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American Morning
Princess Diana's Death: Tragic Accident or Sinister Plot?; Climber Rescue Effort; Golden Globe Nominations Announced This Morning
Aired December 14, 2006 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A developing story. Democratic Senator Tim Johnson undergoing brain surgery overnight. His party's new one-vote majority an open question this morning.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And tragedy revisited. A new report on Princess Diana's death comes out in the next hour and it tackles the claims that she was murdered.
M. O'BRIEN: New clues. The country's top medical sleuths finally identify the likely source of that Taco Bell E. Coli outbreak.
S. O'BRIEN: And the search for three stranded climbers in Oregon. The race to save them is stepped up as a huge storm starts moving in. Those stories and much more on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning. Welcome, everybody. It's Thursday, December 14th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Thanks for being with us.
We begin in Washington and a possible shift of power in the Senate. South Dakota Democratic Tim Johnson recovering this morning from brain surgery overnight. Johnson appeared to suffer a stroke in the midst of a conference call with reporters yesterday. Unclear precisely what happened to the senator or what his prognosis is. But with Democrats posed to take a one-vote majority role in the Senate, there is a political component to the concern felt by his colleagues. AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken is here with us this morning with more on the political ramifications.
Good morning, Bob.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
And, of course, the normal concern for Senator Johnson's health has been quickly displaced by the abnormal calculation that's a fundamental part of the hyper political atmosphere in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The speculation began almost immediately after word got out Johnson had been stricken at the end of a political conference call with South Dakota reporters.
SEN. TIM JOHNSON, (D) SOUTH DAKOTA: The money was proposed to be provided a year ago. Second -- you know -- it just is -- is frustrating.
FRANKEN: If Senator Johnson can no longer serve, and that's a big "if," the balance of power in the Senate would turn upside-down. It's as simple as that. Republicans would almost certainly take back the Senate that the Democrats had just wrenched from their control in last month's election.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Democrats are expecting to come back to Capitol Hill in January in control of the legislative agenda. And this put a huge wrench in what Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid are expected to try to accomplish in the first few -- over the next few years.
FRANKEN: Tim Johnson's South Dakota is one of the states where the sitting governor chooses a replacement, without regard to party. Republican Governor Mike Brown could be expected to appoint someone from his own party to fill the vacancy until the next election in two years. Instead of the 51/49 majority Democrats fought so hard to achieve, it would become 50/50 and the tie would be broken by the president of the Senate -- the vice president of the United States, Dick Cheney. Of course, Democratic would still control the House, but the opposition party's newly gained power in Congress would suddenly be ripped in half by fate and GOP senators would be able to protect their party's president from a full-scale assault.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: And, of course, everyone is hoping for Senator Johnson's full recovery, but nobody more so, Miles, than his fellow Democrats.
M. O'BRIEN: Absolutely. And we should underscore here, there's a fair amount of speculation in all of this. But it being the political environment that you talk about, there is going to be talk like this, about what could happen.
FRANKEN: Well, certainly there's going to be talk about this. Look at what we're doing now. That was the immediate thought that came to those who deal in this realm. It should be pointed out, however, that any number of other senators have been incapacitated for some time. Senator Pryor comes to mind, Senator Biden, and they came back and continued their careers.
M. O'BRIEN: For many months and kept their senate job.
FRANKEN: Right. Right.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you, Bob. He'll be back later with more on this.
Incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi already making her mark on the next Congress. Pelosi poised to create a new intelligence oversight committee today that will have more control over the budget. And that was a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. The committee likely to be chaired by Congressman John Murtha. Pelosi also to unveil a new, independent ethics board to police lawmaker's behavior.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: In Iraq this morning, more lives lost in another car bombing. The latest victims are two Iraqi police officers in Baghdad. They were trying to diffuse the bomb when it exploded. Nearly 100 people have been killed by car bombs in Iraq in the last 72 hours alone.
And, meantime, a developing story elsewhere in Baghdad. Iraqi officials say gunmen wearing outdated police uniforms kidnapped dozens of people from a shopping district overnight. We're going to have more on that story straight ahead this morning.
As for the president's new plan in Iraq, it's all talk and not much action, for now at least. On Wednesday, the president conferred with the nation's military leadership and said, once again, he's not going to be rushed into making difficult decision. CNN's Ed Henry is at the White House for us this morning.
Good morning, Ed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Bush continues today to mull a new Iraq strategy after wrapping up the public phase of his listening tour at the Pentagon, revealing he delayed his big speech because he does not want to be rushed into making such a major decision. Amid criticism his administration has downplayed the sectarian strife, the president was brutally frank, saying the violence in Iraq has been horrific.
