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American Morning
CIA Tapes Case; New Zealand Quake; Football Players Assaulted?; FedEx Truck Hijacked; Political Roundup; Celebrity Arrest Report; Waterboarding Disclosure; Everett Returns
Aired December 21, 2007 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Also the CIA is now trying to find out whether an ex-official disclosed classified information when he talked to the media about CIA tactics, including waterboarding and the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah. Justice correspondent Kelli Arena is monitoring the developments in Washington, she joins me now. First of all, let's talk about this investigation of John Kiriakou. What can you tell us about that, what are you learning?
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well John, officials say that the CIA has sent a referral to the Justice Department asking it to investigate whether former CIA official John Kiriakou disclosed classified information. Now Kiriakou appeared here on CNN and other media outlets and he spoke about how Al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah was waterboarded. The justice department won't comment. I haven't heard yet from Kiriakou's lawyer yet. John?
ROBERTS: There is also this court hearing this morning which would be big news as well. What is the bottom line there?
ARENA: A federal judge is going to hear arguments this morning about whether the government defied his court order to preserve all evidence that was related to possible torture or mistreatment at Guantanamo Bay. Now obviously, we know that the government destroyed some interrogation tapes. But it argues that those tapes had nothing to do with Guantanamo Bay because the detainees on the tape were being held in secret locations. Didn't know anything about what was going on over at Gitmo. That hearing John starts at 11:00 today.
ROBERTS: Finally, what is the latest on the congressional inquiries into all of this? The department of justice initially was resisting. Now it looks like the CIA may send them over some information?
ARENA: Right. Members of the house intelligence committee actually started reviewing CIA documents last night. The committee also issued a subpoena for CIA official Jose Rodriguez. He is the man who made the decision to destroy those tapes. Lawmakers say that his attorney told them he wouldn't appear before them without one so things are rolling along on that end too John.
ROBERTS: A lot of news to come out in this today. Kelly, I know you got it covered. Thanks for joining us this morning.
ARENA: You're welcome.
ROBERTS: Veronica?
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Updating breaking news out of Pakistan now, at least 50 people are dead and 100 others injured after a suicide bombing at a mosque. Police say the bomber was praying alongside others when he set off his device packed with ball bearings and nails. The blast happened on the property of Pakistan's former interior minister. It is the second attack targeting the man in eight months. He was not injured.
California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is angry over the Bush administration's rejection of his state's effort to tighten rules on greenhouse gats gases. Schwarzenegger plans to sue over the EPA's denial of a waiver that would have allowed California to cut greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles faster than a new federal plan the president just signed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, CALIFORNIA: It's another example of the administration, the administration's failure to treat global warming with a seriousness that it actually demands.
BUSH: The director in assessing this law and assessing what would be more effective for the country says we now have a national plan.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: Sixteen other states want to follow Schwarzenegger's lead and get more aggressive on emissions. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine called the EPA's decision horrendous and based on, quote, crazy reasoning.
First there was a bridge to no where and now you can take the ferry to nowhere too. Representative Don Young and Senator Ted Stevens both Alaska Republicans, secured more than 20 million dollars for an expeditionary craft that will connect Anchorage with the rural peninsula of the (INAUDIBLE) borough. Population about 80,000. That's according to the 2006 U.S. census. It would cut a two-hour commute to about 15 minutes. But who commutes there? Well, Congressman Young's office confirmed to "The Washington Post" that his son-in-law owns land there. The earmark was one of thousands in the half trillion dollar spending bill passed this week. All paid for by you.
Well just a few more whoppers coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. John?
ROBERTS: Snake research?
New this morning as many of you set out to travel this holiday weekend another close call in the skies to tell you about. The FAA says that two Chicago air traffic controllers are to blame for putting a Southwest Airlines 737 and a beechcraft super king 2000 too close to each other in the air. It happened near Springfield, Illinois on Wednesday morning. According to documents the two planes came within 3.6 miles of each other horizontally. Minimum space in between planes is five miles horizontally. This is the second controller error reported at the Chicago radar center this week.
The four suspects accused in the murder of football star Sean Taylor will be arraigned in a court today. The four men all entered written pleas of not guilty to charges of fist degree felony murder and armed burglary because they issued written documents they will not be appearing in person at the arraignment. Police say at least two of them have confessed.
Four people are in the hospital this morning in New Orleans after protests against a plan to tear down 4,500 public housing units turned violent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's our rule.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Police used tear gas and tasers on the crowd. Protesters say they fear the local and federal governments won't guarantee similar affordable housing to be built in its place.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRACIE WASHINGTON, ATTORNEY: It's a race issue because the public housing developments were 100 percent black and these are the people who are not being allowed to return to the city.
