Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Search for Hoffa; Hayden Hearing; New England Floods; Rumbling Volcano

Aired May 18, 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.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.

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

Here's a look at what's happening this morning, Thursday, May 18.

A search under way today for Jimmy Hoffa. New tips have led FBI agents to a suburban Detroit farm where they are now digging for clues. The former Teamsters president has been missing since 1975.

M. O'BRIEN: A bit of a breather for New England residents today. They're not out of the woods just yet, however. Several rivers in New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine remain above flood stages but are now receding. Scattered storms expected today. Heavy thunderstorms predicted for Friday, causing some concern that many of the old dams in that region will be pushed to the breaking point.

A powerful early-season typhoon slamming southern China. Typhoon Chanchu has killed at least eight people. More than two dozen fishermen are believed missing. Nearly a million people have been forced to evacuate that region.

S. O'BRIEN: And tough questions about the NSA's wiretapping program expected this morning for the president's choice to lead the CIA. A Senate confirmation hearing for General Michael Hayden begins at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time. General Hayden was the director of the NSA until last year.

President Bush heads to the border today. He's going to visit an area near Yuma, Arizona. It's become the busiest spot for illegal immigrant smuggling. The trip comes three days after the president announced his plan to send National Guard troops to help patrol the U.S.-Mexico border.

M. O'BRIEN: One of three Duke lacrosse players accused of rape heading to court today. It will be Reade Seligmann's first appearance before a judge since being indicted last month. His lawyer is expected to ask the prosecution for the accuser's cell phone logs.

It's another day of deliberations for the Enron jury in Houston. And while they consider Ken Lay and Jeff Skilling's fate, Lay is facing another judge and another set of accusations. The Enron founder is accused of fraud in his personal banking. S. O'BRIEN: The world's biggest passenger plane is winging its way west across Europe right now. In less than three hours, the Airbus 380 will land at Heathrow. Part of a test run to see if Britain's biggest airport can handle an 800-passenger plane.

You're up to date.

Let's bring you right to the forecast now. Rob Marciano is in for Chad. He's at the CNN Center.

Hey, Rob, good morning.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

Miles, back up to you.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Rob.

Global markets are taking a pounding this morning after some big losses on Wall Street yesterday. The Dow plunged 214 points, closing the day at 11,205. That is the biggest one-day loss in three years.

Carrie Lee watching the bloodletting from the newsroom for us.

Hello, -- Carrie.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is all about the dreaded "I" word, Miles, that is inflation. We got a report on consumer prices yesterday. That's what sent the markets tumbling. This is the biggest one-day point loss for the Dow Jones industrials in three years. The Dow lost 307 points in March back in 2003.

Yesterday, also tech stocks, as represented by the Nasdaq, lost a lot of ground as well. The Nasdaq down 33 points, now in negative territory for the year.

Now the report we're talking about that really caused the selling is the CPI, a look at consumer prices, and this is a key inflation gauge. You know everyone on Wall Street is watching inflation these days. The thinking that the higher we see inflation signs, the greater the chance that the Federal Reserve will continue its interest rate hike campaign when it next meets in late June. So the CPI coming in higher.

Even when you take volatile food and energy out of that equation, the CPI still higher on that core rate, as it's called, as well. So this is all leading to worries about more interest rates hikes. Since the recent high on the Dow in May, May 10 exactly, the industrials have lost 3.75 percent. So we really have seen a lot of selling.

And today it's looking like we could see a turnaround, at least some buying, maybe a buying opportunity, but you know anything can happen in a trading day. So a couple of hours to go before the 9:30 bell. But that's the latest from here guys.

S. O'BRIEN: You know you've used that anything can happen line now three days in a row, -- Carrie.

LEE: Well it's true.

S. O'BRIEN: Just so you know, we're counting.

LEE: You know it's true. I mean we -- you know a report comes out, just like yesterday, CPI, things weren't looking too bad, and then boom, all of a sudden everyone started selling out, so.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, and it's the boom part that people don't like.

LEE: Exactly.

S. O'BRIEN: Carrie Lee for us this morning.

Carrie, thanks.

Search under way in Michigan for Jimmy Hoffa this morning. The FBI got some new tips. Now they're digging up a suburban Detroit farm.

CNN's Kelli Arena has more for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): FBI officials believe that this latest tip about former Teamster President Jimmy Hoffa is a reliable one, but they will not comment on the source of the information. Agents and local police are expected to continue digging up farm property today in Milford Township. That's a rural area about 35 miles west of Detroit.

In an official statement, the FBI said that agents are looking for evidence of criminal activity that may have occurred under previous ownership.

Now the FBI gets tips like this all the time. The last search that it conducted was two years ago when it ripped up the floorboards of a Detroit home after a mobster claimed that Hoffa was killed and buried there, but found no evidence to support that claim.

