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American Morning
Terror Trail: Madrid Train Bombing Verdicts; Playing With Matches; Tips for a Healthy Halloween
Aired October 31, 2007 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR (voice over): Sparked by a kid. This morning, a devastating wildfire blamed on a boy playing with matches.
Extremes across the nation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything just started shaking.
ROBERTS: Northern California shaken by a quake.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People were crying and screaming.
ROBERTS: And south Florida on alert. Tropical Storm Noel closing in.
Plus, tricks and doggy treats. From the runway to our studios, inside the spooky world of dressing up your pet on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: They look great.
Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Thanks for being with us on this Halloween, October the 31st, a Wednesday.
I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
We start with breaking news, and the verdicts and sentences are now coming in from Spain in the trials of 28 men accused of masterminding and carrying out the worst Islamic terror attack in European history -- 191 people killed, 1,800 hurt when several bombs exploded on commuter trains in Madrid, Spain, back in 2004.
We get the very latest now live from Madrid, where Paula Newton is standing by. She had a chance to hear those verdicts just moments ago.
Hi, Paula.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: And hello, Kiran. An emotional day, as you can imagine, here in the courtroom with the verdicts. Certainly most of the key accused will receive maximum sentences. They were found guilty.
There were 28 suspects. One, though, did get a full acquittal, quite controversial here.
Throughout this entire proceeding, Kiran, was the evidence, how it was gathered, who it led to. The bottom line is the victims, the survivors and their families were looking for some measure of closure and justice. You know, Kiran, this morning, they will get a measure of justice with those guilty verdicts, but they're not going to get the closure that they so desperately want.
This entire trial, Kiran, has really divided this country, both politically and, in fact, very emotionally, because they're wondering why this happened. They don't have answers to that, and definitively they don't know al Qaeda's involvement in it -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Paula Newton live outside of the Madrid courthouse where those verdicts were read just moments ago.
Thanks, Paula.
(WEATHER REPORT)
CHETRY: It turns out it was a boy playing with matches who ignited one of the wildfires in California. Overnight, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department announced that the boy admitted he started the Buckweed Fire accidentally. It burned more than 38,000 acres, destroyed 21 homes, and injured two firefighters, as well as three other people. It began the 21st of October in the Santa Clarita area, about 30 miles north of downtown Los Angeles.
AMERICAN MORNING'S Alina Cho has the latest developments live from the newsroom.
What do investigators know at this point about this young kid?
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kiran, not much. You know, authorities aren't saying who he is or just how old he is. They are saying, though, that arson detectives found him and that he admitted he was playing with matches and accidentally started the fire.
Now, he is back in his parents' custody, we should say. As for whether he'll face charges, earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, we spoke to an L.A. County sheriff's deputy who says the case has been referred to the D.A.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY MOORS, L.A. COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTY: The first thing they'd look at, you know, the total destruction, everything. But they'd also look at it as far as the legal standards and whether or not it fits those standards to bring charges against a juvenile.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Now, remember, we're talking about the so-called Buckweed Fire near Santa Clarita, about, 30 miles from downtown L.A., as you just mentioned. It started a week ago Sunday, quickly spread, in part, because of those Santa Ana winds, burning 38,000 acres and destroying 21 homes. A total of five people, we should mention, other than this little boy has been -- have been arrested for arson in these most recent fires.
And Kiran, remember that arson is the intentional setting of a fire. Our legal analyst Sunny Hostin talked about that. And what's going to be key here is really the age of that little boy, as you know and as you heard, because juveniles are treated very, very differently.
CHETRY: Yes. And also, when we find out how old he is, what age, you know, can criminal intent even be argued?
CHO: That's right.
CHETRY: So just such a shame.
Alina Cho, thanks a lot.
CHO: You bet.
CHETRY: Well, the strongest earthquake in nearly two decades hits California. It was a magnitude 5.6 quake that hit the Bay area. Almost the same time as the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. It brought back some frightening reminders of when the World Series was rocked. Sixty-two people died after the Nimitz Freeway collapsed then.
