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American Morning
Fast Blaze In South Of Los Angeles Scorches 2,000 Acres. Bush To Visit Mayan Ruins In Guatemala Today
Aired March 12, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Morning, welcome back, everybody. It's Monday, March 12. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us this morning.
We begin in Southern California where record heat, strong winds and low humidity will make for another long day of raging wildfires. It's happening in Orange County. So far more than 2,000 acres are charred there; 500 homes evacuated, at one point, yesterday. Some of those people are returning to their homes this morning. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is at the fire command center in Irvine, California.
Thelma, what are conditions like right now?
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I can tell you, Miles, that right now the winds have died down; humidity was up and that was very good news for firefighters overnight. Now a total of 1,200 residents were evacuated from their homes, from Orange and also the Anaheim Hills area. They are back home; most are back home this morning.
They're breathing a big sigh of relief because those flames came dangerously close yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUTIERREZ (voice over): Sunday afternoon, flames raged through tinder dry brush up steep hillsides towards home in the Anaheim Hills, charring more than 2,000 acres.
It was a fast-moving blaze fueled by high winds and intense heat with temperatures spiking up to the mid 90s. And 800 firefighters rushed to the scene. Police raced through neighborhoods telling residents to get out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was 12:30, 12:45 and they went door to door, the Anaheim police.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): At that point, what did you grab?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dog -- and not too much else.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My jewelry. Some wedding pictures of my parents.
GUTIERREZ (voice over): Firefighters launched an aggressive air attack. One after another, helicopters dipped into a nearby reservoir, they filled huge buckets and flew over the hot spots to make their drops.
By sundown, the winds had died down and temperatures had fallen, the fire was 30 percent contained. Two homes were damaged, but residents were relieved and grateful, none were lost.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They've been doing a great job. At one time they had four helicopters flying around. And, frankly, they've been doing a marvelous job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The amount of rainfall that we've had, this is probably a precursor to what we can expect through late spring and early summer.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GUTIERREZ: Now, the residents we talked to said they are concerned because they don't remember a time when fire season started so early in the year. Now, at this current time, no homes are threatened, and firefighters are optimistic they'll be able to knock this fire out by tonight -- Miles?
M. O'BRIEN: Let's hope they're right. Thelma Gutierrez in Irvine, thank you.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: President Bush is in Guatemala this morning. It is his latest stop in a five-nation tour of Latin American. He's pushing free trade. He'll be touring some Mayan ruins. And once again, he's going to face protests. CNN's Elaine Quijano is traveling with the president. She's live for us in Guatemala City.
Good morning, Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Soledad.
President Bush is bringing his America cares message to Guatemala today. He is working to shore up U.S. allies in the region, amid what experts say is the widespread perception here in Latin America that the Bush administration has largely neglected this area after September 11th.
Well, today the president will push back against that notion. He's going to visit a farm cooperative to try to make the case that CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement, is helping to improve the lives of the region's poor.
Now, yesterday, in Bogata, Columbia, the president's visit there was marred by protests, relatively small in size; about 1,500 people turning out in a city of 7 million people.
But some of those demonstrators, as you see, did turn violent. And today, in a sign of the president's unpopularity here in Guatemala and unusual protest is set to take place, Soledad. Mayan leaders say they plan to spiritually cleanse ancient Guatemalan ruins after President Bush visits there later today -- Soledad?
S. O'BRIEN: And of course, with all those protests the security situation is really been on red alert, kind of unusual moves going on there, too, right?
QUIJANO: That's right. In Bogata, the president was there in part, largely to highlight what he says is progress on the security front, that Columbia, in general, has made. His visit, though, lasted less than seven hours. And get this, as he was leaving the airport, a decoy motorcade -- what you're seeing here, is the actual motorcade that left the airport in Bogata -- but there was a decoy that was used because of the extraordinary security situation there.
In fact, more than 20,000 Columbian police and military personnel were on hand in order to secure the city for that visit. The president not spending the evening there, but, again, underscoring that the security concerns still exist in that country -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Elaine Quijano for us this morning. Thanks, Elaine.
President Bush is going to move on to Mexico this afternoon. We're going to bring you a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING live from Mexico City tomorrow. I'll take a look at the immigration crises from that side of the border. It's coming up tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING.
President Bush is also sending a message north, to Congress. He wants lawmakers to approve the $3 billion needed to send more troops to Iraq, with no strings attached. President is also defending his decision to add another 8,000 troops to support the 21,000 strong force that he ordered into Iraq back in January.
