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Customer No Service; Iran Security Concerns; War Equipment Repair; Gerri's Top Tips
Aired February 23, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Heidi Collins this morning.
TONY HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris. Spend a second hour in the NEWSROOM with us this morning and stay informed. Here's what's on the rundown.
What about the baby? This hour, in the Anna Nicole Smith saga, a judge takes up the question of paternity.
WHITFIELD: And Barack Obama, telegenic and spirited. Does he have enough combat under his belt to be a wartime president? Our guest with the up and the downs of being a fresh face.
HARRIS: Customer service. Lost in the hulking aisles of America's super mega shopping marts. Consumers vowing no surrender. "Fight Back Friday" on February 23rd. You are in the NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: So, whatever happened to customer service? Out the window a long time ago, it seems. Trapped on a plane for hours, banished to voice mail, stone walled at the store, consumers are fed up and fighting back. Senior correspondent Allan Chernoff focuses on customer no service on this "Fight Back Friday."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Plumber Lyndon Price (ph) tries to avoid shopping at Home Depot because, he says, sales people often can't find parts he needs.
LYNDON PRICE, PLUMBER: I have to go and search it out myself. Like, here, you know, I always get great service from these guys.
CHERNOFF: These guys, Victor and Richie Wishne (ph), have been in business longer than Home Depot. They say their store, Orange Valley Hardware, in Orange, New Jersey, is taking customers away from the giant competitor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If someone comes in here, they don't have to search a warehouse like Home Depot to find someone to help them. We're going to be able to accommodate them, take care of them, more of a personalized situation. And we'll take care of the business with them and they will come back.
CHERNOFF: Home Depot this week reported its first annual profit decline. The home improvement retailer says it hears the complaints and is working to improve.
JOSE LOPEZ, HOME DEPOT: Service is something you just can't take for granted. And a little bit of slippage can have a huge impact on your brand.
CHERNOFF: Home Depot is not alone. At many retail stores, it's become harder to find sales help. At the airport, too many passengers suffered through nightmare delays, not just on JetBlue. On the phone, it's tough to reach human help without navigating through voice mail hell.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Press 3. I'm sorry, I don't recognize your selection.
CHERNOFF: Why is it that good customer service is so hard to come by these days? Many companies under pressure to boost profits have been cutting service staff, figuring they can let customers do more of the work. Increasingly, we're becoming a self-service society.
It's not all bad. At the supermarket, scanning and even bagging your own groceries can save time, as can checking in by yourself at an airline kiosk. But in service businesses, those who still provide real service are thriving. Commerce Bank, one of the fastest growing banks on the East Coast, is open seven days a week and in the evening. One reason Florence Benjamin switched to Commerce.
FLORENCE BENJAMIN, COMMERCE BANK CUSTOMER: You get here by like 7:00 or 8:00 and they're open to you. And like I said, everyone's always friendly, available to you, ready for you.
KATHLEEN PETRONIS, COMMERCE BANK BRANCH MANAGER: It's all about the customer experience when they walk inside the doors. That is our model.
CHERNOFF: A growing number of customers are willing to pay upscale prices at service oriented Nordstrom department stores, where profits are soaring. Consumers are fighting back not just by switching to competing stores, they're doing more shopping online. And if they're unhappy with their shopping experience or their purchase, they can easily let the world know. Everyone is a critic at Epinions and other online review sites. Consumers may still get frustrated, but these days they are empowered, able to fight back as never before.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, Orange, New Jersey.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Home cheap home. No way. Buying a house or repairing one certainly can cost you, especially if you hire a crook to do the job. "Fight Back Friday" with Gerri Willis in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: One hundred years behind bars. That's the sentence for a U.S. soldier convicted of raping a young Iraqi girl. Sergeant Paul Cortez pled guilty in the rape and murder of a 14-year-old and the killing of her parents and sister. This was the scene of the crime last year. While Cortez's sentence is 100 years, he could get out on parole in 10 years. It is part of his plea agreement. Cortez agreed to cooperate in cases pending against other soldiers. One soldier from Cortez's unity has already been sentenced to life in prison for his role in the incident.
