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American Morning
North Korea Nuclear Test; Foley Fallout
Aired October 09, 2006 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Popular brand of lettuce is being recalled in seven states for possible E. Coli contamination.
It is right at the top of the hour. A time for a check of the weather with Chad Myers who's watching it get a little bit colder.
Hey, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much, Chad.
We begin this morning with breaking news out of North Korea. The regime of Kim Jong-il boasting it has successfully tested a nuclear bomb. We have complete live coverage for you. Kathleen Koch at the White House, Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Let's begin with Kathleen.
Kathleen, good morning.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
The U.S. got notification of the test shortly before it occurred. What happened is that North Korea notified China just after 9:00 p.m. Eastern that it was about to conduct such a test. China then called the U.S. embassy in Beijing. At 9:35, that was a point that the U.S. Geological Survey detected some sort of seismic event in North Korea.
Then at 9:45, U.S. embassy in Beijing called Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. She then called National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, who then alerted President Bush. That was just shortly before 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Then at 1:30 this morning, Press Secretary Tony Snow alerted reporters in the United States, had a conference call and issued a very strong statement saying, "a North Korean nuclear test would constitute a provocative act in defiance of the will of the international community and of our call to refrain from actions that would aggravate tensions in Northeast Asia. We expect the Security Council to take immediate actions to respond to this unprovoked act."
Now, that being the United Nations Security Council. And senior U.S. officials tell CNN that the U.S., when the Council meets this morning at 9:30, will push for sanctions. And those officials believe the U.S. has, "substantial support for strong sanctions."
Now Snow, in his conference call, it's important to know, also said the U.S., "reaffirms its commitment to protect and defend our allies in the region." Reporters said, what does that mean? Could there be some sort of a blockade-like inspection of ships in the region? And Snow said right now no military steps have been announced. Even if there were some in the works, he wouldn't be able to share them with us.
Back to you, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: thank you very much, Kathleen Koch, at the White House.
Let's go to the Pentagon right now where they're crunching the numbers this morning, trying to figure out how big that test was, whether it was somehow masked in some way, and exactly how big is that nuclear stock pile in North Korea. CNN's Barbara Starr live from the Pentagon with all that and more.
Barbara, good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles.
Well, there has been a seismic event. Now the question for the U.S. intelligence community, for the U.S. military, what is the bottom line? What does all of this mean?
Now, what the intelligence community has been trying to do throughout the night is analyze that seismic event that has been picked up on monitoring stations around the world. Look at the actual seismic wave, try and determine exactly what part of it was a nuclear event, how big it was.
They are also looking for double, dual confirmation, if you will, a second source that will tell them technically that it was a nuclear event. There are a lot of sensors and very highly classified systems that the U.S. has deployed to the Korean peninsula. They're looking at the data from the satellites, from the spy planes, trying to learn everything they can.
Why is it so important? Because if they can determine how big the nuclear event was, they know how much fissile material North Korea used. They might be able to determine how much fissile material North Korea has left.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Is it possible then to sort of mask an explosion like this? Could it have been potentially a very large, conventional explosion?
STARR: Well, that is the question on the table. It's very technical. But what our sources tell us is that the experts can look at the seismic waves and determine that it was nuclear one way or the other.
Could the North Koreans have somehow masked certain portions of the test? Yes, it is possible that they set off a good deal of conventional explosives nearby that would have also caused shock waves in the atmosphere. But the experts are going to look at that and try and determine whether that might have taken place.
There is no answer to that question yet. It does seem clear that at least a good portion of this event was nuclear. There's no reason to doubt it. But they want to determine exactly how much of it really was a nuclear event.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: And as best we know, there was no leakage of any radiation?
STARR: Well, that has not been, I would say, formally determined yet. They are trying to look at it.
But let me add in one more thing. When we talk about the bottom line here throughout the day, what does this all mean, North Korea conducted a nuclear event within its own borders. That is one question. The much more significant, equally significant perhaps I should say, question for the intelligence community is, what happens now? Will the Iranians, will al Qaeda, who will come knocking on North Korea's door with a big pile of cash that North Korea so desperately needs and try and buy some of this technology.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: We'll leave it on this note. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
Let's take a look at reaction from North Korea's immediate neighbors. Our correspondents are spread out all across the region, of course, Sohn Jie-Ae live in Seoul, South Korea, Jaime Florcruz in Beijing, Atika Shubert in Tokyo. Let's begin in South Korea where a major summit was underway at the time of the test.
