Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Charges Could be Announced Early as Today for Six Suspects Linked to 9/11 Attacks; Senior Taliban Leader Captured; Roy Scheider Dies; Prelude to the Oscars: BAFTA Awards
Aired February 11, 2008 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Clean sweep.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have now won on the Atlantic coast, the Gulf Coast, the Pacific Coast and we won in between those coasts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Obama rolls. The Clinton campaign retools. Today, how superdelegates could factor in. The "Most Politics in the Morning."
Cyberseizure, your laptop, your Blackberry, and all your passwords.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have no choice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Does airport security cross the line?
Plus, pileup.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is absolutely no visibility for a while.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Winter weather chaos on the roads, and the big chill blows in on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Well, if you're getting up in the northeast or the northern tier, oh, my goodness, it's cold this morning. Monday, February the 11th. Thanks for joining us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm John Roberts.
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With the wind chill minus eight in New York City. Good morning, everybody. I'm Alina Cho. Kiran Chetry has the morning off.
ROBERTS: Well, the war in terrorists making news this morning. Charges could be announced as early as today for six suspects linked to the 9/11 attacks including whether prosecutors will seek the death penalty. CNN has confirmed that military prosecutors plan to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and five others for war crimes. They're currently being held at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Lawyers say even if the detainees are convicted on capital charges, any execution would be many months away.
Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon for us with the story. Good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, John. CNN has confirmed that later today, possibly as soon as this morning, the Pentagon will announce criminal charges against several high- valued detainees at Guantanamo Bay, men directly linked, the U.S. says, to the 9/11 attacks and other terrorist activity. One of them is expected to be Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. The senior official confirming that information to CNN could not be named at this point because that announcement has yet to be made, though it is expected today.
Critical to all of this is whether the U.S. will seek the death penalty. The way the legal proceedings work at Guantanamo Bay, quite different than the U.S. legal system. They will send charges, if you will, to a convening authority, a judge there, including a request for the death penalty. It will be up to that judge to accept the charges and accept these as death penalty cases. This is expected, of course, to set off a firestorm of controversy around the world about those death penalty charges. As we said, the announcement expected today possibly as soon as this morning -- John.
ROBERTS: Just to be straight here, Barbara, because we haven't had a war crimes tribunal or trial here in the United States for a while. Is this going to be handled by the military justice system?
STARR: It will be handled by the military in a justice system, if you will, specifically set up at Guantanamo Bay. This is not handled under the standard uniform code of military justice. This is something set up in particular for the detainees at Guantanamo Bay. And, of course, in the years that they've been held there, has been a massive legal controversy around the world. Their rights are quite different than anyone else's.
A lot of them, of course, have attorneys that say they are being held without due process. And for these particular high-valued targets, such as Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, one of the questions that will certainly come in is the manner in which his confessions and his admissions were made if they were made under some sort of undue interrogation techniques such as waterboarding -- John.
ROBERTS: All right. Barbara Starr with the details in that story for us this morning from the Pentagon. Barbara, thanks.
And breaking news this morning out of Pakistan. Pakistani security forces captured a senior Taliban official in a raid on a town on the Afghanistan border. According to military officials, Mullah Mansoor Dadullah, Mullah Dadullah and at least four other militants were caught after a shootout near a seminary. Mullah Dadullah, of course, a very high-ranking Taliban commander. So this is a fairly big event that's happened here in Pakistan -- Alina.
CHO: All right, John.
The race for president now turns to Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Barack Obama has the wind at his back after scoring a clean sweep of Maine, Louisiana, Nebraska and Washington State. Now, that pulls in within 27 delegates of Hillary Clinton. A real horse race. Take a look.
She has 1,148 delegates. Obama has 1,121, 2,025 needed for the nomination. On the Republican side, John McCain is leading in the delegate race with 723 to Mike Huckabee's 217. One thousand one hundred ninety-one delegates are needed to security the GOP nomination, and only 819 delegates are still up for grabs.
Senator Barack Obama expected to meet with former presidential candidate John Edwards today. It's all about courting Edwards. Obama will try to persuade him to endorse Obama for the Democratic nomination. Now, Edwards met with Hillary Clinton last Thursday at his home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. No word on which way Edwards might go, but, of course, everybody watching that endorsement very closely.
Meantime, a big shake-up for Hillary Clinton's campaign. Her campaign manager, Patti Solis Doyle, has now stepped down. Solis Doyle and Clinton have been friends for years. Doyle will still serve as a senior adviser to Clinton's campaign. Maggie Williams takes over the top job.
The Democratic race could come down to superdelegates. Elected officials and party officials and former presidents were being heavily wooed by both sides right now. We're going to talk with two superdelegates about it coming up in the next couple of minutes.
And tonight in primetime, Michelle Obama is Larry King's guest. You can catch Larry every weeknight on "LARRY KING LIVE." That's right here at CNN 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time -- John.
