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American Morning
Pakistan In Chaos; "It Could Get Worse"; Damaging Testimony, School Shotter's Videos
Aired November 09, 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: Breaking news. Crackdown in Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto under house arrest. Her planned protest blocked by police.
Slowdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: Our assessment is for slower growth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The worst is yet to come. A frightening, new warning about the economy.
Plus, close call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold, hold, hold.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Thirty feet apart. A shocking, new look at runway near misses.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop, stop, stop, stop!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Why they keep happening and what's being done to stop them on this AMERICAN MORNING.
And if that's not troubling, I don't know what is.
Good morning. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING and thanks for being with us on this Friday, the 9th of November. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kiran Chetry.
Breaking news on the struggle for democracy in Pakistan. Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto is under house arrest. They say no one can get in and no one can get out. She was about to lead a massive protest against President Pervez Musharraf after he suspended the constitution. But now, according to witnesses, her home is surrounded by armored cars, rings of police, concrete barriers and barbed wire as well. The former prime minister speaking to CNN just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENAZIR BHUTTO, FORMER PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER: I have feelings (ph) to the policemen to move aside because our movement was not against them, but it was to save their country and ours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Opponents of the president say that 5,000 others have been thrown in jail during a strict government crackdown. The media has also been silenced. In fact, CNN was thrown off the air. State Department correspondent Zain Verjee is on the phone now live from Islamabad with the breaking developments.
Zain.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There is a major shakedown and confrontation going on between Benazir Bhutto and her supporters, as well as riot police which are outside her house in the capital city Islamabad. Just a few moments ago, her supporters passed through wires. She has been in a white car trying to get out and break through the (INAUDIBLE), the barbed wire and the cement blocks to go to a rally that she has called in Raul Pindi.
She's in a car and she's on a megaphone and she's shouting (INAUDIBLE), saying "don't stop us!" She's saying, (INAUDIBLE), they're not the enemy. Give us way. Musharraf isn't (INAUDIBLE) his country. Let us out.
An unfolding situation. Fire trucks have been called in. (INAUDIBLE), some of them have been arrested. A lot of her supporters that have stayed here on the ground have also been arrested. They've been taken away and dragged into police vans that have been stationed here.
So right now what we're seeing is rows of police lining up. There are two security trucks in front of the barbed wire that she is actually behind. They're (INAUDIBLE) the situation gets out of control. Police, in the meantime, are also beating the crowds back, keeping them away from this situation that could turn dangerous.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Zain Verjee on the phone for us from Islamabad. Thank you.
ROBERTS: Merck Pharmaceuticals has reportedly agreed to pay nearly $5 billion to settle claims over injuries and deaths linked to its Vioxx painkiller. "The Wall Street Journal" and "The New York Times" are reporting a deal is expected to be announced this morning in New Orleans where a federal judge is overseeing the litigation. The drug-maker faces roughly 27,000 lawsuits. Vioxx was approved to relieve arthritis and other types of pain. It was taken by an estimated 20 million Americans before Merck pulled it off of the market because of heart safety concerns.
Kiran.
CHETRY: Also new this morning, New York City's former top cop is expected to surrender to the feds today to face criminal charges. Sources say Bernard Kerik will be indicted in federal district court in New York on tax fraud, corruption, and conspiracy. The government claims Kerik took tens of thousands of dollars in services from benefactors and never reported it as income. Earlier this year, Kerik rejected a plea deal, insisting he never did anything wrong. Kerik was New York's police commissioner on 9/11 and once nominated to head Homeland Security. He's a long-time friend and one-time protege of Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani.
Michael Mukasey has been confirmed as the next U.S. attorney general. Last night's Senate vote one of the closest ever, 53-40, for an attorney general nominee. Six Democrats and independent Joe Lieberman voted with Republicans to approve Mukasey. His nomination ran into trouble when he refused to say that waterboarding is torture. President Bush issued a statement thanking the Senate, saying the retired judge will be a "outstanding attorney general."
And George Bush Sr. blasting anyone who is criticizing his son's decision to invade Iraq and the handling of the war. In a rare interview with "USA Today," the former president says that to many people have forgotten what he calls the "extraordinary brutality of Saddam Hussein's regime." He also went on to say that we can't go back to the status quo and things wouldn't be better in the Middle East if Saddam Hussein was still in power.
