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American Morning

'Crocodile Hunter' Killed by Stingray; Opium Trouble in Afghanistan; Political Hot Topics

Aired September 04, 2006 - 06:31   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening this morning, a developing story to tell you about out of Jordan. Police there telling CNN that two gunmen opened fire on tourists in downtown Amman. There are reports of several people injured. The nationalities of those who have been injured, though, still unclear.
New York police are mourning the loss of a trooper. He died from wounds in last week's shooting. The suspect is still on the run.

And the Northeast is drying up from Tropical Storm Ernesto. Nearly 100,000 customers were without power over the weekend..

In North Carolina, water rescue crews are on standby. A flood warning is now in effect for towns all along the Cape Fear River.

Welcome back, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.

Happy Labor Day to you.

The "Crocodile Hunter is dead. Steve Irwin, a TV and movie icon known the world over for his death-defying encounters with wild animals, was stung by a stingray. He was killed while filming his latest documentary off the Australian coast.

CNN's John Vause joins us live now from Brisbane with more -- John.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Miles.

It seems, at least according to friends, Steve Irwin was filming part of a documentary which was being hosted by his young daughter, Bindi. She wasn't there at the time of the filming, but it's believed that Steve Irwin was in the waters, just off the coast of North Queensland, not far from the tourist resort town of Port Douglas. That's just north of the major city of Cairns.

State police here say that Irwin collapsed after being attacked by a stingray. And according to some accounts, it appears that Irwin was swimming on top of the stingray, not very far from it at all, when it lashed out. And what may have happened, according to some reports, again, is that the tail of the stingray may have, in fact, lashed out and pierced Steve Irwin with one of these venomous barbs. And there is some speculation that one of those barbs, that venomous barb, may have in fact pierced his heart.

Now, there's still no official cause of death as yet. The body is being taken back to a morgue at Cairns Hospital. But it's believed that Irwin, in fact, went into cardiac arrest.

He was dragged onto a nearby boat by his crew. They administered CPR. There was a mad dash to take him to an island to rendezvous with a medevac team which had been sent out from Cairns. By the time they go there, about a 30-minute journey, about another 30 minutes later Steve Irwin was pronounced dead.

Now, marine experts say this kind of attack by a stingray is extremely uncommon. In fact, there have only been three recorded fatalities in Australian waters caused by stingray attacks -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: How -- John, how are Australians reacting to all of this?

VAUSE: Well, despite the fact Steve Irwin made his name and made his living by, you know, courting death, it seems, many Australians are very, very stunned by the news. There was a belief that this was a man who was bulletproof, that he invincible, and, of course, there have been tributes been pouring in over the last couple of hours and coming from the highest office in the land, from the Australian prime minister, John Howard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HOWARD, AUSTRALIA PRIME MINISTER: Well, I am, you know, quite shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin's sudden, untimely and freakish death. It's a huge loss to Australia. And he was a wonderful character, he was a passionate environmentalist.

He brought joy and entertainment and excitement to millions of people. He was a well-off character, and he wasn't just a character to Australians. He was a character for lots of people around the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: It's being described here, Miles, as "Australia has lost a colorful and wonderful son."

M. O'BRIEN: And he leaves behind a wife and two young children.

VAUSE: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

John Vause, thank you very much.

S. O'BRIEN: What sad news. It really is.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it is -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Let's turn to Afghanistan now. A car bomber has taken aim at a NATO military convoy in Kabul. At least four civilians were killed in the morning bombing. Eight others were injured, including four NATO troops.

Meantime, there's a disturbing study that's come out of Afghanistan over the weekend. The United Nation's agency says opium cultivation has jumped 50 percent nearly this year.

CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen is live in Kabul this morning.

Hey, Peter. Good morning.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Good morning, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Any surprise to you when you see these numbers of the opium production up, especially in light of what we've seen and heard about the struggle to keep the Taliban down in the southern part of Afghanistan?

BERGEN: Well, I mean, I'm not very surprised by the -- by the numbers. The explosion of opium production, I think, was fairly predictable.

What's interesting, of course, is that as opium production has exploded in this country, so has the Taliban had a -- had a resurgence. And I think these two things are related.

According to U.S. military sources, the Taliban gained a significant amount of money from drug revenues and also from Middle Eastern contributions. And so, we're also seeing, over the course of the weekend, a major NATO operation in the south of the country aimed against the Taliban.

NATO estimates that it's killed something like 200 Taliban in this offensive. And that's a very interesting number, because it indicates that the Taliban is quite a sizable force if in one operation, 200 people could be killed.

The Taliban estimates that it has 12,000 fighters. U.S. military forces say it's nearer to 4,000 or 5,000. But clearly, with these huge numbers of deaths in just one operation, it's obvious the Taliban is back in force and in large numbers -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: When you see what's happening in the violence in Kabul, and then we talk about the southern part of the country, not only with the opium production and the lack of being able to control that there and some of the violence you're talking about, is there any part of this country that's secure, when you consider that U.S. troops have been on the ground since 2001 now?

