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American Morning

Water Worries; Rumbling Volcano; Bombing Victim Mourned

Aired May 17, 2006 - 06:00   ET

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


ANNOUNCER: CNN the most trusted name in news.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Roberts in for Miles O'Brien this, what is it, Wednesday morning. There you go.

Here's a look at what's happening this morning, Wednesday, May the 17th.

S. O'BRIEN: Less rain predicted for parts of New England today. There is still some concern, though, that weakened dams could give way. Damage from the worst flooding in 70 years is expected to cost tens of millions of dollars.

In Florida, smoke from wildfires still causing a big mess on Interstate 95. A stretch south of Daytona Beach closed again this morning. Those fires are just about 65 percent contained.

ROBERTS: Pro-immigration groups from at least 20 states are heading to Washington this morning. They are taking part in what's being called "A Day of Action." They plan to talk to members of Congress and rally on the National Mall.

A security test in several London subway stations this morning. Officials are testing a new system that scans clothing, luggage and commuters for any trace of explosives. It's a four-week pilot program prompted by last July's subway bombings.

S. O'BRIEN: Saddam Hussein's trial under way in Baghdad and the former Iraqi leader is in the courtroom today. Saddam and several other co-defendants were kept out on Tuesday because the judge said the witness' testimony wasn't about them.

ROBERTS: Health officials today are confirming five more Bird Flu deaths in Indonesia, including four members of the same family, but they say there is no evidence that the disease passed from human to human. More than 100 people have died from Bird Flu since 2003.

S. O'BRIEN: The planned sinking of the USS Oriskany is just about a few hours away. After nearly 30 years of service, the aircraft carrier known as "The Mighty O" is going to become a big old underwater reef in the Gulf of Mexico.

That brings you right to the forecast this morning.

Let's get right to Jacqui Jeras. She's in for Chad.

Hey, Jacqui, good morning.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, good morning. Nice big smile on your face, smile on my face. Hopefully smiles on people's faces into the northeast, because we've got some good news. Definitely looking a lot better here today.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Back to you.

S. O'BRIEN: They sure could.

All right, Jacqui, thanks a lot.

And as Jacqui says, it's better, but still a waiting game in parts of the northeast. Most rivers have crested. The record rains have eased somewhat.

In Maine, a number of roads and bridges have washed out or have been damaged. Over the last few days, as many as 4,000 people were forced out of their homes. Most, though, have returned.

In New Hampshire, authorities and homeowners are keeping watch over several dams that really have been pushed to the limit. Near Bristol, as many as 400 families and businesses told to evacuate because of concerns over one dam.

And it's a similar watch-and-wait situation in northeast Massachusetts, the flooding there threatening homes and businesses.

CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano is in the town of Methuen this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST (on camera): Well the rains have finally tapered off here across northeastern Massachusetts, but the water continues to roll downhill. One of the many small rivers behind me that has swollen into, well, a pretty darn big river.

Look at this. This wooden framing was supposed to be a pedestrian bridge to get over this dam, but most of it has been wiped off by this high water. They brought in thousands of sandbags to try to shore up this dam and keep the water from or the river from overflowing further. And so far, this dam has held up, as have many dams.

But I tell you what, many of the officials were worried here across the northeast as there are literally hundreds of these dams that helped hold back some of the water and helped power some of the mills and some of the homes around this area. In some cases, up to 15 inches of rain falling across the northeast in only a three or four- day period and that's certainly enough to get the rivers very high. Here in Methuen, they've never seen the water this high as long as they have been keeping records. Forecast for Wednesday is to be dry. And residents here, as they begin to clean up and dry out, certainly hope that dry weather will last at least through the rest of the week. We'll see.

I'm Rob Marciano reporting from Methuen, Massachusetts for CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: Wow, pretty stunning pictures there.

Four-and-a-half years after September the 11th, the Pentagon released videotape of American Airlines Flight 77 slamming into the building at 500 miles an hour. The surveillance video images were captured by cameras at Pentagon security checkpoints.

This one just outside a parking lot. It's hard to see the plane in the captured images, but the video records the fireball upon impact. One hundred and eighty-four people were killed in that attack. The videotape was released as the result of a lawsuit filed under the Freedom of Information Act. The Pentagon held off on releasing it until after the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui.