A questionable Halloween costume has the head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement in some hot water. Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill has now put a hold on Julie Myers confirmation to the position of assistant Homeland Security secretary. Myers hosted a Halloween party where an employee showed up wearing dark make-up, dreadlocks and prison stripes. She posed for the photo with him and was a member of a three judge panel who gave the costume most original prize. Myers later said it was appropriate and that she didn't realize the employee had disguised his skin color. She apologized to Homeland Security staff in an e-mail, but some lawmakers say she needs to do more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SAM BROWNBACK, (R) KANSAS: I asked her to reach out to groups like NAACP and others. She said that they would do that to describe and discuss what took place and what actions they're taking in the future and outreach efforts that they're making.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Myers faces a possible Senate vote on her nomination next week. A record number of Americans say that most members of Congress don't deserve to be re-elected. According to a new CNN/Opinion Research poll, if the elections for Congress were held today, Democrats would get 53 percent of the vote and Republican candidates would get 42 percent of the vote. Now when asked if Democrats should be re-elected, 50 percent said yes. When they asked the same question of current Republican incumbents, only 38 percent say they should get another chance in office.
Here's also an interesting side note. While 53 percent of those surveyed said that most members of Congress need to go, 58 percent did say they would re-elect their own representative.
John.
ROBERTS: Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke before Congress, a warning on more hard times to come for the nation's economy. Our Ali Velshi at the business update desk with that.
Not exactly what the markets wanted to hear yesterday, Ali.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not exactly, but it was what we thought, John.
Ben Bernanke, as you said, went to Capitol Hill to give his testify on his view of the economy. He told Congress but in no uncertain terms that things were going to get worse, which seemed to be doing OK against an economy that seemed to be doing OK in the third quarter. He said it's slowing down considerably.
Now some congressmen pressed him on the point. They went as far as to ask Ben Bernanke to give odds on a recession. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN BERNANKE, FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIRMAN: We have not calculated the probability of recession. And I wouldn't want to offer that today. Again, our assessment is for slower growth but positive growth going into next year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Now, Bernanke also says he hopes the housing market will find a bottom by next spring, but he points out that over the next year almost 2 million homeowners will face their first increased mortgage payments, which means large numbers of foreclosures will continue for at least that long.
Now on the bright side, John, Bernanke said that as bad as the housing slump has been, it hasn't spread to other parts of the economy. But he did admit that $100 oil can slow the economy down.
He didn't seem nearly as upset about the sinking U.S. dollar or about China, saying that it might move some of its dollar-based investments to a stronger currency. And the dollar is facing another tough day today, John. You're going to need $1.47 to buy a euro, $2.11 to buy a pound and $1.08 to buy the Canadian dollar.
John.
ROBERTS: The Canadian dollar just keeps on floating higher and higher.
VELSHI: Yes. Not good for guys like us who used to earn that.
ROBERTS: Well, that's true. We'll check back in with you a little bit later on.
Ali, thanks.
Kiran.
CHETRY: We're also going to get a check of the weather situation across the country. Rob Marciano at our weather update desk.
And I expected to see you sitting there maybe with your feet up on the desk because it's a little bit more quiet than we've seen lately.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Celebrities are joining the striking writers on the picket lines in Los Angeles and New York. There was a protest in front of our building, the Time Warner Center, yesterday. Julianne Moore, David Duchovny and Tim Robbins just some of the stars who came out to show their support for fellow union members who want residual payments when their work is offered on DVDs and the Internet. Tim Robbins says he thinks that this strike could go on for a long time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIM ROBBINS, MEMBER, WRITERS GUILD OF AMERICA: I think there's a very strong resolve with the strike (INAUDIBLE). I think it will last as long as it takes to get the producers to negotiate with everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: One of the shows hurt by the strike is Fox's "24." Fox says "24" will not air a new season next year because only eight episodes were written before the strike and they want to make sure that they can run it all together.
Adding oil to the reserves. Your "Quick Hits" now. The Energy Department will go ahead with plans to put 12.3 million barrels of oil into the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Some Democrats in Congress are against the move, saying commercial supplies are tight and prices are high right now. It doesn't make sense to buy it at this point.
Add Curious George the latest round of recalled Chinese-made toys. Specifically the 12-inch plush dolls with a plastic face. The Consumer Product Safety Commission says surface paint on the toys plastic face and construction hat contain excessive levels of lead. Consumers can contact the manufacturer, Marvel Toys, for a refund. For more information, because we've got it all for you, head to our web page at cnn.com/am.
A couple of teens went to a used car dealership and got into big trouble after a test drive. A wild police chase and crash caught on tape. We'll have that for you.
And testimony against O.J. Simpson at a preliminary hearing. We'll tell you what it could mean for a trial against Simpson. That's coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Fourteen minutes after the hour.