ARNIE FIELKOW, CITY COUNCIL PRESIDENT: Not only are we going forward for the future, but we have safeguards in place in the interim that are going to allow us to make sure that HUD and HANO perform what they promised.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: The units were set up after hurricane Katrina. Council members claim that they are ridden with crime. 15 people were arrested. Veronica?
DE LA CRUZ: Well it's five minutes after the hour now. Time to check in with our AMERICAN MORNING team of correspondents for other stories new this morning.
A New York law will change how passengers are treated when they are stuck on the tarmac for over three hours. Let's check in now with Ali Velshi who has the latest from our business update desk. Good morning to you Ali.
ALI VELSHI: Good morning. That law is going to go into place, it will be the first in the country on January 1st and it will protect airline passengers who get stranded in New York. A challenge to that law was dismissed in federal court last night, so New York is going to go ahead with it. It will be the first state to have such a protection. Airlines can be fined a thousand dollars per passenger if they are sued for breaking the law. Here is what passengers get under this passenger bill of rights. If passengers are stranded the airline has to provide adequate snacks and drinking water, fresh air and lights and waste removal for on-board restrooms. What the states can't do is mandate that passengers be deplaned. That's under federal jurisdiction. And in fact, the air transport association had challenged this law has actually said in federal court they don't think there should be state regulation of this, there should be one law across the country. But for now, January 1st it goes into effect. If you're stranded in New York you have some protections coming your way. Veronica?
DE LA CRUZ: Just missing the Christmas holiday.
VELSHI: Yeah.
DE LA CRUZ: All right Ali, we'll check back with you soon. Thanks.
(WEATHER REPORT)
ROBERTS: Remember when your mom used to say you need to go outside and play and get some exercise. Now it seems kids may never need to leave the television to get exercise again. Hot new video games are being designed to get kids off the couch and into their games like never before. But can it replace old-fashioned exercise? CNN's chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta is at the medical update desk in Atlanta with the answer to that. I was talking to a colleague of mine a few minutes ago Sanjay who said she was playing one of these Wii games, she hurts in places that she hasn't hurt in for years, all of the exercise she was getting.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It can be good exercise, there's no question about it. If you keep in mind as well that the average American child and teenager watches about four hours of television a day. I actually didn't realize it was that high, but apparently that's what they're watching. Just sitting there watching television obviously not a great thing for your body and not a great thing for your health. The fact that these games can actually offer an alternative, that's a good thing. The question John I think that has been asked and I think a good one is just how effective are they? How many calories are you really burning when you're doing all of this versus doing some real traditional exercise. A small study out of England actually looking at this specific issue, comparing a couple of different activities. Take a look at this, for example interactive boxing, for example, 175 calories versus real boxing 384. They also looked at bowling, closer there 168 to 192. So there is a bit of a difference here John. Maybe not much but still, the real exercise outdoors, actually doing things still a better bet. John?
ROBERTS: But Sanjay for kids who might not be involved in an organized sport, this is obviously a good alternative to just sitting around on the couch, isn't it?
GUPTA: I think so, absolutely. To be fair, there have been other studies as well. Not so much looking at calories burned but looking at weight loss overall. The advantage here and John I think you just hit right on it, is that you might do these sorts of activities more than being outside. I mean again, the average kid watching four hours of television a day, there have been some studies showing that children and teenagers as well two to three times more likely to lose weight if they're using these interactive video games versus not using them, so potential real benefits there. John?
ROBERTS: What is the take away here, what's the best way to keep our kids fit?
GUPTA: You know, I wish I knew the answer to that for sure. I would say still -- look. Getting outside, participating in some sort of sport, some sort of activity outside the house is still probably your best bet in terms of overall calorie loss in terms of overall weight maintenance. But if your child is just sitting around watching television four hours a day on average like any other kid, maybe one of these games would be a good gift for the holidays.
ROBERTS: Better to have one of these active games as opposed to sitting their exercising their thumbs as well.
GUPTA: Exactly.
ROBERTS: Sanjay, thanks.
GUPTA: Thanks John.
ROBERTS: Don't forget every Thursday we turn to Dr. Gupta's mailbag for your questions about the medical stories that we cover. If you have a question for Dr. Gupta, go to cnn.com/americanmorning and e-mail your question. Sanjay will answer them here on AMERICAN MORNING. It won't be next Thursday because he is off, it will be the week after that in the New Year. Veronica?
DE LA CRUZ: Something is better than nothing, don't you think? Have you ever played any of those games?
ROBERTS: No.
DE LA CRUZ: The Wii or anything like that.
ROBERTS: I'm still a little palm guy.
DE LA CRUZ: They are lots of fun.
