Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Defending Gonzales: White House Under Pressure; Campaigning After the Tragedy

Aired April 20, 2007 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): The hot seat.

ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: I do not recall.

I don't recall.

I don't recall.

I don't recall.

I don't recall.

I don't recall exactly when I made the decision.

CHETRY: Attorney General Alberto Gonzales could be fighting for his job this morning. Even Republicans calling him out.

SEN. TOM COBURN (R), OKLAHOMA: I believe the best way to put this behind us is your resignation.

CHETRY: Will President Bush offer support?

DANA PERINO, DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president has full confidence in him.

CHETRY: There are whispers of concern at the White House on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHETRY: And good morning. We are so glad you're with us on this Friday. It's April 20th.

I'm Kiran Chetry, here in New York.

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Roberts, here in Washington. Thanks very much for joining us this morning.

Got a lot of stories on the radar here.

Al Gonzales under fire. How long is he going to last at the White House after what some people described as an episode yesterday before the Senate Judiciary Committee that was just absolutely brutal, like clubbing a baby seal. Also, get this, just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, is Al Gore going to jump into the presidential race, Kiran? Bill Clinton last night on "LARRY KING LIVE" said, "I wouldn't be surprised if he does."

CHETRY: How about you? You're down there in D.C. What's the buzz?

ROBERTS: Well, you know, there's been a lot of buzz ever since he went up there at the Academy Awards, and, you know, he's suddenly become the hero of the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. And everybody is saying the thing to watch here is the waistline. He starts to work out again, he starts to run again, losing a little bit of weight, he's going to jump back in.

CHETRY: All right. Maybe he'll jump on Sanjay Gupta's bus, you know, and get going.

ROBERTS: Maybe he'll jump on his treadmill.

CHETRY: Exactly.

ROBERTS: Or maybe he'll start chasing after your daughter, anything to lose weight.

CHETRY: He's welcome any time. Sure.

Meantime, there's been quite a backlash within the Korean community. A lot of people speaking out about that after what happened at Virginia Tech and the knowledge that the shooter turned out to be a Korean-American. It's a very proud community, also a community, though, that's reacting with shock and shame this morning. And our Alina Cho is going to have more for us about that.

Also, everyone is racking their brains, could there have been something, a better warning system in place how to avoid another situation like the horrible situation that happened at Virginia Tech? And there's talk about cell phones and warning systems that could work in schools. And we're going to take a look at that and also some other places that are currently doing it -- John.

ROBERTS: All right. Thanks.

We begin this morning with Alberto Gonzales clinging to his job. How thick is the thread that he's hanging on to?

The White House deputy press secretary, Dana Perino, telling us already this morning he still has the full support of the president. The attorney general's testimony on the Hill under relentless attack from both parties over those fired U.S. attorneys.

CNN's Elaine Quijano live at the White House for us this morning.

Elaine, just go a little more into detail about what Dana Perino was telling us this morning and what the official White House reaction is, and what people are saying behind the scenes. ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, certainly two different things publicly and privately that we are hearing, John. Publicly, the White House is insisting, of course, that it is satisfied with the attorney general's performance, but privately there is deep disappointment inside the West Wing. We heard the official response from Dana Perino, as you mentioned, just a short time ago on AMERICAN MORNING.

Let's take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA PERINO, DEPUTY WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president has full confidence in Attorney General Gonzales. They spoke yesterday after the president returned from Ohio, and the president was very pleased that the testimony was finally given and that the attorney general was forthcoming and honest with the members. Obviously, there are some members who disagree and they don't want him to be the attorney general of the United States, but the president has full confidence in him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, privately, though, sources involved in discussions with the administration say that two senior aides describe the Gonzales testimony as "going down in flames". One source calling it "troubling". And a prominent Republican described watching that testimony as akin to seeing someone club a baby seal.

But the bottom line, as you know, John, echoed by one Justice Department official who says, look, ultimately, the future of Alberto Gonzales hangs on one person, President Bush himself -- John.

ROBERTS: But, you know, the president can only resist pressure from the party for so long, Elaine. Tom Coburn came out, a conservative Republican from Oklahoma, yesterday, saying, I think it's time to step down. But it's no secret that conservative Republicans have not really embraced Alberto Gonzales.

Arlen Specter, who's the ranking on the committee, also had some fairly harsh words. Let's take a quick listen .

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA), RANKING MEMBER, JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: His ability to manage the department has been severely undercut by the way he has handled these resignations and by the way he has handled his news conferences, his press statements and his testimony before the committee.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So, not an overt call there for his resignation, but if the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee is saying this guy doesn't have a whole lot of credibility left, how long can he last? QUIJANO: Yes, that's certainly a blow. You know, I asked a Bush aide this morning, was he disappointed or surprised at all that more Republicans didn't come to Alberto Gonzales' defense? And this official said, look, it's not surprising.

