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American Morning
President Bush's New Plan; Troops On The Move; In The Line Of Fire; Malibu Fire Probe; Million-Dollar Decision; Battle For The Internet; Minimum Wage Impact
Aired January 10, 2007 - 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 new day dawns on the White House. A new turning point for President Bush. The country hears his new plan for Iraq tonight. A promise with a familiar ring.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon.
We will win because our cause is just.
I will settle for nothing less than complete victory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: With victory illusive as ever in this new year, a look at the changing war plans to pull Iraq from the fire on this AMERICAN MORNING.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. Welcome, everybody. It is Wednesday, January 10th. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. Thanks for being with us.
S. O'BRIEN: Tonight marks another pivotal moment for President Bush and the four year old war in Iraq. He's going to make his case from the White House Library tonight. It happens at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Securing Baghdad's going to be the centerpiece of his talk, with an additional 20,000 U.S. troops. And that's going to mean that more Americans will be going back to the battlefield.
We're talking a look at live pictures this morning from Fort Stewart, Georgia, the 3rd Infantry Division is preparing for a record third deployment. Troops could move by the end of this months. And look for November as the president's key deadline for Iraqi troops. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux has more from the White House for us this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Today President Bush will unveil his new Iraq plan to the American people. He will say long- term the goal is for the Iraqis to be in control of their own security around the country by November of this year. Now short term, that means at least an increase of 20,000 U.S. troops. Perhaps right away the 82nd Airborne in Kuwait, a brigade sent perhaps within days.
Two other brigades sent within weeks from Fort Stewart, Georgia, and Fort Hood, Texas. There will also be thousands of Marines who will head to Anbar province and two brigades that will be held in reserve. That to give the U.S. some leverage to make sure the Iraqis achieve certain political and military goals.
There's also an economic component. At least $1 billion worth, of course, a jobs program to help Iraqis get back to work. While White House aides say the president is confident and even optimistic, of course, in his plan, they also realize, White House aides, that this is going to be a tough sell to the American people.
Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: For U.S. troops and their families, it will mean more sacrifices ahead. AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken is live at Fort Stewart, Georgia, where the call to serve in Iraq has come again and again.
Bob, good morning.
BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
There is a record that very few people would want to hold, the number of times being ordered to war in Iraq. And here, thousands more are about to hold it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN, (voice over): This marks the third time many of these soldiers have had to ready their gear for heavy combat. The 3rd Infantry has the distinction of being the only division so far to be deployed to Iraq three times.
LESLIE DALTON, FAMILY READINESS GROUP: They are great use for the kids. The kids could see where daddy is.
FRANKEN: The maps are courtesy of FRG, the Family Readiness Group, for those left behind.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is our third deployment, so I'm very proud of my husband, let me say that first and foremost. Very proud of him. And if he had to do anything in the world, it would be to protect us and I love him for it. But it gets very frustrating after awhile when you have to say good-bye every other year.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really sad. We just got married, so it's going to be like time apart.
FRANKEN: And now there are questions about whether the president's plan for sending more troops to Iraq will mean even more time apart. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. I got mixed emotions about it. As far as -- I hope -- if that's what we do, then I hope that's the problem-solver.
FRANKEN: In the next couple of weeks, about 4,000 from this brigade will be headed to intensely dangerous Ramadi, about 50 miles west of Baghdad. Some of the advanced unit went out last week. Not everyone will return. That's also part of the planning.
CAPT. JACOB DALTON, TROOP COMMANDER: It's not something that we like to dwell on. It's not something we like to think about, but when it comes down to it and the event happens, we need to know that there is a process set so that people can be notified appropriately and correctly, so that people get taken care of the way they need to.
FRANKEN: A process their families can only hope will never include them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a new one and I'm really scared about it. Hot spots in there, I don't know where he's going. So it's just (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FRANKEN: There is a consensus here that the hope is for President Bush that what he announces will mean that these people who are going through their third deployment will not have to go through their fourth.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Bob Franken at Fort Stewart.
Next hour, 7:15 Eastern, we'll get more details on the president's plan. We'll talk with the White House counselor, Dan Bartlett.
And CNN will bring you the president's speech live tonight at 9:00 Eastern Time.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Just in from Somalia this morning, reports of a big U.S. victory in the war on terror. A senior al Qaeda commander apparently killed in an American air strike in that country. The Associated Press is quoting a Somali official who says Fazul Abdullah Mohammed died in the attack earlier this week. Mohammed is suspected in the deadly bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania back in 1998. Those attacks killed 225 people. Now the Pentagon is still not confirming Mohammed's death. Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is in Africa. We're going to get to her a little bit later in the show for an update.