ROBERTS: Lots of extreme weather across the country to tell you about this morning. Michigan in a deep freeze today. Single digit temperatures and strong winds creating hazardous conditions out on the roads. One death being blamed on the weather, and classes canceled for a number of schools today.
A blinding snow is blamed for a pair of deadly chain reaction collision. A woman was killed in a 68-car pileup on Interstate 81 near Hazelton, Pennsylvania. Her car was wedged underneath a tractor trailer. And a New York teenager died in a wreck near Rochester that involved 36 vehicles.
In the southeast, fire is the story. A state of emergency in effect in Virginia. Sixty mile-an-hour winds fueled wild fires last night, forcing hundreds of people from their homes and knocking out power to at least 60,000 customers. The power coming back on for a lot of people this morning.
Rob Marciano at the weather desk this morning tracking the extreme weather. How's it going to be across the northern tier and the northeast today, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, cold, windy, it'll continue but the wind should die down a little bit. But it will still be blustery ongoing through today. We just won't have 50, 60 mile-an- hour winds to fuel fires or to bring down power lines. At least, we shouldn't have that as much as we saw yesterday.
Here are the current winds or at least the last half-hour or so, highlighting exactly where they're coming from. That's the arrow, and how the strong the winds are. New York City, 20 to 25 mile-an-hour winds you saw up Virginia Beach. We're seeing 25 to even 35 mile-an- hour winds. Watching the next storm with all that cold air in place. When you see pink on the radar, that means we've got a mix of wintry weather, and that's never ever a good thing. Getting reports of 22 to 24 degrees in southeast Kansas and raining. We're already seeing ice pile up on the roadways there and getting reports of some cars sliding off into ditches.
So, winter storm warnings are posted for southeast Kansas, across parts of Missouri, in through the Ohio River Valley. Ice and snow may be accumulating two to eight inches. It doesn't sound like a lot, but when you have that coating of ice, it's miserable.
Meanwhile, no ice but a whole lot of snow across upstate New York, one to two feet of that lake-effect snow machine in place. And there's your cold air. Eleven, the current temperature. So we've actually dropped a little bit in New York City. Eleven degrees in Philadelphia, coupled with the wind, it feels like it's well below zero. Stay warm up there. We'll get better weather coming down the pike in a couple of months. See you later.
ROBERTS: Something to look forward to. Rob, thanks very much -- Alina.
CHO: All right, John. Thanks.
Other headlines new this morning. The mayor of a St. Louis suburb shot by a gunman during a city council meeting last week is improving today. That is good news. Kirkwood Mayor Mike Swoboda opened his eyes, even squeezed his friend's hand on Sunday and tried to get out of bed at one point, too. Doctors say he's still in critical condition, though. Two police officers and three town officials were killed before police shot and killed gunman Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton when he stormed a city council meeting Thursday night.
Actor Roy Scheider died. He was best known for his role in the movie "Jaws." The two-time Oscar nominee died Sunday in Little Rock, Arkansas, after reported complications from a Staph infection. Scheider had been battling a form of bone marrow cancer for sometime now. He was 75 years old. Striking Hollywood writers could be back at work as soon as Wednesday. Can you believe it? The Writers Guild reached a deal with the studios over the weekend, and the writers could vote tomorrow to end the strike. And then within two weeks, they vote on whether to formally approve the deal. Union leaders said they're pleased with the agreement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PATRIC VERRONE, PRESIDENT, WGA WEST: It's arguably the most successful strike in American labor movement in a decade, certainly the most important of this young century. It is not all that we hoped for, and it is not all we deserve. But as I told our members, this strike was about the future, and this deal assures for us and for future generations of writers a share in the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: The sharing of revenue from new media had been a major sticking point in the negotiations.
Some of the best and brightest stars in the music biz were celebrating big wins at last night's Grammy Awards, but one star shined brightest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Amy Winehouse.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amy Winehouse.
TONY BENNETT, SINGER: Amy Winehouse.
AMY WINEHOUSE: No rehab.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: And there she is. Amy Winehouse, the troubled British retro soul singer, took home five of the six awards she was nominated for. She also performed her hit "Rehab" live via satellite from London. Quite ironic since she got out of rehab herself just a couple of weeks ago.
Kanye West, meanwhile, got the Best Rap Album Award and used his time on stage to thank his late mother.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KANYE WEST, SINGER: Mama, all I'm going to do is keep making you proud. We run this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Check out those glasses. The Album of the Year Award, by the way, went to Herbie Hancock. And there is lee than two weeks now until the Academy Awards are handed out. And actor Daniel Day-Lewis has increased his odds of winning an Oscar. Day-Lewis won Best Actor at the British Academy Film Awards, otherwise known as the BAFTA for his role in "There Will Be Blood." You got to see that movie if you haven't seen it. Javier Bardem won Best Supporting Actor for "No Country for Old Men." Julie Christie was the favorite for Best Actress but in an upset, Marion Cotillard won for her portrayal of Edith Piaf in "La Vie En Rose." British actress, Tilda Swinton, won Best Supporting Actress for her role in "Michael Clayton." The romantic British film, "Atonement" was picked as Best Film -- John.