And there was a direct message to U.S. troops wondering about his next move in Iraq. Declaring that despite the public pressure in the United States, he's not bringing them home any time soon. The president would not tip his handed on a new strategy, though people close to the deliberations say one idea the president is giving strong consideration to is sending more troops to Iraq on a short-term basis in order to stabilize the situation. A controversial move, but some conservatives say it's the last, best chance at victory.
Ed Henry, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: In just about an hour, we expect to hear the official report into Princess Diana's death in that Paris tunnel almost a decade ago. Is it going to put to rest all those conspiracy theories once and for all? Here's CNN's Paula Hancocks.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The finger of blame for the death of Diana has been pointed in every direction since that car crash in a Paris tunnel more than nine years ago. Today's report is expected to say Diana died because her driver was drunk and speeding. The same conclusion of the French inquiry seven years ago.
But according to CNN affiliate ITN, Princes William and Harry, who have already been briefed on the report, are devastated and disgusted by the way the paparazzi is said to have behaved immediately after the crash. The report is expected to slam the paparazzi for continuing to take photographs as Diana lay dying. The first doctor to attend to the princess also said he remembers flashing bulbs and cameras around him.
DR. FREDERIC MAILLIEZ, EMERGENCY RESPONDER: When I was inside the tunnel treating Princess Diana, I realized that there are a lot of people taking a lot of pictures with flash. Lot of flash. And that -- I was wondering why.
HANCOCKS: The father of Diana's companion, Dodi al Fayed, who also died in the car crash, is refusing to accept the report even before it's published. He says the findings are "outrageous" and claims the author, former London Police Chief John Stephens, has been blackmailed by British intelligence chiefs. Mohamed al Fayed has long held a belief his son and the princess were murdered by the establishment because their relationship was embarrassing the royal family.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Coming up at the top of the hour, we're going to take you live to London where the findings of a three-year investigation into the cause of Princess Diana's death is being announced. You'll want to stay with us for that.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning.
Now they are saying it is likely lettuce that brought E. Coli into Taco Bell restaurants. The outbreak has apparently run its course, leaving 71 people sick with the bacteria. Taco Bell has now reopened nearly all of the 90 or so restaurants it had to shut down. The chain had originally blamed it all on green onions, but that turned out to be a red herring.
In Oregon, those climbers are still trapped on Mount Hood this morning and the weather is getting worse. Heavy snow and wind, 80 mile-per-hour gusts. Actually into three figures, perhaps, today. Rescuers cannot climb past the 7,000-foot level. The summit of Mount Hood is 11,000 feet. Kelly James, Brian Hall and Jerry Cooke haven't been heard from since Sunday when James reached his family on his cell phone.
A maddening postscript this morning to the tragic death of James Kim. The Federal Bureau of Land Management admitting it did not close a gate that would have stopped Kim from driving down an impassible road in the Oregon wilderness. They had been blaming vandals. Kim and his wife and two young daughters were trapped for more than a week in the snow. He died in a desperate hike for help. His family stayed back and was rescued.
Just in from Canada, new pictures of a fire burning at an oil plant in Ontario right now. The flames sparked by an explosion overnight. No reports of injuries. So far firefighters are keeping the flames from spreading to a nearby neighborhood.
And in Utah, polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs due back in court this morning. A judge deciding whether he'll stand trial as a rape accomplice. Last month a young woman testified Jeffs made her marry an older cousin when she was 14 and the man forced her to have sex.
S. O'BRIEN: Two hours and counting till it is official. Hollywood will be buzzing with the announcement of this year's Golden Global nominations. Now, of course, the awards honor the best in both movies and TV. CNN's Sibila Vargas has a look at some of the likely nominees.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's that time of the year again. Award season has officially begun. I'm here at the Beverly Hills Hotel. The official site of the Golden Globe Awards. The nominations will be presented shortly and it could be big for a queen, a dictator, and a dream girl.
Helen Mirren is getting loads of support for her rendition of Queen Elizabeth II in "The Queen." She's already gotten tons of critical praise and tons of critical award.
Forest Whitaker. He is the man to beat this year. He will surely get a nomination for playing former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. Very charismatic in this role.
And it could be a dream come true for a dream girl. Jennifer Hudson, a former "American Idol" reject, could be a winner at this year's nominations. She has been really the talk of tinsel town for her work in "Dreamgirls."
Well, again, the nominations will take place shortly. I will be here.