About this time 24 hours ago, you'll remember that CNN's Arwa Damon was reporting for us from one of the most intense gun battles ever in the heart of Baghdad, along a street U.S. soldiers once called Purple Heart Boulevard. Arwa is embedded with the U.S. Army's 3 rd Striker Brigade and here is her exclusive report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right there. Right there. (INAUDIBLE). I see a total of 10. You got a total of 10.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Insurgents are on the roof below.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're moving in pairs. They're not the normal [bleep].
DAMON: The insurgents moving in pairs, maneuvering for sustained gun battles with Americans, not simply firing and running away as they usually do. American troops are fighting the battle for Haifa Street, from the roofs of the apartment buildings lining this main Baghdad thoroughfare.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The far side. Watch the far side.
DAMON: The enemy today, Sunni extremists. An explosive blend of both former Baathists and al Qaeda in Iraq. Facing them, some 400 American troops and 500 Iraqi soldiers, fighting for control of a two- mile strip of road.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Window, far left. Window, far left.
DAMON: The Iraqi soldiers are fighting side by side with the Americans on this rooftop. The Americans are giving the orders. This is more than an intense battle. This is training the Iraqis to do the job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody's there just watching. He'll pop out again.
DAMON: The Americans and Iraq 's are trying to get a fix on an insurgent in a window, but they are taking fire from all sides. They've got to get off this roof. They move towards a building next door. Moving to higher ground in this urban battlefield.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over your face. We just ricocheted over here.
DAMON: The sing of bullets whistling past these soldier's ears. The snipers shooting at them. The ricochets just feet away. It's hour five. The Iraqi troops below have gone door to door to a number of buildings, but the insurgents keep moving and keep firing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right side of that front mark.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right side of the front mark.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go down. DAMON: This soldier's trying to positively identify the gunmen whom they believe are shooting at them from the mosque located just 600 yards beyond this window. They have received rocket-propelled grenade, machine gun and small arms fire from that location. This battle has been going on for seven hours now, and as the day progresses, is only getting more chaotic.
Finally, 10 hours after it began, the insurgents stopped firing. Ten hours against a combined U.S./Iraqi force of nearly 1,000 men. In this case, the Iraqis could not have done it alone.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Remarkable footage there.
In Malibu this morning, $60 million worth of fancy real estate is in ashes and investigators still aren't sure what started that terrible wildfire. Among the victims, the actress, Suzanne Somers. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): As the sun rose over Malibu Beach, some of the priciest real estate in southern California was still smoldering.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this your first look at your home?
GUTIERREZ: A sad sight for homeowners like actress Suzanne Somers and husband, producer, Alan Hamil. They were out of town and watched their home burn on television. They came back today to see what was left.
SUZANNE SOMERS, ACTRESS: It was a beautiful house. It was a beautiful place to live.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How long have you lived here?
SOMERS: Seven years.
GUTIERREZ: All that remained of their home, a magazine, a chair, and a charred jaguar. But the actress kept the loss in perspective.
SOMERS: I don't have a son or a daughter (INAUDIBLE). There's not a death in the family and, you know, we'll rebuild.
GUTIERREZ: The fire that burned Suzanne Somers' home and four others began Monday evening. This area is home to countless celebrities -- Mel Gibson, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and Jane Seymour all live nearby. The fire burned with a vengeance. Fast and furious. No one knows how it started. Three hundred firefighter, a Blackhawk helicopter and 40 engines deployed to Malibu, but they were helpless. Santa Ana winds more than 50 miles per hour pushed the flames toward the beach homes. Firefighters say the flames created a tunnel over this road, burning the palm trees on that side, and then jumping over to this side of the road, igniting the pine trees right in front of the homes.
It took just 20 minutes for five homes to be reduced to ashes. The heat from the fire was so intense, this Mercedes-Benz melted to the ground.
ASHLEY FARBENBLOOM, RESIDENT: I know that Suzanne and her husband, Alan, are devastated. They had their memories in their homes, just like everybody does.
GUTIERREZ: Somers says Malibu is home and that she will rebuild.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Malibu, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: Well, it's time to find your lost had and gloves. The big chill is back in the Northeast. Chad with the forecast ahead.
Also, mobile homes worth millions. Would you take the money and run? A tough decision for some. Find out why.
Plus, four of the most famous words that changed a nation, "I have a dream." The inside story of Martin Luther King's speech he wasn't suppose to give at the March on Washington. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: On the news radar this morning, in the Boston area, a moratorium on maintenance on rail lines after two workers were hit and killed by a commuter train. It happened yesterday afternoon in Woburn. A train headed toward Lowell struck the repair vehicle they were working on.
