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American Morning

Debating an Amendment; Courting Conservatives?; Terrorism Plot Unfoiled in Canada; Guarding the Border; Marine Massacre?; Whale of a Shark

Aired June 05, 2006 - 07:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: And whale shark romance. The honeymoon begins -- or so they hope -- at the Georgia Aquarium. That's ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CO-ANCHOR: And good morning. Welcome, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Welcome to Monday. A full court press from President Bush on one of his core campaign issues, banning gay marriage. The Senate begins debate today on a constitutional amendment that is likely to fail so is it really more than just politics?

Standing by to shed some light on this, Ed Henry at the White House. Dana Bash on Capitol Hill.

Ladies first. Good morning, Dana.

DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles. Well, when you get this close to an election -- we're five months away, of course -- everything is about politics.

But the president and Republican congressional candidates campaigned on this issue the last time around, so many conservatives are asking, what took so long?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: (voice-over): Gay rights activists are gearing up to blanket Capitol Hill and urge Senators to vote against a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

JOE SOLMONESE, HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN: I think what we're really talking about this week is a conversation, both from the White House and the leadership in the Senate about writing discrimination into the constitution. And, that couldn't be more out of step with where the American people are right now.

BASH: But for social conservatives, prohibiting same sex marriage is a top priority. These ads are targeting Senators in more than a dozen states.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Homosexual activists don't care if children are deprived of a mom or dad. Only a constitutional amendment can protect marriage from attack. BASH: In 2004 President Bush and Republican congressional leaders talked up a federal ban on gay marriage to galvanize social conservatives in key swing states.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because the union of man and woman deserves an honored place in our society.

BASH: Since then, the president has been virtually silent and veteran activists, like Richard Vigurie, say it's just one reason the Republican rank and file are unhappy with their leadership in Washington.

RICHARD VIGURIE, CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST: They just feel they've been betrayed. They feel abandoned by the president, by his aides in the White House, by the Republican leaders in the House and the Senate. I've never seen conservatives so frustrated, disappointed -- and many of them, quite frankly, angry.

BASH: That's exactly why conservative organizers say Congress must debate issues like a gay marriage ban if Republicans want disillusioned conservatives to vote this November.

PETER SPRIGG, FAMILY RESEARCH COUNCIL: We don't have an interest in re-electing a Republican Congress if they're not willing to fight for pro-family issues.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Nobody expects this measure to get the two-thirds majority needed to actually change the constitution. But some do believe when the vote is taken later this week it will have 52 Senators voting in favor of the ban. And supporters say that will at least give them the ability to say a majority of the Senate is with them -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN Dana Bash on Capitol Hill.

Let's move in the other direction on Pennsylvania Avenue. Ed Henry at the White House.

Ed, what will the president say will be the tone of all of this this afternoon?

ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the president will be meeting with conservative activists and then coming out before the cameras and once again declaring his support for this constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage.

The point is not the words. It is the tone, as you noted, and it's also the symbolism of coming out like this in a high profile way. And that is because conservatives feel spurned. As Dana was noting, conservatives feel they turned out in droves in 2004 in part because the president was so high profile on this issue. They now feel he's been quiet.

And meanwhile, you've people like Mary Cheney come out with her book and really blast this constitutional amendment. The First Lady Laura Bush has also come out and said this should not be used as a campaign tool and there should be more sensitivity brought to this issue.

So I think conservatives feel they're getting mix signals from this White House -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: You know, it's interesting, though, Ed, it would seem to me that conservatives, having not heard a peep from the president on this since the election, might wonder if this is a bit hollow, all this discussion and might feel as if they're being used.

HENRY: Absolutely. I mean, White House Spokesman Tony Snow insists that the president is only motivated by the fact that courts have intervened and he feels Congress now needs to speak loud and clear. But the bottom line is conservative activists are angry and they feel that maybe they are just being used and that right now the president has a political problem. Heading into the midterm elections, he's worried conservatives are not going to turn out. If Republicans lose control of Congress, this president's agenda for the final two years of his presidency will be dead -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Some of this might have something to do with changing the tone of the debate in Washington. Last week, we were talking about alleged atrocities in Iraq, gas prices, immigration recently on the agenda. Would the president rather have a debate over this?

