Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Baghdad Crackdown; Bush's Iraq Visit; Smuggling Charges; Cookie Monsters?; Urban Eviction
Aired June 14, 2006 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. It's Wednesday, June 14. 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.
A massive security crackdown is under way right now in Iraq. Tens of thousands of security forces, mostly Iraqi, have fanned out across Baghdad. The operation includes more checkpoints, an extended curfew and a weapons ban.
President Bush back at the White House. He arrived there just after 3:00 this morning local time after that surprise visit to Baghdad. The president reassured Iraqi leaders the U.S. will not leave that country until Iraqi forces can do the job. Later today, Mr. Bush will brief congressional leaders on the trip.
S. O'BRIEN: More trouble for FEMA to tell you about. Congressional investigators say the agency may have shelled out more than a billion dollars in bogus hurricane relief last year. They say government money was spent on jewelry, fireworks, strip clubs. More details are set to be released later today.
The Tennessee woman who is accused of killing her minister husband back in March faces an arraignment hearing this morning. Mary Winkler was indicted this week on a first-degree murder charge.
Comedian Jerry Lewis is recovering this morning from a mild heart attack. That's according to a spokeswoman for the Las Vegas casino where Lewis was set to perform next month. Lewis has cancelled the shows. He's expected, though, to make a full recovery.
M. O'BRIEN: In Indonesia, a volcano erupting again today forcing hundreds to flee. Mount Merapi spewed searing hot gas and volcanic debris into the air. The area, once again, on high alert. The volcano has been extremely active over the past month, as you know by now.
The Tropical Storm Alberto now a tropical depression. The center of the weakened Alberto now hovering about 35 miles southwest of Columbia, South Carolina.
Chad Myers at the CNN Center with more on the remnants of Alberto.
Good morning, -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.
Tropical Depression now Alberto. The storm is going to move on up and then going to make a lot of rain for Raleigh in a very dry area, so this is much-needed rainfall. The winds have died off, below 40 miles per hour, that's why they discontinued the tropical storm name, now it's just a tropical depression.
It will eventually eject itself very close to maybe Duck (ph) or maybe up to about Virginia Beach. Then it's going to get into the Atlantic, into some warmer water here, and re-intensify, but not as a tropical system. This may eventually make some rain for places up around Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
Other than that, Georgia pretty much in the clear today. There could still be some scattered showers, because there's still a lot of humidity in the air from this storm. A couple of showers still popping up around south Florida, also around Tallahassee. But, for the most part, this storm is done.
It will eject itself right over here, the extreme northern sections of North Carolina and then into the Atlantic and away from us altogether. Winds right now are only 35 miles per hour.
D.C., you could see some showers from this today. Also, some showers will still pop up because there are still enough boundaries in Florida that we're still going to see lines of showers pop up in a northeast to southwest direction here. And they will move on up toward the north and the northeast.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: That's exactly what we like to hear.
MYERS: There you go.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, -- Chad.
MYERS: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: The new Iraqi government is trying to take back Baghdad, launching the biggest security crackdown since the U.S. invasion. Operation Advancing Forward Together is what it's called. It's under way right now.
CNN's John Vause has a look at what's going on.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Iraqi forces are on the streets of Baghdad in a major crackdown ordered by the new Iraqi prime minister, taking the capital street by street, neighborhood by neighborhood. According to the Interior Ministry, tens of thousands of Iraqi soldiers, police and commandos are involved in this security sweep, backed by heavy armor and tanks and, if necessary, air support. The government has ordered an extension of the nighttime curfew, as well as a ban on carrying firearms in public. This is a major test for the fledgling Iraqi forces and their ability to take the lead from coalition troops in restoring law and order in a city which has been racked by suicide bombings, shootings and other attacks on Iraqi civilians.
Taking Baghdad has been made a priority by the Iraqi government, home to six million residents, almost a quarter of the entire population. If and when this city is secure, the next phase will be to move to outlying areas, in particular, the Sunni Triangle north of here.