ROBERTS: Could be an interesting day in a British courtroom. Heather Mills plans to personally question her ex Paul McCartney in divorce court.
And artificial sweeteners all the taste with none of the waistline worries, right? Well, not anymore. Why a new study says suing could ruin your diet. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. The "Most News in the Morning" is here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's coming to 14 minutes after the hour. Some incredible shots of the morning in our "Quick Hits" now.
A national treasure up in flames in South Korea. Seoul's ancient south gate, known as the Namdaemun, was three times as old as the United States. It was South Korea's oldest wooden structure, stood as the center of Seoul and served as the main gate into the capital back in ancient times. Firefighters poured water on it for six hours but could not save it. Still no word on what caused that fire.
Thousands of people lined up to say a final farewell to the man who brought meditation to the west and inspired the Beatles. The Maharishi Mahesh Yogi is being cremated today in one of India's holiest Hindu cities. He died last week. The Maharishi became well known for his influence on Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr back in the 1960s.
And there could be fireworks, speaking of the Beatles in a British courtroom today. Heather Mills will be cross examining Sir Paul McCartney as they try to hammer out a divorce settlement. Mills can ask McCartney about the amount of money that he makes. She's representing herself after having a falling out with her attorney -- Alina.
CHO: All right. Thanks, John.
You may be stirring it in your coffee right now. I know I use Splenda. Sugar substitutes that are supposed to help you cut back on calories, in fact, they may be making it harder for you to lose weight.
Elizabeth Cohen at our medical update desk in Atlanta. So Elizabeth, this is a fascinating new study. Should I throw out my Splenda?
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I wouldn't throw out your Splenda right now. This study was done on rats, and it's an interesting but it was done on rats. And it's one of these, who would have funk it? Who would have thought that a fake sugar might make you gain more weight than using a real sugar? So let's talk for a second about what they did with those rats.
What they did was they split them into two groups. And one group of rats got yogurt made with plain old sugar and another group of rats got yogurt made with saccharin, also sold as Sweet 'N Low. And overtime when they let those rats eat, the rats who are getting the saccharin, they ate more calories, they gained more weight, and they put on more body fat in significant amounts.
And so you have to ask, but why in the world would that happen? So we asked someone from the American Dietetic Association, and they said, look, this is what we think is happening. People crave sugar. Animals also crave sugar. And so your body expects it and instead, when you get the sugar substitute, your body says, hey, what's going on here? Let's just keep eating and the cravings go on and on. Now, we asked the folks at Sweet 'N Low, the folks who make Sweet 'N Low, and they didn't like the study...
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: Surprise, surprise.
COHEN: Needless to say --
Surprise, surprise -- they actually had some kind of interesting things to say about it, so I'll read you part of what one of their spokespeople said. He said, "Just because a rat eats something doesn't mean it's going to happen to people. It is complete nonsense. They should take that money used for this waste-of-time study and help the poor or find a cure for cancer." So basically, he's saying if it happens in rats, doesn't necessarily happen in people.
CHO: Well, basically, you know, I talked to a dietitian once who said you have to have that fat in your diet because that's really what makes you full. So, that's part of the issue too, right?
COHEN: Well, it is part of the issue when you're talking about sugar. Humans naturally crave sugar. When you think about it, that's what you have as a baby. Breast milk is full of sugar. And so, if you don't get it, you might possibility theoretically just keep eating. But again, we don't know if this is true in people. It is interesting that it's true in rats, but it doesn't mean that it's true on people.
CHO: All right. Fascinating nonetheless, Elizabeth Cohen, thanks so much.
COHEN: Thanks.
CHO: We'll check back with you later -- John. ROBERTS: Well, they don't call them superdelegates for nothing. Their votes could decide who gets the nomination in the super tight Democratic race. We'll talk with two of them who say they're uncommitted at this point, but certainly getting an awful lot of phone calls, including from that fellow there.
Our military prosecutors about to put six suspects linked for war crimes associated with 9/11. They're all being held at the prison camp in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and U.S. officials may be seeking the death penalty.
Our senior legal analyst, Jeff Toobin, takes a closer look at all of this ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back. "Fool's Gold" number one at the box office this weekend. The romantic comedy starring Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey opened with $22 million in ticket sales. "Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins" was second and "Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert" was third.
And the NFL wrapped up its season with the annual Pro Bowl last night in Hawaii, slightly less dramatic than last week's Super Bowl. The NFC managed to beat the AFC, 42-30. Dallas Cowboys Terrell Owens caught two touchdown passes for the NFC, but MVP honors were given to Minnesota Vikings star rookie Adrian Peterson -- John.
ROBERTS: The fight for the White House at least on the Democratic side could come down to superdelegates. Some are party leaders, including former presidents, also former congressional leaders, all current members of congress and all Democratic governors, also superdelegates. And a small number of supers are chosen at state party conventions. All told, there are 796. So far, 224 have told CNN that they're going to support Hillary Clinton, 135 say they're supporting Barack Obama. That means that 437 are up for grabs.