Now Hoffa was last seen in July of 1975 at the Machus Red Fox Restaurant in Bloomfield Township, which is just outside Detroit. He was on his way to meet with two Mafia leaders, Anthony Provenzano and Anthony Giacalone. Hoffa believed that the meeting was set up to settle a feud between he and Provenzano that was going on at the time.

No trace of his body was ever found after that, but he was declared legally dead in July of 1982. That's seven years after he disappeared.

We will give you the latest as we get it on whether or not this search turns up anything.

Kelli Arena, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: On Capitol Hill today, the focus is on espionage and that domestic spying campaign as President Bush's pick to head the CIA faces lawmakers. General Michael Hayden is an architect and a big supporter of that domestic surveillance effort, as well as that huge database of our phone calling records. It's no secret Hayden is in for a congressional grilling today in just a few hours.

CNN national security correspondent David Ensor with a preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (on camera): For a lot of reasons, parts of these hearings are likely to be quite confrontational.

First, General Hayden, the nominee for CIA director, is the architect of the president's National Security Agency eavesdropping programs, devised since 9/11, that critics charge go too far, listening in on certain American's overseas calls without a warrant and reportedly scooping up long distance phone call data on millions of Americans, and possibly e-mails, too.

While polls suggest most Americans are willing to give up that degree of privacy for the prospect of greater security, a substantial minority are really angered by the recent revelations. There are also those in Congress who oppose putting a serving four star Air Force general in place as the head of the nation's premiere civilian intelligence agency.

And there are questions, too, about Hayden's plans for the CIA, about the quality of intelligence on Iran's nuclear program and a host of other hot button issues. Many analysts believe the general will be confirmed, but there may be a significant number of no votes. If it looks close, it's possible he may retire from the military in order to assuage that particular concern.

David Ensor, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Our coverage of the hearing begins with a special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM," 9:25 Eastern Time. If you are away from your TV, you can catch the hearing live, commercial free, on your desktop computer. That's CNN.com/pipeline -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: More than 70 -- excuse me -- undocumented workers in custody this morning. Border Patrol agents made the arrests after the truck that the immigrants were riding in crashed in Sierra Vista, Arizona. That's just about 15 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. Police were chasing the suspected smuggling truck when it veered into a neighborhood park. About a dozen people are reported to have gotten away.

President Bush tours the U.S.-Mexico border today and the Senate gets back to work on an immigration bill this morning.

Wednesday, the Senate approved an amendment to the bill and to build more than 870 miles of fencing and vehicle barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border. They defeated, though, an attempt to kill a proposal that would allow some undocumented immigrants to work their way towards legal status. An amendment making it harder for guest workers who come to the U.S. to apply for permanent residency was approved. And an amendment to exclude undocumented immigrants with a criminal record from the legislation process was approved.

You won't have to show a special I.D. to get back in the country from Mexico or Canada until 2009 under the Senate's bill. Special high-tech I.D.s were supposed to be in place by 2008. Senators thought, though, there would be too many problems in getting the program up and running.

M. O'BRIEN: Two more lawmakers now facing investigation by the House Ethics Committee, Ohio Republican Bob Ney, Louisiana Democrat William Jefferson the focus. Ney has strong ties to the convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Jefferson facing allegations of accepting bribes from a federal contractor. Neither man has been charged. Both deny any wrongdoing.

Still to come on the program, back to the danger zone. Residents near Indonesia's "ring of fire" heading back home near a rumbling volcano. Despite the warnings to stay away, they're going home. We'll take you live there.

S. O'BRIEN: Marry or move. Remember we told you the story about a couple being given that ultimatum? We're going to tell you what happened to them just ahead this morning.

M. O'BRIEN: Are you feeling tired this morning, a little sleepy?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, me too.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Me too. We'll tell you about one of the lesser- known pitfalls of being short on sleep. Dr. Sanjay Gupta with that and more. That's one of the things coming up.

But here's a look at what else is going on this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning.

A farm outside Detroit could hold the remains of Jimmy Hoffa. FBI agents following a tip, conducting a search there. The former Teamster boss disappeared in '75. Wall Street opening for business in about three hours. Analysts and traders hoping the market bounces back from yesterday's 214-point slide. Investors are apparently scared off by inflation.

General Michael Hayden can expect tough questions this morning. The Senate Intelligence Committee opens hearings on his nomination to head the CIA. Hayden ran the controversial domestic eavesdropping program at the National Security Agency -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: They are just beginning to get a look at the flood damage in New England now. In Massachusetts alone, it's expected to cost tens of millions of dollars to fix what was ruined by 17 inches of rain.