Its epicenter for this quake, about nine miles northeast of San Jose. And while residents said they felt shaking and rolling as far east as Sacramento, as far north as Eugene, Oregon, again, there are no reports of any major damage and no reports of any injuries related to this quake.
(NEWSBREAK)
CHETRY: Well, it's time now to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new this morning.
The Fed may cut interest rates today, so why does that matter to you?
Well, Ali Velshi is going to break that down for us. He is at the Chicago Board of Trade with details.
And finally, finally people are showing up to work. You were alone there for the first two hours of the show.
It's getting busy here. In fact, it was completely empty a couple of hours ago. And now, with six hours to go -- set your alarms, by the way. 2:15 Eastern is when the Fed announces its decision on interest rates. This is where commodities, futures and options are traded. And over there you can see in one of the busiest areas is where the bonds are traded, and that's where you're going to see the greatest reaction to whatever the Fed chooses to do at 2:15 p.m.
Let's take a look at where rates are right now.
The Fed Funds Rate is 4.75 percent. The prime rate is always three percentage points higher than that. It's at 7.75 percent, and many of your loans, your adjustable loans, credit cards, things like that, are tied to prime. So, if the fed cuts rates by a quarter point this afternoon, as it is expected to do, you will see the prime rate go lower.
All afternoon we'll start hearing from banks across America lowering their prime rate. Your credit card will start to adjust. Some of it will be today, some of it will take a little while, maybe a few weeks.
You will also see these bond traders trading the price of bonds up and the yield, the interest rate, down. And that is where mortgages are set. So you'll see adjustable rate mortgages go down, you'll probably see the 30-year fixed mortgage rate go down.
Today, whatever happens, Kiran, is going to affect everybody in America with some sort of debt. The question is whether it's enough to head off this recession talk that we've been hearing about.
I'll be here with more on that a little later -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. We look forward to it, Ali. Thanks.
Well, kids all over are getting ready to go trick or treating tonight. So just how bad -- like we don't know -- is that candy for your kid's teeth? And also a warning for kids with allergies.
Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen in Atlanta with tips for a healthy Halloween.
You have four little girls! For me this is the first year that my daughter knows what candy is and, boy, do kids love it. And, you know, tonight they're just going to get -- they're going to overdose, let's just put it that way, on sugar.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Oh, that's right. My two older girls, Kiran, they've been strategizing about which houses last year gave away the big candy bars, not just the little ones. So they have got the whole strategy down.
And so I'm here as a medical correspondent and a mother to take a hard stand and say, yes, it is true, candy is bad for your teeth. There's no way around it. But some are worse than others. And the worst are actually a little bit surprising.
Hard candies and lollipops can be the worst, not because you chew them, but because as you suck on them they're in your mouth for a long time, the sugar surrounds the teeth. Also bad, not surprisingly, caramels and taffies, because you chew them. And some of the best, if you can use the term "best" for your teeth, would be chocolate, surprisingly, because, yes, you chew them, but it gets washed away pretty quickly.
Now, so the real -- what you really need to know for Halloween is to get your kids to brush as soon as possible, as soon as they're finished with their candy. Get that sugar out of there.
Now, there is a special concern tonight for kids with allergies, and there are more and more kids with food allergies than ever before. And what parents need to know is those little tiny things like this, a little Hershey's kiss, isn't going to have a label on it as to what's inside. So, to be safe, what you need to do is to -- when your kids come home, tell them don't eat while they're trick or treating. Say come home, and have ready a stash of candy that you know is safe for your child with allergies, and just switch it out -- Kiran.
CHETRY: Yes. And the other thing is long term. So in the days after Halloween, I mean, you really have to figure out a way to sort of take all that stuff, put it somewhere, and dole it out to them, because if left to their own devices, you know, you would be peeling it off the ceiling by 9:00 at night.
COHEN: That's right. That's right. That's right.
