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American Morning

Deadly Earthquake Shakes Japan; Roadmap or Roadblock in the Middle East?; Priest Abuse Settlement

Aired July 16, 2007 - 06:59   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Breaking news. A deadly earthquake rocks Japan overnight. Hundreds hurt. Homes collapse, and a fire at the world's largest nuclear plant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're trying to get people out of endangered areas as quickly as possible.

ROBERTS: New pictures coming in with the aftershocks on this AMERICAN MORNING.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROBERTS: And good morning to you and welcome back. Thanks very much for joining us today.

It's Monday, the beginning of a brand new week, July the 16th.

I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.

We're going to turn right now to breaking news out of Japan this morning. A 6.8-magnitude quake shakes northwestern Japan. Right now at least five people are dead, hundreds of others reported hurt.

This happened off of Japan's coast, about 10 miles below sea level. There you can see one of the pictures. It's a man trying to make his way through a split road after that earthquake hit.

They say that you could -- it happened about 10 miles below sea level, but the shaking could be felt all the way to Tokyo, which is about 150 miles away from the epicenter. Dramatic pictures of the buckled roads, as well as collapsed buildings.

There was another picture of rescuers trying to shift through debris of a home. They're saying a lot of these wooden homes were literally just flattened by that earthquake.

And there was a tsunami warning as well that took place. That expired about an hour later, though. And they say that while there were some high waves, they were not worried about those waves doing any major damage.

ROBERTS: Developments overnight in the war on terror as well. The Taliban is once again taking on the government of Pakistan. And Americans are warned about travel in Israel or the Palestinian territories.

We're watching the worldwide terror threat with Nic Robertson for us this morning in London and Zain Verjee in Washington.

We begin with Nic.

And Nic, the Taliban is threatening an all-out guerrilla war against Pakistan. The idea, that they have ripped up this peace treaty that they signed last September.

What does that mean for Pakistan, what does it potentially mean for the United States?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, potentially, in the short term for the United States, it might actually mean fewer attacks going across the border against U.S. troops inside Afghanistan. This deal was made from a position of weakness by the Pakistani government late last year. They made the deal which said they would keep their troops on the bases along the Pakistan side of the border, the Taliban would essentially self-police themselves, wouldn't attack the Pakistani troops, wouldn't go across the border and attack U.S. troops.

Well, they say they are throwing away that deal. When the deal was made, attacks against U.S. troops went up. This weekend, attacks against Pakistani troops in that border area went up more than. Almost 70 Pakistani soldiers and policemen were killed along the border area.

So maybe in the short term, it means less attacks going into Afghanistan. In the long term, much worse prospect -- John.

ROBERTS: Yes. Well, what does it mean for Musharraf? And how is he expected to respond to this? Part of the reason why he cut that peace deal, Nic, was because his military was taking so many casualties, trying to fight the Taliban in those border regions.

ROBERTSON: Well, one of the things he might do -- and this is what concerns a lot of Democrats in Pakistan right now, people pushing for democratic elections later this year. They say Musharraf may decide to call a state of emergency before there are big attacks in Pakistani cities, or if there are big attacks in Pakistani cities. And if he calls a state of emergency, they say he may use that to stop the elections later this year.

Everyone has been looking internationally to President Musharraf to hold these democratic elections to move the democratic process forward in Pakistan. That has been the expectation of the people in Pakistan.

Of course, on his home soil it may mean -- and it very well is meaning right now -- more attacks against soldiers, possibly a revolt from some elements within the army. And the possibility always of significant attacks in big Pakistani cities -- John. ROBERTS: Wow. More difficulty for Musharraf this morning.

Nic Robertson for us in London.

Nic, thanks.

CHETRY: Later today, President Bush is expected to once again push his plan for a Palestinian state. At the same time, though, the State Department is warning all Americans to leave the Gaza Strip.

Let's get the latest for you from our State Department correspondent, Zain Verjee, in Washington.

Hi, Zain.

What is the president expected to say today when it comes to the creation of a Palestinian state?