M. O'BRIEN: Maybe it will be easier to list those in the Senate not running for president. Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel maybe adding himself to the list of candidates later this morning and that's -- it can happen in Omaha, and that's where we find CNN's Dana Bash -- Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles we flew here -- happened to fly here with Senator Hagel yesterday. Tried to pry out of him exactly what he is going to say later today. He lips were sealed and that's really been part of the buzz generating strategy. To say only that he will announce his, quote, "future plans". But Nebraska Republicans -- informed Nebraska Republicans -- tell us that they do believe he at least take the first steps towards running for president, and the fact that he is an unrelenting critic of the president's Iraq strategy could will change the dynamic in the GOP field.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Nebraska is conservative country, a state that re-elected President Bush with two-thirds of the vote, one of the highest margins in the nation. Yet, these days, loyal Nebraska Republicans are represented by perhaps the most vocal GOP opponent of the Iraq war and the president. SEN. CHUCK HAGEL (R-(NE): After almost four years of a rather significant presence in Iraq, and many, many American casualties, and hundreds of billions of dollars spent, things are getting worse, not better.
BASH: Chuck Hagel even suggested to "Esquire" magazine, this month, the president could be impeached for Iraq blunders.
REP. LEE TERRY (R-NE): Well to be perfectly blunt, it hasn't been received well especially within the base of the Republican voters.
BASH: Republican Congressman Lee Terry hears constant complaints about Hagel from conservative constituents.
TERRY: Some people that talk to me, they are pretty passionate, and they're pretty angry, and I don't know how will Chuck will soothe that.
BASH: But are conservatives angry enough to hurt his chances of winning the Republican nomination? Maybe not says a GOP strategist who helped twice helped elect President Bush.
There is about a third or more of people in Nebraska who are going to vote in the Republican primary who disapprove of the president on the war and are against the war. So, there's definitely a place, from a political perspective, for a candidate like Chuck Hagel to run from.
BASH: Hagel's own war experience as a decorated Vietnam veteran may give him added credibility. He was there on the front lines and says he fought in the same kind of war currently being mismanaged in Iraq.
HAGEL: We better be sure we know what we're doing, all of us, before we put 22,000 more Americans into that grinder.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BASH: Now, if Senator Hagel does jump into the race for president later today, he will undoubtedly make sure he has rock solid conservative credentials on everything from taxes to abortion to guns. But it is certainly, Miles, his criticism of the war, of the current Republican commander in chief that will give him a unique platform, and especially it will be interesting, really a test case to watch to see how much the unpopular war has changed American politics -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Dana, all this lips are sealed stuff, but big announcement about my future. Is there any doubt about what will happen today?
BASH: There is, actually. No -- because you can say various things. There are various iterations of what one can say when they're jumping into the race.
What we do think -- and underscore "think" -- he's going to do, is say that he's going to have an exploratory committee to test the waters for several months and decide formally down the road, maybe even in the fall whether or not he's actually going to run. But we do know, Miles, that later this week, he's going to appear at a Republican forum -- excuse me, a forum for Republicans and Democrats, the only people who will be there are people running for president.
M. O'BRIEN: Well, if it runs like a duck, it's a duck I think. All right, Dana Bash. Thank you very much.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Happening this morning, a suicide bombing to tell you about near Casablanca in Morocco. It happened last night in an Internet cafe. The owners of the cafe say the bomber blew himself up, just after he was told he would not be able to look at terror websites. Nobody else was killed, but four other people were hurt. Including the bomber's companion, who was arrested.
Another chopper crash investigation under way in Hawaii this morning. It is the second tour chopper to crash on the Island of Kauai in the past four days. One person was killed in this crash, three others were hurt.
The Dubai International Airport is open once again. It closed for about eight hours after the nose gear of a Bangladeshi airliner collapsed during takeoff. 14 people suffered minor injuries, there were 236 passengers and crew members on board -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: The price of gas is springing forward on the gas gauge this morning. The national average now $2.54 for a gallon of regular. That's up 33 cents in the past month alone. Gas is $2.36 this time last year. So, why the new surge in gas prices with the summer peak driving season still months away? We spared no expense to find out, sending Allan Chernoff through the Lincoln Tunnel. He joins us live from Jersey City with the latest there.
Hello, Allan.
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.
Here in New Jersey prices aren't all that bad, compared to the national average. The price right here this morning, $2.39 a gallon. Nonetheless, it's been shooting skyward very rapidly. Well, how come? We followed the trail of rising prices to find out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF (voice over): New Jersey has some of the cheapest gas in the nation, yet, even here drivers are frustrated watching prices at the pump shoot higher.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think it's a little strange prices are going up in the middle of February.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why does the price keep going up? I don't understand this. It just keeps going up. When is it going to stop? CHERNOFF: Station owner Yefim Blitshteyn says he doesn't understand why the price he pays keeps jumping.
(On camera): What's going on?