John Vause, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Now this crackdown falls in line with the message President Bush personally delivered to Iraqi leaders that the fate of their country is in their own hands. The president now back at the White House, back from that surprise trip to Baghdad.
White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): President Bush returned from his one-day trip to Baghdad early Wednesday morning. Aboard Air Force One, he talked to reporters. And he said he got what he came for, a meeting with the new Iraqi prime minister, as well as the Cabinet.
He said he wanted to get a feel for the Iraqi government. And he put it this way, saying, he wanted to hear whether or not the Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki essentially was stuck in the past or whether or not he had a sense about a willingness to think and move forward. He also wanted to get an idea of whether or not he could actually prioritize, as well as rally people to achieve objectives. Ultimately, President Bush said he came away with a very positive impression.
President Bush certainly hopes that lawmakers also come away with that impression as well. He meets with them later today at the White House to brief them on his Iraq trip.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: We'll hear more about that plane ride to Baghdad and that whirlwind visit. CNN's John King was the network pool reporter. He was on the trip. And we'll get a debrief from him in just a little bit.
Al Gore weighing in on the president's surprise visit last night on "LARRY KING LIVE." Larry asked the man Bush defeated in 2000 if he thought the president's trip to Baghdad was a good idea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AL GORE, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT: I think for security reasons it's wise for him to have done it in the way he did. And I think it's valuable for him to have a chance to meet personally with this new head of the government there.
Of course the whole situation is so tragic. And how he got there is not the point now. We are there and there are no real good options. But whatever options there are will be enhanced by a good working relationship between President Bush and this new leader. And so I think it's a good thing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Gore also talked about global warming during that interview with Larry King. And as far as his political future goes, he says he does not expect to be a presidential candidate again.
"LARRY KING LIVE" airs every night 9:00 Eastern. Watch it here on CNN.
A pair of Customs agents accused of helping smuggle illegal immigrants across the Mexican border. Agents Richard Elizalda and Michael Gilliland are out on bail now.
CNN's Chris Lawrence has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Richard Elizalda is a Vietnam vet who served nearly 20 years in the Marine Corps, another 10 protecting the border. But prosecutors say he became corrupt, taking a car and cash in exchange for waving smugglers through his inspection lane.
GENE IREDALE, ELIZALDA DEFENSE ATTORNEY: And he's depressed. And he's sad. He's worried.
LAWRENCE: Elizalda's attorney says officers here inspect millions of cars each year. San Ysidro is the busiest port of entry in the world.
IREDALE: If somebody got through, that doesn't mean that he knowingly permitted contraband into the United States or permitted illegal aliens into the United States.
LAWRENCE: Prosecutors say, officers like these only work each lane for 20 minutes at a time. Yet, the same people kept driving through Elizalda's lane. And they found $36,000 cash in his briefcase, even though Elizalda only makes $65,000 a year.
STEWART ROBERTS, FBI: Mr. Elizalda sold out his country for between $500 and $1,000 per smuggled alien. LAWRENCE: Officials say almost all Customs and Border Protection officers are honest, and apprehensions are up 10 percent from last year.
JIM HYNES, CALIFORNIA BORDER PATROL: We find illegal aliens concealed in quarter panels, in dashboards, in gas tanks.
LAWRENCE: Michael Gilliland is the other officer charged with taking bribes. Prosecutors say he would call smugglers during his breaks and talk about seeing movies at certain times, and asking how many tickets they would need, a not-so-sophisticated code for when he was working, and how many illegal immigrants were coming through.
A judge allowed both men to post bond before trial, but both will be constantly tracked by a GPS monitor.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, San Ysidro, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Chris' story first aired on "THE SITUATION ROOM." It airs weekdays 4:00 and 7:00 Eastern Time -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Happening in America this morning.
Two teens in Tacoma, Washington arrested after an alleged assault on another teenager. Police say they taped the assault, posted it then on myspace.com. Videotape shows the student attacking a classmate, apparently in retaliation for another videotaped attack. One of the suspects shows off a shotgun which police believe he later took to school.
