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American Morning
President Bush Will Name Retired Federal Judge Michael Mukasey as Replacement for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
Aired September 17, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Boy, I wakeup on Monday morning and there is so much happening. We've got it all for you here on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Welcome back. Thanks for joining us, Monday, September 17th. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us today.
ROBERTS: We begin today with details just coming in from the White House. President Bush will name retired federal Judge Michael Mukasey as the man to replace outgoing attorney General Alberto Gonzales. CNN's Kathleen Koch joins us live from the White House this morning with what we're learning about this announcement.
First of all, any idea what time we're expecting it?
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: What we're hearing, John, is mid morning. The president has an event at 9:10, another event at 11:15. So let me hazard a guess, perhaps in the 10:00 hour.
But senior administration officials says that President Bush is making this nomination, of the 66-year-old retired federal judge because he has, quote, "a wealth of legal and judicial experience and has a superb reputation for his fairness, intellect and dedication to public service."
Important to point out, Mukasey is not a Bush insider as Alberto Gonzales was. He was nominated to the bench back in 1988 by President Ronald Reagan. He was chief judge until September 2006 of the Southern District of New York. It is one of the nation's busiest and most high- profile court districts, John. While there he handled a number of very high profile terrorism cases.
ROBERTS: And including the one of the blind Sheik Abdel-Rahman, in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. What are his chances for confirmation? Some conservatives are a little perplexed about this choice. They want Ted Olson. People like Chuck Schumer, on the Democratic side, are all saying the right things about Mukasey.
KOCH: Clearly, John, it does appear the White House has chosen the path of least resistance. You mentioned Olson's name. Democrats have been letting the White House know that would provoke just a fierce, bitter confirmation battle. Schumer, as soon as Mukasey's name was floated yesterday, put out a release saying, quote, "He seem like the kind of nominee that would put the rule of law first. And show independence from the White House."
So that is really what is considered critical on the part of liberals. Even when Mukasey was being considered as a supreme court nominee, possible nominee, liberal groups called him a consensus choice. That's what many believe the president was going for here.
ROBERTS: All right. We look forward to that announcement this morning, sometime in the Rose Garden. Kathleen Koch for us at the White House.
Kathleen, thanks.
CHETRY: Also new this morning, O.J. Simpson is now sitting in a Las Vegas jail for his part in an alleged break in and robbery. And there is a new audio tape released this morning, by TMZ.com, that appears to capture Simpson in a confrontation with memorabilia dealers. Let's listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
O.J. SIMPSON: Don't let nobody out this room. Mother (BLEEP) ers!
Think you can steal my (BLEEP) and sell it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
SIMPSON: Don't let nobody out of here.
Mother (BLEEP)er, you think you can steal my (BLEEP)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
(END AUDIO CLIIP)
CHETRY: Well, there it is, AMERICAN MORNING's Chris Lawrence is in Las Vegas this morning following the latest developments.
How does this release of this new tape factor into things, Chris?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it does dispute certain things that were said, that O.J. Simpson said to certain people, Kiran. That, you know, that there was no threats involved, that he came in peaceably although it's hard to make out exactly what was said in a lot of parts of that tape.
You can tell there is some sort of confrontation and it seems as if O.J. Simpson was directing things, so to speak. Right now Simpson is being held without bail. At least until he goes to court within the next few days. He is being held in an isolated cell about eight feet by three and a half feet.
Now no one, you know, you heard that tape. No one, not Simpson, not the men he was with, or the alleged victims, disputes the basic story, that Simpson and others went into that room at the Palace Station Casino and demanded the return of certain pieces of sports memorabilia.
Simpson says they belong to him. Police say it doesn't matter. Even though there is no evidence that anyone was roughed up, police say they have recovered two guns that were used, or were present during the confrontation. O.J. Simpson now faces charges that could send him to president anywhere from 2 to 35 years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. JAMES DILLON, LA VEGAS POLICE: Robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts. Assault with a deadly weapon, two counts. Conspiracy to commit burglary and burglary with a firearm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: Now on Saturday police arrested one of the men that was with Simpson during that confrontation, Walter Alexander. Police say he was the one that actually had in his possession one of those guns. He was charged with the same crimes as O.J. Simpson. But he was released without bail later that same night.
CHETRY: All right. Chris, we have O.J. He is in jail right now. Bail denied. There is a hearing Thursday to determine whether or not that will change.
Chris following the latest for us. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Investigators in Thailand recovered the flight data recorders over night of the 1-2 Go plane that crashed on Phuket Island. An airline official there this morning is saying wind shear may have been responsible for Sunday's crash.
At least 88 people are dead including four Americans and one American is among the 40 survivors. The survivors are describing chaos and panic as they scrambled out of the burning wreckage.
