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American Morning

Fifth Girl Dies in Amish School Shooting; Hastert Stands by Handling of Foley Case

Aired October 03, 2006 - 08:00   ET

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

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Jason Carroll in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, where a fifth little girl has died in the Amish school shooting. Police are trying to learn more about what may have motivated the shooter. An update, coming up.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Andrea Koppel on Capitol Hill.

A major conservative paper is calling for Dennis Hastert to resign.

Will he bow to the pressure?

I've spoken to the Speaker's camp and I'll tell you what they're saying, coming up.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Sean Callebs in northern Louisiana.

In just a bit, an exclusive interview with the congressman who brought the page to Washington who is now at the center of the e-mail controversy swirling around former Representative Foley.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And a survivor's story this morning. Elizabeth Edwards is talking about her fight against breast cancer. Diagnosed just days before the 2004 election, she'll join us live in the studio just ahead.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And the great debate over global warming. The senator who calls it a hoax will be here to take us to task on this AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: Good morning.

Welcome back, everybody.

I'm Soledad O'Brien.

M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.

This morning, a call for the Republican House Speaker, Dennis Hastert, to resign. And it's coming from a conservative newspaper, "The Washington Times."

CNN Congressional correspondent Andrea Koppel spoke with the Speaker. She joins us from Capitol Hill with more -- Andrea, good morning.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

Well, pressure on House Republican leaders from both the left and the right is mounting. I spoke with a spokesman for Dennis Hastert to get his reaction to that "The Washington Times" editorial, and this is what he told me. He said: "Thousand Speaker has and will lead the Republican Conference to another majority in the 110th Congress. Mark Foley has resigned his seat in dishonor and the criminal investigation of this matter will continue. The Speaker is working every day on ensuring the House is a safe, productive environment for members, staff and all those who are employed by the institution."

Now, during my interview with Speaker Hastert yesterday, I asked him the question on the minds of many -- what did he know and when did he know it?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DENNIS HASTERT (R-IL), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: The first I was really aware of this was last Friday when it happened. And all of a sudden the press came out and said that there were these e-mails that were from 2003, I guess. And Congressman Foley resigned. That's when I learned of it, at that point.

I don't recall Reynolds talking to me about that. But if he did, he brought it in with a whole stack of things. And I think if we would have had that discussion, he would have said that it was also resolved, because my understanding now is that it was resolved at that point. The family had gotten what it wanted to get.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: Now, Reynolds is the New York Republican congressman -- Tom Reynolds, who is running for reelection in Upstate New York. He held a press conference yesterday in which he reiterated his comment that he had told Speaker Hastert about this case when he learned about it last spring -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Andrea Koppel on Capitol Hill.

Thank you -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, the former Congressman is dropping out of sight. He's in rehab somewhere. His lawyer, his friends, aren't revealing just where.

CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti is outside Congressman Foley's condo building in Fort Pierce, Florida -- good morning, Susan.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

With the ex-congressman in treatment for at least a month now, his lawyer is left to answer a barrage of questions, starting with the timing of Mr. Foley's treatment. He says Mr. Foley hit rock bottom. (BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Monday night, Foley's attorney put it bluntly.

DAVID ROTH, MARK FOLEY'S ATTORNEY: That Mark is an alcoholic. He drank in secret.

CANDIOTTI: If Foley suffered from alcoholism, friends contacted by CNN and even Foley's own brother-in-law say they knew nothing about it. Nor did Washington insiders.

THOMAS MANN, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: It wasn't something that was known widely on Capitol Hill, which raises the possibility that it's -- it's a step being taken for tactical purposes more than anything else.

CANDIOTTI: In Foley's case, his attorney says the disgraced congressman has received mental health counseling before. The attorney would not say why. The lawyer insisted Foley's e-mails and sexually explicit instant messages to Congressional pages were nothing more than inappropriate behavior.

ROTH: He is absolutely, positively not a pedophile. Mark Foley has never, ever had an inappropriate sexual contact with a minor in his life.

CANDIOTTI: Foley's lawyer, David Roth, says he has not discussed any possible legal trouble with his client, not now, while he's in treatment.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

CANDIOTTI: Businessman Tim Mahoney is the Democrat running for Foley's seat and his brand new Republican opponent, Joe Negron, was supposed to start campaigning today. The problem is he has to report for jury duty in about a half an hour -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: He might be able to get off the hook for that.

We'll see.

Susan Candiotti for us this morning.

Thanks, Susan.