Sibila Vargas, Beverly Hills, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: And, in fact, AMERICAN MORNING's going to bring you the Golden Globe nominations live from Beverly Hills at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time today.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, a powerful storm pounds parts of the west coast. Severe weather expert Chad Myers tells us what folks up there can expect today. Plus, a dinner with Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco is auctioned off. We'll tell you why organizers called the winning bid a poor joke gone awry, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
You're look at live pictures from Ipswich in England. They're holding a press conference in what they now suspect to be a serial murder case involving a number of prostitutes in Ipswich. Many questions about who could possibly to be to blame. And, of course, they've been encouraging people to stay off the street. Their crime in this town, in Ipswich, is very, very rare. We're going to be talking ahead this morning more about this, but we're also going to monitor this press conference for you as well.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: The Bush administration is rejecting calls to ban weapons in space, claiming terrorists may target U.S. satellites in orbit. A State Department official did not identify the sources of those threats, but he asserted the U.S. has the right to protect itself in space.
Speaking of space, take a look at this. These are solar arrays on the International Space Station. They're about 115 feet from end to end there. Have you ever tried to fold up a map and have a hard time with it? Well, that's sort of what's happening in space and what happened yesterday.
I want to call your attention to this area right down here. Let's go to a close-up of that spot and you'll see what the problem was as they tried to retract those long solar arrays yesterday to make way for some more Space Station construction. There you see everything's folding just nicely there. But as you can see, right in here, the folds want to go in the opposite direction. Just like that map you have in your glove compartment.
NASA astronauts tried several times, about 45 times, to pull it out and pull it back in, and here you see one of those attempts here. But each time they did it, these particular arrays or bays, as they call them, refused to fold.
Take a look at the big picture. We'll give you a sense of what they're trying to do there. Why they're trying to retract this array. They're trying to make room for this solar array so this can spin around and attract the sun more effectively. So they're trying to bring this one in, retract it completely. Eventually it will go over here on a mission in September. So far, though, they were able to retract it just enough to provide clearance for this one to rotate so they're going to leave it there for a while and decide later what to do.
Later there will be a space walk, but as it stands right now, they'll do nothing to try to deal with that bulky solar array on this particular space walk. Maybe later in this mission. Maybe not on this mission at all. We'll see.
It is about 15 minutes past the hour. Let's get a check of the weather.
Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Miles, did you hear about this coronal mass ejection that's heading our way now?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
MYERS: A big solar storm.
M. O'BRIEN: And that is something that NASA gets a little bit worried about with astronauts in space. They're telling them to sleep in shielded areas of the Space Station here because we are protected from the radiation here underneath the atmosphere of the earth, but, of course, they are not.
MYERS: That's right. And it's going to happen about 1:00 in the afternoon Eastern Time. A big solar storm headed to the United States. Anywhere, really, where the sun is out. And that will be right in United States, Canada and also South America. But you may actually lose some radiation, radio frequencies. You may lose a little bit of communication. And also the planes may be a little bit affected too. So 1:00 is the arrival time. It was ejected from the sun on Tuesday. It will arrive here at 1:00. Should only last about an hour. Weird things go on about 1:00 maybe with your ATM or whatever, you'll know why.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Happening in America this morning.
In Michigan, Dr. Jack Kevorkian -- remember he used to be called Dr. Death. He's going to be paroled in June. He's been in prison since 1999 for helping a Michigan man with Lou Gehrig's Disease kill himself. Now Dr. Kevorkian claims he helped kill at least 130 people, end their lives. Part of his parole, Kevorkian promised to never again assist in a suicide.
In New York City, Yoko Ono's chauffeur is accused of extortion. Police say that Koral Karsan demanded $2 million from Ono by threatening to circulate embarrassing photos of her. Police say he also talked about killing Ono and her son, Sean Lennon. Karsan denies the accusations. Says Ono is trying to discredit the sexual harassment claim he's got against her.
In Louisiana, just one dollar. That was the winning bid for dinner with Governor Kathleen Blanco. It happened at a recent fund- raising auction. The bidding opened at $1,000 and dropped to $500 and then the auctioneer accepted a bid of $1 and closed the event. Of course, Governor Blanco had been heavily criticized for her response during Hurricane Katrina. The guy who bid a dollar apparently was trying to make some kind of a joke. He later donated $1,000. And there was much embarrassment on both sides. Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, distracted drivers. How do they compare to speeders or even folks who are ready to fall asleep at the wheel? We'll look at an alarming new study.
Also, a bid-winning court for the makers of Vioxx. Ali Velshi tells us what it means for all the other Vioxx trials in "Minding Your Business."