And two of those superdelegates up for grabs -- join us now. Sam Spencer is Maine's Democratic National Committee man and Nancy Larson is a Democratic superdelegate from Minnesota. Good morning to both of you. Sam, let's start with you. What is life like as a superdelegate these days?
SAM SPENCER, DEMOCRATIC SUPERDELEGATE: Good morning, John. We're getting a lot of unexpected attention. I have been receiving calls from all across the country from prominent national Democrats on both sides. I had a chance to talk to Hillary Clinton on Saturday when she was here in Maine. I'm also hearing from a lot of Maine Democrats who feel strongly on the issue.
ROBERTS: So what are they saying to you when they make these phone calls or they see you in person?
SPENCER: Well, a lot of Maine Democrats are asking me to support either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama...
ROBERTS: Yes.
SPENCER: ... but a lot of them are asking me to hold out and allow actual voters who vote in primaries and caucuses to decide this contest. I'm very uncomfortable with the idea that the superdelegates can be decisive in this contest.
ROBERTS: All right. Let's talk more about that in just a couple of minutes here. Nancy Larson, let's go to you...
NANCY LARSON, DEMOCRATIC SUPERDELEGATE: Sure.
ROBERTS: ... because I'm sure that you've received many of the same phone calls and entreaties from the campaigns. What's the difference between the way that the Hillary Clinton campaign approaches you and the way that the Barack Obama campaign approaches you?
LARSON: The Barack Obama campaign has been much more grassroots. We're hearing more from people on the state. Lots of e-mails, very few phone calls, and it's different in the Hillary campaign. I've been getting calls from high-profile people, including all of the Clintons.
ROBERTS: And so, you know, what are they saying to you on both sides here, when you say that one is grassroots and the other one is much more sort of from the campaign higher echelon? What's the difference in the message that they're giving to you here or the pleas that they are sending you?
LARSON: I think they're all trying to say why they're electable. Which one would be better elected and then which one would be the better president once they are elected.
ROBERTS: So, Sam, let's go back to your idea here that you said that you're uncomfortable with superdelegates deciding the nominee. They were created by the Democratic Party after the divisive 1980 campaign so that they could be tiebreakers. If that's were they are created for and they were used as such in 1984 by Walter Mondale, why the discomfort for this contest?
SPENCER: I think the best people to decide who our nominee should be should be actual voters in primary and caucuses. And I think they're the best people to make the decision.
ROBERTS: Right.
SPENCER: I think superdelegates are somewhat outdated and it's not the most Democratic way of doing things.
ROBERTS: And, Nancy, what's your opinion on that whole thing?
LARSON: Well, I think this was never set up. They always thought they would avert a disaster, a political disaster.
ROBERTS: Yes. LARSON: This they never anticipated that we would have two superstars lock in a dead heat. And so, I think there's no playbook for this. We're all kind of trying to find our way through this and figure out what's happened. So, I'm hoping the decision gets made before we have to step in.
ROBERTS: Well, Sam Spencer...
SPENCER: Me, too.
ROBERTS: ... there are indications that that may not be the case, so it may come down to you. You may have to cast your vote. We're asking folks this morning on our "Quick Vote" question, whether superdelegates should vote (A) according to the results in their state, (B), according to the national results, or if they should do their own thing? What would you do if it comes down to that?
SPENCER: Well, if Nancy says, this is sort of unexpected in a unique situation. We're all trying to work our way through it. There are many ways of looking at the issue. I believe the best thing to do is to allow all the primary and caucuses to be held.
ROBERTS: Yes.
SPENCER: Hopefully that will mean that the voters will reflect a nominee. That's the best case scenario. Worst case scenario, people like Nancy and I will have a lot of sleepless nights.
ROBERTS: Yes, I'm sure you will. Nancy, how would you vote should it come down to it? Would you go with the results in your state there of Minnesota, the national results? Or would you make up your own mind about who you wanted to support?
LARSON: I will not make up my own mind. That's for sure. I'll look at the state, first, and then the nation. But I don't think any of us want to be spoilers and overturn what's happening. I think it's going to be very difficult if we get down to that point.
ROBERTS: And, Nancy, just before we go here, is there a mistake for those superdelegates who are already out there pledged to a particular candidate?
LARSON: I'm not going to say anyone else is a mistake. I think that they're in a really tough position. I'm in an easier position.
ROBERTS: All right. Sam what do you think about it?
SPENCER: I think part of me has a role to play in the nomination process. I just hope ultimately the voters will decide who are nominee is.
ROBERTS: Right. But should these folks who come out already and said who they're for?
SPENCER: I think it's perfectly appropriate to endorse people. I just feel uncomfortable with the idea that superdelegates could play a decisive role in the election, so I'm hoping that doesn't happen.