HENRY: Well certainly, Democrats like Joe Biden are charging that he's not just changing the tone, but changing the subject, and that the president wants to divert attention from bad news in Iraq and talk instead about a social issue that will rev up his conservative base.

I mean, one problem with that, though, is that I think the president may be talking about this now, but as long as American soldiers are serving and dying in Iraq, which they're very likely to be doing through November, this is still going to be on the front pages. The War in Iraq will still be on the front pages heading into the midterm elections.

I think what's most fascinating is the fact that in the 2004 election, the president was being accused of diverting attention to the war on terror from other issues. Now he's being accused of diverting attention from the war on terror. It just shows what a political albatross that issue has become for this president -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: From asset to liability, fairly quickly.

Ed Henry, on the north lawn of the White House, thank you very much.

CNN will have live coverage of the president's remarks this afternoon scheduled for 1:45 Eastern from the Rose Garden.

And in just a few minutes, we'll talk to a leading advocate of the gay marriage ban, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council at 7:30 Eastern, right here -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: A CNN security watch now. Canadian-Muslim organizations are condemning a reported plot to bomb Toronto area buildings. While a lawyer for one of the 17 suspects in custody called the charges against them vague. Twelve men, five teenagers under arrest in Canada. Authorities believe the suspects were inspired by al Qaeda.

Homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve joins us in person this morning.

Nice to see you, Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, too, Soledad. Thanks.

Counterterrorism officials confirm that the men arrested Friday had contact with terrorism suspects in the United States and Britain. But authorities say the 17 Canadian residents were plotting against Canadian targets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a wake-up call, for sure.

MESERVE (voice-over): If many Canadians were floored at the prospect of terrorists targeting their country, a few were not.

Kim Bastarache says she had suspicions about her neighbor, Qayyum Abdul Jamal, who was among those arrested.

KIM BASTARACHE, NEIGHBOR: No, I knew they were.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You knew they were what?

BASTARACHE: Terrorists. He seemed like he was a terrorist person from the day one he moved in.

MESERVE: Jamal was said by some Muslims in the Toronto suburb of Mississauga to have taken control of a local mosque.

TAREK FATAH, MUSLIM CANADIAN CONGRESS: Throws the old guard out and takes it over and turns a very moderate mosque into a very conservative radical place which excluded a whole lot of other Muslims, including those who had founded it.

MESERVE: Another Toronto mosque was vandalized over the weekend, leaving the chief of police to appear with Muslim leaders and plead for calm.

BILL BLAIR, TORONTO POLICE CHIEF: Justice will be done. And in the interim, I hope that we can all work together to maintain the respect and trust and peace of our communities.

MESERVE: The 17 suspects are being held under tight security after being rounded up Friday night. Canadian authorities say they had acquired three tons of highly explosive ammonium nitrate and had what appeared to be detonators. The alleged targets, all in Ontario.

An attorney for two of the suspects called the charges vague.

ROCCO GALATI, LAWYER: His family is well established, longstanding residents and citizens of Canada for the past 50 years.

MESERVE: But U.S. lawmakers are concerned.

SEN. CARL LEVIN (D), MICHIGAN: We got a longer border with Canada than we do with Mexico. We got thousands of trucks that come in every day, many of them -- most of them not inspected.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Some members of Congress are criticizing Canadian immigration and asylum policies which they say allows terrorism to flourish. The Canadian ambassador to the United States says that is not true and says Americans as well as Canadians should be relieved this plot was stopped before it became a tragedy -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: A question for you, Jeanne. You just really don't hear about Canada and terrorism necessarily. Is this one of the few big cases?

MESERVE: It is the biggest case by far they've had thus far, but there has been concern for years about what was happening in Canada because of those immigration policies which are perceived by many experts as allowing many people of many different beliefs to come into Canada.

