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American Morning
Senator Craig Denies Lewd Behavior; Taliban Releases More South Korean Hostages; Senator Tim Johnson Returning to Work
Aired August 29, 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): Denial.
SEN. LARRY CRAIG (R), IDAHO: I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport.
I am not gay. I never have been gay.
ROBERTS: And fresh fallout. A new Republican calls for an investigation into Senator Larry Craig's sting arrest. What could it mean for his career and the GOP?
Plus, stomach turner. A new warning for the millions of Americans who experience heartburn. When the pain could be the sign of something more serious on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Good morning. Welcome back. Thanks for joining us. A lot to talk about this morning.
It's Wednesday, the 29th of August.
I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
Glad you're with us.
Well, we start out with a scandal in Washington. He says that he pleaded guilty to make it all go away. That's only made it bigger. Now a U.S. senator who was busted in an airport men's room is in the middle of a major scandal.
Idaho Republican Larry Craig is denying he did anything wrong. He says he was the victim of a witch hunt, that he had no reason to go cruising for sex in a stall.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG: I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport. I did nothing wrong.
Let me be clear: I am not gay. I never have been gay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, now members of Craig's own party calling for the Senate Ethics Committee to look into what happened.
Senator Craig was Mitt Romney's campaign point man in Idaho, and he is not the only GOP presidential candidate weighing in on the scandal. We also heard from Senator John McCain. He spoke yesterday on "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno," and Mitt Romney also had stuff to say as well about the Craig scandal.
So, what should Larry Craig do after being convicted of an incident in an airport bathroom? It's our "Quick Vote" question on CNN.com. Log on and tell us what you think.
So far, 84 percent of you say that you think he should resign, 16 percent say he should stay in office.
Let's go now to our chief political correspondent, Candy Crowley, with a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senator Larry Craig denies the allegations against him and the underlying implication.
CRAIG: Let me be clear: I am not gay.
CROWLEY: Craig was arrested in June at the Minneapolis Airport for alleged lewd behavior in a men's bathroom known for sexual activity. The police report describes in excruciating detail Craig's alleged actions, including two minutes when the senator stood outside, peering into the stall of a plainclothes policeman working on a sex sting.
"Craig would look down at his hands," the officer wrote, "fidget with his fingers, and then look into the crack in my stall again." The officer says Craig then went into the stall next to his and, "At 12:16 hours, Craig tapped his right foot. I recognized this as a signal used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct."
The report says Craig also made several hand motions beneath the stall partition. The policeman responded by showing his badge. Once inside the police operations center, the officer says Craig protested that his actions were misconstrued. Then, the report says, "Craig handed me a business card that identified himself as a United States senator, as he stated, 'What do you think about that?'
The senator eventually paid a fine and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, a plea he now says is a mistake.
CRAIG: I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis Airport. I did nothing wrong.
CROWLEY: The senator says he pleaded guilty to "make it go away," and because he was stressed by a newspaper investigation into his sexual orientation.
"The Idaho Statesman" looked into allegations and rumors that have cropped up in the senator's quarter century in Washington. In 1982, during an investigation of charges that lawmakers were having sex with underaged congressional pages, Craig, whose name never surfaced publicly, nonetheless denied it publicly, a statement aired on ABC News.
CRAIG: Persons who are unmarried, as I am, by choice or by circumstance, have always been the subject of innuendoes, gossip and false accusations. I think this is despicable.
CROWLEY: The newspaper probe began last year after a gay activist said Craig was gay. One of the sources of that story told "The Statesman" he had sex with Craig in a bathroom at Union Station in Washington. The paper found the source credible, but there is no proof of the event, nor of similar stories from two other men, and the senator has denied it all. In Washington, that may not be enough to save his career.
JENNIFER DUFFY, MANAGING EDITOR, "THE COOK POLITICAL REPORT": I think it's very damaging. There is a lot of smoke here. And the truth is that, in politics, smoke is as deadly as the fire sometimes.