Every mommy needs a good hiding place, because if they ate all of it, they could be in trouble. I'm going to -- it's interesting how many calories are in candy and you don't think about it.
I have here actually a plate of candy. Now any -- actually, here, we can look at these calories, too.
These look small, but these add up. So you've got a Laffy Taffy at 40; Nerds at 60; 3 Musketeers at 63; Snickers at 80. That's not much, but it adds up.
And let me show you how it adds up.
This little plate of candy -- and I'll tell you, my older daughters, I think, could eat this in one sitting, any self-respecting 10-year-old could eat this at one sitting. This is 985 calories. All right? So nearly a thousand calories just for this amount of candy.
That is a lot. So you want to make sure, you know, maybe tonight -- one nutrition said to me, tonight, just let them pig out. Who cares? It's one night. But then, as you said, dole it out slowly in the days to come.
CHETRY: I got you. All right. Good advice. We'll see if all the kids stick to it, and the parents, too.
Elizabeth, thanks a lot.
COHEN: Thanks. CHETRY: By the way, and don't give them this for dinner before Halloween, right? They don't need a big plate of lasagna on top of the two.
Greg (ph) left this accidentally.
ROBERTS: Accidentally.
CHETRY: We'll help him out with that.
ROBERTS: Can you imagine?
Will he or won't he survive? Well, not if he eats that.
As President Bush's next attorney general, Michael Mukasey's confirmation is in rough seas today. Is the White House worried? We will ask one of the president's top advisers, Ed Gillespie.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Eighteen minutes now after the hour.
President Bush's nominee for attorney general is looking like he might be in trouble this morning. Senate Democrats are pressing Michael Mukasey on the definition of torture. He expressed personal issues with the practice known as waterboarding yesterday but has refused to say whether he thinks it's legal.
Ed Gillespie is the counselor to the president. He joins me now from the north lawn of the White House.
Ed, good to see you.
The question today, are you going to lose this nomination?
ED GILLESPIE, COUNSELOR TO PRESIDENT BUSH: No. In fact, Judge Mukasey is well regarded, well respected across the aisle. In fact, in consultations with senators before coming forward with the nominee, Judge Mukasey's name was raised by Democrat and Republican alike, and he has been lauded for his independent nature, for his thorough and careful review of the law. And we see that in the letter he sent to the Judiciary Committee in response to their question about waterboarding yesterday.
ROBERTS: Well, I guess what you see depends on your perspective, because yesterday the Democrats saw what they thought was evasion. You know, it's on this critical issue of waterboarding.
Mukasey said that personally he thought it's over the line and repugnant, but then he got a little gray on the legal aspects here, saying, "A legal opinion based on hypothetical facts and circumstances may be of some limited academic appeal but has scant practical effect or value."
The Democrats were looking for a clear disavow here. Why couldn't be he absolutely clear on this issue?
GILLESPIE: Well, John, let's understand, first of all, this technique, we don't know that it's used by the government or is used by the government. That's never been confirmed by the U.S. government.
The program that it involves, the Enhanced Interrogation Program, is a classified program. Now, members of the United States Senate have been briefed on the program, and they have said that it is -- it complies with all laws, but Judge Mukasey has not. And as a nominee, he does not have the ability to be briefed on a classified program as members of the Senate do.
And so his point was, if confirmed, I will review this program and I will review all of the underpinnings in terms of the legality of it and come back to you with a judgment. And here is how I would look at it. And it's unfair to ask him to render a legal opinion on something. He offered his personal opinion, but he can't render a legal opinion on something he has not been briefed on.
By the way, the members of the Senate are asking the judge to do something in this nomination process which the Senate itself hasn't done. Less than a year ago, John, there was a vote on the floor of the Senate as to whether or not to apply the Army field manual regulations that applied to the Department of Defense and military detainees across the government, and it was rejected by the Senate 53- 46.
ROBERTS: Right.