Breaking news for you and pictures just into us from Pakistan. This appears to be Raul Pindi, where there was supposed to be a huge rally today. Supports of Benazir Bhutto taking to the streets. You can see right there in the background, a dump truck that's across the street.
Pakistani police have set up barricades surrounding the square where the protesters were supposed to meet. It would appear in these pictures that they're trying to chase off anybody who was trying to get through that cordon to try to gather in the square. So far, as we hear, things on the streets of Raul Pindi are pretty quiet. There you can see the dump truck that's been put there as a barricade.
Meanwhile, in Islamabad, next door to Raul Pindi, Benazir Bhutto, the leader of the opposition party, the Pakistani people's party, under house arrest. They're keeping her there so that she can't rally her forces to come to Raul Pendi and engage in that huge protest that she called for.
Also getting some breaking news in today from the "Associated Press." Pakistani police say a bombing at a house of a government minister in the northwestern part of Pakistan has killed at least four people.
So even though not big protests in the streets today, still lots of breaking news coming out of Pakistan. We'll stay on it. We'll have the latest for you.
Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Thanks, John.
Well, damaging testimony against O.J. Simpson's at the start of his preliminary hearing yesterday. Sports memorabilia dealer Bruce Fromong describing the night that Simpson, he said, burst into a Las Vegas hotel room with a group of armed men. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUCE FROMONG, SPORTS MEMORABILIA DEALER: When he first came in, he kind of stopped for just a second and looked at me and I kind of looked at him. And there was a lot of yelling and screaming going on. And the first thing that I really remember from that was a statement made by Mr. Simpson saying "don't let anybody out of this room. Nobody leaves."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: Joining me now to talk more about that testimony is AMERICAN MORNING's legal analyst Sunny Hostin.
Good to see you this morning.
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
CHETRY: So Bruce Fromong's testimony, at least what he's describing there, doesn't look good for one of the more serious charge against O.J. Simpson of kidnapping.
HOSTIN: That's right. He tells everyone there are guns in the room and Fromong is placing guns in the room. And that's very, very crucial for the prosecution. And O.J. saying no one, no one can leave.
Now think about it. Everyone knows that O.J. was on trial for killing two people and was convicted -- not convicted, but civilly found responsible for their deaths. So if you have someone like that in the room with guns saying you can't leave, you're not going to leave. And that's very, very strong evidence for the prosecution.
CHETRY: You know it's also some of the witnesses describing it as this like military-style, you know, break-in.
HOSTIN: He said it over and over again, military-style invasion. And I think with the war going on and everyone watching television and the judge, of course, watching that sort of coverage, you're thinking, oh, my gosh, this looks like a commando team rushing in. The imagery was very, very powerful.
CHETRY: All I can think, though, from a defense attorney's point of view is, he is going to take the time -- none of these characters are without -- you know, all of the people that got the pleas are not without some shadiness in their past as well.
HOSTIN: That's right.
CHETRY: I mean how are they going to try to chip away at the credibility of people like Fromong?
HOSTIN: They're going to chip away. And what's really interesting, and I don't think most people realize, preliminary hearings are really the only chance that the defense attorneys get the chance to see inside the prosecution's case. It is a boon for most defense attorneys and we're going to see eight witnesses and they're going to chip away at plea agreements, they're going to chip away at prior convictions. I mean, Fromong had a heart attack after this happened. So I think we're going to be seeing a lot, a lot of things.
CHETRY: All right. That will be interesting.
Let's turn to another story that was really shocking about this YouTube killer. This was the school shooting that took place in Finland. And in the days and even weeks before, this 18-year-old, who went on this shooting rampage, actually posted on YouTube a video called "Jokela High School (that was his high school) Massacre," and the date that it happened before he did it. Is anyone legally responsible for the type of content that gets on YouTube?
HOSTIN: You know, it's very difficult. We know that Google owns YouTube and there were approximately, you know, 89 videos that this kid posted, it's been reported. What should Google do? What do you do? I mean, the government can't do it. The law enforcement can't do it. You can protect your brand as Google. You can have folks looking at copyright infringement.
But there is that pesky thing called the First Amendment. And so is this freedom of expression or is this a criminal activity? It didn't rise to the level of criminal activity, so who's what's going to be held responsible? You can't prosecute a company. Are you going to put the CEO on trial or the president on trial? It's very difficult.
CHETRY: Now, in the same way that they try to make sure that potential child molesters, who haven't necessarily done anything yet, are booted off of some of these web-sharing places like FaceBook . . .
HOSTIN: That's illegal, though. That's illegal. When you're talking about child pornography, there are rules for that. But this sort of . . .
