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American Morning
Couple Captured; North Korea Threat; Market Milestone; Foley Priest Speaks; The Fight for Iraq; Scare Tactics?; Dueling Candidates
Aired October 20, 2006 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. It is Friday, October 20. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Good morning to you.
Top story this morning, a late-night arrest, a couple in custody charged in the beating death of a Kentucky social worker.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's get right to the news wall for some of the other stories we're following as well this morning.
The Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, in Beijing at a news conference. She and the Chinese foreign minister are calling for new talks to end the North Korea nuclear crisis.
A new GOP campaign ad features a ticking clock, tries to refocus voters on the war on terror. Mid-term elections are now just 18 days away.
M. O'BRIEN: A market milestone, the Dow opens this morning above the 12,000 mark. The high-water mark set exactly 19 years after the stock market crash of '87.
And the priest who former Congressman Mark Foley says abused him is talking. Father Anthony Mercieca admits he and a teenage Foley were naked together but says there was no sexual intercourse.
S. O'BRIEN: Right to Chad Myers. He's at the CNN Weather Center this morning watching the cold weather come in for the weekend in some places.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is. Yes, certainly is, Soledad and Miles.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Chad, thanks.
MYERS: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: A 200-mile chase has come to an end this morning. In custody, a Kentucky couple accused of killing a social worker and going on the run with their 9-month-old baby.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This evening, approximately 8:30 p.m., 9- month-old Saige Terrell was safely recovered.
S. O'BRIEN (voice-over): What started brutally four days ago ended quietly last night in the town of Godfrey, Illinois. That's where police and federal agents zeroed in on Renee Terrell, the mother of missing 9-month-old Saige Terrell, and her boyfriend, Christopher Luttrell, arresting them both, without incident, and finding baby Saige safe and sound.
CHIEF ED BRADY, HENDERSON, KENTUCKY POLICE: I've never seen this kind of effort before and our focus has been on this child. And we are very relieved. We are just elated that the child is OK.
S. O'BRIEN: Police say the couple had been on the run since beating a 67-year-old social worker to death on Monday inside Terrell's home in Henderson, Kentucky. The victim, Boni Frederick, had brought baby Saige to visit his mother. The child was taken from Terrell not long after birth because of neglect and was a ward of the state. Terrell and Luttrell will now more than likely face murder charges.
SGT. DET. JOHN NEVELS, HENDERSON, KENTUCKY POLICE: It's been a rough four days for us. You know most of the police officers knew the person that was murdered. She worked for the local social services. It was a very brutal, very violent murder.
S. O'BRIEN: It was also a very lengthy chase. On Monday night, after an Amber Alert was issued, the couple was caught on camera at a gas station in the tiny town of Smithboro, Illinois. They seemed to vanish after that, until someone spotted the victim's broken-down car in Godfrey, Illinois, about 200 miles away from the crime scene. Terrell and Luttrell were found inside a nearby trailer with the baby.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The baby has been examined by a physician here locally in the hospital and is in good health.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: So what could be a motive in this case? Well one of Terrell's neighbors say that the mother may have snapped when she learned that her baby Saige was going to be put up for adoption -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il once again showing just how unpredictable he can be. This morning we have word he told some visiting Chinese diplomats he regrets exploding a nuclear bomb and he's sorry. And he says he will cease further testing if the U.S. stops pressing for economic sanctions aimed at isolating the North.
But there are no hints the U.S. is backing down. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice still in the region pushing China to fully enforce those United Nations approved sanctions. Both China and South Korea are concerned a heavy-handed approach could trigger a military response from the North.
Beijing, the third stop for Rice tomorrow. She'll be in Moscow.
Our bureau chief in Beijing is Jaime FlorCruz. He has details on today's developments.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAIME FLORCRUZ, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF (on camera): Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is wrapping up a series of meetings with top Chinese leaders as she seeks a united approach to North Korea. She is leaning on the Chinese to use its leverage on its traditional ally and force North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program and also return to the negotiation table. She has asked the Chinese to fully implement the U.N. resolution imposing sanctions on North Korea.
CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: The minister and I have talked about the importance of full implementation of Resolution 1718 so that we can make certain that there is not a transit and trade in illegal materials, dangerous illegal materials concerning the nuclear weapons program of the DPRK.
LI ZHAOXING, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): We hope that all the relevant parties will maintain cool headedness, adopt a prudent and responsible approach and adhere to dialogue and peaceful resolution as the general direction of our effort.
FLORCRUZ: Her visit comes just one day after special Chinese envoy Tang Jiaxuan visited Pyongyang and held a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il. It's the first time Tang met with a visiting foreign dignitary. And Tang Jiaxuan, while in Pyongyang, obviously relayed a message from the Chinese President Hu Jintao. Upon his return in his meeting with Secretary Rice today, Tang Jiaxuan said he is very happy that his visit to Pyongyang was not in vain, hinting that perhaps the Chinese are getting closer to brokering the impasse on this North Korean crisis.