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN STATE DEPT. CORRESPONDENT: Well, the U.S. national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, says President Bush is basically going to repeat his commitment to a Palestinian state living peacefully side by side with Israel. He is also expected to show his support for the embattled president, Mahmoud Abbas. Hadley says the president is going to talk about financial and diplomatic support for Abbas and tell the Palestinian people they have a choice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN HADLEY, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: You show the Palestinian people a choice between the kind of violence and chaos under Hamas in Gaza, and the prospect, under President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad, for an effective democratic Palestinian state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Now, the U.S. diplomatic strategy has been essentially to strengthen Abbas, try and get him the public support that he needs and the credibility to ultimately negotiate peace with Israel. And the U.S., Kiran, as you know, has been trying to isolate Hamas. It's designated a terrorist group by the U.S. but now it's now in control of Gaza -- Kiran.

CHETRY: And speaking of that, what else do you know about this warning for Americans to get out of the Gaza Strip?

VERJEE: Well, the State Department is essentially telling all Americans to defer travel entirely to Gaza and to avoid travel to the West Bank at all costs as well, if they can. It says the American citizens in the Gaza Strip should depart immediately. This applies to all Americans, including journalists and aid workers.

The travel warning also says that if you are going to the West Bank, just be careful when you get to the Israeli checkpoints and expect delays. It's also warning of terror threats to U.S. interests, telling Americans, be careful if you go to buildings or restaurant associated with the U.S. overall. It's saying, too, just use common sense. Be vigilant when you go to cafes, malls, restaurants, train stations or clubs -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Zain Verjee live for us in Washington.

Thank you.

ROBERTS: New this morning, the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles and lawyers for hundreds of sex abuse victims go to court today, finalizing a landmark $660 million settlement. Cardinal Roger Mahony would have been one of the first called to testify at the trial. It was supposed to start today. Now he's apologizing to 508 people who say predatory priests abused them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARDINAL ROGER MAHONY, L.A. CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE: Once again, I apologize to anyone who has been offended, who has been abused in the Catholic Church by priests, by deacons, religious men and women, or lay people in the church. It should not have happened and should not ever happen again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE SANCHEZ, PRIEST ABUSE VICTIM: Just because you have a settlement and give the abuse victims, including myself, some compensation, it doesn't erase the emotional scars and damage that's happened to all of us. Whether you give me a check for $10 or $10,000, where can I take that check and cash it at some place to make me 10 years old again?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: That $660 million settlement is four times bigger than the one negotiated for the Boston Archdiocese. But is the case really over?

We'll talk with an attorney for hundreds of victims coming up.

(NEWSBREAK)

CHETRY: Well, time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for a look at what's new.

Is Ford putting the brakes on the sale of Volvo?

Ali Velshi is following this for us this morning.

Hi, Ali.

ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.

It depends who you ask and when you ask them. One newspaper is reporting that Volvo is on the bloc. Ford responding to that, saying that's not the case. But we've known for months that Ford, in order to get itself out of its hole, has got to sell some of the companies that it went on a buying spree for many, many years ago. And Volvo is one of those.

Volvo is a company that's been doing well. There's a way of Ford making some money out of selling it. So we're trying to follow that news. We've got our calls in to Volvo -- to Ford to see what they have to say about this.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

CHETRY: All right. It's a new week.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: Possibly a new record.

Thanks, Ali.

Well, still more salmonella cases from the Taste of Chicago Festival.

Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us now with more.

They're saying more than 300 may have been sickened by some of the food.

Hi, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Kiran.

Kiran, this happened, as you said, in Chicago, but everyone needs to pay attention because it seems like more and more we're hearing about salmonella in foods.

Now, in this case, 378 people or more have been sickened. Twelve people ended up in the hospital. Many of these cases linked to one particular dish -- salad cumber and tomato salad on hummus served at a Persian restaurant.

Now, usually in the past when we've heard about salmonella, it's been connected to eggs or to chicken. But it seems like more and more we hear it to foods that are not from animals. For example, in this case, salad and hummus, or in the past peanut butter, and also vegetable snacks -- Kiran.

CHETRY: All right. Elizabeth Cohen.

Thank you very much.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

CHETRY: Well, it was a massive settlement, and one of the L.A. Catholic archdioceses is hoping will end its priest abuse scandal once and for all. The Los Angeles Archdiocese agreeing to pay $660 million to victims of sexual abuse by priests. Some of those victims, though, say they would have rather had their day in court.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ESTHER MILLER, VICTIM: It means that Mahony decided for a purely business decision to settle this so that he wouldn't stand in front of god and colleagues and the media in a courtroom and tell what he knew and be culpable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Joining me live, one of the attorneys who took the archdiocese to court. Larry Drivon joins me now.

Thanks for being with us, Larry.

LARRY DRIVON, ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFF: You're welcome.