This is, after all, Washington. That's the way Washington works. This official though not denying that there was disappointment inside the White House.

And it's interesting to note, though, at the same time, you're talking about almost a month now since President Bush in Mexico said, look, the attorney general has some work to do. How the president judges whether or not Alberto Gonzales did the job remains to be seen, whether or not he listens to these voices or maintains his own counsel. And as you talked about last hour, has that loyalty that we know about sort of come through.

So, we'll just wait to see how this plays out in the next couple days, but certainly the chorus of voices now certainly growing, Alberto Gonzales' critics on the Hill.

ROBERTS: Yes. The president and Gonzales have been together for an awfully long time. And I said way back in this controversy that he's going to have to do something really horrible for the president to throw him overboard, but maybe he's close.

Elaine, thanks very much. Appreciate it. All right.

Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, New Jersey governor Jon Corzine, we want to update you on his condition.

He's still on a ventilator this morning. The hospital though says he's breathing more and more on his own.

The governor was seriously hurt in a crash last week. He was a passenger in an SUV that was going 91 miles an hour when it crashed. Corzine broke a thigh bone, 11 ribs, his breast bone and collar bone. He was not wearing his seat belt.

And today, Virginia observes an official day of mourning four days after the shootings at Virginia Tech. Texas, Massachusetts, and West Virginia all doing the same. But on the Blacksburg campus, Virginia Tech alumni organized what they're calling Hokie Hope Day.

There's live look there on the field, drill field, with the makeshift memorial and the flowers and the messages up. People coming by to look at it. Everyone asked to wear the school colors, orange and maroon.

And there are nine of the Virginia Tech victims still in the hospital, still in hospitals this morning. Three of them were released yesterday, and others got an unexpected morale boost.

The Hokies marching band appeared outside of Montgomery Regional Hospital -- that's where a lot of the wounded were being treated -- to play the school's fight song, which is "Tech Triumph".

So, as we said, John, wow, just a huge treat. And you can see some of the people looking and smiling out of the windows there, and it really does speak to the Hokie spirit that they talk about, that we heard them talk about when we were down there for those past few days.

ROBERTS: Absolutely. That's a real community down there, Kiran, as you know from being down there. And so nice for the marching band to come by and play a little bit, lift the spirits of those people still in the hospital.

Hey, the presidential candidates are ready to emerge after a quiet week on the campaign trail. Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton is scheduled to make a postponed address at Rutgers University today.

And that's where we find CNN's Mary Snow.

Mary, all of the candidates are taking some of this course after the tragedy at Virginia Tech. What can you tell us about that?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, certainly there was a pause in political campaigns this week following Monday's shooting.

Senator Clinton will be here later this morning. She initially accepted the invitation to speak here during the height of the Don Imus controversy, when he made those offensive comments about the women's basketball team here at Rutgers.

Now, a storm last weekend postponed the event. Today, Senator Clinton, like other presidential candidates, are walking carefully back on to the campaign trail.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW (voice over): As the news of the mass killings at Virginia Tech spread across the nation, the campaign trail went dark. Most of the candidates canceled their campaign events for Monday night and Tuesday.

JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't believe this is the right time, speaking for myself, for politics.

SNOW: Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards did turn a Monday afternoon campaign stop into an event of healing for those killed at Virginia Tech. And nearly all of the candidates either put out statements or spoke from the heart.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I can only imagine what it must be like for parents right now who probably still can't get in touch with their kids from all over the country. And we pray for them.

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Presidential candidates had no choice but to hit the pause button on their campaigns. It would have been unseemly to do otherwise. SNOW: Campaigning resumed on Wednesday, but it wasn't politics as usual. Gun control, which hasn't been an issue out on the trail, suddenly became a topic of discussion.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I do not believe that we should tamper with the Second Amendment of the United States -- the Constitution of the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

MCCAIN: I think -- I think we should...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think George Washington stood for automatic weapons?

MCCAIN: I think that -- I think that -- I think that George Washington stood for the right of people to bear arms, which is the -- which is their constitutional right.

SNOW: And the massacre at Virginia Tech wasn't far from the candidates' minds.

RUDY GIULIANI (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We must determine, how do we make our schools safer? How do we do a better job of detecting the wrong signs and the warning signs earlier?

SNOW: Now, though, the candidates return to connecting with voters and raising cash. And for Hillary Clinton, a big plug from her husband.