CROWLEY: Craig's crisis is exacerbated by his own record. He is one of Capitol Hill's most conservative members from one of the country's most conservative states. He is a family-values Republican who favors a constitutional amendment to define marriage as between a man and a woman. He voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, a bill defining the institution of marriage. He opposed a bill to prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation.
JAMES CARVILLE, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: In a way, if he wouldn't have been just such a god-awful, big hypocrite, part of you just wants to -- you feel sorry. I mean, the guy's got family. He's got kids. You have got to feel sorry for him. But...
CROWLEY: Politics is not an arena rich in sympathy. Craig is out as chairman of the Mitt Romney team in Idaho. Romney compared Craig's problems to Bill Clinton's "It's disgusting."
Fellow Republican leaders, already fearful of getting hammered in 2008, scrambled for distance. They called for an Ethics Committee probe. Whatever Larry Craig did and didn't do, politically, he is toxic now.
Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Five minutes after the hour now.
A shark attacks a surfer in Monterey Bay, California. A witness says it could have been a Great White that pulled his friend under water. The friend came up with blood gushing from gashes in his back. He's now listed in fair condition in the hospital. A couple of tornadoes touching down in central Iowa. They hit about 20 minutes apart last night, knocking down some trees, damaging roofs. No serious injuries though were reported.
And some great pictures of a thunderstorm over the Gulf of Mexico. This was shot last night off of Siesta Key in Sarasota, Florida, just as twilight was approaching. Unusual to get such a great view of a storm like this.
New this morning, President Bush is in New Orleans to mark the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Kiran's got more on that -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes, that's right. He has several stops in the city today. He's also going to be observing a moment of silence, remembering the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The president had dinner last night with Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco and New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, among other things. This will be the president's 15th visit to the Gulf since Katrina hit.
And another setback in the search of the six missing miners in Utah. An advanced robotic camera that was being lowered into the Crandall Canyon Mine got stuck just 10 feet from the target. Crews will now try to get it down a seventh hole. That hole is being drilled toward the mine's dining area and should be finished sometime tomorrow -- John.
ROBERTS: And an AMERICAN MORNING follow-up. Some added urgency this morning to those inspections of 737s that we first told you about yesterday.
The FAA says two planes failed initial inspections and airlines have now been told to speed up that process, get all of the planes inspected within the next 10 days. The issue was a faulty bolt on the wing. Investigators think that the problem caused this explosion on a China Airline 737 last week when the bolt came loose and gouged a hole in a fuel tank.
SUVs are getting safer. The government says trucks are scoring much better in rollover tests now thanks to new stability controls. Seventy-eight 2007 model SUVs received a four-star rating. That means a 10 to 20 percent risk of a rollover accident. Compare that to 48 vehicles in 2006 and just one back in 2001.
No SUV though has ever earned a five-star rating.
Newly tested cars with high marks included the Ford Edge, the Ford Explorer Sport Trac, the Hyundai Santa Fe and the Honda CRV.
And speaking of rollovers, you still have a chance to get in on that monster Mega Millions jackpot. There was not a big winner in last night's drawing, so the jackpot rolls over and is now up to a staggering $325 million. That's the fourth largest jackpot in the game's history. The next drawing is on Friday. And still no word on who won that big Powerball jackpot this weekend. The ticket was sold at a gas station in Richmond, Indiana. It was worth $314.
CHETRY: Would you come forward? Suddenly you've got a whole bunch of new relatives in your life, John.
ROBERTS: I don't -- I think all you would see behind me is dust.
CHETRY: Right, on the back of a motorcycle, gone.
All right.
Well, it's time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for some other stories new this morning.
Stocks slump on Wall Street after some troubling news from the Fed.
Ali Velshi is here to explain what is likely in store for the markets today.
Some of this triggered by meeting minutes. The Fed meeting, and people didn't like what they read.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SR. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Stuff almost a month old. August 7th is when the Fed last met to discuss interest rates. They didn't raise interest rates, they didn't lower interest rates. And then 10 days later, on August 17th, they actually cut that discount window right now while we were on the air in the morning.
Well, those August 7th minutes, the Fed usually a few weeks later releases the minutes of its meeting. And the minutes gave investors the impression that maybe the Fed isn't completely on top of things.