Jaime FlorCruz, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: We will hear directly from Secretary Rice later on AMERICAN MORNING. CNN's Zain Verjee, the only television correspondent traveling with the secretary, she interviewed Rice exclusively right after her meetings with Chinese leaders -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: A market milestone to tell you about this morning, the Dow crossing the elusive 12,000 mark. Finally! The Dow Jones industrials jumped up 19 points yesterday to close at 12,011. Been talking about the record a lot, or the potential record a lot, but does it really mean anything to investors?
Andy Serwer is with us this morning.
Good morning.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Soledad. Well, it was a big milestone we smashed through. Didn't have to wait that long, really, and that's because the stock market has been streaking. There are a few points to make here, I think.
First of all, as you suggest, breaking through this barrier itself is sort of a meaningless thing, but it does serve to remind us of a few things. One, number one, the market is very hot. Number two, on a percent basis going from 11,000 to 12,000 not as big a deal as say going from 2,000 to 3,000 on the Dow. So let's remember the higher we climb, the easier those records come.
And then finally, a cautionary note, when you see this kind of thing going on, a lot of times it draws in investors thinking, wow, now is the time to get into the market. It may not be the best time to get in because the market is...
S. O'BRIEN: Kind of a little late maybe...
SERWER: ... getting a little late, getting a little high.
S. O'BRIEN: ... in some ways.
SERWER: Exactly. So, a lot of stuff, a lot of optimism out there, and people on Wall Street suggesting that the economy is looking good going forward, that's the takeaway.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, and a pretty good takeaway it is. And what do we get? Don't I win something when the Dow gets to 12,000?
SERWER: Later in the program, it's coming.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, I can't wait for that.
Thank you, -- Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Who knew what and when, those are the big questions the House Ethics Committee is asking as it investigates the Mark Foley congressional page scandal. House Majority Leader John Boehner -- he's in the green tie there. There you see him -- testifying behind closed doors yesterday. Boehner says the House Speaker, Dennis Hastert, told him last spring then Congressman Foley's advances toward teenage pages had been taken care of. Hastert says he doesn't remember that conversation.
Meanwhile, the priest who Foley says abused him when he was a teenager has surfaced and he's talking.
Here's CNN's Susan Candiotti.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Father Anthony Mercieca admits he had intimate contact with the teenage Mark Foley, but says whether it was abuse depends on how you look at it.
FATHER ANTHONY MERCIECA, CATHOLIC PRIEST: See abuse, it's a bad word you know. Because abuse, you abuse someone against his will. But it involved just spontaneousness, you know. But anyway, whatever it was, you know, everything is molestation, I guess. And that's what happened.
CANDIOTTI: Father Mercieca, now 69 and retired, lives on the Maltese island of Gozo near Italy. He talked by phone with CNN and CNN affiliate WPTV. Sources familiar with the investigation say he is the Catholic priest Mark Foley claims molested him as a teen nearly 40 years ago. Father Mercieca told CNN his memory is now a bit fuzzy about one incident. The priest admits he might have gone too far when he was mixing tranquilizers and alcohol to treat depression.
MERCIECA: Once maybe, I touched him or so, you know, but I didn't, it wasn't, because it's not something you call, I mean rape or penetration or anything like that, you know. We were just fondling.
CANDIOTTI: A source familiar with the investigation tells CNN Mercieca was assigned to Sacred Heart Church in Lake Worth in the mid- '60s. Foley was an alter boy there. Mercieca says they took trips to New York and Washington.
MERCIECA: We became more and more friends, almost like brothers.
CANDIOTTI: Father Mercieca tells CNN he and Foley went skinny dipping and took saunas wearing only towels. Sometimes he says he massaged the teen's bare shoulders.
MERCIECA: I would say that if I offended him, I am sorry. But to remember the good times we had together, you know, and how we really enjoyed each other's company, and to let bygones be bygones.
CANDIOTTI: One longtime parishioner says she's appalled that Foley waited so long to come forward and is angry at Father Mercieca.
GISELLE BASANTE, PARISHIONER: He never been a priest. He never been blessed by God. He was a rotten apple in a tree.
CANDIOTTI: Foley's attorneys have no comment on what the priest said. The Catholic Church says it will investigate whether Mercieca allegedly abused Foley and anyone else.
MARY ROSS AGOSTA, ARCHDIOCESE OF MIAMI: We offered counseling to both the alleged victim and the alleged abuser. We will do an independent review board investigation.
CANDIOTTI: Counseling, Father Mercieca says that's just what his former so-called brother needs.