ROBERTS: All right. Well, we'll keep watching obviously closely and see how this all plays out. Sam Spencer from Maine, Nancy Larson from Minnesota. Good to talk to you this morning. Hope you folks get some sleep before those sleepless nights creep in.
LARSON: We'll need it.
SPENCER: Thank, you, John.
ROBERTS: And again, we want to know what you think. What should influence the superdelegate vote? Right now, 65 percent of you say they should follow the results in their own state. Twenty-two percent say they should follow the national results, and 13 percent say they should do their own thing. Cast your vote at CNN.com. We'll tally your votes throughout the morning.
Wow, some interesting opinions there.
CHO: Hey, very interesting.
ROBERTS: They don't like the idea.
CHO: And vote. Go to CNN.com.
Charges could be announced today and could include calls for the death penalty for suspects linked to 9/11. That's coming up. They're all being held in the prison camp in Guantanamo Bay where the legal system is already facing many serious questions. Our Senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin will take a closer look. That's next.
And hand over your laptop, your Blackberry, and your password. A surprising new report about what customs officials can do with your private information. That's straight ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back, everybody. Live look there at Chicago, Illinois, courtesy of our affiliate, WGN, where it's one degree -- just one degree, but it feels like negative 13. It feels like negative eight here in New York City. They're going to get a high of 13 degrees with flurries expected in Chicago today.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN, ANCHOR: Coldest, coldest, cold, cold, cold. Oh, my goodness. Monday, February 11th. Welcome back to AMERICAN MORNING. And thanks for being with us. I'm John Roberts.
CHO: Good morning, everybody. I'm Alina Cho. Kiran has the morning off.
ROBERTS: New this morning, charges could be announced as early as today for six suspects connected with the 9/11 attacks. CNN has confirmed that military prosecutors plan to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed and five others on terrorism charges. They are currently being held in the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay. Prosecutors may be seeking the death penalty here. Our CNN senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is here now to run it all down for us. It's taking us an awfully long time to get to this point.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN, SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Extraordinary. Most of the prisoners have been in custody since 2002 or so. That's when Guantanamo opened. The Supreme Court has twice rejected the Bush administration's legal system for trying these detainees. Congress finally passed the law last summer, setting up these military commissions. That's the current system in place. But you can be sure there are more legal challenges ahead. So I wouldn't say this is the beginning of the end, this is only the end of the beginning.
ROBERTS: So, are they going to be prosecuted as war criminals?
TOOBIN: They are going to be tried under what's called military commissions. And they're not being charged with war crimes in the sense of Nuremberg trials after World War II. Congress set up these military commissions last year as a specific mechanism to try prisoners on the war on terror. The crimes are conspiracy to commit terrorism, terrorism murders. So, it's similar to war crimes but it's not identical.
ROBERTS: So, this process has been going on for five, six years, how much longer do you expect it will continue?
TOOBIN: Probably at least that long. But one thing is clear about Guantanamo is that the next president is really going to have to resolve this. Interestingly, at the same time as these charges are being brought forth, President Bush, the chairman of the joint chiefs, has said that he wishes he could shut down Guantanamo. Guantanamo has become such a negative symbol around the United States -- around the world about the United States. They're hoping to get rid of it. That doesn't really address the issue of what will happen to these prisoners, but that just shows how much uncertainty there about how this will all proceed.
ROBERTS: So, look at it from the detainees' perspective. How much representation do they get in these military tribunals versus a civilian court. We're very unfamiliar with this sort of stuff.
TOOBIN: Right. They do get lawyers. I mean, that's been at the heart of the controversy is how much due process do the prisoners get in these trials. They do have lawyers. They do get to see some, perhaps not all of the evidence against them. One of the big issues certainly in these trials will be what kind of interrogations these people had to undergo. Because Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi Bin al- Shibh there had been wide spread reports that they were waterboarded, what's the consequences of that for the legal system? Do their confessions get thrown out? Those are the kind of legal issues that are going to be - that the system is going to have to address even before there's any sort of trial. Remember, there hasn't been one trial yet -- death penalty or no death penalty. So, the fact that these charges are being announced is a long way from a resolution.
ROBERTS: All right. Jeff Toobin, thanks for straightening some of that for us this morning.
TOOBIN: That's right. I'm telling you how it's ... ROBERTS: It's a long and convoluted fact indeed. Jeff, thanks.
New this morning, Mike Huckabee is contesting the results of the Washington state primary. On Saturday, he lost by about 240 votes but his campaign says there were 1,500 votes not counted. I talked with Governor Huckabee about his new fight earlier on AMERICAN MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That is not what we do in American elections. Maybe that's how they used to conduct it in the old Soviet Union, but you just don't throw people's votes out and say we're not going to bother counting them because we kind of think we know where this is going. I mean, I was just stunned and its the kind of thing that republicans across America, not just in Washington state, ought to be outraged over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Governor Huckabee told me that his goal is still to win the nomination since no one has the required 1,191 delegates racked up just yet, Alina.
