.

LEE: And looking very weak for today's start, too, folks, sorry.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Carrie, thanks. Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Well thanks for coming by, -- Carrie.

LEE: It was fun to see the fat cat.

S. O'BRIEN: It's always great to see you. Thanks. Thank you.

M. O'BRIEN: Why don't you take a couple of days off, all right.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

LEE: OK.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Carrie.

M. O'BRIEN: Now we can't talk business, of course, without talking gas prices. Gas gauge time. National average now $2.88 for a gallon of unleaded regular. A month ago it was $2.70 and a year ago $2.18.

In Texas, a man accused of stealing thousands of gallons of gas is behind bars this morning. Busted, in part, by a 10-year-old neighbor. Police say these surveillance photos show Shawn Hoskins (ph) pretending to power wash the parking lot, but really he was pumping thousands of gallons of gas and diesel from the underground storage tanks. Little did he know there were more than just security cameras watching.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TARIN HAGGSTROM, WITNESS: We saw it on the news and we knew it was that guy because his truck just disguising it and everything and disguised himself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: That was Tarin Haggstrom, hero of our story, says the biggest clue was the power washer, because he always let her friends...

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, they could borrow it.

M. O'BRIEN: They could borrow it. Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Which meant he wasn't doing much power washing.

M. O'BRIEN: He wasn't doing any power washing, there you go. And friends told some adults who called 911. The police arrested Hoskins. They say he was behind a similar scheme at another convenience store -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow, that's a crazy story. And good for that little girl, huh?

M. O'BRIEN: Good for her, absolutely.

S. O'BRIEN: An eagle eye 10-year-old. There's nothing tougher than that.

M. O'BRIEN: That's right. You be careful.

S. O'BRIEN: With all the bad news about gas prices, don't you want to get away? How about a cruise?

M. O'BRIEN: That sounds great.

S. O'BRIEN: How about a vacation?

M. O'BRIEN: Bring it on.

S. O'BRIEN: A lot of fun, great deals. We're going to talk...

M. O'BRIEN: I'm not thinking about "Poseidon." No, not me.

S. O'BRIEN: We're going to take you inside the pros and some of the cons of cruise ship travel coming up at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time right here on AMERICAN MORNING.

We've got a short break. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed the $70 billion tax cut capital gains and it's all part of President Bush's no millionaire left behind program.

I don't know if you know about this, but the federal government is now monitoring telephone calls of millions and millions and millions of Americans. The federal government monitoring telephone calls, millions and millions and millions of Americans. I just want to say one thing, if they've been listening in on my phone calls, honest to God, if the government has been monitoring my phone conversations, by God, they should be paying half of my phone sex bill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: So many Americans who feel the same way. You're welcome to listen in, just send some money our way.

M. O'BRIEN: Just, you know, I wonder if they do have those 900 numbers as flagged in there, you know? They might.

S. O'BRIEN: Who knows?

M. O'BRIEN: Who knows?

S. O'BRIEN: Maybe.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Who knows?

M. O'BRIEN: We won't get a comment, I'm sure, on that one.

S. O'BRIEN: More on that story, of course, at CNN.com.

Also, some of the most popular stories that we have got on CNN.com, these.

A hybrid grizzly-polar bear has been found in the wild. An American hunter shot the bear last month in the northwest territories of Canada. And now DNA tests are confirming it's both polar bear and grizzly bear. The hunter says he's calling it a polar-grizz. Well that's creative.

Some sad news to share with you this morning, the hit Latin singer Soyara, she's died of breast cancer. She was a 2004 Latin Grammy winner and she had been working to educate Hispanic women about the disease. She was only 37 years old.

Seems like New Orleans' hurricane evacuation plans have got lots of holes, officials say, the plans to get people out using planes and trains and buses. A CNN review, though, found that many operators actually haven't officially signed on to the deal.

Those are some of the stories most popular at CNN.com right now -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Look up in the sky, it's a comet. A comet that, well, has seen better days. Check it out. This is the Schwassmann- Wachmann Comet discovered in 1930 by two German astronomers of the same name. Schwassmann-Wachmann 3, actually, to be exact.

And what you're seeing here as you look through here is a comet that has broken into a series of pieces and it's orbiting the sun now like, well, like baby ducks following a mother duck. And what happens is as it got close to the sun back in 1995 and its 6-year orbit around the sun, the gravitational pull of the sun actually pulled this comet apart.

A comet, as you probably well know, is like nothing more than a dirty snowball, lots of dirt and ice. This is from the Hubble Space Telescope. That first one was from the Spitzer Space Telescope. Notice it's kind of a movie and it shows those little pieces kind of drifting away as it moves around.

Now tonight, around midnight time North America, if you go out, look in the eastern sky, got a good set of binoculars, and hopefully some good weather, you might very well see a busted up comet.

Of course Chad Myers has a lot to do with all of that because...

MYERS: I didn't bust it.

M. O'BRIEN: You didn't -- I didn't do it. I didn't break it.

MYERS: I didn't bust it. I didn't...

M. O'BRIEN: You break it, you own it, Chad, let me tell you.

MYERS: Right. Right.

M. O'BRIEN: In the northeast we're not going to be seeing much in the way of comets are we, but...

MYERS: Well you know there's a line of clouds that will pass on by. There will be chances, Miles.

But the funny part about this whole thing is that we get the best viewing possible on like a new full moon night, so that kind of ruins the sky a little bit for you. So if you can get out there before or after the full moon that the sky is the darkest, you'll be able to see it best. So now that we get later into -- and actually, in the next couple of weeks, it does get darker as the full moon goes away, we'll have better chances of seeing that.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Hurricane 101 today, 20 days until hurricane season, and we want to talk to you today a little bit about who is overdue. Who is really -- who hasn't seen a hurricane in a long time? Savannah, 1911 for you. Jacksonville, 1964, Hurricane Dora. But, for the most part, this is going to be one of those years we could possibly be breaking some of those long-time records of not seeing anything.

What is it? Is it the shape of the peninsula? Probably. Because, look, Florida is sticking way out there where this is kind of tucked in to a little horseshoe there.

Back to you guys.

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

MYERS: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue not afraid to get caught hanging out with fat cats, literally fat cats. Perdue, he is a former vet, believe it or not. He met Sam the cat on Wednesday. This is Sam right there. Sam is from suburban Atlanta. He is thought to be, and this is kind of a dubious title, the fattest cat in America. He weighs in at 45 pounds. His owners claim that he eats one cup of cat food, that's it, one cup of cat food each day. I don't...

M. O'BRIEN: Are you believing that? I think he's raiding the refrigerator. S. O'BRIEN: You know probably he's got some kind of disorder that's making him -- you know my cat was very fat, a similar problem. I see a sick cat. I really wish someone would intervene.

The governor asked the -- said -- the governor asked this question,...

M. O'BRIEN: Wish someone would intervene.

S. O'BRIEN: ... who does this cat own, was the question the governor asked.

M. O'BRIEN: Maybe he's a mouseaholic, he just can't stop. He just can't stop.

S. O'BRIEN: I don't know. I don't know. I feel sorry for the little kitty.

Anyway, a short break. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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