Lauren Przybyl of affiliate WHDH is live for us this morning in Lawrence, Massachusetts, about 30 miles north of Boston.

Hey, Lauren, good morning to you. How is it looking? It looks certainly drier than it has in past days.

LAUREN PRZYBYL, WHDH-TV REPORTER: Definitely a lot drier this morning.

Good morning to you.

Command centers, like this one, are set up -- are still set up, I should say, in many areas here. And here is the reason why. Even though it's dry here, take a look. This looks like a lake, but it's actually a ball field. You won't be hearing any cheers coming from this area for quite a while.

So you can see that scoreboard over there. When the water was at its highest, it was just a few inches below that scoreboard. So you can see that water levels here are definitely dropping. But homeowners, they are busy bailing out basements after eight days of rain. The sun finally came out yesterday. And cleanup, it kicked into high gear.

Still, many roads in this area that is north of Boston are closed. Kids have a fourth day off from school. Today there are also some health concerns. Sewage in this water is what we're being told. And also mold is starting to form in some areas.

Now New England is expecting another sunny day today, we are happy to report. The bad news is that the rain is expected to come in once again this evening.

S. O'BRIEN: Lauren, I know the big issue was the dams, which I guess are fine, to some degree, now. But they must be concerned about them as Friday's weather approaches?

PRZYBYL: Yes, we're only expecting an inch or so of rain from this storm that's going to move in overnight. As I mentioned, water levels are dropping. They're expected to drop today as the sun comes out again. However, engineers have been watching around the clock. They've been watching these dams very closely and they will continue to do so as this rain moves in. But the majority of them, we're hearing, are stable.

S. O'BRIEN: Gosh, those pictures that we're running from the flooding is just amazing, just amazing. You know I think that number 17 million, Lauren, is going to be kind of low when you see all this damage.

Lauren Przybyl is with our affiliate WHDH.

Lauren, thanks for the update, sure appreciate it.

M. O'BRIEN: Well they don't call it "fire mountain" for nothing, but hundreds of villagers are headed back to Mount Merapi in Indonesia, nevertheless. The volcano is rumbling again, sending ash and heated rock down the mountainside. Villagers are leaving the refugee camps and heading back to their homes at the base of the volcano.

CNN's Stan Grant is in the shadow of the volcano. He joins us now on the line.

Stan, why are they headed back?

STAN GRANT, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, literally in the shadow of the volcano. Miles, we spent a couple of hours right up inside the danger zone, which is a 10-kilometer radius around the mountain. The people were evacuated a couple of days ago, around 4,500 of them.

What we do see, people moving back in. We're seeing them back into their homes, stores reopening. They believe the danger has passed, even though the island is still at code red. It's on full alert. Volcanologists are watching it 24 hours around the clock. They're still concerned we could see a full eruption.

But many of the villagers believe the worst has passed, because they say they have a sacred relationship to the mountain. They believe natural signs rather than science. And they're prepared to take the chance.

M. O'BRIEN: So they're ignoring what the experts are telling them? In other words, they have lived there so long they've become accustomed to this volcano rumbling? They think everything is going to be OK?

GRANT: And listening to one man, in particular, the man they call the "gatekeeper." He's a man 83 years old. He was given that title by the last sultan of Java about 20 years ago. His father before him was also the "gatekeeper" of the mountain.

What it means is he has a special relationship with the mountain. He actually went up near the peak of the mountain during all that activity, and he came back down with a message. He says the mountain is awake, it is angry, but it is not actually going to have a full eruption. In fact, he said it's disrespectful to use the word eruption. He believes that if there is going to be one, his ancestors will come to him in a dream and then people should be concerned. So the villagers are listening to him. It's a tradition. They have a long-term relationship with the mountain. They believe the mystic rather than the men of science -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Very interesting.

Stan Grant in the shadow of Mount Merapi in Indonesia, thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Wow, very scary, actually, when you think of people who scientists say that thing is going to erupt.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. A lot of superstition. I mean they are people that on a regular basis offer live animals as a sacrifice in the crater of that volcano. So there's a tremendous deep-rooted superstition that goes along with all of this.

S. O'BRIEN: I hope the "gatekeeper" is right.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's hope so.

S. O'BRIEN: Straight ahead this morning, an update on a family whose story we shared with you a few weeks ago. This is a Missouri family fighting the city order to move out of their home because the parents weren't married. Well, they just got some very, very bad news. We'll tell you what the city said to them.

Plus, a connection between sleep and your weight, Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains why we need to catch more ZZZs if you want to lose more pounds.

Those stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Welcome back from New York City.

Bill Clinton is writing another book. The former president says it will -- he hopes it will lift spirits and touch hearts. Clinton received...