GILLESPIE: Now they're asking him to make a determination that the Senate itself didn't make less than a year ago. It's not -- it's not really fair to ask him to render a legal opinion without sufficient information.
ROBERTS: Ed, you said just a second ago that you can't confirm or deny whether waterboarding has been used. It's widely held that waterboarding was what broke Khalid Shaikh Mohammed to get him to divulge all of the information that he had.
What is your sense? Is waterboarding legal?
GILLESPIE: The fact is that those who have been briefed on the program in the United States Senate, members of the Intelligence Committee and others who are familiar with the program, have said that it is legal. And those are the ones who would have a basis to know.
But the fact is the government doesn't confirm techniques regardless of whether they're used or not used. They don't rule in or out, because the idea is not to help terrorists who would mean to do us harm, know what to train or not train for.
ROBERTS: Well, one other quick point. The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, said that this nominee was basically in the bag. Now he's not so sure. He said, "I remain very concerned that Judge Mukasey finds himself unable to state unequivocally that waterboarding is illegal and below the standards and values of the United States."
You know, Schumer, who really supported him, brought him to the Judiciary Committee, hasn't changed his views, but if you lose the chairman, haven't you lost the nomination?
GILLESPIE: Well, John, never in the history of the country has a nominee not been moved out of a committee for consideration, a nominee for attorney general on the floor of the Senate. I believe that when Judge Mukasey is given fair consideration on the floor of the Senate, he will be confirmed.
He is widely regarded and widely respected for very good reason. And again, we see that in the letter, the kind of independence he is showing. He is saying, look, I have to have facts before I make a legal opinion. I can't make a legal opinion about the merits of a program that I'm not even allowed to see because it's classified. And if you give me the opportunity, if confirmed as attorney general, I will do that, and here is how I will look at it.
ROBERTS: Right.
GILLESPIE: And it seems to me that some are saying, well, yes, Judge Mukasey should be independent, he should render independent opinions, except those that we think he should give. And I don't think that's a fair way to approach his nomination or his confirmation.
ROBERTS: I guess they are looking for some assurances before they give him the power.
We'll see how it goes.
Ed Gillespie, good to talk to you this morning.
GILLESPIE: Thank you, John, for having me on.
ROBERTS: All right. You, too.
Good trick or treating tonight with your daughter, by the way.
GILLESPIE: Thank you. I will.
ROBERTS: Kiran.
CHETRY: Well, still to come this morning, why is Britain's Prince Harry being question by police?
That story when AMERICAN MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. So is Prince Harry in some trouble for shooting rare birds? Word this morning that police questioned him after two rare and legally protected birds turned up dead on the royal family's estate. The prince and a friend were shooting on the estate in Norfolk last weekend when witnesses saw they saw two hen harriers being killed. Police say that the prince says he knows nothing about the shootings.
Queen Elizabeth herself is a patron of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.
ROBERTS: A look at a story coming up in our next half hour that you can't miss, a Halloween costume contest for dogs.
CHETRY: That's right. Some -- first of all, I can't believe most of these dogs agree to be put in these costumes.
We're going to meet some of the dogs that won, the ones that walked away with the best dressed award, and a couple of them that are actually up for adoption if any of them catch your eyes.
So keep watching. It's coming up in about 20 minutes.
ROBERTS: All right.
That story and the headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to the most news in the morning on CNN. Thanks very much for joining us on this Wednesday, October 31st, a very scary day. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: For many reasons but mostly for Halloween. I'm Kiran Chetry. Thanks for being us with. Well, we start with breaking news. A mixed verdict in the trial of 28 men accused of masterminding and caring out the worst Islamic terror attack in European history. A Spanish court finding four prime defendants in the 2004 Madrid bombing guilty of mass murder but five other primary defendants were found not guilty of mass murder. One of them acquitted on all charges and the rest convicted of lesser charges such as belonging to a terrorist group. The 28 on trial were accused of the coordinated bombings of several commuter trains in March of 2004. 191 people killed and more than 1,800 wounded. Most of those convicted of the most serious charges now face sentences of almost 40,000 years in jail each.