And remembering Peter Boyle. The cast of "Everybody Love's Raymond" reflects on the life of their late co-star ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Many of us, of course, remember actor Peter Boyle as the curmudgeonly father in the TV comedy "Everybody Loves Raymond," but he had a long and impressive career as Frankenstein, and young Frankenstein. He was in "Taxi Driver," "Where the Buffalo Roam," "Monster's Ball." The list goes on and on. Boyle died on Tuesday. He was 71 years old. He had an acting career that spanned 50 years. Well, last night, Ray Romano and Brad Garrett sat down with Larry King to remember their co-star and friend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY ROMANO, ACTOR: He could talk about history, politics, religion.
BRAD GARRETT, ACTOR: Yes, his amazing intellect.
ROMANO: Yes.
GARRETT: Really on a . . .
ROMANO: And but the major part is yet he could dumb it down for me, you know.
GARRETT: And me. Put me in there.
ROMANO: Right?
GARRETT: Absolutely. He never made you feel that there was anything superior about him, but he was able to . . .
LARRY KING, "LARRY KING LIVE": So your saying, he was the superior intellect on the show by far.
GARRETT: Absolutely. Oh, gosh.
ROMANO: Oh, yes. The smartest guy, as (INAUDIBLE).
GARRETT: And what was amazing is his love for children. You know, there were like 13 kids that were born in the nine years of "Raymond." From people on the crew and we all had kids. When the kids showed up, they just flocked to Peter because he was a big kid. He would get on the floor with them and do his impressions with them and, you know, it's amazing, he couldn't be more unlike the people he played. But what he had in common was, he was the every man, you know.
ROMANO: Yes.
GARRETT: He was the regular guy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Peter Boyle dead at the age of 71.
You'll want to be sure to catch "Larry Kink Live" every night at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All those gadgets you have in your car, they're sure fun. But the iPod, the satellite radio, the navigation system and the DVD players sure mean your eyes are not always on the road. A lot of states are trying to crack down on all this. But last year alone, 38 of them proposed new laws to curtail distracted driving. AMERICAN MORNING's Chris Lawrence with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): A distracted woman rear ends the car ahead of her. This man looks to his left and misses the spin-out right in front of him. These are real accidents, part of a new AAA study that found distracted drivers are nearly as dangerous as sleepy ones and speeders.
JEFFREY SPRING, AAA: If you take your eyes away from the road in front of you for two seconds or longer, the odds of you getting into a crash or a near crash doubled.
LAWRENCE: Two seconds. Far less than the time it takes to read a map, touch up your makeup or take that important call.
Do you ever just look at the driver next to you and shake your head at what they're doing?
SPRING: Once a day. Some of the craziest examples I've seen are people reading a novel propped on the steering wheel while they're driving at 60 miles an hour.
LAWRENCE: AAA's Jeffrey Spring has seen drivers go way beyond a burger and fries.
SPRING: They've got a plate, they've got a spoon or a fork and they're eating it while they're driving with their knees.
LAWRENCE: Two weeks ago, a seven year old boy was killed at a bus stop in California, run over by this SUV. Police say the driver with reaching for his cell phone when he lost control. Look on the bottom left as this woman dials her phone and above her nearly hits a child's tricycle that pulled out in front of her. Now factor in not just phones, but iPods and GPS and Blackberries too. AAA says actual driving is becoming secondary to some people with potentially deadly results.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: That Blackberry's the worst.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, gosh. I tell you, people actually feel that they can send an e-mail and scroll through while they're driving.
M. O'BRIEN: You've got your hand on the wheel.
S. O'BRIEN: And I'm not talking about driving in traffic five miles an hour. I mean going 45 miles an hour.
M. O'BRIEN: Very bad idea.
S. O'BRIEN: It's ridiculous. I've seen people do it.
M. O'BRIEN: Don't do it.
S. O'BRIEN: Let's talk busy news, shall we?
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Hewlett-Packard's CEO has a few more questions to answer to Congress. Let's get a look at that. Ali Velshi's got that as he minds your business this morning.
Good morning, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
I'm glad that you changed the topic, because I would had a very guilty look on my face when you were talking about Blackberrying while driving.
Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd was speaking to Congress as a congressional committee investigating HP's transgressions, as they were, with respect to corporate spying. And this new little canard seems to have show up. Apparently Mark Hurd exercised $1.37 million worth of stock options on August 25th.
Now that date is key, because it's the same day that Hurd was questioned by attorneys that HP had hired to investigate the corporate spying. It was also a little bit earlier than the September 6th disclosure by the company that it might have had a problem on its hands. So, you know, whenever executives trade stocks or exercise options ahead of bad news, well that could turn this little spying scandal into something a whole lot bigger. We'll continue to cover that. Something that is already a whole lot bigger, Merck's lawsuits that it's facing over Vioxx. It won a fourth trial yesterday. So out of five trials its had, it's won four and lost one. However, just to give you the tally, it has 27,200 suits remaining against it, representing 45,900 plaintiff groups and 265 potential class actions suits. So we'll be telling you about this for a while.