They have been crying for years that they wanted to see those policies toughened and they wanted to see more law enforcement action against people who might be dangerous.

S. O'BRIEN: Jeanne Meserve, thanks. Nice to have you come in person.

MESERVE: Thanks. It was fun to be here.

S. O'BRIEN: You want to stay with CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: The National Guard reporting for duty along the U.S.-Mexican border. In the vanguard of troops to arrive there for "Operation Jump Start," eventually 6,000 National Guard troops will bolster the Border Patrol there.

CNN's Kareen Wynter is in San Luis, Arizona.

Good morning, Kareen.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles. Well, we're seeing the first wave of President Bush's initiatives to crack down on illegal immigration.

Later this morning, the 55 members of the Utah National Guard that arrived here on Saturday will begin work behind me. We're in San Luis -- just about 25 Miles outside of Yuma. And they'll begin work on the gravel system here, putting in a road.

They'll also focus, Miles, on other field work, such as improving the lighting structure here to help agents catch those who may be crossing the border illegally. And also, of course, building up that fence.

Now, this role, Miles, will be supportive. They won't have law enforcement duties, but some troops say they're already concerned about the temperatures here. It gets extremely hot. It can go up to 120 degrees during the day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPTAIN TALON GREEFF, NATIONAL GUARD: We have concerns around just the weather. It's going to be a lot hotter than what we're used to in Utah. Not as hot as what we were used to in Iraq. So, you know, I'm concerned about heat casualties and that kind of thing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WYNTER: San Luis is part of the nation's busiest border crossing patrols station. Now, Miles, these troops will be here for two weeks before they're deployed. But this is part of a one-year rotation, so we'll be seeing National Guard members from other southwest states here along the border. For example, in California and Texas, come here to also assist with these efforts -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Kareem, they're going to be building roads, mending fences. It sounds like they're more a construction crew than a military operation. It's -- do they really need to have troops to do the jobs?

WYNTER: Absolutely because they say right now the many Border Patrol agents -- the federal agents that protect this crossing behind me are just simply overwhelmed. That they need to focus more on security to crack down on those who are trying to come into the U.S. illegally. And they say every bit helps.

And so while this is just a supportive role, it will help these federal agents do the job that the president is highlighting here.

M. O'BRIEN: Kareen Wynter at San Luis, Arizona, thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: The secretary of defense under fire again. Senator and potential Presidential Candidate Joe Biden, calling for Donald Rumsfeld to step down -- again. This in the wake of the alleged Marine massacre in Haditha, Iraq. Biden says Secretary Rumsfeld should be held accountable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: He should be gone. He shouldn't be in his office tomorrow morning. When you make serious mistakes, you step forward and you acknowledge them and you walk away. President's can't and shouldn't do that. Secretaries of defense can and should.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: While the Haditha investigation goes on, so does also another probe into the killing in April of a civilian in Hamandiyah, which is west of Baghdad.

Seven Marines and a Navy medical corpsman, behind bars now. They're facing charges. A third investigation, though, into U.S. military atrocities has ended.

The Pentagon now says that U.S. troops did nothing wrong in a March raid that left 11 civilians dead.

Janice Karpinski (ph) is a former Army commander at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. In the 9:00 o'clock hour we're going to talk to her and get some of her opinions on the lessons of Abu Ghraib and how that's now affecting the Haditha investigation.

And in Iraq, a very bloody weekend. Attacks on Sunday left 40 people dead, most of them in a shooting just north of Baghdad. Police say gunmen stopped two mini buses carrying students, killed the Shiite students, let the Sunni students go free. 20 people died in that incident.

In Basra, 16 men were killed in a mosque in a battle with police -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Happening in America, a search in Texas today for a missing 5-day-old baby girl. Police say a woman posing as a nurse took Priscilla Maldonado (ph) from her mother's house Sunday. Authorities say the fake nurse had become friends with the baby's mother at the hospital when the baby was born.