YEFIM BLITSHTEYN, GAS STATION OWNER: I don't know what's going on. Maybe somebody is making money.
CHERNOFF: So, we spoke to Yefim's supplier, Michael Pasinkovsky, who's just as frustrated. He says the wholesale price at which he buys is up 44 cents a gallon since the beginning of last month. He's heard news reports of a supply shortage, but says that's not true.
MICHAEL PASINKOVSKY, GASOLINE SUPPLIER: I didn't see no shortages. We still have the same amount of product and I can buy product whenever I want to, and there's product always there.
CHERNOFF: Michael is right, there is no shortage. In fact, the nation's supply of gasoline is a bit higher than usual for this time of year. But, there is a reason gas prices are climbing. Some refineries are closing facilities for maintenance and repairs. And that drop in production has energy traders pushing prices higher.
CHRIS MATRONI, ENERGY TRADER: When you hear a refinery has problems, goes down, gets shut down, an explosion, you're going to get a spike in prices.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHERNOFF: As we get closer to the summertime, more refineries are going to have to shut down temporarily to shift their production to manufacturing cleaner burning summertime fuels, yet another factor that will push prices even higher. So, by the summertime many of us, in fact, could be paying $3 a gallon, once again -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Hey, Allan, why don't that make that cleaner burning fuel year round? Is it because the regulations say only in the summer?
CHERNOF: That's right. It also costs a lot more money. It fact, it takes 4 percent more crude oil to make that summertime blend of fuel. So, of course, the reason they don't do it all the time, I mean, they want to be able to save money. It costs more, but it is cleaner burning.
Allan Chernoff, thanks very much.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Coming up this morning, severe weather in Houston to tell you about. It is also an extremely dry day for firefighters who are trying to get a handle on that huge wildfire in Southern California. Chad is on top of both stories for us coming up next.
A troubling warning for families who are looking to adopt outside of the United States. We'll tell you about some new rules and regulations. Straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: A quarter past the hour. You know what time that is, that's weather time. Chad Myers has a lot that he's watching this morning, some extreme weather going through the nation's midsection.
(WEATHER REPORT)
S. O'BRIEN: Firefighters, in fact, in Orange County, California, say they're starting to get control of that huge fire. So far more than 2,000 acres have burned, and 500 homes evacuated at one point. Despite the progress, firefighters say they're not of the woods yet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FIRE CHIEF ED FLEMING: Firefighters, overnight, had a chance to get some better containment on this 2,036-acre fire. They've taken advantage of the cooler temperatures overnight, the reduced winds, and the increased relative humidity. However, the bad news is the red flag warning remains in effect until 7:00 p.m. tonight. So, we expect the temperatures to increase, the winds to increase and the relative humidity to decrease.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
S. O'BRIEN: More than 800 firefighters are battling this blaze -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, a look at why Americans looking to adopt children from one Central American country, Guatemala, may have a harder time. We have a troubling warning to tell you about.
Plus, Ali Velshi tells us why the demand for alternative fuels could drive up the cost of meat. He's good at connecting those dots. We'll explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: President Bush is in Guatemala this morning. He's pushing free trade and is also going to tour Mayan ruins. But there's another topic that may come up. It's a warning from the U.S. State Department for families who want to adopt a child from Guatemala. AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho has been watching that for us.
Good morning.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there, Soledad. Good morning to you.
You know, you may be surprised to hear the American families who choose to adopt turn to Guatemala more than any other country, except for China. Many of those adoptions are perfectly legal, but the U.S. is now worried that Guatemalan women are being coerced to give up their babies for money. A government official tells us the industry is profit driven and completely unregulated.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHO (voice over): Meet 10-month-old Jorge Alberto, a doe-eyed baby from Guatemala. William and Maria Gonzalez-Slattery's ultimate gift.
MARIA GONZALEZ-SLATTERY, ADOPTIVE MOTHER: It was like Christmas and your birthdays all rolled up in one.
CHO: The Slatterlys adopted little Jorge because they couldn't have kids of their own. Last year more than 4,000 children from Guatemala were adopted in the United States, second only to china. Most of the adoptions are perfectly legal, but some are not.
THOMAS DIFILIPO, JOINT COUNCIL ON INT'L. CHILDRENS SERVICES: They skirt laws. They ignore laws.
CHO: A U.S. government official tells CNN the Guatemalan adoption industry, an $80 million a year business, is rife with abuse and driven by profit.
DIFILIPO: So you have situations in Guatemala where there are accusations that birth mothers have been induced, financially, to put their child up for adoption.
CHO: There are also reports of babies being sold by impostors posing as biological parents. Last month, Mary Bonn, a well-known adoption facilitator in Florida was charged with smuggling a baby girl from Guatemala into the United States. Bond pleaded not guilty.