Sohn Jie-Ae, good morning to you.
SOHN JIE-AE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun was scheduled to hold summits with the visiting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. After the summit, the South Koreans also came out with strong words against the North Korean nuclear test. Earlier they had said that the North Korean nuclear test was a provocative act that could not be tolerated. At a press conference following the summit, the South Korean president, Roh Moo-Hyun, was a bit less harsh about the North Korean nuclear test and he had this to say about the significance of the test.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. ROH MOO-HYUN, SOUTH KOREA, (through translator): What North Korea has done is broken the trust of the international society. Our government will take care of this in a fast and a very clear and cut way. (END VIDEO CLIP)
JIE-AE: The South Korean president, Moo-Hyun, went on to say that South Korea was finding itself in a very difficult position. South Korea, and more so than Japan or the United States, pushed for dialogue and engagement with North Korea. And now with the North Korean nuclear test, South Korea is finding that its position of dialogue with North Korea weakened or undermined altogether.
And now for another reaction from another neighboring North Korea country, we go to Jaime Florcruz in Beijing.
Jaime.
JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles, the Chinese reaction to the nuclear test was quick and sharp. The Chinese foreign minister, in a statement, calling it a brazen nuclear test. Also calling on North Korea to return to the disarmament talks.
The Chinese are North Korea's major ally. They also are a major supplier of oil and food. But even the Chinese patience seems to be wearing thin. And now the Chinese leaning harder on North Korea, calling on North Korea to restrain itself and not to do anything that will exacerbate tension.
The Chinese foreign minister quickly telephoned Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, obviously, to coordinate the next move. But I don't expect the Chinese to go with a very strong statement from the U.N. Security Council or even go along with limited sanctions. But in the long run, the Chinese hope that diplomacy and dialogue, not military confrontation, will save the day.
And now I turn to my colleague in Tokyo, Atika Shubert.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Japan's prime minister, Shinzo Abe, was in South Korea when the news broke. In a press conference this evening he said that if the nuclear test has been confirmed, it will pose a grave threat to security, not only of the region, but to the entire world. He said it is something that the international community should not and will not accept.
For that reason, Japan is lobbying U.N. Security Council members at this moment, hoping for a quick resolution condemning North Korea, possibly demanding economic sanctions. The question is, how effective a resolution like that would be, considering that North Korea went ahead with this test despite international warnings.
S. O'BRIEN: Atika Shubert for us this morning.
The United Nations Security Council might start talking this week about possible sanctions against Iran. Iran says it's going to continue with its nuclear program despite Security Council threats of potential sanctions. If that happens, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that Iran, a major oil producer, will impose retaliatory sanctions of its own. In Afghanistan, an emboldened Taliban is raising some new concerns. The NATO commander, General David Richard (ph), says if conditions do not improve, Afghans could switch allegiances back to the Taliban. He says more troops are needed to restore the peace and to provide basic services. The Taliban, as we've been reporting, has been stepping up attacks in recent months.
At least 700 Iraqi police are sick, seven dead it's reported, after eating a meal on their base in southern Iraq. Right now investigators are trying to figure out if it was a deliberate poisoning. The meal was the one that breaks the sunrise to sunset fast during Ramadan.
North Korea's apparent underground nuclear test probably will not delay the vote for U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan's successor. The Security Council is expected to nominate the South Korean foreign minister, Ban Ki-Moon, today before they move on to the topic of North Korea. The nomination must be ratified by the 192 member General Assembly. Kofi Annan's second, five-year term expires at the end of the year.
Coming up this morning, there's a new produce recall to tell you about. This time it's lettuce, not spinach. We'll tell you what you need to know.
Plus, we'll take a look at the fallout from the Mark Foley scandal. We it keep Christian conservatives from voting come November. We talk to some folks in the nation's Bible belt straight ahead.
First, though, Andy Serwer's "Minding Your Business."
Hi, Andy.
ANDY SERWER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Soledad.
And two women who once led Hewlett-Packard were on "60 Minutes" last night. What exactly did they have to say and where is the wacky Hewlett-Packard story going now? We'll talk about that coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Thirteen minutes past the hour now. If you're heading out the door, let's get a quick check of the traveler's forecast for you. Chad Myers is at the CNN Weather Center.