The teenager who exchanged e-mails with Congressman Foley got the job through Louisiana Congressman Rodney Alexander.

CNN's Sean Callebs is in Monroe, Louisiana and he spoke exclusively with Congressman Alexander -- nice to see you, Sean.

Good morning.

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad. When we talked to Congressman Alexander last night, he said he's disappointed that there are growing calls for Speaker Hastert's resignation. He says he first learned about the electronic communication between Foley and the page about 11 months ago and at that time Alexander first went to the page's family. And the page's family made it clear they did not want to pursue charges. They just wanted this entire controversy to go away.

But since Alexander had received media inquiries, he first went to the speaker's office and told the speaker's staff about the e- mails.

Mind you, this was 11 months ago. And then two months after that, he went to Tom Reynolds's office. Tom Reynolds, of course, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Alexander says it has simply been a brutal week for the family of the page, as well as the teenager. And the former page has received a number of e-mail threats.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RODNEY ALEXANDER (R), LOUISIANA: I talked to his mother today and, you know, she's very disturbed. And, you know, there -- she has a right to be concerned about him. And, again, I apologize because the system has allowed that to happen to her young man. He was excited about getting to come to Washington, he enjoyed it. He had an opportunity of a lifetime and there were some that ruined it for him. And, again, I apologize.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CALLEBS: And to be completely clear, what we are talking about are e-mails from Foley to the former page, things like "What did you want for your birthday?," send him a picture, not the more explicit I.M. messages that came out a little bit later.

Now in northern Louisiana, the identity of this former page has leaked out and Alexander says that is simply a shame, that the teenager has basically been harassed for the past several days by a number of people, but, he says, especially the media, trying to find out more about this story. And in painting a profile of the teenager, he says he is a fine young man from a good family -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Sean Callebs for us this morning.

Thank you, Sean -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Another young Amish girl has died this morning, the fifth fatality in that Amish school shooting in Pennsylvania. Six others are still in critical condition right now, all victims of a lone gunman who was very well armed.

CNN's Jason Carroll joining us now from the schoolhouse in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

CARROLL: Good morning to you, Miles.

Not only was he very well armed, but apparently he held some sort of a grudge, a 20-year grudge. He wanted to exact his revenge on young girls and decided that the Amish schoolhouse was the perfect place to do it.

He did it yesterday morning, again, taking his revenge out on little girls.

We're learning a little bit more about the shooter, Charles Roberts, 32 years old. We know that according to investigators, that he was planning this at least for a few days. They know that because he purchased some of the items that he used in the shooting just a few days ago.

As you know, when he broke into that one room schoolhouse, he was armed with a semi-automatic handgun, a shotgun, a stun-gun, a change of clothes and 600 rounds of ammunition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. JEFFREY MILLER, COMMISSIONER, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: From what we've learned in the last few hours, it is clear to us that he did a great deal of planning, just from the list of materials that I just laid out. It was very clear that he intended -- it appears as though he intended to be prepared for a lengthy siege, if you will.

So he came here prepared. It wasn't a spur of the moment thing, from what we can see. It appears that he did a lot of time in planning and preparation and intended to harm these kids and intended to harm himself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CARROLL: Roberts' wife describes him as a loving father, the type of father who would take his own kids -- he had three kids -- to soccer practice.

We're learning a little bit more from his co-workers. His co- workers tell investigators that he was always outgoing, but recently he had become somewhat more reserved, reclusive and "moody."

But in the last few days, his spirits seemed to lift, which is so strange in terms of what happened out here yesterday morning -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Jason, can you give us a sense -- obviously this is a very closed community, the Amish community. It rejects the outside world in many respects.

Are they talking much to outsiders about what has happened and what they're going to be doing going forward?

CARROLL: Very little. I did have an opportunity to speak with one of the members of the Amish community out here. And, as you know, they shun-media. They don't even like to have their photos taken. But this was a situation where he felt it was important to speak. I asked him about what he thought about the idea of having an outsider come in and do something like this. And he said it didn't matter if it was someone from within their community or outside the community, what they were trying to do at this point was bring everyone together, to come together, try to explain it to the young children and the adults, as well, and try to come to some sort of understanding.

M. O'BRIEN: Jason Carroll in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

Thank you very much -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: In California, the Day Fire, north of L.A. in Ohi (ph), around that area, it's now fully contained today. Some 1,500 firefighters are there this morning. They're hoping to have this fire completely out by next week. The fire has burned more than 250 square miles. It's cost the state more than $70 million to fight it.