Well check this out, Mars could be in for a big mash-up next month. NASA says it may be hit by an asteroid. The rock is speeding towards the red planet at a blistering eight miles per second. There is a 1 in 75 chance it could hit on January 30th and experts say those are unusually good odds. The rock is about 160 feet wide and it could impact -- its impact could release energy equivalent to a 15 megaton nuclear bomb. Wow!
Christmas at Camp David topping your "quick hits" right now. President Bush scheduled to leave Washington around 11:00 this morning, spending the holiday at the mountain retreat and scheduled to go to his ranch in Crawford, Texas the day after Christmas and stay there until New Year's Day.
Lawmakers said they want to help homeowners facing foreclosure and now they are putting the law where their mouth is. Gerri Willis joins us in a few minutes to show you what it could mean for the average person.
All right, get this, $213,000 for all of fruit fly research in France. Congratulations. You paid for it. The pork report is out. How the politicians spent your money. That's coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DE LA CRUZ: Good morning to you and welcome back. 15 minutes after the hour. Some of the best shots to show you in our "quick hits" right now. China and India kicking off its first ever joint anti terror military training program. In this demonstration a Chinese soldier smashes bricks on another soldier's head. Take a look at this shot. The exercise is meant to teach soldiers to withstand pain. Both countries say the goal of the program is to boost bilaterally relations.
Back in the U.S. now, volunteer firefighters are cleaning up after a tornado in Brookhaven, Mississippi. At least three people were hurt. Dozens of trees and power lines were knocked down. And homes were damaged in two counties.
The largest ever drug bust to tell you about now in Salt Lake City. Drug enforcement agencies and 450 pounds of a rare African drug, it's called Cot. They say the stuff was meant to be distributed among African immigrants in the area. The leaf is chewed like tobacco and can cause hallucinations. John?
ROBERTS: 16 minutes now for Veronica after the hour. For all of the talk in Washington about putting an end to massive pork barrel spending, old habits, apparently, are hard to break. Congress is setting a massive omnibus spending bill to President Bush loaded with nearly 9,000 ear-marked projects at a cost of $7.4 billion. Some of them are pretty remarkable as well. Steve Ellis is the vice president of Taxpayer's for Common Sense, he joins me now from our Washington bureau, he's been looking into all of this. First of all Steve, is congress making any headway on trimming pork from their diet?
STEVE ELLIS, TAXPYERS FOR COMMONWEALTH: Certainly they have taken some steps in the right direction. We estimate that the number of earmarks are down about 25 percent off of the historic highs in 2005 and 2006. So we're in the right direction. Then, also, we have more transparency. We actually know who is requesting what earmark. That was something the democrats installed after they took power.
ROBERTS: But they still didn't achieve their goal of reducing earmarks by 50 percent?
ELLIS: No, no. I mean they're still a ways to go and we're going to be looking forward to working to try to achieve that in the coming years but certainly it is a good first step. ROBERTS: So you've been going through this huge 555 billion dollar bill searching for ear-marks as you do it every time that these budget bills come out. What are some of the doosies that you have found so far?
ELLIS: It really runs the gamut. You have $705,000 going to brown tree snake eradication efforts. You have $437,000 going to the Andre Agassi Prep Academy in Las Vegas, New Mexico. $335,000 for a minor league baseball stadium in Billings, Montana or as it was mentioned as you were leading into this, $213,000 for olive fruit fly research in Montpelier, France.
ROBERTS: And you low balled it too, it's $487,000 for that Andre Agassi center there. Is this stuff just outrageous or is this what members of congress have to do to keep the folks back home happy?
ELLIS: I think it is outrageous. And when you look at it, there are a lot of lawmakers that feel like this is the price for admission of being a member of congress. But, in reality, I don't think people are really paying attention to money going to fruit fly research in France or even that they look around at the baseball stadium and say, thank you, Senators Bakis and Senator Tester for getting us that ear- mark, they were the ones responsible for it. So it's some of the legislative legend that you feel like you have to get this money and bring home the bacon to your constituents.
ROBERTS: Of course all of this started a couple of years ago when Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska tried to get the bridge to nowhere built. We don't have a bridge to nowhere but we have something similar in this year's bill, don't we?
ELLIS: Yeah we sure do. There is the $20 million that they got for a ferry to go basically the same route as one of the two bridges to nowhere, the one that went between Anchorage and over the (INAUDIBLE) arm and (INAUDIBLE). And so it's kind of interesting that if first don't succeed, try, try again.
ROBERTS: So we got a ferry to nowhere instead of a bridge to nowhere?
ELLIS: Exactly.
ROBERTS: What about the ear-marks we don't yet know about?
