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American Morning

Oil Pipeline Shutdown; Serial Shootings; Crisis in the Middle East

Aired August 07, 2006 - 09:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A major oil pipeline is shutting down right now. There are supply concerns that it's already pushing up oil prices. Gas prices could be next.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Floyd Landis fails another doping test. Is it an international conspiracy? We'll hear from the embattled Tour de France winner.

O'BRIEN: A claim of innocence in Phoenix. One of the men being held for the alleged serial killings says he wasn't even there.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Last Friday, it was 112 degrees in Bismarck. This morning, 59 degrees colder. Now that's a cold front.

O'BRIEN: Wow.

Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.

I'm Soledad O'Brien.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris, in for Miles O'Brien.

Good morning, everyone.

O'BRIEN: It's nice to have you, Tony. Thank you for helping us out.

HARRIS: Good to be here. Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Let's begin with the sudden drop in the nation's oil supply. The problem begins with a corroded and leaking oil pipeline in Alaska's Prudhoe Bay.

Let's get right to AMERICAN MORNING'S Alina Cho. She's in the newsroom with an update.

Hey, Alina.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Soledad. Good morning.

Inspectors for oil giant BP found those problems with one of their pipelines, and that discovery could have a profound environmental and economic impact.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHO (voice over): A big problem for American drivers may be looming on the horizon. Gas prices could start going up soon after the announcement today that BP is shutting down a major oilfield in Alaska.

Just how big? The Prudhoe facility pumps out 8 percent of the country's oil supply, or about 400,000 barrels a day.

DAREN BEAUDO, SPOKESMAN, BP: Four hundred thousand barrels is a significant amount of production from Alaska, and we regret the action that we've had to take. We apologize to the nation and to the state of Alaska for any adverse impacts; however, this decision was made due to discovery of unexpectedly severe corrosion in a small spill from a crude oil transit pipeline.

CHO: Already, oil prices are jumping, up more than $1.60 a barrel. And it could get worse, pushing prices closer to a record $78 a barrel.

There is also a profound impact to Alaska. State officials estimate the loss of production will cost the state about $4.6 million a day. BP is speeding up the inspections and working with government regulators to make sure there are no other problems with the lines, but right now there's no real timetable for getting the pipeline back on line.

STEVE MARSHALL, SPOKESMAN, BP: Only when we're absolutely satisfied that those lines are in good condition will we bring those lines back into service.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Now, if shutting down an oilfield seems like a drastic measure, it certainly is, but oil analysts say they wouldn't do it unless it was absolutely necessary.

The big question now is, when will that pipeline be back on line? And Soledad, for now that is still an open question.

O'BRIEN: Yes, or even how long it will take to shut that pipeline down, which is another open question.

Alina, thanks.

HARRIS: So, with those problems in mind, let's check the gas gauge. Currently, the average price for a gallon of regular is $3.04. Last month the average was $2.96, while last year that same gallon would have cost you $2.33.

Let's get more on the business impact of this pipeline shutdown from Andy Serwer. He is here with us.

Andy, good morning.

ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE":

Good morning, Tony.

Obviously, this is not good news with supply and demand so tight right now. Obviously problems in the Middle East, storm season coming in the Gulf, problems in Nigeria.

This is the type of disruption that we need like a hole in the head here in the United States. The relationship between oil prices and gasoline prices is clear. When oil goes up, so do gas prices.

However, there is a lag between those two usually. So it's not clear completely exactly how much gasoline prices would spike from this.

And just to put this in perspective, the 400,000 barrels a day that are going to be shut and lost from this compares with 1.4 million barrels a day last year during the hurricanes that wreaked through -- wracked through the Gulf. That's how much we lost there.

So, this is not as big at all as we saw last fall. Still, it's going to be a bit of a problem. And I think what it really means is that gas prices are not going to go down.

HARRIS: Yes, yes.

SERWER: We can assume that.

HARRIS: Hey, how about this ratio that I heard a while ago? See if this works for you. For every dollar increase that you get in the price of a barrel of crude, just tack on another 10 cents to the price at the pump.

Does that work for you?

SERWER: That's a pretty good back-of-the-envelope way of looking at things, Tony.

HARRIS: Yes.

SERWER: But there are a lot of other things involved. Obviously, things change state by state because the prices vary so much. And also, the percentage changes -- $1 at $30 a barrel is very different from $1 increase at $75 a barrel.

By the way, right now we're looking at oil right around $76 a barrel, up a buck-plus from before. You can see here this is changing. We got some very dramatic shifts in the prices of oil this morning.

HARRIS: Yes.

SERWER: So you can see we're sort of all over the place. And the real problem, bottom line here, is, as Alina mentioned, we really don't know the extent of the problem, how long it will take to shut down, how long it will take to fix. So until that uncertainty is out of the way, this is going to be a bit of a problem for the oil market.