BERGEN: Well, you know, I mean, I'm standing here on a roof in Kabul, and there was a suicide attack just this morning, not too far from here. It's the 43rd or 44th suicide attack of the year, according to numbers that are tracked by Hekma Karzai (ph), an Afghan researcher who tracks these things. And so we've seen really an exponential rise in suicide attacks, yet at the same time, Kabul seems very safe. You walk around, it's a very normal city, much of the north of the country is very quiet. Most of the violence is concentrated in the south and, to some degree, the east. And so it's -- it's localized.

But I've been visiting this country since '93, Soledad, have seen the civil war, the Taliban. Then in 2002, 2003, saw really a lot of ground for optimism. The Taliban really had become more of a nuisance than anything else, suicide attacks were virtually unknown. And all those things have changed.

And so, in the last year or so, what was a very optimistic situation is suddenly not looking so good.

S. O'BRIEN: Peter Bergen for us this morning.

Peter, thanks for the update and what's happening this morning in Kabul.

Obviously, you can tell things disintegrating on the ground, as Peter's been covering that for quite a while.

Thanks, Peter -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's get a check of the forecast. Chad Myers is at the CNN Center.

Good morning, Miles.

(WEATHER REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad. Thanks.

MYERS: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, a look at some of the political "Hot Topics," including the congressional battle that's starring Florida's controversial Katharine Harris.

M. O'BRIEN: Plus, have you checked out gas prices lately? They're actually going down a little bit. Will it last?

Andy Serwer "Minding Your Business." That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

Here's a look now at stories that CNN correspondents around the world are covering today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Paula Newton, in southern Lebanon, where the U.N. continues to beef up its peacekeeping force.

Over the weekend, almost 900 Italian troops landed here. And eventually, there should be about 15,000 peacekeepers on the ground. Most crucially, about a third of them should be in place by mid-month, paving the way for Israeli troops to leave Lebanese soil. The U.N. is also stressing that this is a humanitarian mission, and people on the ground here tell us that the more U.N. troops they see, the more confidence they will have that they can finally begin to rebuild their lives.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Michael Holmes in Baghdad.

The capture of Iraq's number two al Qaeda man has the Iraqis and the Americans very pleased, but how important, how significant is this arrest?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STAN GRANT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, I'm Stan Grant in Chongqing, western China, watching a desperate search for water. This family has been trying to dig a well here now for the past three days with precious little to show for it. Such a common story in an area that's being crippled by a drought, the worst in decades

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: And an update now on a story we were just talking about a moment ago, a gunman attacking a group of foreign tourists taking place near the Roman amphitheater in the Jordanian capital, wounding now, we're told, six Westerners. One British tourist killed. That is an update we're getting from Reuters this morning, one British tourist killed, six Westerners wounded in that shooting that took place in Amman.

Some of the details in the Reuters report as well. Two gunmen involved. They believe at least one was Iraqi, they say, chanting Islam's rallying cry of "God is great," and then opening fire on that group of tourists. One gunman who was identified as an Iraqi national has been arrested by the Jordanian police, who cordoned off the site of the attack.

We've been told by our reporters on the scene that in fact it was a busy time, and beyond the one British tourist who is reported dead, it is unclear of the nationality of the others who have been wounded. One British tourist killed, six other Westerners wounded in that attack.

More information as we get it.

Got to take a short break. We're back in just a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A few more.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): How do you make exercise a lasting part of your life? "Consumer Reports" on health surveyed nearly 21,000 people who were committed to exercise and uncovered some of their secrets for success.

Tip one: put fun back into your exercise. Play a sport like basketball, tennis or squash.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Find an activity that's fun for you. If, you know, walking on the treadmill is boring, then go outside and walk in the park.

COSTELLO: Tip number two: define your motivation for exercising. Is it to lose weight, socialize with friends, or to reduce stress? Make your reasons positive and personal.

Tip number three: make it convenient. You're more likely to work out if you live or work near a health club or park.

Tip number four: have a variety of options. If you always swim, add weights to your routine. When the weather turns cold outside, exercise indoors.

Tip number five: dangle a carrot. Reward yourself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you did everything you were supposed to do, then, you know, you can get that reward. It could be a new CD, it could be a new pair of shoes.

COSTELLO: Ooh, or a relaxing massage.

Carol Costello, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Summer's over. And that means it's time for politicians to get serious in their quest for power. This midterm election is shaping up as a real donnybrook. Democrats vowing to gain control of Congress, Republicans convinced they can hold on to their monopoly.

It sounds like a Mercurio moment, doesn't it?

John Mercurio, senior editor of "The National Journal's Hotline," he meets with us on most Mondays.

Good to see you, John.

JOHN MERCURIO, SR. EDITOR, "HOTLINE": Good to see you, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Quite a few days left before the election, but only 15 work days for Congress. They're carving out plenty of campaigning time, aren't they? MERCURIO: They absolutely are. We've got about nine weeks until Election Day, but I think what you're going to see happening on Capitol Hill over those next 15 days is the campaign playbook of the Republican Party.