The death toll is rising in the wake of a powerful typhoon that hit South Korea. Typhoon Nari slammed into the southern portion of the country, flooding hundreds of homes, roads, and farmland. Stacking up cars like cord wood. Nine people there dead, there, so far.
Two wildfires have some 2,000 people in California out of their homes this morning. One is burning more than 15,000 acres in the San Bernardino National Forest. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency for San Bernardino County. A smaller 1,000-acre fire in San Diego county is said to be about 20 percent contained -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Also new this morning, they're assessing now the search for Steve Fossett and whether they should continue it. Rescue organizers will meet again today to decide whether or not they're going to keep looking for the millionaire adventurer. Fossett disappeared two weeks ago today. He took off in a small plane in the Nevada desert. Volunteers have searched and researched an area twice the size of New Jersey with no sign of Fossett.
Well, he guided the U.S. economy through recessions, through 9/11, to see the stock market surge again. Today former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's new book hits shelves. Last night on "60 Minutes" he answered some questions about a crisis for which he had no solution, the subprime mortgage meltdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you knew these practices were going on, and even maybe just suspected that there was something illegal or shady, why didn't you speak out?
ALAN GREENSPAN, FMR. FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: Well, basically --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, you had a huge mega phone. People really listen to Alan Greenspan.
GREENSPAN: I was aware of a lot of these practices were going on. I had no notion of how significant they had become.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Also in an interview with "Fortune" magazine, Greenspan said he is not sure whether the housing slowdown could spiral the nation into recession. You can find the entire talk with the former Fed chairman at CNNmoney.com.
John.
ROBERTS: It was something she couldn't get done more than a decade ago. Today, presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton is expected to unveil her new health care plan. And she's not the only candidate that's offering a solution. Our Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley is in Des Moines, Iowa. She joins us now with more.
Universal health care, Clinton style, take two here, Candy?
CANDY CROWLEY CNN SR. POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. You know, Hillary Clinton often says on the campaign trail that she learned a lot from that first failed effort, while she was first lady, to put together a health care plan.
One of the things she learned was that you need to bring all elements of the health care system into the conversation so that everybody's needs can be met. Now yesterday Clinton was at the Harkin Steak Fry, a very important Iowa event, which raises money for Tom Harkin, a leading senator in the state. But also in election years and election cycles brings together the Democratic presidential hopefuls.
Clinton was there along with Barack Obama, Edwards, and others. They all talked about health care in their 10 to 15-minute speeches including John Edwards who has already put out a detailed plan who once again said there are certain people he doesn't believe should be at the table.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: In my belief, we have wonderful people running for president. But I have a very strong view about this. I don't believe you can sit at a table with drug companies, insurance companies, and their lobbyists and negotiate an insurance plan for America.
I don't believe you can give these people and their lobbyists a seat at the table because if you give them a seat at the table, they'll take all the food. There will be nothing left for the rest of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROWLEY: Now, Clinton's plan would require that all Americans get health care insurance. She would also prohibit insurance companies from keeping anybody out that has applied for insurance. And she says that she would also make sure that insurance companies do not charge sick people more than they charge healthy people.
Edwards put out a similar plan that goes a little bit further and he says that, sources in his campaign say that today he will say that if by mid 2009 there is no universal health care, he will propose that health benefits, federal health benefits for the president, Congress, and political appointees be cut off at that time until there is universal health care -- John.
ROBERTS: What is the cost of the Clinton plan, bottom line?
CROWLEY: Actually, hers is around the same cost as the Edwards' plan. We're told it's in the ballpark of about $110 billion.
ROBERTS: All right. Candy Crowley for us in Des Moines, Iowa.
Candy, thanks.
You can see it live on our website, cnn.com. Go to complete coverage of Hillary Clinton's health care announcement this morning at 11:30 Eastern. Head to cnn.com and follow the links to the live event.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new this morning. We have Rob Marciano tracking extreme weather for us. Maybe it feels extreme because we're not used to the cold weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: It's a mystery that affected more than a million Americans. What causes what's known as a chronic fatigue syndrome? Now after two decades of research, doctors say that problem could be in your stomach. Elizabeth Cohen joins us from Boston with details.
Good morning, Elizabeth.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Kiran.
Kiran, you know, there was a time when people with chronic fatigue were told it was all in their heads. Well, we have come a long way since that time. Researchers in California are reporting a very interesting discovery. And that is a virus that possibly might be causing chronic fatigue syndrome.
What they did was they actually went into the stomachs of people with chronic fatigue, with an endoscopy, and took a stomach tissue sample. They found that people with chronic fatigue, more than 80 percent of them, had what's called an entero (ph) virus. And when they went into the stomachs of people who did not have chronic fatigue, nowhere near that percentage of people had these entero (ph) viruses.
So much more research needs to be done. but this may be a step in figuring out what is causing chronic fatigue -- Kiran.