In Illinois, workers are trying to get the power back on after some severe storms. Extreme weather in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs left as many as 300,000 people without electricity at one point. Wind gusts were going as high as 65 miles an hour and they toppled trees and took out the power lines, too. Some areas got up to four inches of rain.

That brings us right to the forecast -- and, Chad, good morning.

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad.

That's...

S. O'BRIEN: A big mess there, huh?

MYERS: It really was. This thing just got itself going over Milwaukee and just crashed right through Chicago. And even in the overnight hours, it was going through Indianapolis. And now it's finally dying out before it gets down to Louisville.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up on the program, more on those deadly shootings at that Amish school in Pennsylvania. We'll take a closer look at what authorities know about the gunman's motive.

Plus, it may soon be getting hot in here. The senator who says global warming is a hoax to join us. Our story about Jim Inhofe's claim made him plenty angry. We'll hear from him a little later.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Two American soldiers are dead this morning, killed in fierce fighting in eastern Afghanistan. An Afghan soldier also died in the battle.

In another clash, three Afghan policemen were killed when Taliban insurgents attacked their outpost near the Pakistan border. This morning, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has left Saudi Arabia from Cairo, the latest stop in her Middle East tour. This visit comes as conflict between Palestinian factions continues. Secretary Rice hopes to revive the dormant Arab-Israeli peace process and deal with other regional issues, as well.

This morning, North Korea says it will conduct a nuclear weapons test. The announcement comes as leaders in Pyongyang say they feel threatened by American belligerence. Six party talks on North Korea's nuclear program are stalled.

Iran is proposing the French enrich uranium for its nuclear program. The Iranian deputy atomic energy chief hopes this offer will satisfy international demands for outside oversight of Iran's nuclear program. Iran claims it wants nuclear power for peaceful purposes. The U.S. contends it wants to build nuclear weapons -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: The Amish community is devastated after a violent attack on girls at a school in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. A fifth little girl died early this morning. There are concerns that that number could grow. Six girls are still in the hospital.

The big question this morning is why.

Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner, Jeffrey Miller, joins us from Lancaster County.

Nice to see you, sir.

Thank you for talking with us.

MILLER: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: We've heard reports about revenge, something about a 20-year-old revenge.

Do you have any clue as to what happened when Charles Roberts was 12 years old that would trigger something like this 20 years later?

MILLER: We're still working on that. We're doing further interviews this morning and we hope to be able to shed a little bit more light on that later today, as to his motives and what he was thinking at the time he planned and carried out these attacks.

S. O'BRIEN: He's 32 years old, basically the milkman. He finishes up his shift, takes his kids to the bus stop and then starts this rampage at this local school.

Did anybody have any indication that he was on the verge of snapping or doing this?

MILLER: No, not at all. In fact, his wife and his family -- there were no outward signs exhibited to them that he was planning something like this. But it's very clear to us, as the investigation unfolds, that he was -- he had planned this in advance, at least two or three days in advance -- and he had certain supplies that he already had. He had other things that he purchased.

But make no mistake about it, he planned on a siege at this school and he had enough equipment and enough ammunition and weapons to hunker down in that position for a lengthy period of time.

S. O'BRIEN: Why this particular school? Do you know? Any link to -- between 20 years ago, whatever that ends up being, and this particular Amish school?

MILLER: No, we don't believe that there's any link that we've been able to uncover that would show that he had some animus toward the Amish community. We don't believe that was the case at all.

We believe that this was a target of opportunity, that he -- he, living in the community, knew where it was. It was a one room schoolhouse. I believe he felt he could get in there pretty easily and secure it, from a defensive posture. And that's what he did.

I mean he used two by sixes, two by fours. He had all kinds of tools. He nailed the doors shut. He used flex cuffs to lock the doors. It was very difficult for the troopers to get in when they assaulted the school. They had to come in through the windows.

S. O'BRIEN: The details of this sound just absolutely horrific and maybe made worse by the fact that the family members, because they're Amish, they don't have access -- they don't use technology -- had to, I guess, look at pictures to figure out which of their children was in which hospital.

MILLER: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: It must be just brutal.

MILLER: It was very difficult. I mean, obviously, we want to be sensitive and we are sensitive to the Amish culture and community and their religion.

Unfortunately, they don't fly, so we weren't able to fly them to the hospitals. And because of the fact that there were so many victims at one time that were triaged and taken out of here, we didn't know the identities of the victims as they went to hospital. We just knew we had a little girl who went to a certain hospital.

