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American Morning
American-born Al Qaeda American?; Obama to Take Health Care Reform on the Road; Highlights at the Academy Awards; Bears vs. Bulls: A Year Later; Should Police Use Tasers?; Iraq's Milestone Election; Graham Offers Deal with Obama on Gitmo; HIV's Hideout; Vitamin D- Fense; Does a Body Good
Aired March 08, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: A very good Monday morning to you. Thanks very much for joining us on the Most News in the Morning. I'm John Roberts.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. Glad you're with us. Here are the big stories we'll be telling you about in the next 15 minutes.
First, some mixed signals in the war on terror. Pakistani officials first claimed that they had nabbed one of the FBI's most wanted. That would be Al Qaeda's American-born spokesman Adam Gadahn, but now, some claim it is not him. So who is the American that the Pakistanis have claimed they've arrested? We're live with the latest information.
ROBERTS: The president pushing hard this week to get health care reform through Congress. He'll be hosting town hall meetings in St. Louis and Philadelphia to try to convince Americans and even members of his own party that a measure must be passed this month. But does he have the votes to get it passed? A live report from the White House just ahead.
CHETRY: And they're still waiting for the hangover in Hollywood. The party continues after the biggest night in showbiz. It was "The Hurt Locker" taking home the big prize, Best Picture on Oscar night. The film's director Kathryn Bigelow also made history as a first female Best Director. We're going to have all of those firsts and a look at the fashion as well ahead.
ROBERTS: I'll tell you, Sandra Bullock looked beautiful last night.
CHETRY: She did.
ROBERTS: Yes, that was quite the gown she was wearing.
First this morning, we're sorting out the details this morning of what could be a major blow against Al Qaeda. Yesterday Pakistani officials claimed that they captured the terror group's American-born spokesman. His name is Adam Gadahn. He has been the U.S. face of Al Qaeda for years and he is the first American to be charged with treason since World War II. But now some in Pakistan are saying it's another American with a similar name. Our senior international correspondent Nic Robertson is live in London for us this morning.
Nic, you've been working your sources. What are you hearing about who it is that the Pakistanis have in custody?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, we have two senior Pakistani government sources who both say this is Adam Gadahn, the American spokesman for Al Qaeda. And one of the sources actually says that this is -- this is being seen as a big success in Islamabad, that this shows that the Pakistani government is cracking down on terrorism, is turning the tables on the terrorists and even says that this is something they would like to be recognized by their friends. So why is there this confusion? Why is there no confirmation from U.S. officials on this? They could be many reasons.
In Pakistan, there are many competing news operations. A little bit of information provided by a local security source. But one of those organizations could have then been transferred further up the line, falls into the hands of government officials, and it gets misinterpreted. Also, it's not -- it's worth not overlooking the fact that when you get somebody like Adam Gadahn, senior in Al Qaeda, that it's information that you don't want to give away.
So, there is a possibility here that everyone here, a lot of people, particularly U.S. officials, will be wanting to keep this information, let's say keep some confusion around it and not confirm it because any intelligence that can be gathered quickly from Adam Gadahn will, of course, be useful in tracking down other Al Qaeda members, John.
ROBERTS: Well, if it's not Adam Gadahn and you say it's potentially a different American with a similar sounding name, and I guess I've seen the entire name, parts of it are similar, who is this other person?
ROBERTSON: Well, he's an American we're led to believe who may be from Philadelphia. Gadahn is known to be from Orange County in California. So it could be this other American. But I think the signal that's coming across more clearly now from Pakistan, particularly over the last couple of months with the arrest of a number of senior Afghan Taliban, Taliban that are important for the U.S. war against the Taliban in Afghanistan to be captured, they've been caught by Pakistani officials in Pakistan.
So, this will be a signal to Al Qaeda as well that its operatives, whomever they are, Adam Gadahn, the American spokesman for Al Qaeda, or this other American Al Qaeda, that they're not as safe in Pakistan as they once thought they were. That will be the message, if you will, that Al Qaeda will take away from this. Of course, when the dust settles, we'll know what level of Al Qaeda operative it was that was caught, John.
ROBERTS: Nic Robertson for us in London this morning. Nic, thanks so much. CHETRY: Meantime here at home, President Obama will be hitting the road this week to try to close the deal on health care reform. He says he wants a bill passed this month with or without Republicans. But even some fellow Democrats sound skeptical about that timetable.
Suzanne Malveaux is live at the White House this morning. And, Suzanne, it was interesting to listen on the Sunday shows. Democrats who support this aren't necessarily saying it's a do or die situation. Is it realistic to get a bill through Congress by the end of March?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's really difficult to say. At this point what's happening is that the hope of the White House, at least the goal is from White House aides that I've spoken with is that at least part one would be done. The House would pass the Senate version of health care reform by March 18th, that's next Thursday when the president leaves for Indonesia. But, Kiran, it is very likely that this could slip and so what you're seeing from the White House and this president is trying to build the momentum here for getting something passed as quickly as possible.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX (voice-over): The administration insists there's no deadline for passing a health care bill. Kathleen Sebelius, Health and Human Services secretary.