CHETRY: That is amazing. Because for a lot of people, they feel like they're going and telling their doctor this wide range of generic symptoms, and now, I mean if you think you have it, should you ask for this test?
COHEN: You know, it's a little bit too early to ask for this test, because this is just this one set of researchers that's doing it. So if you went tomorrow to your doctor, he wouldn't even know where to start. This isn't the time to do that. However, there are certain things that your doctor can tell, just by talking to you, that they would know whether or not you have chronic fatigue.
There are a lot of symptoms that are similar to other diseases. For example, if you have really chronic, really six months or longer of these symptoms, that's a sign that you have chronic fatigue. Fatigue that doesn't go away no matter how long you rest. Also, if you have memory problems, sore throat, problems with lymph nodes, muscle pain, and poor sleep and malaise. In other words, you try to sleep but you're not sleeping well and malaise means that you're -- it's just a fancy word of saying you're feeling horrible.
These are symptoms that could point to chronic fatigue. The most important one is that no matter how much you rest, you're always tired and it goes on for six months or more.
CHETRY: What a nightmare. All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.
John.
ROBERTS: President Bush once said Alan Greenspan contributed to a better life for all U.S. citizens, but the former Fed head didn't return the favor in his new book. The accusations coming up in his new tome, and what it could mean in the future for your money.
And a giant smokestack nearly crushes witnesses to a demolition job in New Jersey. The implosion gone wrong, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Well, he tried to rob the wrong grandmother. Police in Miami say an 85-year-old woman ran down a guy who snatched her purse. In fact, she re-enacted the sprint for the cameras. It's a stride that once made her a star on the Cuban track team back in the 1930s. Police arrested the thief who, is also charged in connection with an attempted break-in, in the neighborhood. There she goes.
ROBERTS: Reenacting her chase scene.
Former Fed Chief Alan Greenspan is credited with presiding over an unprecedented period of economic growth during his tenure, but some critics hold him responsible for the current woes in the housing market.
Now everyone is listening up to the former Fed head with his new book hitting the stores today; in "The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World.", Greenspan looks back on his tenure and also levels tough criticism at the Bush administration.
Dan Gross wrote the cover story on Greenspan in the current issue of "Newsweek" magazine, where he's a senior editor and columnist. He joins us now.
Good morning, Dan. Good to see you.
DAN GROSS, SR. EDITOR, COLUMNIST, "NEWSWEEK": Good morning.
ROBERTS: One of the most stunning things he said was of the Iraq war. Because people have postulated what the war really all about. Greenspan said, in his book, "I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows the Iraq war is largely about oil". He wasn't necessarily being disparaging when he said that, though, was he?
GROSS: No, I think this is the rational economist thinking out loud, which is what he does in this book and covering all sorts of topics. The notion that our interest in that region, our interest in stability, and the regimes in that are in that region, stems large measure from the fact that they have so much oil, so I don't think he's become sort of Michael Moore, in his old age, but it's rather a reflection of how an economist looks at this.
ROBERTS: In fact, since, in interviews he says it's a wholly defensible position and it was essential to take out Saddam Hussein. He is a staunch Republican. But he's got some pretty critical things to say about Republicans. There were grave mistakes they made in terms of deficits in spending. And that Republicans got what was coming to them in the '06 election.
He said, quote, "The in Congress lost their way. They swapped principle for power, they ended up with neither. They deserved to lose."
What happened to create such disappointment? GROSS: It goes even beyond that. There are passages in the book where you -- as if this is yet another person who has been radicalized by the Bush administration. He's a hard core libertarian Republican. He worked on Nixon campaign. Deeply held beliefs on everything from tax policy to the general way they approached economic policy, marginalizing the people in the Treasury Department, you know, Greenspan was disappointed. He had worked with Rumsfeld and Cheney in the Ford administration and so excited they were coming back. And he saw them sort of running off in a different direction. It was the tax cuts be damned, not deal with the fiscal possibilities that would result of that. It was creating Medicare as a new entitlement, for prescription drugs with no way to pay for it.
ROBERTS: He saw them abandoning Republican principles, deficit spending.
GROSS: As he saw it, absolutely.
ROBERTS: You cut taxes, but increase spending at the same time and the rubber has to meet the road somewhere, as the revenues are decreasing. One of the -- you know, we think of him as being omnipotent. But the one thing, apparently, he didn't see coming was the subprime mortgage crisis. Lesley Stahl from "60 Minutes" talked to him about last night. Take a quick listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LESLIE STAHL, CBS CORRESPONDENT, "60 MINUTES": If you knew these practices were going on and even suspected there was something illegal or shady, why didn't you speak out?
GREENSPAN: Well, basically --
STAHL: I mean, you had a huge mega phone. People really listen to Alan Greenspan.
GREENSPAN: Well, I was aware a lot of these practices were going on. I had no notion of how significant they had become.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: What did you think of that answer?