And as a result, in the last hour of trading after those minutes came out yesterday, the Dow continued its plunge, dropping about more than a hundred points in the last hour alone, to lose 280 points yesterday. The Nasdaq and the S&P going down with it. A fairly significant decline.
There are also a couple of other things. Consumer confidence at its lowest level in a year, Kiran. And we were just talking about housing price numbers. The decline in home prices in the second quarter, the second three months of this year, compared to the same period last year, was 3.2 percent, so that's got people worried as well.
These are not new stories, but they are continuations of ongoing concerns. Right now, futures are pointing to a positive open on U.S. markets, so maybe, you know, when things go down, they go back up again.
CHETRY: All right. Ali Velshi, we'll check in with you in a couple more minutes. Thanks so much.
Well, five more South Korean hostages are free in Afghanistan this morning.
CNN's Monita Rajpal is live in London right now with the update for us.
Good morning.
MONITA RAJPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.
Yes, the story continues to develop minute by minute, just moments ago, that those five South Korean hostages, four women and one male, were released into what we believe is Red Cross officials right now. This comes just a couple of hours after three female hostages were released into Red Cross custody.
So, all in total now, as we understand it, is eight South Korean hostages are now in the custody of Red Cross officials in Afghanistan. There are still 11 remaining that are still yet to be released. We understand that they will be released by the end of the week.
Now, this comes just 24 hours after the Taliban and South Korean negotiators struck a deal whereby securing the release of 19 hostages. There were 23 hostages when this all began back on July 19th, when these members of a Christian missionary group were abducted just south of Kabul, off the main highway there.
The Taliban were demanding the release of Taliban prisoners who were being held in Afghanistan. South Korea said that was not up to them to decide. However, they did strike a deal just 24 hours ago whereby they said they would agree that no more South Korean Christian missionary groups would work in Afghanistan.
Plus -- and this is interesting as well -- that they also agreed that they would -- South Korea would withdraw some of its 200 -- actually, all of its 200 troops from Afghanistan. So a very fluid story that continues to develop -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Monita, thank you.
Well, Reynolds Wolf is also tracking in the CNN Center for us some extreme weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Uncovering the source of problems on the metro. That tops your "Quick Hits" now.
Officials with the D.C. Transit Authority say a lightning strike may have sparked a power surge and several small fires in the subway system. The power problems closed metro stations in northern Virginia on Sunday and again on Monday.
Armed in America. The annual Small Arms Survey says U.S. civilians have more guns than anyone in the world, 250 million handguns and rifles in circulation. That is nine guns for every 10 people in this country.
Dark insight into the life of one of Hollywood's funniest actors. New details about Owen Wilson's apparent suicide attempt coming up.
And he's always billed himself as a conservative, but after his arrest in an airport restroom, some faith and values groups say they want Senator Larry Craig to resign.
We'll talk with the executive director of the Idaho Values Alliance coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Sixteen minutes now after the hour.
Senator Tim Johnson is back on his feet. He is recovering from a life-threatening brain hemorrhage nine months ago. He speaks haltingly, he still has trouble walking, but he is ready to go back to work next week, which is nothing short of remarkable.
With more, CNN's chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's at the CNN Center in Atlanta and joins us now.
You're a neurologist, Sanjay. What is your assessment of where he is compared to where he was?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, he certainly made some significant recoveries. It's been about eight months now, and obviously I haven't examined him myself, but you can get some physical and verbal cues, as you did as well, John, just by watching him. I listened to the speech that he gave at that rally you were watching yesterday. Just listen to a couple of snippets of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TIM JOHNSON (D), SOUTH DAKOTA: It must already be clear to you that my speech is not 100 percent. But doctors tell me that it will get there. And, in fact, if you ask Barb, she will say I'm already talking too much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GUPTA: There's a few things to sort of pay attention to when it comes to recovery from a stroke. He had essentially what's known as a hemorrhagic stroke, or a bleeding stroke.
Typically, people can make recovery for quite sometime after the stroke, number one. Number two, the rate of recovery that they have initially greatly forecasts how they're going to do ultimately. So, he has had a significant recovery early on after his stroke, and that certainly bodes well for him further on down the road.