Congressman Patrick Kennedy pleaded guilty on Tuesday to driving under the influence of prescription drugs. It was all part of a plea bargain to avoid additional charges after that middle-of-the-night car crash at the Capitol last month. The judge sentenced the Rhode Island Democrat to undergoing drug treatment and a year's probation, too.
Another politician, though, going behind bars. That's former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell. He's been sentenced to 30 months in prison for tax evasion. Campbell was also ordered to pay his tax bill, which adds up to more than $62,000. He says he's going to appeal.
A couple of cookies got two Virginia eighth graders suspended from school. The school says the kids are thieves.
We're going to get more on the caper from reporter A.J. Lagoe from our affiliate WRIC.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA STEPHENSON, MOTHER: What has me concerned was watching the TV the other day and hearing the superintendent state that you know it's not over a cookie. I wouldn't suspend somebody over eating somebody else's cookie, there's more to it. A.J. LAGOE, WRIC-TV REPORTER (voice-over): After seeing superintendent Morton's comments on the news, Lisa Stephenson decided to come forward.
STEPHENSON: There really isn't more to it.
LAGOE: Stephenson's son, along with another boy, were suspended from school and removed from the baseball team. The boys are being disciplined for eating cookies from a container that was knocked over while they were filling up water bottles in the cafeteria. The cookies belonged to a cafeteria worker. And the boys are being disciplined under the theft code.
STEPHENSON: What gets me is the level of punishment. To me, it doesn't fit the crime.
LAGOE: Lisa tells us her son has never been in trouble. And while what he did was wrong, the discipline handed down and the superintendent's reference to there being more involved than just a few eaten cookies is casting the boys in an unfair light.
STEPHENSON: When this file goes over to high school with him, it's only going to say theft. It will not tell what the theft was.
LAGOE (on camera): We contacted the school district. They tell us the superintendent has said all he's going to on the subject. And that, as far as they're concerned, the cookie caper is a dead issue.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: So, from our affiliate WRIC in Richmond, Virginia, three other kids are facing discipline. I mean, I shouldn't laugh, because of course the mom is right, it's going to go on their transcripts to high school.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: But a bunch of cookies knocked over, I'm not sure that merits punishment.
M. O'BRIEN: I guess they're kind of tough cookies there at that school.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I was waiting for you to wind up with a pun.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm sorry. Sorry.
Still to come on the program.
S. O'BRIEN: We've got the remnants of Alberto to tell you about. The first storm of the season, talking all about it yesterday, big mess in the southeast. We're going to check in with severe weather expert Chad Myers right after this short break.
M. O'BRIEN: Then is Iran spying on New York? Details on an aggressive surveillance program. S. O'BRIEN: And actress Daryl Hannah. There she is in the tree there. We're going to tell you why she's in trouble with the law and why she was plucked from that walnut tree just ahead.
Plus, Carrie Lee joins us with some business headlines.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad and Miles.
Declining gold prices, declining oil, not enough to stem another decline in stocks. Could we see a turnaround today? We'll have that coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back.
Happening this morning.
President Bush has arrived back in Washington, D.C., happened about 3:00 this morning, back from his surprise visit to Baghdad. He's going to brief congressional leaders on the trip later today.
More checkpoints are just one part of a massive security crackdown in Iraq today. Tens of thousands of security forces, most of them Iraqi, are fanning out across Baghdad as part of what's being called Operation Advancing Forward Together.
And Tropical Depression Alberto moving through South Carolina this morning, still dumping lots of rain as it goes.
Severe weather expert Chad Myers has more.
Hey, Chad, good morning.
MYERS: And good morning, Soledad.
The rain now continues from Columbia, really where the center, it's very close to it. It's a tropical depression now. Don't have winds above 40 miles per hour, so it is not a tropical storm any longer. It still holds on to the name, because it, although tropical depressions don't have names, it had a name at one point, so it holds onto the name even though it's now only a depression.
Heavy rain in Charlotte, right off into Greensboro, also into Durham. This entire area is going to be really just put down at least two to three inches of rain. And I'll show you the forecast for the amount of rain here. Going to be under some flood watches and flood advisories, all the way up even into southeastern Virginia.