GROSS: Not that convincing. He prides himself on keeping on top of absolutely everything going on in the economy. He is a voracious consumer of data. His defense is that, you know, the Fed is only responsible for regulating banks. And a lot of this lending was done by the mortgage companies, who were selling their bonds to other investors; didn't go into the banking system at all.
By the same token, however, he merged over his two decades as a guru on fiscal policy, on personal finance, and we remember back in 2004 he told Americans they should take out adjustable rate mortgages, or they'd be better off doing. So he was clearly up on what was going on. This notion that there was nothing we could do about it, I think, it doesn't quite wash. ROBERTS: All right. The new book is called "Alan Greenspan, The Age of Turbulence". Dan Gross has the legal article in this week's "Newsweek" magazine.
Thank you for being with us. Appreciate it.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Well maybe they didn't need to cheat after all. Your "Quick Hits" now, the New England Patriots defeated the San Diego Chargers 38-14 last night. It's identical to the score that they beat the New York Jets by last week, when accused of stealing the Jets' signals. The Patriots and their head coach will pay a $750,000 fine and lose a first round draft choice if they make the playoffs.
New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine is to have more surgery today. Doctors will remove excess bone growth from the leg that he broke when he was in near fatal car crash this spring. In all he broke 15 bones and lost much of his blood. This will be the fourth follow up surgery. His doctors say he made remarkable progress.
A close call in New Hampshire; witnesses to a demolition job nearly get crushed when this building goes down. We're going to have more when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A demolition job in Berlin, New Hampshire, was supposed to wipe out the town's smokestack past. Instead it nearly took out seven people there to watch the towers fall. Explosives didn't work at first. So the workers loosened tower with a cutting torch and when it went, it almost crushed two people. Debris shot out at the spectators. Seven people got cuts and bruises. One woman even had a broken arm.
CHETRY: When implosions happen, they want it to go straight down. They certainly don't want that big tower to come crashing down that way.
ROBERTS: Timber. Oops!
CHETRY: People got lucky they didn't get -- more people didn't get hurt, in that one. There it goes.
All right, 25 past the hour now. Ali Velshi is "Minding Your Business". He joins us with more.
Good to see you this morning, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: We all worry about, when we talk about this credit crunch that we got, what we call a run on the banks. Most people don't know what that is, because we haven't seen one. Well, you saw one in Britain. This happened on Friday.
But look at the pictures. There are people at a bank called Northern Rock in Britain. And they are lining up to take their money out of the bank. There was some problem -- this bank got into a problem. It's not related to the U.S. subprime mess. But they got into a problem. The British central bank had to bail them out. People got wind of this and they lined up to get their money out. It was unbelievable.
More than a billion pounds were withdrawn. It happened in a relatively orderly fashion in typical British fashion. They queued up nicely and no one got into serious trouble. The bank is getting a bailout from the government. You know, that created uproar in the U.K. But that's what a run on the bank actually looks like.
And that's what the Fed around here is warning people isn't likely to happen. Don't get panicky. But when people start taking their money out of a bank, you know --
CHETRY: You know what happens after that, the run on the mattresses. Because everyone has to stuff their money --
VELSHI: That's right. They have to put their money somewhere. For now, we're not seeing that sort of thing. It's also not spreading around Britain and didn't affect markets.
ROBERTS: Yeah, the markets didn't even -- they just kind of shrugged it off.
VELSHI: It seemed to be a fairly isolated event.
ROBERTS: Thank goodness for that. Ali, thanks.
VELSHI: All right.
ROBERTS: Here's a story now, coming up, that you just can't miss. O.J. Simpson arrested and charged with robbery after getting busted in what he called a self-organized sting operation to retrieve some of his stolen belongings.
CHETRY: Now that so-called, self-organized sting operation is apparently caught on tape. TMZ.com has audio that appears to show Simpson in a confrontation in this hotel room. Let's listen to a brief bit of it.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
O.J. SIMPSON: Think you can steal my (BLEEP)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mike took it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You, against the mother (BLEEP) wall.
SIMPSON: I know (BLEEP) Mike took it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Search him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I know what Brian's trying to prove.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm cool. I am.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, so --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get your mother (BLEEP) asses up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand the (BLEEP) up.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CHETRY: All right, so how will that new tape factor into any defense? You know, he is in prison -- in jail right now without bail, at least until a hearing on Thursday. So we're going to --
ROBERTS: Interesting stuff.
CHETRY: So, we're going to talk more about that with legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin in a couple of minutes.
ROBERTS: And also the sister of Ron Goldman going to join us as well.
CHETRY: That's in our 8 o'clock hour.
ROBERTS: That's in our next hour of AMERICAN MORNING. Stay with us, those stories ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back. Here's a beautiful shot of Lake Michigan. The Chicago skyline coming to us from WLS. It's 55 degrees, currently in the Windy City. Going up to 79 today. So, a beautiful day.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: You can tell, though. Summer is over. Just doesn't look the same as it did a month ago.