MARY BONN, ADOPTION FACILITATOR: She's a baby. She deserved a chance.
CHO: That case prompted the U.S. State Department to issue a rare warning, strongly urging Americans to carefully consider their options before proceeding with adoptions in Guatemala. The Guatemalan government admits there is a problem and is working to fix it. Three out of four people live in poverty in Guatemala, a big reason why so many children are adopted.
JOSEFINA ARELLANO, ATTY. GEN. FOR MINORS & FAMILY: This child is going to really have a life outside of Guatemala, but a good life.
CHO: That's exactly why they're trying to adopt Jorge's biological sister, four-year-old Maritsa, but no one knows now if that adoption will ever happen.
SLATTERY: I would be a death. And more so worrying because you would never know what happened to this child, and what future that child would have. There would be no way of knowing. So for the rest of your life you would carry this with you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: One international adoption expert tells us the real tragedy is when these unethical practices come to light, it creates a negative atmosphere across all adoptions. And you don't have to be an expert know it is the children who suffer. Of course, Soledad, as you well know, there are so many children in need of homes and these American families are more than willing to take them in.
S. O'BRIEN: And the poverty is so entrenched. You can see women saying this may be the only way to some money.
CHO: That's right.
S. O'BRIEN: Even if they're being coerced. So, what is going to happen the Slatterlys? What are the chances that they'll be able to get that little four-year-old sister?
CHO: That's the big question. They call it an emotional roller coaster. The one day the paperwork is in order, the next day it's not. The short answer is, they're hopeful, but worried. The longer answer is that the State Department, as I mentioned in the piece, has issued this warning. But for now it says it is not considering an outright ban on Guatemalan adoptions.
S. O'BRIEN: Did they tell you how much they paid? I mean how much it cost them to adopt the baby?
CHO: Well, $20,000 for the son. It would be another $20,000 for the daughter, if they're able to get her. Of course, they're hopeful they are able to get her. The prices have gone up for adoptions in Guatemala, in recent years. And that has prompted the State Department to say -- ask the question, where is this money going? The answer is, nobody knows.
S. O'BRIEN: I would imagine it's not going to those mothers. Those poor mothers who are giving up their babies. Oh, so sad. Alina, great story, thank you.
Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: With gas prices and global warming concerns, ethanol is the silver bullet solution of the moment. The president is talking about it on his trip. The question is, will it change things for us at the pump? About 25 minutes past the hour, Ali Velshi has more on that.
Hello, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
The president was talking to Brazil's president about a deal. They announced some sort of deal on ethanol cooperation agreement. In fact, Brazil's president, Lula, described it as a new moment for the global car industry, a new moment for fuel, and a possibly a new moment for humanity.
M. O'BRIEN: Whoa. Holy moley.
VELSHI: That's serious stuff. Except we can't figure out exactly what this agreement is. There are no details about it. President Bush has had this push for bio-fuels made from corn or switch grass, or wood chips, things like that. But we're not really getting to that goal.
All the ethanol use in America is made from corn. Brazil makes it from sugar cane, except that there are big duties and taxes on Brazilian ethanol. So, this is not going to be about importing ethanol. It is not going to be about new plants and factories. It is basically a cooperation agreement.
The biggest benefit of which might be that Hugo Chavez is running around Latin America, bad mouthing the United States. So having Brazil, on side, might be a big political advantage. Absolutely no clarity as to what this deal is going to mean. There are no specifics about funding or plants so --
M. O'BRIEN: They're not going to get rid of those duties and tariffs because it protects the sugar industry in southern Florida.
VELSHI: Not for the moment.
M. O'BRIEN: That's the important distinction.
VELSHI: It also protects the corn industry if you can't continue to import ethanol, because that means corn growers get to keep seeing higher prices for corn.
M. O'BRIEN: Interesting. All right, Ali, see you in a little bit. Thank you.
Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, top stories of the morning are coming up next. Going to take a live look at some of the conditions right now in southern California. Are firefighters going to get any help from the weather this morning, as they try to get control of that huge wildfire?
President Bush's swinging through Latin America, there's an unusual protest waiting for him in Guatemala. We'll explain straight ahead.
And far from the border: A visit to a small town that may just be ground zero for America's immigration battle. That story straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome back. The most news in the morning is right here on CNN. Monday, March 12. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: I'm Miles O'Brien. Glad you're with us this morning.
Top stories right now, a wildfire burning south of Los Angeles, Orange County, is the location. Extreme heat, drought, windy; all the ingredients for a fire. They have a busy day there today.
S. O'BRIEN: Also, President Bush travels to Mexico today. We get a look at what it's like to cross the border illegally. It's the other side of the immigration crisis. We're going to show you.