Good morning again, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Got some lettuce in the refrigerator? Well, you want to check the brand name. The Foxy brand of lettuce is now being recalled because of possible E. Coli contamination. The lettuce was grown in the same area as that tainted spinach that sickened almost 200 people, killed three. So if you live in one of the seven states that's highlighted there on the map, you see, obviously, we're talking the west coast there, you want to take that lettuce back to the store for a refund or just throw it out. So far no reported illnesses.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: What did the GOP know and when did they know it about Mark Foley's salacious e-mails to teenage pages? "The Washington Post" out with a report that changes the timeline. Arizona Republican Jim Kolbe saying he knew Foley was preying on pages as long as six years ago. AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken live in Washington With more.
Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And, Miles, that would make this five years before House leaders acknowledge they were made aware of the problem and three years before the timeline established by a man who is expected to be a part of the investigation that begins in earnest this week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN, (voice over): Kirk Fordham, a former congressional staffer, will testify under oath before the House Ethics Committee this week. His lawyer says Fordham will repeat his claim he spoke to House Speaker Dennis Hastert's chief of staff about a Foley problem in or before 2003. That was years before Hastert's office acknowledges it knew. Speaker Hastert's chief of staff, Scott Palmer, insists "what Kirk Fordham says did not happen." But various media reports quote another aide is backing the 2003 timeline.
REP. RAHM EMANUEL, CHAIRMAN, DEM. CONGRESSIONAL CAMPAIGN CMTE.: And what happened since that time? Mark Foley runs for Congress in 2004, even while they know there was problems. 2005, gets appointed to head the Missing and Abused Children Caucus for the Congress.
FRANKEN: Fordham worked for Foley, then later Congressman Thomas Reynolds. Reynolds is chairman of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee and has released a mea culpa campaign ad for his role in all this.
REP THOMAS REYNOLDS, (R) NEW YORK: Looking back, more should have been done. And for that, I am sorry.
FRANKEN: As for Hastert's full schedule of campaign appearances with Republicans, it's not so full anymore. Among those withdrawing invitations is Ron Lewis of Kentucky.
REP. RON LEWIS, (R) KENTUCKY: There is a cloud over the speaker. And until I can get some facts and some information about what happened, then I'm going to put everything on hold as far as working with the speaker on this campaign.
FRANKEN: President Bush is willing to be seen with the speaker. Hastert will appear with the president Thursday in Chicago. And White House press secretary/GOP campaigner, Tony Snow, will speak at a Hastert event next Saturday night.
Four weeks before the election, a "Newsweek" poll shows more than half, 52 percent, believe Hastert was trying to cover up and 53 percent say they want Democrats to take over Congress.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: What all sides are trying to determine right now is whether a subsequent developments, such as the developments in North Korea, will knock the harsh spotlight so much away from this whole Foley matter.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Of course, we're still talking about it this morning, aren't we?
FRANKEN: We are, indeed.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Bob Franken, thank you.
One congressional race which may be now in play, because of the Foley e-mail scandal, is Virginia's second district. CNN's Mary Snow in Norfolk, Virginia, this morning with more.
Good morning, Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
And the Republican incumbent here was already facing a tough challenge before the Foley scandal. The big question mark here, and in other races, is will Republicans be able to count on the Christian conservative vote?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW, (voice over): Just how conservative is the northern tip of the Bible belt?
MIKE SCOZZAFAVA, NORFOLK REPUBLICAN: When I find a Democrat or liberal within this area, it just blows me away.
SNOW: So it may come as quite a shock that incumbent Republican Congresswoman Thelma Drake is in a tough re-election battle against Democrat challenger Phil Kellam. And that was before the Mark Foley scandal. Last week, Kellam's campaign began re-airing these ads about protecting kids from sexual content on the Internet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a father of two, Phil Kellam knows protecting our children is more difficult than every.
SNOW: Drake says she doesn't think the fallout over Foley will affect her.
REP. THELMA DRAKE, (R) VIRGINIA: Certainly because Mark Foley did something wrong doesn't mean that Thelma Drake had anything to do with that. I'm a mother. I'm a grandmother.
SNOW: Her Democratic candidate disagrees, saying Foley symbolizes what's wrong with Washington.
PHIL KELLAM, (D) VIRGINIA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: And certainly people that I talk to at work, at church, around the community, are concerned about this. They're concerned about this culture of corruption in Washington.
SNOW: But Kellam also might receive help from the most unlikely of places, to satisfy Christian conservatives here. Those like Pat Diffley who's retired from the Marine Corp.
PAT DIFFLEY, U.S. MARINE CORPS (RET): I think the current administration, the White House and some of the things the Congress has done has not necessarily forward the conservative values.