ELLIS: Well, we're going to have to keep digging through these bills. Our experience has been that there is the flush blush whereas you pointed out we found 8,983 ear-marks worth $7.4 billion. As we continue digging, we're going to find more. You know you also have to look at there was more than 2,000 ear-marks in the defense spending bill that already passed worth $7.9 billion. So we're talking about a lot of money here.
ROBERTS: Steve Ellis of Taxpayers for Common Sense, you guys do a great job of keeping them honest. Thanks for joining us this morning Steve, good to see you.
ELLIS: Good seeing you John, thank you.
ROBERTS: I'm going to bring you back next time too, thanks.
ELLIS: All right.
ROBERTS: Veronica?
DE LA CRUZ: Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic rant during his arrest last year might never have been public if one police officer got his way. A new report on Gibson's arrest shows several improper actions by the cops. We're going to explain straight ahead.
What is helping out during America's mortgage meltdown. A new law is now on the books designed to bring relief to homeowners facing foreclosure. Our Gerri Willis will show you what it all means in the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING, keep it right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DE LA CRUZ: Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. Our hot shot of the morning now. This house in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts is decorated with about 500,000 Christmas lights. It is quite a sight but the city council is worried that it could be a distraction to drivers passing by. Earlier we spoke with the owner of the house and he told us why he thinks people are against his display.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's kind of jealousy. Because I just bring cheers to the kids around here, right? All the parents bring their kids here and you know what happened? The kids, they don't drive themselves in. Their parents bring them in and this is a two-way street. In other words, you can go two cars one way but it also has a breakdown lane, that's where they stop the cars.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: Oh, there you go. It's jealousy. It's all about jealousy.
ROBERTS: Everybody wants a $2,000 a month electric bill for all those decorations.
DE LA CRUZ: But it does say John, there has never been an accident because of the lights and he told us he has 500,000 lights. Then get this, he starts this whole thing back in august. He starts in August, putting all the lights together.
ROBERTS: He doubled it in size this year over last so we'll see what he does next year.
DE LA CRUZ: Unbelievable. If you have a hot shot make sure you send it to us at amhotshots@cnn.com. Please include your name, where you are from, a little bit about the picture, the video and one more thing, please make sure that the image is yours and not someone else's. ROBERTS: Lawmakers have been talking all year about trying to help homeowners facing foreclosure.
DE LA CRUZ: Finally a bill that would do just that is now law. CNN's personal finance editor Gerri Willis joining us now with more. Good morning to you Gerri.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Good morning, good to see you guys. The president yesterday signed into law a bill that would have some tax forgiveness for people out there who are really struggling with the mortgage meltdown. Here is how it used to work, if you sold your house you couldn't afford it, if you had some kind of mortgage forgiveness, if you couldn't get the buyer to pay the full price, well you had to pay tax on that gain. Not anymore, not under the terms of this law. You know this will affect a few people who are able to do these short sales, but not a ton.
ROBERTS: But it's not just homeowners that have been hurt by this whole mortgage crisis, home builders as well.
WILLIS: Oh absolutely. You know the national association of home builders met yesterday. They went through their numbers, their outlook for next year, it's not pretty as you may know. Home builders' sentiment right now is actually at its lowest level in 22 years. There's some 516,000 homes sitting on the market, new homes, 2.1 million. That's a lot of inventory to get rid of. We've heard anecdotally from an Ocean City, New Jersey builder who had 200 employees last year. This year, four. He can't keep them busy. Here is what one analyst had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The home building industry is in survival mode. They're really fighting for survival. You've got home sales in the existing market that are down a little more than 31 percent. You've got new home sales that are off 48 percent from the peak. With such a sharp drop in sales and such a big buildup in inventories, home builders have to fight for every dollar they have out there.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIS: That's right.
DE LA CRUZ: Let's go ahead and break this down and look at the silver lining for a second because it's not all bad news.
WILLIS: That's right.
DE LA CRUZ: This is beneficial to the consumer.
WILLIS: That's absolutely right. You know there are benefits out there if you're looking for a home, obviously, you can get it on the cheap now. You can really negotiate. Even if you're just trying to fix up the house you have now you'll probably get a better deal from renovators out there because they are obviously looking for work as well. But I have to tell you, the scuttlebutt in the industry has been since September, there are people out there who are waiting for one of the public home builders to go into chapter 11 to go into bankruptcy. There's a lot of talk behind the scenes about that. Will we lose one of the home builders? This is major, major contraction.
ROBERTS: With this much inventory out there, how long will it take to shakeout?
WILLIS: It's going to take years. You know best estimates right now with the national association of home builders said yesterday is they're looking for a return to more normal business levels in the third quarter of this year. A lot of folks say it will take even longer, maybe the year after that, maybe the year after that.