WILLIAM JEFFERSON CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe she would be the best president by a good, long stretch, for all kinds of obvious reasons. At least they're obvious to me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SNOW: And on "LARRY KING LIVE" last night, President Clinton was asked about his wife's Democratic rivals. He calls them gifted, saying that they deserve to be seriously listened to. And he added that there's always the prospect of vice president Al Gore still running for president in '08 -- John.

ROBERTS: You know, I wonder how real that really is. Kiran and I were just talking about that, and the conventional wisdom, Mary, is watch the waistline. Have we seen anything about Al Gore that might suggest that he's getting ready for a run?

SNOW: You know, it's so true. You hear so much about, if he goes on a diet, that could be the sign that he'll step into the presidential campaign. But, so far we haven't -- we haven't monitored his waistline so far.

ROBERTS: Well, I'll tell you, the polls that we've had recently show that if he does jump into the race, he instantly jumps into the number three position. So maybe it's sort of intriguing for him to think about that. SNOW: It really is. And as you said, time and time again, his name surfaces, and in all these polls, he has a rather respectable standing for somebody who isn't even in this race.

ROBERTS: Well, perhaps one of these days.

Mary, thanks very much -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Thanks so much, John.

And coming up, did the media give the Virginia Tech madman exactly what he wanted by airing his final words? We're going to take a closer look at that debate.

Plus, Alec Baldwin in a rage and angry. Leaked voicemail ended up in the tabloid press. Well, it's something that you have to hear to believe. And we're also going to talk to somebody at that site that posted it, get some more details, maybe some context.

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING. The most news in the morning is here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Well, Earth Day is this weekend. Carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. and which many scientists are blaming for the globbing warming, they've doubled since 1960.

Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business" with an idea that's downright dirty?

I have to hear this one.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is good. There's a very sophisticated market developing, the trade in something called carbon offset credit.

It allows companies who pollute to basically buy their way out of their sins. Now, some people think it is a good idea. Others think it's a lot of bull.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI (voice over): This might not look like a clean energy project...

ALFRED WANNER, PENNSYLVANIA FARMER We're probably generating about 5,000 gallons a day.

VELSHI: ... but Alfred Wanner's dairy farm is producing much more than this.

WANNER: They pump from here to the digester tank.

VELSHI: When the tank is heated up, the manure's byproduct, methane gas, gets converted into carbon-free, clean electricity. Enough to power the farm and then some.

WANNER: If we can find people that are willing to partner with us and pay us for doing that, it's a win-win situation for everybody.

VELSHI: It's a growing market. Individuals and corporations like Ford, Intel and Eastman Kodak are buying what are called carbon offsets.

It's like a voucher. You invest in clean energy projects like the Wanner farm, or a wind farm, or a solar energy project, and you get credit that offsets your company's emissions. Some call that green-washing, a cheap fix that doesn't actually solve the underlying problem.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can't lose weight cheaply. It's going to be some pain in order to get bad behavior to become good behavior. This should be no different.

VELSHI: About 15 state are headed towards some form of emission regulation. California will be the first. The proposed laws could create a system that allows companies to buy these carbon offsets if they can't cut back enough.

Carbon credit traders are banking on it becoming a reality.

JOSH MARGOLIS, CANTOR CO2E: They're waiting for the uncertainty to be removed. Then you're going to have to pay a lot more if you're a buyer.

VELSHI: One carbon offset credit balances out about a metric ton of pollution. That's about a year's worth of emission from 216,000 cars. Not bad for $4 a piece. That's the going rate for one carbon offset.

And so far, it's a good deal for Alfred Wanner. He's turning manure into a pile of cash.

WANNER: It's not lucrative, but about as good as it can be at this time. It's worth going after.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELSHI: This is an idea in its infancy, but people are buying these carbon offset credits. And right now there are several bills in Congress and across the nation in state legislatures with plans for carbon credit trading.

So, this could become a big deal. It's kind of like buying land where you think there's going to be development. Companies are getting into it.

CHETRY: And is it all similar to in some areas they try to do -- if you cut down a tree, you plant a new one and try to make up for it?

VELSHI: It's exactly the same idea. You can do it on an individual level or a corporate level. It's the idea that you're paying or you're making up for your pollution and your sins.

CHETRY: All right. Interesting concept.

VELSHI: Yes. Hope it grows.

CHETRY: Yes, exactly.

Well, we're going to be talking more about that, by the way, in two specials that are taking place this weekend.

VELSHI: Right. And "IN THE MONEY" on Saturday at 1:00 and Sunday at 3:00 p.m. we'll do be doing a lot on Earth Day and the climate. So...

CHETRY: Cool. All right. We'll be watching. Thanks, Ali.