SNOW: While Diffley says he'll still vote Republican, there are others among this conservative community who aren't so sure.
SUSIE POTTER, NORFOLK RESIDENT: Probably will end up voting Republican as long as I don't see anything else that's come up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: And Republican strategists say that the big fear among Republicans is that Christian conservatives won't come out and vote in November as a way to send a message.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Mary Snow in Norfolk, Virginia, thank you very much.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, breaking news out of North Korea. The nation says it has carried out a nuclear test. Straight ahead, we'll take a look at everything that led up to this point, from the war in Iraq, to a speech by President Bush four years ago. A look back ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: More news in the HP scandal. This time, I guess we could call it the women speak. Andy Serwer's "Minding Your Business."
SERWER: That's it, Soledad. Two women who lead this company, former Chairman Patricia Dunn and former CEO Carly Fiorina, were both on "60 Minutes" last night. Let's start with Patty Dunn. She was speaking with Leslie Stahl. And she said that she was innocent, categorically. Let's listen to how she put it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRICIA DUNN, FORMER HP CHAIRMAN: The idea that I supervised, orchestrated, approved, all of the ways in which this investigation occurred is just a complete myth. It's a false hood. It's a damaging lie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SERWER: Trying to appeal to the court of public opinion. This after she was indicted last week. Interesting that she chose to take this on to television like that.
Now, also, Carly Fiorina, the former CEO, was also on the program. Her book comes out this week. And she discusses in the book how she believes that sexism had a role in her firing. Also saying that women are characterized differently from men. She cited inaccurate rumors that she had a pink marble bathroom in her HP office and constantly traveled with a hair dresser and makeup artist. She said that she was described as regal when she said that was a code word for "bitch." Interesting stuff there.
And a story in "The Wall Street Journal" that . . .
S. O'BRIEN: A lot of women CEOs, I think, claim that. You know, that what would be tolerated as a guy is not tolerated in a woman.
SERWER: And I think that there's something to that. Right. Right. Firing people is a woman's difficult (INAUDIBLE).
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, but if somebody called me regal, I would say, thank you very much.
SERWER: Well, and you are.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Thank you. Good to know that.
SERWER: One other story to get to about HP in "The Wall Street Journal" this morning, and this really speaks to the amount of pettiness and bickering that went on at this company. Patricia Dunn warring with board member Tom Perkins. Tom Perkins wrote a book called "Sex and the Single Zillionaire" at the urging of his ex-wife, author Danielle Steel.
He jokingly told Dunn that ever HP employee should read it. Well, Patty Dunn said it really wasn't her thing. She said that publicly, which caused Perkins to explode and back and forth it went. This is the kind of arguments that, you know, led various people on the HP board to speak to the press, which caused Dunn and others to want to investigate it and the thing just snowballed out of control. A lot of very wealthy, powerful people not getting on and acting badly it's very safe to say.
M. O'BRIEN: Did they ever talk about selling computers and printers? I'm just curious if that ever came up?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, right. The board spent a lot of time on the other misks (ph).
SERWER: I think that's right. And they had the lawyers and the investigators and the ethics officers all doing everything but, as you suggest. S. O'BRIEN: Monitoring their actual business.
SERWER: The code, the real core business, that's right.
M. O'BRIEN: What's next?
SERWER: Next we're going to be talking about gas prices again in a little bit because it's a hot topic.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: Also coming up today, top stories, including North Korea's apparent nuclear test. How's the U.N. going to respond. We'll have a live report this morning.
Also, political fallout from the Mark Foley scandal. It's making some tight congressional races even tighter.
And then later this morning, a murder mystery in Russia. Who killed one of the Kremlin's most outspoken critics? We'll take a look ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Welcome back to the program. I'm Miles O'Brien.
S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Here's a look at what we're following for you this morning.
North Korea claims it conducted a nuclear test, its first ever. The White House says that's a provocative act of defiance.
M. O'BRIEN: And the Foley scandal impacting House races across the country. We're going to check in on one of them just ahead.
The bottom of the hour, let's check the forecast.
Chad, how's it looking out there?
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: We continue to follow the breaking news, North Korea's test of a nuclear device. An emergency Security Council session is expected this morning. And it's a situation that much of the world has been fearing. So what can be done now? United Nations correspondent Richard Roth live for us with reaction from the United Nations.
Hey, Richard, good morning.