The White House hopes to take the sting out of tomorrow's CIA director confirmation hearings with a briefing this afternoon. The administration has agreed to brief all the members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees on the NSA wiretapping program. The Senate Intelligence Committee begins questioning former NSA Director General Michael Hayden tomorrow.

President Bush insists that Americans' rights are not being violated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And we do not listen to domestic phone calls without court approval. And that this government will continue to guard the privacy of the American people. But if al Qaeda is calling into the United States, we want to know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Verizon has now joined BellSouth in denying that it provided customers' phone records to the NSA. Those companies and AT&T are being sued for $200 billion over this records issue. A second suit against AT&T will have a hearing in federal court in San Francisco today -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Happening in America this morning.

The Coast Guard searching for a 21-year-old Ohio man. He's missing from a cruise ship. There he is. His name is Daniel Dipiero. He was reported missing on Monday morning after his friends realized he hadn't slept in the cabin on board Royal Caribbean's Mariner of the Seas ship. The ship was sailing to Florida -- from Florida, rather, to the Bahamas.

A superior court judge in Atlanta rules Georgia's ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional. The judge struck down a 2004 ballot measures overwhelmingly approved by voters. The judge says the measure violated another provision of Georgia's Constitution.

The race for mayor in New Orleans getting kind of nasty. Just a few days to go. In a debate last night, incumbent Mayor Ray Nagin chided his challenger, Mitch Landrieu, the Lieutenant Governor, over fund raising. He said he's in the pocket of big business. Well the lieutenant governor shot back that Nagin's lack of funding highlights what people really think about him. The election is being held on Saturday.

Very different reality now for former "Survivor" Richard Hatch. A judge sentenced Hatch to more than four years in prison for tax evasion. He was convicted of not paying taxes on, among a bunch of other things, his $1 million "Survivor" prize. Hatch claimed he thought the show producers would pay his taxes and he said a bunch of other things. The judge wasn't buying any of it.

Barry Bonds hit by a pitch on Monday night against the Astros. Failed to hit home run number 714 to tie the Babe. Bonds has actually been stalled at 713 for the last eight straight games -- John.

ROBERTS: Looks like that hurt.

People are on high alert this morning around Indonesia's fire mountain. Mount Merapi, which means fire mountain, has been rumbling for several days now, raining ash and rock down on nearby villages.

CNN's Stan Grant is in Java, Indonesia, in the shadow of the volcano, and joins us now on the telephone.

Stan, what's the situation like there today?

STAN GRANT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Interestingly, John, it's been quiet the last 24 hours or so. But just only a couple of moments ago, I have a direct view here of the volcano, it put on a bit of a show for us just to remind us that it's still active. Spewing these hot clouds with a mixture of gas, ash and rock high up into the atmosphere, lava down the side of the mountain. That was, lasted for about five minutes or so, was the first major eruption that we've seen in the past 24 hours or so.

Leading up to that, this was happening every 15 to 20 minutes. It has led some people to think that maybe things are toning down. But just based on what we've seen then, this code red is still in force. They're still watching the mountain 24 hours -- for 24 hours a day. They're watching it to see if there is going to be the full eruption that people most fear -- John.

ROBERTS: Stan, when you say that you can look out and see the volcano, how close are you? And are there other people who are still sticking around? GRANT: Right now I'm about 20 Ks back from it, but I have an unimpeded view of it. A little bit earlier, we managed to get up within about five kilometers of the -- that two miles, three miles of the mountain itself.

Interestingly, where I was, the villages, most of the people have been evacuated out of there, but still some people remaining there. They are hoping that the mountain does not unleash its full fury and putting a lot of their trust in one man and the man who is known as the gatekeeper.

He is the keeper of the mountain. He's appointed. Traditionally, he is the person who is -- has the closest relationship to the mountain. And he, traditionally, is the person who issues the warning. A lot of those villagers are now putting their faith in him rather than the scientists who are telling them that a full eruption could happen at any moment -- John.