Down to the south, a couple of showers in Florida, but pretty much you are done. There was some storm surge here across the Nature Coast, about six or eight feet in some spots just as predicted.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Back to you guys. S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad, thanks.
A new report out today and it details massive fraud in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, too. House committee is going to hear more today on the more than $1 billion paid out apparently in bogus assistant payments.
Some examples of fraud from the report. A single person filed 13 aid requests using 13 different Social Security numbers. Checks totaling $139,000 all went to one address. California hotels were paid $8,000 to house one man. FEMA also sent him several rental assistance payments directly. A prison inmate collected $20,000. He listed a post office box as his damaged property.
To illustrate the problem, an undercover agent applied for aid to an address that didn't exist. He got $2,000, even though a FEMA inspector knew that he didn't live there.
Then there are the emergency debit cards. Those $2,000 cards were used to make a variety of non-essential purchases, like Caribbean vacations, buy season tickets to New Orleans Saints games, "Girls Gone Wild" videotapes, expensive champagne. Someone got a divorce lawyer, too, apparently.
FEMA never able to determine if those emergency debit cards actually went to the hurricane victims only. And of course as the hearings go on, I'm sure there will be more gory details to talk about.
That's bad.
M. O'BRIEN: That's bad stuff.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: I mean it's sort of funny, but it's sad...
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. No, when you think of all the people...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: ... who need a lot of things,...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: ... yes, that's really sad.
M. O'BRIEN: A fight to save an urban garden in the heart of south Los Angeles left actress Daryl Hannah up a tree. A mermaid up a tree. How does that happen? How do you climb a tree if you're a mermaid? That's -- it's an old role, isn't it? I'm going way back.
Carol Costello now with more on this.
Good morning, -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: See, she turned into a woman because she loved and she climbed the tree.
M. O'BRIEN: And she climbed the tree.
COSTELLO: And she stayed up there for quite some time,...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: ... but she did get arrested. This got really nasty. But imagine sitting in a walnut tree for almost a month, eating nothing, drinking only water. Protesters for a sort of paradise lost did just that and more to save a 14-acre community farm. It's in one of L.A.'s poorest neighborhoods. And this morning, there are no more tree sitters because police took care of that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Angry protesters lined the streets as police moved in to evict farmers and their supporters from a community site in south-central Los Angeles, an urban garden in the midst of a concrete jungle.
RUFINA JUAREZ, SOUTH-CENTRAL FARMS: It is a place for families to supplement their meals. It is a place where families get their traditional medicine for their children. Where are the families going to go? What is going to happen?
COSTELLO: Some 350 people have been working the South-Central Farms, growing produce and flowers on 14 acres of privately-owned land. They've waged a bitter fight with the property owner, Ralph Horowitz, who wants to build a warehouse in its place.
TEZOZOMOC, SOUTH-CENTRAL FARMS: We are very distraught. The community is hurt that even though there were negotiations that money wasn't the issue, but the developer has the kind of spirit that would break the heart of the city of L.A.
COSTELLO: The fight to save the farm has drawn lots of celebrity support. Actress Daryl Hannah was shouting her support perched in a walnut tree when police came to execute the eviction order.
DARRYL HANNAH, ACTRESS/ACTIVIST: But we are completely surrounded by officers, sheriffs. I can see one of them pointing a tear gas gun at us right now. And there's guards going down below us.
COSTELLO: Inside the garden, people chained themselves to trees, picnic tables and concrete filled steel barrels hoping to save the farm. Dozens were arrested. Daryl Hannah among them.
Despite being forcibly removed, supporters vow to continue the fight and are directing some of their anger at the mayor of Los Angeles.
JUAREZ: He publicly came out and stated that he supported the South-Central Farms. He supported the farmers being here and explained it could benefit all the community. But yet, we get the police and we get the sheriff, so what kind of support is that? HANNAH: I'm hoping that Mr. Horowitz will still come to his senses and the city will step up to the plate and still save this farm.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: You know you talk about Mr. Horowitz, the guy who owns the land, he's really getting nothing. I mean these people have been farming this patch of land for 10 years and he's getting nothing. So he's going to build this warehouse.