RICHARD ROTH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
Well, the United Nations Security Council is going to meet this morning in a few hours to discuss the North Korean nuclear tests. The Council has been challenged by North Korea since just last Friday the Council passed a statement, all 15 countries on board, warning Pyongyang not to go ahead with this test and saying world condemnation would likely follow.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. John Bolton even said, on Friday, If North Korea does go ahead with a nuclear test the world would be a different place the next day."
Now the question is just how harsh will the response be from the Council? How united will the major powers be? How far do they want to go regarding sanctions against Pyongyang? Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Richard Roth for us this morning. We're going to obviously wait and watch for that. Thanks, Richard.
How did we get here? Many in the international community believe it's sort of political oil and water. Kim Jong Il's brinkmanship combined with President Bush's refusal to negotiate with North Korea. CNN's Zain Verjee spent time in the DMZ, the Demilitarized Zone, between North and South Korea. She joins us live from Washington, D.C.
Hey, Zain, good morning.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Soledad.
The Clinton had pursued a policy of engagement with North Korea. The Bush administration came into office in 2000 and pursued an entirely different one. How did we get from 2000 to today?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE (voice over): The U.S. and North Korea, capital and Communist foes forced to confront each other over the North's nuclear program. One former Clinton State Department expert says since the Bush administration took office, the uneasy relationship has gone from bad to worse.
WENDY SHERMAN, THE ALBRIGHT GROUP: The Bush administration has decided that it wants to try to isolate North Korea , squeeze North Korea, maybe end the regime.
VERJEE: After seeing regime change in action in Iraq, the feeling in Pyongyang, according to analysts, we're not going to let what happened to Saddam Hussein happen to Kim Jong Il.
MIKE CHINOY, CNN SR. ASIA CORRESPONDENT: North Koreans have concluded this administration is not serious about negotiating with them.
VERJEE: Experts say the relationship started to deteriorate after 9/11. In January 2002, President Bush branded North Korea as part of an axis of evil. In October 2002 North Korea was discovered to be secretly enriching uranium, a violation of the agreement with the U.S.
In December 2002 the U.S. cut off heavy fuel shipments to North Korea, angering Kim Jong Il. North Korea kicked out weapons inspectors, fired up its nuclear facility at Yongbyong (ph) and pulled out of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. Diplomatic efforts, the six-party talks, have stalled.
Angering North Korea, too, financial sanctions. The U.S. accuses North Korea of illicit activities, like counterfeiting and drug smuggling and has frozen North Korea accounts and turned off money supply.
July 2006, North Korea test fired seven missiles, including a Taepodong-2 missile believed capable of hitting Alaska. Experts say North Korea's goal is regime survival. And its style?
CHINOY: Combination of brinksmanship and confrontation, on the one hand, and negotiations on the other.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VERJEE: Experts also say, Soledad, that the nuclear test is a huge failure of U.S. foreign policy. The U.S. administration always saying that regimes like North Korea should not have a nuclear weapon, but now it appears they do -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: You know, Zain, when you look at the reaction, and some of the statements, some calling it a criminal desperate act, a criminal act, reckless act, that calls for isolation of the regime. All of that leading to the question, but realistically what can the international community do at this point?
VERJEE: Experts that I've spoken to, Soledad, say, look, there is no good military option. As far as sanctions go, North Korea is heavily sanctioned. It's not clear how much of a difference more sanctions are going to make. It is going to mean miserable people are going to become more miserable. And Kim Jong Il doesn't really care about them. I mean, he's got a bomb.
The other thing, too, and most importantly, Soledad, is China. All eyes are on China. How angry is China? What will China do? China provides a lifeline of fuel and food supply to North Korea. And they could cut off the supply in order to twist North Korea's arm in order to get back to the bargaining table.
Many analysts also say, Soledad, that China is not going to want to put a -- enforce a hard enough sanctions on North Korea, because they don't want to see North Korea collapsing. They don't want to see millions of refugees on their border, destabilizing them, Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Zain Verjee for us this morning. Thanks, Zain.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: A former top staffer for Mark Foley to testify before the House Ethics Committee this week. Kirk Fordham says he warned the GOP leadership about Foley's inappropriate e-mails to pages in 2005. CNN's Andrea Koppel, live from Capitol Hill with more.
Good morning, Andrea.
ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Miles.
Fordham's lawyer tells CNN that when his client testifies this week under oath, he'll be telling the House Ethics Committee that the speaker's chief of staff, Dennis Hastert's chief of staff, knew about this troubling behavior dating back several years. He'll say that he told Scott Palmer about these e-mails back in 2003. Scott Palmer denies this.