Well, new this morning, an announcement overnight about the fires in southern California. The L.A. County Sheriff's Department is now saying that a boy knitted to playing with matches and starting the so- called Buckweed fire near Santa Clarita that burned 38,000 acres and destroyed 21 homes and deputies did not reveal how old he is or charges he could face.
And further north in the state, nature striking again last night. This time a 5.6 magnitude quake that shook homes and sent people run engine the bay area. Epicenter about nine miles northeast of San Jose. The strongest since 1989. That quake caused 62 deaths and nearly $6 billion in damages. So far there are no reports of any major damage or any severe injuries in this one.
ROBERTS: 33 minutes after the hour. Iraq and Iran among the debate of hopefuls last night in Philadelphia and it seems that all of the candidates had something to say about front-runner Hillary Clinton's stand on both subjects. Candy Crowley is live with the play-by-play. It looked more like world wrestling smack down last night!
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They did go after Hillary Clinton, although people that expected going in, Barack Obama would really do that kind of full frontal assault came away disappointed. Nonetheless, he certainly did reach out and try to cut down on that front-runner lead.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CROWLEY: Barack Obama called it the most hyped fight since Rocky versus Apollo Creed, after which he took a jab at what he called politically convenient politics.
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), ILLINOIS: And Senator Clinton, in her campaign, I think, has been for it previously and now against it. Taken one position on torture several months ago and most recently has taken a different position. She voted for a war. To authorize sending troops into Iraq and then later said this was a war for diplomacy.
CROWLEY: Looking to change the dynamics of a race dominated by Hillary Clinton, her chief rivals stepped it up in their seventh debate. Questioning her consistency, her credibility, her electability.
SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Whether it's fair or not fair, the fact of the matter is that my colleague from New York, Senator Clinton, 50 percent of the American public say they will not vote for her.
CROWLEY: It was not the knockdown drag-out so many predicted but it was point. John Edwards had the sharpest blade standing by his accusation of double talk.
JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Senator Clinton says she believes she can be the candidate for change but she defends a broken system that's corrupt in Washington, D.C. She says she will end the war. But she continues to say she'll keep combat troops in Iraq and continue combat missions in Iraq.
CROWLEY: There was an edge to her, but Clinton played the front- runner's game refusing to engage with her democratic opponents, she was aiming higher.
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D), NEW YORK: Because I have stood against George Bush and his failed policies. They wanted to continue the war in Iraq, I want to end it. The republicans are waving their sabers and talking about going after Iran. I want to prevent a rush to war.
CROWLEY: It is nearly impossible for a single debate to fundamentally change things, but this one kicked up enough dust for Bill Richardson to step in to defend Clinton. He suggested things were getting a little personal. Democrats, he said, should be positive. And Hillary Clinton was not the only one that got roughed up. Joe Biden took aim at republican Rudy Giuliani calling him the most under qualified presidential candidate since George Bush. Biden said Giuliani has one sentence, a subject, a verb, and 9/11. John.
ROBERTS: Those are tough words. It was interesting last night. Candy for us this morning in Philly, thanks. Kiran.
CHETRY: Speaking of tough words, the war of words between our own Lou Dobbs and New York Governor Eliot Spitzer hit a boiling point all over Spitzer's three-tier license plan that would offer a New York state driver's license to illegal immigrants. Governor Spitzer told us yesterday on AMERICAN MORNING he wasn't getting involved in spewing, "venom." That got Lou Dobbs going last night. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOU DOBBS, CNN ANCHOR: The man has finally admitted defeat! Then he creates this around it. He has three driver's licenses for the people of New York! It's an absolutely -- it's just a joke! And this governor, by the way, he needs -- he needs to put up a little license. I wish the state would give governor Spitzer a license that says, on it, stamp it with a learner's permit. The man is arrogant! He has been abusing his power! Pandering, pandering to socioethnocentric interests at the expense of the interests of the citizens he is supposed to be representing. When he says I am anti-immigrant and spewing venom, the governor is a liar!