CHETRY: And not around here, in parts of the midwest, though, they're looking at 90s. So the last bastion of summer, two or three more days left.
ROBERTS: You know what happens right after that -- snow.
CHETRY: I know. There it goes. Get ready, John. Well, welcome once again. Thanks so much for being with us. It is Monday, September 17th.
ROBERTS: I'm John Roberts. We begin this morning with a major announcement happening at the White House today. In just a few hours, President Bush will name retired federal Judge Michael Mukasey as the nominee to replace outgoing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Mukasey appears likely to win Senate confirmation since he got the backing of key Democrats like Charles Schumer. During his time in the federal bench, Mukasey oversaw the trial of Sheik Omar Abdel-Rahman. He was accused of plotting to destroy New York City landmarks.
A European union court this morning upheld an anti-trust order and a $613,000,000 fine against Microsoft. The court said Microsoft is guilty of using monopoly power because consumers who buy the Windows operating system have no choice but to take the Windows Media Player that is included with it. The company can still appeal to the E.U.'s highest court.
And France says the world should be prepared for war with Iran, if that country builds a nuclear weapon. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner says Europe might come up with its own sanctions if Iran keeps ignoring U.N. sanction that demand it stop enriching (INAUDIBLE). He did not elaborate though on the war talk.
CHETRY: Well investigators in Thailand recovered the flight data recorder overnight from the One-Two-Go plane that crashed in Phuket. This plane came down in a heavy rain storm. There you see the aftermath, smoke billowing from that plane. The Associated Press is reporting this morning, quoting an aviation official who says he thinks that wind shear may have played a role in that crash. At least 88 people were killed including four Americans. One American is among the 40 survivors. John Gerard O'Donnell from Ireland was also aboard that plane. And he really had a dramatic description of how the crash happened and how he was able to escape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN GERARD O'DONNELL, SURVIVED PLANE CRASH: As the plane was landing, you could tell it was in trouble because it kind of landed and came up again. The second time, it just smashed. Next thing it tumbled and next thing I know, just everything was on fire. And I loosened my strap. Looked to my, I couldn't find my friend. I got out to the exit and my friend was on the outside looking. I come out on to the wing of the plane. No, the exit door. It was kind of crushed. But you have to squeeze through. And on to the wing. And my friend was outside. I seen him. He was just got out before me. And next thing it really caught fire then. I just got badly burned, my face. My legs. My arm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well O'Donnell is now out of the hospital and recovering from those wounds. As we said, one of the 40 people that got out alive.
In other news, Britney Spears bombshell -- the singer could lose custody of her two young children today. Los Angeles lawyer Gloria Allred reportedly saying she has a secret witness she's bringing to court today for the on-going custody battle between Spears and her ex- husband Kevin Federline. Federline is seeking custody of their two sons.
And there is a new audio tape out this morning, it's of O.J. Apparently. O.J. Simpson in the hotel room where his latest legal drama all started. Simpson faces six felony counts now, accused of directing an armed robbery of sports memorabilia. Here's the tape that surfaced. It is courtesy of tmz.com. Fair warning, some of the language is bleeped out of this.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP) O.J. SIMPSON: Don't let nobody out this room. (EXPLETIVE DELETED)!
Think you can steal my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and sell it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
SIMPSON: Don't let nobody out of here.
(EXPLETIVE DELETED), you think you can steal my (EXPLETIVE DELETED)?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CHETRY: Well, Simpson faces robbery, assault, burglary, conspiracy charges.
Jeffrey Toobin is our senior legal analyst. He is also the author of the best-selling book, "The Run of His Life: The People Versus O.J. Simpson." Good morning.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: O.J. light. I think that's what it is.
CHETRY: How about it? I'm sure you're registering no surprise that this audio tape is out there this morning that appears to show O.J. as the ringleader of what he is calling a self-described sting operation.
TOOBIN: Well, I guess I am surprised that it's on tape. What is not surprising is that O.J. is so obsessed with this memorabilia business. Because this is his only form of income other than his NFL pension these days. So it is a subject of great interest to him. He is also someone who is a compulsive talker. He's been talking to the press all through the weekend including to Ted Rowlands, our colleague at CNN. He thinks he can talk his way out of anything. And he has this tremendous sense of entitlement. So it appears both of those things seem to have gotten him into a world of trouble.
CHETRY: Now that there's this tape though, as you said, he has been doing some talking even to our own CNN's Ted Rowlands. He talked to the Associated Press and made it seem that this was a peaceful, you know, confrontation or that it was a discussion. Well this tape certainly plays a different -- shows a different picture. So, how will this play out?