On markets yesterday, oil was up a little bit to $61.37. Retail sales, which were reported for the month of November, were up a little bit. So competing issues to cause the stock market to do virtually nothing. The Dow ended up just about a point higher to 12,317 after hitting a trading record during the day. We'll keep an eye on that today.
And that's it for now, Soledad. I'll talk to you later.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Ali, thank you very much.
A look at the morning's top stories is straight ahead. And also the glitz, the glam, the possibility of an Oscar nod. The Golden Globe nominees are to be announced later this morning. We'll give you our predictions straight ahead here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: A developing story we're watching. Democratic senator Tim Johnson undergoing brain surgery overnight. His party's control of the Senate is now in question.
M. O'BRIEN: A race against time. Searchers hoping to find those missing climbers in Oregon this morning before a violent storm gets worse.
S. O'BRIEN: And was it a tragic accident or a sinister plot? A definitive new report on Princess Diana's death comes out in less than half an hour on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back, everybody, Thursday, December 14th.
I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.
Thanks for being with us.
At the top of the hour we expect to hear the official report into Princess Diana's death in a Paris tunnel almost a decade ago now. But will it put to rest the conspiracy theories once and for all?
CNN's Paula Hancocks is in London.
I suspect the answer is it won't, Paula.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, that's right. In just about 30 minutes' time we'll have the answer to that. But it's very unlikely to quiet those that are obsessed with their conspiracy theories about how exactly Diana, princess of Wales, was killed in that car accident crash in Paris back in August, 1997.
Now, this is the first extensive British inquiry into the death. And we are expecting the former head of the London police who's in charge of this report to say there was no murder plot, there was no foul play, and there was no cover-up.
Now, we know it cost somewhere near $5 million, 400 witness, 20,000 documents. and we're expecting the report itself to be somewhere in the range of 800 pages. So John Stevens, who's doing this report, is certainly hoping it's going to be extensive in trying to quiet some of those conspiracy theorists. And what we're expecting is that the paparazzi following that car that night is very much going to be in focus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS (voice over): The finger of blame for the death of Diana has been pointed in every direction since that car crash in a Paris tunnel more than nine years ago. Today's report is expected to say Diana died because her driver was drunk and speeding, the same conclusion of the French inquiry seven years ago. But according to CNN affiliate ITN, princes William and Harry, who have already been briefed on the report, are devastated and disgusted by the way the paparazzi are said to have behaved immediately after the crash.
The report is expected to slam the paparazzi for continuing to take photographs as Diana laid dying. The first doctor to attend to the princess also says he remembers flashing bulbs of cameras around him.
DR. FREDERIC MAILLIEZ, EMERGENCY RESPONDER: When I was inside the car treating Princess Diana, I realized that there were a lot of people taking a lot of pictures with flash. A lot of flash. And that -- that -- I was wondering why.
HANCOCKS: The father of Diana's companion, Dodi Fayed, who also died in the car crash, is refusing to accept the report even before it's published. He says the findings are "outrageous" and claims the author, former London police chief John Stevens, has been blackmailed by British intelligence chiefs. Mohammed al-Fayed has long held the belief his son and the princess were murdered by the establishment because their relationship was embarrassing the royal family.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HANCOCKS: And Mohammed al-Fayed is going to be holding his own press conference today in just about four hours' time at the Harrod's department store that he owns.
And we just saw John Stevens, the author of that report, arriving here at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Center. Just about 25 minutes until we find out exactly what is in that report -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Paula Hancocks.
And of course we'll carry portions of that for you live here on CNN coming up right at the top of the hour. We'll take you live to London, where the findings of that investigation will be released.
Please stay with us -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Well, South Dakota senator Tim Johnson is recovering from brain surgery this morning. The 59-year-old Democrat was taken to a Washington hospital on Wednesday with stroke-like symptoms. No word yet on his condition.
It comes though just weeks before the Democratic Party is set to take control of the Senate with a one-vote majority. If -- and this is a very big if -- Johnson cannot complete his term, South Dakota's governor, who's a Republican, could appoint a Republican to replace the senator, and that would shift the Senate's balance of power to the Republicans. Again, that's a very big if.