John, as you may know, there is sort of two speech areas of the brain. There is one speech area that sort of controls how you express yourself and another area that sort of controls how you receive speech. Are you able to understand?
In his case, he seems like he is pretty clearly able to understand things. It's that expressive part, that expression area of the brain that he is having more difficult with.
John, you may have also noticed as you watched some of that video, clearly his right side doesn't seem to move as well as his left side of his body. Even as he sort of got himself up out of the wheelchair, he used his left arm to push himself up. That's exactly what I'd expect. I'd expect him to have right-sided weakness still.
The left side of the brain controls the right side of the body. That will take time to recover as well, but it seems like things are progressing pretty well -- John.
ROBERTS: It was eerie, Sanjay, listening to the conference call that he was having with reporters when he had that bleed and you can hear his speech, his motor and his cognitive abilities, just deteriorate in real time.
Is he ever going to be back to 100 percent? Will he be able to carry out his duties, his functions as a senator, as he will need to?
GUPTA: Yes. You know, I listened to that radio show as well, and you noticed a couple of things. One is he immediately started having difficulty putting words together, which is characteristic, again, of damage to that part of the brain.
I think that, you know, given that he's had so much recovery so early, I think he's going to have significantly more recovery still. Being able to actually just get around physically is going to be more of a challenge with him. Whether he'll be able to walk with a cane at some point, I think that's a strong likelihood. In the meantime, he'll probably be using a motorized scooter or something.
Let me show you really quick, John, if you'll indulge me for one second, just to show you what happened to that part of his brain. We have an animation here.
He had what's known as an AVM, an arteriovenous malformation. Basically, that's a cluster of arteries and veins that grow together.
They shouldn't, but they did. And he was probably born with it. That cluster of blood vessels can bleed all of a sudden and cause damage to that area of the brain.
From talking to his doctors at the time, we learned that he actually had that treated successfully, so he should not have any further problems with that down the road.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, good news for him. And I'll tell you, it is remarkable to look at the strides that he has made in his recovery.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, thanks very much.
GUPTA: Thank you.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: Your "Quick Hits" now.
You may remember Lisa Nowak. The astronaut will be pleading insanity now, according to court papers released yesterday.
A lawyer for the former NASA astronaut says that she was suffering from an array of mental disorders when she allegedly drove a thousand miles to confront a romantic rival. Her trial is scheduled to begin next month.
And do you remember this voice?
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At the tone, Pacific daylight time will be 3:22 exactly.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, that was recorded a little earlier this morning, but starting September 19th, AT&T is discontinuing its time of day service in California. That will make Nevada the only state left that still has time and temperature where you can call.
Billionaire Leona Helmsley cut two of her grandchildren out of her fortune, but she still took care of her pooch. Her Maltese Trouble is in anything but.
The richest dog you'll ever meet ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning.
A look at the pay gap between workers and CEOs. You might not even want to see this one. It tops your "Quick Hits" now.
A new study shows that CEOs of large U.S. companies averaged nearly $11 million in pay last year. That's 364 times what the average worker made.
Well, move over New Jersey. Maryland is now the wealthiest state in the union. According to U.S. Census Bureau numbers for 2006, Maryland outpaced New Jersey's median household income. That's how they measure it -- $65,000 and change for Maryland, compared to $64,000 and change for New Jersey.
The average median household income in America is about $48,500. And Mississippi came in as the poorest of the 50 states. The median household income there, $34,400.
Well, there's plenty of wealth for the Queen of Mean's pooch. Billionaire Leona Helmsley cut two grandchildren out of our $4 billion fortune, but she did leave a $12 million trust to take care of her dog Trouble.
There's Trouble right there. Her will also stipulates that trouble be buried next to Helmsley and her husband in a five-star mausoleum that has its own $3 million trust.
ROBERTS: You've got to love the way that the New York tabloids played this today. Take a look at this.
CHETRY: They're referring to the dog, of course.
Well, here is a look at a story coming up that you can't...
ROBERTS: Kind of works both ways, doesn't it?