CHETRY: There you go. The governor said his plan would help bring illegal immigrants out of the shadows and a limited license that can't be used to board planes or cross borders.
ROBERTS: The drought that stole Christmas, dry weather in the southeast is threatening to ruin the holiday because Christmas trees can't grow.
Valerie Plame at the center of a leak scandal talks about seeing her name and real occupation in the papers and life after the CIA. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: 20 minutes to the top of the hour. "Quick Hits" now. All new mobile homes would have to be equipped with radios. Supporters say it would prevent deaths from tornadoes that hit mobile homes. Radios would get direct broadcast from the national weather service.
Eighty-five members of Congress are pushing the National Park Service to ban snowmobiles at Yellowstone National Park. The park is considering limiting snow mobile use to 540 snow mobiles every day. Those in favor of a complete ban say the snow mobiles make too much noise and pollute the air.
Florida getting ready for Tropical Storm Noel though the storm is weakened a little bit and headed for Florida where it cause large waves. Swimmers are warmed to stay out of the ocean because of rip currents and everyone advised to keep close tabs on the progress of the storm. For the very latest on that, let's go live to Rob Marciano who is in Hollywood, Florida. Good morning, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, John. Winds continue to pick up. It's spit ago little bit but more so being sand- blasted by the strong onshore winds that continue to hammer this area. You can see behind me. By the way, these trees freshly planted and they've been trying to restore this beach and now winds are blowing the sand up and over onto the streets and the ocean is taking sand away. Right now we're at low tide. Water is normally where high tide should be. Later on this afternoon when the waters get up to the boardwalk, more acreage of beach will be stripped away and rip currents will be an issue.
Across the Dominican Republic dramatic stuff coming out of there this morning showing you rescues being made by helicopter. Children being families, thousands of people having to be rescued with all of the amount of flooding from the rainfall in a fairly mountainous island of there and they will probably get more rain today.
Where is the storm right now? You can see that a lot of the clouds are moving into the Bahamas where most of the action is going to be with this storm. The center of it will move off the Cuban coastline later on this afternoon and likely strengthen a little bit but not expected, according to the National Hurricane Center to get to hurricane strength. Also forecast track does not take it to Florida but will take to the Bahamas indirectly for the past couple of days, Noel has been hitting florid with winds. Huge area of high pressure to the north and east and Noel is a low pressure area and that difference in pressure shooting the winds here onshore. We've seen a tremendous amount of coastal flooding and coastal beach erosion. This morning, power lines knocked down as well. This storm nowhere near here but the combination of that one and the one to the north really doing some damage here, John, along the Florida coastline at Hollywood Beach.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Cover intelligence operative her identity an official secret until it was leaked in a major white house scandal. Valerie Plame Wilson has written about her story in the new book "Fair Game; My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House." She joins us now. What do you think is the most important aspect of this story that is illuminated in the book?
VALERIE PLAME WILSON, AUTHOR, "FAIR GAME": It's a story of the consequences of speaking truth to power and how important it is to hold your government to account for its words and deeds. ROBERTS: You have always denied it was you who sent your husband Joe Wilson on this trip to debunk the idea that Saddam Hussein was trying to buy yellow uranium from that country.
WILSON: In the sense I did not suggest him, I did not recommend him. My boss said, hey, Val, why don't you call, when you go home tonight, ask Joe to come into CIA headquarters next week, let's see what is going on. He knew already what Joe's credentials were.
ROBERTS: Your name, of course, first surfaced in that famous column by Robert Novak. You knew he had your name but you didn't think he was going to publish it. You said, quote. You worked in Washington. You know the game. You never thought that he would publish it?
WILSON: No. Because he was told not to by the CIA.
