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American Morning

New Bin Laden Tape; Gaza Crisis; Flooding Damage; Disney Ride Death

Aired June 30, 2006 - 07:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: There is a new message, it was posted overnight on an Islamic Web site. It likely holds the very first comments from Osama bin Laden since the death of his so-called knight in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
CNN Senior Editor for Arab Affairs Octavia Nasr is live for us at the CNN Center in Atlanta.

Hey, Octavia. Good morning.

OCTAVIA NASR, SR. EDITOR ARAB AFFAIRS: This is a eulogy of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. A eulogy with poetry and high words for the man, as you said, that was called the knight, the prince, the leader by Osama bin Laden.

What this really tells us is that, first of all, Osama bin Laden is still alive and able to send out messages in a rather quick fashion. It also, to some experts, it indicates that Zawahiri and bin Laden are in separate locations. Also it indicates to some experts that perhaps bin Laden is traveling around, or hiding around, with less people than Zawahiri.

If you remember last week, the tape from Zawahiri had translation in Arabic, English, Pashto and Farsi. This one, this tape, has no translation that came with it and also no subtitles. So the technical quality and the production values, if you will, of this tape is a little less than what we've seen of Zawahiri. So some indications that perhaps the two men are not together and that bin Laden is traveling alone. Let's take a listen to a portion of this tape, if you will.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OSAMA BIN LADEN, (through translator): Our dear Muslim nation, we were deeply saddened by the passing of our loved ones Abu Musab and his companions. While we were very happy that their souls have flooded these great battles as they were defending the Islamic law. Because we hit through one of our greatest knights and one of our best leader, but we were very happy to find in him a symbol and a role model for our future generations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NASR: And, Soledad, one interesting point about this tape. Although al Qaeda in Iraq did announce the name of its new leader, there was no mention from bin Laden anything about this new leader, about any support of the main al Qaeda to this new leader. So experts are saying this is a very interesting development. This is a chance for bin Laden to basically not just say that the fight goes on, but also to say who's going to lead this fight in Iraq. So that's one element that was not answered and some people are saying, maybe there is no leader of al Qaeda in Iraq at this point.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: That's an interesting point. Octavia Nasr for us this morning. Octavia, thanks.

Miles.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Israel continuing pressure on Palestinian militants holding an Israel soldier hostage. It's been hitting northern Gaza with air strikes and artillery shells, but it has halted any troop advances into Palestinian territory, trying to give negotiators a chance to resolve this crisis. CNN's Paula Newton live now from Jerusalem with more.

Paula.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, more proof this morning that, in fact, there are some kind of diplomatic negotiations going on from the Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, who said this morning that, in fact, he is trying to bring an end to this crisis, but he is encouraging Israel to show restraint and stop what he calls an aggressive military action. He confirmed that they are trying to work with Egypt as a mediator in all this to try and secure the release of the captured soldier.

What is crucial here at this point, Miles, is that Hamas finds some way to prove to that Israelis that this soldier is, indeed, alive.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Paula Newton in Jerusalem, thank you very much.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Lots of folks in the northeast are going to be cleaning up from floods this weekend, the Fourth of July weekend, of course. Thousands of people who live along the Delaware River still are not allowed back in their homes. CNN's Jason Carroll joins us from New Hope, Pennsylvania.

Jason, good morning.

Are they going back in there or not?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not just yet. But things are looking up. And I can tell you the reason why.

Yesterday the water level in terms of floodwaters were all the way up to where I'm standing. But now you can see how much the water has receded. It has receded all the way -- I would say 40 meters or so back. And even this morning, if you look down main street there, you can see a dry patch. This morning that dry patch was covered with water. At this point, you can see that water is gone, at least from that one section.

So the water continues to recede here in New Hope. Things looking much better today than yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL, (voice over): Homes along the Delaware River partially submerged. Businesses, too. In New Hope, Pennsylvania, its charming shops, bed and breakfasts' under water.

STEVE EBERSOL, BUSINESS OWNER: This is about a 50 store parking lot and the fence over there is the border up to the river and then there's a big bank that drops down what to usually is a very low- running river.

CARROLL: Steve Ebersol owns this parking lot, this building and the bed and breakfast across the street.

STEVE EBERSOL: That water is trying to get into my basement, even though it's got walls. It's basically just spitting right through the concrete block and coming in.

CARROLL: The Delaware River crested Thursday evening six feet above flood stage. And while its waters are supposed to steadily recede, there's still a lot of debris in the water which is threatening the New Hope Bridge. It remains closed until further notice.

Emergency officials say most people here evacuated. The area has flooded many times before.

CHIEF HENRY PASQUALINI, NEW HOPE POLICE DEPARTMENT: We have become proficient with floods. This is our third flooded in two years. And we will get the burro (ph) back and running, the business community back and running as soon as possible.

