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Storm Forecast; Offer to Talk; More Aid Needed; Hostage Rescue; 'Witch-Hunt' Over?

Aired June 01, 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. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien.

Here's a look at what's happening this morning, June 1, 2006.

Today marks the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season. Looks like the season will be another doozy, not quite as active as last year, but still worse than normal. The experts predicting about a half-dozen major hurricanes.

S. O'BRIEN: Iran is on the agenda today as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice meets with European leaders in Vienna. Yesterday she said the U.S. is willing to join talks with Iran over its nuclear program but that nation would have to stop uranium enrichment first.

North Korea is inviting America's top nuclear negotiator to visit for talks. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said he would visit if it would help arms negotiation talks with North Korea stalled last year.

M. O'BRIEN: More signs of a possible cover-up in that alleged Marine massacre in Haditha, Iraq. "The Washington Post" reporting this morning a Pentagon probe finding Marine officers wrote false reports about the two dozen civilians allegedly shot by Marines.

President Bush pushing Congress to compromise on immigration reform today. He'll speak at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He meets with his Cabinet later this morning.

S. O'BRIEN: In Indonesia, the death toll from Saturday's devastating earthquake has now topped 6,200. Mass graves are being prepared. Meanwhile, part of a U.S. military trauma surgery unit is on its way to help build a field hospital to treat some of the wounded.

And New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin officially begins his second term today. He's going to be sworn in this afternoon. Seven members of the New Orleans City Council will be sworn in, as well, with him.

M. O'BRIEN: As you said a moment ago, first day of the hurricane season. CNN your hurricane headquarters.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right to our severe weather expert Chad Myers in the Weather Center. Chad, good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad.

I want to get to what Dr. Gray said yesterday at 10:00, because we didn't get to obviously give it to our 6:00 a.m. viewers.

Here's Dr. Gray's forecast, Colorado State, now issued yesterday, 17 named storms expected, 17 tropical storms. Tropical depressions don't get names. Nine hurricanes and five major hurricanes. The average, about 10, 6 and 2, so we're way above average.

But just so that you get this into context, here is what Dr. Gray said last year at the same time. And I'm not ripping on Dr. Gray. He is the best in the business.

He said there would be 15 named storms for '05. He said there would be eight hurricanes and he said there would be four intense hurricanes. In fact there were 28 storms, 15 hurricanes and 7 intense hurricanes.

So even though the number has skewed way above normal, that's not saying that this couldn't be like change as we go on, as the season goes on. Just keep that in mind. This is going to be an active season one way or the other.

The NOAA's forecast, 13 to 16, hurricanes 8 to 10, major hurricanes 4 to 6. That's the NOAA forecast out of the Hurricane Center.

So Colorado State, Dr. Gray, Dr. Klotzbach right there all together.

We see nothing in the tropical Atlantic right now. That's the good news. But the reason why we say this is the switch that turns hurricane season on, on average, the water now becomes warm enough to sustain a storm if it develops either off Africa or in the Caribbean or on up the East Coast. But we have to wait for a while.

Remember Hurricane Andrew was the first hurricane of the season, the first named storm of the season, back in the early '90s. That wasn't until August -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Boy, all right, thank you, Chad, that's a good reminder.

MYERS: You're welcome.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

You just heard Chad for 10 hurricanes this year, perhaps, perhaps a half-dozen of the major storms. Just what they want to hear along the Gulf Coast where the physical and emotional damage from last year's record battering are clear and present everywhere you turn.

CNN's Kyung Lah live now from New Orleans with more -- Kyung. KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, that's certainly something that this area does not want to hear. And as you said, everywhere you go here in New Orleans, there are still some very visible signs of Katrina. There are houses in rubble. People are still living in trailers. And now this area and many of the states along the East Coast are bracing for yet another active season.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The number is 17. A noted hurricane forecaster says that's how many storms we can expect to see during this year's Atlantic hurricane season. William Gray of Colorado State University says nine of the storms will turn into hurricanes, five of them major with sustained winds stronger than 110- miles-per-hour. He also says there's a 69 percent chance one of those big hurricanes will strike the East Coast, including Florida.

DR. WILLIAM GRAY, COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY: Simple planning today has the power to make all of our lives easier tomorrow.