CHETRY: As you can hear from the woman we just heard from, there is still, even though this settlement has been reached, a lot of anger on the part of victims.

Do you think that justice was served?

DRIVON: Well, I think that that's relative. I mean, I think that no one can give them back their childhood. And it's interesting to me that the cardinal seems to have apologized for everyone else's actions and not for his own.

CHETRY: In fact, let's hear what Cardinal Mahony said in his apology.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHONY: Once again, I apologize to anyone who has been offended, who has been abused in the Catholic Church by priests, by deacons, religious men and women, or lay people in the church. It should not have happened and should not ever happen again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: You talk about that apology. What do you think was missing from it?

DRIVON: Well, I didn't hear him apologize for what he had done. If Cardinal Mahony had called 911 in 1984 and turned Oliver O'Grady into the police, much of this would not have happened. O'Grady was a perpetrator up in Stockton where Mahony was the bishop at the time.

He has apologized for what other priests did, for what religious did, et cetera, et cetera, but what he did was equally or perhaps even more wrong. The cover-up was the real big problem.

CHETRY: So then why settle? Why not take this to court, make Cardinal Mahony have to testify, which he would have had to do if this did go to court, and get more of this out in the open? DRIVON: Well, the documents are coming out in the open, and much of it already has come out in the open. But you've got hundreds and hundreds of brave survivors here who have suffered enough. And it comes to a point where litigation needs to be resolved, and perhaps these people can get what they need in terms of counseling, in terms of rehab of various kinds, and move on with their lives, at least to some extent.

CHETRY: You know, the case is so incredibly far-reaching. According to our research, 75 percent of dioceses in the Los Angeles area have been served by at least one of these accused priests.

Do you have any assurances from your clients -- for your clients, rather, that things have changed or things are going to change in the future so that there aren't other victims?

DRIVON: Well, this is -- this is a problem that has 1,600 years of history in the Catholic Church. I think some people want a change.

I think that hierarchy in the Catholic Church is cast in concrete, and I think that expecting the hierarchy of the Catholic Church to change in a fundamental way is something that can only happen if the Catholic faithful make it happen. Hopefully we've made a start.

CHETRY: All right.

Larry Drivon, the plaintiffs' attorney representing many of these people in that big settlement.

Thank you.

DRIVON: Thank you, Kiran.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Well, the upcoming presidential election is already historic. Now there is a new way that you can make your voice heard. In fact, tonight, John and I preview the first-ever YouTube debate.

Do you think -- did you believe back in 2004 you would ever be saying YouTube debate?

ROBERTS: No. This is great, because it gives people out there in the great wide open an opportunity to send in questions that the candidates will feel. They've been sending in questions. There's more than a thousand of them online right now.

Here is one of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nowadays it doesn't seem as if Congress is representing the people to serve public interest. Instead, it's catering to the specific and private interests of large corporations with enough money to buy themselves bills and legislations.

What will you do to curb the pull big money has on Congress and make the system work the way it was intended?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: There you go. CNN's Tom Foreman's signature "Raw Politics" comes alive this morning. We also have our political analyst, John Dickerson, here in the studio.

CHETRY: That was Tom pretending he can type. Usually, he just uses two fingers.

Well, first, Tom is at an Internet cafe in Washington.

And Tom, have you submitted your question for the candidates yet?

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I just did. I just did.

My question for the candidates is: How come there are so many of you? Because there are a lot of them out here.

I'm here at Trist (ph), where I am every morning at this time with my cup of coffee. Actually, I've never been here before. But the point is, I'm trying something new, which is what you ought to do with this YouTube thing.

I'm actually very excited about this. We all sit at home watching these debates every year, listening to people and saying, well, that's a stupid question, you should have asked this.

This really is the first time that people all across this country have had a chance to genuinely get into this process to try something new, like I'm doing this morning. And I know that a lot of you have good questions.

Take a listen to some.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAGGIE BURKHARDT, NEW YORK RESIDENT: I feel the most important issue is national security. It's -- we have four children. Having children in this day and age after living through 9/11, it was a frightening thing, and keeping my kids safe means more to me than anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE ROBERSON, YOUTUBE QUESTIONER: I would say more health care for the elderly. I think the elderly, they're not receiving enough health care. And I think that's really important and something that the president should definitely concentrate on.

(END VIDEO CLIP) FOREMAN: See? This is important stuff that you ought to get involved in.