ROBERTS: Stan, in terms of a full eruption, are volcanologists expecting that it could be an explosive eruption like we saw in Mount St. Helens so many years ago?

GRANT: They really don't know. What we have seen over the past week or so has been these periodic eruptions, smaller eruptions; but nonetheless, dramatic, spewing these hot clouds into the sky and lava scouring the side of the mountain and that builds and builds and builds. And their fear is that a new crater of lava, a new crust of lava, rather, is being formed around the crater. If that crust gives way, then they don't know how big the explosion, the eruption could in fact be.

If you go back to 1930, 1,300 people were killed when they had an enormous eruption then. 1994, another 60 people were killed. They're not taking any chances. They don't know when or if it will happen, how big it will be. They're certainly not taking any chances -- John.

ROBERTS: All right, Stan, and don't you take any chances either.

Stan Grant on the phone with us this morning from Java in Indonesia.

Just an amazing scene there, isn't it?

S. O'BRIEN: My goodness, isn't it crazy, those pictures? Going to continue to watch that story, obviously.

Still to come this morning, questions about domestic spying and the NSA keeping tabs on Americans' phone records. Lawmakers are taking up the issue today.

ROBERTS: And we've all probably been a little bit ticked off behind the wheel, but where do you think road rage is the worst? Well, we're going to give you a hint. It's not New York City, not Los Angeles, believe it or not. We're going to tell you where just ahead.

But first, here's a look at what else is making news this Wednesday morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.

Top stories this morning.

The floodwaters receding in the northeast. Thousands of evacuees are returning home to waterlogged neighborhoods. The state inspectors are watching dozens of dams, warning the flood danger is still very high.

Pro-immigration groups expected to rally in Washington today. They are against President Bush's plan to send National Guard troops to the border.

Another battle President Bush faces, the flap over domestic spying. The White House is due to give more details later today. Officials will brief lawmakers at the Senate and the House Intelligence Committees.

ROBERTS: It's one month today since a deadly suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, Israel. Hard to express the scope of such a tragedy. The story resonates with a lot of people here in this country because of one of its victims, a 16-year-old boy from southern Florida.

Carol Costello is live now in the newsroom.

Good morning to you, -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. Good morning to all of you.

It was April 17 when a Palestinian suicide bomber blew himself up, for god, he said. The Palestinian president condemned the killing. The newly elected Hamas government defended it. American Daniel Wultz was visiting Israel with his parents. He died on Mother's Day. Was honored this week in Jerusalem.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sixteen-year-old Daniel Wultz returned to Florida Tuesday, his parents by his side. His father still limping from the attack.

It happened last month in Tel Aviv, a suicide bomber walked into a restaurant, blew himself up, killing 10 other people. Daniel was sitting with his father, wearing this shirt pop marked by shrapnel. For 28 long days Daniel Wultz waged his own fight, a fight to live. And then on Sunday, his body just gave out.

TULY WULTZ, FATHER: I said to him that I was honored to be his father. I was honored, privileged and lucky to be his father. Then he took his last breath.

COSTELLO: Of course Daniel's father was not alone in his love for his son. Hundreds gathered to remember him as a devout teenager who even had a rabbi on speed dial.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We will always remember Daniel.

COSTELLO: That followed another emotional memorial service in Jerusalem, where the U.S. Ambassador to Israel laid a folded American flag on top of Daniel's coffin. Daniel's father says his son's death will not be in vain.

WULTZ: Daniel's message is love, just love everybody. He didn't care color, race, religion, nothing, he just loved people.

COSTELLO: Daniel had another passion, basketball. He was a big fan of the Miami Heat. And before last night's game, a moment of silence. Daniel's picture on the large video screen over the court.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Miami Heat send their condolences to the Wultz family.

COSTELLO: As Daniel fought for his life, his classmates donned handmade bracelets, hoping to take them off when Daniel returned home. Sadly, they did.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

It isn't much solace for the family, but Israeli forces reportedly killed the suspected mastermind behind the attack. It was part of an operation this past weekend in the West Bank -- John.

ROBERTS: What a sad story.

Thanks very much, Carol.

S. O'BRIEN: Just brutal. That's so sad, isn't it?

Let's turn to business news now.