LAH: And so Florida officials are using a public service announcement to tell residents to get ready.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don't have a plan, you're gambling with your home, your livelihood, your life and your family's life.

LAH: Back in New Orleans, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff tried to get a sense of how things would play out should a major storm hit the city this year.

MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Hopefully we won't have a very active hurricane season in this particular area. But we all know that while we hope for the best, we have to prepare for the worst. And people in trailers, people who are still recovering from the trauma of last year are vulnerable. And one of the things we want to make sure about is that we take a particularly active role as the federal government this year to protect those who are vulnerable.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: So what is different this year? Secretary Chertoff says the Department of Homeland Security has addressed one major problem, they have pre-positioned relief supplies already in the field in the hurricane-prone areas. And they have also dispatched 27 federal officers into those hurricane-prone areas so they can react quickly -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Kyung Lah, thank you very much.

So, can we really count on the federal government this time to help us out? Well, you best be prepared, be self-reliant, but you should also stay tuned, because next hour, we'll talk to the new FEMA Director David Paulison. We'll ask him whether the emergency agency has its act together this time -- Soledad. S. O'BRIEN: The Gulf Coast has been battered the past couple of hurricane seasons. No need to really tell you that, we all know that. Here's how the region, though, is getting ready this time around.

Let's look at Houston, Texas first. A vote is coming next week on a new $500,000 phone system that would help warn parents about school closings or early releases if another hurricane threatens a city.

Let's take you to Louisiana now. A key report on structural failures will come out today. The Army Corps of Engineers is releasing the most detailed look yet at the levee system and the floodwalls in New Orleans and why they failed. This, as a new report says that certain areas of the city are sinking faster than previously thought. This is what it looked like after Hurricane Katrina. We're going to have more details on that report when it comes out. We're expecting that at 10:00 a.m. Eastern.

Let's take you to Mississippi now. Coastal counties have patched together a new communication system for local and state police. Obviously that was a huge problem in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. This way they're going to be able to communicate during a disaster. A statewide program is being worked on. Not going to be ready this year, though.

Alabama has several new programs in place for the coastal counties. Their programs include a coordinated system of evacuation centers and school buses standing by to help evacuate people who don't have any transportation.

And now Florida, let's a take a look there. A special hurricane tax holiday ends today. The tax break gives people added incentives to stock up on things like generators before it's all too late -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: CNN will be covering the 2006 hurricane season extensively, of course. All during AMERICAN MORNING today, we'll hear from Sean Callebs in New Orleans to update us on the floodgates there, the levees. Susan Candiotti is in Florida. She'll introduce us to people who are still fighting the insurance battle from last year's storms. Gerri Willis building -- will tell us about how to build a better hurricane-proof house. She'll tell us what you can do to make your home safer this summer.

Stay with CNN your hurricane headquarters -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: We were in the middle of our broadcast yesterday when we told you about this dramatic turn of events in Iran. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has arrived in Vienna this morning. Today's meeting with permanent members of the U.N. Security Council really suddenly has taken on a whole new character now that the U.S. is offering to talk to Iran about its nuclear program. The U.S. and Iran have not talked officially since 1979.

Suzanne Malveaux has our report from the White House this morning. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): President Bush did an about-face in agreeing that the U.S. would join talks with Iran to end the nuclear standoff. But the president gave one condition, that Iran show it's abandoning activities the U.S. believes is associated with developing a nuclear weapon.

The president also said if Iran does not cooperate, it could face possible U.N. Security Council sanctions. And officials now say they believe that Russia and China are onboard with that. They were reluctant to sanction Iran in the past.

And now Secretary Rice is in Vienna meeting with counterparts in the U.N. Security Council to come up with a package of incentives or sanctions regarding Iran.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: The Haditha investigation starting to move up the chain of command. "The Washington Post" reporting this morning a Pentagon probe finds Marine officers gave false information to their superiors. A report is due this week on how commanders handled the news Marines shot and killed 24 civilians in Haditha November last year.

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld was asked if this is worse than Abu Ghraib.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: There are two investigations going on, one is to determine what happened, and the second is to determine what happened after whatever happened happened. And the Marines are working diligently on that. And at the appropriate time when they have gathered the facts, they'll make them available to the public, and then we'll know more and we'll know answers to questions like that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Orders are expected today that all U.S. and allied troops in Iraq undergo so-called core values training. Also, the promotion has been put on hold for the top Marine commander in Iraq at the time, Maj. Gen. Stephen Johnson.