So in some cases, the Amish -- we arranged for vans to take them to hospitals. And in some cases, they were at the wrong hospital. It wasn't until we were able to get color photographs faxed to the command post from the emergency room and the trauma centers that we were able to show it to some of the teachers to try to identify the name of the student and then get the parents and the family to the correct hospital.

We were able to accomplish that last night and overnight, last evening.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, it sounds terrible and just very chaotic and confusing for those poor parents. There were some -- co-workers have described Mr. Roberts as being despondent and then sort of perking up and his spirits lifting in recent days.

Has any of those co-workers come forward with an idea of what was going on in his head?

MILLER: No, I don't believe any of his co-workers had any idea what was going on in his head. I think after the fact, in hindsight, they observed some behavior over the last week where he seemed to be under some pressure and stress for a period of time. He wasn't as outgoing, you know, would stay in the truck, you know, wouldn't get out and talk to them.

And then getting closer to yesterday, he began to loosen up again, as if he had, you know, had a relief of some sort. And I believe -- we believe that that is related to him making a decision to actually do this and plan it out and ultimately that gave him some sort of a sense of relief.

S. O'BRIEN: When will we know, sir, about what the motive was -- do you think we'll ever know about -- in this?

MILLER: I don't think we'll ever know with 100 percent certainty. Obviously, he's dead so we have no way of confirming this. But we hope today, after we conduct a few more interviews this morning, to be able to shed further light based upon what we have in suicide notes that we haven't released and some of the interviews we've done. We hope to be able to shed further light and give a little bit of an insight and try to explain something that really is -- is unexplainable.

S. O'BRIEN: Absolutely.

Colonel Jeffrey Miller is with the Pennsylvania State Police Commission.

Thank you for talking with us.

We appreciate your time.

MILLER: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, Elizabeth Edwards is our guest, the wife of the Democratic vice presidential hopeful back in 2004. She made news of her own when she was diagnosed with breast cancer on the campaign trail.

She's got a new book. It's a hearth-wrenching story of big losses and where she found her strength. That story is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Elizabeth Edwards has gone through a lot in her lifetime. The wife of a former Democratic vice presidential candidate, John Edwards, she's dealt with the blow of losing a child and has fought and won a battle with breast cancer.

She writes all about it in her new autobiography. It's called "Saving Graces."

And Elizabeth Edwards joins us this morning.

"Saving Graces" and then sort of the subtitle, "Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers."

ELIZABETH EDWARDS, AUTHOR, "SAVING GRACES": That's how I made it through.

S. O'BRIEN: It's nice to see you.

EDWARDS: It's great to see you again, Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much.

You begin with canotia (ph), which is the discovery of the lump in your breast.

EDWARDS: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: And I read this and the reaction is not panic. It's not oh my god, I'm going to die. The reaction is sort of bizarrely calm.

Why -- why that reaction?

EDWARDS: I think there's probably a little bit of denial in that. There's probably -- and probably every woman who's been through this either and -- gotten a benign or a malignant dangerous ultimately has, at first, convinced himself that this was going to be benign.

And I was -- I had just convinced myself that I was going to get through the next days believing that what I had was a cyst. And...

S. O'BRIEN: Because you were on the campaign trail.

EDWARDS: I'm on the campaign trail.

S. O'BRIEN: Working ridiculous hours.

EDWARDS: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: I mean it's very stressful.

EDWARDS: I have 11 cities to go to between the time I found the lump...

S. O'BRIEN: You can't have breast cancer, you're too busy.

EDWARDS: Absolutely. In fact, someone -- one of the people who wrote me after I had the breast cancer said, you know, I thought children like -- I -- this dangerous is unacceptable, you know? And so you just -- you have things you need to do and it was easier just to push that aside, say this -- it can't possibly be serious and I need to focus on this.

S. O'BRIEN: You don't tell your husband, who you're talking to several times a day...

EDWARDS: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: ... as you sort of campaign in different directions.

EDWARDS: Yes. And partly because I didn't know for certain and why should I send him into a whirlwind, as I knew he would, you know, go? Because I know he'd want to take care of me. So I needed to make certain that unless I -- until I was certain, I didn't throw this at him.

S. O'BRIEN: We've had this discussion before about how women are always the last to take care of themselves.

EDWARDS: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, when -- you're the prime example of this. You don't run-to the doctor. OK, you don't tell your husband. You don't run-to the doctor and get it checked out.