And get this one. A Vermont man recovering after being bitten by a scorpion on a United Airlines flight. The scorpion apparently got into David Sullivan's pants as he napped on the flight from Chicago. That's a rude awakening. And I got to wonder, how did the scorpion get through the TSA security there, Soledad. What do you think?
S. O'BRIEN: They don't check for scorpions, Miles. They check for bottles over three ounces. You know that.
Quarter after the hour. Let's get right to Chad at the CNN Weather Center.
Hey, Chad. Good morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: In Briny Breezes, Florida, they're facing a dilemma that hits close to home today, quite literally. Folks in that trailer park there are sitting on a beautiful piece of Florida beachfront and a developer is willing to make them rich if they'll pack up and move on. The big vote is today and it's not all about the Benjamins, as John Zarrella explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): For a quarter of a century, Warren and Pauline Bailey (ph) have lived in this quaint, neatly-kept mobile home park. Now their double wide, on a tiny parcel of land, is worth more than they ever could have imagined.
WARREN BAILEY, BRINY BREEZES RESIDENT: Just under $1.5 million.
ZARRELLA: The reason is simple, location, location, location. Just ask the developers, Ocean Land Investments.
LOGAN PIERSON, OCEAN LAND INVESTMENTS INC.: I would say this is a -- the prime piece of real estate in Florida and perhaps in the southeast.
ZARRELLA: The 488 mobile homes in Briny Breezes sit 15 miles south of West Palm Beach. On the west side of the park, the inner coastal waterway. On the east side, just past the pavilion, on the other side of the dune, is the Atlantic Ocean. The developers offered half a billion-dollar for the 43 acres. The individual owners would get varying amounts based on location. But some folks, like the Baileys . . .
PAULINE BAILEY, BRINY BREEZES RESIDENT: I'll miss all this. Oh, honey. All of my yard and all my garden.
ZARRELLA: Aren't so eager to cash in paradise.
The money wasn't that attractive to you?
P. BAILEY: Not at all. But it wouldn't change our lifestyle one iota.
ZARRELLA: Bob Zavitz will have plenty of memories, too.
Are you going to miss it here?
BOB ZAVITZ, BRINY BREEZES RESIDENT: I certainly am.
ZARRELLA: But unlike the Baileys, Zavitz is ready to relocate and take the $800,000 he'll get for his sliver of sand.
ZAVITZ: I won't be on the ocean, but I can still access the ocean and have $500,000 in my pocket, you know. And now I can send my grandchildren to college. My wife and I can take a couple of dream trips.
ZARRELLA: The deal will go through if two-thirds of the residents vote in favor. Then they'll have two years to move. For some, a dream come true. For others . . .
W. BAILEY: It's all right. We'll be together wherever we are. ZARRELLA: It's paradise lost.
John Zarrella, CNN, Briny Breezes, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: This morning we're talking about the battle for the Internet. Big business is looking to make a move that will give some people, those with the big bucks, preferential treatment. CNN's Jacki Schechner is with us this morning.
Good morning.
JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
S. O'BRIEN: It's called net neutrality. What exactly does that mean?
SCHECHNER: Oh, it is such a confusing issue. Net neutrality is keeping the Internet even and equal. We didn't expect to see this up again. Actually, when you talked about the first 100 hours of Congress, technology wasn't in there anywhere. We really didn't expect this to come back on the table. But now Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine have introduced a bipartisan bill to keep everything status quo. To make it that big companies can't charge for tiered service on the Internet.
S. O'BRIEN: What exactly does the tiered service mean?
SCHECHNER: Here's the best analogy we can put it. Imagine that you have a giant highway, right, the superhighway.
S. O'BRIEN: Why, the information superhighway.
SCHECHNER: Oh, my gosh, where did we come up with that? I think Al Gore invented it. No. What happens is you have this giant highway, right? They want to be able to say to companies, you want to go through the fast lane, you want to go through the easy pass lane, pay us. And then it creates a two-tiered service.
S. O'BRIEN: So companies who have content to get to consumers would be able to guarantee that their content could move faster.
SCHECHNER: Exactly.
S. O'BRIEN: So as opposed to consumers now, how it comes to you really depends on what kind of system.
SCHECHNER: Part of it depends on what kind of Internet connection you have. What they're saying is these big companies, in order to get their content through, could pay a fee and that way that content would be guaranteed to get to you more quickly. Now these big companies, the phone companies, the telecommunications companies, the Internet service providers, all insist that your service isn't going to change. That nothing's going to get slower.
