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American Morning
President's Report; Spy Game Penalty; President's Iraq Address; Minding Your Business
Aired September 14, 2007 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Defining success.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The more successful we are, the more American troops can return home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The president delivers a report card on Iraq today, as Democrats push their own plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JACK REED, (D) RHODE ISLAND: Democrats and Republicans in Congress can not and must not stand idly by.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: A new storm comes to life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of a sudden just all hell broke lose.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: And Humberto sets a record.
Plus, sacked. The Patriots face the music in the sideline spy scandal on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And good morning. Thanks very much for joining us on this Friday, the 14th of September. I'm John Roberts in Washington.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Hi there, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins in New York, in this morning for Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: Hey, Heidi, good to see you. Thanks very much for sitting in today.
COLLINS: You too. You bet.
ROBERTS: We begin this morning with the president's message on Iraq. He delivers his progress report to Congress today and set the stage for it in his address to the nation last night. The president announced gradual reductions of U.S. forces in Iraq. Two thousand two hundred Marines out almost immediately, 5,700 more troops home by Christmas and the rest of the surge that is, the so called surge, by next July. But he strongly rejected calls to end the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: It is never too late to deal a blow to al Qaeda. It is never too late to advance freedom. And it is never too late to support our troops in a fight they can win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: CNN's Elaine Quijano is live at the White House for us this morning, just across Lafayette Park from our location here.
Elaine, what did the president have to say about the benchmarks that the Iraqi government was supposed to meet?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, the president really tried to temper the bad news first by emphasizing the positive, namely the security and local political gains that have been made in parts of Iraq. But the president also responded to some Democratic criticisms and some Republican concerns that the central government in Baghdad is not making enough political progress on national reconciliation and that the president needs to put more pressure on the Iraqis. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: The government has not met its own legislative benchmarks. And in my meetings with Iraqi leaders, I've made it clear that they must.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUIJANO: But the president's own report to Congress, as you noted, will show satisfactory ratings on just nine of the 18 benchmarks laid out. That's just one more than the White House's own report back in July.
Now the White House argues that should be kept in context. That it's only been two months. And that people shouldn't expect some kind of huge uptick.
Nevertheless, Democrats argue that is why U.S. forces should get out because, they say, it's not up to U.S. forces. They say it's only the Iraqis themselves who can decide to come -- whether or not they want to come together.
John.
ROBERTS: The criticism not exactly a report card you want to bring home to mom.
The president, Elaine, also made it clear that he sees the U.S. military presence in Iraq lasting well beyond his presidency. What did he have to say about that?
QUIJANO: Yes, you know, this is so interesting because the president really tried to frame this in terms of what the Iraqis want. The president said that Iraq's leaders have asked for a "enduring relationship" with the United States. He said that the U.S. is ready to begin building that relationship. And he talked about a U.S. political, economic and security engagement that extends beyond his presidency.
As you know, John, those familiar with the president's thinking say perhaps something along the lines of what we've seen in South Korea. But it was a striking comment, as you know, because this president, back in January, as you'll recall, when he announced the surge also said that America's commitment was not open-ended.
John.
ROBERTS: Yes. As people will recall, American troops have been in South Korea since 1950.
Elaine Quijano at the White House for us this morning. Elaine, thanks. We'll see more of you this morning.
More of the same. That's what Democrats are saying about President Bush's strategy. The party's response was delivered by former army ranger, Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JACK REED, (D) RHODE ISLAND: Tonight a nation eager for change in Iraq heard the president speak about his plans for the future. But once again, the president failed to provide either a plan to successfully end the war or a convincing rational to continue it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Reed said that Democrats would work to profoundly change the military mission in Iraq.
So how is the president's plan for Iraqi troop withdrawals playing with those who would be president? Some of the 2008 candidates weighed in last night on "Larry King Live."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The bar for success has been dropped so low now that it is barely visible. And the American people, I think, will not be fooled by this.
RUDY GIULIANI, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think the idea of return on success is a good idea. The idea that we're going to determine what we do in Iraq based upon our ability to provide safety, security and a stable situation in which we emerge from Iraq with an ally in the terrorist war against us.
JOHN EDWARDS, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think it's time for us to shift the pressure to them, for them to feel the heat. And the way to do that is to start pulling out troops and to continue to pull out troops, in my judgment, over the next nine or 10 months.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that when we extend the security you will see more political progress. Are we disappointed in the Maliki government? Of course. But those critics of -- as you are hearing about the lack of political progress, are the same ones six months ago that said there was no military progress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: As for Hillary Clinton, she said the president offered no change in course to his failing Iraq policy.
Heidi.
