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American Morning

Crisis In The Middle East; Iraq Violence; Wind vs. Water; Ford Hospitalized; Iraq Whistleblower

Aired August 16, 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 ANCHOR: Completes its pullout. Let's go live to Anthony Mills for more on that.
When will that meeting occur, Anthony?

ANTHONY MILLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was scheduled, Miles, to occur, we understand, at 1:00 p.m. So they could conceivably be meeting as we speak. It is the foreign ministers of France, Turkey, Malaysia and Pakistan. Now we understand that the meetings will be separate. So I should mention that the meetings that are underway, if they are underway, would have been those with the French foreign minister and the Turkish foreign minister, with the other two scheduled to meet the Lebanese prime minister, Fouad Sinora, later in the day.

They will be talking primarily about the composition of these international United Nations forces. It's a sensitive topic, Miles, because in the past, when there's been a multinational force here, in the '80s for example, it was perceived after a short while to be part of the problem. And actually, in the case of the United States and France, withdrew troops after barracks of those two nations here were bombed, causing dozens and dozens of deaths. And that too, of course, the work of Shia Islamic militants, Hezbollah, the Shia Islamic group. So the last thing a country like France, for example, wants is to come into south Lebanon and then find that it is perceived to be defending the interest of Israel and America on Lebanese soil and to be targeted by Hezbollah militants in the south of the country.

Miles.

O'BRIEN: Anthony Mills in Beirut. Thank you very much.

Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: In Iraq today, more bloodshed. A car bombing in central Baghdad right in the middle of a crowd of day laborers looking for work. At least nine people killed. Dozens more wounded. CNN's Harris Whitbeck is in Baghdad to tell us more.

Hello, Harris.

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Carol.

The bombing today is nothing new in here. It's common for bombing attacks to occur in crowded places. This one, a marketplace in the capital where, as you say, day laborers usually congregate to look for a day's work. The figures, which might rise again, are now set at nine people killed and 24 wounded.

And the overall figures that indicate just how bad the violence is in the capital, now indicate that some 110 people a day are dying in Baghdad alone. The health ministry said that the Baghdad morgue receives over 1,800 bodies a month, which is up about 19 percent from the previous month.

This as the U.S. military forces are now out on the streets accompanying Iraqi forces as they go neighborhood to neighborhood trying to secure those neighborhoods, checking people's identity papers, looking for hidden weapons and such and trying to give the Iraqi citizenry a sense of confidence in their capital and in their security forces.

Carol.

COSTELLO: So 110 a day in Baghdad alone. There's violence in other parts of Iraq, though. In Basra and Mosul, violence too today?

WHITBECK: That's right. And usually many of the civilian deaths, in particular, that occur outside of the capital or in the provinces, in the countryside, sometimes don't even go reported. So these figures are quite disturbing when you look at how there has been an obvious increase in deaths just in the figures that are reported.

COSTELLO: Harris Whitbeck reporting live from Baghdad this morning. Thanks.

O'BRIEN: A major verdict that could affect hundreds of families along the Gulf Coast. At issue, was it wind or water that damaged their home during Katrina? The answer is key as in the case of wind, homeowner's insurance generally does pay. In the case of water, it does not. That requires additional flood insurance. CNN's Sean Callebs is in Pascagoula, Mississippi, with more on a ruling that's going to affects really thousands of people.

Sean.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It really is. And perhaps no issue really strikes such a passionate cord in this area as the wind versus water. We're in Pascagoula. You can see part of the Gulf of Mexico over my left shoulder.

We're standing in front of a slab of a house. What happened, the storm surge came in and simply devastated the home. And like thousands of people along the coast, this homeowner, we know, has been going up against his insurance company with that battle.

So who won? Well, it depends on who you ask in this first court case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CALLEBS, (voice over): Katrina did this to Paul and Julie Leonard's Pascagoula, Mississippi, home. When Nationwide Insurance said the damage was from flooding, the storm surge and that the Leonards weren't covered, the fight was on.

PAUL LEONARD, PLAINTIFF IN INSURANCE CASE: We felt like we had been slighted and didn't have any other recourse. So we went to court.

CALLEBS: The Leonards hired high-powered attorney Dickie Scruggs. Now a federal judge in Mississippi has issued the first ruling in the battle of wind versus water.

So who won?

DICKIE SCRUGGS, ATTORNEY FOR PAUL/JULIE LEONARD: The first family to go to federal court won. Not as much money as we had hoped to achieve for them.

CALLEBS: In fact, the Leonards won about $1,200. Not the $130,000 plus legal fees they were seeking. And the judge ruled, insurance policies don't cover flood damage from a hurricane-fueled storm surge. So the insurance industry, facing hundreds of similar lawsuits, says it won.