S. O'BRIEN: And pay him well.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Like the other book.

M. O'BRIEN: Last go around, 10 to 12 million was the advance for his exhaustive biography entitled "My Life." I think he got paid by the word on that one, don't you think? No word, however, on how big the check is this time. His publishing house says whatever it is and how much ever the advance is it will be out some time early 2008.

S. O'BRIEN: Which means Hillary has got to put forth her book, right, because she did better with her book than he did with his book.

M. O'BRIEN: The tit for tat on the books, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: A good tit for tat.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Then there were two. We've got to tell you about Elliott Yamin, who Paula Abdul called the funky white boy, remember that? Voted off. There he is.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Voted off.

M. O'BRIEN: It was kind of sad, you know they just showed his triumphant return to Richmond, Virginia.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: And he was all teary-eyed. He said, you know, I'm just a clerk in a drugstore.

S. O'BRIEN: And may be back to that again, because he's off "American Idol."

M. O'BRIEN: I don't know, top three, though, is pretty good.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, but you know, I mean you look at all the people who have done really well and still don't necessarily go anywhere,...

M. O'BRIEN: That's true.

S. O'BRIEN: ... as Simon Cowell told me himself.

M. O'BRIEN: Was it a career and a half he said, right?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, is what they've made so far.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Finalists now are Katharine McPhee and Taylor Hicks. And they are going to face-off on Tuesday.

M. O'BRIEN: Go Katharine. The O'Briens are a Katharine household.

S. O'BRIEN: Those O'Briens are a Katharine.

M. O'BRIEN: That enterprise (ph), yes, something, I don't know, just, I don't know what she does (ph).

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get to the forecast this morning.

My kids are too little to watch that.

M. O'BRIEN: You're a Katharine fan. I know you are, Rob, right?

MARCIANO: Huge. Huge.

M. O'BRIEN: See.

MARCIANO: Who isn't, really?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

MARCIANO: You know as long as those -- the "Idol" guys, as long as they made that tour. As long as you're in the top 10, you can make a pretty good living on it, right?

M. O'BRIEN: So they say. I mean once you get on the tour...

S. O'BRIEN: Simon says he's made a career and a half over the entire time the show has been on TV. He doesn't consider that a great track record. That's what he says.

MARCIANO: Fair enough.

M. O'BRIEN: He's such a dark fellow that Simon.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, he is.

MARCIANO: I just want one career.

S. O'BRIEN: No silver lining for Simon, ever.

MARCIANO: One career would be nice. As long as that key to the building still works every morning, that would be a good thing.

(WEATHER REPORT)

See you guys later.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, thanks, -- Rob.

MARCIANO: OK.

S. O'BRIEN: Not too excited about that. Going to make things a mess here.

The morning's top stories are coming up this morning, including the new search for former Teamsters boss Jimmy Hoffa. Investigators are digging for clues this morning. We'll tell you what tipped them off.

Then, the exciting landing of the world's biggest jumbo jet. We'll see if London's Heathrow Airport can handle the super jumbo.

We're live ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Working from home. It's kind of a dream for a lot of people, but it's not all that it's cracked up to be. Because just as you get that important call from a client or a boss, the dog starts barking or the baby starts crying. So are there any solutions out there?

Well, "Welcome to the Future."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HEATHER, WORK-AT-HOME MOM: I have to have flexibility working from home with a 4-year-old. One of the drawbacks to working from home is that I can never leave my work. My husband works at home part of the time, also. He sits on the couch behind me in the office while we both try to conduct phone calls and business and e-mails. And it definitely has its moments, especially when I hole myself up in the corner of my house while my daughter is playing elsewhere.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR (on camera): Going to work in your pajamas sure sounds enticing, doesn't it? But working from home can be terribly distracting, what with the kids, dogs and refrigerator nearby. The solution may be just outside your door.

JOEY RYMAN (ph), MARKETING CEO: Home office will look more like a sanctuary where my imagination can run free, not where it's shut down.

M. O'BRIEN (voice-over): Actually, marketing CEO Joey Ryman is known for his bright ideas, like turning this old square-dancing hall in his backyard into a home office. Ryman sees a future where nearly everyone can work from a home in a pleasing setting that breeds creativity and comes complete with what he calls an ubernanny (ph).

RYMAN: What was the office manager now is your house manager. But they are also kind enough and compassionate to take care of your children.

M. O'BRIEN: Ryman says today's workers aren't striving to become millionaires, but instead famillionares (ph), people who put their wealth in their family and friends. But first he says we need a change of pace.

RYMAN: I imagine that we're going to go to a six-hour workday and a four-day workweek. For those people who don't think that slowing down wins the game, they ought to read "The Tortoise and the Hare." The tortoise does win.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com