So you're making a list for today what you're going to do -- buy a muffin, drop off the dry cleaning, help pick the next president. This is not going to be that hard to do.

Just go to your computer -- if you're over 30, get a kid to help you -- and you will shoot your video. You ingest it, you feed it. It's an easy thing to do.

If you have got any kind of computer at home that is vaguely modern, it can be done. And you ought to do it. Otherwise, you sit at home complaining that your question wasn't asked. But really, there are a lot of great questions this time around. And in the spirit of raw politics, get involved.

ROBERTS: All right. You bet. Tom, stay there.

Slate.com's chief political correspondent, John Dickerson, is with us this morning.

I went through hundreds of things in the last few days in preparation for the show tonight. And it seems that there are a lot of questions about Iraq. Iraq weighs very much on people's minds, particularly this idea of what are the Democratic presidential candidates going to do to ensure if the U.S. pulls out, how chaos is not left behind.

JOHN DICKERSON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: That's right. This is the number one issue in all the polls going back for a while. Now, the question is, where will that debate be in November when voters are deciding? And it may very well be how to manage the relationships left after the troops are already coming home.

CHETRY: You know, the other interesting thing that I saw a lot of as I was previewing some of these as well is people questioning the tone of politics and how dirty it's gotten. A few people have asked, you know, we were taught if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. So what would you say nice about some of the other candidates?

A lot of people are concerned with how nasty things can get.

DICKERSON: They are kind to small animals and their family. I think politics is a combat sport. Ideas should fight against each other. So, people don't like the negative ads and all of that, but in order to find out where candidates really stand and what they believe, they need to become combative. So, people don't like it, but it's the way we find out what is really at the heart of these candidates.

ROBERTS: One of my favorites is the guy with the Viking horns.

CHETRY: And then there's a wrestler mask.

ROBERTS: Yes. CHETRY: I mean, people got very creative in these, and we're going to be showing a lot of them, actually, on our show tonight.

ROBERTS: There are some pretty offbeat ones in there with the serious questions.

You will see all of that.

Join us tonight in primetime, 8:00 Eastern.

CHETRY: That's right. We'll be looking at the questions submitted on YouTube for the debate so far, but we're also going to be asking some questions, like what makes a good question? And we will examine how YouTube is changing American politics.

The YouTube debate countdown tonight at 8:00 Eastern, here on CNN.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING.

The sun comes over Charleston, South Carolina, the site of next Monday's YouTube debate. It's 79 degrees there right now going up to a high of 89, almost 90. Thunderstorms today as well. So it's not going to be a dry heat.

Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Thanks for joining us. It's Monday, the 16th of July. I'm John Roberts.

CHETRY: I'm Kiran Chetry.

We have an update for you now on the story we've been following, the big, strong earthquake hit in Japan measuring 6.8; hit off of the coast of the northwestern part of the country. Buildings knocked down in many of the areas. Roads just simply buckled. There you see trains just up-ended. At least five people are now confirmed dead and 240 hurt. They could feel some of the minor shaking about 150 miles away in Tokyo.

Overnight two bombs went off in Kirkuk, northern Iraq. A truck bomb exploded then a car bomb blew up. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen reports that at least 65 people are dead and 170 others injured. Kirkuk is about 150 miles north of Baghdad.

U.N. officials announcing overnight that North Korea's nuclear reactor is now shut down. They are getting a shipment of oil that left South Korea today for the North. North Korea will eventually get 1 million tons of oil in exchange for dismantling its nuclear programs.

And in a developing story, part of Miami International Airport shut down and evacuated after a suspicious package was found. They gave the all-clear and people are now heading back in. The concourse had to be evacuated. Now it's reopening but, of course, that means everyone is going to have to be rescreened. The bomb squad reports that a device that seemed suspicious turned out to be nothing.

ROBERTS: A peace deal in Pakistan between the government and Taliban fighters broke down overnight. It is the latest of several new signs of Al Qaeda's growing strength in that area. Are they preparing for new attacks against the United States in joining me from Washington is CNN Terrorism Analyst Peter Bergen.

Peter, what do you think the upshot of this destruction of this agreement is going to be? The Taliban says that it's going to declare all-out guerrilla war against the Pakistani government.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Yes, well, the peace agreement which was signed back in September of last year. It wasn't much of a peace agreement in the first place, according to U.S. military officials in Afghanistan, attacks from that area into Afghanistan went up 300 percent. Now even if that figure is exaggerated clearly this peace agreement tended to favor the Taliban and Al Qaeda in the area of the Pakistani tribal areas, where this peace agreement was first signed.