CARROLL: Further north, the Susquehanna River in the town of Wilkes-Barre receded pretty quickly, a relief to people living here and to the Army Crop of Engineers monitoring the levee.

Are you surprised at all by the fact that the water has receded in this area so quickly?

JIM MOORE, U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: Yes, I am. This crest, even as late as yesterday, was predicted to stand for at least a day. We've already lost five or six feet.

CARROLL: Emergency officials lifted the evacuation order in Wilkes-Barre, but statewide, 34 counties were declared federal disaster areas.

GOV. ED RENDELL, PENNSYLVANIA: It's too soon to put a dollar figure on it. But in terms of loss of life, it looks like at least five live, maybe six. In terms of loss of homes and properties and businesses and possessions and things that are dear to people, it's impossible to calculate.

CARROLL: Back in New Hope, disappointment among the Ebersols and other business owners at the loss before the Fourth of July holiday.

CHRISTINE EBERSOL, BUSINESS OWNER: So I think it's really going to hurt the town. This is a shame because it's a great place.

CARROLL: A place still waiting for relief.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And relief has come. And if you take a look behind me, you can see that parking lot that we referred to in the story that you saw there. You can see what it looks like this morning. It looks a lot better today than it did yesterday.

But this is what a lot of folks are going to have to deal with as the water continues to recede. If you take a look down here, Soledad, it's going to be mud. Not so bad right here where I'm standing. But the water wasn't actually that high here. You can imagine how much mud is going to be left behind in the areas where there was a lot more water. Officials say that those who were evacuated should be back by this weekend.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, just a big mess and a ton of work on a holiday weekend is really what it comes down to in a nutshell.

Jason Carroll for us this morning. Jason, thanks.

Let's get right to Chad Myers. He's at the CNN Center with the latest for us.

Hey, Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Another view on viewgate from a fallen star. So what did she know and why did she dish it? The former "View" co-host, Star Jones Reynolds, in an exclusive interview last night on "Larry King Live." Her first tele confession since she quit on Tuesday on the air. She says she was pushed but she's staying on the high road.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STAR JONES REYNOLDS, FORMER CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": I was told April 21st that my contract wasn't going to be renewed. So for two months I've been going to "The View" every single day, doing my job 100 percent professionally. And through it all, every single week, there would be news reports, speculation, rumor, gossip, innuendo, and it was relentless. On Monday, I woke up and there was another story and the countdown to Star leaving "The View" with the date definite. Now, no one knew that information but executives and me. And then Tuesday . . .

LARRY KING, CNN ANCHOR: Are you saying somebody leaked it?

REYNOLDS: Absolutely. There's no question that that was done. And then Tuesday morning I woke up and there was more of it. And I realized it was turning into a circus atmosphere. And the viewers deserved, after nine years, me to not go out in a circus atmosphere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: And remember one thing, Star is a lawyer.

S. O'BRIEN: That has lawsuit -- the way she's talking about this, if you listen to her interviews.

M. O'BRIEN: It's almost like a deposition. "Larry King Live" . . .

S. O'BRIEN: She's got the dates going and who did what to whom.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, you got it.

S. O'BRIEN: That has lawsuit all over it.

M. O'BRIEN: We rest our case.

S. O'BRIEN: But I'm not a lawyer.

M. O'BRIEN: "Larry King," 9:00 Eastern every night. You don't want to miss it.

S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, the Supreme Court rules that the Guantanamo Bay tribunals are illegal. So what happens to the detainees now? We'll take a look.

M. O'BRIEN: Then Wall Street has the best day in years yesterday. What triggered the rally? We'll tell you.

And a counting down to the shuttle liftoff. It's a tense one. It's the first time a space shuttle will fly with an unfixed problem that is considered probable and catastrophic. We'll explain why they're doing that. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Here is what is happening this morning.

In Miami, some of those suspected terror wannabes will be in court. We expect to hear some more details about their alleged plot to blow up the Sears Tower in Chicago and FBI offices across the country. Six of the seven accused terrorists slated for a bond hearing. One had one yesterday.

The president and the prime minister of Japan paying homage to the king. President Bush, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, heading to Graceland today. Their tour guides will be Elvis' widow, Priscilla, and his daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. Koizumi, a huge Elvis fan.

Congress going fishing. Lawmakers begin a two-week recess today. Congress reconvenes on July 10th.

Space shuttle countdown now. We're about 32 « hours away from the launch of the space shuttle Discovery, weather permitting. Sixty percent chance rain clouds will get in the way of those plans. Seven astronauts board Discovery. They will wind their way to the International Space Station for an important mission to provide supplies and drop off a third crew member to be up there for a six- month stint. I'll be down there, of course.