ROBERTS: And of course this is something that you're going to be looking at this weekend as well. Don't forget, join Gerri for "OPEN HOUSE" tomorrow morning, 9:30 eastern right here on CNN. Also plays back on "Headline News" Saturday and Sunday afternoons at 3:30. Gerri, thanks very much.
WILLIS: Thank you.
ROBERTS: If you thought that no government agency could be less popular than the internal revenue service, well think again. Because according to a new "Associated Press" poll, the transportation security administration is tied with the IRS as one of the least liked federal agencies. The survey finds that the more people travel, the less they like the TSA. Who does even worse than them? FEMA. They are the only ones that ranks lower on the list. That brings us to this morning's quick vote question. What is your least favorite federal agency? Cast your vote for us at cnn.com/am. Right now here is the tally, 20 percent saying the IRS, 28 percent the TSA. So they're in the same ballpark. But look at that, 52 percent say FEMA. You got to wonder if that's still lingering fallout from the hurricane Katrina disaster.
DE LA CRUZ: It has to be.
ROBERTS: We'll keep updating you on the votes throughout the morning. Time now for a look at what's ahead on "CNN SATURDAY MORNING." T.J. Holmes at the CNN Center down in Atlanta. With that, good morning T.J.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you all. We are going to be talking about that other war, you know, happening, Afghanistan? Heating up over there while the Taliban are getting stronger inside that country and what it means for U.S. troops and also for your security.
Plus, holiday weekend! You don't think they're taking the weekend off, do you? The presidential candidates, no. We're going to be live on the campaign trail, where else but in Iowa and New Hampshire, with the best political team on television. And we will be spreading some joy. These are always fun to do. We're going to reunite some soldiers in Iraq with their families at home as we salute the troops. Surprise reunions you do not want to miss. Those are always fun to do and to see. Plus we have four key tips to keep your new year's goals on track in 2008. Yes. "CNN SATURDAY AND SUNDAY MORNING" that begins tomorrow at 7:00 eastern. Randi Kaye is going to join us this weekend so that should be fun. If you need those tips by all means keep those resolutions for 2008 you need to tune in. John?
ROBERTS: Looking forward to that T.J., I love Randi, she's a great person. We'll see you tomorrow.
HOLMES: All right.
ROBERTS: Veronica?
DE LA CRUZ: We are counting down to the Iowa caucuses and the races in both parties are heating up. We're going to get the latest from John King, who's on the campaign trail in Iowa.
Two women arrested for sexually assaulting three college football players. When police showed up two of the players were tied up and wearing only their boxer shorts. We have that story plus today's headlines when AMERICAN MORNING returns.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. Welcome back to the most news in the morning. We're looking at a live picture there of the skating rink in central park.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: It says good morning Austin! Not!
DE LA CRUZ: Just kidding!
ROBERTS: Somebody has relatives in Austin maybe.
DE LA CRUZ: A picture there of folks skating. I think we're going to see a high of 38 in New York today. That's it.
ROBERTS: I wonder what the weather is going to be like in Austin.
DE LA CRUZ: Hopefully a lot warmer. Good morning to you. It's Friday, December 21st. I'm Veronica De La Cruz sitting in for Kiran Chetry.
ROBERTS: That is what you mean switching plans at the last minute and not everybody got the message. Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.
Bracing for a showdown this morning in Washington over the CIA destruction of interrogation tapes. A federal judge has called a hearing a few hours from now to find out if the agency wiped out evidence of torture. There are questions about how high the discussions went. Already there are reports out there that top Bush administration officials were involved in discussions. The House Intelligence Committee is also subpoenaed the former CIA official who gave the order. The White House says there was no cover-up.
DE LA CRUZ: More now on the breaking news out of Pakistan where a mosque bombing and kills 50 and injures about a hundred. Police say the bomber was targeting the country's former interior minister, the second such attempt on the man's life in eight months. The former minister was not injured. Police say the suicide bomber was praying alongside others when he set off his bomb packed with ball bearings and nails.
A Palestinian rocket attack on Israel caught on tape by an American student visiting the region. Take a look and listen. Check out how close he was to the impact.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Run, run, run, run!
DE LA CRUZ: Pretty intense moments, that's for sure. Benji Davis was there to document how people deal with the daily threat of rocket attacks. The California student captured one rocket falling yards from where he was standing. He describes seeing the chaos firsthand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJI DAVIS, VIDEOTAPED ROCKET ATTACK: First, I was just so in shock I didn't know what to think. I just started calling people and telling what happened. After that, like they are like rush in my heart, it's beating so fast. I feel like bursting out. I just want to lie down. I can't do anything right now. I'm in shock. Like this is so foreign to me. This would never happen to me at home. I came here to help the people here and like I mean -- this really shows how messed up the situation is here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: Israeli police say the rocket fell just 40 yards from a school. 12 students were treated for shock.