And it is the tape that everyone is talking about today, for sure. Actor Alec Baldwin lashing out at his young daughter, leaving a tirade of threats and insults on her voicemail.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: I'm going to let you know just how I feel about what a rude little pig you really are. You are a rude, thoughtless little pig.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, the Web site tmz.com got the copy of that recording. They're the ones that made it public.

TMZ's editor, Harvey Levin, joins us live now from Los Angeles.

Thanks for being with us this morning, Harvey.

HARVEY LEVIN, MANAGING EDITOR, "TMZ": Sure, Kiran.

CHETRY: First of all, how did you guys verify it was actually Alec Baldwin? How did you know?

LEVIN: Well, we did. I mean, you know, it was iron clad. I mean, I'm not going to talk about how we obtained the tape -- we did it legally -- but we knew 100 percent that it was.

CHETRY: All right. Well, let's listen to a little more of the tape. We're actually going to run it, and then we're going to talk more about -- talk to you more about it.

Let's listen.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

BALDWIN: I'm tired of playing this game with you. I'm leaving this message with you to tell you, you have insulted me for the last time. You have insulted me.

You don't have the brains or the decency as a human being. I don't give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) that you're 12 years old, or 11 years old, or that you're a child, or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) who doesn't care about what you do, as far as I'm concerned.

You have humiliated me for the last time with this phone. This (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you pull on me with this (EXPLETIVE DELETED) phone situation that you would never dream of doing to your mother, and you do it to me constantly. And over and over again.

I am going to get on a plane, or I am going to come out there for the day, and I'm going to straighten your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out when I see you. Do you understand me?

I am going to really make sure you get it. Then I'm going to get on a plane and I'm going to turn around, and I'm going to come home. So you'd better be ready Friday, the 20th, to meet with me, because I'm going to let you know just how you feel about what a rude little pig you really are.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CHETRY: Harvey, why did you guys decide to put this on your site?

LEVIN: Well, look, I'm not going to, again, tell you how I got it, but...

CHETRY: I didn't ask that. I said why did you put it on the site?

LEVIN: I'm saying, I can tell you, A, we got it legally, and B, I have reason to believe Ireland wanted it out there. And that, you know, this is a kind of war of the Roses on steroids. And basically, you know, she's been caught in the middle of an impossible situation for years now.

CHETRY: You're talking about the 11-year-old daughter of both of them. Maybe she wanted it out there, but isn't it cruel to drag this small child through the mud? Because every single one of her classmates now has heard that, too.

LEVIN: Well, like I say, I have reason to believe that Ireland had absolutely no problem with this tape going public.

Sometimes when things like this happen -- and I've seen this a lot covering Hollywood divorces, and this is about the nastiest one I've seen -- but, you know, sometimes when things get so bad, so public, so embarrassing, you know, people will back off and it will be like having cold water thrown at them. And my guess is that things probably will calm down as a result of this.

CHETRY: And a quick question. Any -- you guys hear anything more from Alec Baldwin? Has he issued an apology?

LEVIN: Well, Alec Baldwin, you know, one of his friends actually called me last night and said that after he left that message he had called Ireland, he apologized for what he had done to her. And, you know, again, this is a situation where, you know, Alec Baldwin has really had this explosive temper in this relationship.

His feeling was Kim Basinger was keeping Ireland from him and alienating him. And it's just been spiraling and spiraling and spiraling with this kid caught in the middle.

So, you know, as of now, the judge heard this tape this week, who is hearing the ongoing custody battle, and basically said to Baldwin, I am ordering that you have no contact with this kid until we have a full hearing on May 4th. And theoretically, the judge could strip him of visitation rights. So it's pretty serious.

CHETRY: But, apparently she could also get into some trouble if it was indeed her and her lawyer who leaked it, because there is supposedly supposed to be a sealing of material by court order.

LEVIN: Yes. And again, I'm not getting into it on how, but I will just reiterate we got it legally.

CHETRY: All right. And you should know, because you're a legal analyst, as well as a producer, investigative reporter, and the managing editor of tmz.com.

Harvey Levin, thanks for being with us.

LEVIN: My pleasure.

CHETRY: John.

ROBERTS: Hey, Kiran, I'm not going to tell you how I got it. All right?

CHETRY: How you got what, the highlighter?

ROBERTS: No, the tape.

Harvey, we're asking you why you're doing these things, not how you got it.

Hey, thanks. That was good. Enjoyed that.

We heard it all week on the campus of Virginia Tech, if only students had been warned in time about the first shooting, getting the word out right away. It turns out that there is a way, a kind of instant 911 straight to the student.

We'll show you how that works. And were the media wrong to show the video that Cho Seung-Hui sent to NBC? A lot of backlash and soul-searching going on this morning.