EDWARDS: But I did make -- you have to give me some good. I did have an appointment that day...

S. O'BRIEN: You did. You had an appointment.

EDWARDS: ... to go to the doctor the following week.

S. O'BRIEN: I'll give you that. And then it turns out to be...

EDWARDS: It did turn out to be cancer.

S. O'BRIEN: You write about the loss of your son, in a way, playing a role in your thinking about your cancer.

EDWARDS: It did.

S. O'BRIEN: And if I can ask you...

EDWARDS: Absolutely.

S. O'BRIEN: ... just to read where I have marked it right there. It's very remarkable, I think.

EDWARDS: This is after I had found out that I had cancer. I said: "I really was at peace about the disease. I've sometimes talked about the strange gift that comes with the awful tragedy of losing a child. I had already been through the worst, I believe. We all had. And I had the gift of knowing that nothing will ever be as bad as that. The worst day of my life had already come. And I knew, too, that I had a chance to beat this, a chance my son never had, a chance we never had to save him."

S. O'BRIEN: He was 16 years old. EDWARDS: Sixteen.

S. O'BRIEN: He died in an automobile accident.

EDWARDS: He did.

S. O'BRIEN: The last words you said to him was "I love you."

EDWARDS: I love you. That was the way we ended our phone conversations. So, you know, I'm glad they were -- it was, because, of course, I -- there was no way for me to know that that was the last conversation. I was actually calling him in the morning, trying to make certain he was out of bed when I was not there to make sure he got to school on time.

S. O'BRIEN: How do you go on? I mean I've interviewed mothers who have lost children over the years and I'm just baffled about how they even get out of bed in the morning.

EDWARDS: I mean, it helped to have a surviving child. That gave you a reason to get up, a reason to try to -- to make each day as happy as possible, although as I write in the book, that, you know, it was a long time that happy was just not within any -- within reach.

And then you realize that you don't want the legacy of this child to be these wrecks of a parent -- of parents that he left behind. You want the legacy to be the positive -- as positive as the boy himself. And so you feel an obligation to the memory. And that helps you focus on positive things, do positive things, and then ultimately try to find joy in your life again.

S. O'BRIEN: The book, in a lot of ways, is a thank you. I mean at one point it is a thank you...

EDWARDS: It is. I...

S. O'BRIEN: ... (UNINTELLIGIBLE) to people you never sort of got back to because you were so overwhelmed...

EDWARDS: Yes. Right.

S. O'BRIEN: ... who reached out and touched you.

EDWARDS: Yes. I mean, it -- that -- it really is a way of, I hope, of thanking people who have helped me along the way. It's a recognition that nobody does this alone, that you are stronger because you have people to help you. Some of them are people you expect, like your family. John stood beside me, you know, so constantly. But some of them are people that you might not expect, you know, people who have -- who are unbelievably supportive.

I found a great supportive community on the Internet, people I've, you know, I've met a couple of them in the 10 years since Wade died.

But, you know, there are hundreds who really held me up and I hope I did my part to help hold them up.

S. O'BRIEN: February 15th, 2005, the last round of chemo.

How is your health now?

EDWARDS: It seems to be -- it seems to be pretty good. I, you know, I have a few lingering little things, but I'm honestly, you know, since I don't have cancer -- knock on wood. But you (UNINTELLIGIBLE)...

S. O'BRIEN: We've got wood chairs, too.

EDWARDS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE) a block head (UNINTELLIGIBLE). If you -- if I don't have cancer, I can stand any of the other little things. It's not a problem.

S. O'BRIEN: (UNINTELLIGIBLE).

This book is amazing. I cried all through the middle part about where you -- I mean it's a beautiful -- it's a beautiful, beautiful book.

EDWARDS: Thank you.

I don't know if that's a testament to (UNINTELLIGIBLE) cancer.

S. O'BRIEN: No. No. I cried in a good way, in the good way.

EDWARDS: OK.

S. O'BRIEN: It's very, very moving.

EDWARDS: Thanks for...

S. O'BRIEN: Thank you for talking with us.

EDWARDS: Absolutely.

S. O'BRIEN: We certainly appreciate it.

EDWARDS: It's great to be with you.