CHETRY: What about making terroristic threats? I mean anything -- or just in general, having some sort of ability to scour for key words, maybe violent words, that sort of raise red flags? I mean is there anything that YouTube can do in this situation? Because this is not an isolated incident.
HOSTIN: It's not.
CHETRY: There have been other incidents as well where there have been people posting these almost video manifestos before they commit a crime.
HOSTIN: Absolutely. Well, you know, it's -- we have freedom of speech. We have freedom of expression. It doesn't rise to the level of a crime. YouTube can certainly monitor, but what are you monitoring for? I've been thinking about this and thinking about this, because I have children. It's very, very difficult and I would say probably impossible to really monitor this for criminal activity when a crime hasn't occurred.
CHETRY: Youtube, by the way, saying that they have zero tolerance and they terminate posts when they become aware of them. I think the question here is, how do they become aware of them?
HOSTIN: Exactly.
CHETRY: Because of the millions upon millions of user-generated bits of content they get. HOSTIN: I think it's almost impossible.
CHETRY: Sunny Hostin, thanks for being with us.
HOSTIN: Thank you for having me.
CHETRY: John.
ROBERTS: It's 19 minutes after the hour. I want to go to some video just in from our affiliate WEWS in Cleveland, Ohio. A major fire going on there in the old General Electric warehouse building. These are live pictures coming to us.
This is in the eastern part of the city. It's a little ways away from downtown. There's a shot of the correspondent in the helicopter. But we understand that there was no businesses that were inside that warehouse. It's an old GE warehouse. There was no one injured as well. The fire being brought under control this morning. But some pretty spectacular pictures to show you here and also causing a little bit of trouble for the morning rush hour. The east 152nd Street exit off of Interstate 90 closed in the southbound direction for anybody who's trying to get around it. The eastern part of Cleveland this morning.
Your "Quick Hits" now.
Autopsy results will be released today in the death of Carol Anne Gotbaum. You'll recall that she died in police custody back in September after not being allowed to board a flight at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport. Gotbaum was on her way to an alcohol rehab clinic in Tucson. Phoenix Police say they followed proper procedure and that her death was accidental. Gotbaum's family is conducting its own investigation into her death.
A heady move by Major League Baseball general managers. They have decided that first and third base coaches will wear some sort of protective head gear starting next season. It's all in response to the death of a minor league coach who was hit in the head by a line drive during a game this summer. The GMs will determine the exact form of protection at their winter meetings.
A police chase outside of Atlanta ended with a dramatic crash. Watch this. Whoa! Up in the Jersey wall there. The whole thing caught on tape. We'll have the pictures for you. The entire story ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the most news in the morning.
President Bush hosting German Chancellor Angela Merkel at his Crawford ranch this weekend. Merkel will arrive later today. And the nuclear standoff with Iran expected to be a top priority. Both leaders have said they want to keep nuclear weapons out of Tehran's hands. ROBERTS: An ugly ending to a high-speed police chase in Georgia. It's this morning's "Hot Shot." A dashboard camera rolled as a stolen SUV slammed into a divider -- wow -- on I-85 in Coweta County. Police say two teenagers had pulled a gun on the car salesman during a test drive. They let him go before the chase began. The driver lost control during the pursuit, slammed into the Jersey wall, spectacular crash and rollover, but remarkably both teenagers came away with only minor injuries. So they took them away on backboards there just in case.
CHETRY: That's unbelievable.
ROBERTS: And if you happen to have a "Hot Shot," send it to us. The address is amhotshots@cnn.com. Be sure to include your name, where you're from, a little bit about the picture and video. And another thing for us -- make sure that the image is yours and not something that you ripped off from somebody else.
CHETRY: When you look at the way that SUV rolled over, it's a miracle they're OK.
ROBERTS: It happens on the beltway in Washington all the time.
CHETRY: Scary stuff.
ROBERTS: Yes, it really is.
A story coming up in our next half hour now that you just can't miss. Something you need to know before your next flight. A lot of troubling news about airport near misses.
CHETRY: Yes. Do you even want to know before your next flight? A dramatic, quite scary animation that was released at the National Transportation Safety Board's annual meeting and what the FAA plans to do. We're going to have that story and the headlines when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: We have some breaking news out of Pakistan. Police there telling CNN that four people were killed and several others wounded after a bomb exploded outside of the house of a government minister in Tashauer (ph). It's Friday, November 9th. A lot going on in Pakistan today. I'm Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: And good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.