TOOBIN: Well, certainly the tape will be a very important piece of evidence if this goes to trial. The tape is not proof that he's guilty. I think it's important to say. Yes, he is shouting and yelling and screaming. It is not proof that there were weapons used. It is not proof that anybody was actually robbed. But it certainly refutes his characterization of the encounter as a business-like exchange (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: The other interesting thing -- he was denied bail. Some of the other cohorts in this did get bail. And there is a hearing coming up on Thursday. What do you think looking ahead? Is he going to get released?
TOOBIN: He may. But the question is what did he pledge as collateral for his bail? Does he own the house that he lives in? Can he put the deed up? Does he have cash he can put up? His financial situation is precarious. He also doesn't live in Nevada so a judge in Nevada may be reluctant to give him bail. You know, this is the same guy who fled with Al Cowlings in the white bronco when he was first accused of the murder of Ron Goldman.
CHETRY: He is also one of the most recognized people though so where can he go.
TOOBIN: Right. So, I mean, where is he going to go? But they're going to be tough with him. I think one of his big problems is that there is a feeling in many parts of the country that he gained the legal system that he got away with murder before. So there are a lot of people laying for him now.
CHETRY: It will be interesting to see because that doesn't necessarily translate into the courtroom, right? He has a clean slate legally speaking.
TOOBIN: He has only the misdemeanor conviction of beating Nicole several years before she was killed.
CHETRY: Real quick, your thoughts on President Bush's presumed nomination, Michael Mukasey as the next attorney general?
TOOBIN: Just an extraordinary difference from John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales. Mukasey comes out of a New York moderate Republican tradition that goes all the way back to Thomas Dewey who was the governor and presidential candidate; Lawrence Walsh, the Iran-Contra prosecutor; Robert Fisk, first independent counsel in the White Water case. These are all moderate Republicans, not especially political people. I don't expect him to have any problem at all in the Senate. Very different from President Bush's other selections for almost any position. It just shows how weakened he is these days.
CHETRY: Jeffrey Toobin, CNN senior legal analyst. Thank you.
TOOBIN: All right.
CHETRY: Coming up in our next hour by the way, we're going to be speaking with Kim Goldman, sister of Ron Goldman. She's going to weigh in on the latest legal troubles for O.J.
ROBERTS: A fitting farewell for one of the most acclaimed series in television history, "The Sopranos" was named best dramatic series at the primetime Emmy Awards last night. It also won awards for directing and writing, wrapping up a very successful ten-year run.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CHASE, "SOPRANOS" CREATOR: And the best part of it was the huge standing ovation that our cast got. That was -- that was really amazing. That was just really fitting. ROBERTS: Some of the other winners last night, "30 Rock" for best comedy, America Ferrara from "Ugly Betty" and Ricky Gervais from the show "Extras."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: They won for lead acting in a comedy series. James Spader from "Boston Legal" beat out James Gandolfini for the best actor in a dramatic role and Sally Field won best dramatic actress for her role on "Brothers and Sisters." And it seemed like they liked her, they really, really liked her for a little while.
CHETRY: She won dramatic actress for her actual show and for the Emmys when her award speech, I guess, caught the attention of the censors. We're going to play that for you a little bit later. It's also interesting though "The Sopranos" besides winning best drama was shutout in almost every other category -- James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, everyone.
ROBERTS: Well, they won best dramatic series. So, I guess it still is something to take home, right?
CHETRY: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Maybe more a statement about the producer than anything else.
State bank accounts exposed -- your Quick Hits now. Connecticut is revealing that a stolen backup computer tape has information on nearly every bank account held by state agencies. The tape also has information on more than a million people in Ohio. A technology company working for both states made the backup tape.
Police on patrol in Miami, listen to this. This is incredible. They now have the option of carrying assault rifles. The department decided to go with the new policy because of the number of criminals that are using high-powered assault weapons. 15 people were killed by assault rifles last year, 12 so far this year including a police officer. Back to the wild, wild west there.
What happens when you're going 300 miles an hour and your car comes apart around you? You'll find out coming up in AMERICAN MORNING.
And extreme weather, cars tossed around like toys, hundreds of homes damaged. We're assessing the tornado damage in Florida. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: And welcome back to the most news in the morning. Your "Quick Hits" now. Jodie Foster's vigilante thriller "The Brave One" made $14 million. It was the weekend's top grossing money. It derailed last week's winner, "3:10 to Yuma" which was in second place at $9 million this weekend. "Mr. Woodcock" and "Dragon Wars" and "Superbad" rounding out the top five. Well, it's not quite Mount Rushmore but it is one pretty big and pretty creative way to honor an ex-president. Check this out. This is from the air. You can see it's a giant corn maze and is a portrait of the late President Gerard Ford. How about that? It was carved as a tribute to the nation's 38th president on a farm close to where Ford grew up in Michigan. It could be Ford or it could be Albert Einstein? Right? A little bit? Hey, what you are going to do? It's hard probably to exactly carve a portrait in a huge corn field. That's why you leave it to the UFOs.