CHO: Well, it's official, it's a clean sweep. Barack Obama has won the Maine caucuses to sweep all five democratic contests over the weekend. He also picked up wins in Louisiana, Nebraska, Washington state, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Senator Barack Obama is expected to meet with former presidential candidate John Edwards today. Obama will try to persuade Edwards to endorse them for the democratic nomination. Edwards met with Hillary Clinton last Thursday at his home in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. No word on which way Edwards might go, but everyone watching that very closely.
The race to the democratic nomination hitting a turning point. Barack Obama winning five contests this weekend and Hillary Clinton reshuffles the deck -- her staff. Can the Clinton campaign rebuild and recover, before some very big state contests? And how will you feel if you had to share everything on your lap top with a complete stranger? E-mails, bank statements, even personal photos.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who do they share it with, whether it's ever destroyed, whether citizens have any ability to get that information back.
CHO: They're all fair game. It could happen the next time you travel. We're going to have a live report from the airport. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Within the last couple of hours, word came in of another major art theft in Switzerland. The Associated Press says $163 million worth from a gallery in Zurich. The paintings include works by Monet, Van Gogh, Cezanne and Degas. It is the second big Swiss art heist in days. Last week, police reported that these two Picassos, "Horse's head" and "Glass Pitcher" were swiped from an exhibition near Zurich. Alina.
CHO: A clean sweep for Barack Obama. And it may have sent Hillary Clinton's campaign reeling. Obama picked up big wins in Louisiana, Washington state, and Nebraska on Saturday and then Maine on Sunday. Clinton and Obama are now separated by less than 30 delegates. The Clinton campaign is also making some big changes, replacing campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle with long-time advisor, Maggie Williams.
Mark Halperin, author of the book "The Undecided Voter's Guide to the next president." He is also the senior political analyst at "Time" magazine. So, we'll get to the Clinton shake-up in just a minute but get out the broom. Boy, an Obama sweep. So, does he have the momentum going forward as we look ahead to the Potomac primaries?
MARK HALPERIN, SR. POLITICAL ANALYST, "TIME": There's no question that we're still playing sort of a two-phased game, one is momentum. And Obama has momentum at what he did this weekend and he'll likely have momentum coming out of Tuesday. But the other bigger game is about delegates. In that fight, they're pretty evenly matched. And under the democratic rules, and as all America is learning, it's very hard to accumulate a lot of delegates. You win the state but you don't get necessarily all of the delegates. You don't get necessarily most of the delegates, so many of the delegates that you pull ahead. So, Obama will likely be ahead by the end of February but not decisively.
CHO: In fact, Clinton is looking to March already because of states like Texas.
HALPERIN: Texas and Ohio and Pennsylvania, votes in April. It will be better for Clinton than these states in February. Her trick is to keep the momentum that Obama is going to get from overwhelming the story and trying to stay competitive so when we do get to early March, she's got a chance.
CHO: Let's talk about the Clinton shake-up. She replaced her campaign manager with Maggie Williams, your former neighbor in Washington, D.C.. You know her, I mean, practically speaking, what is this going to do for the Clinton campaign?
HALPERIN: Two things potentially, one is change the campaign. A lot of insiders, a lot of party strategists and donors have said for the last few weeks, even months, the Obama operation simply is running better. But the Clinton operation needs a little bit of a tune-up. This sends a signal to people, yes, Senator Clinton gets it. It also sends a signal to the press, maybe we're talking as least as much about Clinton shake-up, the change, than we are about this weekend's results. And also there may be a practical difference. Her campaign may in fact run better now with the change at the top.
CHO: Maybe there will be issues, of course, her former chief of staff during the Bill Clinton administration and at the White House. I know you broke the story on your blog, "The Page," that Hillary Clinton met secretly with John Edwards, her former opponent at his home at Chapel Hill over the weekend. Obama is going to meet with him today. How important is this endorsement? What does it mean for the campaign?
HALPERIN: Every day matters in terms of winning that new cycle, of getting the best news of the day. So, this endorsement is big for that reason alone. Every day counts. Edwards has followers. He's got some delegates and I think if he endorses Clinton, it will send a signal positive about Clinton. But also it will say, in his judgment, someone who has watched closely Obama may not be ready to be president. If he endorses Obama, it's going to send the signal that Clinton may not be enough of a change agent as he wants.
CHO: But what do they have to say to Edwards? I mean, he's really been working for the working poor. And he wants a promise from them that they're going to do the same, right?
HALPERIN: There's no question that's in the mix. That he has secured from both of them already even before this endorsement decision that they'll put the questions about the working poor, about poverty, front and center. He wants that. It makes you think what else they're talking about in these discussions, I don't know. It is pretty remarkable. They're both going for a lot of endorsements. The fact that she went down last Thursday, secretly, that Obama is going tonight. These are house calls. They're taking it to him, to his own house. And that shows just how badly they want it and how important they think this is.