In addition to that, which would be the first deaths since the crackdown that was ordered by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, also breaking news in the struggle for democracy in Pakistan, opposition leader Benazir Bhutto has now been placed under house arrest. She was about to lead a massive protest against Musharraf after he suspended the constitution. Now her supporters are taking on police in the city of Rawalpindi, which is next door to Islamabad, trying to break through barbed wire, as well, back in Islamabad, to set her free. State department correspondent Zain Verjee is live on the telephone with us from just outside of Benazir Bhutto's house. So, what's the scene like there this morning, Zain?
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, it's really a show of defiance by Benazir Bhutto. She is on lockdown, and there is a test of wills unfolding here in front of me between Benazir Bhutto and all the hundreds of security forces that are surrounding her home. It's really an extraordinary scene. I'd like to describe to you what I'm seeing. There is a wall of security forces in front of me. Behind them are two large police vans. Behind those vans, more police, barbed wire, yet more police heavily armed with AK-47s. And behind that is Benazir Bhutto.
She is sitting in a white bullet-proof four-wheel drive car with tinted windows. She is speaking on a mega phone, and she is directing her message to police saying, "Don't stop us. We're not the enemy. Give us way, let us go. It's Musharraf that's against the country." Some of her supporters managed to cut the barbed wire and she managed to forcibly drive out, but there seems to be a standoff going on right now, and her supporters have been chanting "Down with Musharraf. Bullets and batons will not rule." A bunch of them have been arrested.
Earlier on, it was a little bit theatrical. They shouted a few slogans and then would just walks into vans and walked away. But the situation is precarious and riot police are standing by, but she's refused to budge.
John?
ROBERTS: Zain, any idea how long she plans on staying there, trying to get through? And eventually, she will have to go back into the house, I would imagine.
VERJEE: It seems as though she's going to be here a while. She seems to be making a strong and long political speech. But eventually, yes, she's going to have to turn back and go inside, because there is no way that she's going to be able to break through all the security that surrounds her. What she wants to do is to go off to Rawalpindi. That's kind of a military garrison town which is close to Islamabad. That she wanted to hold a rally there. She was not been able to go there. None of her supporters were allowed to go there. Police sealed off the road. They came from the places like Peshawar (ph), the Frontier Province, south of Punjab. There were major clashes between her supporters trying to get to the rally and police. But, she's going to have to go back in eventually.
ROBERTS: All right, Zain Verjee for us this morning in Islamabad, outside of the home of Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Zain, we'll check back in with you, thanks.
CHETRY: Well, a warning from the FBI this morning. Al Qaeda may be plotting attacks against shopping malls in Chicago and Los Angeles. The FBI says the warning is a precaution and it's not confirming whether the threats are credible. This isn't the first time malls have been targeted during the holiday shopping season.
A Dallas Hospital has a list of 6,400 people who, if they become patients, would get special treatment. That list contains the names of wealthy, high-profile people who are donors or may become donors. The UT Southwestern Medical Center defends the list saying the benefits are limited to a greeting at the door and escort to an appointment or free parking. The hospital insists that no one gets preferential medical treatment or free care. And that brings us to this morning's quick vote question. Should hospitals have a V.I.P. Patient Program? Cast your vote, cnn.com/am. We'll give you a tally of the first votes coming up in the next hour.
ROBERTS: Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik is expected to be indictment today. Sources say that Kerik will surrender to federal authorities this morning and be arraigned later on charges of tax fraud, corruption, and conspiracy. Kerik was at one time Rudy Giuliani's protege. He was New York City's police commissioner on 9/11. And Giuliani was instrumental in getting the president to nominate Kerik for Homeland Security Secretary. So, how could Kerik's indictment impact the republican front-runner?
Andrew Kirtzman is the author of "Rudy Giuliani, Emperor of the City." He is also a correspondent with WCBS-2 here in New York and he joins us now. You know an awful lot about this. Giuliani yesterday admitted that mistakes were made, saying he probably should not have appointed Bernard Kerik, police commissioner in the city of New York. Here's what he said yesterday. Take a quick listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RUDY GIULIANI, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I made a mistake in not checking him out more carefully, but when you balance that mistake against all of the successes that we had, I think the overwhelming record is a record of great success.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: He's saying a mistake was made, but there was success. But here's the question that I have. Rudy Giuliani has known Kerik an awfully long time. I mean, they were partners in his security firm as well. Can we take it on faith that he knew nothing about all this?
ANDREW KIRTZMAN, WCBS TV CORRESPONDENT: No, not at all. It turns out that Giuliani was briefed about Kerik's relationship with this allegedly mobbed-up company, even before Giuliani named him police commissioner and long before Giuliani recommended Kerik to be Homeland Security Chief. So, it raises a lot of questions. Giuliani has a lot of questions to answer on the campaign trail about his judgment.
