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American Morning
Deadline for Iran; Lack of Control?; Israel vs. Iran
Aired August 31, 2006 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you, Thursday, August 31. I'm Miles O'Brien.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Here's a look at what's happening this morning.
Today is the U.N. deadline for Iran to end its nuclear program or face possible sanctions. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is defiant though. In a speech this morning he said Iran is not going to give in to Western interests.
M. O'BRIEN: Another clue this morning in that deadly Comair crash in Lexington Sunday, the air traffic controller in the tower that morning was working on a short turnaround with only two hours of sleep. He left work Saturday 2:30 p.m., returned at 11:30, but that is not a violation of FAA rules.
S. O'BRIEN: In Las Vegas today, an extradition hearing for polygamist leader Warren Jeffs. Jeffs is wanted in both Utah and Arizona. Utah, though, wants to try him first, saying it has more serious charges against him, including rape.
M. O'BRIEN: In southern Thailand, a stunning coordinated bombing. Reports of 22 banks hit at once. Two are dead, 28 wounded. The homemade bombs left in garbage cans near customers and set off with cell phones. Police suspect Islamic insurgents.
President Bush launching another series of speeches aimed at shoring up support for the war in Iraq. The president to say victory there would be a major ideological triumph. The pep talks begin in a few hours when he will address the American Legion convention in Salt Lake City.
S. O'BRIEN: And Ernesto again once a tropical storm. It's expected to reach the South Carolina coast today before it moves into North Carolina. Ernesto could drop as much as seven inches of rain over 36 hours.
Brings us right to severe weather expert Chad Myers at the CNN Center.
Good morning to you, -- Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad.
The storm did move off shore yesterday very close to the Cape, Cape Hatteras or the Cape Canaveral. As it moved into the water, it really began to gain some strength again. A much quicker recovery than this storm had after it moved off the coast of Cuba. Remember, it was almost nothing. It was a tropical depression way down there. And then -- wasn't officially, but it had winds about 30, they just kept calling it a storm. And it never really recovered into much in the Florida Straits.
Well now it's only here, only this far off shore, and it's already back to a 50-mile-per-hour storm. It is forecast to come very, very close to Myrtle Beach, on up into North Carolina and then make a big wind event here. High pressure here, low pressure coming up, huge wind for D.C., Richmond and even a lot of wind blowing right up the Hudson. Tropical storm warnings are in effect from Cape Lookout right on down to Flagma (ph) Beach.
Here is what the rain looks like this morning. Easy to find the center of the storm. We won't call it an eye just yet because all of the rain hasn't wrapped around it just yet, but there will be more in the way of intensification. We do expect this storm to get stronger. And we're getting these squalls coming on shore, Sea Island, almost to Brunswick, to St. Mary's and Jacksonville. We'll have some live shots coming up a little bit later.
Back to you guys.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, we'll look forward to that.
Chad, thanks.
MYERS: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: A defiant Iran thumbing its nose at the international community. Tehran is expected to ignore a United Nations Security Council deadline today that it suspend uranium enrichment or face possible sanctions.
CNN's Aneesh Raman is in Tehran for us.
Hey, Aneesh, good morning.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
A short time ago, we heard from Iran's president speaking to huge crowds in the northwestern part of the country. He said they would pursue still their nuclear program as Iran is set today to defy the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAMAN (voice-over): The deadline has arrived, but Iran shows no sign it plans to bow to U.N. demands and stop enriching uranium. In fact, U.S. and European officials say there is evidence the country was continuing enrichment as recently as Tuesday. The U.N. has given Iran until today to halt the program or possibly face sanctions.
But President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaking this morning in northwestern Iran was still refusing to back down.
In the face of Iran's defiance, the U.S. State Department says it will start talks on sanctions with European allies and Russia as early as next week.
But why defy the West? Iranian officials believe it gives their country more influence in the Muslim world. They're already riding high from what they portray as Hezbollah's victory over Israel, Iran being a primary supporter of Hezbollah.
But Iranians themselves are divided by the prospect of sanctions. Most people feel immense pride in the country's nuclear program, especially among those in blue collar southern Tehran. Here it's all about making your daily wage and showing no weakness to the West.
We are not afraid of economic sanctions, says Majid, because this is not the first time they want to impose them. And in the eight years of war, we fought the entire world.
But head to northern Tehran, home to the more affluent, more moderate, and confidence gives way to concern.
Ordinary people, says 29-year-old Teshman, are very worried. In the university and homes and at workplaces people are very concerned. I can see that. They are very afraid.