Word of more U.S. deaths in Iraq just out this morning. The U.S. military says three American soldiers died during a combat mission in Iraq's volatile Anbar province.
In a separate incident south of Baghdad, the military says one U.S. soldier was killed and three others wounded when their humvee was hit by a roadside bomb.
And in the capital, a gruesome discovery. Police say they found 14 body, most showing signs of torture. At least three people were found shot to death in the northern city of Mosul.
WHITFIELD: Putting pressure on Iran, the U.S. and its allies plan to meet next week to try to draft a new resolution. It will try to convince Iran to suspend its nuclear program. The resolution follows a new U.N. report. It says there are no assurances that Iran's nuclear work is for peaceful purposes. This diplomatic tussle comes with new worries Iran may pose a security threat of a different sort. It's one that could have a direct impact on you. CNN's Tom Foreman has that.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Military analysts are increasingly calling it a genuine and perils threat that Iran may attempt to disrupt the world's oil supply by attack the Strait of Hormuz.
GAL LUFT, INSTITUTE FOR ANALYSIS OF GLOBAL SECURITY: The Strait of Hormuz is the most important choke (ph) point in the world. We have about 17 million barrels a day flowing through this area, which is about 20 percent of the world's oil market.
FOREMAN: The Strait is not very big. At its narrowest point, it's only about 30 miles or so across. That's not big at all. But its impact on world oil markets is enormous.
Why? Well, because it connects some of the Middle East's most critical oil supplies with the rest of the planet. These are the Saudi Arabian oil facilities. And every hour of every day, the oil that flows out of here is heading for the Strait of Hormuz.
One military leader says concern is at unprecedented levels because the Iranians have been staging naval maneuvers and testing weapons in that area, then showing their capability on the state run news network. The commander of the U.S. Fifth Fleet, Vice Admiral Patrick Walsh, said "in the last nine months, you see the open display and the implication of the use of mines."
Now should the Strait be shut down or even temporarily disrupted, the alternatives for that Saudi oil, for example, are just not good. Yes, there is an old pipeline that stretches all the way over to the Red Sea, but oil industry analysts say it takes longer, it's not used much and it may not be reliable.
Protecting the Strait through warfare with Iran would open another troublesome battlefront. But doing nothing could be costly, too.
LUFT: If there is a disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, all of us, every American, will feel the pain.
FOREMAN: Even if the United States tapped its strategic oil reserves, world markets would become chaotic and industry analysts say the price at the pump could rise dramatically to $7, $8 a gallon.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And just when you thought it was over, new twists in the battle over the custody of Anna Nicole Smith's body, estate and baby. Right now, an emergency DNA hearing is getting underway inside the Broward County courthouse. We were looking at new video just moments ago. And now here are the live pictures inside. That's the former boyfriend of Anna Nicole Smith, Larry Birkhead. Our Susan Candiotti is outside the courthouse.
So, what should we all expects from this?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, that's a good question. It is indeed a battle over a baby. That's right. Because we haven't been able to predict much of what's happened so far, have we, in the last couple of weeks.
But anyway, this is a paternity case that was already filed in the state of California and now it has a Florida connection because Larry Birkhead is asking a family court judge here to play a role. He is asking a judge here to force a DNA sample to be taken from Dannielynn, the baby he claims to be the biological father of. Howard K. Stern also says he's the natural father of Dannielynn. But that's why Birkhead wants this DNA sample.
It was a chaotic scene when he arrives outside the courthouse this day as he gets ready to ask a judge, ask him for the right to have a sample taken from the baby in the Bahamas, where she is now, or here. Here's what Birkhead said outside the courthouse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY BIRKHEAD, ANNA NICOLE SMITH'S FORMER BOYFRIEND: We're just trying to -- or to tell the truth and see what happens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now what is this all about in the end? We also have to settle the matter of where to bury Anna Nicole Smith. The guardian representing the baby says she will be buried in the Bahamas, but the remains are currently still at the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office.