Carrie Lee is in for Andy this morning.

It's nice to see you. Good morning.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you very much.

We have some more news on the phone calling dispute. Verizon now joining BellSouth in denying that it gave customer phone records to the National Security Agency. So this disputes a "USA Today" piece that came out last week. Both Verizon and BellSouth say they were never even asked by the NSA for the information. We'll have more on what this means as a phone customer for you in the 7:00 walk, so more on that coming up.

Meanwhile, we're also updating a piece from yesterday. Honda has officially announced it's going to build three new plants, spending $1.18 billion to put factories in the U.S., Canada and Japan. Will be Honda's first new plant in Japan in 25 years.

Honda sold more cars in North America last year than it made here, so it's had to import the rest. The U.S. plant is going to cost $400 million and employ 1,500 workers. Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is trying to get Honda to build the plant in his state and Ohio is also reportedly interested.

And a quick check on stocks. It was a quiet session yesterday. The Dow, the Nasdaq finishing slightly lower at the close. You can see both down about nine points.

Today we're going to see what happens with consumer prices. You know, John and Soledad, everyone is watching inflation on Wall Street these days.

ROBERTS: Yes.

LEE: So this report comes out an hour before trading gets under way. Right now it's looking like a slightly higher open for stocks, but that report could really change things potentially.

ROBERTS: And I also noticed that the denials by the phone companies, they're all very carefully worded as well.

LEE: They are. They are.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it is interesting, we never gave them to the NSA.

ROBERTS: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: I mean you wonder, well, were they delivered to somebody else or were they never given at all or what happened?

LEE: Right.

ROBERTS: You know one of the things that I've heard in terms of how this program operated was that the NSA, and these, again, are just allegations, the NSA may have installed parallel equipment and so nobody really gave anything, they just got it.

LEE: Right. Well so far we know BellSouth, Verizon disputing that it gave information. AT&T still a little bit of a question on that one, so...

ROBERTS: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, the wording is really red flags everywhere, isn't it (ph)?

LEE: Yes.

ROBERTS: Something we're going to be talking about more in our 8:00 hour, so stick around for that.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, absolutely.

ROBERTS: Still to come this morning, the new White House press secretary gets personal in his first televised briefing. We'll tell you how Tony Snow reacted to a question about his live-strong wristband.

Plus, the critics weigh in on "The Da Vinci Code," soon to premiere. Find out whether it gets the thumbs up or the thumbs down.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Some of the most popular stories for you now on CNN.com.

White House Press Secretary Tony Snow gets personal in his first on-camera briefing. He spoke about his recent bout with colon cancer after a reporter asked him about his yellow live-strong bracelet. Snow struggled with a response, gripping the podium and taking some long pauses.

The reviews are already coming in for "The Da Vinci Code." It was screened last night at the Cannes Film Festival. No applause during the credits, only a few catcalls and hissing.

ROBERTS: Tough audience.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, wow, that doesn't sound good.

ROBERTS: Yes, world's toughest audience.

S. O'BRIEN: And after months of speculation, we now know actress Nicole Kidman is indeed engaged to country music star Keith Urban. I asked him about that just the other day.

ROBERTS: And what did he say?

S. O'BRIEN: He said...

ROBERTS: Check please.

S. O'BRIEN: ... he wasn't going to really talk about it, but they're very happy. A spokesman finally made the announcement on Tuesday. We are told maybe a June wedding, maybe not, who knows? We're not invited. It really doesn't matter for us.

ROBERTS: Is she taller than him, too?

S. O'BRIEN: I don't know. I don't know.

ROBERTS: I mean he's not a short guy,...

S. O'BRIEN: He's cute.

ROBERTS: ... but he's not really tall either.

S. O'BRIEN: No, I don't know.

ROBERTS: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: I don't know. We'll have to...

ROBERTS: He's cute?

S. O'BRIEN: I think so.

ROBERTS: Gee, you and every other woman in America, surprise, surprise.

S. O'BRIEN: And she's all right, too.

Ahead this morning,...

ROBERTS: I like him because he's a good guitar player.

S. O'BRIEN: And you like her because she's a fine actress.

ROBERTS: Absolutely.