But there is something even worse than sanctions that has people worried, it's the prospect of a military conflict over Iran's nuclear ambitions. Last week, the government launched a massive military exercise, war games, to demonstrate Iran's ability to defend itself, in part against potential attacks on its nuclear sites, something that could drag this country into a broader military conflict. That remains the worst case scenario.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Soledad, at the crux of all of this is whether or not Iran has a nuclear weapons program. There has been no smoking gun revealing that. There have been unanswered questions by the IAEA to Iran. They say they have been blocked as well from certain nuclear facilities. But Iran says suspicion is not enough to sanction the country. And they feel that gives them incredible leverage in the Muslim world to stand defiant against the West -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Aneesh Raman for us this morning. Aneesh is one of the few Western journalists reporting from Tehran today.
Thanks, Aneesh -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: A system stretched thin. This morning new information on what happened in that control tower at Kentucky over the weekend. Was a sleep-deprived controller another factor in that Comair crash that killed 49?
CNN's David Mattingly live now from Lexington with more.
Good morning, -- David.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
It sounds like it was a very long weekend for that lone air traffic controller who was on duty at the time of the Comair crash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Federal crash investigators reveal at the time of the Comair crash the Lexington, Kentucky air traffic controller was not only doing two jobs, he was doing them on two hours of sleep. Forty-nine people died when a Comair commuter jet crashed into trees after turning onto the wrong runway early Sunday morning. The air traffic controller was working the overnight shift alone and with very little down time.
DEBBIE HERSMAN, NTSB SPOKESWOMAN: On Saturday morning he went on duty at 6:30 a.m. He went off duty at 2:30 p.m. He then had nine hours off. He went back on duty at 11:30 p.m. and was on -- scheduled to be on duty until 8:00 a.m. the next morning.
MATTINGLY: Federal officials earlier confirmed to CNN the controller was working alone in violation of FAA policy and performing both radar and ground traffic duties. The Comair jet was his 17 flight of the night. He gave clearance for takeoff while guiding another flight on radar.
HERSMAN: A review of the tower tape shows that he was vectoring the American Eagle flight around weather at the time that he was working the accident airplane.
MATTINGLY: On Wednesday, a caravan of buses carried family members to the scene of the crash. Authorities were out in force to ensure privacy.
At the Lexington Blue Grass Airport, a large lighted barricade has been erected at each end of the short runway where Flight 5191 made its tragic wrong turn. Less than 100 yards away, a memorial continues to grow as people touched by the tragedy bring flowers and notes of sympathy.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
It's important to note that the air traffic controller on duty did perform his duties properly. He gave the correct instructions to the crew. As they were taxiing, he told them which runway to go to. It is still not known why the crew took the wrong turn on a darkened runway that was too short for them to take off -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Now typically procedure is when a sole controller is in a control tower and they're having to perform that radar function, they usually hand that off to another sector. In this case, it would be Indianapolis Center. Why was that not done?
MATTINGLY: There is no answer about why, simply the crash investigators have put that out there saying that that is not what was happening. And they're going to be looking at what was going on here at the Lexington tower and at other airports as well to see if this is a sign of a much bigger problem.
M. O'BRIEN: David Mattingly in Lexington, thank you -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: President Bush kicks off a series of speeches in Salt Lake City today on the global war on terror. The president's goal is to increase support for the war in Iraq, but he says -- quote -- "they are not political speeches." Does this sound familiar?
Here is White House correspondent Ed Henry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With violence in Iraq getting worse, President Bush can hardly tout progress on the ground anymore. So he's rolling out a new and improved P.R. strategy, at least his third crack at a series of speeches on the stakes in the war on terror.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And they are speeches to make it clear that if we retreat before the job is done, this nation will become even more in jeopardy. These are important times. And I seriously hope people wouldn't politicize these issues that I'm going to talk about.
HENRY: This time focusing the sales pitch on a broader ideological struggle between the forces of freedom and tyranny all around the globe that administration officials liken to World War II.
DONALD RUMSFELD, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Once again, we face similar challenges in efforts to confront the rising threat of a new type of fascism. Today, another enemy, a different kind of enemy, has made clear its intentions, with attacks in places like New York and Washington, D.C., Bali, London, Madrid, Moscow and so many other places.
HENRY: The new message got a test run Tuesday when Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld spoke to the American Legion and took the gloves off, suggesting current White House critics support the type of appeasement that sparked the rise of Nazism.