HARRIS: To say the least.

OK, Andy. Appreciate it. Thank you.

SERWER: Thanks, Tony.

O'BRIEN: One of two Arizona men arrested in a string of serial shootings says police have the wrong guy.

Jeanne Herweth of CNN affiliate KPHO is in Phoenix for us this morning.

Hey, Jeanne.

JEANNE HERWETH, REPORTER, KPHO: Good morning, Soledad.

That's right, one of the alleged serial shooters here in Phoenix did a jailhouse interview over the weekend. He claims that he is not a monster and, in fact, that he is an innocent man.

Thirty-three-year-old Dale Hausner is the man that we are talking about, and he said to the "St. Paul Pioneer Press" in a jailhouse interview Sunday he claims he is not a killer, and that the other man arrested his roommate, his roommate -- that's 30-year-old Sam Dieteman, that he's the one. That he might have taken his car and guns to commit the...

O'BRIEN: It looks like we've just lost Jeanne there for a moment. We're going to try to get her back in just a moment. We're having a little difficulty with our audio.

Let's move on and get back to that update from Phoenix in just a moment -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK.

Now to the crisis in the Middle East. Tyre, in southern Lebanon, being bombarded by Israeli artillery right now in what may be a run-up to an offensive there. It's designed to stop Hezbollah rockets raining down on northern Israel.

CNN's Ben Wedeman joins us live now from Tyre.

And Ben, give us the sense of what is going on where you are right now.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Tony, right to the south of us we're hearing fairly steady artillery bombardment, and also air raids, as well. And this has really been going on all day long, and particularly the artillery fire does seem to be intense. And not only that, not only all of this to the south, but also to the north.

The only road linking Tyre with the rest of Lebanon, with Beirut, has been shut, has been closed following an overnight air raid that destroyed the road that is there. So now we have relief officials in Tyre saying that this could soon be a city under siege, that without supplies getting in or out or people getting out, they are now facing a severe crisis.

Doctors Without Borders, the international relief organization, has sent a convoy from Beirut, but because of the situation, because the roads are cut, they are now going to have a human chain bringing those supplies across the border. So, as I said, this could soon be a city under siege -- Tony.

HARRIS: OK. CNN's Ben Wedeman for us watching the situation in Tyre, Lebanon.

Ben, thank you.

A proposed Security Council cease-fire resolution probably won't be voted on today. Serious objections are now being raised by Lebanon. The delay is looking like another blow to the Bush administration's plan for ending the fighting.

CNN's chief national correspondent, John King, is live in Washington for us this morning.

John, good morning.

JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Tony.

Fresh objections raised today by the Lebanese government. The Israeli government says it also has some key questions, fundamental questions about this proposed U.N. Security Council resolution. And we should be clear this is just the first of what would likely be two resolutions designed not only to end the hostilities, but then to put a peacekeeping force in place. Because of all those questions, because of the continuing negotiations, we will hear from the president in a little under an hour from now in Crawford, Texas, where the president is on vacation.

He will make a public statement. Secretary of State Rice will make a public statement, essentially urging everyone to start this process along. The administration concedes this is not perfect, but as Secretary Rice put it yesterday, she says this is a first step, a critical step, and she says the Security Council needs to act as soon as possible to bring about a cessation of hostilities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: I would urge and I think we are all urging all states of the Security Council now to back this resolution as a first step toward not just an end to the crisis, but as a first step to moving to a more stable set of solutions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: We should be clear, though, this first resolution calls for a cessation of hostilities. That does not have the legal standing, if you will, of a formal cease-fire agreement.

The Lebanese government says it objects because it does not insist that Israel get all of its troops out of Lebanon the moment they sign on to a cessation of hostilities. Other Arab governments are protesting, as well.

And Tony, there are questions from Israel, too. It wonders that if it stops the fighting, will there be a strong enough international force in there to keep Hezbollah from rearming?

So, the negotiations continue. The resolution, it looks like a vote tomorrow. Maybe late today, but most likely tomorrow. And it is just a first step. It doesn't guarantee the shooting will stop.

HARRIS: It is never simple. It is never easy, never quick.

CNN Chief National Correspondent John King for us in Washington.

John, thank you.

KING: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: We were updating you just a moment ago on that serial shooting case in Arizona. Let's get back to Jeanne Herweth of our affiliate KPHO.

Hey, Jeanne. Hopefully our audio is going to work a little better this time.

Good morning again.

HERWETH: Hopefully. Good morning, Soledad.

Yes, one of the two serial shooter suspects jailed here in Phoenix did an interview over the weekend with a newspaper. He claims he is not a monster and, in fact, that he is an innocent man.

We're talking about 33-year-old Dale Hausner. Now, he told the "St. Paul Pioneer Press" that very thing in a jailhouse interview over the weekend. He says he is not a killer and that, in fact, that it's his roommate, Sam Dieteman, that is the one that police are looking for.