That debate straight ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Good morning to you. It's Friday, April 20th. A beautiful shot of the Capitol dome in Washington, and guess what? Spring weather finally arrived here in Washington, D. C. All up and down the east coast, in fact today it's going to will be a really nice day.

I'm John Roberts. Good morning.

CHETRY: I'm Kiran Chetry, here in New York. I was just thinking there is not a cloud in the sky except probably the cloud of hairspray that was over your head your morning before we started. Other than that, blue skies.

ROBERTS: Yes, it's just beautiful. And it's so welcome, too, because it's just been such a cruddy spring, and everybody has been so frustrated, wondering when the next temperatures are going to get here.

Unfortunately, got some bad weather out in the West. Lots of stories on our radar for you this morning. Al Gonzales under fire. We've been saying this morning one Republican described his appearance before the Judiciary Committee yesterday as like watching a baby seal being clubbed. New calls for his resignation. How long does he got to survive?

Kiran?

CHETRY: Yes, and also, speaking of being under fire, the media under fire for showing the pictures, and videos. We saw it all day yesterday on all of the networks and cable channels, and there is a bit of a backlash. There are people that are very upset by that. Is it fair? And what went into those decisions that were made in every newsroom yesterday and on Tuesday and Wednesday around the country, about whether or not to air them? So we're going to talk to media critic Howard Kurtz about that.

ROBERTS: Also a lot of concern about what was the security level like on the Virginia Tech campus? Was the alert system working well enough? Should the alert system be more comprehensive? Jacki Schechner is going to introduce us to a relatively recent technology that wouldn't send an alert to your e-mail; it would sent an alert to your cell phone. And I don't know a student at a university who doesn't carry one of these around with him. CHETRY: Yes, good point, absolutely. And also we couldn't have missed the pictures from the devastating flooding that took place last week, especially hardest-hit nothing New Jersey and parts of New York. There's a look right now, and I believe that -- where is this? Yes, OK, it's in Patterson, New Jersey, a town that notoriously has to deal with these types of issues with flooding. Are you covered? How do you get insurance? How do you get your house back together if you are somebody who went through this?

Gerri Willis is going to tell us. She has advice on everything you need to know about getting your home back in shape and also insuring your home and preventing against future damage. I know, what a mess. Patterson is a city that is always hit hard because of the low-lying areas there.

ROBERTS: Yes, I used to live just a little bit northwest of Patterson in Ridgewood, and that whole area of northern New Jersey really does get hit hard by flooding.

CHETRY: Speaking of hit hard, the trials of Alberto Gonzales this morning. He still has the support of one man that counts -- President Bush backed Gonzales in a public statement after his long- time aide and confidant was grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee, five hours of questions about the firings of eight federal prosecutors with the ranking Republican leading the charge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (D), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: Were you prepared for the press conference where you said there weren't any discussions involving you?

ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTY. GEN.: Senator, I've already said that I misspoke; it was my mistake.

SPECTER: I am asking you if you were prepared. You interjected that you were always prepared. Were you prepared for that press conference?

GONZALES: Senator, I didn't say that I was always prepared; I said I prepared for every hearing.

I do not recall what I knew about Mr. Bogden (ph).

I don't recall any descent.

I don't recall remembering.

I don't recall the reason.

I don't recall specifically the genesis of the idea.

I don't recall -- I don't recall exactly when -- I made the decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROBERTS: When his chief of staff testified, Kyle Sampson, he said I don't recall 122 times. For Gonzales the count was 64. He testified he didn't recall 64 times. Senator Specter hasn't directly said that he should go, but conservative Republican Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma told Gonzales, flat out, time to step down.

The White House also responding to Democratic Seantor Harry Reid's comments about the war in Iraq. He says, it's lost. In the last hour here on AMERICAN MORNING, Deputy White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said she was shocked by those comments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA PERINO, DEP. WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECY.: His comments about the war being lost are in direct conflict with what commanders on the ground are saying, and General Petraeus yesterday in his express opinion that we've got a lot of work to do, but we're starting to see some signs of hope with the Baghdad security plan. So it makes you wonder if this is his true feeling, that he believes the war is lost, then is he going to have the courage of his convictions and be willing to suffer the consequences and actually defund the war?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Democrats are insisting that a timeline for troop withdrawal go along with war funding. President Bush says he'll veto that bill -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Well, today Virginia observes an official day of mourning four days after the shootings at Virginia Tech. At noon there will be a moment of silence to honor the 32 students and teachers killed in Monday's massacre. One victim's father, meantime, is begging the media to stop airing the killer's final words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER READ, VICTIM'S FATHER: I'm not a spokesman for the families. No one has appointed me to speak for a group, but I can tell you without any question that we're united in one sentiment. And I want to make a direct personal plea to all the major media, broadcast, print, doesn't matter, for the love of God and our children, please stop replaying and replaying that audio and video that you're playing. It's a second assault on us. It's a second assault on our children.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Well, peter read is the father of Mary Read. She was killed in her French class Monday in Norris Hall. And that one French class, John, as you know, just the scene of so much. We talked to many people whose brothers, sisters or children were in that particular classroom.