Nationwide said in statement, "we are very pleased that the court ruled in our favor and upheld the long-standing flood exclusion language.

Scruggs is conceding nothing and says there is an important point in the ruling.

SCRUGGS: The insurance companies had been saying that if there's any water, then there's no coverage, no matter how much wind damage.

CALLEBS: The ruling allows the Leonards to be compensated for damage they can prove was caused by high winds. Here's why Scruggs says that's important. Homes along the Gulf Coast were damaged by Katrina's winds long before the tidal surge roared in. Scruggs says this will enable him to glean more wind damage money from big insurance.

Nationwide disagrees. In its statement says, "the court found that it would be inappropriate to re-write our contract after-the- fact."

But Scruggs says, make no mistake about it, the issue of wind versus water is a long way from being resolved.

SCRUGGS: Nobody's going to go away. We're going to fight this until the last breath anybody has.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CALLEBS: Now taking on big insurance companies is very costly. And why can Scruggs take on this case? Well, he's loaded. He actually took on big tobacco in the '90s and won multibillion dollar settlements here in Mississippi. And in the spirit of full disclosure, Miles, the reason we know that the homeowner here is going up against his insurance company is perhaps Dickie Scruggs most famous client, Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi.

O'BRIEN: All right. Yes. Lest we forget, he, of course, lost his house in Katrina and is all a part of this. It's interesting to see how it affects the high and the mighty, as well as a lot of folks who are of lesser means. Thank you very much, Sean.

Next hour we're going to hear more from attorney Dickie Scruggs. He will join us live and Carol will talk to him.

Carol.

COSTELLO: Should be interesting. He's always interesting, isn't he?

O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes.

COSTELLO: Very animated.

President Gerald Ford is waking up in the hospital this morning. He's 93 years old and he was admitted to the Mayo Clinic yesterday for what his office calls testing and evaluation. CNN's Brianna Keilar joins us live from Rochester, Minnesota, hopefully to tell us more about his condition.

Good morning.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Yes, that's what we're hearing from Mayo Clinic officials and from the former president's aides, that he's here at the Mayo Clinic for testing and evaluation, though they are being tight lipped about exactly what those tests are for.

We do know that the oldest living former president has been in the hospital several times in recent years. In 2000 he was hospitalized after having a stroke during the Republican National Convention. He was back in the hospital in 2003 after suffering a dizzy spell while playing golf in 96-degree weather.

And then this past December he was in the hospital again, although an aide said it was for tests that had been scheduled well in advance. A short while later, in January, he was in the hospital again for pneumonia and he was in the hospital for 12 days at this point. And then, most recently, in July, suffering from shortness of breath. He was back in the hospital again.

Although as far as we know this time, here at the Mayo Clinic, is the first time, Carol, that former President Gerald Ford has been admitted to a hospital in recent years at a facility outside of his home communities of Vail, Colorado, as well as Rancho Mirage, California.

COSTELLO: Brianna Keilar reporting live from Minnesota this morning. Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Happening in America. Virginia. A teenager with cancer is trying to fend off a court order to resume chemotherapy. Taking his battle to court today. You probably remember the story. We told you about it last month. Sixteen-year-old Abraham Cherrix has tried chemotherapy. He says it makes him ill so he stopped. He began herbal treatments. Juvenile court stepped in trying to require the teen to continue the chemo.

In Tennessee, the woman accused of killing her minister husband back in March is free today. Mary Winkler was released on $750,000 bond. The 32-year-old plans to live with a friend and work at a dry cleaner until her trial begins slated now for October.

Up to 10,000 fans expected to visit Graceland today to remember Elvis Presley. The king died 29 years ago today. Of course some would suggest he's still alive, but that's another story. Thousands were already there last night for a candle light vigil, of course. The White House sent a letter which was read to those in attendance.

In Salem, Oregon, police looking for the person responsible for leaving a string of pipe bombs under vehicles last week. Salem Police are offering $5,000 for tips that would lead to an arrest or a conviction. So far no one has been hurt by any of these bombs.

If there was a nuclear blast near your hometown, what would you do? I bet you hadn't thought much about this. Well, emergency workers in Hawaii would like to make sure they're prepared. Who would pick on poor Hawaii? So they held a drill and acted as if there was a nuclear explosion in Honolulu Harbor. Up to 1,000 people from 14 federal, state and city agencies took part in all that.

In Wyoming, a state of emergency has been declared because of the wind-whipped Casper Mountain fire. The fire's taken a turn down the face of the mountain and has spread to about 7,000 acres. Police have evacuated about 200 homes.