MERCIECA: Anyway, he will overcome it, with a psychiatrist, you know. Mark is a very intelligent man, you know.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): His attorney says Foley won't press criminal charges and unless another alleged victim asks the Palm Beach state attorney to investigate. A spokesman says that office won't open a criminal case.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Lake Worth, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: In stories yesterday about the priest, CNN and other news organizations published an incorrect photograph showing another employee of the Miami archdiocese. CNN profoundly regrets that error -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: To Iraq now where there's more violence today in a relatively peaceful part of the country. It's happening in Amarah in southern Iraq, reports of about 200 Iraqi Army soldiers involved in serious clashes with gunmen who are apparently trying to takeover police stations there. Now so far there are reports of five Iraqi police officers hurt. That number is expected to go up, though.
What is a day in the life of a soldier like? CNN's Arwa Damon recently had an opportunity to travel with a unit and experience that for herself. She's got that story.
Arwa, good morning.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
It is incredibly challenging to be operating out here. We were just embedded with soldiers with the 2nd Brigade of the 10th Mountain Division. They are operating in the fields and farmlands just south of the capital Baghdad, an area that is very volatile, and they really are operating in one of the toughest environments that this country has to offer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAMON (voice-over): The morning wake-up call comes early at this house, but who really needs a wake-up call when you sleep on the roof. It's a far cry from the relative luxury of Baghdad just 14 miles away. These soldiers are well passed being used to the sounds of war. This explosion at least was controlled.
A strange sound, a toddler crying, his legs weak from a calcium deficiency. The troops don't have much, but the company medic doles out what he can. This simple scene actually carries great significance for these troops. This man feels safe enough to come to the Americans for help, even though he risks being seen by insurgents. It's one more Iraqi who may carry back the message that these men are here to help and here to stay for a while.
These soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division believe people back home have no idea what they go through. While America sleeps, they drag ditches, looking for wires that could trigger homemade bombs. Travel would be a lot quicker if the company could take the roads, but the insurgents routinely put bombs there, so the troops take to the stinking canals instead.
This farmer says security is better since they got here, though he's puzzled why U.S. troops would try to jump a ditch when the dry road is only a few steps away.
Operating out here is tough, but, say commanders, vital, because denying easy insurgent movement in this area helps protect Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
In the first two weeks of this operation called Operation Commando Hunter, U.S. troops uncovered enough material to make at least 1,000 roadside bombs, but that did come at a cost to the battalion. Since the operation began, 4 soldiers were killed down in that volatile area, another 20 were wounded -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Arwa Damon for us this morning in Baghdad.
Thanks, Arwa -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Some of the stories we're following this morning for you, police arrest a man and a woman suspected of kidnapping the woman's baby and killing a social worker.
The Republicans ask one of their own to quite his congressional race after his campaign sent out a letter warning immigrants it's illegal to vote.
And the St. Louis Cardinals booked some travel to Detroit and the World Series after the Mets go down without swinging.
Weather and more news ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Top stories we're following this Friday.
Kim Jong-Il tells Chinese diplomats he's sorry about that nuclear test.
And House Majority Leader John Boehner testifies before the House Ethics Committee investigating the Mark Foley scandal.
About 15 minutes past the hour, heading out the door, Chad Myers has what you need to know.
Hello, -- Chad.
MYERS: Heading out the door in the northeast, good morning, Miles, you need an umbrella.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thank you very much, Chad -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Well 18 days until the mid-term elections. This weekend, Republicans are going to have a new ad that airs on cable TV. It's also being e-mailed to supporters as well. Kind of puts a new spin on an old line. The ad shows this, Osama bin Laden and his threats against America. It also features the sound of a ticking time bomb. The ad ends with the message "These are the stakes, vote November 7." You might remember that Democrats used the same line, "These are the stakes" in this commercial back in 1984 -- was it '64, right? The...
M. O'BRIEN: '64.
S. O'BRIEN: '64. A Daisy (ph) commercial. And that ad started with a little girl who was picking flowers, ends with this, the nuclear explosion. This was an incredible ad when it happened back in '64. And of course the suggestion was that a vote for Republicans was a vote for war. And Republicans did go on to lose the White House. So it's an attempt at another powerful message there.
And even at this late date, California Republicans want one of their own candidates to drop out. The party believes that the Tan Nguyen campaign for Congress has crossed the line in trying to scare off Latino voters.
KTLA's Ted Garcia has our report this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED GARCIA, KTLA-TV REPORTER (on camera): Tan Nguyen is in some political hot water. The Republican Vietnamese immigrant is running for Congress against incumbent U.S. Representative Loretta Sanchez in the 47th District. But Orange County GOP leaders are now calling for Nguyen to drop out of the race because of a controversial letter which came from his office. That letter was mailed to about 14,000 Hispanic voters and said it is illegal for immigrants to vote. In reality, naturalized citizens can vote.
Now some are seeing this as a scare tactic designed to keep Hispanic voters from going to the polls and possibly voting for Sanchez. Nguyen says he had nothing to do with the letter and that an employee took it upon himself to mail it without his approval. She has been fired. But GOP officials say Nguyen did know about the letter, even expedited it. Nguyen will be holding a news conference later today to discuss his candidacy.