And I tell you, I have been covering Giuliani as long as anyone and I can't guarantee to you sitting here this morning that he wouldn't make the same mistake again if he became president. Because, Rudy Giuliani values loyalty over everything.
ROBERTS: Well, that's part of the repercussion here, is that if he becomes president, will he -- and democrats are having a field day with this -- will he, like George Bush, was loyal to Rumsfeld, was loyal to Gonzalez, choose loyalty over pragmatism and rationality?
KIRTZMAN: Well, you know frankly, he has in the past. Giuliani has a million strengths, and I think Americans saw that on September 11th, and you know, it's up to Americans to decide whether or not he would make a good president. But one aspect of Giuliani's personality and his leadership style is that he does favor loyalty, sometimes to the exclusion of other things. He took over after an administration that was seen by people in his camp as somewhat inept, and one of the reasons that he felt that that was the case was that the aids that Former Mayor Dinkins put together didn't know each other and would throw each other under a bus if they had to, and Giuliani was determined to avoid that mistake and he shows that again and again.
ROBERTS: And we saw that for so many years in the Bush administration, too, sort of that, you know, iron wall of camaraderie, loyalty and secrecy in the White House.
KIRTZMAN: Giuliani and Bush have that trait in common. And I think it's something to look for.
ROBERTS: So what do you think? Is any of this really going to stick to him or it's just something we're going to be talking about for a few days?
KIRTZMAN: Well, you know, I don't think it's going to become the overriding issue in Giuliani's life. But, I think the issue with Giuliani throughout this campaign has been whether Americans are willing to overlook a lot of sins. And you know, his relationship with Kerik is just one of them. You know, if you're Republican, some of his, you know, sins, include his positions on social issues that they don't like. And the reason so many Americans have been willing to do so is that I think he represents people's personal security. And when someone represents your personal security, you're willing to overlook a lot. You're seeing that take place here in the presidential race.
ROBERTS: One thing when you're mayor of a city and entirely different thing when you're president of the United States. Andrew Kirtzman, it's good to see you. Thanks very much for coming in today.
KIRTZMAN: Thanks for having me.
ROBERTS: Kiran?
CHETRY: An Oregon man accused of espionage, but it's not a case of selling government secrets, it's a case of trying to sell Nikes. Police say the 53-year-old suspect wrote letters to Nike's competitors claiming to have inside information on their unreleased fall 2008 catalog. He said he was willing to leak the info, which included designs and prices, to the highest bidder. So the FBI set up a sting and nabbed the guy trying to sell the information for $2,000.
ROBERTS: Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, when planes nearly collide. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: SkyWest 5741 -- hold, hold, hold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop, stop, stop, stop.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: How safe is your next flight and what's being done to prevent runway collisions? Find out ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: A breaking news this morning. Here's a picture of Benazir Bhutto, the Former Pakistani Prime Minister, addressing both her supporters and police outside of her home in Islamabad. She has been put under virtual house arrest. Her home barricaded so she can't get out and go to Rawalpindi, where she was hoping to rally supporters against President Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency. It looks like she's going to lose the standoff, because police aren't budging. At the same time, about 90 miles to the west of Islamabad, a suicide bomber took the lives of four people when he detonated his explosives outside of the home of a government minister. We'll have more on this breaking story throughout the day, so stay with us here on CNN.
Kiran?
CHETRY: Well, a dramatic and actually quite scary animation released at the National Transportation Safety Board's annual beating to roll out its so-called most wanted list of safety improvements for aviation. CNN's Miles O'Brien has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: San Francisco Airport, May 26th. A Republic Airlines regional jet is cleared for takeoff on a runway that intersects another runway where a SkyWest commuter turboprop was landing. This animation is based on radar and black box information from the two planes. Listen to what the controller does as he realizes there could be a horrible collision.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: SkyWest 5741, hold, hold, hold.
O'BRIEN: The SkyWest crew hit the brakes hard and stopped right in the middle of the intersecting runway. The Republic flight crew lifted off the ground early and missed by as little as 30 feet.
Six weeks later in Fort Lauderdale, a United Airlines Airbus 8320 was cleared to taxi up to a runway, not onto it. As he was taxiing, a Delta Airlines 757 was landing on the same runway. Watch what happens as the controller realizes the United plane on the ground is not going to stop in time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop, stop, stop, stop! O'BRIEN: The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board showing a lot of frustration today with the FAA's pace in dealing with these issues.
MARK ROSENKER, NTSB CHAIRMAN: This must be resolved. We've had this recommendation for a number of years, too many number of years. The FAA recently had a call to action, which dealt with runway safety issues, and they made some improvements, and they did it quickly.