S. O'BRIEN: But certain things I download will be fast and certain things I download would be slower.
SCHECHNER: Well, they say you won't notice a difference. That nothing the way you see it now is going to change, but they'll guarantee that these companies can get their information through more quickly. Now the big companies, not surprisingly, Google, eBay, Amazon, bloggers even, small non-profit organizations, all say stay away from it. Now we've got a bunch of ads that are out there and they're so confusing. I don't know if we have a moment to take a listen to some of these ads, but they're really bombarding you with these sorts of things.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I had to make a better Internet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I had to make a better Internet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I had to make a better Internet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'd make it smaller.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't trust these kids and their crazy startup ideas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't trust these kids with their crazy startup ideas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHECHNER: These are the kinds of things, the Internet ads that you're seeing, that are floating around on television, on the Internet. They're all very, very confusing. They use things like hands off the Internet, net neutrality, save the Internet. The bottom line is trying to decide whether or not the government can step in and say, leave it alone, keep it the way it is. It's a free market now. It should stay that way. Or whether these big telecommunications companies can add an extra charge.
S. O'BRIEN: How do you think it's going to go?
SCHECHNER: Oh, that's a great question. I don't know.
S. O'BRIEN: Everyone hates the predict how it's going to end for us, Jacki.
SCHECHNER: Yes. You know what, I'm a parent. I'd like to see things stay the way they are. But that's my personal opinion and I don't know if that's worth the two cents.
S. O'BRIEN: It's worth way more than that.
Jacki, thanks. We appreciate it.
SCHECHNER: You're welcome.
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, increasing the minimum wage. Good for workers, but what about small businesses who employ those workers? We'll take a look at that.
And Apple on a roll. A new name, a new iPhone and Wall Street is answering. That story straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Six hours and 49 minutes down, t minus 93 hours and 11 minutes, to borrow a little NASA parlance there. That's the time left to the Democrats' 100-hour push to turn their pent-up political desires into legislation. Today the gi issue is raising the minimum wage. But what is good news for workers at the low end of the pay scale, may be trouble for some small business owners, as Allan Chernoff discovered.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): It's the secret sauce that makes Country Sweet the place for chicken wings in Rochester, New York. The fast food chain in three locations has been one of Rochester's distinctive, yet affordable eateries for three decades. Until recently, general manager Skip Delorme, was able to run the business without worrying about rapidly rising labor expenses. No more.
SKIP DELORME, GENERAL MANAGER, COUNTRY SWEET: It puts a little stress on the business.
CHERNOFF: On January 1st, the minimum wage in New York state increased by 40 cents, to $7.15 an hour. The third increase in three years. It's welcomed by Country Sweet's 48 employees.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE, COUNTRY SWEET'S EMPLOYEE: It is nice to have that extra money every week.
CHERNOFF: But it's a challenge for Skip and his assistant general manager, Rich Ragland.
RICH RAGLAND, ASSISTANT MANAGER, COUNTRY SWEET: I see the dollars that come in, the dollars that go out and, you know, it's hard.
DELORME: Important to us is the Social Security tax.
CHERNOFF: A jump in the minimum wage means businesses, like Country Sweet, also have to pay more in Social Security taxes and workers compensation insurance. Add it all up, Skip estimates the wage hike is costing his business an additional $1,200 a month, a jump of more than 6 percent in the cost of labor, his second highest expense after food.
Country Sweet has had no choice but to raise prices, up about 3 percent across the menu. In fact, the restaurant chain has had to do that every time the New York minimum wage has gone up.
The price hikes have done nothing to boost profits. They simply cover the added labor expense.
DELORME: Never like to increase prices. Customers tend to be a little cranky when you do that, but that's the only way that we can survive. That's the only way we keep the doors open.
CHERNOFF: Indeed, Skip says, the restaurant chain earns far less than it did years ago. So far this new year, business at Country Sweet is just fine, thanks in part, Skip says, to mother nature. The mild weather makes it easier for customers to come out to the restaurant in a city that is often covered with snow this time of year.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, Rochester, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: Apple introduces the iPhone and investors love it. It's 26 minutes past the hour. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business" this morning.
Good morning.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.
We were speculating on this yesterday morning and the stock of Apple was actually up in pre-market trade. And, of course, about halfway through the day, Apple announced that it was introducing its iPhone. We think that's what it's going to be called. We're still waiting for some final decisions on that.
But Apple stock ended up $7.10 higher to $92.57 a share. That is just a smidge below its all-time high. And just to put that into perspective for you, a lot of shares of Apple. That increase added about $6 billion to shareholder wealth yesterday.
Stocks of Apple's competitors were lower yesterday, however. Palm, which makes the Trio, and Research in Motion, which makes the Blackberry, both suffered big losses because there's some feeling that this unified device might do pretty well for Apple.