Live coverage all throughout the date with a special at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time. And I am honored to be joined by Eileen Collins, the first female shuttle commander and a woman who commanded the last mission of Discovery. So we are in good hands. And you'll be in good hands if you stay with us tomorrow.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: What do you think the chances are for the weather for that?

M. O'BRIEN: I think, you know, I have actually been at launches where they said 90 percent chance weather will be no go and it's flown.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, so it's completely . . .

M. O'BRIEN: They find a patch of blue. You never know. It's the weather.

S. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE) up in the air.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, absolutely, up in the air.

S. O'BRIEN: All right. OK, thanks.

A sad story to tell you about this morning. An autopsy planned today for a 12-year-old boy from Kentucky. He died after riding the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at the Disney World Theme Park. The ride is closed for now. Inspections yesterday, though, showed that it was operating normally. Let's get right to CNN's Susan Candiotti.

Susan, good morning.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

For one military family from Kentucky vacationing at Walt Disney World, one ride at one park unexpectedly turned tragic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI, (voice over): It has zip and then some. From zero to 60 in less than three seconds, Disney says the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster propels passengers around hoops and corkscrews in the dark to the sounds of Aerosmith. When the one-minute ride was over, vacationer Michael Russell had passed out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The father was in the back seat and hits son, Michael, was in the front with his mom. He noticed that his son went limp. So he pulled him off the ride as they were exiting and immediately he began CPR. So evidently he realized there was a problem early on.

CANDIOTTI: A call went out to 911.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little boy passed out on the train. He's over here (INAUDIBLE).

DISPATCHER: Is he still unconscious and is he breathing?

CALLER: He's still unconscious right now.

DISPATCHER: OK. Is he breathing?

CALLER: Someone's doing CPR on him right now.

CANDIOTTI: The 12-year-old was rushed to a hospital and pronounced dead. He was on the ride with his parents and seven-year- old brother. His father, a Green Beret, is stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As far as the father was telling us, what we know right now, that the child did not have any pre-existing medical conditions.

CANDIOTTI: Signs warn riders about Disney's high-speed rides. Park officials maintain the roller coaster was operating normally at the time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now our deepest sympathies are with the family and we are doing everything we can to assist them.

CANDIOTTI: The young man's death is the third on a Disney ride since last June. Two other tourists died on Epcot Center's Mission: Space, one as recently as April. Autopsies found those two victims had pre-existing medical conditions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: The 911 tape also says that a portable defibrillator, usually found around the parks, was not available until after paramedic arrived, three minutes after they were called. The ride is shut down for now pending the completion of an inspection.

Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: So when do we expect to get the autopsy results?

CANDIOTTI: Well, an autopsy is expected to begin this morning on the young man and a preliminary finding is expected sometime later today -- especially in a high-profile case like this. S. O'BRIEN: Susan Candiotti for us. What a sad story. What an absolute tragedy for a family. Gosh, you really -- you cannot even imagine.

Thanks, Susan. Appreciate the update.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Hard to imagine. Don't even want to imagine.

Just ahead, a new audiotape believed to be from Osama bin Laden. We'll take a look at the timing of the message and why it is surfacing now.

And later, we're going to show you a greenhouse that is no ordinary greenhouse. The owner's green thumbs are now in handcuffs, so to speak. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Okay, the music's a little cheesy, but this is a very emotional passing of the torch, so to speak because really he's . . .

ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She's going to start crying.

S. O'BRIEN: I actually got a little teary, yes. He passes the hat and the poncho and the bag of coffee beans. And that's Conchita, the mule, right behind him. That is the old Juan Valdez, a guy named Carlos Sanchez. I think he's 71-years-old. Handing it over. He's done.

M. O'BRIEN: Hang on. What about Conchita? Doesn't Conchita get a break?

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, blah, blah, blah.

SERWER: That might not be the original Conchita.

M. O'BRIEN: Do you think?

SERWER: I just got some new for you, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: (INAUDIBLE). They've gone through a few mules.

S. O'BRIEN: He is leaving -- will you guys stop? This is a nice story.

SERWER: OK, let Soledad talk here.

S. O'BRIEN: He's leaving after, I think, what is it, 37 years?

SERWER: It's a long time.

S. O'BRIEN: It's a long time.

SERWER: Decades.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Hands it over to the younger guy is Carlos Castaneda. For two years it literally was like the "American Idol" of Colombia. They were looking for . . .

SERWER: Carlos Castaneda?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. He's the new guy.

SERWER: Wow (INAUDIBLE). Do you know any of the writers?

S. O'BRIEN: He's going leave his family. He's got three kids. He's married. And now tour around the world representing Colombian Coffee to the world. It took two years to find him. And he's an actual coffee grower. They only looked for the real deal. And they had to embody this -- you know, the symbols that Juan Valdez, the fake guy -- stop laughing.