M. O'BRIEN: And the attorney general under fire this morning. Increasing calls for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to go. We'll talk about that.
S. O'BRIEN: We begin in Guatemala though where the president is this morning. It's the latest stop in his five nation tour of Latin America. President, Mrs. Bush arrived last night. The president is going to talk free trade and also visit an ancient Mayan ruin. After he leaves there, though, Mayan spiritual leaders have vowed to stage a cleansing of the area to get rid of bad spirits. Reaction like that has been kind of par for the course for Mr. Bush on this trip. In Colombia the president was met by 1,500 protesters, some of whom threw rocks and charged a line of police in riot gear.
President Bush will move on to Mexico then. He'll be meeting with Mexico's president to talk about energy and drug trafficking and immigration and, of course, there's been raging and sometimes very bitter debate over immigration here in this country, but, believe it or not, there's a very similar debate in Mexico where some people say all the migration out of that country is destroying Mexico. I spent the weekend covering the story in and outside of Mexico City. Here's a look at what we found.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN (voice-over): The small village of (INAUDIBLE) is almost a ghost town. Two and a half hours west of Mexico City, its streets are empty, its only factory has closed. You could make enough money here to eat, locals say, but not enough to afford a home. Almost everyone has a relative. a brother, a father, an uncle who has crossed the border and is living illegally in the United States. That massive migration is why a group of Mexican Indians is hoping to keep jobs by creating a tourist attraction that turns illegal border crossing into entertainment. They say they're honoring the bravery of migrants. For about $20 a person, tourists can pretend it hide from the border patrol agents who arrest would-be immigrants. North of Mexico City, real would-be immigrants try to hop a train heading for the United States.
(on-camera): Giant cargo trains like this one run right through the heart of (INAUDIBLE) and it's a jumping off point of sorts for Mexicans and Hondurans and Guatemalans who are trying to get up north. What they can do is just hang on to one of these ladders like this, climb up on to the train and then ride along, for free, obviously, as this train heads up north. Clearly, it's very dangerous. Clearly it could be deadly and it's truly an indication of how desperate people are to risk everything to try to get out of their poverty.
One young woman who left Honduras and road the train into Mexico now lives along the tracks in (INAUDIBLE). She's out of money, she says and she's afraid to go any further. (END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: People will talk about some of the desperate situations that make them leave. We're going to bring you a special edition of AMERICAN MORNING live from Mexico City tomorrow as we look at the immigration crisis from that side of the border. That's right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
M. O'BRIEN: The fight over immigration finding its way into Federal court this morning. At issue, a law in one Pennsylvania town that cracks down on immigration. The question is, does it violate the constitution? CNN's Jim Acosta is here with the story of Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Hello, Jim.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Miles and Soledad. This is considered the first Federal trial that will test whether local communities can seek to outlaw undocumented workers. Towns and cities grappling with the sometimes overwhelming costs of illegal immigration across the country are watching this case closely.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): Hazleton, Pennsylvania, a small town of just 30,000 people just might be America's most important battleground in the fight over illegal immigration. It's home to one of the country's toughest ordinances on undocumented workers and local Hispanic groups are demanding the law be tossed out.
ANNA ARIAS, COUNCIL ON LATINO AFFAIRS: Something that has as we all know has created divisions and has created racism, has opened the door to hatred.
ACOSTA: That measure will be challenged in Federal court today in a case brought by civil rights groups and the ACLU which says the Hazleton law discriminates on the basis of race.
FOREST MAER, PUERTO RICAN LEGAL DEFENSE FUND: Immigration policy is something that should be set up, established and operated by the Federal government, not by every little town in Pennsylvania and across the country.
ACOSTA: Last year, Hazleton passed what's called the illegal immigration relief act, imposing stiff fines on businesses and landlords who hire or shelter undocumented workers. Cities across the country have since passed similar laws. Hazleton's mayor says the measure is necessary to preserve his small town's quality of life.
MAYOR LOU BARLETTA, HAZLETON, PA: I have been accused of being racist, intolerant and unfair. But let me repeat what I have been saying all along. Illegal is illegal.
ACOSTA: Since the law was passed, Mayor Lou Barletta estimates half of Hazleton's Hispanic population has moved out of town. That's made it hard for some local stores that rely on newcomers to stay in business.
JOSE LACHUGA, STORE OWNER: We feel in our pockets we don't make no money.
ACOSTA: But many of the mayor's supporters say it's about upholding the law.
ED RODRIGUEZ, HAZLETON, PA RESIDENT: I'm not against people coming in this country, but to come in this country legally, not illegally.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And towns and cities backing these ordinances say they're simply doing what Washington can't or won't do.