ROBERTS: New developments this morning after that earthquake in New Zealand we told you about yesterday. The country has declared a state of emergency. Crews battled small fires that were sparked by the 6.8 magnitude quake and 16 minor injuries have been reported and power remains out in some areas. The coastal city of Gizborn was the hardest hit and 12 buildings were badly damaged and homes up to 125 miles away have been damaged.
The death toll has now risen to 29 in the aftermath of last week's ice storm in Oklahoma. Two women died from injuries in Oklahoma they suffered earlier this week one from hypothermia and another from injuries sustained in a house fire. Most of those who lost power during the storm have it back on this morning. About 10,000 people remain in the dark. That's far fewer than the 600,000 that lost power at the height of the storm but the 10,000 people, a very frustrating day ahead.
DE LA CRUZ: Absolutely.
Two women are charged with sexually assaulting three football players from the University of North Carolina. The players apparently invited the women to their apartment, but police say that, at some point, it turned into an assault. When police showed up, two of the players were tied up wearing only their boxer shorts. A male friend of the women who was also is now charged with attempting to rob the players and with biting a police officer to avoid being arrested.
A FedEx truck going from Manhattan to Newark airport was hijacked by two gunmen this morning. That's according to police. A manager called the police when the truck didn't arrive on time. The driver was found in Brooklyn. He told the police about the gunmen. The driver was found unhurt.
ROBERTS: 13 days now until the Iowa caucuses. While it's cold in the Hawkeye state, the candidates are generating all kinds of heat. CNN's chief national correspondent John King is with them on the campaign trail and he joins us live from Des Moines.
Let's talk a little bit about Mike Huckabee there, John. A new "The Washington Post"/ABC poll shows he is getting a lot of support from religious women and they go to church every day but will they caulk s and show up next Tuesday?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In our own polling 2-1 gender gap. Mike Huckabee getting twice as much support from women here in Iowa than men. If you look at back, 54, 55% of the republican electorate was men so more men than women in the caucus here in Iowa but if Mike Huckabee could keep that gap it could propel him to victory. If you go to his events and ask them they say they will be there January 3rd.
ROBERTS: Huckabee is responding to some of the attacks that mitt Romney is leveling at him, particularly on the issue of crime. You had an opportunity yesterday to talk to Mitt Romney about his attacks against Mike Huckabee. Let's take a quick will than to that.
KING: His position was that you don't have a heart that, of course, some people must have deserved one. He says it's a judgment issue.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So he thinks 1,033 pardons shows a heart? He thinks giving 12 murderers pardons shows a heart some.
ROBERTS: How is that playing in Iowa this back and forth between the two of them? We all remember what happened in 2004 when Dick Gephardt and Howard Dean went at each other the way that they did and then John Kerry kind of ran up the outside and won.
KING: Romney is trying to say that it's different in the sense that he says these are not personal attacks on Mike Huckabee. He says he likes him and Governor Romney says it's fair to contrast their records as governor and it's about policy and position they took as governor. But it is an interesting question. How will the voters react to it? Romney has been harshly critical day after day on Huckabee it goes back to the first question. Crime is an issue that has been improved in past campaigns to move women voters and Romney is trying to use it to close the gender gap. ROBERTS: An apology to Obama from the Clinton campaign and this time -- is this Clinton campaign going to apologize itself into a loss there?
KING: It is a controversy in the campaign. Hi a long talk with Bob Kerrey earlier in the week. He insists it was a great thing that Barack Obama had this Muslim heritage. Bob Kerrey said he meant it that way and he didn't want to raise his middle name. He apologized and people said it was an underhanded effort to raise a negative for Obama. You remember Clinton chairperson had to resign because of saying things about Obama's past drug use. Critics in the Obama campaign say you have a man in New Jersey who has been a veteran of campaigns for more than 20 years and prominent senator who once ran for president doing this and they say this can't be an accident.
ROBERTS: John, one other quick question. McCain picks up another hometown newspaper endorsement from Mitt Romney. This one, the Boston Herald. Is that going to make a difference for him in New Hampshire?
KING: My first paid job, delivering the Boston Herald in Dorchester, Massachusetts and the most interesting thing about that -- it was a long time ago! The most important thing about that endorsement or interesting thing about it doesn't mention Mitt Romney who used to be the governor of Massachusetts. Will it help? John McCain has picked The Boston Globe and The Boston Herald. The question is how much do they help in a year when voters seem to be anti-politician and anti-policy move? Certainly they are giving McCain late momentum. He is coming back to Iowa, three days after Christmas. His campaign thinks they can raise some eyebrows here in Iowa.