In Garden Grove, Ted Garcia for CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: And the Orange County Republican Party says if Nguyen won't quite, they're going to support a write-in campaign -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Many Republicans facing tougher-than-expected races can blame outside events, the war in Iraq or congressional scandals. But in Virginia, the Republican running for Senate in now a very tight race dealing with some self-inflicted wounds.
AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken joining us from Alexandria, Virginia with more.
Good morning, -- Bob. BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
And because the frontrunner has repeatedly tripped over his own feet, this has become, as you said, a very tight race. And now it's complete with dueling presidents.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN (voice-over): After weeks of bizarre controversy for Republican George Allen...
SEN. GEORGE ALLEN (R), VIRGINIA: This fellow here, over here with the yellow shirt, McKawca (ph), or whatever his name is.
FRANKEN: ... the Virginia Senate race has settled into the ordinary, both candidates simply trying to avoid trouble in the day- to-day campaign appearances and cause as much trouble as possible for the other in their TV ads and each getting a little help from his friends.
ALLEN: Ladies and gentlemen, let's give a warm Virginia welcome to the President of the United States of America, George W. Bush.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you for coming. Thanks for the warm welcome. And thank you for supporting George Allen to be re-elected United States senator of the great state of Virginia.
FRANKEN: While president number 43 campaigned for Allen, number 42 was in Virginia for the Democratic contender.
BILL CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm very honored to be here tonight. I have wanted to publicly express my support for Jim Webb for some time.
FRANKEN: The former president was in the state to add some pizzazz to the low-key Webb's campaign and the intense fight with the Republicans.
CLINTON: Well they've won two elections by their skin's teeth by scaring people at the end and dividing them up again. But you can only run the dog through the same path so many times before it doesn't work anymore. And I just think it's kind of a mangy old dog.
FRANKEN: This wasn't supposed to be a dog fight. At the beginning, the talk was about George Allen the future presidential candidate, but now it's about his too-close-to-call battle for Senate survival after his series of self-inflicted wounds.
ALLEN: I had no idea what that word meant. If I had any idea that it was an insult to anybody anywhere in the world, I would not have used it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
ALLEN: It's a made up word. (END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: Well there are actually two parts of Virginia, the blue part, the northern part of the state translates suburban Washington, and the red rest of the state. And right now, Miles, the entire state is up for grabs.
M. O'BRIEN: Bob Franken in Alexandria, thank you.
This story and all the day's political news available at the cnn.com news ticker any time of day or night it will be there ticking away for you. CNN.com/ticker is the place to find it -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Some of the stories we're watching for you this morning, the Dow Jones set to open today above 12,000 for the first time ever.
Plus, Mark Foley names the priest who he claims molested him when he was a teenager. We'll take a look at the Vatican's response straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Top stories we're following for you this morning, a Kentucky couple under arrest. Police say they killed a social worker and kidnapped the woman's baby.
And a House committee chairman suspends a staff member for possibly leaking to "The New York Times" -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Miles.
Well now that Dow 12,000 is out of the way, where do we go next, starting with today?
Andy Serwer might have that answer for us. He's "Minding Your Business."
Good morning.
SERWER: Good morning, Soledad. Sort of what have you done for me lately from you?
S. O'BRIEN: Exactly.
SERWER: OK, I understand.
The Dow was up 19 points yesterday to close at 12,011, the first time we broke through that barrier. You can see green arrows across the board. And ninth record in just over two weeks, so the market is on a tear. And the drivers of the market going forward, that's I think what you're asking, Soledad, where do we go from here?
A lot of that is going to have to do with oil and earnings. Let's start with oil. OPEC meeting in Qatar, they decided to cut production of oil from those oil-producing nations, not a surprise, but they decided to cut back more than expected. Analysts expecting one million barrels per day cutbacks. They're actually going to be doing 1.2 million barrels.
Now that was sort of priced in the market. The price of oil just up a little bit to under $59, so not a big surprise there, number one. Number two, the nations usually cheat, which means they go above their quota, so probably shouldn't have a big impact on the oil market.
Now earnings have been very, very good and especially look at some of these tech names. Let's talk about Google, unbelievable. After the bell yesterday, record profits.
S. O'BRIEN: Why didn't we buy a lot of that again?
SERWER: Yes, why didn't we get a whole bunch of that?
Record profits. The stock was up to $426 a share. And here is the big news, pre-market trading, the stock is up nearly $30 this morning to $458. That stock is going to open way, way up. That's 8 percent. The record was $475, so it's getting back to that all-time high. And if this continues, it's going to be more good news for investors.
S. O'BRIEN: What do you think it is or will...
SERWER: Well I think it is, yes. I mean I think in the short term it's definitely going to keep things going there.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. What do you have ahead for us?