Why? Because an appeal has been filed in this case. The judge's decision yesterday to make the guardian in charge of this matter, and where she should be buried. So she can't leave the morgue until that time.
But I want to wind things up here with a look at Anna Nicole Smith. One of the final images we have from that courtroom hearing yesterday. Her face painted like a clown. A home video shot by Howard K. Stern. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD K. STERN, ANNA NICOLE SMITH'S BOYFRIEND: Riley thinks you've (INAUDIBLE) lost your mind.
ANNA NICOLE SMITH: Huh?
STERN: Riley thinks you've lost your mind.
SMITH: I didn't lose my mind.
STERN: She things you have.
SMITH: I didn't.
STERN: Is this a mushroom trip?
SMITH: Huh?
STERN: Is this a mushroom trip?
SMITH: Huh?
STERN: Is this a mushroom trip?
SMITH: What do you mean?
STERN: I'm kidding.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: We don't know why Howard K. Stern shot this video, but he did say on the tape, he was only joking when he asked her whether she had just eat an mushroom.
The hearing is now underway, but it is not the only hearing that is happening this day. There might be another one up in West Palm Beach. At the very least, an appeal will be filed in that court. An appeal filed by the mother of Anna Nicole Smith, who is arguing before a judge that the judge yesterday made a mistake, that she should be next in line to have control over her daughter's body. That she is the next of kin, not Dannielynn, because according to Florida law, she argues that baby is just too young to be granted custody. WHITFIELD: Gosh, this is an incredible case. Susan Candiotti, thanks so much.
We're out of time, but a question that I want you to consider so the next time that we have a chance to talk with you, if you can find out what kind of jurisdiction the Florida court will have if indeed the Florida court says, yes, the DNA testing can take place of this baby which is in the Bahamas, how they're going to get the Bahamas to cooperate to actually administer that test, if indeed this emergency motion is granted. Just something I'd love for you to consider in time for the next shot we have with you.
Susan Candiotti, thanks so much, out of Broward County.
HARRIS: Senator Barack Obama, looking presidential or just looking good?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought Jesse Jackson had the Guinness World Book of Records for manipulating photo ops. Barack Obama has beaten him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A prominent broadcaster calls the campaign as she sees it. Then we'll get another view in the NEWSROOM.
State of disrepair. Wounded warriors coming home to mold and mildew. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on conditions at the nation's top military hospital. He is live at the half hour in the NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: And humvees and tanks rolling out of Texas into a war zone. Again, repaired equipment. It could mean the difference between life and death. The story in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Pigs in peril! Run for your lives!
WHITFIELD: Pigs in a blanket?
HARRIS: Heavy snow brings down a barn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My pigs are in there! They're like my babies!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Just another day on the farm for rescue teams saving swine, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, because we're watching your money, it means we're also watching the market. The Dow is down about 23 points at 12,662. And the Nasdaq down eight points. Hopefully the day is young. It's got a little time for the numbers to go in reverse. We'll be watching it all day for you.
HARRIS: As word comes of a British troop pullout from Iraq, new reports of more British soldiers bound for Afghanistan this morning. The BBC reports British Defense Secretary Des Browne will unveil the new deployment early next week, according to the Guardian Newspaper. One thousand extra troops will join the 5,000 British soldiers already there.
WHITFIELD: And hit the gas and it's got to go. U.S. troops need their wheels in tiptop shape. The war is taking a heavy toll on the equipment. Our Sean Callebs reports from a military repair depot in Texas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Work at the Red River Army Depot could mean the difference between life and death for America's fighting men and women. This northeastern Texas base is where a large percentage of humvees, Bradley fighting machines and tanks roll through for service and repairs. Lieutenant Colonel Douglas Evans is the commanding officer.