He thinks that Dieteman may have stolen his vehicle and his guns without him knowing it and committed all of these crimes. He says that his brother introduced him to Dieteman about six months ago, that he felt sorry for him. Some let him move in to his apartment. However, court documents indicate that both Hausner and Dieteman took turns driving and shooting in this crime spree over the last year.

We have also been learning a little bit more information...

O'BRIEN: All right. We have tried and failed, I think it's fair to say. That was Jeanne Herweth from our affiliate out there in Phoenix, and updating us on what has happened in this serial shooting case.

Obviously, as she was pointing out here, you have a suspect behind bars giving a jailhouse interview saying, it wasn't me, wrong guy. Obviously, investigators are going to look into that.

We're going to have more on the Middle East crisis ahead, as well. What can the U.S. do to stop the fighting? Former senator and Mideast envoy George Mitchell is going to join us live just ahead this morning.

HARRIS: Also, another doping test turns up positive for Floyd Landis, but he still says he never cheated.

He'll share his side of the story with us.

O'BRIEN: And were a thousand girl scouts exposed to rabies? We're going to tell you what happened at a summer camp in Virginia.

Those stories just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Embattled cyclist Floyd Landis is speaking out this morning, answering charges that he cheated his way to victory in the Tour de France. Over the weekend, a second doping test has come back and it's positive. It shows an unusually high level of testosterone.

CNN's Chris Lawrence spoke to Landis a little earlier this morning. Chris is in L.A. for us.

Hey, Chris. Good morning.

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey. Good morning, Soledad.

Well, when speaking with Floyd Landis, he told me that he feels that testing officials broke their own rules by making some of this public. He accused them of having some sort of agenda, and I had to ask him, "What possible reason would they have to try to further damage the sport?"

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLOYD LANDIS, CYCLIST: Well, this isn't the first time that this same French lab has tried to bring down an American athlete. They did the same thing with Lance Armstrong last year.

He proved that they had problems with their testing procedure. The testing is supposed to be completely objective, and they have a number on the sample and don't know the name. Otherwise, there could be a motivation to try to alter things.

Obviously, that's not the case. And Lance Armstrong proved that last year. And we have evidence that that's the same again this time.

Clearly, the statement made by the UCI when they announced this indicated that. Pat McQuaid, the president of the UCI, in his own statement releasing this said he wanted to make this public before the lab did so. He knew that that would happen. So I -- there's a problem there for sure. LAWRENCE: But when you look at that, and with what has gone on here, I guess my question would be, if you accept the fact that a synthetic substance was found in your body, do you think it's more likely that a sample was switched, that there's a problem with the test, or that someone from your team put it into your system, maybe inadvertently?

LANDIS: I would have a hard time accusing someone of my team doing that. I trust them. I'm certain that that is not the case.

As to what may have happened, I can't say which is more likely, but I do think that the circumstantial evidence points to, like I said, some kind of agenda. Otherwise, if the agenda here was just to catch the people who cheat, there would be no point in making bold public statements and breaking the rules at the same time. You would just follow the procedure and let the system take care of it.

LAWRENCE: Can you understand that for people at home, you know, nothing occurs in a vacuum. And we've all heard these stories about baseball and track and cycling. When you say, well, maybe they had an agenda to get me, that people say hard time buying that...

LANDIS: I think that had I just made this up out of the blue that would be hard to believe. But considering their past and their history and the things that they have done before, and the fact that the UCI admits there's a problem with their procedure there and hasn't done anything to fix it, if I just made this up and had no evidence of that fact, yes, I think it would be unbelievable. But this is a different story here.

LAWRENCE: One last question. There is a possibility, a very real possibility that you could become the first person to lose -- you know, after winning the Tour de France, lose that yellow jersey because of using illegal substances. How do you feel about that right now?

LANDIS: I'll tell you what, I'm going to take that yellow jersey that I wore on the last day and I'm going to hang it on my wall, because I'm proud of what I did. I won that race with determination and heart, and I think anybody that watched that race will agree with me in that everything I did was according to the rules, exactly the way the rest of the race went, and I'm proud of the achievement that I have made.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: The Tour de France no longer considers Floyd Landis its champion, but the decision to strip him of its title ultimately will rest with the International Cycling Union -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right. Chris Lawrence, thanks -- Tony.

HARRIS: Here's a question. Do the tests always get it right?

O'BRIEN: You asked Sanjay.

HARRIS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: It sounds like a lot of the time it sure does.

HARRIS: All right. Let's get another view of this.

Joining us now, Dr. Gary Wadler from the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Gary, good to talk to you.

DR. GARY WADLER, WORLD ANTI-DOPING AGENCY: Good morning.