Now Alcoa announced its earnings yesterday. Over the next few weeks we're going to see a lot of public companies telling you how they did in the final quarter of last year and for 2006. Alcoa is traditionally the first company to report. It earned $2.25 billion in 2006. We spent a lot of time in the last year talking about higher metal prices. Well, that's who's making the money on the whole thing.
Stocks in general. The Dow was down -- it was mixed yesterday. The down was down about 7 points. The Nasdaq, which is home to Apple and a bunch of tech companies, reacting to that news about the iPhone. It was up, as you can see, about six points.
So when I come back, I'm going to tell you a little about oil. Prices continue to drop for oil, but that might have some implications for business and for you.
S. O'BRIEN: Hopefully good implications for us.
Thank you, Ali. We'll hear that straight ahead.
Top stories of the morning are also coming up. We're going to hear from White House Counselor Dan Bartlett as President Bush prepares his speech to the nation.
And a battleground that could match Baghdad, but it's here in the U.S. One city's alarming murder rate and what officials are doing about it.
Plus, the U.S. says, it's got its man in that air strike in Somalia. A live report from the region is just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: A live look at the White House this morning. President Bush is unveiling his new Iraq strategy tonight, an immediate deployment of more U.S. troops and a new deadline for the Iraqis.
M. O'BRIEN: Some breaking news from Somalia. Reports that an al Qaeda terrorist tied to the deadly bombings of U.S. embassies was killed in that air strike.
S. O'BRIEN: And enough is enough. One U.S. city's murderous start to the new year, a death toll to match Baghdad.
We'll tell you how they're fighting back on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back, everybody, Wednesday, January 10th.
I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.
Thanks for being with us.
Happening this morning, a political battle is brewing over the president's new war plan. Even before the president speaks tonight, Democrats in the Senate and House are pushing for a vote on the plan. Of course the Constitution does not give Congress veto power over the commander in chief, but Democrats want a referendum anyway.
Today in the House they will focus on the minimum wage. The proposal, raise it to $7.25 an hour. It's been $5.15 for the past 10 years. The raise is one of the top priorities of that 100-hour agenda set by the newly empowered Democrats.
And Senator Tim Johnson is on the mend. The South Dakota Democrat now in fair condition, able to breathe without a ventilator, could begin rehabilitation this week. Johnson suffered a brain hemorrhage on December 13th. Senator Democrats hold a one-vote majority there, so concern about Johnson's health has a political dimension. Investigators in Malibu combing through the ashes of some pricey real estate, trying to find the cause of that big wildfire. Five seaside mansions burned to the ground Monday night, $60 million worth of property in all, as Santa Ana winds fanned the flames. Actress Suzanne Somers one of the victims. She says she'll rebuild.
S. O'BRIEN: U.S. and Iraqi troops believe they have some control of Haifa Street in Baghdad this morning after one of the most dramatic gun battles in the war.
CNN's Arwa Damon was right in the middle of it, embedded with the Army's Stryker Brigade, and she joins us by phone now.
Arwa, good morning.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soledad, good morning.
And so far this morning it does appear that Haifa Street is still under control. What we do know from the U.S. military, that the Iraqi army does have its usually checkpoints set up in that area, and so far we are not hearing of any contact, any sort of insurgent attack that has taken place against them.
Now, that being said, of course, there are still U.S. units on standby ready to react, quick reaction forces, if you will, should those Iraqi forces that are trying to secure Haifa Street come under control again. There are a number of schools of thought as to what might happen next in terms of security on Haifa Street.
It is possible, on one hand, that the insurgency that exists there has been defeated. It's also possible that they are just regrouping and getting ready to strike again -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: I know, Arwa, that, in fact, you were there for the entire 11 hours of this fight. How did it end? I mean, did the insurgents sort of dissipate into the woodwork? What happened? And what makes you think that in fact the insurgents didn't just melt back and could be just preparing to fight again?
DAMON: Well, Soledad, and that really is the question. I mean, that -- that is highly likely that they have just pulled back and getting ready to regroup.
I mean, as we have been reporting, the insurgents that are operating in that area are using sophisticated military tactics, or rather tactics that are indications of prior military experience. So it is likely they have melted back into the woodwork and are just waiting to come back and strike again.
The way that the firefight ended, it was incredibly intense for about the first eight hours of the battle. Towards the end of the day, as the sun began to go down, that is when the bullets stopped firing. That is when the insurgents actually stopped firing at the U.S. and Iraqi troops, and that is when really the streets of Haifa went silent -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: And finally, how did it all end numbers-wise? Update us on injured and captured, et cetera.