RUMSFELD: A sentiment took root that contended that if only the growing threats that had begun to emerge in Europe and Asia could be accommodated, then the carnage and the destruction of their recent memory of World War I could be avoided. It was a time when a certain amount of cynicism and moral confusion set in among Western democracies.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: We'll be covering the president's speech in a Salt Lake -- in Salt Lake City, rather, this morning. Going to take that live. It's scheduled to begin at 11:20 a.m. Eastern.
That was Ed Henry reporting for us. M. O'BRIEN: In North Carolina, a teenager is accused of killing his father before opening fire at a high school injuring two students. Witnesses say 19-year-old Alvaro Rafael Castillo said remember Columbine as he pulled the trigger.
In North Dakota, a guilty verdict in the Dru Sjodin trial. The jury finding Alfonso Rodriguez kidnapped and murdered the college student in 2003. Next week the jury will decide whether Rodriguez should get the death penalty. Capital punishment hasn't been used in that state in a hundred years.
In San Francisco, police seeking a murder charge against the driver of that SUV who terrorized the city during a hit-and-run rampage the other day. One person died, more than a dozen others hurt. Omeed Popal allegedly turned his vehicle into a weapon, plowing into pedestrians on sidewalks without slowing down. He told investigators he was angered by a family dispute.
In Hollywood, an icon is dead, actor Glenn Ford dead at his home yesterday. He was a big star in the '50s and '60s, known for projecting character and strength in westerns and war movies, in particular. You might remember in 1978 he also played Superman's adopted Earth father. Ford was 90 years old.
In California, cooler temperatures helping firefighters in the San Bernardino National Forest. At least two homes have been destroyed. The latest report has the 2,000-acre Emerald Fire 40 percent contained.
But in Montana, an 80,000-acre wildfire is triggering evacuations in two towns there. Residents in Stillwater and Sweet Grass being urged to leave. They'll have to sign a waiver if they decide to stick it out.
In West Virginia it's a busy morning for insurance adjusters. Baseball-sized hail pounded a large chunk of the state yesterday. The storm damaged cars, knocked down power lines and trees and caused some flooding. Could be a little prelude to what Ernesto may bring.
S. O'BRIEN: Which means it could be a mess.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Carolinas now bracing for Ernesto's second landfall as we point out. We're tracking that storm as it moves close to the coast.
M. O'BRIEN: Remembering Diana. Fans pay tribute to the People's Princess today on the ninth anniversary of her death.
S. O'BRIEN: And RadioShack has a tough message for hundreds of its employees and you won't believe just how they delivered it.
Andy Serwer has got business headlines this morning, too, -- Andy.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Soledad.
Oil giant BP says it may be able to fix its rotten Alaska pipeline sooner than expected. We'll tell you how coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning.
Today is the U.N. deadline for Iran to end its nuclear program or face possible sanctions. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is defiant, though. He's vowing today that Iran will not give in to Western interests.
Tropical Storm Ernesto expected to reach the Carolinas today, could drop as much as seven inches of rain over 36 hours.
And Hurricane John lashing Mexico's Pacific coast, forecasters say John could dump up to a foot of rain in some parts and cause severe flooding.
Brings us right to Chad Myers, our severe weather expert.
MYERS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: You've got lots to talk about this morning. Hey.
MYERS: Big problem with John out there. Cabo San Lucas, I mean a whole lot of tourists over there, a whole lot of residents. Really, I just visited Cabo probably six or eight weeks ago, what a beautiful place it is. And they are in for a Category 3 hurricane. I'll get to that. I'll show you that in a sec.
There goes Ernesto into the water. And that's good that it's into the water because now it's not making flooding rainfall farther inland. But it's bad that it's in the water, because, as you know, that storm will now grow in intensity. It is not forecast by the Hurricane Center to become a hurricane again, but it sure could be pretty close by the time it gets to Myrtle.
And if it goes to the east of Myrtle Beach, if it's into North Carolina or rather than into South Carolina, it will have a longer run in the warm water. So therefore, the farther it's to the east, the stronger it will be. The more it turns to the left, the weaker it will be.
But look at this rainfall. Everywhere that you see white, which is almost an ugly map, but everywhere that you see white is three inches of rain or more, and that will be some flooding problems there for the mid-Atlantic.
Here's Acapulco. There's John. Here's Puerto Vallarta. Cabo San Lucas still to the north up here. But there goes the storm, interacting a little bit with land right now, but a Category 3 hurricane this morning. Forecast to stay Category 3 for a while. Get back into warm water, Category 4. As it gets away from Puerto Vallarta, it'll get a little stronger. Really make a direct hit on Cabo San Lucas as a Category 3 and then turn back out to see.