ROBERTS: You and I first met in the early going after the scandal broke, at a party at Ben Bradlees' house. You were a very sympathetic figure back then. I remember you talked about doing this "Vanity Fair" article and taking the pictures. When those came out it seemed to make you a very, very rich target for your critics from the right. Was that a mistake in hindsight some?
WILSON: You know by the photo had been taken, the damage had already been done. My name had already been bandied about to quite a few reporters as we now know. I didn't give an interview. I think it's really a testament to the administration supporters that this question is being asked rather than how did those erroneous 16 words get in the president's state of the union address?
ROBERTS: The book, as all books are, when they're written by people who used to work at the CIA, has to go through a process was where the CIA looks at it for information that could be detrimental to national security and it's heavily redacted. Here is one particular section of the book where you can see just black line after black line after black line. Do you feel that they singled you out for special treatment when it came to redacting elements from your book?
WILSON: Like every other CIA officer when it came on board I signed a secrecy agreement and I have fully upheld those responsibilities but what I can tell is the vast majority of what is underneath those black lines has everything to do with the agency's position, which they said I'm not permitted to acknowledge my agency affiliation prior to January 2002.
ROBERTS: Valerie Plame Wilson, good to see you again. Thanks for coming in.
WILSON: Thank you for having me.
ROBERTS: Congratulations on the book. It does fill in a lot of blanks. Good to see you.
WILSON: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: 46 minutes after the hour.
The "CNN NEWSROOM" is just minutes away. Tony Harris at the CNN Center with a look at what is ahead.
Good morning Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Hey John, good to see you. We've got these stories on the NEWSROOM run down this morning.
Recalled toys, concerns that some lead paint toys are still on store shelves. What are you to do if you're shopping for the holidays?
Northern California gets rocked by its biggest quake in almost two decades. We're asking how close is the big one?
Home buyer read the fine print! You get the house for free, plus a hundred grand but, again, read the fine print! Heidi is with me in the NEWSROOM and we get started just minutes at the top of the hour. John, back to you.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to it. Tony, thanks very much.
The drought that stole Christmas. Christmas tree growers in Georgia have been hurt by the lack of rain and could have impact years down the road because it takes 4 to 5 years for trees to grow and mature. They desperately need rain down there.
Ontario, Canada has a message for speeders. Slow down or face a ticket that will cost you $10,000. More than a thousand drivers have been charged on a new crackdown on speeding to curb a plague of deadly street racing. It works like this. If you're busted driving more than 30 miles an hour over the speed limit come is 50 kilometers an hour, you could face as much as 10 grand in fines. The police commissioner who thought of it says he wishes the law could be even tougher.
The winner is? Coming up a Halloween costume contest for Fido and friends. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Coming up to 9 minutes to the top of the hour. Welcome back to the most news morning. Unleash the gourds. It's the third annual pumpkin launch in Chicago, the gold belted contraption can send a basketball sized pumpkin the furthest. Some into the principles of leverage. Other people just use their legs. The winner came in at 98 feet. Of course, the grand daddy of all of the pumpkin contests is this weekend in Delaware. You know how far the winner went last year, Kiran?
CHETRY: I do not know but I do know my in-laws hometown, they are proud to say that is where the contest originated. How far?
ROBERTS: 3,870 1/2 feet. They got to beat that this year. Unbelievable.
CHETRY: They have more and more sophisticated as the decades have gone on. How about this scene out here in front of our Time Warner Center. You have dogs and kids and Halloween. Interestingly enough an estimated 7 million households are planning to dress up their pets for Halloween, not just their kids but pets. Wendy Diamond is the founder and editorial director of animal fair online and joins us now to talk about what you guys do every year. This is your seventh year. You have annual canine comedy pet costume party. How did it go?
WENDY DIAMOND, ANIMAL FAIR MAGAZINE: It was amazing. We raised money and it was our seventh year so we raised all of this money and people got dressed up and their pets got dressed up. We don't promote dogs getting dressed up all the time but when you're raising money ...
CHETRY: Here is Lucky? As Dorothy?