A tornado tears through Florida. Forecasters say the twister touched down yesterday evening in Cape Coral. That's Florida's Gulf Coast. It knocked down trees, power lines. Surprisingly though no reports of any injuries. You see those cars literally flipped on top of each other, Rob. Boy what a mess in Florida.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, looks like, you know, a fairly strong tornado. It's not just one of the waterspouts that came on shore. But it did some damage, for sure. This is radar from last night. You kind of see the loop as it heads toward Lee County and the brighter colors indicating the heavy thunderstorms that rolled through that part of Florida. Right now, it is pretty quiet. Although there is some action in northeastern Florida. Critical fire danger in effect now for northwestern parts of Arizona. That's good but bad news for them. Good news for folks in southern California where over the weekend they've been battling not one but two blazes there. And there have been evacuation orders in effect.
But the good news this morning for this area, look at that dramatic video. See how close those flames got to folks' homes. At some point they had over 2,000 people who evacuated. But this morning 1,200 people have been allowed to come back into their homes after this blaze took over 24 square miles in the San Bernardino National Forest. Still 300 or so residents with that have continued to be evacuated. And there are some schools that have been canceled today.
Other issue, John, 90 in Kansas City today. 91 degrees in Dallas. Enjoy your 68 in New York because there is a going to be a big warmup as we go through the next couple days across the northeast. So you're a little taste of fall will be short lived.
ROBERTS: You know, I like just a little taste, not too much. Just a little. Thanks, Rob.
MARCIANO: Bye.
ROBERTS: You've seen racing car drivers walk away from crashes. But this video really is something. Take a look. It happened at the Australian drag race championships this is weekend. And that's the last thing you heard. This guy survived a crash of more than 300 miles an hour. His dragster snapped in half. Lifting into the air, burst into flames. Somehow the driver escaped with nothing more than a cut on his finger. Just incredible. It's amazing. You see that car comes along and hear it roar and then silence as it lifts up into the air. CHETRY: It's amazing that doesn't happen every time. I mean because that car didn't hit anything. It appeared to just almost disintegrate into the air. There it goes.
ROBERTS: The front wheels just decided to stay on the ground while the rest of the car went up.
Also, take a look at this. He's 11 years old and ready to fight. And that's no bull. (INAUDIBLE) Mirabal is one of the youngest apprentice matadors in Mexico, displaying courage well beyond his years. The boy is getting ready for his official debut at the Presidio de Toros in Mexico. His father, a life-long fan of bullfighting but not a matador himself. He said (INAUDIBLE) began training to become a matador when he was just 5 years old. They give him the little bulls to fight. And he doesn't kill them at the end. But, still, wow, 11 years old and facing a bull.
Labor talks top your "Quick Hits." General Motors and the United Auto Workers will resume negotiations on a new contract later on today. After going well into the wee hours of this morning, automakers say their labor costs should be closer to what their Japanese rivals pay.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has been named the world's most respected company by Barrons Magazine. Buffett's company moved up from fifth place last year. He is considered by many to be the world's greatest investor. Barrons annual rankings of the 100 largest companies are based on a survey of U.S. money managers.
They have spent months looking for their missing daughter. Now they are suspects in her disappearance. What kind of people are Kate and Gerry McCann? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: And welcome back to the most news in the morning. The ACLU planning to sue Hawaii over a random drug testing of teachers. They say it's a violation of privacy. Teachers say they're forced to agree to the plan to get pay raises in their new contract.
Well the childhood staple, the peanut and butter and jelly sandwich is banned in an elementary school in O'Fallon, Missouri. The move is in an effort to protect a growing number of students with peanut allergies who can have a severe reaction to exposure or when they're exposed to either peanuts or peanut butter.
ROBERTS: Coming up down, 10 minutes to the top of the hour. They're the husband and wife under suspicion in the disappearance of their 4-year-old daughter. But who are Kate and Gerry McCann? CNN's Randy Kaye sat down with some of the people who know the couple best. She's in our London Bureau now. Hey, Randi.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John. What we've been able to find out is that this couple was really an ordinary couple. They spent a lot of time with their children, they're both doctors. Gerry the father was a big golfer. They're not talking about their lifestyle themselves. But their close friends are talking. And as you mentioned, I did have a chance to sit down with Kate McCann's two best friends in Liverpool which is where Kate grew up. Despite all the allegations against their good friend, they say she is a very caring woman who is desperate to have a family. In fact, they told me she wanted five children in all. We've also been able to confirm that she did struggle to have both Madeleine and the twins. She had to go through several rounds of IVF. They say that she has a very strong bond not only with Madeleine but also with the twins.