COLLINS: Another earthquake hitting Indonesia this morning, triggering a brief tsunami alert. Take a look at this. The latest quake, a magnitude 6.9. That follows 48 hours of seismic activity there. Really unbelievable. Many hospitals, houses, government buildings and clinics have been destroyed now. At least 13 people have been killed.
And there's a new tropical storm to tell you about. Ingrid is her name. It's the ninth storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Still hundreds of miles from the outer Caribbean Islands. We'll keep our eye on that one for you.
And news about Hurricane Humberto this morning as well. It set a record growing faster than any storm before, going from a tropical depression to a full-blown category one hurricane in less than 24 hours. It made landfall just north of Galveston, Texas. At least one person was killed. Parts of Louisiana also flooded.
Reynolds Wolf is at the CNN weather desk now tracking extreme weather for us.
It's been a busy couple of days there, Reynolds, that's for sure. How are you?
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Reynolds, thanks very much.
Other headlines new this morning.
A 12-hour manhunt involving more than 1,000 law enforcement officers is now over in south Florida. The gunman s suspected of killing a Miami-Dade police officer and wounding three others was killed himself late last night in a shootout with police. Police cornered Shawn Labeet at a condo complex in Pembroke Pines. That's north of Miami. He had been pulled over earlier in the day for driving erratically and opened fire on police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROBERT PARKER, MIAMI-DADE POLICE: Something was very wrong with that individual. We don't have any answers. I'm certain that as time passes in future and we look at everything that is before us in terms about the connection with Mr. Labeet, his motives and motivations, we might have some insight as to why this occurred. But there was no, to my knowledge, early warnings or early indicators that he would try or do something like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: One of those wounded officers is still in the hospital this morning.
California is sending a message to teenage drivers -- hang up and drive. A new law just passed forbids 16 and 17-year-old drivers from using their cell phones or other gadgets to text message when they're behind the wheel. Fifteen other states also have no texting while driving laws.
Heidi.
COLLINS: Time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new this morning.
Coach Bill Belichick and his New England Patriots are paying big time for the sideline spy scandal. AMERICAN MORNING's Alina Cho is at our national update desk now with more on that.
Good morning to you, Alina.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi, good morning to you. You know, the New England Patriots have won three Super Bowls under head coach Bill Belichick. But now the sports world is really buzzing about this latest spy scandal.
The NFL has found the Patriots guilty of videotaping the hand signals of a coach from the New York Jets. Now the league did not waste time taking action. Belichick was fined $500,000. That's the largest fine ever for a coach. The NFL also fined the team $250,000. And if the Patriots make the playoffs this season, they will have to give up their first-round draft pick. That's never happened either.
Now at issue here is a 26-year-old video assistant for the Patriots. He was caught taping from the sidelines during last Sunday's game against the New York Jets. On the tape apparently the hand signals of the Jets' defensive coach. Now that video assistant, by the way, is already back on the job. Meanwhile, on the Patriots' website last night, Belichick issued a statement calling what happened "his mistake." He also said, "our use of sideline video had no impact on the outcome of last week's game. We have never used sideline video to obtain a competitive advantage while the game was in progress."
Now the Pats have been accused of this before. But to be fair, both the NFL and Belichick have said the camera was seized before the end of the first quarter. Critics, of course, say that's a loose interpretation of the rules. Spying is spying. And that's illegal. Now NFL rules do say no video recording devices can be used on the field or in the locker room. And NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell called the Patriots' act a "calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid those rules." But, Heidi, the Pats will be back on field this Sunday against the San Diego Chargers and Belichick will be on the sidelines.
Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, he will.
It's cheating! It's cheating! We're going to talk more about it.
CHO: (INAUDIBLE).
COLLINS: Yes, we'll talk more about it a little bit later on in this show. Alina Cho, thanks so much.
CHO: Sure.
COLLINS: Japan is going back to the moon. It is the largest mission, in fact, to the moon since the Apollo flights. CNN Monita Rajpal is following this from our world update desk in London this morning.
Good morning to you, Monita.
MONITA RAJPAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Heidi.
Yes, Japanese space agency officials are hoping this time around this mission will actually light up the fire under Japanese politicians. Actually pay some attention to their space agency. Apparently the Japanese space agency is saying that there's been -- or has been accused of not having enough vision. So this time around this unmanned orbiter named Kaguya (ph), after a fairytale princess, was launched.
It will take 21 days to reach the moon where it will spend a year I guess probing and taking pictures. It's got a high-definition television camera that will shoot the earth rising from the moon's horizon. So pretty pictures will be sent back from this mission. And it will be there for about a year until it runs out of fuel.
Now it is racing -- it is in a race against others who are also planning missions to the moon. For example, China plans an unmanned vehicle on the moon by 2010. India by 2008. And the U.S. next year. So it's starting to get there ahead of the game. Hopefully there will be some more interest within Japan in itself.
Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, a great story.
All right. Monita Rajpal, thanks so much.
John, now back to you in D.C.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Heidi. Your "Quick Hits" now, centered (ph) in Washington.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will deliver a farewell remarks to the Justice Department this afternoon. Gonzales resigned last month amid controversy over the handling of domestic wiretapping and the firing of eight U.S. attorneys. He will be stepping down officially on Monday.
It's also departure day for White House Press Secretary Tony Snow. He is leaving after 16 months for a higher paying job. Snow is still battling colon cancer but says it didn't play a role in his resignation. We're going to be talking live to Tony coming up in about 25 minutes' time here on AMERICAN MORNING. So stay with us for that.
President Bush says some troops are coming home, but that the U.S. will not back down in Iraq. So how was last night's speech perceived by America? Up next, conservative radio host Laura Ingraham joins us.
And who do you got? The duck or the cougar? Mascots go at it and it gets ugly, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up now to fifteen minutes after the hour. And some of the best shots of the morning in our "Quick Hits" now.
Tropical Storm Ingrid is now the ninth named storm of the 2007 hurricane season. The National Hurricane Center says it formed Thursday night in the open Atlantic, still hundreds of miles from the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean and, at the moment, not forecast to strengthen into a hurricane. Of course that could always change.
Twin lightning strikes caught on tape just off Tiby (ph) Island in Georgia. I-Reporter had the quick trigger finger that captured nature in action. A pretty spectacular shot.
This one, though, looked a little bit more dangerous. I-Reporter Christy Narin (ph) caught this bolt of lightning as it hit a school library. She says she was picking up her son from school when it happened.
Heidi.
COLLINS: In last night's primetime address, President Bush said he has accepted the advice from his top commander in Iraq. He'll bring thousands of troops home by the middle of next year, but he ruled out a full withdrawal saying we're winning there and it's important we keep winning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: A free Iraq will set an example for people across the Middle East. A free Iraq will be our partner in the fight against terror. And that will make us safer here at home. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Conservative radio host and the author of "Power to the People," Laura Ingraham is joining us now.
Good morning to you, Laura.
LAURA INGRAHAM: Good to see you.
COLLINS: Got to ask you right off the top, what did you think of this speech last night?
INGRAHAM: I caught bits and pieces because I was running around for "Power To The People." Look, we have got to see political progress in Iraq that matches the military progress. However, I think people at this point say, wait a second. There are a lot of people who seem to be betting on Americas losing in Iraq. Can we see this progress continue? Can we build on it? We have a limited period of time to do that. I think the president knows that.
COLLINS: Yes. I think it is the first time, though, that we've actually heard him say and the American people have heard him say, look, this conflict may last, the troops may be in Iraq beyond my presidency.
INGRAHAM: Well, it's not his decision. I mean it's the next president's decision. And this is going to be his legacy. He understands that. And he doesn't want to leave Iraq worse off than how we found it and how our soldiers found it. And we're going to see this play out. This is going to be a road that goes like this, not a road that goes straight. And that's been the history of Iraq.
COLLINS: Yes, as you well know, I'm sure, Senator Jack Reed gave the Democratic response last night. Let's listen for just a second and I'll get your comment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REED: A nation eager for change in Iraq heard the president speak about his plans for the future. But once again, the president failed to provide either a plan to successfully end the war or a convincing rational to continue it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: All right. If we're talking about the surge there, there have been people, of course, who have said, listen, if we draw down by about 30,000 troops, that's the number that we put in for the surge. So we're really back to where we starred, are we not?
INGRAHAM: And we're back to where the military leaders think we need to be. I mean, we have this left-right fight going on in this country about every issue. And at this moment in time, wouldn't it be great if America said, look, we might not like President Bush on this issue, but we're going to move forward because we want to win this thing. We don't want to lose. Don't bet against America. So -- and Democrats are going to do what they do and they're going to try to get a little political traction out of President Bush. I don't think that's going to help.
COLLINS: Well, you mentioned political issues. And, of course, you know, we see this very clear divide, the military progress, the political progress. Some people would say they're together. A lot of people say, absolutely not. You've got to have the political process in play.
INGRAHAM: Yes, right. What do we want to leave behind for our kids? Do we want to leave behind a country that respects our military and believes in our military, or do we want to leave behind some other like legacy of, you know, trash Petraeus, you know, trash the president. If there's progress, say there's not real progress.
I mean, look, everybody knows that this is a difficult situation in Iraq. I think right now a lot of people in this country are saying, OK, let's do a reality check, let's see what happens over the next few months. President Bush does not have an unlimited amount of time to show political progress in Iraq. I know the Iraqi people want us to be there because they're afraid of us leaving. We can't be there an unlimited time. And -- we just can't.