ROBERTS: Yes, I mean, it's horrible what they're going through down there, and the fact that it just touches so many people across the country now. We want to take a closer look at how the media are covering the Virginia Tech tragedy.

Howard Kurtz covers the media for "The Washington Post." He's also host of the CNN program "Reliable Sources."

Howard, good to see you again.

HOWARD KURTZ, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Good morning.

ROBERTS: Let me ask you first off, was the media right or wrong for airing Cho Seung-Hui's material in the first place?

KURTZ: John, I have rarely seen an eruption of anger like I have seen in the last two days. Million of Americans, not just friends and family of the Virginia Tech victims, echoing the sentiments of that father, and saying how on earth could NBC, and the other networks, which picked it up within minutes, give this psychopathic killer what he wanted, which was his moment of infamy.

From a news perspective, do you think those media outlets were correct or not correct in airing some of the material originally?

ROBERTS: Well, this is the journalistic dilemma that CNN -- excuse me, that NBC and really all of us face. The material was clearly newsworthy. After this horrible tragedy everybody wanting to know what was in this madman's mind. And so clearly the videos and this manifesto shed some light on that. On the other hand, if you air too much of it, you really are offending lots and lots of people.

And this cuts ideological lies, John. I talked to both conservative and liberal radio talk show hosts who are united in their disdain for the networks for showing of this material.

ROBERTS: Yes, I heard you on Laura Ingraham yesterday morning. Rush Limbaugh also said yesterday that he wasn't going to air it, but I got to say, Laura listened to it, because she was mimicking it. So she had heard it. She had seen it. But you said it is newsworthy. So is it just a matter of degree here? I remember back to 9/11, we stopped showing the Twin Towers coming down. We stopped showing the aircraft the people wanted to hear about it, do they want to know what was in Cho's mind?

KURTZ: Well, some people did and clearly some people thought it was offensive. It actually took a couple days after 9/11 for the networks to stop using that footage as wallpaper. And on Wednesday night, when this broke, and on Thursday morning, I was channel surfing around. I mean, it was everywhere, and I think that the networks clearly heard this anger that kind of erupted not just from Blacksburg, Virginia, but from around the country, because all the executives came out and they said, well, we're not going to use it; we're going to use it much more sparingly, and NBC limited it on its cable network to just six minutes an hour, and it basically has kind of vanished now, except for brief clips.

I think this is a situation where maybe it would have been better if most of it had been put on the Internet. Anybody who wants to see it, can go click on it. When it's on your face, out there on your television screen, on every network -- again, this was basically kind of a collective decision by the media establishment -- it is hard to avoid, and that, I think, is what breeds some of this resentment.

ROBERTS: All right, Howie, thanks very much for your thoughts. Really appreciate it. We'll see you on Sunday morning.

We'll be talking talk about this. Take care -- Kiran.

CHETRY: And, John, we're hearing more about the parents of Cho Seung-Hui, who have not been seen in public since their son opened fire at Virginia Tech, and the entire Korean community really thunderstruck that one of their own would do such a thing.

AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho is Korean-American herself, and she has been looking into this, and she's here with more on what she found out from talking to people within the Korean-American community.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I mean, we talked to a lot of people. I talked to my own friends, my own family about this. You know, and what we found is that Koreans take great pride in their achievements. In the same way they feel intense shame when someone of Korean descent does something bad. So when it became clear that a young Korean man was responsible for the deadliest shooting in American history, many in the Korean community were devastated.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO (voice-over): When the Korean community learned one of their own, Cho Seung-Hui, was behind the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, many said it was like a member of their own family had committed the crime.

THOMAS KANG, KOREAN-AMERICAN: They feel a lot of shame, a lot of guilt, it's not because they've done it, but they feel that way because it is a Korean person that has done it.

CHO: Thomas Kang was not much older than Cho when he moved here with his parents. His family, like Cho's, came for a better life, hard-working parents who sacrificed everything for their children. In the same way Kang is now doing for his daughter, a classic Korean- American story. Why so many are connecting to this tragedy.