O'BRIEN: Miles O'Brien, CNN, New York.
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ROBERTS: 16 minutes now to the top of the hour.
American opposition to the Iraq war at an all-time high. That tops your "Political Ticker" this Friday morning. A new CNN Opinion Research Poll says 68 percent of Americans oppose the war. That's a new record and just one in four believe the U.S. is winning the war in Iraq. 62 percent say no one is winning. The White House responding to the poll saying there has been a reduction in violence in Iraq and says it takes time for perceptions to change.
Much more positive take in the war from Senate's top Republican, Senator Mitch McConnell says the Iraq war is quote "winding down." McConnell says there will be quote, "fewer and fewer troops in Iraq" and "fewer and fewer casualties." He pointed to recent reports of declining troop death tolls.
Former President George Bush is blasting his son's critics, especially the ones who say we should not have invaded Iraq. In a rare interview with "U.S.A. Today," the former president says too many people have forgotten what he calls the quote, "extraordinary brutality" of Saddam Hussein's regime. He also went on to say that we can't go back to the status quo and things wouldn't be better in the Middle East if Saddam Hussein was still in power.
Mitt Romney is pulling ahead in New Hampshire. The latest poll shows the Republican with a 15-point lead over fellow White House contender Rudy Giuliani. That's up from a 9-point lead a month ago. Romney has support from 32 percent of likely voters. He's also leading in Iowa.
It's a dead heat in Connecticut. A poll asked Connecticut voters to choose in a hypothetical presidential election between Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani. They basically came out even. In other hypothetical asked by the poll, Barack Obama would also be tied with Giuliani, but Clinton would be Mitt Romney by a wide margin. You can find all the day's political news around the clock at cnn.com/ticker. Now let's go over to Kiran.
CHETRY: Mickey Rourke busted in Miami Beach. That tops your "Quick Hits" now. Police say they took him into custody for suspicion of DUI after they saw him swerving around on his scooter making a u- turn at a red light. Police say that his eyes were bloodshot and watery. His speech was slurred. He also failed field sobriety and breath tests. He was eventually released on bond.
And more problems for the state of James Brown. James Brown's first wife, Velma Warren, is suing, saying that the two were never divorced. They married back in 1953. Warren's now 73 years old and she says she was never served divorce papers and never signed an agreement ending the marriage.
Pakistan has put a stranglehold on democracy, silencing the media, even tossing CNN and others off the air. But bloggers are making sure that voices from inside the country are being heard. What they're saying as chaos unfolds, and the latest developments from Pakistan when AMERICAN MORNING comes right back.
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CHETRY: It's almost ten minutes before 7:00 here on the east coast. And if you're just waking up or just joining us, here's a look at what's new this morning. The drug maker Merck is expected to settle nearly all of the lawsuits related to the painkiller Vioxx. That's nearly $5 billion in claims. Merck had vowed to fight all of the 27,000 cases. Vioxx was approved for sale back in 1999 and was used to fight arthritis and other types of pain and inflammation. Merck pulled it off the market because of heart safety concerns. It's estimated that 20 million Americans took that painkiller.
Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik is expected to surrender to federal authorities today. Sources say Kerik will be indicted in federal districts court in New York on criminal charges of tax fraud, corruption, and conspiracy. Kerik rejected a plea deal earlier this year, insisting he never did anything wrong.
And the senate has confirmed Michael Mukasey as the next Attorney General. The vote was 53-40. Mukasey got solid support from Republicans and grudging approval from Democrats who were angered by his refusal to define the controversial waterboarding technique as torture. President Bush issued a statement thanking the senate and saying the retired judge will make an outstanding Attorney General.
Also, breaking news out of Pakistan. Police there telling CNN four people were killed and several others wounded after a bomb exploded outside of the house of a government minister. Meanwhile, opposition leader Benazir Bhutto physically barred from leaving her home. Her followers were just minutes away from taking their fight for democracy to the streets when police barricaded her in. Now, there is a struggle for her to get out so she can attend some of those rallies. We'll have a live report from the scene coming up at the top of the hour.
John?
ROBERTS: Just turning nine minutes to the top of the hour now. The Pakistani government has taken CNN and also the BBC off of the air for a second time. It's part of a media blackout there. AMERICAN MORNING's Veronica De La Cruz has been tracking what's online, because there are still plenty of places to get information. VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, yes. I mean, like you said, CNN, BBC taken off the air, as well as other independent networks, channels, all yanked off for a second time, which means that people are struggling to get information. But like, John, mentioned, unless they have access to the Internet, maybe satellite television that is what they're depending on. So, even though some news rooms in Pakistan have gone dark, it has been this eyewitness accounts posted by bloggers from the south that are keeping people up to date. And there are many minute by minute multimedia updates on all the latest developments out of the area.