COLLINS: Well, we're going to be hearing a lot more, obviously. We're nowhere near the end of this whole thing. But I want to make sure we get a chance to talk about the book with you.
INGRAHAM: Yes, that would be nice because that's why I was invited on.
COLLINS: "Power To The People." What do you want people to take away from the book.
INGRAHAM: That we need to leave behind something better than Britney Spears on a stage wiggling and jiggling.
COLLINS: You didn't like that?
INGRAHAM: No. Because when I talk about what's good for America in the Arab world, it's putting out a vision of unity in this country. That we believe in the goodness of this country, not the garbage that comes out, unfortunately, out of the entertainment industry and some of it probably out this building.
And we're all complicate. I wag the finger at myself as well as, you know, the rest of us to say, look, we can do better than this. We need to uplift this culture.
The image to the Arab world shouldn't be what we saw at the VMA Awards the other night. That's not going to help us. And that's not going to help us in Iraq. It's not going to help us in any part of the Middle East. They don't want that for their daughters.
COLLINS: It's an interesting book. And you also talk a lot about faith in here as well.
INGRAHAM: I do.
COLLINS: "Power to the People," Laura Ingraham, author of the book.
INGRAHAM: Thank you.
COLLINS: Thanks so much. Nice to see you.
INGRAHAM: Thanks.
COLLINS: John.
ROBERTS: A shot at the moon. The same folks who launched the X Prize for the first private vehicle in space back in 2004 are issuing a new challenge, land a rover on the moon, make it travel at least 550 yards and send back video. The prize, $25 million paid for by Google.
It gets hot in those costumes and one mascot got a little too hot and just lost it. When ducks attack and why there's nothing to cheer about coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
Plus, Alan Greenspan in the news this morning. Did he drop the ball on a huge, financial problem while at the helm of the Federal Reserve. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A duck versus a cougar. Sounds like a mismatch on paper, but on the field, well, check this out. Two mascots went at it when Oregon took on Houston on college football's opening weekend. Apparently the Oregon duck became upset when the Houston University cougar imitated one of his trademarks, pushup for total points after each touchdown. Moments later, the cougar was on ground and the duck was throwing haymakers. Cheerleaders eventually had to come in and brake it up. The duck was suspended for a game.
Heidi.
COLLINS: I don't know. I think it's a publicity stunt.
ROBERTS: Do you think?
COLLINS: I do. They're vying for Britney's time possibly.
Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business" now, joining us with some of the stories that we've been talking about for a long time now. We possibly have some interesting news about mortgage rates.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, right now mortgage rates are actually down, which is interesting. If you're looking for a mortgage this week, your rates are as low as they've been in the last four months. For a 30-year mortgage you're paying about 6.31 percent. That's a fixed rate. A 15-year ARM is 5.97 percent. And a one-year ARM is 5.66 percent. Now do the math yourself and, you know, decide if you want that inflexibility of having a one-year ARM and risking where mortgage rates are going. Now, mortgage rates. You're going to find out a bit about them next week because the Fed is going to do something on Tuesday at its big Fed meeting. Most folks are . . .
COLLINS: Shh, it's a secret.
VELSHI: It's a big secret until 2:15 Eastern on Tuesday. Most folks think they're going to drop interest rates. The betting is, are they dropping 25 basis points, that's a quarter of a percent or 50.
But there's one event that's going to happen before Tuesday that might be interesting. On Monday, Alan Greenspan book comes out. He was the Fed chief for 18 years. He's come out with a book and he's been giving interviews all over the place. And we've seen a few of the excerpts.
One of the more interesting ones that he gave to "60 Minutes," he says, "while I was aware there were a lot of these practices going on," speaking about the sub prime threat, "I had no notion of how significant they had become until very late." He goes on to say, "I really didn't get it until very late in 2005 and 2006." And he left office in 2006 handing this problem over to Ben Bernanke.
COLLINS: Wow. It's an interesting admission now.
VELSHI: An interesting read. Very interesting admission.
COLLINS: Yes.
VELSHI: These interesting admissions always make sense when a book is coming out.
COLLINS: Indeed they do.
VELSHI: So I'll be getting a copy of it and read through it thoroughly.
COLLINS: Excellent. And then we'll hear from you on that (INAUDIBLE).
VELSHI: Yes, absolutely.
COLLINS: All right, Ali Velshi "Minding Your Business." Thanks so much.
Here's a look now at a story coming up that you just can't miss. Tony Snow steps down. And here's what he had to say during his last on-camera press briefing as White House press secretary.
We're going to hear more about that. And I know that, John, you're going to be talking with Tony Snow. We thought we were going to hear it right there, but we'll bring it up a little bit later on. I know you're going to talk with him at about 6:40.