And you're saying to yourself, now how can that be if there's all this cold water off California? Well the problem is that cold water that you'd swim in or try it with a wetsuit in L.A. or San Francisco comes down here, but it is not here. This is still very warm water. The cold water is out here. So by the time it does get to the west of Cabo, then it will eventually die off, but not before that. They have a big storm for them. They're going to have a lot of battening down the hatches this week.
From Savannah right on back down to Jacksonville, there's the storm. It's a little bit closer to shore now. Some of these outer bands to Sea Island, almost to Brunswick, and some of these will still have wind gusts to about 45 to 50. The heaviest winds are in the center. Can't call it an eye yet, but it is growing in intensity this morning.
Back to you guys.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Chad.
The president says the U.S. can stand down in Iraq once the Iraqis stand up. But we all want to know when will that happen?
Jamie McIntyre with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The top U.S. commander in Iraq says Iraqi security forces are basically trained and equipped in assuming a lead role about 75 percent of the time. But he says they are not yet ready to be left on their own.
GEN. GEORGE CASEY, COMMANDER, MULTINATIONAL FORCE, IRAQ: I can see over the next 12 to 18 months, I can see the Iraqi security forces progressing to a point where they can take on the security responsibilities for the country with very little coalition support.
MCINTYRE: But even as the Iraqi forces stand up, General George Casey did not say U.S. troops could stand down, even though that is the stated exit strategy. Casey may be a little gun shy after this overly optimistic prediction from last year.
CASEY: I do believe we'll still be able to take some fairly substantial reductions after these elections in the spring and summer next year.
MCINTYRE: That didn't happen because the violence got worse instead of better. Pressed for a fresh prediction of U.S. troop cuts, Casey was understandably cagey.
CASEY: I'm not sure yet and we'll adjust that as we go. But a lot of that and, in fact, the future coalition presence 12 to 18 months from now is going to be decided by the Iraqi government. MCINTYRE: Casey notes in a few days Iraqi generals will take over direct control of some Iraqi troops that up until now have all been under his command, the first step to putting all 10 Iraqi divisions under Iraqi command. But he concedes there have been some troubling events recently with what he called a small percentage of Iraqi troops.
This week, some members of the Iraqi 8th Division were killed when they ran out of ammunition in a fierce battle with Shiite militiamen. About 100 members of Iraq's 10th Division refused to go to Baghdad when ordered. And Iraqi troops failed to protect a base near Basra from looters after British troops turned it over to them.
(on camera): If Iraqi troops are in control of much of Iraq in a year or 18 months, then it is possible many U.S. troops will come home. But having been burned by even cautiously optimistic predictions in the past, General Casey is going to be very careful about issuing any public pronouncements about U.S. troop withdrawals.
Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Jamie's report first aired on "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer. It airs weekdays at 4:00 and 7:00 p.m. Eastern -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, optimism at BP, the fix for that pipeline problem at Prudhoe Bay now on a faster track. Andy's got details for us ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Here's a look at some of the most popular stories on CNN.com this morning.
Two children in Bakersfield, California killed, five others were injured. They were playing with a live military shell when it exploded. The shell was given to the kids by a neighbor who said he thought it was harmless.
The pilot of a Canadian airliner who went to use the restroom during a flight, well, the door jammed and he got locked out of the cockpit. The crew actually had to remove the door from its hinges to get him back in. Imagine you're a passenger, you see the pilot banging on the door. That might be scary. And you're...
M. O'BRIEN: When you see the pilot with a Makita screw gun, that's bad. That's bad. Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: That's taking the hinges off.
And a new study is out. It shows that the average commuting time for U.S. workers are getting shorter. By how much? Don't look, tell me how much.
M. O'BRIEN: I have no idea.
S. O'BRIEN: Forty-eight seconds.
M. O'BRIEN: Don't...
S. O'BRIEN: Forty-eight seconds.
M. O'BRIEN: What can you do in 48 seconds?
S. O'BRIEN: What can you do?
M. O'BRIEN: Careful. Let's not go down that road.
All right, for anybody who has had galvanized pipes in their house and had to replace them with copper or PVC, you can understand what BP is dealing with, except on a little larger scale.
Andy Serwer is here with how do you fix that pipeline?