ROBERTS: We will see how at all shakes out. John King from Iowa, thanks. Veronica.
KING: All right.
DE LA CRUZ: 40 minutes after the hour.
Mel Gibson was given special treatment by Los Angeles sheriffs and employees according to a report by the L.A. County sheriff's office. When the actor was arrested a year and a half ago for dui there were several violations in policy. The report says the employees have been disciplined. The report also showed that a supervisor tried to delete Gibson's anti-Semitic rant from the arrest report but was overruled. The officials handled booking and jailing of Paris Hilton earlier this year.
One teen will be riding in the Rose Bowl parade to spread an important message. We will share the story Jesse Kolb straight ahead.
Plus, getting back his smile. A badly burned Iraqi burn battled through his most important surgery yet. The latest on little Youssif's recovery is coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: 44 minutes after the hour.
Welcome back to the most news in the morning.
"Quick Hits" now. Custom agents in Arizona find a drug tunnel right under their noses. They raided a home after noticing that it smelled vaguely like marijuana. They found bales of stuff inside as well as a large tunnel that went under the nearby border to Mexico. The home was blocks away from a customs border crossing.
A historic Virginia church up in flames. This is in Portsmouth. It started yesterday morning and tore through the Zion Baptist church. It dates back all the way to 1865. No one was hurt. Dozens of Christmas basks for the poor were stored there were destroyed.
Near Brook Haven, Mississippi, volunteer firefighters are cleaning up and sifting through the debris after a tornado tore through the area. At least three were hurt. Homes damaged in two counties. Veronica.
DE LA CRUZ: A teenager wants to spread the word about organ donations. 16-year-old Jessie will ride in a float in the rose bowl parade on New Years Day. He needed a lung transplant after age 10. After the transplant, Kolb started going downhill until an unexplained recovery.
JESSE KOLB, WILL RIDE IN ROSE BOWL PARADE: Oh, wow. It's different. It's a lot better. I can do anything. I have breath now. I can be a normal kid.
DE LA CRUZ: Like any normal kid, Kolb has told his story, John, on You Tube. It's amazing.
Everybody tells their story.
The "CNN NEWSROOM" is minutes away now. Tony Harris is here with a look at what is ahead. Good morning to you, Tony.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Here is what is on the rundown this morning.
CIA interrogation tapes destroyed; the investigation under way. Now white house lawyers head to court.
A deadly blast rocks Pakistan. At least 50 killed. Militants targeting a leader in the fight against al Qaeda.
Praying for divine intervention on the interstate? Is one major patch of pavement a highway to heaven? Hhmm. Questions and maybe some answers, too.
Heidi is with me in the "NEWSROOM." You're in the "NEWSROOM" top of the hour on CNN. Have a great weekend, John.
ROBERTS: You, too, Tony. We're 15 minutes away. DE LA CRUZ: A possible pregnancy on Nickelodeon. Network executives are thinking about airing a show kids about sex and love. It stems from a 16-year-old star Jamie Lynn Spears, the sister of Britney Spears. They are mulling over the future of Jamie Lynn's show Zoey 101.
Two cable comics returning to their shows despite the writers strike. Comedy Central says John Stewart and Steven Colbert will be back on the air January 7th. Both "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report: have a wealth of content on line. Payment for that content is a major sticking point in the dispute between Writers Guild and Hollywood studios.
A possible breakthrough in the fight against cancer. Could stem cells hold the answer? We'll tell you about the last research, that's coming up.
Rescuing Youssif. The latest on a badly burned Iraqi boy's recovery. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta is here with a preview. Good morning, Sanjay.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Veronica. It's one of the best stories I think I've covered all year. He is a 5-year-old boy badly burned in Iraq but has been getting care and I'm going to show you what looks like coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: He said waterboarding may be torture but also may be necessary to get terrorists to talk. Now he may be in trouble for giving up classified information. CNN has learned that the CIA is asking the justice department is asked to investigate whether Kirkiakou disclosed information about terror suspect Abu Zubaydah. Kirkiakou appeared on AMERICAN MORNING last week. He gave details about how Zubaydah was detailed to interior interrogation method. We'll keep following the story for you all day on CNN. Veronica.
DE LA CRUZ: America's last remaining veterans of World War I has died. J. Russell Coffee was one of only three known remaining veterans of the war. Coffee didn't see action overseas. He enlisted in October 1918 just a month before the allies in Germany signed a cease-fire. Coffee went on to play semipro baseball and became a high school teacher and college professor. Coffee was 109 years old.
A special procession going on right now for Congresswoman Julia Carson. Soldiers from the Indiana National Guard will escort her body during the 2 1/2-mile procession through Indianapolis. Her funeral and burial will be tomorrow. Carson died last week at the age of 69 after a battle with lung cancer.