The toll from Indonesia's earthquake worse than originally expected. Shelter, food and medical aid badly needed right now on Indonesia's Java Island. USAID and the U.S. military are on the ground. They are setting up a field hospital and helping ration food. The U.S. is also providing $5 million in help.

The destruction is far reaching. The death toll now 6,234, 33,321 severely injured and more than 12,000, nearly 13,000 slightly injured. Homes destroyed, 67,000-plus.

Hugh Riminton joins us now from Yogyakarta with more -- Hugh.

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, Miles, I can tell you just in the last couple of hours we've seen some fairly desperate scenes as helicopters have gone out to villages that so far have received no help at all. There were hundreds of people trying to mob these helicopters which had come with food aid.

One woman managed to clamber onboard, screaming hysterically that she wanted to be taken away. Her home was gone. She needed to get out of there. She was pushed back off the helicopter.

Much of the focus, though, remains in trying to get medical aid to the people who need it most.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HUGH RIMINTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They are still bringing the injured in. These are the overflow from hospitals unable to cope.

Ten-year-old Doni Setayawan (ph) was carried here by his father. Their house collapsed on him. Infection has now set in, and there is little comfort in the treatment.

He is one of hundreds being processed in a sprouting maze of military hospitals. It is often basic, barefoot surgery in open-sided tents.

Doni's (ph) father, Sunati (ph), is given antibiotics for his boy and is told to carry him home. But like 130,000 other people, his home is gone. And half-a-million more have been forced to flee because their houses are no longer stable. Homeless children are everywhere, begging for food or for scraps of cash.

More than a dozen countries are now helping directly. This is a Singaporean tent hospital. The patients fed by Turkish volunteers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go on this side of the pallet.

RIMINTON: The U.S. Marines have arrived. A fresh tent hospital, plus skills honed in the Asian tsunami, last year's Pakistan earthquake and in Iraq.

(on camera): Do you learn? Is there a rapid learning curve?

CAPT. DAVID LANE, U.S. MARINE CORPS: There is a rapid learning curve. There sure is. You can really tell the people that have been there before. You know you really want to come here and do everything you can for everybody you see.

RIMINTON (voice-over): Indonesia's president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, spends a night in a tent with survivors. In just two years in office, he has faced the tsunami, volcanic eruptions, other earthquake disasters and now this. He has become practiced at offering comfort.

(on camera): If there is a sense people are now starting to get over the first emergency phase of this disaster, there could be no pretense that this place is suddenly about to snap back to normal. Quite apart from the thousands of people dead and injured, there is village after village where there is nothing left but this.

(voice-over): Everywhere, signs of life interrupted, but amid all this, an unexpected sound. In this little village, 24 people died and 70 were injured.

"It's OK to laugh," says villager Iwan (ph). "Everything that happens comes from God," he says. "We must accept it. Be grateful we're alive. Look to the future."

For now, that future involves scavenging the ruins of his own house, where the gas bottle he bought last Friday is suddenly the most valuable thing he owns.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now there is progress that is taking place. One of the things they have done is they have repaired runways that had huge cracks across them, Miles. Also a lot of the roads are being cleared, sometimes by hand. That's getting a lot of the aid in there. But there are still hundreds of thousands of people sleeping without proper shelter tonight -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Hugh Riminton in Yogyakarta, thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: A terrifying ordeal, a young attorney abducted by a gun-wielding stranger. Still to come this morning, the dramatic rescue and details of the massive manhunt to track her down.

M. O'BRIEN: Then NASA weighs the evidence, will falling foam fears keep the shuttle grounded or is the next shuttle launch slated for July good to go?

S. O'BRIEN: And Lance Armstrong described it as a witch-hunt. Well now an investigation has cleared him of the doping rumors and the investigators had some interesting things to say about his accusers.

Plus, Carrie Lee joins us with business headlines.

Good morning.

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Soledad.