SERWER: Yes, had to have a mustache. I remember that. He had to have a mustache.

S. O'BRIEN: Cue the music again. I love that story. I've been reading up on it.

M. O'BRIEN: It's a great -- it was a beautiful transition and really at CBS News they should have done the same thing. They could have learned a few things about that.

SERWER: How about at "The View"?

M. O'BRIEN: At "The View." "The View" they could have done better.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, can you imagine.

M. O'BRIEN: Most anybody -- there we go.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you.

SERWER: There's the music.

S. O'BRIEN: Imagine if Barbara had sent Star off into the sunset with the music going?

SERWER: I like it as we . . .

S. O'BRIEN: It would have been a lot more love than they're getting right now, I'll tell you that. I like it.

SERWER: Just keep play that as we go into business news, too.

S. O'BRIEN: It's beautiful music.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, we'll keep it going. SERWER: It's time. It's time for some business news.

S. O'BRIEN: That's Spanish. Go ahead.

SERWER: Yes. I'm going to do it in English, if you don't mind.

A huge day on Wall Street. Stocks soared. The economy growing at 5.6 percent, which is a nice pace. The Fed raising interest rates but signaling perhaps that the rate hikes may be at an end. The Dow up 217 points. The Nasdaq up nearly 3 percent. Looky here. That's great stuff.

Other news to tell you about. Another company has fallen into the stock option stew. And this time it's a very high profile name. Apple Computer voluntarily coming forth and saying that it may have mishandled some stock options, including those that went to Steve Jobs, that company's high profile CEO. These are options from 1997 to 2001.

They have hired an outside lawyer to investigate. No word whether the Securities and Exchange Commission is getting into the mix. Fifty-seven companies have been caught up in stock option (INAUDIBLE).

M. O'BRIEN: And you've mentioned each and every one of them, I think.

SERWER: We're keeping track here at CNN forever.

M. O'BRIEN: We are.

SERWER: OK. Let's talk about Ford here. You know, it was just a couple days ago that we mentioned that Ford and GM and Chrysler pledged to double the amount of flex fuel cars they produced over the next several years. Those are cars that run on blends of ethanol and other types of fuels. Earlier Ford and other car companies said they were going to step up dramatically the number of hybrids they were going to make. Apparently you can't do both. It's a tall order to make hybrids and flex fuel vehicles. Now Ford says it can't be . . .

M. O'BRIEN: And let's tell people, hybrid is an electric plus gas combination.

SERWER: Right. That's correct.

M. O'BRIEN: It is not necessarily fueled by ethanol or other alternative fuels.

SERWER: That's correct.

M. O'BRIEN: And alternative fuels are like the hot thing of the moment.

SERWER: That's right, bio-willie (ph) and all that stuff that Willie Nelson makes.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, right.

SERWER: Anyway, Ford says it's not going to be able to reach its target of 245,000 hybrids by 2010. Maybe that's because now they're concentrating on the flex fuel cars. And you can see these automakers scrambling and looking for the right mix of vehicles.

S. O'BRIEN: You don't want to make the wrong mix of the . . .

SERWER: No.

S. O'BRIEN: Because you'll be out a lot of dough.

SERWER: Toyota seems to have the right mix, don't they?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, they sure do.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, they do, but it doesn't address greenhouse gases and that's why this move toward the, you know, ethanols of the world may have some, you know, goodness.

SERWER: We'll sort it out.

S. O'BRIEN: Far more important than all of that is what's going on at "The View."

SERWER: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it's Star-wars.

SERWER: But, please, Soledad, tell us.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, the gas crisis, blah, blah, blah, but -- we're talking a little bit this morning about the Star-wars. Star Jones has to tell her side of the story this morning. Why she left "The View." Why she was the one who was wronged. We'll talk about that.

M. O'BRIEN: Also, floodwaters receding in the northeast finally, but the problems are not. There's still towns submerged and we'll tell you what lies ahead as people return to their homes. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning.

A pause in the violence in Gaza. Israel's prime minister has ordered a stop to the ground defensive. It's an effort to give negotiations a chance. Israel demanding the return of a soldier kidnapped by Palestinian militants.

The House votes to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling, and that means you could see those oil platforms off the coast of your favorite beaches perhaps. But the measure may have a harder time getting out of the Senate.

And how much would you pay to have lunch with Warren Buffett? Somebody just ponied up $620,000 for the ultimate power lunch. Nearly twice what the charity lunch went for last year. Wow. Hope it's a good meal.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, that's great money for charity, too, that they're raising with this.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. I think the meal's kind of a side show.

But anyway, good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.

S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.

A new message now believed to be from Osama bin Laden to talk about. This would be the first time that we have heard from the al Qaeda leader since the death of his top lieutenant in Iraq. Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

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