Meanwhile, today's "Washington Post" reports that Republican Congressman Jim Kolbe knew about this troubling behavior, dating back six years. That he was approached by a former page and was shown these e-mails. Kolbe is the only openly gay Republican in the House and is not running for re-election this year.
Nevertheless, other Republicans who are in tight races believe the constant drip, drip, drip of this story is forcing them to distance themselves, not only from the story itself, but from House Republican leaders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RON LEWIS, (R-KY): There is a cloud over the speaker. And until I can get some facts and information about what happened, then I'm going to put everything on hold, as far as working with the speaker on this campaign.
I still have faith in him, but I want to know what the facts are. And the jury is still out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Now, during those Sunday talk shows, we saw a number of House Republicans who continue to raise questions as they had all last week about what Democrats knew and when they knew it. In addition, you had other House Republicans defending Speaker Hastert, saying he acted aggressively, as soon as the e-mails came to light.
Nevertheless, one of Dennis Hastert's closest allies, Ray LaHood, of Illinois, also said, quite bluntly, Miles, he said this is going to be the toughest 30 days that Republicans have had since they took control of the house 12 years ago, Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: We'll be there every step of the way. Andrea Koppel on Capitol Hill, thank you.
The Foley factor putting a lot of congressional seats in play. Republican Clay Shaw is in a tight race for re-election in Florida's 22nd Congressional District. Happens to be next door to Foley's former district. Our Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider live from West Palm Beach with more on that.
Good morning, Bill.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN S R. POLITICAL ANALYST, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Miles.
The House race in Florida's 22nd Congressional District has always been considered a hot one. Well, it just got hotter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER (voice over): Republican Clay Shaw, a senior member of Florida's congressional delegation, has served in Congress for 26 years. But the district voted for John Kerry in 2004, and it's right next door to the district of disgraced former Congressman Mark Foley. The word "senior" should be highly valued in this district, where one out of four voters is over 60.
Democratic challenger Ron Klein is using Shaw's standing as a congressional insider against him.
RON KLEIN, (D) FLORIDA CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE: He's been there for a long time. The Congress is -- he's part of a Congress that just is not responsive.
SCHNEIDER: Case in point, the Foley scandal. It dominates press coverage in this next door district.
KLEIN: It just re-enforces this loss of trust and confidence in leaders in Washington.
SCHNEIDER: The incumbent defends Speaker Dennis Hastert's handling of the Foley matter.
REP. CLAY SHAW, (R-FL): From all I've heard from the speaker, taking him at his word, he did all he could in order to put a stop to it and to remove Foley from the Congress of the United States.
SCHNEIDER: Klein calls that an insider's response.
KLEIN: Mr. Shaw has taken a position Mr. Hastert has done everything OK, which is very similar to how Mr. Shaw responds to a lot of other things, just go along to get along.
SCHNEIDER: One of those other things is the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. It's too complicated, many voters here, complain.
ROBERT MCFALLS, NAT'L. ASSOC. AGENCIES ON AGING: A lot of people are also concerned about the fact that the plan itself doesn't allow for cost controls. That's a big, big issue.
SCHNEIDER: It's seen as another example of an unresponsive Congress, just like the Foley scandal.
KLEIN: People say, oh, my God! You run into people, what's going on? What are these people thinking? You know why aren't they taking care of kids or problems?
SCHNEIDER: Congressman Shaw urges voters to consider this, seniority and influence are a good thing.
SHAW: The Democrats look at this as somewhat of a trophy they'd like to take home by unseating me, and putting in a young freshman -- not too young, actually -- but a freshman who would be almost 80 years old by the time he got to be my seniority.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCHNEIDER: Odd, isn't it, that seniority has become an issue in this heavily senior district? Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, if seniority means bringing home the bacon to the district, doesn't it?
SCHNEIDER: That's what it's supposed to mean and that's what Congressman Shaw talks about all the time. Do you want to replace me? He has 26 years of experience, with a freshman? A lot of people who aren't happy with what they're seeing in Washington, say, maybe.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much. Bill Schneider, from West Palm Beach -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, going to tell you one man's incredible story of survival. He's lucky to be alive, thanks in part to Wheat Thins and an attentive dog walker. We'll tell you what happened there.