Now this agreement has broken down entirely and there are now attacks against Pakistani police officers and other Pakistani government officials in this area. But anyway, I think the bottom line is the peace agreement was really just a piece of paper. It didn't really mean very much and now it appears to mean even less.

ROBERTS: Appears U.S. officials didn't seem to be too upset this had broken down. Here is what the National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said about it yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN HADLEY, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: The truth is it did not work. What we've seen, pooling of the Taliban, training, operational planning. President Musharraf understands it has not worked. We understand it has not worked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: So what do you expect is going to happen now, Peter? Will U.S. officials lean on Musharraf to do more to crack down in that area?

BERGEN: I think Musharraf, himself, is going to do more to crack down on the area. There were news reports that thousands or even tens of thousands of Pakistani soldiers are moving into this region. Musharraf has indicated in a recent speech that he is prepared to crack down on extremism. This is, in fact, in a speech that he gave after the attack on the Red Mosque in Islamabad. He says that there is now going to be a larger campaign to wipe out extremists in the tribal regions in other parts of Pakistan.

The Pakistani government has tried to do this in the past and it has not always been successful. There is always a question in Pakistan, John, whether it's a lack of will or lack of capability when the government says it's going to crack down on extremism, suddenly Musharraf has indicated, with the attack on the Red Mosque, and now with his speech, that he is planning to do more than he's done, perhaps, in the past.

ROBERTS: Peter, what do you make of the new bin Laden tape that came out over the weekend? We don't know how old it is. Is it just symbolic? Is it a signal, is it a message?

BERGEN: Well, the new bin Laden tape that came out is certainly new footage. I don't think we've seen this footage before, but I think this could have been filmed any time in the last six years. It's clearly not a "new", quote/unquote, tape. I think it's puzzling we haven't heard from bin Laden since July of 2006, the last time we had an audiotape from him.

On the other hand, I think he has made the calculation that every time he releases a new tape it means that he's perhaps open to being detected. Ayman al-Zawahiri, his number two, is releasing a tape almost every week, or even sometimes twice a week, as happened last week, John.

But every time you reach one of these tapes, the change of custody of these tapes can be traced, and you can be found. And Ayman al-Zawahiri was the subject of a pretty serious attempt to kill him back in January. And he wasn't actually killed, but I think Ayman al- Zawahiri is somebody that the U.S. and other intelligence agencies has sort of a bead on, whereas with Osama bin Laden the trail is very much cold, John.

ROBERTS: Right. Peter Bergen for us this morning, from our bureau in Washington. Peter, good to see you. Thanks.

BERGEN: Thank you.

CHETRY: Also some questions about aid to Pakistan, topping your "Quick Hits" now. The U.S. is planning to spend $750 million in a, quote, "hearts and mind campaign" in tribal areas of Pakistan. Some are questioning the plan saying the area is so hostile, how can there be any guarantee that the money wouldn't fall into the wrong hands?

And a U.S. general is advising against a pullout from Iraq. Major General Rick Lynch, who we've spoken to on our program several times, commands 22,000 U.S. and Iraqi troops. He says that pulling out now would just mean that the insurgency would come back stronger.

A tiger goes on the attack at a Texas zoo, turns on the zoo keeper. One woman unknowingly recorded all of the panic that followed. She's going to join us and show you the tape coming up on next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Coming up to 39 minutes after the hour.

A big league pitch from the city of New Orleans to the National Football League. The city wants to become the new home for the NFL's draft, an attempt to move it out of New York City come 2009. A disappointing setback for a runner who competes with two prosthetic legs. That's Oscar Pestorius (ph) there on the left. He finished seventh in a big race in England yesterday, but disqualified for running outside of his lane.

A two-week-old panther has a new family, a litter of Rhodesian Ridgebacks. The panther was born at the Belgrade Zoo, but its mother tried to kill him. The zookeepers put the panther in with newborn puppies and taught her how to get milk from her adopted mother.

CHETRY: Very cute. Well, and quite a bath there, it looks like it was getting, too.

A Texas zookeeper is hospitalized and in intensive care this morning after he was mauled by a Sumatran tiger at the San Antonio Zoo. Twenty-eight year old Jeff Tierney was apparently alone in the tiger exhibit when the animal attacked. This happened on Saturday afternoon.