CHETRY: Yes, it's -- well, you said it, not me.
You know, this was a real shock. It actually shocked Hollywood.
Owen Wilson, the popular star of movies like "The Wedding Crashers," apparently in a suicide attempt. His brother speaking out tearfully to a magazine for the first time about what the future may hold for Owen Wilson now. He's in the hospital.
ROBERTS: Yes. Could this possibly affect his career?
We'll also have what the police reports are now revealing about the 911 call to Wilson's mansion.
We'll have that story and a lot more coming up ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
CHETRY: To the story that's been rocking Washington for the past couple of days, and that's Senator Larry Craig story. A little bit of a confusing one. He was arrested for lewd behavior, decided then to plead guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct, and all of it stems from an incident that took place about two months ago in a bathroom in a Minneapolis airport where an undercover police officer, who was conducting a sting, after reports of sexual activity happening in that bathroom, claims that Craig tried to solicit him in the bathroom stall using some of the familiar signs for trying to solicit sex in a bathroom stall. Craig claims that he did not do that, and now wants to retract his guilty plea.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. LARRY CRAIG (R), IDAHO: I have now retained counsel, and I am asking counsel to review this matter and to advise me on how to proceed.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CHETRY: Here to help us try to make sense of this, this morning is than CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin. Thanks for being with us, by the way.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Lots of unanswered questions. For example, why was "Saturday Night Live" being broadcast on a Tuesday afternoon yesterday? Because that was, obviously, not a regular newscast. Anyway, I'm kidding. Go ahead.
CHETRY: You had me there for a second!
TOOBIN: I know.
CHETRY: Did I miss it?
TOOBIN: No.
CHETRY: But there are many twists and turns to this. First of all, he says -- we have the filing here.
TOOBIN: The plea, yes.
CHETRY: Yes, the plea, where it says number five after this was signed by Senator Craig says, I now make no claim that I'm innocent of the charge to which I'm entering a plea of guilty. So this is for the exact purpose that you can't go back and say, well, I knew I wasn't guilty of it, but I just did it this to get out of it.
Not only in a guilty plea do you sign a document like this, saying I waive my rights to a trial to say that I'm innocent. That's a sworn statement. That's under oath. So what Senator Craig was saying yesterday is not only do I take -- do I want to try to take it back, I was committing perjury in the Minnesota courtroom when I confessed to this crime.
CHETRY: And that's the reason they make you sign this, for that exact reason?
TOOBIN: Right, and that's why -- you know, it's funny. I was at the Michael Vick guilty plea on Monday where, you know, I hadn't been in a guilty plea setting for a long time. When I was a prosecutor I used to do it all of the time. They are actually somewhat long and tedious processes for a very simple reason, because the judge asks you over and over again, do you understand what you're doing? Do you understand that you're giving up this right, and this right and this right? And they make sure this is not something done casually.
CHETRY: However, could he argue, because Vick had a bunch of lawyers? could he argue that he just, as he was saying, wanted to get this over with, didn't consult a lawyer? Can you go back and say you really didn't understand all of this?
TOOBIN: Absolutely not. You cannot do that. The circumstances in which you can withdraw a guilty plea are extremely narrow. You are under the influence of drugs. You don't speak English, didn't understand what you were doing. You were physically extorted. Someone said I'm going to kill you if you don't plead guilty.
CHETRY: So this is tough for a multi-elected U.S. senator?
TOOBIN: Tough sell doesn't capture how tough a sell it is.
CHETRY: Here is my question -- it doesn't look good, obviously.
TOOBIN: It does not look good.
CHETRY: But he pled guilty to disorderly conduct. That could be throwing paper towels in a bathroom. I mean, at the end of the day he didn't plead guilty to any kind of soliciting sex charge.
TOOBIN: No, he didn't.
CHETRY: So what is the Ethics Committee going to look at?