We're going to be focusing almost exclusively in the House and the Senate on national security, whether it's the defense spending bill, the defense policy bill, the NSA wiretapping bill that the -- that the Republicans are pushing, or trying to bring these military tribunals that the U.S. Supreme Court condemned into constitutional compliance. That's what the Republicans want to be focusing on, that's what they've said -- their strongest campaign issue.

Democrats, on the other hand, still want to focus on national security, but a lot of other issues. They want to try to bring up a resolution forcing Donald Rumsfeld's resignation -- of course the defense secretary. So, different agendas, but the same issue heading into November.

M. O'BRIEN: Is it likely we'll see anything really done, though? There'll be a lot of talk, a lot of bluster, a lot of discussion about national security. In 15 days, are we going to see any real action?

MERCURIO: I very significantly doubt that. You're right, really at this point, post-Labor Day in any election year is really just a time for each political party to try to score political points. I mean, even 9/11 this year, the fifth anniversary of 9/11, I think is being viewed by both parties as an opportunity to sort of talk about and debate the issues of terrorism and, you know, sort of homeland terrorism for the purposes of the midterm elections.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

Now, let's talk about how many seats might really be in play. The Cook Political Report, which is an influential one, considered fairly accurate, is now saying there may be as many as 36 GOP seats in the House that are in play.

MERCURIO: Sure.

M. O'BRIEN: Thirty-six seats.

Do you buy that? Does that number sound right to you?

MERCURIO: Well, I think that number sounds right. We've seen that sort of slow evolution beyond these sort of 18 to 19 seats that we thought were really in play at the beginning of the year. Now the 36, 38 may be as many as 40 congressional seats.

The one thing you have to keep in mind, though, is that Republicans go into November over the next nine weeks with a dramatic financial advantage over Democrats. In terms of the actual money that they have in the bank left to spend, again, over these next two months on things like television advertising, get out the vote, grassroots, mobilization, those are important -- those are important components going into November. To some extent, the fight hasn't even begun, Republicans haven't even joined that fight.

On the other hand, I think it's really interesting, because you have a lot of freshmen and sophomore members of the -- of the -- of the House, Republicans, who, for the past two election cycles, have relied on the president's popularity to get re-elected. They've just been able to say, "I'm a George Bush Republican, re-elect me."

Well, they can't do that this year. And they can't even really, to some extent, talk about their Republican credentials. So they're going to have to sort of device and create different roadmaps to try to get re-elected.

M. O'BRIEN: It will be interesting to see what roadmaps they come up with.

What's -- what's the story you're watching this week?

MERCURIO: Well, it's the story that everybody's been watching over the past couple of months in Washington in terms of the campaign, and that's the Florida -- the Florida Senate race. It's turned into somewhat of a train wreck for the Republican Party, it was a disaster as far as their recruitment -- the recruiting efforts were concerned.

Secretary -- former secretary of state, now congresswoman, Katharine Harris, known to the country because of her role in the 2000 presidential election, now running for the Senate, doing disastrously. Not just against the Senate -- against the incumbent senator, Bill Nelson, but also the possibility that she might not even win the Republican primary. She's got a relatively strong opponent named Jim McBride.

Looking as though she'll be able to pull it out, though, but a real disappointment for Republicans, I think, going into this election year. And for Jeb Bush, the popular governor, unable to recruit a stronger candidate.

M. O'BRIEN: What happened to her campaign?

MERCURIO: That's a very good question. I think a lot of it has to do with sort of personal skills, her ability to manage a campaign staff.

She's had extreme -- she's had a large number of defections among top campaign aides. A lot of people -- a lot of Republicans in the state just personally don't like her, I think.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. We'll leave it at that.

John Mercurio, with our Monday Mercurio moment.

Thanks for your time, as always.

MERCURIO: Thank you, Miles.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, a look now at some of the stories we're working on for you this morning. The "Crocodile Hunter," Steve Irwin, killed while he's filming off Australia's northeast coast. We'll update you on what happened.

Al Qaeda's number two man in Iraq is now in custody. How is his arrest going to impact the insurgency?

A CNN exclusive. Zain Verjee talks with the former president of Iran about the controversy over that nation's nuclear program.

A two-year criminal investigation lands some of Boston's finest in trouble.

And say goodbye to a tennis legend. Andre Agassi bows out after a 21-year career.

A short break. A check of the forecast is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MYERS: And good morning. Here's a quick weather update now.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MYERS: The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.

S. O'BRIEN: A popular television personality and world renowned environmentalist is dead this morning, fatally attacked by a sea creature. "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin killed Sunday while filming his latest documentary.

M. O'BRIEN: In Iraq, a key al Qaeda leader is behind bars. Iraqis say it's a big victory, but will he spill some beans?

S. O'BRIEN: And Boston police busted. The FBI says the Boston cops protected a massive cocaine shipment from Florida to Boston. They say they got it all on videotape.

M. O'BRIEN: And the weather cools down. That means politics is heating up. Nine weeks to a crucial midterm election. Will the balance of power shift?

S. O'BRIEN: Plus, a powerful and emotional farewell from Andre Agassi, defeated on the court but an eternal winner to tennis fans everywhere.

Those stories and much more on this AMERICAN MORNING.

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