You know I've been reading through the Los Angeles papers this morning, and some of them are very funny, saying you know these celebrities go out and they sit in a tree in support of these people. Why don't they open up their palatial estates and offer these people a patch of land on their own property to farm?
M. O'BRIEN: Or write a check to Mr. Horowitz and get the property. But you know, I was thinking this morning that L.A. needed another warehouse, though, so.
COSTELLO: Actually, it got quite nasty between...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: ... the property owner and the people who are farming his land. They started calling each other names. And it just like devolved from there. So it's become quite nasty. But I see where you're going with that.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, anyway.
COSTELLO: And by the way, tonight on "LARRY KING LIVE" at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN, you can see Daryl Hannah. And I'm sure she'll go into this story in more depth.
M. O'BRIEN: In detail. All right.
Thank you, -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Washington lawmakers are feeling quite generous doling out pay raises, not just for themselves, but minimum wage workers might also see a hike. We're going to tell you how much.
And if you're worried about identity theft, it's not your wallet that needs guarding, it's government Web sites, believe it or not. You might be shocked at just how vulnerable we all are.
Those stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: For the first time in a decade, the minimum wage could go up. A House panel voted Tuesday to raise the current $5.15 per hour minimum wage to $7.25. But the legislation faces many hurdles, including possible efforts by Republican leaders to block it.
Lawmakers, however, believe they are entitled to a pay increase. Congress accepted a 2 percent cost-of-living raise on Tuesday. That translates into an additional $3,300 a head. That increases their salaries to $168,500 a year, well above the minimum wage. The seventh straight pay increase for Congress. Manage to give themselves raises. I guess that's how it goes.
Now, we are now officially in a tailspin on Wall Street, wouldn't you say?
LEE: I would say that.
M. O'BRIEN: Carrie Lee, I think we're going to be...
LEE: I would have said that a few days ago.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's -- well it's official now.
LEE: Spending even more...
M. O'BRIEN: We're going to be greeters at Wal-Mart until we drop because...
LEE: Until the bitter end, as we said yesterday.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes.
LEE: Exactly.
Before we get to Wall Street, a quick announcement here from Honda. They are recalling 561,000 vehicles over faulty parts in engines. This involves the Odyssey and CRV years '94 through '97. The emissions switch could cause some problems with the engine. So that's the latest on Honda. OK.
Turning to Wall Street, the Dow down 86 points at the finish yesterday. Nasdaq down 1 percent. All three major market indices now in negative territory for the year.
We got a mixed read on wholesale prices yesterday. That caused some investor nervousness over inflation. Today, we'll get a consumer price report. So Wall Street waiting for that. Comes out an hour before the official trading day gets under way.
But, still, concerns about inflation, the weaker U.S. economy really spending -- sending worldwide markets lower, as well. We saw Europe finishing lower yesterday. Some parts of Latin America down nearly 9 percent, although Japan's Nikkei did rebound a little bit from a 4 percent loss on the prior day.
One bright spot is oil. Oil prices coming down to just above $68 a barrel. The thinking here that if the economy slows, then the demand for oil will subside a bit as well. So that's one bright spot among a lot of not so bright spots.
M. O'BRIEN: Well thank you for that silver lining. You had to work for that one.
LEE: Trying to end on a positive, right.
M. O'BRIEN: Nice of you to try, anyway.
LEE: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Carrie.
S. O'BRIEN: Trying hard. It's not really working though.
All right, Carrie, thank you.
A look at the morning's top stories is straight ahead, including this, President Bush back from his surprise visit to Iraq. He says he got a very positive impression of the new government, but is his visit going to have a long-term impact on the insurgency? We'll take a look at that.
Then "ABC News" anchor and correspondent Bob Woodruff returns to the newsroom. There he is hugging some of his colleagues. We'll tell you how he's doing just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
We're back in a moment.
(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