ROBERTS: Yes. He's not usually a man of so few words.
COLLINS: He's not.
ROBERTS: So we hope to get a few more out of him when we speak to him.
COLLINS: He's very quiet today.
ROBERTS: Yes, we'll talk to him about the president's speech last night, as well this new report today on progress on benchmarks, which doesn't look like a whole lot of progress has been made. And what's next for Tony and also how his health is doing. You know that he's battling colon cancer.
Those stories coming up when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: First light in New York City. It was a pretty good night for sleeping. Currently 66 degrees. Some folks there might have had their windows open. It's going to be an OK day today, 75 degrees, so it won't be too hot, going to be mostly cloudy though, not a lot of sunshine. But it's still a beautiful shot across Central Park there, looking at the East Side over the East River and on up into Long Island Sound. Those airplanes will be taking off there from LaGuardia any minute now.
Welcome back, Friday, September 14th. I'm John Roberts here in Washington.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN GUEST NEWS ANCHOR: I'm Heidi Collins in New York, in for Kiran Chetry.
We begin this half hour in south Florida. A 12-hour manhunt for a suspected cop killer is over. It involved more than 1,000 law enforcement officers. Suspected cop killer Shawn Sherwin LaBeet was gunned down at a condo complex late last night. Police pulled him over earlier in the day for driving erratically. That's when he opened fire on four officers.
CNN's Susan Candiotti is live in Miami with more.
Susan, do we have any idea of what the motive was in this crime yet?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Heidi, good morning. We don't yet know. Apparently, neither do police about what led Shawn LaBeet, wanted on a five-year-old aggravated assault charge, to take on police to begin with, and why was he armed with an AK-47? He shot and wounded four police officers, killing one of them. About 12 hours later just, before midnight, police confronted LaBeet. They cornered him in a condo complex 30 miles to the north. They say he was ready for a gun battle. He was armed. He had an extra clip of ammo. And he was wearing body armor.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT PARKER, MIAMI-DADE POLICE: Obviously, something was very wrong with that individual. We don't have any answers. I'm certain that as time passes in the future and we look at everything that is before us in terms of the connection with Mr. Labeet, his motives and motivations, we might have some insight as to why this occurred.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: The officer who was killed was on the force just a few years. He is survived by a wife and two young children -- Heidi?
COLLINS: What about the suspect's girlfriend? Are they going to possibly charge her?
CANDIOTTI: Police say that's entirely possible. After all, they say she lied to them when they first discovered her. And she gave them the wrong identification of her boyfriend. He had stolen someone else's identity and they lost several hours looking for him by putting out the wrong name and the wrong photograph.
COLLINS: All right, CNN's Susan Candiotti live this morning in Miami for us. Susan, thank you.
Also new this morning, a call going out in Philadelphia for volunteer patrols to help reduce violence. Phillies police chief there is asking for 10,000 black men to help patrol the streets. They'd be similar to Guardian Angels. They wouldn't carry weapons and would be trained in conflict resolution. Philadelphia is dealing with the highest murder rate among the country's ten largest cities. They hope to get patrols on the streets by late next month.
Polygamist religious leader Warren Jeffs will be back in court today after an explosive start to his trial. Jeffs was led into court in chains and a bulletproof vest. He's charged as an accomplice to rape for allegedly setting up a 14-year-old girl to be married to her cousin. In court, prosecutors played the tape of one of Jeffs' sermons on how women must be absolutely submissive. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN JEFFS: Do you give yourself to him God means, in full obedience. You are literally taken from your father's home and given to that man. You belong to him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: The woman who Jeffs allegedly married off -- she's now 21 -- testified against him, saying as she did in pre-trial hearings, she was raised to obey Jeffs or risk her eternal soul.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WITNESS VOICE: He said I always want to see her naked. I was so embarrassed. I was so embarrassed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Warren Jeffs is the so-called prophet of the Fundamental Church of Latter Day Saints. His followers believe he communicates directly with God. ROBERTS: Heidi, new this morning, Rudy Giuliani is firing back in print at moveon.org. He took out a full-page ad in "The New York Times'" A section, to respond to the General Betray Us ad. This one lists the accolades of America's top general in Iraq. It also goes after Hillary Clinton for saying that the general's testimony required, quote, "suspension of disbelieve." Move-on's ad ran in the A section on Monday. It was the first day of General David Petraeus' highly anticipated testimony to Congress.
Disgraced Democratic fund-raiser Norman Hsu apparently blames Barack Obama for turning the party faithful against him. In a letter to friends, Hsu apparently said articles raising questions about his fund-raising activities were planted by a politician who pledged, quote, "hope and change," an apparent reference to Obama. Obama's spokesman calls it a sad and baseless allegation. Hillary Clinton recently returned $850,000 in contributions linked to Hsu. Hsu is now jailed in Colorado awaiting extradition to California in a felony theft case.