CHO: Oh, it certainly is. John Edwards is a big name and he has lots of supporters. Mark Halperin, senior political analyst at "Time" magazine. Always great to see you.
HALPERIN: Great to be here. Thanks.
CHO: Mark, thanks. John.
ROBERTS: A few tourists at Disney World get more than they bargained for when one of the parks' rides almost goes up in flames. We'll tell you what happened, coming up next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): Coming up on AMERICAN MORNING, bullied at the border?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He said that even if you deny to log me in, I will force you to log in.
ROBERTS: Travelers forced to share e-mails, personal files, and their on-line history. And it could happen to you. We've got live report ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHO: Welcome back on this Monday morning. A ride at Disney World will likely reopen today after a fire shut it down and injured some tourists that happened in the Kilimanjaro safari ride at Disney's animal kingdom on Sunday. A truck engine apparently caught fire. One woman was hospitalized when she jumped off of the truck. She suffered minor injuries. A few others are treated at the scene.
Happening right now, astronaut is suiting up for a space walk outside the international space station. However, it will be a slightly different crew. German astronaut Hans Schlegl was benched after becoming ill. NASA won't say exactly what the sickness was but Schlegl looked upbeat and looked well yesterday. Managers hope he'll be fit enough for another walk on Wednesday. The crew is installing the new lab module Columbus. John.
ROBERTS: Seven minutes after the hour. A new alert for travelers this morning, be careful what you store on your laptop or your blackberry when entering the United States because customs agents can examine your computer and even keep your private information.
Our Homeland Security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is live at Dulles International Airport with more on this. Jeanne, we're all familiar with this idea of taking our laptops out of our luggage and putting them in one of those bins. Nobody ever says anything about turning them on and turning over your private information.
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN, HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's happening. Your banking records, your music choices, your e-mails, your business contacts, all could be examined, copied, and stored by the government when you enter the country if they're in an electronic device.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE (voice over): Computers are Amir Khan's business. The Pakistani born U.S. citizen is I.T. consultant and always travels with at least one. But on five occasions, he says customs and border protection agents searched his computer when he returned to the U.S. from overseas. He says they even forced him to give them access to confidential company data.
AMIR KHAN, I.T. CONSULTANT: He said even if you deny me to log me in, I will force you to log in. And you know, so I had no choice. So, I said, can you show me what you're doing. But he just didn't listen to me. And he just turned the laptop to a direction that I can't see.
MESERVE: Other travelers tell similar stories. Some even have electronic devices confiscated and never returned, laptops, cell phone, blackberries, often chockful of highly sensitive or personal information.
DAVID COLE, GEORGETOWN LAW: Is it really like the same thing as opening someone's luggage or bag and rifling through to see whether there's any contraband in it? Or is it more like a strip search? MESERVE: To search your house, the police need probable cause to believe you have committed a crime. Not so with customs and border protection searches of computers. A spokeswoman says the agency has "broad search authority at the borders to determine admissibility or look for anything that may be a violation of criminal law." She insists the agency does not racially profile but will not say how it picks which electronic devices to search or what is done with the information inside. Some civil liberties groups are suing for answers.
MARCIA HOFFMAN, ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION: Who they share it with, whether it's ever destroyed, whether citizens have any ability to get that information back.
MESERVE: Amir Khan wants those answers too. Because traveling without a laptop is simply not an option.
KHAN: It's like there's a wall everywhere you go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MESERVE: Well, the courts try to find the balance between civil liberties and security. The American Association of Corporate Travel Executives is recommending that people carry as little personal and proprietary information as possible on any computers they travel with if, like Amir Khan, you cannot leave home without it. John, back to you.
ROBERTS: Jeanne, just clarify for us -- these legal challenges are they all regarding what's done with the information or is anyone actually challenging the practice itself?
MESERVE: Well, some people are challenging - it's the question whether or not this is racial profiling. Several of these cases that have come to public attention have involved people who are Middle Eastern descent. Some of them feel that this is a matter of profiling. So, that is the focus of this suit as well.
ROBERTS: All right. Jeanne Meserve for us this morning in Dulles International. Jeanne, thanks very much. Surprising stuff. Alina.
CHO: It most certainly is. Coming up, Mike Huckabee still winning, how can John McCain win over conservatives? We're going to ask one of his senior advisors coming up. Plus, breaking out of the cube - talking about the office cube. How some of the most innovative companies in America are changing the way they work that could change your office. A work place revolution. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Just about to turn 54 minutes after the hour. Richard Zednik, the player with hockey's Florida Panthers is recovering this morning after being accidentally slash in the throat with a skate. A warning that you might find this video disturbing. It happened in the final period when the Panthers lost to the Buffalo Sabres last night. That's what happened there. Zednik immediately skated to the bench leaving a trail of blood across the ice. Ouch, that one hurts. Trainers were able to stop the bleeding on the bench and Zednik underwent surgery at a Buffalo Hospital. It doesn't happen very often but when it does, it's very frightening.