In New York, the search for a missing 3-year-old boy is over. Brandon Aponte was found on a street in Brooklyn just about four hours ago with his alleged kidnapper. Police suspect 13-year-old Tatiania Morales lured the boy out of his father's tattoo parlor on Saturday. She is being questioned. The boy is in the hospital right now for observation.

In Indianapolis, hundreds gathered for a memorial at the home where seven were killed Thursday night. The victims included three children. Police have two in custody. Formal charges against the shooter -- allegedly -- should come on Tuesday. The prosecutor says he'll seek the death penalty.

Two men who escaped from a D.C. jail Saturday, back behind bars. The last to be captured was found less than seven hours ago in suburban D.C.; the other apprehended early Sunday. The two escaped by breaking out a prison window.

A 44-year-old D.C. man facing charges of unlawful entry and disorderly conduct after being caught trying to jump the White House fence. Police say Roger Whitmer (ph) never made it over. He did toss a plastic bag onto the White House grounds, however. The area cordoned off while police inspected it. It was harmless.

And in Minnesota, a big party for some special twins today. A farewell celebration for six-month-old Abigail and Isabelle Carlson. The formerly conjoined twins, surgically separated last month at the Mayo Clinic. They head home to Fargo, North Dakota tomorrow. Congratulations to all there.

Let's go to Rob Marciano, who's at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta for the arrival -- a special arrival.

Tell us about it, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, Miles, we may be accused of being homers because, you know, CNN is right up the street, but the Georgia Aquarium is certainly a huge deal. Not only in Atlanta, but really across the U.S. For one thing, it's just magnificent structure. And for the other thing, is that for the first time ever, they have got whale sharks in captivity. They've had two males now for several months -- up to a year. And now just delivered, two females so, you kind of understand what they're getting at here, what they're going to try to do. In an ideal world, maybe some offspring here in the coming years.

But behind me is the main exhibit here which has not only whale sharks, but obviously a lot of other fish, colorful fish and big fish, some of which I'll try to get the names of to you. But I can't describe them much more than that.

Looks like the rays are kind of camera friendly. They're kind of coming up to the wall here. They're attracted to the light, maybe, and want to say hello to their friends, saying hi to mom.

But the whale sharks right now, doing their thing out of view. But we'll definitely get a view of them throughout the morning. Alice, Trixie, Norton and Ralph -- the honeymooners. You see what they're trying to do here?

Anyway, it's nice to be out of the weather studio. We'll be coming to you live for the remaining of AMERICAN MORNING right here from the Georgia Aquarium. Back to you -- oh weather? Did we do weather? Forgot about weather.

Not a big deal, really. Just some red on the map across the northern and central plains. Moderate risk of severe weather there. The Northeast, just some showers in the mountains and along the Carolina coastline. Miles and Soledad, back up to you. We'll see you in a little bit.

M. O'BRIEN: Hey, Rob, what do whale sharks do on a double date? Just out of curiosity? Well, you know.

MARCIANO: Well, they go to a drive-in, they make out. That's typically...

M. O'BRIEN: There you go.

S. O'BRIEN: The two of you, circling the drain.

MARCIANO: I'll find out, guys.

M. O'BRIEN: Please do. Thanks.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks Rob.

Still to come this morning, a latest look at weapons in the war on cancer. Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen will join us with a word of new hope for women who have breast cancer. That's just ahead.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Carol Costello in New York. It was like a joke played on him by God. A loving boyfriend speaks out at a memorial for the girl he thought was alive.

M. O'BRIEN: Then, a new AMERICAN MORNING series for you. Paying the price in the Heartland. Today, how some farmers are cutting back just to keep up with rising fuel prices. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: More now on that horrible case of mistaken identity following an automobile accident in Indiana. Family and friends are honoring the memory of a young Michigan woman, the victim of that tragic mistake. It's a story we first told you about last week.

Carol Costello with a very sad conclusion to it -- Carol.