DOUGLAS EVANS, COMMANDER, RED RIVER ARMY DEPOT: I spent a year in Iraq. And when you press the gas, you want that vehicle to go. And when you press the brake, you want that vehicle to stop. And when you need to shoot and you need to communicate, that it works properly. Because we are absolutely putting soldiers in harm's way if we don't.
CALLEBS: With about 40 percent of the U.S. military equipment deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 4,000 civilian employees at Red River are being asked to do a lot. For example, the number of humvees.
TIM PERKINS, HUMVEE TACTICAL DIVISION CHIEF: Well, two years ago, we were producing two to four vehicles a day, and currently we produce 32 vehicles a day.
CALLEBS: An exponential increase. And with attacks overseas, coupled with President Bush's decision to sent 21,000 more troops to Iraq, there are growing concerns that equipment is being spread too thinly. The Pentagon admits that if U.S. forces were deployed to yet another hot spot, there would be "significant concern" about the number of available armored vehicles. They also say the wartime effort and training are not suffering.
EVANS: Backlog is kind of a misused term. The Army is refurbishing equipment on a three year plan. One year, the soldiers are training on the equipment. The next year, that equipment is in Iraq. And then the next year the equipment is coming back from Iraq and going through the Depot.
CALLEBS: With so many vehicles damaged by insurgent attack, the obvious goal, get the machinery out of Texas and back to troops as quickly as possible without sacrificing quality. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We live by the slogan, build it as if our lives depend on it, because theirs do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: State of disrepair. Wounded warriors coming home to mold, infestations, mildew. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on conditions at the nation's top military hospital. He is live in just minutes in the NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: Oh, well let's check in with Gerri Willis on "Fight Back Friday."
Hi, Gerri. Where are you?
GERRI WILLIS: Hey, Fred.
I'm just north of New York City, in a beautiful kitchen, as you can see. We're talking today about what you can do with customer service companies when they're not helping you out in your home. It's "Fight Back Friday." We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: So it's Friday. That usually means Gerri Willis is answering your e-mails. But Gerri is skipping the e-mail today. It's "Fight Back Friday." And she's on top of that.
And right now, Gerri, you're in a home in New York. And we know no matter what home you live in, no matter what part of the country, it's always difficult to get services or even work done without some sort of problems or hang-ups along the way.
WILLIS: That's right. That's right, Fred.
You know, everyone's always fighting for services, having to complain. We took a look at how to complain the most effect way, starting with credit cards. Now I know you know that some of the biggest complaints about credit cards are the fees, which can be as high as $39 for a late fee, and interest rates which have been soaring.
Now if this is your problem, pick up the phone, call the 800 number of your credit card issuer, ask for the retention department. These are the people who are enabled to keep your business. That's their job. Credit card companies spend $200 to get a single, new customer. They don't want to do that. Ask for them to cut that late fee out, to reduce your interest rate. They definitely will.
Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right. Well, say you've also sunk in some money, significant money, in some work to be done at your home. You've hired a contractor and either they disappeared or they didn't do a good job. What do you do? WILLIS: Well, if you get a real big problem with a contractor, Aa number one, you can go to court without spending an arm and a leg. You can go to small-claims court. You don't have to have an attorney. It costs you $30 in fees. That's not much money. And you get in front of a judge with the contractor and get that claim adjudicated. That's the good news.
Now you should remember that that contractor should be licensed when you're choosing one. Because if you have a problem, you can also go to the licensing board and ask for help. They want to make sure those contractors are doing the right thing.
WHITFIELD: All right. And now let's talk about home insurance. Everyone is supposed to have it. But what if your carrier says, we don't want to have coverage for you anymore. What are your options? What do you do?
WILLIS: Well, this is one of the biggest complaints. You know, you file the claim, it takes a long time to hear back. And when you do, what if the answer is no. It's so frustrating.
One thing you can do, comb the small print in your home insurance materials. See if there is an appraisal claim that you can make. Now what this means is, is that you can hire an appraiser, the insurer hires and appraiser, and then you both get in front of a third party that makes a decision about who is right. This means you get a second opinion and that's what you're looking for if you can't get that claim taken seriously.