S. O'BRIEN: It's called "Saving Graces."

Coming up this morning, as well, we're going to be talking to Senator Jim Inhofe. He says global warming is a hoax. Our story about him last week got him pretty upset. We'll get his response this morning, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Let's change the political climate a little and talk about the debate over global warming. Did you hear about that speech on the Senate floor last week where one senator said it was all a hoax?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JAMES INHOFE (R), OKLAHOMA: The American people have been served up an unprecedented parade of environmental alarmism by the media.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Nothing new from Oklahoma Republican Jim Inhofe, who has long voiced skepticism about global warming. Our piece about his speech, which raised some skepticism about the senator's claims, prompted him to blast us several times this past week. So now it is time to hear from him directly.

Senator Inhofe joins us from Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Senator, good to have you with us.

INHOFE: Well, Miles, it's nice to be with you. I know you don't believe it, but it is nice to be with you.

O'BRIEN: It's a pleasure having you here.

INHOFE: You know why? You always smile. So many of these extremists out there, they are mad all the time. But you're not; you smile. In fact, when you're cutting my guts out for two minutes...

(LAUGHTER)

... last week, you smiled all the way through it. And I appreciate that.

O'BRIEN: Well, yes, we got to keep it all in perspective.

Let's talk about global warming. Is it a hoax?

INHOFE: First of all, things are getting warmer. We understand that. We're going through a warming period. No one's denying that. The question is, is it due to man-made gases? And it's not.

Now, some areas are not going through a warming period. One of the things that you said -- I have science on my side. On the Antarctic, for example, that it's actually gaining ice and it's getting cooler. That comes from the National Snow and Ice Data Center. I documented all these things. The Arctic was actually warmer in the 1930s than it is today. That comes from the International Arctic Research Center.

And the Harvard Center for Astrophysics agrees with us -- or with me when I say that they've come to the conclusion that in the 15th century the world was warmer -- that was during the medieval warming period -- than it is today. So those things are true. However, the big question here is, is it man-made gases that have anything to do with global warming or with the climate change? And I say that it's not. And that's the big issue there.

O'BRIEN: All right, lots to go through there. Let's talk about the Antarctic ice sheet for just a moment, if we could.

INHOFE: Yes.

O'BRIEN: There's a study you raise -- I think it goes back to 2002 -- but there's a 2005 study I'd like to cite for you. It comes from the British Antarctic Survey and it contradicts some previous assertions. It says this: "The massive West Antarctic ice sheet, previously assumed to be stable, is starting to collapse. Glaciers on the Antarctic peninsula which protrudes from the continent to the north were already known to be retreating."

What do you say to that?

INHOFE: Well, I say -- I quoted a good scientific source and you have too.

One of the things that is happening is that in some areas -- and I think Greenland's a good example -- it's actually getting thicker in the middle, but it's calving -- the term that they use -- on the outside. So the overall ice cap is getting thicker but it's getting thinner on the outside.

Now, keep in mind, this has been going on now for...

O'BRIEN: The concern, of course, is ice that goes into the water, because ultimately that is what leads to -- from the land to the water -- leads to a rise in sea levels. And that's the big concern. And that's what they're talking about here. You don't discount that?

INHOFE: Well, yes, I do discount that, because in some areas you might find that the sea level is rising, not in other areas.

But I would like to go back and just look at the science on these things.

When you talk about the polar bears, for example. I heard your piece on that, and you did a very excellent piece. You scared a lot of people when you did your special. But, you know, when you go up there, the biologists in Canada, along with a group that you would support, the World Wildlife Fund, they say that the polar bear population is actually increasing. They said there are 13 populations in Canada; 11 are increasing and two are remaining steady.

(CROSSTALK)

INHOFE: So what I try to do is look at the science. Because I'm not a scientist; neither are you.

O'BRIEN: Let's finish this -- make sure we're complete and on record on that.

That comes from a scientist by the name of Mitchell Taylor. And in that same article, he says this...

INHOFE: No, I didn't quote Mitchell Taylor. I quoted the World Wildlife Fund.

O'BRIEN: OK. Well, Dr. Mitchell Taylor did the study which says of the 13 populations, 11 are stable. And he says this: "It is entirely appropriate to be concerned about climate change." So he's not discounting the concern here.

INHOFE: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Would you disagree with that?

INHOFE: No. I wouldn't disagree with that. I was talking about the polar bear population and responding to something that you had said.

And another thing of interest -- you trotted out this guy Chris Shays. Out of 230 members of the United States Congress, he is ranked as the most liberal member. Sure, he's going to come out and criticize me. Let's look at people on...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: I tell you what, there are some others, though. Let's listen to a couple of them. First of all, Senator John McCain.