SERWER: Well that's the whole issue here, Miles. BP saying this morning they may be able to fix its Alaska pipeline problem sooner than anticipated. You may remember there are two legs of the problem. There's the western part of the pipeline up there in Prudhoe Bay and the eastern part. The western is back on-line. The eastern part is still down.
Now officials are saying they may be able to use a bypassing strategy and replacing -- instead of replacing, I should say, the 16 miles of corroded pipe. Also, they may be able to do some patching they say. However, they're still not giving an estimate or a timetable as to when they're going to be able to fix that.
M. O'BRIEN: Why won't they use, you know, PVC or stainless steel or something that wouldn't corrode, you know?
SERWER: Well there's different kinds of pipes they use. The real problem here, Miles, is, number one, the pipes are very old. They're decades old.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: And number two, what's flowed through the pipes has changed. It used to be pure oil. Now a lot more water is going through.
M. O'BRIEN: I see.
SERWER: So they might not have anticipated that when they first put the pipeline into place.
M. O'BRIEN: Good point. Good point.
SERWER: Other news to tell you about this morning concerning Merck, a victory of sorts for the embattled pharmaceutical giant. A federal judge in New Orleans yesterday threw out a $50 million damage award saying it was grossly excessive and ordered a new trial. This is a case concerning a retired FBI agent who had a heart attack. But, but, the judge upheld the liability verdict against the drug giant. Legal experts are mixed over what exactly this opinion means.
And finally this morning, stock market yesterday moving up, the revised GDP reading helping to boost shares. You can see here we've got green arrows, except the S&P was down just fractionally. The balancing act continues. The economy growing enough but not so much that it will upset the Fed's plan. Futures are down this morning, though, because oil is edging up. And we've seen that story played over and over again, haven't we?
M. O'BRIEN: We have indeed. What's up next?
SERWER: Up next we're going to be talking about RadioShack and its little conundrum, as Soledad mentioned earlier.
S. O'BRIEN: A little cold hearted what RadioShack did.
SERWER: Yes, indeed.
M. O'BRIEN: OK.
S. O'BRIEN: I won't spill the story, but...
SERWER: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, see you in a bit.
S. O'BRIEN: ... talk about cold.
SERWER: See you in a bit.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks very much.
The morning's top stories are straight ahead, including Tropical Storm Ernesto picking up speed, picking up steam. We have the latest on where Ernesto may be headed.
And that plane crash in Kentucky, could a few more hours of sleep have saved some lives?
Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening this morning, Tropical Storm Ernesto is expected to reach the Carolinas today. It could drop as much as seven inches of rain over 36 hours.
In Lexington, Kentucky, the air traffic controller on duty during Sunday's deadly Comair crash was working on just two hours of sleep. That's according to federal investigators. He finished his shift at 2:30, was back at 11:30 at night, meaning that he had just nine hours between shifts, and that meets federal guidelines.
In southern Thailand, a massive coordinated bombing to tell you about. Reports that 22 banks were hit all at once. Two people dead, 28 people wounded. Police say they blame Islamic insurgents.
Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Thanks for being with us.
We are tracking tropical storm, once again, Ernesto. Our severe weather expert is Chad Myers.
Chad, is it likely this will become a hurricane again?
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: According to the hurricane center, no.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Ooh, what a mess. All right. Chad, thanks. Thanks for watching it.
MYERS: You're welcome. All right.
S. O'BRIEN: The international controversy over Iran and its nuclear ambitions is growing. Tehran is expected to ignore a U.N. deadline today to suspend uranium enrichment or face possible economic sanctions.
CNN's Aneesh Raman is live for us in Tehran this morning.
Hey, Aneesh. Good morning.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
The latest remarks this morning coming from Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaking to huge crowds in northwestern Iran. There, he said the country would continue to pursue its right. In turn, continue to pursue its peaceful civilian nuclear program.
Now, what happens today? At the IAEA, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog, at their headquarters in Vienna they will distribute a report that will then be given to U.N. members in New York. The report, by all indications, will confirm Iran continues to enrich uranium as part of its nuclear program, that it's done so as recently as Tuesday of this week. But this deadline does not immediately trigger actions, it does not immediately trigger sanctions.
The U.N. will have to debate what comes next, and Iran is banking on divisions within the Security Council that could either stall action against Iran, or Iranian allies like Russia and China, perhaps, could veto any sanctions that in mid-September, at the earliest, perhaps, could be levied against the country -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Is this defiance, do you think, just about nukes, or do you think at this point it's actually about a bigger picture?