Flash flood watch in effect for much of New Mexico. Opposite problem of Casper Mountain situation. This video from Hatch. Neighborhoods flooded out. Residents waking up this morning in evacuation centers. Schools closed through Thursday at least.

Which brings us to the weather.

Chad, that fire going down a mountain, that's unusual, isn't it? Doesn't it go up a mountain normally?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It can go up the mountain.

O'BRIEN: Either way.

MYERS: Yes, it can go either way. It depends on which way the wind goes. But when you have a phone (ph) wind or if you have the - like a Santa Anna wind that's going down a mountain . . .

O'BRIEN: Oh, there you go. Yes.

MYERS: You can actually drive a forest fire much more quickly down than it can drive itself up if the wind's in the wrong direction.

O'BRIEN: Because there's more fuel if it's heading . . .

MYERS: Because there's more. And also the air is drying out and heating up and it's going down.

O'BRIEN: Oh, there you go. OK. Thanks, Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: That alleged plot to blow up jetliners has opened old wounds in Britain. Coming up, we'll take a closer look at the number one reason for anger and extremism inside Britain's Muslim community.

COSTELLO: Also, the whistleblower of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal speaks out. Find out why he came forward and why he fears for his life.

O'BRIEN: Pluto. You know, planet or not, we still love you. The argument may soon be settled. Or will it? We'll take you inside all this ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Happening this morning.

Suspected al Qaeda sanctuaries were raided in U.S. and Afghan forces in southeastern Afghanistan today. Weapons and explosives were seized. Eight people arrested.

This morning, New York City will release about 1,600 newly discovered recordings of emergency phone calls made on September 11th. They consist mostly of internal calls made between the fire department and EMS dispatchers.

And a Kansas senator is looking to block Oregon's landmark law allowing doctor-assisted suicide. Republican Senator Sam Brownback has introduced legislation that would ban doctors from prescribing federally controlled drugs for use in assisted suicide.

O'BRIEN: The Abu Ghraib whistleblower is speaking out about his agonizing and courageous decision. Here's CNN's Randi Kaye.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Growing up near the Appalachian Mountains, Joe Darby dreamed of a career in forestry. So he joined the military to help pay for college. Eventually, as an arm reservist, he landed at Iraq's Abu Ghraib Prison.

What was it like working there?

JOE DARBY, ABU GHRAIB WHISTLEBLOWER: Nerve-racking at times because we were constantly under mortar fire. We live, for the most part, in prison cells.

KAYE: It was bad. It would get worse in ways Darby never imagined.

DARBY: The first picture that was opened up was the picture of the pyramid of naked male Iraqis. And, you know, at first, I found it amusing. But it was more out of shock because, you know, it was something you would think a fraternity would do at college. And then as I started to get more into flipping through more photos, I realized, you know, exactly what I was looking at.

KAYE: And what did you think?

DARBY: I didn't know what to think.

KAYE: Or what to do. The pictures, more than 100 on a CD, had been given to him by this man, Specialist Charles Graner. Graner is now serving 10 years for his part in the now infamous prison abuse. Darby had asked him for travel photos.

DARBY: I think the picture that bothered me the most was the picture you see on the Internet and on TV of the male Iraqi standing with the other male Iraqi kneeling in front of him with the sandbags over their heads.

KAYE: For weeks, he struggled. Should he blow the whistle? Should he turn in the photos? Darby decided he should unanimously.

So what in the end made you decide to hand them over?

DARBY: Ultimately it was just the right -- it needed to be done and it was the right thing that -- it had to be done.

KAYE: No matter what the consequences?

DARBY: No matter what the consequences.

KAYE: For you or the military?

DARBY: Yes.

KAYE: The suspects were all told they were under investigation, but all remained there working with Darby.

DARBY: They had their weapons. They slept in the same compound I did. And they were trying to find out who turned them in. And, you know, for that four to six weeks, I lived in fear, worried that they would figure out it was me. I slept with a loaded weapon under my pillow until they left.

KAYE: Then, without warning, Darby was suddenly outed. He was in the mess hall watching as the world heard the news.

DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: There are many who did their duty professionally and we should mention that as well. First Specialist Joseph Darby, who alerted the appropriate authorities that abuses were occurring.

KAYE: Though proud of himself, others in the military and even if his own family called him a traitor a rat, a whistleblower. He started getting hate mail. He and his family got threats. Fearing for her safety, his wife called the Pentagon for protection.

Are you a traitor?

DARBY: No.

KAYE: Do you see yourself as a rat?

DARBY: No.

KAYE: Back in the states, Darby and his wife had to move. They entered military protective custody.

How do you feel about being called a whistleblower?

DARBY: I don't like the name, the tag that much. I view it as I was a soldier and I was an MP and I was just doing my job. And it was the right thing to do. They violated the law.