TOOBIN: The Ethics Committee is going to look at the whole circumstances. You can't slice bologna so thin and say I'm only going to look at disorderly conduct. He was arrested in a bathroom in a sexual situation. I mean, that's what every normal human being is going to think here, and the Senate has got to figure out -- and, by the way, like why didn't he tell anybody? that's another ethical issue. You know, he's a public official. The people in Idaho elected him and pay his salary. Don't you think they he had a right to think he's now a convicted criminal. I mean, that's the kind of question...
CHETRY: Are you a convicted criminal with a misdemeanor?
TOOBIN: Absolutely. You are not a convicted felon, but you are a convicted criminal.
CHETRY: So this is the question, quickly, with the Ethics Committee, if he had plead not guilty would this totally different situation? I mean, are they forced to take this to a different level because of that guilty plea?
TOOBIN: I think they would be obliged probably to investigate anyway if it had just been a trial, but certainly he'd be in a different posture. He'd say, look, a lot of innocent people are arrested, and he'd be right. Here he's pled guilty. So I don't -- this notion that he's like, you know, no, never mind, I'm not guilty after all, I mean, it's unprecedented in the realm of Washington scandal and legally untenable.
CHETRY: And what happened on "Saturday Night Live" again?
TOOBIN: That was quite a skit that the Senator Craig put out in Boise yesterday.
CHETRY: I'm sure they're taking notes at the show as well.
TOOBIN: Jeffrey Toobin, our CNN senior legal analyst, thank you.
ROBERTS: This morning, Owen Wilson, one of Hollywood's funniest actors, remains hospitalized, and the dark reality of why he is there is now coming to life. Newly released police reports suggest that Wilson did try to kill himself inside his California mansion, but why and what next?
CNN's David Mattingly has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On screen, he's often charming and slightly out there slacker. And in the smash hit "Wedding Crashers" Owen Wilson played the guy who got the laughs and got the girl.
But in real life, Wilson's easy going persona may have been masking serious personal problems. Police say that on Sunday, they were called to the block in Santa Monica, California, where Wilson's gated mansion is located. Police logs reveal they were responding to a suicide attempt.
LARRY SUTTON, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: There are a number of reports out there that say he attempted to commit suicide, that he attempted to slit his wrists. None of this has been confirmed by the authorities, either at the hospital, or the police who responded to the call. Word is, though, it was pretty serious.
MATTINGLY: Wilson last made celebrity headlines three months ago during his high-profile split with actress Kate Hudson.
SUTTON: As far as we know, his breakup with Kate Hudson is something that happened a few months back, and he got over it. It doesn't seem like that's the kind of thing that would put him over the edge.
MATTINGLY: Wilson was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and visited by family, including brother and fellow actor Luke Wilson. Hospital official say Wilson is in good condition, but would not reveal specifics.
In a statement released by his publicist, the actor said, "I respectfully ask that the media allow me to receive care and heal in private during this difficult time."
With a string of successes, Wilson is an actor in demand, and as long as audiences continue to laugh, many predict his career in comedy will likely overcome a private life filled with drama.
David Mattingly, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: This morning in an emotional interview Wilson's brother, Luke, saying he has no idea what the future holds for his brother's career. There are also reports out of Boston that Wilson's former girlfriend, Kate Hudson, was so upset over the news of the suicide attempt that she had to be taken off of a movie set there, so a lot of people concerned about Owen Wilson's future. (NEWSBREAK)
CHETRY: Well, he's always billed himself as a conservative, but after his arrest in an airport restroom, some faith and value groups say that they want Senator Larry Craig to resign. We're going to talk to the executive director of the Idaho Values Alliance, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
ROBERTS: Republican Senator Larry Craig spent his entire career portraying himself as a moral right-wing conservative, but after his recent arrest for lewd behavior in a public restroom, and despite yesterday's news conference in which he vowed to fight his own guilty plea of disorderly conduct, some groups representing faith and values are calling for him to step down.
Joining us now us with more on the Craig scandal is the executive director of the Idaho Values Alliance, Brian Fischer.
Brian, you were there at the press conference yesterday. Your impressions of it?
BRYAN FISCHER, EXEC. DIR., IDAHO VALUES ALLIANCE: Well, I did, John. We felt like the senator should be given out of courtesy and respect, should be given and opportunity to explain his conduct and his decisions in that Minneapolis airport restroom. I was unsatisfied. I thought his explanations were unpersuasive.