RAMAN: Yes, I think it is a bigger picture, which is broad Muslim anger towards the West, and U.S., specifically. Iran's president has traveled actively to Indonesia, to Malaysia. His envoys have gone to Pakistan, Iraq, Lebanon now. And they are trying to shore up a base of support and stand up as the sole superpower in the Middle East.
It is, in part, why they are being so defiant on this nuclear program. They want to be treated as a superpower of the Middle East. In the past, superpowers have been defined by those with nuclear weapons. Iran denying it's pursuing that, but shoring up enough support and putting its arms in enough areas, in Lebanon and in Iraq, that it wants to be treated as such and it wants direct engagement from the U.S. -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Aneesh Raman for us. He's in Tehran this morning.
Thanks, Aneesh -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Was fatigue a factor in the crash of Comair Flight 5191? We're learning more now about the condition of the lone air traffic controller in the tower that morning, on duty in his second 8- hour shift of that same day.
CNN's David Mattingly live now from Lexington, Kentucky, with more on this.
Good morning, David.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
This air traffic controller was putting in a lot of hours in a short amount of time. He worked an 8-hour shift during the day on Saturday, had nine hours off, got two hours of sleep before coming back to work for the midnight shift that took him into the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, when the Comair crash occurred.
The lack of sleep, however, did not seem to affect they way he dealt with this particular flight. He gave them the correct instructions, told them to go to the correct runway, and it is still not known why the crew turned on to a runway that was dark and too short for them to take off from this airport.
The NTSB, however, is continuing to look at the staffing and at the scheduling at this airport to see if it might have been a factor. They're also looking at other airports to see if this might be a sign of a much bigger problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEBBIE HERSMAN, NTSB SPOKESWOMAN: We will not just be looking at this controller, we're going to be taking a systems approach to this, looking at what happens at this facility, potentially looking at what happens at other facilities. If we identify any issues, any safety issues, we will address them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: In the meantime, there have been memorial services already starting here in the Lexington area, a candlelight service at a church here was held last night. A memorial where people are bringing flowers has sprung up at the airport, and there have been some changes at the airport as will.
There have been barricades erected at either end of that short runway where the Comair flight attempted its takeoff on Sunday morning. That runway is now completely closed and clearly marked.
Also, this weekend and all weekends following there will be two air traffic controllers on duty, not one -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Interesting that they would change the staffing.
David, this controller really was doing three jobs, not just the tower job and the radar approach and departure job, but also he was, in effect, the ground controller, which is a separate job in many large airports.
Has anybody addressed the fact that as the ground controller, it is that controller's responsibility to make sure aircraft get to the right runway?
MATTINGLY: No one has addressed it specifically the way that you're mentioning it right now, but the NTSB has made it clear that they're looking at everything this controller was doing. They were able to determine that at the time that Comair was taxiing out, he had given them clearance to take off. He then turned his attention to the radar to assist another flight, invectoring (ph) them around some bad weather that was in the area. So, his back was turned, he did not see this plane taxiing out and taking that wrong turn on to the runway.
M. O'BRIEN: David Mattingly in Lexington.
Thank you very much.
Still to come, a look how Israel is not waiting for Iran's response to today's U.N. deadline. We'll fill you in on that.
S. O'BRIEN: Also, marking a dark day in Britain's history, the death of Princess Diana. The tragic accident coming exactly nine years ago today.
M. O'BRIEN: And an unexpected message for hundreds of RadioShack employees. You'll never guess what popped up in their e-mail box.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: It is deadline day for Iran, and the world is watching. Will Tehran comply with the United Nation's request to stop making nuclear fuel? No one is watching more closely than Israel, given the Iranian president's stated desire to wipe the Jewish state off the map.
CNN's Chris Lawrence live in Jerusalem with more.
Hello, Chris.
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
Well, back in January, Iran's top nuclear negotiator said that Israel is "within our range." And Israeli officials here have been operating under the assumption that Iran would never comply with these restrictions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice over): Israel is already looking beyond the U.N. deadline.
EHUD OLMERT, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We should be prepared for the threat from Iran and its Israeli-hating president.
LAWRENCE: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has denied Israel's right to exist. Now some Israeli officials are urging residents to reinforce bomb shelters. And an air force commander has been put in charge of a project to tune up preparations for a possible confrontation.
Israeli F-15s can reach Iran without refueling. It's ordered two new submarines capable of firing nuclear weapons. And the IDF has invested a lot in refitting the Arrow missile defense system to face a longer-range threat.
(on camera): If a conflict were to arise with Iran, is Israel better or worse off after this conflict with Hezbollah?