And Lynette and Abigail Barrera were at the zoo during the attack and they join us from San Antonio this morning.

Thanks to both of you for being with us.

LYNETTE BARRERA, WITNESS TIGER ATTACK: Thank you for having us, Kiran.

CHETRY: Lynette, you had your video camera. I guess you had it on your shoulder and you didn't know you were recording, correct?

L. BARRERA: Correct. I had no idea.

CHETRY: You were able to pick up some of the sounds. Let's listen to a little bit of what we're hearing on your tape, and then you can explain what was happening at the time.

L. BARRERA: OK.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

(SCREAMING)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A tiger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A tiger? Oh, my God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody got attacked by a tiger.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. You are lying...

(END AUDIO CLIP)

CHETRY: It just sounds like it was shear panic, Lynnette?

L. BARRERA: Yes, it was at first. We had no idea what was going on. We just heard everybody screaming and we just kind of were going toward everything to see what was going on.

CHETRY: Abigail, were you scared when you heard all of the panic?

ABIGAIL BARRERA, WITNESSED TIGER ATTACK: Yes, I was very scared. It was my first time out of Odessa, so it was very scary experience to go to the zoo and see that. I had never been to a zoo before that and to see that, I was very scared.

CHETRY: What exactly did you guys see? Were you close enough to the exhibit, the tiger exhibit, you could see what was going on?

A. BARRERA: Yes. We were right by the kangaroos and the tigers are right behind us.

CHETRY: What happened after this guy? I guess he was alone in there at the time, Jeff. What happened after people discovered that he was indeed attacked by that tiger, Lynette?

L. BARRERA: Well, everybody actually started screaming help. And, I mean, there was a woman that was just panicking and crying. And all of the other animals were getting scared as well so I think that attracted a lot of the zookeepers in other areas, so they started running to the area and started clearing everything out.

But I mean, after that, I mean, they were very orderly getting us, you know, safely out of the exhibit.

CHETRY: And they also came in there with the tranquilizer guns. Did you see anything that happened within the tiger exhibit?

L. BARRERA: No. We weren't able to see anything. He was already in the cage and everything. But, no, we weren't able to see anything. They did a pretty good job of kind keeping that away from everybody, trying to keep the gruesome stuff away.

CHETRY: Yeah. They say this is the first time a tiger has actually acted aggressively toward a human. They also say nothing is going to happen to this tiger.

But Abigail, would you ever go back to a zoo after this experience?

A. BARRERA: Yes, I would. I enjoyed seeing what I did see, it was scary what had happened. But, yes, I would go back.

CHETRY: Did they ask for your tape, or do they want to review it, or anything along those lines to see it?

L. BARRERA: No. We haven't been contacted by the zoo or anything like that. So, I don't think it was probably enough information for them to want. CHETRY: Right. Well, we certainly hear the sounds of the chaos afterwards, but we don't really see anything. Thanks for sharing your story, you guys. Lynette, as well as Abigail Barrera.

L. BARRERA: Thank you for having us, Kiran.

CHETRY: Sure.

ROBERTS: We're looking forward to a pretty nice day here in New York City. A little too warm for some people.

CHETRY: Just humid. 82 degrees, not bad.

ROBERTS: What about the rest of the country, though? Chad Myers is down there in Atlanta checking in on extreme weather.

(WEATHER REPORT)

CHETRY: Well, a cold look at global warming, topping your "Quick Hits" now. Lewis Pugh swam at the North Pole. Is there a shot of him diving in 29-degree water with nothing but a Speedo, goggles and his swim cap. He did this to call attention to global warming. This is where some melting has occurred. Pugh has done several swims in the cold water, but says this one, 29 degrees, the coldest ever.

He says he was in pain, excruciating pain from the second he got into the water until it was over. He swam a kilometer, which is a little more than half a mile. He says it took him about 18 minutes and that it was shear pain the entire time. But he wanted to draw attention to it.

And what a striking shot, to see him diving in like that. It looks like he is on top of the world.

ROBERTS: I can't imagine doing that. Just the shock of hitting that water.

CHETRY: No, I actually -- I mean, hypothermia sets in, in that type of cold. I can't believe he was actually able to do it for 18 minutes.

ROBERTS: You think it would just suck all of the heat right out of you.