COSTELLO: It's so hard to fathom this even happened. For weeks, a young man sits by his young love's bedside, praying for her to come out of a coma. When she did, he discovered the woman he cared for so selflessly wasn't her.

Today, he says it seems like a joke played on him by God.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Nearly 2,000 people attended a memorial service Sunday in Kentwood, Michigan, for Laura VanRyn. The 22-year- old Taylor University student mistakenly thought to have survived an April highway crash in which four students from the Indiana school and a school employee were killed.

For weeks, everyone thought Laura was alive and that her classmate, 19-year-old Whitney Cerak, had died in the crash.

VanRyn's boyfriend was a constant visitor to the rehab facility where the patient he thought was Laura lay in a coma.

ARYN LINENGER, LAURA VANRYN'S BOYFRIEND: I saw her, her hands, her feet, her complexion. And I -- I -- I couldn't believe that it wasn't her.

COSTELLO: Last week, as the woman emerged from her coma, Laura's family and her boyfriend realized it wasn't Laura in the hospital bed, but Whitney.

LINENGER: Many of you today are probably wondering how a man could date a girl and love a girl for three years and not know that it was her. I asked myself that same question.

COSTELLO: The Indiana coroner's office says Laura and Whitney were misidentified at the scene of the accident. He later apologized for the tragic mistake.

The VanRyn family has received permission to exhume Laura's body and have her buried closer to their home.

As for Sunday's memorial service, it was about more than just mistaken identity. It was about the life of Laura VanRyn and how she touched the lives of others.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is interesting to me how losing someone you love so much can change your perspective on everything. (Inaudible) to the day when I will be able to face you once more.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: As for Aryn, Laura's boyfriend, he kept a journal of what he thought was her recovery. At one point he noted her eyes seemed bluer than before, but he never thought it wasn't Laura. As for Laura's father, he is quoted in "USA Today," saying the family will not file a lawsuit because Jesus taught forgiveness. Back to you, Miles.

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

S. O'BRIEN: A look at the top stories straight ahead this morning, including some more bad news for your wallet. Gas prices going up, thanks to new threats from Iran. Andy is going to explain. He's minding your business, coming up next.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Lothian in Iowa, where we will be talking with a farmer about how the high cost of fuel is impacting his operations. That and much more ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Iran's supreme leader playing the oil supply game. Andy Serwer is "Minding your Business." I think that's a fair way to put it, isn't it?

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think it is. More jitters in the world oil markets this morning, Soledad, coming from a usual source. Iran's Supreme Religious Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (ph) is quoted saying that no one should make the wrong move here when it comes to his country.

Let me read you a quote of his. He says, if you -- and he's addressing the Western nations and the United States in particular. If you make any mistake, punish or attack Iran, definitely shipments of energy from this region will be seriously jeopardized.

The price of oil jumping this morning, Soledad, to nearly $74 a barrel, after word from the fourth largest oil exporter. And this comes after Iran's president --

S. O'BRIEN: Not Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?

SERWER: Yes, indeed -- was rather conciliatory the other day in terms of negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, but now there seems to be distance in terms of any sort of negotiations taking place, any sort of negotiations that would involve conditions. Of course, this all entails Iran's nuclear program.

So, back and forth we go. And you know, the key part of oil pricing right now has to do with the West relations with Iran; and unfortunately, that seems like something that's not going to be resolved any time soon at all.

S. O'BRIEN: It's not exactly a subtle threat, frankly?

SERWER: No. It really isn't.

So, also, I want to just tell you quickly, coming up in the next half hour, we'll be talking about Vonage and why its customers, now shareholders, are suing that company.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh really?

SERWER: So, we'll be talking about that.

S. O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right, Andy, thank you.

SERWER: Thank you.

S. O'BRIEN: Miles?

M. O'BRIEN: President Bush is pushing for an amendment banning same sex marriage.

What is that behind me anyway? The sword of Davically (ph) is hanging over my head here.

This is the first time he's really focused on this issue since taking office. What do conservatives think about this issue and its timing? We'll talk to the president of the Family Research Council.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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