Plus, witnessing the miracle of birth in a war zone. High tech helps an American soldier in Iraq take part in the birth of his son in Wisconsin. That story is ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back. It's 43 minutes past the hour. If you're getting ready to head out the door, hand on a sec, let's get a look at the "Traveler's Forecast". Chad Myers is at the CNN Center.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Happening in America this morning, a Massachusetts man -- did you hear this story? -- lucky to be alive. His name is Raymond Bashon (ph), his car went off the road, plowed through some trees, hidden by brush for four days. He had fractured his leg, so he couldn't move, didn't have his cell phone. So he survived on Wheat Thins in the car and the dew that he licked from the windshield. Quite the survivor.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow.
S. O'BRIEN: Finally a guy -- a dog walker -- going by, hears his calls for help and he gets rescued.
In Texas, a hospital in Waco, down in a cloud of dust. Take a look at this. there she goes. Took some strategically placed explosives, of course, to bring down this old building. The site's being cleared to make way for new apartment buildings.
In Wisconsin the birth of a baby and a soldier in Iraq didn't miss a second of it. He watched by webcam. Stacy Bilke (ph) gave birth to a bouncing baby boy, named Adam Joseph, while her husband Vincent watched from Iraq. Mom said dad was a great coach. And then they held their hands up to the computer screen so they could kind of do the touching thing.
M. O'BRIEN: Oh!
S. O'BRIEN: By the way, mom and baby are just fine.
In Oregon, an 11-year-old Devin Rivers, he's still in the hospital, you can see there, though. But he -- look at him, playing catch. What an improvement. The little boy spent the last two years practically in a coma. And doctors can't explain why he became comatose. They tested him for everything from West Nile virus to lead poisoning. Couldn't figure it out and suddenly Devon snapped out of the coma.
His family says it feels like a walk-on-water type of miracle.
M. O'BRIEN: Hard to appreciate the elation they must feel this morning.
S. O'BRIEN: Can you imagine?
M. O'BRIEN: Wow, good for them.
Up next, Andy is here, "Minding Your Business".
ANDY SERWER, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Hello, Miles.
Why is Target threatening the Hollywood movie studios? Remember that "Star Trek," memorabilia auction we were telling you about? Well, we have the lowdown, a boom or a bust? What do you think? We'll talk about it coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Welcome to our new home here. Hope you like it. Looks nice, doesn't it? We're happy to be here. We're happy to be here. Hope you're happy with it, too. Check it out. They call that the Vista Wall. It's big.
We're going to have a "Super Bowl" party here. We're inviting everybody in. The News Wall. Everybody is invited to the "Super Bowl party here. Because that is a big screen, folks.
You might be able to DVD -- download a movie there. And that would be good. But Target's not so happy about that.
SERWER: That's right. This is just another friction point between the Hollywood studios and companies that sell movies, and the rest of us, trying to figure out in the digital age how this is going to happen.
The retailing giant Target, the president of that company, recently sent a letter to all the major Hollywood studios warning the Hollywood studios not to give the downloading services a price break when it comes to DVDs.
In other words, the company is concerned that DVDs are more expensive in Target than they would be if you bought them from a downloading service. Of course, that would hurt Target's business. Target said they would cut back on shelf space, promotion and signage, as they say in the business. There really is some implications of what they say they're gong to do.
Target sells about 15 percent of the nation's DVDs, so they're a big player, but not as big a player as Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart, apparently, this story is in "The Wall Street Journal" this morning. Wal-Mart, apparently also had the a word with the Hollywood studios about this same issue. However, Wal-Mart also sells a lot of i-Pods.
And apparently, according to the story, Steve Jobs, the CEO of Apple Computer, called up Lee Scott, the CEO of Wal-Mart and told him to back off. That's because Apple Computer and Disney are in the business of downloading movies.
So you can see, everyone here is connected. And Apple, in fact, with Disney, is the first company to make DVDs -- downloading DVDs markedly less expensive than at the stores. When you get one from i- Tunes, they're about $12. That's $3 or $4 or $5 less expensive when you buy them at the store. So, that's what's putting the pressure on here.
M. O'BRIEN: Because you get more on DVD, the director's cut, you get a lot of other things.
SERWER: And it's easier to take with you. There's a lot of different advantages. We keep talking about this, but we're watching it all sort itself out.
Another story we want to get to, here, we talked about the "Star Trek" memorabilia auction. I think Jason Carroll was there last week, showing --
S. O'BRIEN: It did great, I'm going to guess.
SERWER: It did fantastic. You are so right, Soledad.