DAMON: Well, Soledad, what we are hearing is that there were no -- no one was killed neither on the U.S. or the Iraqi side. In terms of insurgents killed or wounded, now the U.S. military on the ground yesterday was telling us that they believe that they have killed or wounded approximately 30 to 50 insurgents. The Iraqi government then put out a statement saying that 50 insurgents had been killed and over two dozen captured.
However, it is interesting to point out that, in terms of bodies, of enemy bodies that the U.S. military believes that they found, they only found one body. They believe that the insurgents are very well trained at evacuating their own dead and wounded -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Arwa Damon for us.
Arwa, it was quite scary, frankly, to be listening to you, knowing that you were smack in the middle of it. Thanks for the update and, obviously, as always, stay safe. OK?
DAMON: Thank you.
S. O'BRIEN: Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: When President Bush addresses the nation tonight, it won't be the first time he tries to mark a turning point in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN (voice over): Remember this?
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Major combat operations in Iraq have ended. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have prevailed.
(APPLAUSE)
M. O'BRIEN: Since the now infamous speech, 2,875 U.S. troops have been killed, more than 20,000 wounded.
And then there was this -- purple fingers filled our television sets in early 2005. The president touted the Iraqi elections.
BUSH: The new political situation in Iraq opens a new phase of our work in that country.
M. O'BRIEN: After that, the violence dipped briefly, but by the fall of that year, it was on the rise, with the number of Iraqi civilian deaths estimated at 1,000 a month.
In November, the White House rolled out a new war plan, a 35-page glossy book with a series of four presidential pep rallies.
BUSH: We will increasingly move out of Iraqi cities, reduce the number of bases from which we operate, and conduct fewer patrols and convoys. M. O'BRIEN: In early 2006, the United Nations estimated the Iraqi civilian death toll had risen to more than 2,000 a month while the president hinted U.S. troops could be leaving Iraq.
BUSH: As more Iraqi forces stand up, American forces will stand down.
M. O'BRIEN: But by the summer, U.S. troop levels in Baghdad went up, along with the violence. And just days before the elections, the president was offering a more somber assessment.
BUSH: I know many Americans are not satisfied with the situation in Iraq. I'm not satisfied either.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
M. O'BRIEN: So tonight the president will once again lay out a plan about the single issue that will no doubt define his presidency.
We're going to take a closer look at the president's new plan for Iraq a little later, 7:15 Eastern Time. Counselor to the president, Dan Bartlett, will join us live.
Stay tuned for that.
And don't forget, CNN will have live coverage of the president's primetime address before, during and after. A special edition of "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer and Paula Zahn starts at 7:00 Eastern. After the speech, stay with CNN for special editions of "LARRY KING LIVE" and "ANDERSON COOPER 360."
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, nine murders since the beginning of the year. Not in Baghdad. We're talking about a major U.S. city. The fine line to get it under control without bringing the city to its knees straight head.
And those Santa Ana winds blamed for pushing a wildfire into pricey real estate in Malibu. Chad has got the forecast for you straight ahead.
You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back, everybody.
We're watching two developing stories for you this morning -- President Bush, who's going to deliver his primetime address on Iraq tonight. The deployment of an additional 20,000 U.S. troops is expected to be the cornerstone of that speech.
And no, you were not imagining it. 2006 was, in fact, one of the warmest years in U.S. history. That's according to a new government study.
There are reports coming out of Somalia this morning this a high level al Qaeda target was killed in that U.S. air strike. The Pentagon has moved the aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower within striking distance of Somalia now.
CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr is in Nairobi, Kenya.
Barbara, good morning.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you Soledad.
From here in Nairobi, the question that is emerging is, just how involved is the United States military in Somalia now? Let's get to what we don't know.
The U.S. is not confirming yet reports out of Mogadishu that Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, one of the top al Qaeda operatives that the U.S. was chasing, that that man has been killed in that air strike a couple of days ago. No confirmation from the United States' side. Officials in Somalia are saying they have been told by the United States he was killed, but Washington yet not prepared to confirm that.
Also, in Washington overnight, officials saying they have no confirmation that there have been additional air strikes by U.S. aircraft. It is believed that reports of those air strikes probably center around Ethiopian military operations, cleanup operations in southern Somalia.
But still, as you say, the carrier Eisenhower off the coast. It has aircraft flying in the region. There are four additional U.S. Navy warships out there.
The question, of course, is how involved? Now, if, in fact, the U.S. is able to confirm that this man has been killed, the question is going to be, were there U.S. troops on the ground in Somalia? Because that may be the only way the United States could come to such positive confirmation of one person's death.
Additionally, one U.S. official out here in the region told us earlier that the U.S. is convinced that there were no Somali civilian casualties, that they are absolutely, in his words, convinced of that. And the only way that would be known as well is perhaps if there were U.S. troops on the ground who coordinated that air strike, who identified the people involved that were hit. And no one yet confirming that there are U.S. troops on the ground.