WHITFIELD: All right. And say you're in an area where it seems like a gas or electric company seems to have the monopoly over your area. You kind of feel like, you know what, if they don't rule in my favor, I really don't have any other options. I can't threaten with them that I'm going to go to another company, I'm going to take my business elsewhere.
WILLIS: Yes. There's no leverage, right? These companies are massive. Look, if your power goes out, obviously you're going to be calling the 800 number. And if it's a widespread outage, it may be days before you can get a hold of anybody. You can complain to your public utilities service commission. That is the first step, the first place to go.
But at this time of year, Fred, one important thing to know in the wintertime, many states have rules that your utility cannot keep your power off for a very long time, even if you're behind on your bills. That's important to keep in mind.
Now if it's summertime, like it was for the folks in Queens last year, the food's going bad, you have no power for days and days and days, you can make a claim against your utility to be reimbursed. Folks in Queens got up to $350. Now it's up to the utility to decide if they want to do that, but that is definitely an option.
Fred.
WHITFIELD: Al right. And this weekend, a special "Open House." What's on tap?
WILLIS: That's right. We're going to have a special "Open House," looking at exactly these issues. How to fight back for your rights when it comes to customer service companies in the home. You'll definitely want to join us. It's 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time Saturday morning. And if you can't get up that early, join us on "Headline News" 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
WHITFIELD: All right, Gerri, thanks so much. Always good to see you.
WILLIS: Always good to see you, Fred. Thanks.
HARRIS: And more, "Fight Back "Friday reports coming up. Car repairs. We all need them from time-to-time. But how can you avoid being taken for a ride? Tips from our consumer reporter, Greg Hunter, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Rob Marciano in the CNN Weather Center. We were watching a strong storm that slammed into California, heading through the mountains now and will reemerge in the plains as a blizzard and the threat for some extreme, severe weather. A complete forecast is coming up on the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And this just in to CNN, according to the Associated Press now, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is ending his campaign for the presidency. Always considered a longshot. And word just coming in, that according to the Associated Press, Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is ending his campaign for the presidency. We will of course continue to follow this story and bring you the latest developments and get some answers as to why. But the news just in, Tom Vilsack, Iowa governor, ending his campaign for the presidency. We are also standing by to hear from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, the secretary holding a news conference in minutes from Walter Reed in Washington D.C.
The secretary responding to the explosive report last weekend in "The Washington Post," detailing substandard conditions at a Walter Reed medical facility building, mold, roach infestation, mildew, just a real mess, outlined in those reports in "The Washington Post." Gates expected to announce the panelists for the independent advisory group looking at the Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval facilities. When that news conference begins we will bring it to you live in the NEWSROOM.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: Many of may be shocked to see our utility costs this winter. It's pretty safe to see you won't be seeing numbers like that! While they say everything is bigger in Texas, this is outrageous.
Jim Douglas has the story. He is with affiliate WFAA in Dallas.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you can see it was rather shocking when weapon opened it.
JIM DOUGLAS, WFAA REPORTER (voice-over): Think your power bill gave you a jolt, try this one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 24,200,700,000.02 dollars.
DOUGLAS: You heard right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Billion.
DOUGLAS (on camera): Billion?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Billion.
DOUGLAS (voice-over): You could understand Susan Logan's surprise. I mean, she's tried to conserve.
(on camera): Ceiling fans everywhere. You've got your energy blanket over here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've got the energy blanket, use that pretty much every night. Got the warm dog.
DOUGLAS: What was the reaction?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Wow, we've got to turn down the thermostat.
DOUGLAS (voice-over): The Logans live in Weatherford, one of the few cities that provide power to residents. This month's bills are a little off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then there bill is like 22 billion.