And the bottom line is that the senator really left us with no option but to accept the fact that his guilty plea really did represent an acknowledgment on his part that he was engaged in inappropriate behavior.
ROBERTS: Even though he denied that he was engaged in inappropriate behavior and he pled guilty to a misdemeanor of disorderly conduct, do you feel that that's not telling the whole story?
FISCHER: Well, I was very disappointed that the senator did not address his actions in the restroom at all. That was the major concern that we had. We have the extensive testimony of the police officer who made the arrest. He had no reason to lie or to distort what happened.
And so we really needed to have the senator step forward and explain his own actions and his conduct and he simply avoided that issue altogether. And so we believe now you have the police officer's testimony, you essentially have Senator Craig agreeing with what the police officer said by pleading guilty. That's two witnesses to what happened there, and we believe that's enough to bring us to the place where we think it's appropriate for him to step down.
ROBERTS: Now let's take a listen to a little bit of the press conference yesterday, because we should point out that he did say in his statement prior to the press conference, that he had complained to the police that they had misconstrued his contentions, but take a listen to some what he said yesterday, and I'll ask you about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG: I did nothing wrong at the Minneapolis airport. Let me be clear, I am not gay. I never have been gay.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Mr. Fischer, he made that point repeatedly, I'm not gay, never have been gay. What have you heard over the years about the senator's sexual orientation?
FISCHER: Well, rumors about Senator Craig's sexual proclivities have been circulating in Idaho for years. I've always discounted them because they came from anonymous sources. They could not be corroborated, could not be verified.
And what made this circumstance different in my judgment is that you did have the witness of the police officer, and Senator Craig essentially, by his guilty plea, accepting that the police officer's report of what happened was accurate. And I did not feel that the senator did anything or said anything yesterday that would lead me to any other conclusion, but that he acknowledged inappropriate behavior.
ROBERTS: Did you find yourself wondering what's going on inside the Republican Party? We have this Craig situation. There was the David Vitter accusations as well. Also the Mark Foley situation. Do you find yourself saying where is the moral leadership?
FISCHER: Well, I think that's a very good question. You know, from our standpoint, character is an important qualification for public service. How a man handles his sexuality is an important part of character, and so there's no question it's very disappointing to us. Senator Craig has provided outstanding leadership on public policy issues that protect the sanctity of life, protect the sanctity of marriage and the family. And Idahoans are always going to have reasons to be grateful to the senator for the kind of leadership he gave us on public policy issues.
But we do believe that character is an important aspect of qualification for public service and we believe the senator by his own admission admitted he has fallen short of the standards that we ought to expect from public servants.
ROBERTS: And so you think he should be gone?
FISCHER: Well, I do. And one of the things I thought was most significant about yesterday's press conference is who was not there. There was nobody from -- virtually no one from the Republican Party in Idaho that was present at his press conference. And what I read into that is that they understand that beneath all this smoke, there's enough fire that they don't want to get too close to that. They didn't feel that they could come out and publicly support the senator. They haven't come out and publicly criticized him. It's like there has been this cone of silence that's been draped over every member of the Republican Party.
I had conversations with Republicans around the state yesterday who told me that they had received calls from highly placed elected officials in the Republican Party that had told them not to talk to the media. So I think we still need to hear from the Republican Party leadership here in the state.
ROBERTS: And just like in a burning building, it's often the smoke that kills, not the fire itself.
Bryan Fischer from the Idaho Values Alliance, thanks for being with us.
FISCHER: You're very welcome, John. Thank you.
(NEWSBREAK)
CHETRY: Two years ago today Hurricane Katrina slammed the Gulf coast. Up next we're going to take you down to Waveland, Mississippi, one of the areas hardest hit by the storm. How are they doing two years later? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
CHETRY: One of the areas hardest hit by Katrina was Waveland, Mississippi. This morning a special church service is being held there. And President Bush will spend the day touring the area.
CNN's Kathleen Koch joins us now live from Waveland. She's got more on that.