M. O'BRIEN: You touched on it there. It's obviously a town divided. It's obviously had a tremendous impact on the economy. Even the people who are in favor of this law, they're concerned about what it's going to do to the economy there.
ACOSTA: They are concerned. And as the mayor pointed out, half of the Hispanics living in this town legal or illegal have already moved out and businesses that cater to that community say they're closing down and the store owners themselves say they can't afford to pay their bills. This is having an impact on the community and the law really hasn't even taken effect because an injunction now is placed on this law by the judge has prevented this law from actually being felt by the community. But in practical purposes, for practical purposes, it is having an impact already.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Jim Acosta, thank you very much.
The outrage over that green card raid in Massachusetts not diminishing. This morning Congress planning to weigh in with some hearings. Federal immigration officers raided the leather factory in New Bedford last week. They arrested 361 illegal immigrants. That sparked controversy because children who were born in the U.S. were stranded after their parents were flown to Texas for processing and remain in detention.
S. O'BRIEN: Here's some stories happening this morning. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel could announce he is running for president, could happen at a news conference he is holding in Omaha this morning. Hagel of course is a Vietnam vet. He's also been an outspoken critic of the war in Iraq. Polls show that one third of the Republican primary voters are also against the war.
And don't get your hopes up, that is the word from UN's chief nuclear inspector ahead of his trip to North Korea. Mohammad el Baradi (ph) is trying to downplay expectations that his presence will signal a rapid disarmament by Pyongyang. Kim Jong Il's government has agreed to give up nukes in exchange for economic and political concessions.
A United Nations human rights mission says the government of Sudan orchestrated what's been called genocide against the people of Darfur. The mission wasn't allowed in the region. The Sudanese refused them entry visas. Since 2003, it's estimated that 200,000 people have been killed and 2.5 million people have been driven out of their homes in Darfur.
M. O'BRIEN: Heat and wind and low humidity a very big concern for firefighters in southern California right now. Chad Myers up next with the forecast for them and for you.
And Alberto Gonzales under fire. He's fired eight U.S. attorneys and allegations of abuse of the patriot act. Are his days numbered?
And a stolen baby is found alive. What's next for the woman who police say took her? You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: The most news in the morning is right here on CNN. Eight hundred firefighters are battling a wildfire happening south of Los Angeles this morning. Five hundred homes had to be evacuated.
And gas prices are up 20 cents a gallon in just the last two weeks. The national average for regular is $2.54 a gallon. Miles?
M. O'BRIEN: This morning the attorney general of the United States, Alberto Gonzales is facing more calls for his resignation. A pair of leading Senate Democrats say he should go after that summary firing of eight U.S. attorneys, allegedly a political vendetta in most of those cases and then word the FBI abused the patriot act and improperly looked at the records of U.S. citizens. New York Senator Charles Schumer telling CBS, it's time for Gonzales to go.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D) NEW YORK: This department has been so political that I think for the sake of the nation, Attorney General Gonzales should step down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: So, are Gonzales' days numbered? Savannah Guthrie from Court TV is right here with us to talk about it. Savannah, good to see you in person this morning. Schumer went on to say he feels Gonzales is still acting as if he is the president's attorney. He was the White House counsel before becoming attorney general. Would you go along with that?
SAVANNAH GUTHRIE, COURT TV: I wouldn't personally, because I obviously want to not take a stand on it, but there's no question that many people in Congress feel that Gonzales is too politicized, that he's not taking his role as a prosecutor seriously in the sense of not looking at the higher purpose here, law, justice, upholding the provisions of law but rather still acting as though he is an advocate inside the White House.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's talk first of all about the allegations about the patriot act that the FBI perhaps out of shoddiness but nevertheless shoddy record keeping was looking at peoples' private records in this country without the proper authority. The head of the FBI, Robert Mueller said, the buck stops here. He takes responsibility. With the chain of command and given the fact that Gonzalez is a big supporter of the patriot act from way back when, do you think that passes muster?
GUTHRIE: Well, Mueller has to take responsibility, but so does Gonzalez. I mean he's the head of the Department of Justice. The FBI is part of that. It's got to follow his feet and it is following at his feet. Many people in Congress and not just the usual suspects, not just Democrats, not even the Republicans who are often quick to criticize Gonzalez like Senators Specter, but other Republicans are coming out and saying this is unacceptable. Congressman Sensenbrenner, who is the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said he was shocked by these allegations and so there's no question that Gonzales has to take responsibility for this and he has.
M. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about the firing of all those U.S. attorneys. The allegation is that they were going soft on Democrats, not doing, you know, enough to pursue certain political, potential political crimes. Gonzales response to it was this. He said this in an op-ed piece in "USA Today" last week. I hope that this episode ultimately will be recognized for what is, an overblown personnel matter. That statement got him in even more trouble, didn't it?