PROF. KYEYOUNG PARK, UCLA: It's Korean-Americans that I talk to, they feel really uncomfortable and they're very embarrassed, and trying to do anything. If there's anything that we could do.

CHO: Cho's sister graduated from Princeton, a source of family pride. Her brother is now a source of shame.

KIM YANG-SOON, CHO SEUNG-HUI'S GREAT AUNT: Who would have known he would have caused such trouble, the idiot?

CHO: They were weeping in Seoul, and South Korea's president said his shock was beyond description. Here in the U.S. Korean- American leaders say they're scared of a backlash, in the same way Arab-Americans felt after 9/11. S.J. JUNG, KOREAN-AMERICAN: Some parents, they are really afraid of sending their children to school, and some Korean own convenience (ph), they decided to shut down their store.

CHO: There is intense sadness, too. Just as the students of Virginia Tech are grieving for the victims by holding vigil, Korean- Americans are doing so, as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: An estimated two million people of Korean descent live in the United States right now. And interesting to note, South Korea has more students studying in the U.S. than any other country. More than 400 students at Virginia Tech alone. And CNN has learned some of those Korean students have actually left campus since the shooting. They told us, Kiran, they did so because they want to avoid conflict, they want to avoid fights.

But one thing that I mentioned a couple hours ago when we last spoke, that a lot of Korean-Americans I spoke to said we feel a lot of shame, but we also feel a lot of sorrow for the victims, and that's an important point that I think a lot of those Korean-Americans want to get out there.

KIRAN: Now what about your experiences with your family?

CHO: You know, we talked a lot of about that pride and shame that come in equal parts. One man I spoke to said when South Korea hosted the World Cup in 2002, that was a great source of national pride. Everyone came together in a show of unity. You know, when the Korean golfer Siri Pak won the U.S. open back in 1998 I was watching along with my parents. My mother cried she was so proud of her. It was as if her own daughter had accomplished this. So there is this great sense of pride, but on the other side what we're seeing now is a great sense of shame.

KIRAN: Isn't it an irony it's illegal to own handguns in Korea?

CHO: It is. Private ownership of guns in South Korea is illegal. So it is that much more shocking now that this happened.

KIRAN: Alina Cho, I'm glad that you could bring us this story. Thanks so much.

CHO: My pleasure.

KIRAN: And coming up, we've heard it on campus all week, at the campuses of Virginia Tech, if only students had been warned in time about the first shooting, would they have been able to make some changes to their morning schedule that could have changed the impact? Well, is there any way to get an immediate alert out to everybody? An instant 911, if you will. There is, actually, and we're going to show you how it works, really, in an instant.

CHO: Also millions and millions dollars of flooding damage across the Northeast because of that nor'easter, but how can you ensure that your home is safe from the next devastating flood? We're going to talk about that.

You're watching AMERICAN MORNING, the most news in the morning on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Just in the length of time it takes for me to say hi to Jacki Schechner, a message can be sent and received by thousands of people, an instant alert.

Jacki, Virginia Tech was looking at such a system before Monday. I am on a couple of emergency alert systems, so how difficult would it be to translate that whole thing to college campuses across the country?

JACKI SCHECHNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It would actually be even quicker if my last name were shorter. Let me give you a demo of how this works. I plugged in a number to the demo on this Web site. I'm going to hit "send," and then in a matter of second you should get an alert on your cell phone, John.

Yes, Virginia Tech was taking a look at a system like this before Monday. They hadn't made a decision as of yet and there's no really telling whether it would have made a difference in this particular circumstance, but what it is doing is causing schools across the country to take a look at their own emergency alert systems to make sure they're as up to date and as technologically savvy as they can possibly be. There are several companies that offer this type of service. But we spoke to one of them, E2 Campus, and they say that they have contracts with about 30 universities across the country, and they've had hundreds and hundreds of calls in the last few days.

They tell me the cost is not bad, it's about an average of $1 per student per year. So if you think about that overall, it's not a bad tradeoff financially.

One of the schools that uses this system is Penn State. I spoke to them. They say they are very happy with this system. They have about 42,000 students. That puts them about on par with where Virginia Tech is, and they say that it's an opt-in system, so people have to sign up for it, and they've seen the numbers of people signing up increase significantly since Monday's tragedy.

Did your phone ring?

ROBERTS: No. And you know why?

SCHECHNER: Why?

ROBERTS: Because the text message space was full and I couldn't get any more text messages.

SCHECHNER: What are you filling them up with?

ROBERTS: It's not my phone, and I don't want to tell you what messages are on here, but I'm sure it works. I'm sure it works. SCHECHNER: It does. It actually works almost instantaneously.

ROBERTS: Thanks, Jacki.