In a prime-time Oval Office address last evening President Bush says he supports the recommendations of his top commander in Iraq and is ordering gradual reductions in U.S. forces beginning later this month.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The more successful we are the more American troops can return home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The plan is far from a full withdrawal and did little to appease critics of the war.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JACK REED, (D), RHODE ISLAND: A nation eager for change in Iraq heard the president speak about his plans for the future. But once again, the president fails to provide either a plan to successfully end the war or a convincing rational to continue it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Congressional correspondent Dana Bash has reaction on Capitol Hill. She joins us live this morning.
Dana, the Democrats are saying it is not enough. What are they going to do about it?
DANA BASH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Well, next week, John, we are going to have yet another debate in the Senate but it is going to be quite a different approach from Senate Democrats than we've seen over and over in these Iraq debates here since Democrats took control of Congress.
If you listen carefully to Senator Jack Reed's Democratic response last night, John, it was notable for what was not there. That was talk of a deadline for troop withdrawal. He did talk about rapid redeployment, about changing the mission to counterterrorism and also about stepping up diplomacy. But by dropping their insistence on that deadline, what Democrats are hoping is that they can lure enough Republicans to finally pass something. It is possible.
Check out what Republican Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee said last night. He said, of the president's speech, "He didn't go as far along that path as our country could and should go and still honorably finish the job in Iraq."
It is that kind of statement that makes compromise possible. The question is how far Democrats and some of those moderate Republicans are willing to go to get those 60 votes to finally pass something -- John?
ROBERTS: Are the votes there to get to 60, and then past that, are there votes to get to 67 to override a veto?
BASH: Sixty-seven, at this point, probably unlikely. What's going to be interesting next week is there will probably be about half-a-dozen proposals on the Senate floor. One will be from Lamar Alexander and a pretty big group of bipartisan Senators pushing the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group. They're tweaking and updating that now. There is going to be something proposed by the Democratic leadership. It is close-hold right now. Senator Carl Levin, the Armed Services chairman, is working, we believe, with Republican John Warner. These are super secret talks. They won't say exactly what they are.
Probably the best chance at something passing, John, is a proposal by Jim Webb of Virginia. This is something that would mandate troop rests between deployments. Many believe this is a back- door way to force some redeployment from Iraq.
ROBERTS: Dana, if they're only super secret talks, we expect you to have all the information by 9:00 this morning.
Dana Bash live on Capitol Hill for us this morning. Dana, thanks, as always.
Heidi?
COLLINS: Blocking Internet searches tops your "Quick Hits" now. The European Union is looking into blocking searches for words like "bomb" "kill" or "terrorism." The E.U.'s top security official said the restrictions did infringe on freedom of speech and said it was more important to protect people from terrorists.
And Prince is taking on YouTube. The pop star says he intends to sue the site for allowing his videos and music to be posted. He's also taking on eBay saying they've allowed hundreds of knock-off and pirated items to be sold.
Meanwhile Tony Snow, a short-timer now before heading to the office for his final day as White House press secretary. He'll join us right here on AMERICAN MORNING."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Some of the best shots of the morning in "Quick Hits," a bike ride after Tropical Storm Humberto. Look at this. These are streets all too familiar with flooding in New Orleans. The city was largely spared this time, but towns further east saw a half a foot of rain.
And check this out, a sea of orange. That's empty seats. Just 400 people showed up to see the Florida Marlins take on the Washington Nationals. The stadium actually fits 75,000. Both teams are at the bottom of the National League East. The game went 12 innings and it was steamy.
Well, you better get a bigger backpack. Look at this. Brazil trying to get the Guinness World record for building the biggest book of all time. It is a very large version of a novel "The Little Prince." It used up enough paper to cover half a football field. It weighed 661 pounds, ten feet wide. When open, it does have pictures, rest assured -- John.
ROBERTS: Great looking book.
President Bush pushing the positive last night as he addressed the nation on the war in Iraq. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BUSH: Today most of Baghdad's neighborhoods are being patrolled by coalition and Iraqi forces, who live among the people they protect. Many schools and markets are reopening. Citizens are coming forward with vital intelligence. Sectarian killings are down and ordinary life is beginning to return.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Some say president Bush was setting the stage for the bad news that he has to present to Congress later today, that being just how far away the Iraqi government is from meeting the 18 benchmarks that were set for earlier this year.
With us this morning, on his last official day, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow.
Good morning to you, Tony.
TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Good morning to you, John.