And it should be an emotional Sunday in Buffalo. Buffalo Bills Kevin Everett who suffered a devastating spinal cord injury earlier this season may show you against the Bills game against the visiting Giants this weekend. Dr. Sanjay Gupta joins us with details on Everett's remarkable comeback and some exclusively information regarding his treatment. Sanjay. GUPTA: Good morning again, Veronica. It could be a great moment for sure. Kevin Everett, who, as we all saw the images. You saw them again. September 9th he had that devastating spinal cord injury. Just 3 1/2 months later. You see him lying there, it's awful. 3 1/2 months later after having quick surgery by his doctors he is up walking. Look at that. Walking with his girlfriend. Remarkable. Actually able to do exercises and stuff. For a while you remember a lot of press reports coming out saying what you're seeing right there would just not happen again.
The question at the heart of this for a lot of people, though, is why did he recover when so many others don't? A lot of people have been pointing or are interested in the idea of hypothermia, this idea of cooling the spinal cord and cooling the bloodstream to somehow promote spinal cord recovery. What is so interesting and you mentioned it. I got an exclusive talk with his neurosurgeon, Dr. Kevin Gibbons, a thoughtful surgeon who operated on Kevin Everett. He had this to say when I think is very important. Why this is so important, Veronica is that people will point to hypothermia and say that was the key. That was the key to Kevin Everett's spinal cord recovery. Dr. Gibbons says hold on and recognize that Kevin started to improve on his own before his spinal cord was recovery. Remarkable recovery there and hopefully he will be at the game on Sunday.
DE LA CRUZ: Remarkable recovery. It's a controversial treatment. How is it regarded within your field? What are other doctors saying about this?
GUPTA: A lot of doctors have had a lot to say about this. I've gotten a lot of calls myself. I think one important thing is here when we decide on what is going to be a new treatment, whether it be spinal cord injury or in brain research, it has to have some evidence behind it as opposed to just having one specific case and people pointing to Kevin Everett and say this is now becoming a new standard of care. Nobody within the neurosurgery community who treat these sort of patients will say hypothermia is a standard of care because of Kevin Everett but it probably bears more investigation and more research.
DE LA CRUZ: I want to switch gears. We are running out of time. I understand have you a special coming up on little Youssif. Give us an update on his treatment.
GUPTA: This may be one of the best stories that I've had the privilege to do all year long. He's doing very well in a nutshell. He is a 5-year-old boy that you remember these images. He was badly burned by masked men in Baghdad. They literally poured gasoline on him and set him on fire in Baghdad. Because of Arwa Damon's reporting in Baghdad, the viewers and the users of CNN.com donated money and got him over to the United States. He's had three operations and probably have three more over the next few months. That money paid for him and his family to be here and receive that treatment. It is a remarkable story and we're going to you what he looks like today. I think everybody will be very impressed by that.
DE LA CRUZ: All right. Sanjay, we will be watching. I remember being there at CNN.com. We received an overwhelming response, so many e-mails.
GUPTA: Absolutely.
DE LA CRUZ: Thank you so much.
GUPTA: Thank you.
Catch Sanjay's special on Youssif you can see it here on Christmas Eve 10:00 p.m. eastern and then Christmas day 4:00 p.m. eastern organ only on CNN. John.
ROBERTS: A potential breakthrough in the treatment of cancer to tell you about. Researchers begin studying cancer stem cells. These cancer stem cells are very resistant to treatment. If researchers can find a way to kill those cells it could lead to a major breakthrough in the way cancer is treated and another story we will follow you for you on CNN.
Right now, here is a quick look at what the "CNN NEWSROOM" is working on for the top of the hour.
HARRIS: See these stories in the "CNN NEWSROOM."
CIA interrogation tapes destroyed. Now White House lawyers heading to court.
New Orleans residents fighting mad. Police break out the tasers and pepper spray.
A smuggler's paradise; a trap door and a tunnel to Mexico.
Plus keeping an eye on Christmas shoppers. Police on patrol at the mall. It is time for operation reindeer. "NEWSROOM," just minutes away at the top of the hour, on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Final check of this morning's quick vote question. 21% said FEMA and 50% said the IRS and 29% said TSA. FEMA was leading the charge all morning and suddenly everybody hates the IRS.
DE LA CRUZ: That looks about right, I would say.
ROBERTS: For all of you who voted thanks for playing. Thanks for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'll see you again next week.
DE LA CRUZ: I'm off next week.
ROBERTS: Kiran is off next week.
No, Alina Cho will be here. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
DE LA CRUZ: Thank you.
CNN NEWSROOM begins right now with Heidi Collins and Tony Harris.
HARRIS: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Heidi Collins.
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