INHOFE: Well...

O'BRIEN: Let's listen for a second.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

U.S. SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ): I believe climate change is real. I believe that we need to act as quickly as possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: And we've got one more, a veteran congressman who's on the Science Committee, Sherwood Boehlert. Let's listen to him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE SHERWOOD BOEHLERT (R-NY): I think there's no doubt about it: The broad scientific consensus on global climate change is for real. Moreover, it's acknowledged that man has contributed significantly to the problem. And we've got to do something about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: It's not just Chris Shays we're talking about.

INHOFE: No. Let me respond.

Well, you've picked out Sherry. He's number two in the most liberal.

But as far as John McCain's concerned, he's a good friend of mine. I've served with him. However, John McCain is running for president and this is a huge, popular issue. Seventy percent of the people have been duped by the media.

But let's keep in mind, when you say that I've been alone on this issue, the last time...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Well, I said "all but alone...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: ... in saying it's a hoax." That's what I said.

INHOFE: The last time we had a vote on this, it was last year when I led the charge against John McCain on the floor. He had a bill that was called the Kyoto Lite bill. And we won 60 to 38. So I'm not alone; there are 59 other senators that are out there.

And I wonder also, Miles, it wasn't long ago -- you've got to keep everyone hysterical all the time. You were the one that said another ice age is coming just 12 years ago.

O'BRIEN: I said that? I didn't say that.

INHOFE: You didn't say that. Let me quote you...

O'BRIEN: No, no, no. I'd be willing to tell you there are stories like that. But there's not...

(CROSSTALK)

INHOFE: ... quote you so I'll be accurate. I don't want to be inaccurate.

O'BRIEN: All right, go ahead.

INHOFE: You said, in talking about a shift that was coming -- you said, "If the Gulf Stream were to shift again, the British Isles could be engulfed in polar ice and Europe's climate could become frigid." That's another scary story.

O'BRIEN: But that also is a potential outgrowth of global warming when you talk about the ocean currents being arrested. This is "The Day After Tomorrow" scenario that we're talking about.

(CROSSTALK)

INHOFE: Hey, by the way...

O'BRIEN: I want to go to one -- let's go to one quick Web site. I want to share this with people. And I want to see what you say to this. This is from the Environmental Protection Agency, Bush administration's EPA.

You go to their Web site on global warming, you click on the thing that says "what is the problem?" First two lines there are, "According to the National Academy of Sciences, the earth's surface temperature has risen by about a degree Fahrenheit in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades. There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities."

This is the Environmental Protection Agency from the Bush administration saying that. I mean, there is a lot of consensus here, isn't there?

INHOFE: No, I don't think so. Speaking of Web sites, my Web site is inhofe.senate.gov.

(LAUGHTER)

And I'd like to -- it wasn't just one speech. I made eight speeches on the Senate floor talking about the real science.

Can I mention one thing I think is very significant, Miles.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

INHOFE: A guy named Tom Wiggly (ph) -- you know who he was -- he's the one that was -- the National Center for Science Research.

Now, in the event that you're right and I'm wrong -- let's say that it's due to man-made gases, anthropagenic (ph) gases -- CO2 or methane, if that is true, if every developed nation signed up on the Kyoto treaty and complied with it, it would only reduce the Earth's temperature by...

O'BRIEN: Well, we're not talking about Kyoto.

(CROSSTALK)

INHOFE: ... in 50 years.

O'BRIEN: We're not talking about Kyoto. We're just talking about whether the global warming is real.

I want to do one thing here quickly. Let's listen to the president for just a moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have said consistently that global warming is a serious problem. There's a debate whether it's man-made or naturally caused. We ought to get beyond the debate and implementing the technologies to enable us to achieve big objectives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: The president seems to be saying we should err on the side of caution given the stakes here. What do you say to that?

INHOFE: (inaudible) president has said, I don't know whether it's manmade or natural. But we need to get beyond that point. That's a good statement, and I agree.

My committee that I chair, just two weeks, ago had a hearing on the technology that could be used out there in the event that we wanted to do something and found that CO2 had something to do with it. But keep in mind, CO2, if everyone complied with the Kyoto treaty, it would only decrease the temperature in 50 years by six one-hundredths of a degree.

O'BRIEN: (inaudible) talking about Kyoto. He's just saying something should be done -- in other words, err on the side of caution...

(CROSSTALK)

INHOFE: That's fine. I think we should do that, yes.