We're looking at some of the blogs right now. Let's take a look at this one website we found. Its called the Emergency Times. Its led by a group of Pakistani students who say they're taking a stand against injustice and oppression. Also, a large group of photo bloggers posting pictures and video to the Karachi Metroblogging Flicker group. Through their images and through their eyes, they're able to show the world what life has been like under Martial Law. Blogs are also allowing people to vent their frustration, which they haven't been able to really do publicly since the government imposed this state of emergency.
Take us one blogger on the site. All things Pakistan, who sums up the frustration many people are feeling. He says "Since the declaration of martial law , and please stop calling it an emergency, we have also been deprived of basic human right to access to information, which is most frustrating because we don't know what's going on." You can also head to our website at cnn.com where you'll find updates and information on the situation there in Pakistan.
And, John, really interesting. Since CNN has been yanked off the air, we have seen a decrease in the I-reports that we are receiving. At first, we are getting a number of them, and that was definitely seeing a drop-off.
ROBERTS: That's generally now what the internet out there. You know, you can still shine the light of freedom on places where it's trying to be squashed. All right, Veronica, thanks.
Kiran?
CHETRY: President Bush touring a rehabilitation center for Veterans in San Antonio and promising that he's committed to fixing problems in the Veterans health care system. He spent about two hours touring and talking to soldiers. Many of them either lost an arm or a leg fighting. The facility was built with private funds but is part of the Brooke Army Medical Center.
Naked farmers protesting in Mexico City. Why they are mad and whose picture are they using to cover themselves? Well, we'll show you, coming up.
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ROBERTS: A grassroots protest by Mexican farmers yesterday. Dozens of naked farmers hit the streets in Mexico City to protest the Former Governor of Veracruz, Dante Delgado, who they say stole their land. The farmers covered themselves, naughty bits, with pictures of Delgado. Creative little protest they had going there.
CHETRY: Hey, got attention, right? Worldwide attention. There you go.
ROBERTS: That's how you do it.
CHETRY: 57 minutes past the hour. You have breaking business news to tell us about.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's a different story, but it sounds very similar. Now, Wachovia, the fifth largest bank in the country is saying that its subprime exposure is now more than $2 billion. That has sent Dow futures down into triple digits, more than 100 points lower at this point in the morning. The issue here is that we are hearing this on an almost daily basis from the major banks. Obviously at Merrill Lynch and Citigroup, these kinds of announcements have cost the CEOs their jobs.
The question here is whether this is more bad news that's mounting or this is the financial services companies and the banks saying let's figure this out and get the news out there and price it in now, so that everybody can understand how serious this issue is. This is a matter of the loans, those mortgages that were repackaged and sold up the line to other investors, that when the houses and the mortgages weren't paid, that started to affect investors down the line. This is the secondary mortgages. The mortgage-backed securities that are affecting banks around the world.
We are also hearing right now that Barkley's is saying that it has more subprime exposure than it expected. So, this is going to affect financial markets around the world. Right now, the news in is Wachovia, the fifth largest bank in the country, is saying that its subprime mortgage exposure, its exposure to bad loans that maybe connected to the subprime mortgage market, is in excess of $2 billion. You can expect markets to take a hit on that news today.
John and Kiran?
ROBERTS: All right, Ali, thanks very much.
Look at the story coming up in our next half hour now that you just can't miss. They are considered the Rolls Royce of poker chips, 11 to 20 million of them made every year.
CHETRY: And now there is a new warning about Paulson brand poker chips. They are used in popular casinos like Caesars Palace. I'm sure, you've seen this at Mandalay Bay and the MGM Grand. But now, why there are health concerns about your poker chips. And we're not just talking about losing a hand. The next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
ROBERTS: Breaking news. Showdown in Pakistan. Right now, Benazir Bhutto under house arrest. Her rally thwarted by police.
Dire warning.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our assessment is for slower growth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: New predictions of tough times ahead for the economy this morning. What it means to you.
Plus, insurance injustice. Health workers told to cancel your insurance policy and getting bonuses for doing it? How they save millions by cutting people off on this AMERICAN MORNING. And good morning to you, welcome back. Thanks for joining us on this Friday, the 9th of November. I'm John Roberts.
CHETRY: And I'm Kiran Chetry. Certainly a busy morning. There is breaking news out of Pakistan once again. A standoff is now over outside of the home of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto. There was a struggle to try to set her free after police surrounded her home in concentric rings of barbwire. Police and concrete barriers.
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