HARRIS: Give us your -- the benefit of your knowledge in this area. What's your -- what's your reaction, generally speaking, to the A test coming back positive and now the second, the B sample, coming back positive as well?

WADLER: Well, that's a very tall hurdle to overcome. You have two different approaches looking at the same question.

One looked at how the individual metabolizes testosterone and what the normal relationship to one substance in the body is to another, which basically is fixed throughout life. The other approach was not to look at the individual, but to look at the testosterone molecule. And the testosterone molecule was found to be a pharmaceutical grade. That is, it was not produced naturally in the body. So the question is how it got there, not the question of whether it was there.

HARRIS: Oh, I see.

WADLER: So you have two independent approaches, all -- both pointing to the same direction. That is, you know, there was the presence of a foreign substance in his body which is the definition of doping.

HARRIS: OK. Floyd Landis...

WADLER: A prohibited substance.

HARRIS: Sure. Floyd Landis doesn't trust the lab that did the testing. What is your view of the lab?

WADLER: Well, I think the lab issue is not an issue. Even if he wanted to make it an issue, again, you have two totally independent approaches looking at the same question. And with respect to the TE ratio, you had the test repeated. A so-called B specimen to confirmed the A specimen. So you're really looking at three investigations done by the laboratory, all coming to the same conclusion.

HARRIS: I'm trying to walk this down a line from the Landis -- well, their point of view, that camp's point of view. Has there ever been a case where high ratios of testosterone to epitestosterone has -- has it ever been found in athletes who were later proven to be unmedicated when they were tested? WADLER: Yes, there have been -- there are, in fact, individuals who have a normal elevated TE ratio, but they have that throughout their lifetime. So if they are 10 to one or 11 to one, every time you test them they are in the range, be it nine to one, 12 to one, 11 to one. You don't bounce from one to one or two to one to 11 to one.

So we are able to, looking backward and looking forwards, discern those individuals who have normally an elevated TE ratio, but they would never have a normal one. They would always be consistently high, which was not the case in the Landis case.

HARRIS: Why -- why cheat?

WADLER: Well, there's many reasons one cheats, but one shouldn't conclude that he cheated. I mean, it is possible and there certainly our cases where people are sabotaged. But that is a burden that he will have to carry and prove, that in fact he would have to demonstrate how a prohibited substance wound up in his body. And then there will be a discussion of whether he had any fault or any significant fault or negligence in that occurring.

That will not impact on his keeping the medal, because keeping the medal is not possible if somebody has a positive anti-doping rule violation, because that means his competitors were competing at a disadvantage and that that person was enhanced. The issue at hand will then be, well, how long will the suspension be? And that will be dealt with in terms of any mitigating factors that may have resulted in him having that substance in his body.

HARRIS: Dr. Gary Wadler from the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Doctor, thank you. Appreciate it.

WADLER: My pleasure.

O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, what's it going to take to stop the fighting in the Middle East? Former senator and Mideast envoy George Mitchell joins us live to offer his take on the crisis.

Plus, the surprising news about the recovery of Cuban leader Fidel Castro. We'll tell you what is happening there.

That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Happening "In America" this morning, former senator and astronaut John Glenn and his wife are back at home after a car accident late Friday night. The Glenns left an Ohio hospital yesterday without any major injuries.

Talking about the accident, Glenn joked, "I do not recommend you go about testing your air bags the way we did." The hot, dry summer weather fueling a massive wildfire in Montana. The Red Eagle fire has already charred about 27,000 acres. Part of that in Glacier National Park. More than 600 firefighters are on the scene battling those flames. So far the fire is about 60 percent contained, we're told.

Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman fighting for his political life. He's only got one more day to do it. Lieberman faces Ned Lamont in a tough Democratic primary tomorrow, and Lamont has the lead. Some liberal Democrats are angry at Senator Lieberman, a three- term senator, for voting for the war in Iraq.

Surgeons in Salt Lake City getting ready this morning to separate 4-year-old conjoined twins Kendra (ph) and Malia Harron (ph). The girls are joined mid torso and share a pair of legs, a liver, a kidney, and part of an intestine.

Doctors say this is the first known separation surgery attempted on twins who share a kidney. The surgery could take anywhere from 14 to 30 hours.

Cleanup is under way in El Paso, Texas, after more than a week of heavy rains. More than 15 inches has fallen just since July 27.

Now, since then, floodwaters carrying mud and rocks swept through parts of the city, destroyed hundreds of homes. Damage estimates are somewhere around $100 million.

Look at those pictures.

Let's get right to Chad and the forecast.

Chad, good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HARRIS: All right, Chad. Thank you.

MYERS: You're welcome.

HARRIS: Have you heard about this story? A big health scare at a campsite for Girl Scouts. Almost a thousand girls may have been exposed to rabies. How did it happen?

That story is coming up.

Plus, a new round of car crash safety tests to tell you about. Which cars get top marks?

That is still ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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