Three-dollar-a-gallon gasoline, but some great deals on SUVs and large trucks. Which one won out last month? We'll have that story coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning, the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season starts today. One leading expert predicts 17 named storms, 9 of which are expected to become hurricanes.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arriving in Vienna today to meet with European leaders. Yesterday she said the U.S. was willing to join talks with Iran over its nuclear program, but Iran would have to stop uranium enrichment first.

And in Iraq, more signs of a possible cover-up in that alleged Marine massacre in Haditha. According to "The Washington Post," a military investigation will find some officers lied to superiors about the 24 civilian deaths there.

In Alabama, a high stakes rescue mission for a kidnapped woman. This morning, she is safe and the suspect is in custody. It was a harrowing nine-hour ordeal, which began with her abduction at gunpoint in a parking lot.

CNN's Amanda Rosseter has the day's dramatic events.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AMANDA ROSSETER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A dramatic end to a daylong manhunt as Birmingham police and U.S. marshals pulled the suspect from this second floor room at the Comfort Inn.

MARTY KEELY, U.S. MARSHAL: It went down very quickly. It went down very quickly. Information was developed quickly. And once it was developed, the officers here acted on it.

ROSSETER: They rescued 34-year-old Sandra Eubank Gregory who was found bound with rope on the hotel room floor. Police said she had no apparent injuries, but was taken to a local hospital to be examined.

KEELY: We did find a weapon in the room. And there was not much resistance.

ROSSETER: The ordeal was caught on tape as it began around 8:30 in the morning. A surveillance camera at a downtown parking lot caught the gunman as he approached Gregory outside her car, then forced her in through the passenger side and drove off.

A statewide manhunt ensued as Gregory's ATM card was used at three locations to withdrawal cash. The suspect then checked into the Comfort Inn, showed his valid I.D., gave a valid cell phone number, paid with cash and used a coupon.

The hotel manager described the scene to Nancy Grace on CNN's Headline News.

VALERIE, COMFORT INN MANAGER: He walked in alone. He came in. He asked for a room. I checked him in, took a copy of his driver's license. I gave him the room key and he left.

ROSSETER: Three to four hours later, a tip to police from a male caller gave the name of the hotel and the room number.

Amanda Rosseter, CNN, Birmingham, Alabama. (END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: A terrible situation there. All very happy that it ended well.

We've got some breaking news coming in to CNN. We want to bring it to you. It's coming to us from CNN Turk (ph). It appears that there has been an explosion that has hit the eastern side of Istanbul. There are reports of many people injured. However, we do not know the cause of the explosion. We have no details about how many people have been injured in the explosion. So not a lot of details at this point, but it's some breaking news we're going to bring it to.

We're going to obviously continue to follow this story and get right back to you as soon as we get more details. But an explosion hitting the eastern side of Istanbul just moments ago. We're told many people injured. More on that in a moment -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, O.J. Simpson's daughter in court. We'll tell you what she was in trouble for.

And seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong riding high this morning, well, so to speak, cleared of a self-described witch- hunt. We'll tell you what investigators said about those doping rumors.

Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

A Florida judge says she will drop a disorderly conduct charge against O.J. Simpson's daughter if she completes 50 hours of community service. Twenty-year-old Sydney Simpson was arrested for slapping a police officer's hand during an altercation last year.

Six convicted sex offenders are suing to overturn a new playground law in Indianapolis. The law says they can't come within a thousand yards of a playground when children are there. Well they say the law keeps them from getting to work and to school and to church.

And a new government study says fathers with a college degree are more attentive to their children. They also want to have fewer kids than dads who only graduated from high school.

Reports out today on auto sales. The picture doesn't look so great.

LEE: No, it hasn't been great. And...

S. O'BRIEN: And it continues to not be great.

LEE: ... expected to be more of the same for May. Right. Auto and truck makers out of Detroit giving their numbers for May later on today, and numbers not expected to be great. A couple of analysts expecting GM to see sales year over year down 15 percent, Ford dropping about 6 percent, DaimlerChrysler down about 8 or 9 percent. Now those are just estimates so far.

The big question here is are SUVs going to come out all right in the -- in this move with $3-a-gallon gasoline. And so far, SUV sales have really been hurt, despite big incentives, particularly from GM. One analyst says GM is pursuing longer-term profit, looking for trading volume versus lower incentives and reduced fleet sales. So we'll see what the auto and truck makers have to say later on today.

Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines did get court approval for a deal with its pilots, $280 million in labor concessions. This includes a 14 percent pay cut and really puts Delta on the road to come out of bankruptcy sometime next year. That's the plan anyway.

Delta's chief says this was the most significant hurdle in that process. Delta needs this money. They lost $27 million in April alone. Still, that's better than the $163 million the number three U.S. carrier lost a year ago.

And sell in May and go away. Well people certainly did the selling for May. The Dow down 1.75 percent during the month. You can see yesterday we did add 74 points, but not enough, not nearly enough to get us in the green for the month. Nasdaq down over 6 percent in May.

This morning, Soledad, it is looking like we'll see more selling. And that's the way the markets have really gone lately. Any time we get a nice day of gains, well, next day it seems like we're selling, so.

S. O'BRIEN: I'm going to stop saying Dow 12,000, because every time I say that...

LEE: Yes, we're way off from that. But I think this is the way it's going to go until we get that clear decision from the Fed coming in late June, so.

S. O'BRIEN: Right, everyone is waiting for that.

LEE: Absolutely.

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

LEE: OK.

S. O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.

Let's get to Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Why don't you try Dow 9,000 a little bit and see if maybe it will go the other way?

S. O'BRIEN: No, no, no, no, no.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. No, OK.

Lance Armstrong has called it a witch-hunt. The seven-time Tour de France winner has always denied claims he was using performance- enhancing drugs. And now an independent investigation says Armstrong may have been right all along.

Carol Costello is here with more.

Hello, -- Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Remember how mad Lance Armstrong was?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: He was hot. He was really hot. And it seems like he had every right to be hot. It seems like it was a witch-hunt, a nasty one. Now keep in mind these allegations left Armstrong in the same boat as Barry Bonds, tainted.

A French bicycling newspaper printed some pretty serious allegations from a mystery source saying Armstrong tested positive six times for EPO in 1999. Well, not so fast. This morning, according to a new 132-page report from an independent Dutch investigation, those allegations are -- quote -- "completely irresponsible." In fact, the investigators say it isn't Lance Armstrong who should be investigated, but the World Anti-Doping Agency.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Despite a record seven straight Tour de France titles, Lance Armstrong could never shake rumors of performance-enhancing drug use. Last August, a French newspaper accused Armstrong of using the banned endurance-boosting substance EPO. During his first tour victory in 1999, the paper claimed new tests on Armstrong's urine samples tested positive.

LANCE ARMSTRONG, CYCLIST: I have never doped.

COSTELLO: Armstrong appeared on "LARRY KING LIVE" in August to deny the allegations.

ARMSTRONG: When I peed in that bottle, there wasn't EPO in it. No way.

COSTELLO: On Wednesday, an independent Dutch investigation cleared the legendary cyclist of doping in the 1999 Tour de France. And investigators went farther than that, saying those who made the allegation should be sanctioned for behaving in ways completely inconsistent with testing regulations.

Armstrong issued a statement slamming what he termed a witch-hunt against him. And said his accusers -- quote -- "Have been out to discredit and target me without any basis and falsely accused me of taking performance-enhancing drugs in 1999. I have now retired. But for the sake of all athletes still competing who deserve a level playing field and a fair system of drug testing, the time has come to take action against these kinds of attacks before they destroy the credibility of the World Anti-Doping Agency and, in turn, the international anti-doping system."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

All right, to boil it down, did the World Anti-Doping Agency have it out for Armstrong? This is a serious allegation. This body is responsible for detecting illegal substances for the Olympics and all international sports.

The head of the World Anti-Doping Agency says he has not received that 132-page report yet. But based on news accounts, he says there was no interest in determining whether the samples Armstrong provided were positive or not to say Armstrong is totally exonerated seems strange.

M. O'BRIEN: So will there be an investigation of this anti- doping agency, do you think?

COSTELLO: I think so, because the lawyers have already been hired -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Carol Costello, thank you very much.

The morning's top stories are straight ahead, including controversial filmmaker Michael Moore facing some new criticism for the movie "Fahrenheit 9/11." This time it could land him in court.

And from Texas to Florida, tell you what folks all along the Gulf Coast are doing to prepare for the 2006 hurricane season. Are they ready?

Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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