DIAMOND: And I'm Toto and Lucky is Dorothy. It's adorable. It was so amazing. We had Andy Warhol.
CHETRY: Let's look at the winners. This is hilarious. You tell us who we're seeing right now.
DIAMOND: Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf! Now adorable is this? This is our 2007 Halloween pet costume contest.
CHETRY: He was made for that costume.
DIAMOND: Look at this! Does he not look like a big bad wolf with those eyes? This is a rescue dog so we're excited to announce this is our winner.
CHETRY: Andrea, great costume, by the way. This is Bill and Otto. On the Otto is the epitome of black tie.
DIAMOND: Exactly! Look at this bulldog! Not all pets love to be dressed up but some like Otto is excited to be all dressed up for the event.
CHETRY: You know what? We also want to showcase other special animals. This is actually an alumni of the New York Humane Society but the other dogs are up for adoption so let's check them out. Willis is dressed as the tin man.
DIAMOND: How cute is this? This outfit is warm and little dogs don't have as much fur as bigger dogs. These outfits cost about $20 each so they're very affordable. If you want to have fun with your pet a great way to celebrate Halloween.
CHETRY: Let's take a look at the next one coming up. This is Princessa (ph). She is up for adoption.
DIAMOND: How cute is this!
CHETRY: She is dressed as a scarecrow! DIAMOND: You can't get a cuter dog than this. A lot of dogs like in the humane society, you get a purebred like this little Yorkie and up for adoption at the Humane Society of New York.
CHETRY: So adorable. My little one will keep saying mamma unless I hold her. This is Cindy as Elvis. What a good-natured dog for adoption to have those glasses on.
DIAMOND: These are goggles on the dog and protective from the sun. This is Elvis. Look how cute this is with a little guitar and everything.
CHETRY: If you're falling in love it's humane society new york.org. Here is
DIAMOND: How about that?
CHETRY: With little Toby. How adorable! Wendy, a big success as usual.
DIAMOND: We raised a lot of money. Sponsored by pedigree. We raised over $4 million for the homeless animals which includes the humane society of New York.
CHETRY: Let's check out the little kids that came by today in their adorable outfits. We have a very cranky candy ferry and Superman, a pig.
DIAMOND: I like this one!
CHETRY: Let's check out all the different outfits and thank everybody who came out today to get dressed up for trick or treating. Some of them over here. We have a little monkey, Spiderman and Luke Skywalker and a pirate. A chaotic scene as it always is. Kids and dogs.
ROBERTS: The Candy Fairy is turning into the Tasmanian Devil as we speak! Kiran, thanks.
A quick look now at what the "CNN NEWSROOM" is working on for the top of the hour.
HARRIS: See these stories in the "CNN NEWSROOM."
California wildfire blame. Authorities accuse a child.
Tropical Storm Noel triggering floods in the Caribbean. Is Florida in its sights?
Dentist with a deal. Offering kids cash for candy, then sending it to the troops.
It's the great splat Charlie Brown. Pumpkins propelled! "NEWSROOM," top of the hour, on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: A minute now to the top of the hour. We're kicking off a series on flyer frustrations today. We asked what is your worst flying nightmare? Most of you said lost luggage is the worst flying nightmare, 30 percent, almost a third unreasonable delays. A strong second with 26 percent getting the middle seat and lack of information came next and canceled flights getting the fewest votes today. We want to hear some of your personal stories, too, so send them to am@CNN.com and we will start a blog where we can keep a running tally on some of people's flying nightmares because we want to feel like we're bonding on this issue because we are all experiencing. That does it for us on AMERICAN MORNING. What a colorful crowd you got down there.
CHETRY: We want to wave everybody out here and wish everybody a safe and happy Halloween. Thanks to everyone who dressed up and all of the adorable dogs. Humanesocietyofnewyork.org. They need a good home. Thanks for being with us. See you back here tomorrow.
"CNN NEWSROOM" begins right now with Heidi Collins and Tony Harris stars now.
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