Blame the fool, not the tool.

CHETRY: Right. you know why, because you were voting for Sanjaya too much on "American Idol" and you don't have any more room on your text messaging. That's great.

ROBERTS: That's what it is, absolutely. Caught.

CHETRY: Well, CNN NEWSROOM is under way a couple of minutes from now, and Heidi Collins is at the CNN Center with a look at what's ahead today.

Hi, Heidi.

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, Kiran, that's right. These are the stories we're working on for the NEWSROOM. As you know, there are 32 of them, today a day of mourning for those killed this week on the Virginia tech campus. Churches around the country plan prayer services, a moment of silence set for noon.

And the White House blasting Democratic Senator Leader Harry Reid. he's on the record now, saying the Iraq war, quote, "lost."

And check this tape, oceanside homes slip sliding away, one bungalow toppled. Six homes are teetering. We'll cover that for you as well. Tony Harris joins me in the NEWSROOM top of the hour right here on CNN -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Heidi, we'll be watching. Thanks so much.

Well, with rain pounding the East Coast this week, a lot of people were driven from their homes by the rising water, some actually needing to escape in canoes and other boats. Just ahead, what you need to know about flood insurance and also how to protect your home from future bad weather, next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: From New Jersey to Maine, people are still dealing with the flooding from last week's nor'easter. Millions of dollars in damage, and some people are still without power in Maine and New Hampshire. In New Jersey, there are people who are still flooded out of their homes.

Now, on Monday we were showing you some scenes from Mamaroneck, New York. That's just north of New York City. We sent Gerri Willis back up to Mamaroneck, to a home that was flooded.

And, Gerri, what do people in that situation need to do when they first are getting back and they're assessing the damage. It's a really tough time for people when they're seeing all the damage to their home. GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You bet, Kiran, it is a tough time.

Let me tell you about this house first. It is a tiny house, probably 1,000 square feet or less, and it sits right across the street from the Mamaroneck River. In fact, this is the second time this year that this house has been flooded. The owner told us this morning that the water got as high as six feet outside of her house.

Now let me show you what you need to do if you have this problem. Come with me. As you can see, there's damage everywhere here, mud everywhere. If you find yourself in the situation, the first thing to do is turn off the electricity. The electric box in this particular house is on the outside of the house. But the next thing you do after you turn off that electric, you want to unplug all the appliances, everything you have in this house, so you don't electrocute yourself as you clean up. The other thing to do, make sure you are adequately protected yourself as you clean up.

As you can see I've got boots on here. If I was smart I'd probably have gloves on, too, if I were cleaning up. So you've to get the hazards away. Next you've got to get the water out. You open the windows and the doors, make sure all the water can get out. You can dry-vac it up. You can sweep it up, get fans in here. Big box fans are great to get the water really going away, depending on how much you have. Remove any wet insulation, because you just can't save it. It's going to be a mold threat, and that, of course, is a very big issue. You want to make sure you're not getting mold or mildew. You want to clean and disinfect everything.

Now, Kiran, I want to show you the next thing to check out is the water line. You can see it right here. And this is how far the water crested. And so, below this, below this line which is about three feet in this house, you want to do some serious inspection. This is going to have to come out. This is discolored, and that means that it is not safe and that it's a real problem. Of course, we would pull out all the carpeting in here, cleaning up, disinfecting everything. So it's a very big job here -- Kiran.

ROBERTS: Yes, and a lot of money, as well, which is why flood insurance comes in handy in these types of situations, the lifeline for people. But how do you know? How can you get it? And how do you know what's covered?

WILLIS: Well, this particular owner didn't have flood insurance. You buy it from your insurance agent, but it's actually funded by the federal government. You can get information on this at floodsmart.gov. I've got to tell you, if you have any reason to think that you're going to have a flood, if you live in a flood plain, you've got to buy this stuff. It doesn't cover that much. It covers $250,000, but anything helps when you're in this kind of situation.

And I just want to mention, Kiran, on "OPEN HOUSE," we'll be talking more about flooding, more about mold, and more about going green and saving money, this Saturday 9:30 a.m., on "OPEN HOUSE" on CNN. CHETRY: All right, we'll be watching, Gerri Willis, thank you very much.

Here's a quick look on what "CNN NEWSROOM" is working on for you that top of the hour.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: See these stories in the "CNN NEWSROOM," A day of mourning today for those killed at Virginia Tech. Prayer services scheduled at churches around the country.

Republicans ripping Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid. He says the Iraq war is lost.

The deadliest cars and trucks on the road, according to the insurance industry.

Customers refuse to pay, a clerk who doesn't play. We will tell you who came out on top. NEWSROOM, top of the hour on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com