O'BRIEN: Senator James Inhofe, it was a pleasure having you with us.

INHOFE: Thank you, Miles. Keep smiling.

O'BRIEN: All right. You too.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: President Bush is in California this morning. He's campaigning for Republican congressional candidates. He's also gone on the defense against accusations in the Bob Woodward book "State of Denial." Woodward writes that the administration ignored signs of the trouble in Iraq.

CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano is covering the president's West Coast trip. She's in Stockton, California, this morning.

Hey, Elaine, good morning.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad. That's right. With just five weeks left until congressional midterm elections, President Bush is expected to come out swinging once again later today when he starts with an event here in California.

Now, last night we got a little bit of a taste of that at a fundraiser in Nevada. The president, appearing in a fundraiser for Republican congressional candidate Dean Heller. The president said that Democrats should be held accountable for opposing measures like the National Security Agency's surveillance program, as well as the CIA interrogation program. The president clearly engaged in the Republican strategy of trying to paint Democrats as being weak on national security.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's a difference of opinion in Washington. If you listen closely to some of the leaders of the Democratic party, it sounds like -- it sounds like they think the best way to protect the American people is wait until we're attacked again. That's not the way it's going to be under my administration.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, one thing we didn't hear was the president making mention yesterday of the fact that it was actually fellow Republicans who so staunchly opposed him on the issue of detainee legislation. You'll recall, the president reached a compromise with those renegade Republican senators, as they came to be known.

Meantime here in California, Soledad, expect some more tough talk from President Bush, as he continues to try to convince Americans that Republicans will keep Americans safe. Noticeably absent, though, we should mention, from any of the president's events today, the Republican governor of this state, Arnold Schwarzenegger -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano for us this morning in Stockton, California. Elaine, thank you.

Also in California, a man there is facing charges that he threatened President Bush. His name is Michael Lee Braun, and he allegedly sent threatening letters containing a powdery substance to a Sacramento Country Club, which is where the president is going to attend a fundraiser today. The substance turned out to be baking soda. Prosecutors say Braun has sent 49 other threatening letters -- threats to Vice President Dick Cheney, the first lady and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld included in that long list.

Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come, a spy scandal rocks Russia. We'll tell you about the growing tension with one of its neighbors.

Plus, a humanitarian crisis in Africa that the world seems to be ignoring. Why is it getting so little attention? Well, let's give it some attention. Anderson Cooper will join us, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in a town called Goma, where a major humanitarian crisis is under way, a crisis that has received very little attention from the media for the last several years. The deadliest war in our lifetime, since World War II, has taken place here in the Congo. Some three to four million people have died. And though the fighting has ended, the humanitarian crisis continues.

We'll have more of that coming up shortly.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm John Vause in Jerusalem. Three more Palestinians have died during overnight clashes in Gaza. So far, at least 12 have been killed since violence erupted on Sunday. And Palestinian security forces, loyal to the president Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah party, took to the streets, demanding unpaid wages from the Hamas-led government.

Hamas sent its own security force to confront the protesters. The armed wing of Fatah is now threatening to assassinate Hamas leaders. The Hamas government has been strapped for cash ever since taking offers earlier this year. Most donor countries have frozen financial aid because the Islamic militants refuse to recognize Israel's right to exist.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Matthew Chance in Moscow. The Kremlin has decided to push ahead with its severe economic sanctions against the neighboring former Soviet Republic of Georgia. But despite the fact that the four Russian service personnel were being held there on charges of spying have now been released, Russia's transport and communications industry declared that all air, road, rail and sea links, as well as coastal services to Georgia, will be suspended until further notice.

It could have a big economic impact on that tiny former Soviet republic. There could also be more sanctions, as well, later on this week. The Russian parliament, the State Duma, is to debate a bill that would stop Georgians living in Russia, cabling their earnings back home to their families. Many of them are very dependent on that flow of cash.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: For more on these stories or any of our top stories, you can go right to our Web site at CNN.com.

Coming up next, Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business."

Good morning, Andy.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Soledad.

Does Sony have a problem with its new Playstation? And get this, a cell phone that screams if it's stolen.

S. O'BRIEN: What does it scream? SERWER: Well, we'll find out, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, we'll take a look at our top stories, including a fifth little girl dying in that tragic Amish school shooting. We're going to bring you details from Pennsylvania Dutch Country straight ahead.

And then a look at the Foley fallout. Now a top Republican leader is being urged to step down by a conservative newspaper. We're live on Capitol Hill ahead. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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