DOUGLAS: Customer service agents are taking some of the best complaint calls they've ever had.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, ma'am, are you going to be able to pay that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it was really cold last night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had our billing company made a big error, and they mailed out about 1,000 bills that they shouldn't have.
DOUGLAS: City officials blame a computer problem at the printer?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How many phone calls do you think we've had about this today?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've probably got at least a thousand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twenty-two billion, two-hundred thousand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: City manager Bill Davis says Weatherford's utility rate is actually lower than what most people get from private providers. The real bills will come out next month.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She wanted to make arrangements for 24 billion dollars, on a payment plan.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you can just disregard that.
DOUGLAS: Don't you wish we could always get that answer when we complain about those monster utility bills.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's obviously an error.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Well, they know that high winds fueled it. This morning investigators want to know what sparked it. This massive fire tore through townhouses in Raleigh, North Carolina. At least three homes involved, at least 30 units destroyed, 65 people were left homeless as well. Wind gusts clocked as high as 40 miles an hour made it a hard day's work for firefighters, but thankfully no injuries.
HARRIS: Senator Barack Obama, looking presidential or just looking good
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought Jesse Jackson had the "Guinness World Book of Records" for manipulating photo ops. Barack Obama has beaten him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Man, a prominent broadcaster calls the campaign as she sees it. Then we get another view, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: A state of disrepair: wounded warriors coming home to mold and mildew. A live picture now at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on conditions at the nation's top military hospital. He is live in a moments in the NEWSROOM.
WHITFIELD: And remember, in South Florida, there's that emergency DNA hearing taking place. Well, apparently, it's wrapping up. Our Susan Candiotti is outside the Broward County courthouse.
So what does this mean, Susan?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, I like what the judge just said a moment ago, as he is winding things down and he said, why me? Why here? What kind of jurisdiction do I have?
So, before us we have this simply put -- lawyers for Larry Birkhead, who claims to be the biological father, wants a Florida judge to get involved in his paternity case. And the judge is saying, OK, but why am I involved in this since a California judge is the one that started it. Plus you have the Bahamas court involved also. And he is saying, I'm not going to close the door in the end, you can make arguments to me, but I'm going to get in touch with the judge in California, and then you'll have to prove to me here why you think I should be involved.
In the meantime, the Bahamas is also handling the custody matter. So as you can see, we have yet another legal maze before us -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Well, this is really getting tangled and confusing. And then, meantime, do we know whether or not Virgie Arthur, the mother of Anna Nicole Smith, has indeed filed that appeal for yesterday's ruling out of the Broward County courthouse?
CANDIOTTI: Well, we're fully staffed up there at that courthouse up in West Palm Beach, Florida, waiting to find out whether a notice of appeal has been filed. Haven't received word yet. But again, she's challenging the judge's decision from yesterday. She says, I should be the next of kin, not the baby.
WHITFIELD: OK, a lot of balls still up in the air, as they say. Susan Candiotti, thank you so much.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
WHITFIELD: A sweet rescue story. You won't want to miss this one. Oh my gosh, does it sound like he was repeating me? We've got pigs in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Live now to Defense Secretary Robert Gates on the reported deplorable conditions of Walter Reed Medical Center.
(JOINED IN PROGRESS)
WALTER REED, DEFENSE SECY.: ... of veteran affairs and secretary of the army under President Clinton, and Jack Marsh, former secretary of the Army under President Reagan. The other members of the group are Dr. Joe Schwartz, former Republican Congressman from Michigan, Jim Bachus, former Democratic Congressman from Florida, who is now at Vanderbilt University, retired General John Jumper, former Air Force chief of staff, retired Lieutenant General Chip Roadman (ph), former Air Force surgeon general, retired Rear Admiral Kathy (ph) Martin, former deputy surgeon general, and retired Command sergeant Major Larry Holland, formerly with the assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs.
This group will inspect the current situation at Walter Reed here in Washington, the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, and any other centers they choose to examine.
I have no information to suggest there are problems at Bethesda and elsewhere, such as we have learned about here at Walter Reed. But we need to know the scope of this problem.