SERWER: We're going to talk about former New York Stock Exchange Chief Dick Grasso ordered to pay back millions of dollars. We'll get to that story.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, we've been talking about that story for over a long time, haven't we?
SERWER: Going on.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thank you.
SERWER: Thanks.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Happening in America this morning, a 15-year-old boy in Florida dead after being stabbed to death at a bus stop outside his school. The young man's classmate is now charged with murder. Atlanta police say the two boys were fighting over a girl when the suspect pulled out a pocket knife and plunged it into the teen's chest.
In New York, a grim discovery near Ground Zero, construction workers have unearthed human remains that could belong to someone killed on 9/11. The bones now being analyzed by the medical examiner. The remains of more than 1,100 people killed in the World Trade Center attacks have never been recovered.
A scary scene in Arkansas, security cameras rolling as a car crashes through a busy grocery store. One customer pinned underneath the car suffered serious injuries. Police say the elderly driver once again hit the gas pedal instead of the brake. Wow!
In California, the "San Francisco Chronicle" in contempt of court this morning for its reporting on baseball slugger Barry Bonds. The newspaper agreed to the punishment after refusing to tell prosecutors who leaked secret grand jury testimony to it. It included Bonds saying he used substances he didn't know were steroids.
In New York City, the Mets are out. The St. Louis Cardinals beat New York last night, game seven of the National League Championship. The Cards now head to the World Series, will face the Detroit Tigers in game one tomorrow night in Detroit. The Mets are trying to put a brave face on it. They did win 97 games. They had a good season overall -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, but who cares.
M. O'BRIEN: Man, what have you done for me lately?
S. O'BRIEN: Exactly, that's my theme today, Miles.
Here's a quick look at some of the stories we're following for you this morning.
Mark Foley names the priest he says molested him when he was a teenager. We'll get the Vatican's response this morning.
And Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Beijing for talks on North Korea.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Women run our households. I think they really run our world.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the military won't respect a woman giving them orders.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She would definitely have to have a strong personality.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think anybody's ready for a woman as a president yet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's, you know, taken this long for men to kind of realize that women can do the job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would I vote for a female president? Of course, absolutely.
M. O'BRIEN: Our system of free enterprise and democracy is supposed to be a meritocracy. If that's the case, why have so few women risen to the top in politics? Is there a glass ceiling keeping them from the Oval Office?
(voice over): Stephen Hess is a senior fellow of the nonprofit think tank the Brookings Institution. He says the time is right for a woman president.
STEPHEN HESS, SENIOR FELLOW, BROOKINGS INST.: I think it's very likely that we're going to get a woman president relatively soon. There are enough women now in the on-deck circle ready to contend for that office.
M. O'BRIEN: Senator Hillary Clinton is in that circle, but Hess says her husband Bill is unlikely to take a back seat like the spouses of other international leaders.
Republican Condoleezza Rice is also on deck. However, Hess says her chances are slim because she's never run for office.
Either way, Hess believes the long-term impact will be minimal.
HESS: After we get our first woman president, that people will be shocked about many things for about 30 seconds, and then they'll just go about their business until there's another election, in which they'll either return them to office or throw the rascal out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome back, everybody. It is Friday, October 20th.
I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.
Let's get right to the news wall and take a look at some of the stories we are following for you this morning.
The secretary of state, Condoleezza Rice, in Beijing as we speak at a news conference. She and the Chinese foreign minister calling for new talks to end the North Korea nuclear crisis.
A new GOP campaign ad featuring a ticking clock tries to refocus voters on the war on terror. Midterm elections now only 18 days away.
S. O'BRIEN: A milestone for the market. The Dow opens this morning above the 12,000 mark. The record set yesterday, exactly 19 years after the stock market crash of 1987.
And the priest who Mark Foley says abused him when he was a teenager is talking. We'll tell you about what Father Anthony Mercieca had to say -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Chad Myers at the weather center watching a lot of rain in the Northeast.
Good morning, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A lot of rain and a cold front, Miles. Cold air coming in -- 34 Marquette, still in the 60s in New York, but that cold front is all the way through the south and there is a very slow commute for the Northeast.
A couple of baseball games going on in Detroit this weekend. No showers for tomorrow night's game, but there could be snow on Sunday -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much. Snow, for the game, that is?
MYERS: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes? Well, that's a world series in Detroit for you right there.
MYERS: There you go.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Chad.
The priest former congressman Mark Foley seemed to blame for his transgressions with teenage congressional pages is now talking, and it's not a pretty tale at all. The priest admits he did in fact fondle Foley when he was a teenager and says he was on alcohol and pills at the time.
What is the Vatican saying about all this?
Our faith and values correspondent, Delia Gallagher, has been looking into this.
Delia, I know you've spoken directly to the Vatican. This priest, Mercieca, is Maltese, correct?
DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN FAITH AND VALUES CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: And is no longer in the United States. Nevertheless, he's still an active member of the clergy.
What's the Vatican saying?