KAYE: But now they can't tell anyone where they live or who they work for.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Randi's piece first aired on "Anderson Cooper 360," in which we hope you catch weeknights at 10:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Carol.

COSTELLO: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, a senator's off the cuff remarks on the campaign trail land him in very hot water. Find out why he is accused of making a racial slur.

And later, who gets to decide if your child can have a cell phone at school. The legal battle brewing between parents and school officials just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Are we going to talk about the housing bubble again? Is that what we're talking about, Carrie Lee?

CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The bubble that is kind of bursting.

O'BRIEN: Oh, stop it.

LEE: We're not talking about the bubble. We're talking about . . .

O'BRIEN: You do this just to torment me, don't you?

LEE: We're talking about post-bubble here and some pretty . . . O'BRIEN: Oh, we're in the post-bubble era now?

LEE: Well, you know, for a lot of states. There's a new survey out showing that housing prices have declined in 28 states in the United States for the second quarter of the year. So we're really seeing a lot of places come down in terms of housing prices.

Now the biggest drops in the former boom areas. No surprise here. Places like Arizona, Florida, California. They all saw prices drop 25 percent or more second quarter this year versus second quarter 2005.

Other areas, though, of moderate sales gains during the boom years are now experiencing strong growth. So that's the interesting flip side. A lot of places in the Midwest that haven't seen a housing boom, like New York and California, are now actually seeing prices pick up because the job market there has been increasing.

COSTELLO: Isn't it more accurate to say, though, that the market has righted itself. Because housing prices were just absolutely crazy.

LEE: They were crazy. They were crazy.

COSTELLO: They had to come down.

LEE: They were doubling in a couple of year's time. In places like New York. The northeast, the one region that did still see solid gains, up 6.3 percent. But, still, we are seeing big declines in some area.

Alaska, believe it or not, the state that saw the biggest jump, prices up 48.6 percent year-over-year.

COSTELLO: Wow.

LEE: So I guess there was a lot of job growth there.

O'BRIEN: To turn a phrase from the late Tip O'Neill, all real estate is local. I mean we say one big market, but it's never one big market.

LEE: It's never. It isn't at all. It isn't at all. And we've seen, you know, the Midwest, a very different story from the coast and that's sort of what these numbers are reflecting as well.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

LEE: So that's the latest on housing. By the way, we'll get a look at July housing starts coming out later this morning. That's an economic report breaking ground to build new homes. So a sign of future housing activity.

The big thing on Wall Street today, though, is going to be the CPI. A look at consumer prices. Remember yesterday we got a look at wholesale prices. Everyone on Wall Street watching rising prices, signs of inflation because that determines what the Federal Reserve will do with interest rates going forward.

O'BRIEN: We never do housing finishes. Just starts, don't we?

LEE: Just starts.

O'BRIEN: Yes. I assume they get them done, right?

LEE: Well, finishes I guess would ben when you eventually sell it.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

LEE: And one thing we know a lot of homes sitting on the market. Inventory levels are up.

O'BRIEN: All right, Carrie.

LEE: They're not technically called housing finishes, but that's what it is.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Carrie.

LEE: All right.

O'BRIEN: See you in a bit.

COSTELLO: Coming up, the fight over cell phones in school. Who gets to decide whether your kids have them? Do you decide or do the schools decide? We'll look at a battle brewing here.

O'BRIEN: Plus, the much beline (ph) Pluto. For years, scientists have been debating whether Pluto really deserves to be a planet. And if it is a planet, doesn't that mean that there are just dozens and dozens of others just like it. That's where it gets into a bit of a celestial quagmire. We're going to try to straighten it all out for you ahead with one of the leading opponents of Pluto as a planet. He'll be here in the house. Stay with us.

COSTELLO: Nice alliteration.

O'BRIEN: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Happening this morning.

The Mideast cease-fire is still holding. Lebanese troops could move into southern Lebanon by tomorrow. And meetings in Beirut today could produce the multinational force need to enforce the cease-fire.

Character actor Bruno Kirby has died. Of his many famous films, he is well remembered for "When Harry Met Sally" and "City Slickers." He was just 57. He died of complications from leukemia.

Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro was eating out. Barbaro broke his leg in the Preakness back on May 20th. You certainly remember that. Well, his doctors are allowing him brief visits outside of his stall to pick his own grass.

O'BRIEN: And we thought he wasn't going to make it.

COSTELLO: Looks good.

O'BRIEN: Amazing.

COSTELLO: Yes.

O'BRIEN: That's fantastic.

Welcome back. I'm Miles O'Brien.

COSTELLO: And I'm Carol Costello, in for Soledad.

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