One last piece of information. Here in Kenya, there are reports this morning that Kenyan anti-terrorism police have taken into custody 12 suspects that were trying to cross into the country from Somalia. So still plenty of activity up there, and a lot of concern here in the Horn, Soledad, that this may be the cusp of a broader war now beginning to unfold here in Africa -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: It's certainly beginning to sound like that. Barbara Starr is in Nairobi, Kenya, for us this morning.
Thanks, Barbara -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: It's about quarter of the hour. You know what time that is, Chad Myers time. He's at the weather center with a look at what's going on in the world.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Well, it has not been a happy new year in New Orleans. Police there are grappling with a wave of violent crimes. Nine people murdered there in a little more than a week.
CNN's Sean Callebs with more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A makeshift memorial to Helen Hill (ph), a 36-year-old filmmaker shot dead by an intruder in her New Orleans home Thursday.
BRAD OTT, FRIEND OF VICTIM'S FAMILY: And Helen (ph) was sort of, you know, the lead of enthusiasm to come back and make it better, you know. New Orleans, we really need the world to take care of us.
CALLEBS: Hill's (ph) husband, a doctor who dedicated himself to the city's poor, was wounded in the attack. Friends are packing up the couple's belongings, saying the doctor has no intention of returning.
Just how dangerous is New Orleans? Well, the first eight days of the year, nine people were killed, the same number of U.S. troops killed in Iraq in that same period. Police blame a lot of the violence on drugs and gangs.
Mayor Ray Nagin and city leaders have adopted a catch phrase from citizen sick of murder -- "Enough is enough."
MAYOR RAY NAGIN (D), NEW ORLEANS: I don't think anybody has lost control of the city. We have gone through a spike in murders. We're being very honest about that. It's something that the city has seen before.
CALLEBS: Nagin says the city is attacking the spike in violent crime by aggressive prosecution of murder cases, cracking down on people out between the hours of 2:00 and 6:00 a.m., and adding sheriffs deputies to neighborhood police patrols.
SUPT. WARREN RILEY, NEW ORLEANS POLICE: What took so long? The community finally woke up. We had a tragedy or two. The community should have, in fact, probably spoke up sooner.
CALLEBS: But some residents are dumbfounded by that sort of response from the people who are being paid to protect them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would expect to see more of an outcry from the city leaders.
CALLEBS: Jeanette Kelly (ph) and her two daughters live two blocks from where Helen Hill (ph) was killed. Kelly (ph) only recently moved back and is simply appalled.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm tired of hearing about all this dismissal of violence as thug-on-thug crime. I think that that really downplays the fact that people are being murdered.
CALLEBS: Especially for those coping with the loss of a loved one.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CALLEBS: You know it, should be a great time for the city. They had a successful Sugar Bowl, they're looking forward to a Saints home game this coming Saturday. Good news for the tourism industry.
The bottom line is, these are violent streets. The tourism industry did not want the curfew that city leaders had been kicking around, and, in fact, they will now have these police stops out from 2:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m.
Miles, that's about the time they suspect about a third of the crimes is committed. So there's no clear indication that those are the significantly, most violent hours in the city.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. And, of course, anybody who knows anything about New Orleans knows that the mere mention of a curfew is a big deal there.
CALLEBS: Oh, without question. I mean, the tourism industry does not want this news.
Basically, the city leaders, this did not sneak up on them. It has been a violent city for some time now. But what Mayor Nagin said yesterday, look, the line is drawn in the sand now, we are going to crack down. The citizens say the rhetoric is great, now let's see some action.
M. O'BRIEN: Sean Callebs in New Orleans.
Thank you -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: The oceanfront home of actress Suzanne Somers is one of five destroyed in a Malibu wildfire this week. Santa Ana winds fueled the fire that gutted the home that she and her husband Alan Hamel shared for seven years.
After surveying the smoky wreckage, she spoke to reporters and said she's going to build again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUZANNE SOMERS, ACTRESS: I don't have a son or a daughter in Iraq. And there's not a death in the family. And, you know, we'll rebuild, and I really think that we'll learn something great from this.
What else can you do with a tragedy but look for the opportunity to grow spiritually and emotionally? And I know that we'll learn something great.
It was a beautiful house. It was a beautiful place to live.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: Suzanne Somers putting it all in perspective, really.
A real estate Web site estimates that the combined loss of the burned-out homes was $8.6 million. Now, that sounds low to me. Homes in Malibu, five of them along the water?
M. O'BRIEN: You know, I saw another figure this morning, $60 million.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, that...