We also talked about this latest allegation that have come out in these tabloid newspapers in recent days. This is all the talk about Kate McCann's diary. This is bits and piece according to this tabloid papers that they say they've been able to get their hands on. And we at CNN have not been able to independently confirm these reports but according to these newspapers, they say that Kate wrote in her diary that her children were hysterical and hyperactive, that she had difficulty controlling them. And that Madeleine's excessive activity exhausted her. Well, here is what her friends had to say about those latest suggestions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Was Kate overwhelmed by the children as this report about the diary suggests?
LINDA MCQUEEN, KATE MCCANN'S FRIEND: No.
NICKY GILL, KATE MCCANN'S FRIEND: No. She just loves the children. And I said before she's not -- she's a mom that goes and takes it all in stride. She's not -- she just liked to listen to her. She's so calm. Yes, it's fine. There's no air of anything negative about her.
KAYE: Are Kate and Gerry McCann negligent when it comes to their children?
MCQUEEN: Not at all.
GILL: No.
MCQUEEN: Not at all. That's nuts. Couldn't be further from the truth. It really couldn't. They're really strong, caring parents who are doing what nobody has done in trying to find their child that has been taken.
KAYE: Nicky Gill and Linda McQueen are talking because they want to defend their friend. They said they're tired of watching the family get beaten up in the media. The parents in this case. They say that Kate and Gerry are especially close. They don't have any secrets between them and that they would never harm a hair on any of children's heads.
ROBERTS: Randy, what are her friends say about how Kate is holding up through all of this? KAYE: Well, they talk to her regularly. In fact, they did go to Portugal, actually, and spent a few weeks there in support of her. And they said the pictures that we see of Kate McCann on television and in the newspaper really aren't the true Kate McCann. I'm not sure if you heard but these psychologists and reporters have been analyzing every little bit about her, whether she has her hair done or what she's wearing or her makeup. And they say that might make others believe that she really doesn't care and she's not looking and searching hard for her child. But really they say she is crying behind closed doors. She's very emotional. And this is just been a horrendous, horrendous time for her. She wants the focus to return to finding her daughter.
ROBERTS: Interesting stuff. Randy Kaye, thanks very much. Randy live from our London Bureau today.
And you can find out much more about the McCanns on a special "Anderson Cooper 360." That's tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
CHETRY: Your "Quick Hits" now, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he would recommend vetoing a plan by Senate Democrats that gives troops more rest between deployments in Iraq. He said it is a dangerous "back doorway to draw down forces."
And Senator John McCain declaring his religion. Although it's a different religion than he has said in the past. McCain said this weekend that he is a Baptist and has been one for years. McCain before had identified himself as Episcopalian but he does say that he and his family have been members of the North Phoenix Baptist Church in Arizona for more than 15 years. He said this while in South Carolina, a heavily Baptist state.
And kids are still getting their tonsils taken out, still enjoying that ice cream chaser. But the reasons for tonsillectomies are dramatically different these days. Elizabeth Cohen will join us to explain.
And a lot of buzz about Alan Greenspan's book. What the former fed chairman is saying about the war in Iraq and the subprime mortgage meltdown. The White House also responds. All of that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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CHETRY: We are coming up on three minutes before the top of the hour. Ali Velshi "Minding your Business." And as we move throughout the show today, you've read more and more of this new book.
ALI VESHI, "MINDING YOUR BUSINESS": Alan Greenspan's new book. It comes out today. You can buy one today. It will set you back $35. Lots of great history in here except can he tell you what's going to happen this week? This happens to be a very big economic week. Just by coincidence, the book comes out today. Tomorrow, the fed is widely expected to cut interest rates. And then on Thursday, we're hearing from the old fed chairman, we're going to hear from the new fed chairman on Thursday. Ben Bernanke is testifying before Congress. And this is the first time that he's going to be answering questions since the whole subprime mortgage crisis became a big deal. He hasn't spoken publicly since June in a circumstance where he answers questions. So, we're going to hear from him and a lot of Congress representatives are going to be very tough on Alan Greenspan asking him -- on Ben Bernanke asking him what he can do about it.
In Greenspan's book and in his interview with Andy Serwer which can you see on cnnmoney.com, there is a question about whether the fed today is doing the right thing for the situation that we're in. Alan Greenspan says, yes, he believes the fed is doing the right thing. No hint as to whether interest rates are going down tomorrow but most people are betting you're going to see at least a 25-basis point, 0.25% cut in interest rates tomorrow.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks, Ali.
Meanwhile, a story coming up you can't miss in our next hour. Does your child have what is called obstructive sleep apnea?
ROBERTS: Excuse me?
CHETRY: Yes. Remember the old tonsillectomies of past? Well, this is like, I guess, a new twist on that based on the inability to breathe properly when you're sleeping.
ROBERTS: Apparently, the tonsils are not just little harbingers of infection but they can cause kids to have interrupted sleep which can in itself be life threatening at times because it can give rise to blood clots. We're going to have that story coming up for you. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
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