Incoming speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has -- or is already trying to make her mark on the next Congress. She's poised to create a new Intelligence Oversight Committee today that would have more control over the budget, a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. The committee's likely to be chaired by Congressman John Murtha. Pelosi's also expected to unveil a new independent ethics board to police lawmakers' behavior.
A report in this morning's "Washington Post" says the country's top military commanders want to rewrite the war plans in Iraq. They want to hand over control to the country to Iraqi troops in the near future. Don't expect necessarily though the president will back that plan any time soon. The president says he's not going to be rushed into an announcement on Iraq. He said after he met with vice president, Dick Cheney, and also some of his military advisers at the Pentagon.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I will be delivering my -- my plans after a long deliberation, after steady deliberation. I'm not going to be rushed into making a difficult decision.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Now, you'll remember the president was originally going to talk about America's future in Iraq and get that done before Christmas. But then the White House began backtracking, saying that they might or might not get it done before Christmas. It looks like it's going to be some time now early in the new year -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: In Oregon, rescuers racing to save missing climbers on Mount Hood today before the strongest storm of the week moves in. Kelly James, Brian Hall and Jerry Cooke haven't been heard from since Sunday when Kelly reached his family by cell phone. He told them he was near the summit, but so far the weather has kept rescuers at a distance.
They have few precious hours today before a near whiteout, with one to two feet of snow by tomorrow.
Dan Simon is at Copper Spur, Oregon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, rescue crews certainly have not given up hope that the three climbers can be found alive, but right now the weather is really hampering their search. On Wednesday, the weather was so bad that rescuers could not get much farther than the tree line, which is right about at 6,000 feet. And unmanned thermal imaging drones that have been brought in could not get off the ground because it's just too windy.
But there was one good piece of news. The sheriff here in Hood River County tells me that he spoke to another sheriff's department and they told him that on Monday morning Kelly James attempted to make a 911 phone call. That call did not go through, but it told them a couple of things -- number one, that Kelly James was alive on Monday, and that based upon the ping data from the cell phone, it showed that he had moved from when he made a previous call to relatives on Sunday.
So that's encouraging, but right now the focus is really on the weather, and crews are just hopeful that it will clear up so they can greatly expand their search.
Dan Simon, CNN, Cooper Spur, Oregon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: And now a maddening postscript this morning to the tragic death of James Kim. The Federal bureau of Land Management admitting it did not close a gate that would have stopped Kim from driving down an impassable road in the Oregon wilderness. They had been blaming vandals.
Kim and his wife and two young daughters were trapped for more than a week in the snow. He died in a desperate hike for help. His family stayed back and was rescued.
S. O'BRIEN: Such a sad story there.
Coming up this morning, he's got the number one movie. Mel Gibson talks to CNN about his much-discussed run-in with the cops over the summer.
And the glitz and glamour. The Golden Globes nominations, we're going to have the list live for you in just about two hours. But straight ahead, we'll tell you which movies and which TV shows are getting the biggest buzz.
Stay with us. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: A pair of developing stories on the radar this morning. South Dakota's Democratic senator, Tim Johnson, undergoing brain surgery overnight. If he can't return to office, a Republican could be appointed to replace him, giving control of the Senate back to the GOP in the new Congress.
And the U.S. State Department now expects six-party talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program to begin on Sunday night -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Nominations for the Golden Globes honoring the year's best in movies and TV will be announced later this morning.
CNN's Sibila Vargas now takes a look at just who is likely to be recognized by the Hollywood Foreign Press.
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SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: The Golden Globes are upon us and, of course, nobody knows award shows more than Tom O'Neil from theenvelope.com.
Tell us, what is going on? What's the big buzz?
TOM O'NEIL, THEENVELOPE.COM: The big buzz is in the race for best drama.
JACK NICHOLSON, "THE DEPARTED": I've got a date with some angels.
O'NEIL: We know that three films will probably be there: "The Departed," "Babel," "The Queen."
HELEN MIRREN, "THE QUEEN": Thank you.
VARGAS (voice over): Helen Mirren's royal performance will most likely get a nod, along with Penelope Cruz for "Volver" and Judy Dench for "Notes on a Scandal."
As for lead actor, Leonardo DiCaprio could be facing himself for his roles in "Blood Diamond" and "The Departed." But O'Neil says the race will between Peter O'Toole for "Venous" and Forest Whitaker for his role as Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.
O'NEIL: The race for best comedy/musical picture is no laughing matter. Everybody says "Dreamgirls," "Dreamgirls," but watch out for "Little Miss Sunshine."
VARGAS: Sacha Baron Cohen could get recognized for best comedic actor for "Borat."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "BORAT": I'm not used to that, but that's fine.