CHUCK FREILICH, FMR. NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: They've done their worst from Lebanon.
LAWRENCE (voice over): Chuck Freilich is the former deputy national security adviser for foreign affairs. He says Hezbollah's huge rocket arsenal in Lebanon was designed to be Iran's deterrent in case Israel or the U.S. someday attacked its nuclear program.
FREILICH: Well, here they -- they used it under the wrong circumstances for a very small gain, from their point of view. They've partly lost its inherent value, from that point of view.
LAWRENCE: Iran's long-range missiles are capable of reaching Israel. And a senior cleric says if the United States attacks Iran, Israel will pay the price.
Last year, someone asked Israel's military commander, "How far would you go to stop Iran's nuclear threat?"
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two thousand kilometers.
LAWRENCE: That's the distance between Israel and Iran.
More than a year later, no one's laughing. (END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: Twenty-five years ago, Israel ordered the first airstrike ever on a nuclear plant when it bombed a facility under construction near Baghdad. Now, most analysts agree that Iran has studied that attack and adapted accordingly -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: And when you say adapted, they've gone deep underground, haven't they?
LAWRENCE: They have. And most analysts believe that the -- the actual program is spread out somewhere between 12 and 20 sites located around Iran.
M. O'BRIEN: So -- so one sortie, one mission wouldn't do it.
All right. Chris Lawrence in Jerusalem.
Thanks very much -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, nine years since Princess Diana died when the car that she was riding in crashed in a Paris tunnel. We'll take a look this morning at some of the questions that are still unanswered.
M. O'BRIEN: And e-mails fly at RadioShack's headquarters. You've got a pink slip.
Not nice. Not nice. We'll tell you how not to fire somebody.
Plus, cancel that latte. Starbucks pulls a drink promotion spiraling out of control.
Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning, Tropical Storm Ernesto expected to reach the Carolinas today. It could drop as much as seven inches of rain over 36 hours.
Hurricane John is lashing Mexico's Pacific coast. Forecasters say John could dump up to a foot of rain in some parts and cause severe flooding.
Today marks the ninth anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. Nearly a decade later, there are still questions about the circumstances surrounding that deadly car crash.
CNN's Isha Sesay reports from London.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISHA SESAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): She was the fresh-faced beauty who captured a million hearts in Britain and around the world. Diana, Princess of Wales, truly was the people's princess. Her grace and charm breathed new life into the British monarchy.
A media style icon, she graced a thousand magazine covers, and her sudden death following a car crash in a Paris tunnel in 1997 shocked everyone.
ROBERT JOBSON, ROYAL COMMENTATOR: People couldn't believe someone so beautiful, so young, so giving could be snatched from them in that terrible way. It means almost as if she hasn't actually left us.
SESAY: Tributes to the 36-year-old princess were laid outside Buckingham Palace.
(on camera): It was here nine years ago that we saw a public outpouring of grief, the likes of which had never been seen before in a country known for its reserve. But then, as now, many questions still remain unanswered.
(voice over): What part, if any, did the paparazzi really play in the crash? And was there anyone else involved that fateful night?
Like many others, Mohammed Al Fayed, father of Diana's companion, who was also killed, believes the crash was a deliberate act.
MOHAMMED AL FAYED, DODI AL FAYED'S FATHER (through translator): I know with certainty that my son's death was not an accident. I have not hesitated to speak my mind on every possible occasion on this and about the deaths of Princess Diana and Henri Paul. The establishment had a vested interest in ensuring that Princess Diana could no longer threaten the future stability of the monarchy.
SESAY: The French investigation into what happened that night has concluded that Diana's death was a road traffic accident caused by the driver's excessive speed. It also found that driver Henri Paul had a cocktail of alcohol and medication in his system.
Meanwhile, British authorities are conducting their own official inquiry. There are reports that new witnesses and leads have surfaced. Their findings are scheduled to be published later in the year.
But no matter what the British reports may reveal, it appears the legend of Diana, Princess of Wales, will always live on.
Isha Sesay, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: So where were you?
S. O'BRIEN: I was in San Francisco working on a technology show. And what a surprise. The news came over at night, and in the evenings we were up and walking around. And you'd see it on all the -- all the delis had -- it was shocking, it was really -- it was just such a shock.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. It was a weekend when I was doing weekends at the time, and that was an early morning for us.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. I bet it was.