M. O'BRIEN: Way out on a limb on that one.
SERWER: They were expecting --
S. O'BRIEN: Back off, buddy!
(LAUGHTER) SERWER: Well, it's pretty interesting though, because they were looking to sell $3 million of the stuff. And it actually went -- the whole thing, a thousand lots, went for $7 million.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow.
SERWER: So, more than twice as much money.
Listen to this, a model of the "Star Trek Enterprise", used in the show went for $576,000. For me, you can go down to a hardware store and get a model for about 10 bucks. I don't understand this stuff.
M. O'BRIEN: And it doesn't do warp drive, folks. S. O'BRIEN: Toys R Us has it.
SERWER: Yeah, right.
M. O'BRIEN: It's just a model.
SERWER: It's just a model. And there was some Borge (ph) out here, a two-foot Borge cube model with intricate black lattice work, for $96,000. Who are these people? Americans have some peculiar taste and a lot of money to go with it.
S. O'BRIEN: You just don't understand it.
SERWER: I don't. But these people love it.
M. O'BRIEN: Submitted for your approval.
What you got next?
SERWER: We're going to talk -- this one is a fascinating little thing we're going to get into here, which is about parenting and spanking, and is it the right thing? What do CEOs think about it? And what happened to them, when they were growing up?
M. O'BRIEN: You spank?
SERWER: No.
S. O'BRIEN: I'm not a spanker. You can't spank someone for hitting their brother and sister, is just doesn't work.
SERWER: Yes, they understand there's a disconnect.
S. O'BRIEN: But I was spanked.
SERWER: And look at you.
(LAUGHTER)
S. O'BRIEN: I turned out -- thanks, Andy.
M. O'BRIEN: And you turned out. SERWER: And you turned out, right?
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, a look at our top stories including the breaking news out of North Korea. They say they've carried out a nuclear test this morning. So, what happens now? We're going to have reaction from the White House and the world as well. That's ahead. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Here's a look now at stories that CNN correspondents around the world are covering today.
SOHN JIE-AE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: I'm Sohn Jie- Ae in Seoul.
South Korea says strong reactions to the news that North Korea conducted a nuclear weapon test. They said this was a provocative act that could not be tolerated and that they would support an immediate discussion of this North Korean weapons issue at the U.N. Security Council. South Koreans on the street today spent an uneasy day worried about the adverse effects on the rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: I'm Arwa Damon in Baghdad.
Violence across all of Iraq claimed dozens of Iraqi lives. Fierce fighting in the southern city of Diwaniya, 95 miles south of the capitol Baghdad, began Saturday night when U.S. and Iraqi forces entered that city. Coming under heavy rocket-propelled grenade and small arms fire, one U.S. tank was destroyed. And according to the U.S. military at least 30 suspected insurgents were killed in the fierce fighting.
This is an area that is known to be a stronghold for the Mehdi Militia, that is the militia loyal to radical Shia cleric Muqtada Al Sadr. Of course, disarming the militias is one of the greater challenges that the Iraqi government faces today.
In the latest sectarian violence Iraqi police say that since Saturday they have found at least 100 bodies in the capital of Baghdad alone.
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN MORNING: I'm Matthew Chance in Moscow.
Russians are mourning the brutal of one of the country's most prominent journalists. Anna Politkovskaya was a fierce critic of Russia's war in its break away republic of Chechnya, and of the Kremlin backed authorities there. She was gunned down on the weekend in what police say was a contract killing in her Moscow apartment building.
Hundreds have gathered to pay their respects. Tributes have flooded in from around the world. U.S. State Department says it's profoundly shocked and saddened by the killing and is calling on the Russian authorities to find those responsible.
The Russian language newspaper where she worked is offering a reward of a million dollars for information leading to an arrest. The Kremlin has yet to comment on the murder.
S. O'BRIEN (voice over): For more on these or any of our top stories, log on to cnn.com. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you, Monday October 9. I'm Miles O'Brien.
S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Breaking news this morning: North Korea says it has conducted its first ever nuclear test. We have reaction from around the world.
M. O'BRIEN: Also happening on this AMERICAN MORNING, the Foley scandal. New indications some in Congress knew he was e-mailing teenage pages six years ago.
S. O'BRIEN: And a popular brand of lettuce is being recalled in seven states for possible e. Coli contamination.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's get a check of the weather now.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: We begin this morning with serious international situation that's been developing overnight. North Korea says it's tested a nuclear weapon for the first time. Got complete coverage for you this morning. Kathleen Koch is live for us at the White House. Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon.
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