M. O'BRIEN: So, somewhere in between there.
S. O'BRIEN: Somewhere in between $8 and $60 million. I'm going to side with the $60 million figure.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, that would be one house, I think.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, do you take milk or lemon in your tea?
How about you? What do you do, milk or lemon?
S. O'BRIEN: Black tea.
M. O'BRIEN: Black tea. That's -- I think that's good.
S. O'BRIEN: That's healthier. Yes, it is.
M. O'BRIEN: That's supposed to be good, because one of those items there, that one on your screen, might be spoiling the health benefits you might otherwise get from your spot of tea.
Some health headlines ahead on AMERICAN MORNING, the most news in the morning.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Let's take a look at some of the feeds we have coming in to us right now.
This one is coming in from our affiliate WABC out of Jersey City, New Jersey. And sketchy details.
It's a three-alarm blaze. What do we know, anything else? Nobody's talking to me. Nobody knows anything else.
We'll try to get you more details on that one as they become available.
Take a look at incoming 301, the president. A lot of focus on the White House today, 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time. That speech much anticipated where he will announce, we're told by multiple sources, in excess of 20,000 new troops on their way to Iraq. That, along with a series of benchmarks, and about a billion-dollar spend on a new deal style jobs program for Iraqis.
And take a look at this picture up there on APTN.
Let's bring it full screen, Ellie (ph), if we could.
That is our picture of the day. Not a bad one indeed. Photographer Michael Probst (ph) in Frankfurt, Germany, a picture of an aircraft silhouetted by a beautiful sunset there -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Absolutely gorgeous.
Let's turn to health news this morning.
Tea and milk, it's not the perfect mix apparently. A new study in the "European Heart Journal" says that milk can ruin tea's health benefits. Milk apparently blocks compounds in the tea which are believed to be good for the heart.
New research is showing a link between migraines and a risk of depression. This story falls under the "duh" category, for me, at least. Researchers found that women who have 15 headaches a month are almost four times as likely to show signs of depression.
No surprise there. The study of more than a thousand women appears in the medical journal "Neurology."
The Food and Drug Administration is stepping up its efforts to get unapproved drugs off the shelves. The FDA says consumers don't know whether many of the over-the-counter drugs to treat colds and hot flashes and pain are effective, or even if they're safe. And many pharmacists are unaware that some prescription drugs, in fact two percent or so, are not FDA approved for certain uses.
Too bad Christmas is over. How would you like to get this gadget?
Listen up to this, Miles.
Get this gadget to check your body fat. It's called Accufat. It kind of looks like a cell phone.
M. O'BRIEN: Where is it?
S. O'BRIEN: Do we have a picture of it? Anyway, imagine...
M. O'BRIEN: Imagine.
S. O'BRIEN: ... if you will. It looks like a cell phone. It can check the fat on a certain part of your body. So you hold it up to, say, your arm, and you say, Miles, your fat is...
M. O'BRIEN: You're a tub of goo.
S. O'BRIEN: You're a tub of goo.
The data can be transferred to a computer.
M. O'BRIEN: But I knew that already.
S. O'BRIEN: It's only used by doctors, but soon it's going to be available to the public. It's kind of pricey. It costs $1,500.
Hold it up to your thigh. Ding!
I want one of these. I love that story.
M. O'BRIEN: Sometimes I think there may be no need for technology in those cases. Anyway...
S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, we're talking to Sanjay Gupta about your brain and menopause. Sanjay will tell us what happens to your brain when you go through menopause.
AMERICAN MORNING is back in just a moment. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: Well, US Airways would sure love to get a hold of Delta Airlines, but so far that love is unrequited. But maybe now that will change.
Fifty-eight minutes past the hour. Ali Velshi will explain why.
Hello, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
This news just coming in now. US Airways -- US Air Group has increased its offer for Delta quite substantially. I've got to say, if you're doing the math on this, they're saying that the current market value of the offer that they are making this morning is about $10.2 billion. And by my back-of-the-envelope math, that's about a 30 percent increase over the last offer.
Very substantial. They're saying they've got this new offer on the table for Delta which will expire February 1st if Delta creditors don't support it.
They've made some pretty strong statements about the fact that this deal has to move forward. Delta, as you know -- as you said, has rebuffed this offer, has rebuffed it before. But with this much more money on the table, they're going to have to consider it. And we will, of course, continue to cover that story for you.
US Airways upping its offer for Delta.
M. O'BRIEN: The plot thickens, doesn't it, Ali?
VELSHI: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. Thank you -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: And we are coming up at the top of the hour. Let's get right to Chad Myers for a look at what the big weather story is this morning.
(WEATHER REPORT)
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