CHETRY: All right. Well, a ship made with popsicle sticks with plans to sail the Atlantic? Hey, if a guy can take his helium balloons and a lawn chair, why not these people, right? An American builder says he will try to sail the boat to Europe. It's made out of 15 million recycled popsicle sticks, that are all glued together by hand.

There you go. I hope the glue will hold.

It's said there ain't no cure for the summertime blues, right? Well, maybe that's the reason people are calling in sick to work. We are going to talk about seasonal absence syndrome now. They have a syndrome for everything. When people call out on Monday morning, it's a syndrome now. We'll talk about it next on AMERICAN MORNING.

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CHETRY: Some new news, right now, coming in to us. General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is in Iraq today. He is meeting with General David Petraeus. Our Barbara Starr is traveling with General Pace today and she has been able to get through to us on the phone from Baghdad.

Hi, Barbara.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (via phone): Hello to you, Kiran.

We arrived in Baghdad a short time ago. The first thing that happened is General Pace and General Petraeus got into a Blackhawk helicopter and we toured overhead the city of Baghdad for about 20 minutes. I got a look down at neighborhoods, market streets, getting a lay of the land. I have to tell you that the Blackhawk helicopter used its antimissile gear while we were flying. It deployed some smoke flares. Not clear exactly if there was a threat there, or it was some sort of automatic deployment.

Now, they are meeting. General Pace, Kiran, is really here to talk to General Petraeus about that September assessment. But, more importantly, what comes next after it. General Pace told us his staff is now planning for three potential scenarios. Keep the surge going. That's going to be a problem. It's going to put a big strain on the forces sometime in early '08.

The other two options, reduce forces. General Pace knows that is what the politicians want, but he says he's not going to make that recommendation unless he thinks it makes good military sense. Of course, the other option would be to plus (ph) up forces, once again, to recommend that to the president. They think that's the way to go -- Kiran.

CHETRY: Barbara, of course, they are not missing the fact there's a big debate going on within the Senate that will continue today. Up to four different proposals being batted around, most of them calling for some sort of date, whether it's a date for withdrawal, or a date to reevaluate. Any of that factoring in what they're discussing today?

STARR: Well, yes. I think it is. It is being re-evaluated. Before I miss you on this shaky phone line. It's very clear the top commanders here know exactly what is going on in Washington. They know that they're trying to keep their best military advice separate from all of that, Kiran.

CHETRY: Barbara Starr joining us on the phone, in Baghdad, traveling with the general. Thanks so much, Barbara.

ROBERTS: It's 51 minutes after the hour.

Let me ask you a question. Are you going into work today? Or are you extending the weekend just a little bit? A new survey shows overwhelming 39 percent of employees working full-time have called in sick so they can enjoy a day off during summer vacation season, especially on a day like today, Monday mornings.

The phenomenon has been dubbed seasonal absence syndrome. Polly LaBarre has been looking into it and she joins us now, "Minding Your Business".

Did they just have to have a name for this? This has been going on for years.

POLLY LABARRE, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: This is a little absurd. So, this morning, I've been afflicted by seasonal absence disorder.

ROBERTS: I've got SAS, what can I tell you?

LABARRE: Look, it affects 40 percent of the work force and mysterious only on Monday morning and Friday afternoon in the summer hours. I mean, we used to call this playing hooky, I think.

What is significant here and what's important about quantifying when and why people yearn to take time off is that we have this -- these sort of industrial era vacation policies, sick time, and personal day sort of stingy rules, and face-time requirements in the world of work that may not be valid in this world characterized by mobile technology, a mix of generations with different priorities, and also a bunch of people with kids who work in the workplace today.

ROBERTS: OK, so it's the employers fault, right? But when employees take a day off without telling anybody about it, when he they simply call in sick, their work goes undone, they need to be replaced. What kind of economic hit does that put on employers?

LABARRE: There is an actual cost to this in terms of productivity. One estimate puts it at 1 to 3 percent of payroll. They don't quantify the frustration of your colleagues who are left to pick up the slack.

What I'm suggesting is there is a paradoxical solution to this. The way to get around people taking unscheduled time off is actually to give them more time off, to put their time back in their own hands, whether it's with more generous vacation policies, or we've all heard of summer hours, right?

I don't think we have them here, but summer hours you get half a Friday off or every other Friday off. Or even a more radical work place experiment, like the one that's going on at Best Buy, right now. Called results only work place, where you can work when and where you want, no reporting in, as long as you get your work done. And they've reported 35 percent lifts in productivity after two years of experimenting with this.