CHO: At least, he didn't get punched out. That's what usually happens on the ice.
ALI VELSHI, CNN, SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'll take a punch in the face square over that, a slash in the throat. Ouch.
ROBERTS: I remembered when I was a kid playing hockey, I got upended in check once and the back of my skate hit another kid's temple and punched his temple by about an inch and a half. He had to get surgery and wear a hockey helmet for a year.
VELSHI: Yes, ouch. That kid is still looking for you.
ROBERTS: He just found me.
CHO: All right.
Many Americans have made their own decisions about the economy. Today, President Bush will talk about the future of your money in his annual economic address. Last year, his team talked about being headed for a steady period of growth. Well, the housing prices and out of control energy prices put the breaks on that by the end of last year. The Bush administration has stuck to the belief that the economy is not headed for a recession.
Gas prices down about three cents in the last two weeks according to the Lindbergh survey. The average price for a gallon of regular gasoline nationwide is now $2.94. Drivers in St. Louis pay the least, just $2.76. That's still high. Drivers in Honolulu pay the most at $3.35. Ouch, 55 minutes after the hour. Ali Velshi "Minding your business" here, talking about "American Idol" for McDonald's.
VELSHI: Yes, the last time I saw John, the last time John and I were in the same place was in Myrtle Beach. The fed slashed rates by three quarters of a percentage point. The Dow had a 600-point swing. It's all grim. So, I thought, for you, I'm going to have something fun. "American Idol," big hit, McDonald's has it's own version of "American Idol." They started this back in 2006. and then it was so successful that they thought they'd do it again every two years. It's called the "voice of McDonald's." They put out a casting call to 1.6 million workers around the world. Listen to some of these.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No matter how hard I try starting to sweet talk me.
VELSHI: These are the finalists, the U.S. finalists.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I fall to pieces how can I fall -- UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, stand by me.
VELSHI: Thirty-six hundred videos came in worldwide. There's $25,000 prize. The big showdown is in April at a McDonald's convention in Orlando. And the contestants are judged on their singing ability, their creativity, and their stage presence. But you know, one of the interesting things about this year versus 2006, is that voters -- regular people, customers anybody can go to the website and vote on these and a big portion of their success is based on votes from the public. So, neat idea when you're at McDonald's and you have that many employees, not a bad way to find some talent.
ROBERTS: The finalists sounded really good.
VELSHI: Yes. We were going through the web page to see them and really some of them, most of the finalists, in fact.
CHO: And some people are reporting going to McDonald's and people taking the order and singing at the same time.
VELSHI: Probably very good for morale.
ROBERTS: I couldn't figure out why that woman was singing our in the --
CHO: I think that was fake.
ROBERTS: But they do sound good.
VELSHI: They do sound good.
ROBERTS: Hey, we wanted to know what you thought about this issue. What should influence the super delegates' vote. You know, talking about these super delegates that could decide who the democratic nominee is. Right now, 61 percent say super delegates should follow the results in their particular state. 22 percent say they should follow what happens nationally, and 17 percent say, hey, go do your own thing. Cast your vote at cnn.com/am and we'll tally the votes throughout the morning. We'll bring you a final look in about an hour's time.
You are watching the most news in the morning. There will be high drama on the Hill this week when Roger Clemens and his former trainer, Brian McNamee appear in a house hearing. Will the Justice Department open a criminal investigation. That story ahead and the next hour of AMERICAN MORNING starts right now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS (voice-over): On her heels, Hillary Clinton makes a major change at the top after Barack Obama's weekend sweep.
Winter war zone --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's absolutely no visibility for a while. ROBERTS: Cars, trucks, and trailers piled up for miles. A deep freeze on the move today.
Plus, new breed on the block. A Westminster rookie runs for top dog on this AMERICAN MORNING.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: And just wait until you see them too. It's Monday. Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. It's February 11th. I'm John Roberts.
CHO: Good morning, everybody. Glad you're spending some time with us on this Monday morning. I'm Alina Cho. Kiran Chetry has the morning off.
ROBERTS: Breaking news this morning on the war on terror. Charges could be announced as early as today for six suspects linked to the 9/11 attacks. CNN has confirmed that military prosecutors are expected to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and five others on terrorism charges and could seek the death penalty. They are currently being held in the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Barbara Starr is at the Pentagon now with more on the story. Good morning, Barbara.
BARBARA STARR, CNN, PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, John. Perhaps not a major surprise since these men were moved to Guantanamo Bay several months ago. It was expected they would eventually face charges. Senior military officials tell CNN officials here at the Pentagon that it is expected later today, perhaps as soon as this morning that there will be an announcement six of the most highly valued detainees facing criminal charges for their roles in the 9/11 attacks and other terrorist activity. It is expected that Khalid Sheikh Mohammned will be one of the six men named under the military proceedings at Guantanamo Bay. What will happen, John, is they will announce here that they have sent the charges to a convening authority, a judge, essentially, and that included in that package of charges will be request for the death penalty.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxantshop.com