Kathleen, what's going on where you are right now?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, as you can see behind me right now, there is this interfaith service under way. About 100 people have gathered here on the beach in Waveland, Mississippi, as you said, one of the hardest hit Gulf Coast towns, just decimated by Katrina.
And today is about remembering about looking just back at what happened two years ago, and it's a very, very difficult day, because this was the day that everything changed for the people in southern Mississippi. This is the day when everyone had to accept a new and really unbelievable reality.
Two years ago, you couldn't stand where I am right now, 143-mile- an-hour winds strafing the Gulf Coast; the huge 30-foot storm surge was beginning to roll in.
Services like this are giving people a chance to come together, to draw strength from one another, and some of the services we've attended this week as people are remembering, we've talked to them and asked them what is the message they would like to send out today on this anniversary to the rest of America?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA FALLON, BAY ST. LOUIS RESIDENT: I would like them to know that we still need all of the help and caring and volunteers. We need it bad! People just don't realize. They just don't realize.
PASTOR DAVID MACDONALD, CALVARY INDEPENDENT BAPTIST CHURCH: We get crews coming down but they are thinning out, as the years -- months go on. So it's trying to let people know there is still a need down here, especially in the area of housing, and just the mental and spiritual needs that are down here, still overwhelming.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: Hurricane Katrina two years ago may have destroyed homes, lives, businesses here on the Gulf Coast, but it hasn't destroyed the will of the people. President Bush will certainly see that when he comes to Bay St. Louis, Mississippi at midday today -- John.
ROBERTS: And we should point out this is a personal story for you because you grew up in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
From what you have seen over the last couple of years in terms of this recovery evident, how long is it going to take for things to really get back to normal there?
KOCH: John, the mayor of our town, Bay St. Louis, he said yesterday, he thought it would be a good seven years. I actually am a bit more pessimistic. I say 10 years. When I look around me at the slow pace of recovery. I had lived on the beach not too far from here, and there are just so few homes anywhere near the water and so few businesses reopened on the water. I say 10 years. Everything is progressing so slowly.
ROBERTS: If I can point it out as well, Kathleen, you're a hard- nosed reporter, but every time we mention your hometown, you can see it in your eyes it does really deeply affect you.
Kathleen Koch for us this morning on the Gulf Coast. Kathleen, thanks very much.
A new housing report triggering a huge new headache. Home prices falling to a 20-year low, and at one of the worst possible times. We'll tell you why, next on AMERICAN MORNING.
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ROBERTS: Coming up now to a couple of minutes before the top of the hour. And not only are declining home prices spooking the financial markets but also making it difficult for people who might have to move.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. This is -- even if you're in a declining home market, if you're moving in that market, it may not be all that disastrous, because you're going to sale place that's down and you're going to buy a place that's down. If you have to move from a market that's down to one that has increased. And people have to do that in this world -- they've got to move for other jobs. For instance, let's say you started in Detroit and you've laid off in the auto industry or something, and you want to go to a place booming.
Well, these are the declines. These are the top five metro areas with housing price declines this year over last year. Look at that, Detroit, 11 percent, San Diego, 7.3, Phoenix 6.6, Vegas 5.1, Los Angeles 4.1. There are places in Florida where condos are being built and people are just leaving without their deposits.
Now let's say you to move to one of these places where there are increases. Remember there a lot of places in the United States where there are increases in home prices. Topping that list is Seattle, 7.9 percent. So boy, that's work there, but if you have to go from Detroit to Seattle, you're going to take a big hit. Charlotte, North Carolina, Portland, Oregon, Dallas and Atlanta. Dallas and Atlanta are still places thought even by people who live there not to be strong markets, because at one point 6 percent increase means that some houses are increasing and some clearly aren't. But those markets are actually increasing a little bit.
So a little hope for those of you in the south, but California, Florida, and parts of the southwest and Detroit still taking an absolute beating, and this isn't going to end anytime soon.
ROBERTS: No, probably about another year and a half to shake out.
VELSHI: Yes, but it will end at some point, because that's what housing prices do.
ROBERTS: Ali, thanks very much.
VELSHI: OK.
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