VARGAS (on camera): Now, the best thing about the Globes is that it's not just about movies but it's also about TV.
What's the buzz there?
O'NEIL: Their eyes are on the hot new shows and the breakout stars. That means It's all about "Ugly Betty."
AMERICA FERRERA, "UGLY BETTY": I work here.
VARGAS: Its star, America Ferrera, is an early favorite, and the comedy may find itself contending with newcomer "30 Rock" and a few "Desperate Housewives."
O'NEIL: On the drama side, "Brothers & Sisters," "Heroes," "Studio 60." These are standouts, and their stars, especially the A- list ones, like Matthew Perry and Sally Field, those are the frontrunners.
SALLY FIELD, "BROTHERS & SISTERS": Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, "THE SOPRANOS": Private eyes?
VARGAS: But don't count out "The Sopranos" and the guys and girls of "Grey's Anatomy."
Sibila Vargas, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: We're going to bring you the Golden Globe nominations live at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. That's, you know, less than two hours.
Can't wait. Who are you rooting for?
M. O'BRIEN: Me too. All of them. I want them all to win because I love them all so much.
(LAUGHTER)
M. O'BRIEN: Actor and director Mel Gibson -- I guess you know I don't care now -- all right. Actor and director Mel Gibson is making news again, not for a suspicion of drunk driving and racial slurs this time. No, it's his new movie "Apocalypto." It's a hit -- $14.1 million, pretty good take at the box office opening weekend.
Of course he had some pretty easy competition, but nevertheless it did well.
CNN's Anderson Cooper sat down with Mel and asked if he thinks his new move has been affected by the incident over the summer.
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MEL GIBSON, ACTOR, DIRECTOR: I don't think so. Or it if it has, so be it.
I think -- I'm really gratified that it made number one. It was a soft weekend all around. And it's -- to me, it just says that people like compelling stories, they like to go to a cinema and like an artist. Or a chef, you know, if he makes a cake and he hands it out, he likes to hear people say, "Yum."
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": I was in a preview of the film last month in a theater in New York and people hissed when your name came on the screen. And back in August obviously you apologized for your drunken behavior and the anti-Semitic comments that you made. There's a lot of people though, as you well know, who still don't believe you.
Why should people believe you are genuinely sorry?
GIBSON: It beats me. And that's not my problem. I have to keep my side of the street, and I'm doing it.
COOPER: So you don't really...
GIBSON: Making (ph) progress.
COOPER: It doesn't worry you what people think?
GIBSON: Of course, but, you know, there's nothing I can do about that. I mean, I move on. I've moved on. That was six months ago, and I have moved on. And I'm keeping my side of the street clean.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Good to stay tidy.
"ANDERSON COOPER 360" airs weeknights, 10:00 Eastern, right here on CNN -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Forty-five minutes past the hour. Let's check in with Chad at the CNN weather center for a look at the traveler's forecast this morning.
Good morning to you, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, our morning health news roundup. Plus, the latest on what could be one of the biggest manhunts in British history, the intense search for one or maybe more serial killers straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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M. O'BRIEN: Take a look at the grid right now and see some of the stories we are tracking for you.
Lower right of your screen, incoming 301, that's our Washington bureau, a busy place today as we follow the health and well-being of Senator Tim Johnson. The Democrat from South Dakota undergoing brain surgery overnight. His condition and prognosis unclear right now. Questions about how that might affect the balance of power in the Senate for the new Congress. As you know, it's a narrow one-vote margin giving Democrats a nod at this point right now.
Incoming 12, there's NASA television. You can see the International Space Station, the shuttle flying together over the Indian Ocean right now.
Today's another spacewalk day, spacewalk number two. Yesterday they had a dickens of a time trying to get a 110-foot solar array to retract like a folding map. It didn't fold. The good news is it's out of harm's way right now and they can do what they need to do for the remainder of the mission.
They may go out there and try to fold it themselves manually later. We'll keep you posted on that.
And picture of the day. This is something. Wait until you see this. Look at this.
Do you see what's going on here? This is the world's tallest man, who presumably has the world's longest arm, and he is -- his name is -- what is his name? It's Mr. Bao (ph) -- Bao Xi Shun (ph).
He was called in -- 7'9" almost -- to save two dolphins because they had plastic shards on their insides. They tried several instruments to try to pull them out. They finally called him in. He reached in and saved the two dolphins.
Picture of the day -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Here's a look now at stories that CNN's correspondents around the world are covering today.