GUTHRIE: It did and I was at that hearing where Senator Specter, a Republican, was really incensed by the way Gonzales portrayed this as, hey, nothing to see here. It's just an overblown personnel matter. Just move along here. And there's no question that the rationales for firing these U.S. attorneys keeps shifting and that's what is getting a lot of eyebrows raised in Congress. So Gonzales had to come the very next day and meet with Senator Leahy, the head of the Judiciary Committee, meet with Senator Specter and back track and say, OK, mea culpa, you can talk to these Justice officials you want to, you don't have to subpoena them. They'll come in voluntarily. He's not going to oppose changes in the patriot act that would restore the status quo on how you put U.S. attorneys into office. So, they've had to beat a retreat on that.
M. O'BRIEN: Final thing, sort of a capper on all of this. We find out that they lost an important tape of Jose Padilla, accused of terrorism as part of his interrogation. It kind of looks like the Keystone Cops at the Justice Department.
GUTHRIE: This was the problem. It was just the final icing on the cake at the end of the week to hear a key piece of evidence is lost in this important prosecution.
M. O'BRIEN: They don't make dubs?
GUTHRIE: I don't know, but defense attorneys are going to have a field day with that.
M. O'BRIEN: Court TV's Savannah Guthrie, thanks very much.
GUTHRIE: Sure.
M. O'BRIEN: Soledad. S. O'BRIEN: Forty five minutes past the hour. Let's get right to Chad Myers who is watching some extreme temperatures and some extreme weather for us, too. Hey, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Soledad. Extreme temperatures yesterday and again today out west. They had extreme wind as well yesterday, not so much today, six and seven there miles per hour at least right now. As the day warms up, so will the air and so will the wind begin to heat as well. A mild day in the east, absolutely delightful in the east, but look at what's going on today. These are the forecasts for today, Los Angeles, it's going to get to 93. Your old record was 86. You'll break that this afternoon, Long Beach breaking a record and Santa Barbara beating its old record by 12 degrees. Yes, there's some hot weather out there and it's going to remain out there for today and tomorrow. There's not going to be quite as much wind, though.
There was wind through Houston and wind damage has been reported and a tornado warning earlier; it's expired, but we don't know if there was any tornado damage. We do know that there are power lines down, that there are winds, damage now with nothing to confirm that it was a tornado, just some trees on power lines. That just happens, even with a 60 mile per hours wind. Toward Baytown, we're seeing the storms now all the way down towards Texas City and Galveston you're about 15 minutes away, maybe even less than that. Batten down the hatches there. Back to you guys.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, thanks Chad. We're going to go live to southern California coming up and hear from a homeowner in the thick of the wildfire in Orange County. He took these incredible pictures and described what it was like to see that fire so close to home.
Also a kidnapped newborn baby girl reunited with her family this morning. We'll tell you what's in store for the women accused of snatching her from the hospital. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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M. O'BRIEN: Happening in America, five-day-old Mychael Dawodu is back with her parents this morning while the woman accused of kidnapping her goes to court later today. Twenty year old Rayshaun Parson (ph) allegedly kidnapped the baby from a Lubbock, Texas, hospital taking her 100 miles to Clovis, New Mexico. Police say hospital surveillance tape shows Parson walking out with the baby in a shoulder bag. There you see it, the baby in that bag, imagine that. She could face kidnapping charges.
Police investigating what appears to be a suicide. Richard Jeni (ph), the comedian, 45 years old died on Saturday. A woman claiming to be his girlfriend told the Los Angeles police department he shot himself. Jeni was a popular standup comedian. One time he appeared regularly on "The Tonight Show."
Another chopper crash investigation this morning in Hawaii. The chopper went down yesterday on the island of Kauai, killing one, seriously injured three others. It is the second tour chopper to crash there in four days. The pilot was unhurt. He's telling investigators he heard a loud bang before he lost control.
S. O'BRIEN: Some health headlines to tell you about this morning. There's some promising results from stem cell research, human stem cells taken from both embryos and fetuses delayed a fatal brain and nerve disease in mice. The study is published in the "Journal of Nature (ph) Medicine." Doctors hope to some day use that research to treat Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease and Lou Gherig's (ph) disease.
If you think your teenager is moody this morning, turns out it could be his or her hormones. Scientists at the State University of New York downstate medical center have been studying the hormone THP in female mice. When stressed out, the body produces the hormone. The hormone calms adults and little children, but has the opposite effect on teenagers. Scientists say if the same thing happens in people that they've seen in mice, it might explain why teenagers are fine one second and then crying the next.