ROBERTS: What about this report? Sources tell us it breaks down like this. Only nine satisfactory in terms of these benchmarks being met, five unsatisfactory. Two unsatisfactory, but with some progress and two too early to tell. Is that a report card you'd want to bring home? SNOW: It is a report card we've got to bring home for Congress, as you know. It is sort of a fractional look at what goes on in Iraq. It is certainly not the sum and substance of everything going on in Iraq, but there are some benchmarks Congress wanted to meet.
You may recall in the last report there were a couple of things, including some that are construed as reconciliation, where the people doing the report said these benchmarks aren't quite on the mark but, look, it is the law, we're going to file the report.
What General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker tried to do this week was to fill out the picture and give people a larger sense of what actually is going on in Iraq, good, bad, the ugly. There is pretty good consensus right now the political class in Iraq needs to get moving.
But on the other hand there is a grass-roots rebellion against not only extremists from al Qaeda, who come from outside of Iraq in, but also against the Shia extremists, who have been trying to blow up Iraq from within. There is a lot of enormously good news in terms of the response of the Iraqi people to the surge. There are a lot of things going on, John.
ROBERTS: But isn't this report just going to give more fuel to critics, Tony, who say, why are we putting American lives at risk to try to fix a problem that looks like the Iraqis don't even want to fix themselves?
SNOW: First, the premise is wrong. I think -- but you're right, I think critics will say that. Because at this point, it is not clear that any amount of good news is going to satisfy them that it's worth going through and pursuing the mission.
For them, the only acceptable course is to get out, don't worry about the consequences, don't worry about whether it is going to create bloodshed as the national intelligence estimate and Baker- Hamilton Commission report said. Just get out. That seems to be the consensus among a certain number of people on the left.
On the other hand, I think most Americans realize what the president's really talking about is having a president that goes in, cleans out the bad guys, allows Iraqis to step forward.
As for the idea the Iraqi don't want to take it on, you got to be kidding me? Iraqis are now taking front-line positions, more and more frequently. They're going to be doing it in Anbar Province. They're taking three times as many deaths and casualties on the battlefield. They're stepping up and demonstrating it.
It is probably about time for members of Congress who have been hooked on a failure there to realize we're having some success, celebrate it. Give our guys credit for what they're doing and build on it.
ROBERTS: Give me a quick answer to this, Tony, because I want to ask you about your last day here. How long are we going to be in Iraq? The president last night was setting the stage for a long-term relationship with the Iraqis, which would include a U.S. military presence there.
SNOW: Well, the Iraqi want that. It is impossible to say. We're still in Germany. We're still in Korea, in South Korea. What the president's not talking about -- I'm glad you raised it because Jack Reed tried to pawn this off on the American people last night, 130,000 troops in combat roles indefinitely? Wrong. General Petraeus himself had laid out what he felt was kind of a reasonable schedule for drawing down forces.
The real key here is building up strength and capacity among the Iraqis and having a small group of Americans that support it. It is what the Baker-Hamilton Commission, which many Democrats have raised, it's what they recommended. It is where we want to get.
ROBERTS: I guess the key is going to be how many U.S. troops are involved in that long-term process.
SNOW: Yeah.
ROBERTS: So this is your last day. You've been there a little less than 18 months. How you feeling about leaving? How's your health? And what are you going to do next?
SNOW: Well, first as far as leaving, it's bittersweet. It is very difficult to leave the White House. I've loved every minute of the job.
In terms of my health, I got cancer but it is in remission. We keep fighting it. I think this is one of the things I'm just going to keep doing for years and years, getting treatment and trying to hold it in abeyance. But that's where we are. I feel great. I'm doing fine.
Finally, on the other side, I'm going to give some speeches. I'm going to work on some books. And I'm going to devote myself to causes that I think are important. So I'm pretty excited about the whole combination.
ROBERTS: It's been a pleasure to get together with you every once in a while. You're a terrific human being. Best of luck to you, Tony, in your fight against cancer. Thanks for being with us this morning.
SNOW: John, thank you.
ROBERTS: Take care.
Heidi?
COLLINS: There is a new tropical storm to tell you about this morning. Will Ingrid reach hurricane strength? We are tracking this storm ahead right here on "AMERICAN MORNING."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COLLINS: Welcome back. Time for "Quick Hits." A judge has now cleared the way for 1,300 graves near Chicago's O'Hare Airport to be moved. O'Hare is being expanded. Plans also call for 2,600 homes and 200 businesses to be torn down.
For the second time in two days, a pilot has been killed in a crash at the Reno National Championship Air Races. The jet crashed during competition and caught fire. Pilot Brad Morehouse was killed. Another pilot died Tuesday when his plane stalled after takeoff.