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ALPHONSO VAN MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alphonso Van Marsh in Ipswich, England, where there are now more than 150 detectives from around the country lending a hand into what could be one of Britain's biggest manhunts. They're on the search for the killer or killers who have dumped the naked dead bodies of five suspected prostitutes in just 10 days. Police now trying to retrace the prostitutes' last steps, as well as talk to anyone who may have last seen them alive.
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JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm John Vause in Beijing. An unprecedented high-level delegation of seven U.S. cabinet secretaries and the chairman of the Federal Reserve are here to talk tough on trade, warning that American patience is running short on issues like China's currency. Critics argue it's kept artificially low to make Chinese exports cheaper.
Also, piracy of everything from movies to computer software and designer goods. Also, allegations that American businesses are being denied access to Chinese markets.
Don't expect any major announcements though. This is just the start of a lot more talk.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. I'm Atika Shubert in Gaza, where protests are continuing against the escalating violence here. Earlier this week, three children were gunned down on their way to school, and yesterday a local judge and militia leader were shot dead on their way to work.
Violent clashes continue between Hamas and Fatah in an ongoing power struggle between the two factions, but Hamas officials insist that Gaza is not descending into civilian war. Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh is cutting short his trip to the Middle East and returning to Gaza to try and quell the violence.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: For more on these or any of our top stories, log on to our Web site at CNN.com.
M. O'BRIEN: Health news this morning.
Now they are saying it is likely lettuce that brought E. coli into Taco Bell restaurants. The outbreak has apparently run its course, leaving 71 people sick with the bacteria.
Taco Bell has now reopened nearly all of the 90 or so restaurants it had shut down. The chain had blamed it all on green onions, but that turned out to be a red herring.
And the government wants to put new suicide warning labels on antidepressants, and its advisory panel agrees. The Food and Drug Administration says the drugs increase the risk of suicide for anyone under 24 years of age. The warning labels already exist for children and adolescents, so the new labels would expand the warning.
And you may not like needles, but the needle is a better way to beat the flu. A federal study shows a needle in the arm is much more effective at preventing the flu in adults than the nasal spray. The full study is published in today's "New England Journal of Medicine."
And too bad there isn't a less invasive alternative to this, to getting a colonoscopy. You may want to find a doctor who isn't in a hurry to get it over with. That seems a little counterintuitive, doesn't it?
Well, a new study finding doctors are more likely to find abnormal growths in the colon when they withdraw the colonoscopy device ever so slowly. The study coming from University of Illinois College of Medicine.
It's for your health, gentlemen.
And in the fight against AIDS, researchers in Africa find circumcisions may reduce the risk of HIV. The National Institutes of Health announcing the results of multiyear studies in Kenya and Uganda on almost 8,000 men. An estimated 25 million Africans are infected with the AIDS virus -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, it turns out those instant messages you've been getting at work, guess how much they cost the boss? Take a guess. Billions. Billions of dollars.
Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business."
M. O'BRIEN: No. How?
S. O'BRIEN: Billions of dollars. Ali's going to be back with that straight ahead.
Stay with us.
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S. O'BRIEN: You got consumer complaints, and lots of them. AOL finally reaches a settlement in one state.
Fifty-eight minutes past the hour, Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business."
Good morning.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
You'll recall some months ago in New York a gentleman tried to cancel his AOL account.
S. O'BRIEN: That was...
VELSHI: ... and taped the conversation. I think we've got a couple of seconds of this. He just -- he was having no success.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
AOL: Well, explain to me what...
VINCENT: I'm not explaining anything to you. Cancel the account.
AOL: What's the matter, man? I mean, we're just trying -- I'm just trying to help here.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
VELSHI: All right. This went on for quite some time. And he, of course, released this tape, and AOL agreed to cancel his account.
But we've all had these kinds of problems, not necessarily with just AOL, with all sorts of people. But in Florida, apparently a thousand people had this problem with AOL. So the Florida attorney general and AOL have come to an agreement.
AOL is going to -- it had to do with billing mistakes, reactivating old accounts, not canceling accounts, things like that. AOL has agreed to different things. They're going to pay restitution, they're going to forgive some outstanding balances, they're going to issue some refunds and credits. And that's what they're going to do.
However...
M. O'BRIEN: They're just trying to help.
VELSHI: Exactly. They're just trying to get your information.
S. O'BRIEN: That went on for so long, and he couldn't...
VELSHI: Oh, that was incredible.
S. O'BRIEN: And he could not -- it was insane.
VELSHI: He couldn't -- he couldn't cancel the account. The guy was just trying to help.
Now, the fact of the matter is, all of these things, the instant messages, e-mails, all of the things that sort of -- that we do at work, for instance, somebody has gone and calculated how much that costs companies in productivity because we are doing personal work -- not necessarily personal.
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