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota have found that cell phones actually don't interfere with medical equipment in hospitals. Most hospitals don't let you use your cell phone inside, but researchers say their tests show that a ban isn't necessary. That's the good news. The bad news is that actually researchers found that a portable CD player can cause an abnormal reading or electrocardiograph blip. At least two reports suggest that anti-theft devices set up in store doors cause pacemakers and defibrillators to malfunction, too.
M. O'BRIEN: Hot dry weather, massive wall of flame. It's a recipe for disaster in southern California this morning. The latest on the fight against a furious wildfire is coming up.
And President Bush facing tough crowds in a very unusual protest today in Guatemala. That's coming up in our next hour. You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning right here.
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M. O'BRIEN: Well, if you own a Dodge Durango or a Jeep liberty, you better listen up. They're prone to electrical fires and now Chrysler is issuing a big recall. About five minutes before the top of the hour. Ali Velshi, as if Chrysler needed any more bad news.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Honestly Miles. Chrysler has been having all sorts of problems. We've not been able to focus on them in the last couple of years because it's been Ford and GM. But Chrysler now rumored to be looking for a buyer for its Chrysler unit and now this recall. A lot of car recalls, this one 500,000 vehicles. In the Dodge Durango, the 2004 to 2006 models, electrical overloads on the driver-side instrument panel which is below the dash board could heat up and cause a fire. They've had about 66 reports of fires in those cars and on the Jeep Liberty, they've got a problem in the heating and air conditioning, the blower motor which could overheat and also cause fires. We're talking about 325,000 Durango's being recalled, 150,000 Jeep Liberties. If you've got one of those, take it into the dealer. They'll fix it for you immediately and we'll keep you posted on that, but that's a pretty big and a pretty important reason. Cars get recalled for a lot of reasons that could be safety issues; fire is definitely a safety issue. Soledad?
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Ali, thank you very much.
Some of the top stories in the morning are coming up, the most popular now on cnn.com though. This one, Bush additional troops will serve support roles. President Bush says he wants to send at least 4400 more troops into Iraq in addition to the 21,500 he's already sending. The president said the additional troops will be used in support roles. About half will be military police. On Friday the president asked Congress for $3.2 billion for those troops, urging Congress to approve the money with no strings attached. Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: for the "Los Angeles Times," fallback strategy for Iraq, train locals (ph) drawdown forces. The report says a back-up plan is already in the works, just in case President Bush's troop buildup doesn't work. The Pentagon working on contingency plans calling for a gradual troop withdrawal and using advisors to guide Iraqi troops. This is similar to U.S. actions in El Salvador during the '80s according to the piece.
S. O'BRIEN: Coming up to the top of the hour, we want to check in with Chad Myers who's watching a couple of stories, big stories for us at the CNN weather center. Hot temperatures and a storm in Houston, Chad. Which do you want to start with?
MYERS: I'll start with the hot temperatures. Then we'll get to Houston because that storm has passed now. Fullerton, California, broke a record on Sunday of 97 degrees. Their old record was 84. They broke it by 13 degrees. Anaheim was 95, Riverside 95. The problem yesterday, this heat not only came with low humidities, but also with a bunch of wind. Today it will not be as windy there in southern California. Right now winds are six, eight miles per hour coming across the valleys and through the canyons, could pick up to about 20 miles per hour later today. Here's the weather you're talking about, now moving right into Galveston. It is lifted and pushed to the east of Houston, although it is still raining in Houston and a treacherous drive there this morning. A lot of roadways are flooded and the airports are slow. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
M. O'BRIEN: Unfriendly fire, brush fires explode in southern California. Hundreds of homes evacuated, more record heat and low humidity today.
M. O'BRIEN: It's a rough trip for President Bush in Guatemala today. Mayan priests plan a special ceremony to oppose his visit.
M. O'BRIEN: Heartland hopeful, Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel may run for president today, but do his own neighbors support him? Those stories ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning, welcome everybody, Monday, March 12. I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien. We're glad you're with us this morning. We begin in southern California where record heat, strong winds and low humidity could make for another long day of raging wildfires. It's happening in Orange County. So far more than 2000 acres charred, 500 homes were evacuated at one point yesterday. Some of those people are allowed to return home this morning. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is at the fire command center in Irvine, California. Thelma, what's the latest?
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Miles I can tell you that the good news is that no homes are currently threatened at the moment. Of course, all of that could change if the winds kick up. Right now we still have a red flag warning in place and residents are hoping that the flames don't come their way, like they did yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Sunday afternoon, flames raged through tinder dry brush up steep hillsides towards homes in the Anaheim Hills charring more than 2,000 acres. It was a fast-moving blaze fueled by high winds and intense heat with temperatures spiking up to the mid 90s.
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