I appreciate the willingness of each of these men and women to serve on this panel. This group will have special advisers in the areas of social work, psychological counseling and family-support issues. They will be given free and unrestricted access to facilities and personnel. The group will report back their findings and recommendations within 45 days to the secretary of the Army, secretary of the Navy and the assistant secretary of defense for health affairs. Their report will be made available to the Congress and to the public.
A final point on the question of accountability. A bedrock principle of our military system is that we empower commanders with the responsibility, authority and resources necessary to carry out their mission. With responsibility comes accountability. It is my strong belief that an organization with the enormous responsibilities of the Department of Defense must live by this principle of accountability at all levels. Accordingly, after the facts are established, those responsible for having allowed this unacceptable situation to develop will indeed be held accountable.
Thank you. I'd be happy to take some questions.
QUESTION: Can you report on Lieutenant General Kylee's (ph) comments yesterday, that the "Post" story was one-sided, and that there was not a breakdown in leadership, in that he did not consider building substandard?
GATES: My recollection, from reading that story, was that he did not quarrel with any of the conclusions or any of the facts, as presented in the article. I think his concern was more about tone. I think that some of those issues remain to be seen, and those are the kinds of things that I want the review group to look at.
QUESTION: You talked about accountability. Has anyone in the chain of command offered to resign over these problems?
GATES: No one. No one has offered to resign at this point.
QUESTION: How do you feel about that?
GATES: Well, first of all, there have been -- we are not going to wait 45 days to begin addressing these problems. And so there have been some people who are most directly involved who have been relieved, but we will be looking and evaluating the rest of the chain of command as we get more information.
QUESTION: Can I ask you about the -- another subject, the call- up of National Guard units, the accelerated call-up for duty in Iraq next year. Can you explain why that was felt necessary?
GATES: That really is -- I'll ask the admiral to comment on that as well, but my understanding is that that really -- if you're talking about the article in the paper earlier this week, that really was about into calendar year '08, and it's the implications of our deployments to Iraq right now, including the reinforcement. And the impact of that on the call-up dates during 2008. Obviously, the situation and requirement will depend on the situation on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What this is about is the secretary last month talked about unit mobilizations and alertments for our National Guard, for example. And when we do this, we are going to do this mobilization period for a year. The intent of us doing that was to give them sufficient time ahead of time and alert them well in advance, so that we could get lots of the training, all of the types of administrative items done, so that when they came in, they would be mobilized for just a short period of time, that one year, as opposed to 18 or 24 months. That is something that all of us military leaders wanted to do was limit the mobilization period to short ones. And the National Guard leaders across all the states are very much in support of that.
WHITFIELD: Just moments ago, you heard Defense Secretary Robert Gates talk about a panel that has been enlisted to look into conditions that have been reported all week long at Washington's Walter Reed Army Medical Center, as well as Bethesda, Maryland's Naval's Medical Center. The findings are to be complete in 45 days, however, the defense secretary said they won't wait until 45 days to address some of these problems.
Some people have been relieved, but no one has resigned. In the meantime, this investigation is ongoing into the deplorable conditions there at Walter Reed, as well as the Naval Medical Center.
HARRIS: And we learned just a short time ago former Iowa governor, Democrat Tom Vilsack, has decided to withdraw from the 2008 presidential campaign. Always considered a long shot, the former governor was even trailing in his homestate to Senator Clinton, Senator Obama and former Senator Edwards. And we've learned just within the last hour, CNN has confirmed that former Iowa Governor, Democrat Tom Vilsack has decided to withdraw from the 2008 presidential campaign.
WHITFIELD: So let's say your car is acting up, you pop the hood, you take a look. You're clueless. Easy target for car repair ripoffs, right? Well, tips on how to protect yourself. It's Fighting Back Friday in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: The Anna Nicole Smith baby drama. She's the momma, who's the daddy? Paternity questions in court, developments all morning long, in the NEWSROOM.
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