M. O'BRIEN: And a long day.
S. O'BRIEN: A long day and a long month. Remember the coverage, blanket -- blanket coverage, really.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow. Still -- still hard to believe it's been nine years.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Sandy still gets choked up about the whole thing. It's amazing what a connection she made with people.
Andy Serwer is here looking at business for us.
Good morning, Andy.
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE": Good morning, Miles.
Some e-mail problems to tell you about. E-mails from your boss or headquarters are always a little scary. But this one from RadioShack, well, it zapped some employees.
And then there's one from Starbucks to tell you about that's just -- it's just stupid. There's no other way to put it.
You'll have to stay tuned to hear about it, though, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Well, it certainly is an efficient way to fire people. Is it filled with compassion? I'll leave that to you.
Andy Serwer with a word on the RadioShack e-mail.
S. O'BRIEN: It's just mean. That was just mean, I thought.
M. O'BRIEN: Mean would be the word, yes.
SERWER: You know, more than that, firing people by -- it's cowardly. It's cowardly. That's what it is, because it's easy for the bosses, because you just hit the send button. I'll cut to the chase here.
RadioShack on Tuesday fired 400 employees at its Ft. Worth, Texas, headquarters by e-mail. They sent a message out which read, "The work force reduction notification is currently in progress." I love this corporate speak. "Unfortunately, your position is one that has been eliminated."
Well, thank you very much. A spokesperson for RadioShack went on to say that "The electronic notification" -- and I love this -- "was quicker and allowed more privacy than breaking the news in person."
Well, yes, it was quicker. Again, you know, when you're a boss, sometimes it's a tough job, but you've got to step up to the plate and do things. And they were not doing the right thing. They did actually meet with the people 30 minutes later.
And then I like this little note here also. They provided plastic bags for employees then to pack up their belongings.
M. O'BRIEN: It sounds like the TSA flying or something.
SERWER: Yes. Right. So there you go with that one.
Another e-mail snafu, to put it politely, yesterday to tell you about. Actually, this happened over the past couple of weeks, I should say, concerning Starbucks.
And Starbucks sent out an e-mail to a select group of employees in the southeastern part of the United States on August 23rd, telling them that they could get a free iced coffee from noon to 9:00 p.m. So far so good. And that they could share this e-mail with a select group of friends and family.
M. O'BRIEN: A select group.
SERWER: Well, you know what happened there. I mean, people hit the all (ph) group, and then they sent it to friends, and then they sent it to more friends. And then they sent it to -- and pretty soon, everyone in America started showing up at their local Starbucks asking for free...
S. O'BRIEN: I can't believe I didn't get one of those.
SERWER: I know. We don't know the right people.
S. O'BRIEN: Clearly.
M. O'BRIEN: Not.
SERWER: I mean, get some people in Atlanta, I'm sure, down at CNN who should have sent this.
Anyway, Starbucks has ended this promotion. So if you get this e-mail, it's no more -- it's not good anymore, I should say. So...
M. O'BRIEN: So they thought it would be small, it went Venti.
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Which is really actually good news for the company.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: Right, yes.
S. O'BRIEN: In way.
SERWER: Yes, in a way. But...
(CROSSTALK)
M. O'BRIEN: "Little Miss Sunshine" -- yes.
S. O'BRIEN: It means people like Starbucks.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: And they have a lot of friends...
M. O'BRIEN: No, people like free stuff. That's what they really like.
(LAUGHTER)
SERWER: Right. Well, yes, they can increase the traffic in their stores that way dramatically.
S. O'BRIEN: It might be that. It might be that. All right.
M. O'BRIEN: That's right. Make it up on volume, right. All right.
S. O'BRIEN: Andy, thank you.
M. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.
SERWER: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get a check of the forecast. Chad's got that.
Hey, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING does start right now.
S. O'BRIEN: Defiance from Iran. President Ahmadinejad says he will not bow to Western pressure. More on today's United Nations nuclear deadline.
M. O'BRIEN: Too many hours on, not enough off. Could a lack of sleep have cost some lives in Lexington, Kentucky.
S. O'BRIEN: Tropical Storm Ernesto is finished in Florida, now coming to the coast in Carolina. We'll update you on the storm's progress.
And in the Pacific, an even stronger storm to tell you about. Hurricane John is bearing down on the Mexican coast.
M. O'BRIEN: And polygamist and cult leader Warren Jeffs in court today. The tug-of-war between states is over. And we know where he will face a jury.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody.
I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.
Thanks for being with us.
We start with Iran. It is deadline day. No one expects Tehran to comply with the United Nations demand that it stop making nuclear fuel.
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