Authorities searching for millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett have ruled out the possibility he wanted to vanish. There's been no trace of Fossett or his single-engine aircraft since he took off in the Nevada desert on Labor Day. Authorities also say they don't suspect foul play or that Fossett was kidnapped for ransom.
Time to check in with Reynolds Wolf.
A whole lot of weather going on. I think we're going to be starting here, Reynolds, with Humberto, or what is left of him. From the looks behind you, not a lot.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Not much. Not much. A lot of rainfall though. Lot of rain, especially in parts of Texas, Heidi. Take a look at these rainfall totals. In East Bay Bayou, Texas, we had 14.13 inches of rainfall. Well over a foot of rainfall or a half a foot in Beaumont City, as well as Galveston, Texas, even parts of Louisiana, Lake Arthur and Lake Charles anywhere from five to three inches of rain.
The rain still continues to fall, now mainly through parts of Mississippi, Tennessee and into northern Alabama. We may see some flooding in places like Columbus and Tupelo, even into Russellville as well as Huntsville.
But keep in mind the Deep South is desperate for rainfall so this actually is good news for many people. They could really use the rain, especially in parts of central Tennessee, north Alabama and even into Georgia as well.
Next system we're watching is like a conveyor belt, one system after another. This is Ingrid taking a very close look at this one. This is beginning to strengthen a little bit. We've got this storm with winds 40 miles per hour gusting to 50. As we make our way into Monday, still looking at winds of 40 miles an hour and a long way from the Leeward Islands. Still, it's something we'll watch very carefully for you.
Heidi, that's the latest from the tropics and what's going on here at home. Let's send it back to you in New York.
COLLINS: All right, very good. We know you're watching it really closely. Thank you, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet. COLLINS: Warner succeeds Warner? Your "Quick Hits" now. Former Virginia Governor Mark Warner plans to run for the seat currently held by Republican Senator John Warner who is retiring, as you know, after nearly 30 years in office. The two are not related, in case you are wondering.
There will be a safety stand-down now in effect today at all U.S. Air Force bases. It's a response to an incident last month when a B- 52 bomber mistakenly flew six nuclear warheads from North Dakota, Minot to be exact, to Louisiana. The stand-down is routine after an incident like that. Crews will use time to review procedures, especially for handling nuclear weapons.
He strangled his wife and smothered his son but you may be surprised about what pro wrestler Chris Benoit had to say about his family in his diary. We'll have that for you, coming up at the top of the hour.
Meanwhile, the labor talks with the Detroit Three. United Auto Workers Union makes its pick to try to reach its first contract agreement among the Big Three. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business" on that and much more coming up right here on "AMERICAN MORNING."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Ali Velshi is here now "Minding Your Business" this morning, talking about the United Auto Workers.
There is a deadline looming.
ALI VELSHI, CNN SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, 11:59 tonight. CNN has learned that deadline has been extended. Both the United Auto Workers and General Motors have agreed to extend that deadline indefinitely so they can both pull out after -- with three days' notice.
The United Auto Workers decided to target GM Motors for its contract talks. That's typically how it happens. They don't negotiate with all the three automakers in Detroit at the same time. They negotiate with one of them and then hope to get the other two to follow the same pattern.
It is good news for GM on one hand, because they get to get its issues on the table and set the pattern. It's bad news, because if it goes wrong, GM gets the strike.
There is a whole generation of Americans out there who don't know what an auto strike is because the last nationwide auto strike was 1976.
COLLINS: Right.
VELSHI: Nobody likes an auto strike. This is bad for workers around the company. Not a lot of people are suggesting this will lead to a strike but strike preparations are under way. Union workers have been informed as to what to do and where to report in the case of a strike. Pickets are being put together. Picket lines are being put together. The union halls are being set up.
Speaking to some union leaders, they're saying we're getting ready, this sounds serious. Most people taking a 10,000 or 20,000- foot view of this negotiation say it is no nobody's interest to have a strike right now. They're trying to get a deal with GM.
COLLINS: It is interesting, too. You talk to some who say unions really don't have much power in this country anymore. When you talk about UAW, they're the one's that do.
VELSHI: A, they are the ones that still do have some. And, B, I think, in the last few years, the struggles the automakers have had, I think the unions have really come to the table on this one. They understand that they've lost a lot of jobs. They've had to do what they've had to do.
What the automakers are trying to do is get out from under some agreements to pay for the health care and benefits for retired workers. There are more than half a million retired workers out there.
It's a contentious and it's a tough issue. I think most people have to come to that bargaining table in good faith to try and get a deal. This is not about one side really sticking it to the other at this point. This is about moving forward, making better cars at lower costs and trying to keep everybody employed as much as possible.
COLLINS: And still talking with that deadline extended?
VELSHI: That's right.
COLLINS: All right, very good.
VELSHI: We'll keep you posted.
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