ROBERTS: Well, perhaps I could do the show from my backyard tomorrow morning.

LABARRE: Well, yes.

ROBERTS: Or I could come to work for you when you start your own business.

LABARRE: This is a good point. In certain jobs -- and certainly in the world of low-wage hourly workers, there's not so much freedom to say, I've got a migraine, when you really want to putter around in the garden, or go to the golf course, because people get fired when they leave for a day.

ROBERTS: Seasonal absence syndrome. Polly LaBarre, thanks for illuminating that for us.

LABARRE: Thank you.

ROBERTS: Kiran.

CHETRY: Clearly, none of us have it. How about that?

ROBERTS: Clearly.

CHETRY: He was kicked out of Meredith Grey's life, but at least one woman says she wants Isaiah Washington around and she is no ordinary woman. We're going to explain and tell you where Isaiah Washington is showing up next coming up. Coming up.

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CHETRY: Well, Harry Potter's spell at both the box office and the book store this week is apparently still working. The movie, number one at the theaters, had the highest opening for the franchise and our own Lola Ogunnaike is here with that, and some other entertainment news.

Good to see you this morning.

LOLA OGUNNAIKE, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Good to see you, too.

CHETRY: They love themselves (ph) some wizard.

OGUNNAIKE: That little wizard is working his magic; $77 million this weekend, Kiran, $77 million. And it's made $140 million since Wednesday. It's grossed overseas $190 million. It's doing really well. When you take into account that it only cost $150 to make this thing, it's doing really well.

CHETRY: And what about the books? Are they getting too dark for some of the younger fans?

OGUNNAIKE: The books are getting dark. I think the film is getting -- this film is really dark. I was actually scared. I can't imagine taking a child to see this, but I'm in the minority here.

CHETRY: What's it rated? OGUNNAIKE: It's rated PG-13. And it's actually poised to become the second biggest franchise of all time, right behind "Star Wars", which has taken in $2.2 billion. James Bond has taken in $1.4 billion. And Harry Potter already at $1.3 billion, and there are two more films to go. So this could be huge.

CHETRY: Wow.

Let's talk about TV for a second.

OGUNNAIKE: Yes.

CHETRY: Isaiah Washington make ago big jump from, of course, starring in the big hit "Grey's Anatomy" on ABC over to NBC. What's he up to?

OGUNNAIKE: New job, new network. He is going to be starring in the remake of "Bionic Woman". Starts this fall. This show has a lot of buzz surrounding this. He signed on for five episodes, right now. And he's playing the shadowy character. We don't know if he is good or bad just yet, but we'll find out.

This could be really big for Isaiah, because this show has huge buzz around it. People are really looking forward to checking this out and seeing what NBC does with this. This could be a high-profile gig for him. He also has signed a development deal with NBC; his own action series.

CHETRY: Wow. All right. So he landed on his feet, certainly, after all that controversy.

OGUNNAIKE: Yes. His apology tour, apparently worked.

CHETRY: How about this one you? You get out of rehab, where you have been dealing with drug and alcohol dependency, where is the first place you think you may want to avoid? How about Vegas?

OGUNNAIKE: You go to Vegas. That's what Lindsay Lohan did. She got out Friday and guess where she was on Saturday? In Vegas, at a nightclub, partying the night away. She wasn't drinking. Only Red Bull and water, her people saying, and she's wearing one of those alcohol monitoring bracelets. You know those things that makes --

CHETRY: That's where you wear an ankle bracelet --

OGUNNAIKE: And it makes sure that there's no alcohol in your system.

CHETRY: Who does it alert?

(LAUGHTER)

OGUNNAIKE: Her parole officer, I guess.

CHETRY: All right. Well, it's not necessarily the smartest place to go, at a nightclub where everyone else is boozing. OGUNNAIKE: I wouldn't go but, hey, if she figures she is going into the lion's den, not tempted yet. We'll see. Maybe second time will be a charm.

CHETRY: Lola Ogunnaike, thank you.

OGUNNAIKE: Thank you.

ROBERTS: These stories coming up on our radar this morning. It's the talk of the town, in Washington. Certainly was over the weekend when I was down there. An amazing story.

CHETRY: This bizarre attempted robbery in D.C. A guy comes in, holds a gun to the head of a partygoer, out back, but then people are able to actually convince him to stay, have a glass of wine, and a group hug. We're going to actually talk to the people who were at that party to figure out how they managed to get this guy away from the gun.

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