GALLAGHER: Well, I spoke yesterday to the pope's spokesman, and they hadn't yet heard about this priest. They didn't know that he had been named. So the papal spokesman was due caution because I was just telling him news reports, did give a statement, and he said with a caveat -- and I'll read this to you -- "If the news stories we are hearing are correct, we participate in the pain that this deplorable situation has caused. We trust in the competent ecclesial authorities to investigate and clarify the events that have been reported."
So, you know, keep in mind that this is under Pope Benedict, who last year called sexual abusers in the church "the filth of the Catholic Church." So I think, you know, there's no doubt that the Vatican will want to have this investigated.
However, they are not directly responsible for doing that investigation in the first place. That investigation has to start with the diocese in which the events happened and the diocese in which the priest who is accused of the events was made a priest. So in that case, Malta and -- and Florida.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. So, lest we forget the church is, after all, a bureaucracy and they have rules they have to follow.
So you were talking to the papal spokesman. It's not like Pope Benedict is dealing with this right at this moment.
GALLAGHER: No. It goes through a certain amount of procedure, because obviously there's going to be a huge amount of paperwork right now to go through and people to be interviewed. And they have to go back through all of the other parishes where this priest worked and try to understand even from his own testimony what happened.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Now, what we have heard from him is rather remarkable. The admissions -- naked together, massages, skinny- dipping -- he claims, you know, a foggy night where he's not sure what happened that night.
GALLAGHER: Right.
M. O'BRIEN: Amazing that he would make those admissions.
GALLAGHER: Yes. It's very interesting, because in the first instance, he's very open with -- with his admissions, but there's -- it's very confused, you know? He doesn't seem quite clear on -- on what's happening, A, because I think he's been over in Malta, he hasn't really understood the severity of the situation, but also, he's not really clear on what his memories are of the events.
So I think the investigation's going to have to proceed and try and sort out between himself and Mark Foley exactly what happened.
M. O'BRIEN: You almost have the sense in listening to him that he believes he didn't really do anything wrong.
GALLAGHER: Right.
M. O'BRIEN: And that's his contention, I think.
GALLAGHER: Well, he seems to suggest that there was some touching and sexual contact, but that he doesn't consider that molestation. So we might have a different definition of molestation here.
M. O'BRIEN: Would he be defrocked, do you think, given his admissions? Fair to say?
GALLAGHER: Well, I think, you know, if -- if the charges prove to be true, I think he will certainly be removed from active ministry, you know. He's a retired priest. Defrocked is sort of removing him from the priesthood, which is probably not likely, but certainly that he would be removed from active ministry. That tends to be what they do.
M. O'BRIEN: Delia Gallagher, thank you very much -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Some of the stories we're following for you this morning.
Police arrest a man and a woman suspected of kidnapping the woman's baby and killing a social worker.
Plus, Republicans ask one of their own to quit his congressional race after a letter from his office warns immigrants it's illegal to vote.
Those stories ahead. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Here's a look now at stories that CNN correspondents around the world are covering today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AL GOODMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Al Goodman in Madrid.
The Portuguese parliament has voted to hold a national referendum early next year on legalizing abortion through the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. Now comes the hard part for pro-choice advocates in Portugal, one of the last western European countries where abortion is essentially banned.
A similar referendum eight years ago failed. The Roman Catholic Church is still opposed.
A Lisbon newspaper poll shows just 48 percent of Portuguese are in favor of legalizing abortion, but the socialist prime minister favors this change. He says the current ban makes Portugal backward.
Every year tens of thousands of Portuguese women get illegal abortions in back-street clinics, at home, or come next door here to Spain and get one legally.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Satinder Bindra in Sri Lanka's capital, Colombo.
A 26-year-old ethnic conflict here has already claimed more than 60,000 lives. Today more bloodshed.
Three Sri Lankan soldiers were killed in fighting with rebel forces who want to set up an independent homeland. As the fighting continues, so, too, do international efforts to try to stop it. A senior U.S. diplomat, Ambassador Richard Boucher, is in Colombo today to try to convince both sides to sit together for peace talks to be held later this month in Europe.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm John Vause in Jerusalem.
The Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert, back from a three-day visit to Moscow, and warning that Iran will "pay a price" if it defiantly pushes on with its nuclear program. Mr. Olmert did not go into details, but in his strongest words yet says Iran should be afraid.
Israeli intelligence believes the Islamic republic could have nuclear weapons within the next few years. Tehran, though, insists its nuclear ambitions are peaceful.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: For more on these or any of our top stories, log on to our Web site, CNN.com.
Scientists this morning puzzling over what could be a big setback for the environment. This time we're not talking about climate change.
Remember the ozone hole? Well, the hole over Antarctica is now bigger than ever. Check out this animation.
Blue area there, ozone hole, shows a supersized hole there about the size of North America. Not a good thing. The ozone layer protects life on Earth from ultraviolet radiation from the sun's rays.