S. O'BRIEN: Anyway. Ahead in our 9:00...

ROBERTS: Especially in "Eyes Wide Shut," she was really fine.

S. O'BRIEN: ... hour, we're going to continue our special series called "30s 40s and 50s." We're going to take a look at a single major life issue from three different perspectives for people in their 30s, then their 40s and their 50s.

ROBERTS: Today's issue is parenting. We're going to be talking to an internationally recognized education -- educator, sorry, and pediatrician and also taking your questions on raising a happy, healthy child at 30, 40 or 50, including why you need to imagine the future when you're in your 30s. Decide...

S. O'BRIEN: And saving for it.

ROBERTS: Absolutely.

S. O'BRIEN: In a big way.

ROBERTS: Gosh, if only I had started back then.

Decide your priorities in your 40s and take care of yourself in the 50s.

S. O'BRIEN: We're also going to take a look at the decision to stay home or work for moms who, on both sides, have a lot of guilt on that issue. Our expert says guilt happens, live with it. But we'll get some more details on that.

ROBERTS: And finally, steps that you can take to keep your kids from being spoiled brats, including if they are asking for $100 jeans, teach them financial planning. Save up. I remember I had to have a paper...

S. O'BRIEN: I'm not sure that's going to...

ROBERTS: I had to have a paper route just to buy my $15 jeans when I was a kid.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, can you imagine $100 jeans, teenagers, please.

Anyway, and here's one of the questions we're going to be answering this morning. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAROL (ph), PARENT: Hi, I'm Carol. I'm 51. I'm the parent of two kids, a pre-teen and a teenager. My question has to do with kids in those -- that age wanting to pull away, have more independence from their parents, want more privacy time with their friends. And so how do parents maintain communication with their kids as well as respecting their privacy?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: No such thing as privacy when you're a child, nor should there be.

S. O'BRIEN: Maintaining connection and control. We're going to answer that question. And you can also start e-mailing to us your questions right now. The address is www.am@cnn.com or call us at 1- 877-AM6-1300. We're going to start taking calls at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time. So jot that number down, wait until 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time and give us a ring.

ROBERTS: I'll tell you, when you're a parent, there is no greater topic of discussion than parenting.

S. O'BRIEN: That is so true. And all the frustrations that go along with it and the love and the joy.

ROBERTS: Yes, and it's not just your kids either, it's other people's kids.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, those are the best people to parent, other people's terrible little monsters.

ROBERTS: Absolutely. Do you know a few of those?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I do, a number.

ROBERTS: We'll be talking about that.

All this week, CNN continues its yearlong look into the future, your future. Today it's the workplace. For many people, outsourcing is a dirty word; but a recent study shows that one in four companies are now bringing outsourced functions back home.

Our own Miles O'Brien reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JENNIFER: Five, 10 years ago, I felt like I was going to be pretty safe as an IT industry employee. I recently lost my job. They said that I was redundant. They never truly say you are being replaced with employees over in India. I very much worry about knowledge that is moving offshore. Are we going to slowly experience a brain drain? We're becoming more of a world economy, which has its benefits, but what will be our expense?

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Jennifer's concern is a valid one. If you've ever called an 800 number and gotten someone in Bangalore, you know the story. Right now, U.S. companies employ somewhere between one and two million service workers offshore. Another 3.5 million overseas jobs to be added in the next 10 years. But they may be overlooking a homegrown option.

KATHY BRITTIAN WHITE, FOUNDER, RURAL SOURCING: I think the lure of the big city isn't quite what it used to be.

M. O'BRIEN (voice-over): Kathy Brittain White, founder of Rural Sourcing, says there is a wealth of untapped IT knowledge right here at home.

WHITE: There were people that were working at McDonald's or Wal- Mart or other places with a college degree, so we really came in and gave them an opportunity to work in the field.

M. O'BRIEN: White says many companies that employ offshore workers find they don't save as much as they hoped. The overhead is high. And, what's more, their customers are often dissatisfied.

WHITE: We can either sit and whine that there is a global economy or we can get serious and realize we have the responsibility to be competitive and we have to find new ways to innovate. That's what's always made American workers great.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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