It can repair itself over time. A lot of pollutants from aerosols are what cause it to thin. Many of them have been banned.
Generally, scientists still believe the ozone hole is on its way to recovery in about 2065, but this season, for whatever reason, the ozone hole is back.
Chad Myers is at the weather center.
Supposedly, what's interesting about it is, when it's colder, you get a bigger ozone hole. We're talking about climate change, global warming. Here you have a cold spell and you get a bigger ozone hole. Go figure.
MYERS: It has been a cold -- well, I guess what they would consider winter, clearly, because they're on the one side and the other side.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
MYERS: What we consider summer. It has been a much colder than normal winter down there, and so therefore the ozone hole is larger. It kind of just doesn't seem to make sense. It seems like it should go the other way, but it's not.
Rain showers across the Northeast all the way from Detroit through Boston and New York, and that rain stays with us most of the morning. May even be some strong storms along the front, but that looks like that will eventually push out into the ocean.
If you're driving to work this morning, oh man, the Long Island Expressway is a mess. New York, just rain all the way down, even down to Levittown and down to Philadelphia as well.
Soledad, back to you.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Chad. Thank you.
Some of the stories we're following for you this morning.
Eight Afghan civilians working for the U.S. military have been killed in Afghanistan.
And a backup college punter accused of stabbing the starter in the leg is now charged with attempted murder.
That story and much more ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Getting this news just into CNN. North Korea's Kim Jong-il, the leader of North Korea, of course, says that there will be no further nuclear tests. This word coming this morning apparently from -- being reported from South Korea's Yonhap news, quoting a diplomatic source in China.
Apparently, this is what the North Korean leader told the visiting Chinese envoy, that Pyongyang in fact plans no further nuclear tests. The source was quoted as saying, "I understand he" -- he, being Kim Jong-il -- "expressed clearly there was no plan to conduct nuclear tests."
The first test, you might remember, was on October 9th, and there were concerns in recent days that there was some movement on the ground in North Korea that signaled a move toward some further tests.
Obviously we'll continue to monitor and follow this story for you right here on CNN -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Soledad.
In New Orleans, one of the unwelcome and lasting side-effects of Hurricane Katrina has been a resurgence of the stubborn crime problem for that city.
AMERICAN MORNING'S Dan Lothian reports on how police in Boston, of all places, are coming to the rescue.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The Boston Police Department has a good reputation for fighting violent crimes, and that's getting the attention of law enforcement in and around New Orleans. Criminologist Peter Scharf says a dramatic spike in the murder rate post-Katrina has meant that fresh ideas are needed to combat violence.
PETER SCHARF, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR SOCIETY, LAW AND JUSTICE: And the idea to go to another department -- and not that Boston's doing everything right and everything they're doing is terrible, but the idea of really looking at yourself through the prism of another organization is incredibly valuable.
LOTHIAN: Police and community leaders from New Orleans and neighboring Jefferson Parish traveled to Boston to hear from the department's youth violence experts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's all about understanding kids and why they're doing what they're doing.
LOTHIAN: Jefferson Parish sheriff Harry Lee says with the murder rate up 60 percent in his area so far this year, he needs all the help he can get.
SHERIFF HARRY LEE, JEFFERSON PARISH, LOUISIANA: We're just looking over their shoulder. We've seen what they did in the past to turn it around, and if there's something we can adopt in Jefferson, we will certainly do it.
LOTHIAN: Experts say Boston has been successful at gathering intelligence in the city's neighborhoods and increasing police visibility on the streets. Superintendent Robert Dunford says good coordination between his department and the school district police department has also helped.
SUPERINTENDENT ROBERT DUNFORD, BOSTON POLICE: We can just offer them our experiences, talk to them about what we faced, how we responded to that, the results of those, the things that worked, the things that didn't work.
LOTHIAN (on camera): Next stop, New York City to meet with law enforcement officials there. They say this effort is an important part of reducing crime and getting displaced residents to feel better about returning home.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Some of the stories we're working on for you this morning.
Disheartening violence. The U.S. military regroups and tries to redefine the terms of victory. We'll take a look at that.
Plus, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in China, holding talks on North Korea.
We'll have more on that also ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Some of today's top stories we're following.
In Afghanistan, eight Afghan civilian workers ambushed and killed near the U.S. military base where they worked.
And the Centers for Disease Control with new hospital guidelines aimed at reducing infection -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Here's a story that you can file under "Duh". A story -- a report out that says more than half of all the mothers in America don't get enough sleep.
A nationwide survey looked at 500 mothers, found that mothers who work full time get less than six hours of sleep every night. Not much better if you're a stay-at-home mom. Forty-eight percent they are sleep-deprived.
The advice from sleep specialists is to avoid alcohol, avoid caffeine, create a comfortable sleep environment, send your children off to boarding school -- no, I'm kidding about the last one, but that would work. Don't think I haven't thought about that.
ANDY SERWER, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "FORTUNE": Yes, right.
S. O'BRIEN: I got three hours of sleep last night.
SERWER: Unbelievable.
S. O'BRIEN: But there's something to celebrate. Dow 12,000...
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: And 11. How it's going to open today.
SERWER: Yes. Is that going to make up for it?
S. O'BRIEN: No. For my sleep? No. Not at all, but I'm still happy.
SERWER: Yes. It's helping a little bit.
Dow 12,000.
We're also going to talk a little bit about Dick Grasso this morning, Soledad. You know, the former head of the New York Stock Exchange faced a major legal setback yesterday when a state judge in New York, Charles E. Ramos (ph), issued a scathing 73-page ruling that says he must repay at least $95 million...
S. O'BRIEN: He's the bald-headed guy there.
SERWER: That's right, that is the gentleman there -- of his $187 million pay package.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow. Wow.
SERWER: In this report, he -- also the judge said that the board of the NYSE wasn't made aware of his compensation, which is bad, and that the $50 million that Grasso says he's owed in addition to the $187 million, forget about it. There's no way he's getting that.
Now, of course it's very likely that Grasso is going to appeal this, but still, it is a bad situation from his perspective, because there was no equivocation on the part of the judge. The judge just said, you're way out of line here and you're going to have to pay a lot of that money back.
I want to talk about another chief executive in hot water. This is William McGuire.
S. O'BRIEN: Continue -- what's the name of our segment? Chief executives in hot water today.
SERWER: The hot water segment, yes. William McGuire, we've talked about him a lot.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, again. Right.
SERWER: Of course United Health. And an interesting story in "The Wall Street Journal" today. You know how he was saying that those option packages were just a coincidence, that they were just, you know, made at the right time, just...
S. O'BRIEN: He's so lucky.
SERWER: Yes, he's just so very lucky. Well, some new evidence that that probably isn't the case, besides the fact that there was 201 -- 200 million to one odds that this had (ph) taken place.
Besides that, back in October of 1999, the newspaper discovered that there was an instance where McGuire asked that an option package, $2 million options be reissued. Instead of repricing them, he said, let's throw those out and give me some new ones at a lower price, which you know, that's not coincidence, that's him directing the whole activity.
So that is not going to look good. And obviously, there are lawyers hovering and litigation ensuing there.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, it's going to be a big deal.
SERWER: Yes. So, you know, the beat keeps on going here with this stuff.
S. O'BRIEN: Certainly with that. Yes. Another story that keeps on -- another business story that keeps on giving.
SERWER: And we like those.
S. O'BRIEN: What do you have ahead?
SERWER: We are going to talk more about Dow 12,000, and this time, Soledad, I think things could be looking up for you in terms of maybe getting a reward.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes, I predicted it a long time ago now, but I did...
SERWER: Yes, very often.
S. O'BRIEN: Me and a lot of other people, actually.
SERWER: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Andy, thanks.
SERWER: Thanks.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN (voice over): Here are some of the top stories on CNN.com this morning.
A new battle sizzling in Philadelphia over cheesesteaks. The grandsons of the guy said to have invented Philly's favorite sandwich are going to court. The lawsuit boils down to this: the owner of Pat's King of Steaks says his cousin and owner of Rick's Steaks has been using Pat's name, logo, and trademark phrases illegally.
Controversy over the first long-term government study on Ritalin and preschoolers. The popular Attention Deficit Disorder drug isn't approved for use in kids under 6. The study concludes the benefits of Ritalin outweigh the risks for young children with severe ADHD. Critics call the study a marketing push by the drug industry to expand Ritalin use to young children.
A winner named in Bravo's third season of "Project Runway," the fashion competition show. It's bad boy Jeffrey Sebelia. He won $100,000 and an internship from Macy's.
The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING begins right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Good morning to you, Friday, October 20th.
Miles O'Brien here.
S. O'BRIEN: And I'm Soledad O'Brien.
Lots happening this morning, so let's get right to the news wall.
Rethinking the U.S. strategy in Iraq. Out-of-control violence has U.S. military planners reconsidering all their options. So far this month, more than 70 American troops have been killed in Iraq.
M. O'BRIEN: Also happening this AMERICAN MORNING, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Beijing as we speak. She's trying to ensure the Chinese back up their vote for sanctions at the U.N. aimed at North Korea with some real action.
S. O'BRIEN: That 9-month-old Kentucky baby who was kidnapped after a social worker was found beaten to death in good condition this morning. That's good news there. The boy's mother and her boyfriend are now in police custody.
M. O'BRIEN: A market milestone. The Dow opens this morning above the 12,000 mark. The high watermark set yesterday, exactly 19 years after the crash of '87.
S. O'BRIEN: Chad Myers is at the CNN weather center. He's watching the cold weather come in for the weekend.
Good morning.
MYERS: Good morning, Soledad, Miles.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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