KATHLEEN SEBELIUS, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Secretary: What we're talking about, as the president said, is finishing the job and the urgency, the timetable, is not about some congressional time clock.
MALVEAUX: But time may be running out to resuscitate health care reform. In fact, President Obama is on the road this week with town hall meetings, in Philadelphia and St. Louis, to convince the American people that a health care overhaul has to happen now.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If we let this opportunity pass for another year, or another decade, or another generation, more Americans will lose their family's health insurance if they switch jobs or lose their job. More small businesses will be forced to choose between health care and hiring. More insurance companies will raise premiums and deny coverage, and the rising cost of Medicare and Medicaid will sink our government deeper and deeper into debt.
MALVEAUX: It's a tough sell to voters and lawmakers alike, who worry about the effect on patient choice and the plan's price tag.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: This is a bill that should not be passed. It is not going to improve American health care. It will raid Medicare, raise taxes, raise premiums. We ought to be going step by step to fix the cost problem.
MALVEAUX: And the possibility that Democrats may use a process known as reconciliation to limit debate on the bill has angered many Republicans. SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R), UTAH: What they're trying to do is put through a bill that the American public doesn't want, by a totally partisan vote, and that's not what reconciliation is all about.
MALVEAUX: Democrats hope they have the votes to pass a bill. But some in the president's own party remain skeptical. And with mid- term elections coming in November, many are unsure just how they'll vote.
REP. JASON ALTMIRE (D), PENNSYLVANIA: In the end I have to make a decision between passing this bill, this is the finish line, or doing nothing. And I'm weighing the balance between the two.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And, Kiran, the tricky part for some moderate Democrats is if these House members don't pass the Senate bill, the version, in the next couple of weeks and they go for the Easter recess, it is very likely that they're going to hear -- get an earful from their constituents. It's going to make it even tougher for them to sign on to this controversial legislation and much tougher for this White House to see health care reform passed -- Kiran.
CHETRY: All right. Suzanne Malveaux for us this morning at the White House, thank you.
ROBERTS: Other stories new this morning. Millions of people in Iraq cast their votes in the country's national elections over the weekend, despite violence that was meant to scare them away from the polls. Insurgents bombed a polling station and launched grenades at voters killing more than 30 people in total.
Coming up at 6:30 Eastern, we're going to speak with General Ray Odierno. He's the commanding general of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Hill, about what the elections mean for our troops in that country's future.
ROBERTS: The Haitians are saying they're anxious about what's next as U.S. troops start withdrawing from Port-au-Prince. There are U.N. peacekeepers and police that will now be in charge of maintaining order that many Haitians say they fear that they won't be enough to prevent the unrest. More than half a million people are still living in tent cities after January's devastating quake and to make matters worse, the rainy season has started there.
ROBERTS: Now there's a $10,000 reward being offered for the hockey stick used by Sidney Crosby to win the Olympic gold medal for Canada. Sid the Kid threw his stick in the air during the wild celebration that followed his clenching goal and now the stick has gone missing.
Reebok manufactured the stick. They're offering a $10,000 reward. No questions asked. Some sports memorabilia experts say it could be worth as much as $50,000.
CHETRY: They better up the ante there. Get more -- try to put it on eBay than they would give it back in.
ROBERTS: Yes, but then if you put it on eBay, somebody knows who's selling the stick so --
CHETRY: You could just say, I found it in the arena, that big game.
All right. Well, let's get a quick check of the morning's headlines. Rob Marciano in the extreme weather center. You guys are a popular bunch, you meteorologists, because at least on the East Coast, we had some sunshine this weekend.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes, ticker tape parades for your husbands and the rest of the locals up there in New York looking for the sunshine and temps touching 50. You've been waiting a long time for that. I think the last time it happened, well, ironically was in January.
All right. Let's talk about what that leaves behind. A little bit of fog issues. If you are traveling today, across the Midwest from Chicago to Minneapolis, either of those airports this morning I think we'll see some delays because of the dense fog. There are dense fog advisories out for this part of the world.
And the next weather system that's coming out of the four corners and the desert southwest, that's spawning some snow but it will bring in some rain and maybe some thunderstorms across parts of Texas. So be on the lookout for that one.
Another day of decent weather for the East Coast to enjoy this Monday. We'll talk more about the rest of the week's forecast plus another earthquake, this time in Turkey, with some consequences. We'll talk more about that in about 30 minutes.
John and Kiran, back up to you.
ROBERTS: Looking forward to it. Rob, thanks so much.
MARCIANO: You bet.
ROBERTS: Still to come on the Most News in the Morning on this Monday, a big night for Hollywood as they handed out the Academy Awards. We'll tell you who won and who didn't, coming right up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It's 12 minutes past the hour. And you know, talking about the Oscars, if you live in New York or Cablevision, because there's some spat with ABC, it came on I guess 18 minutes or 13 minutes into the show, but they finally actually got to watch it.
ROBERTS: I wonder how many people were sitting there with their television set on Channel 7 just waiting to see if it was going to pop up? CHETRY: Yes. See, I sort of just wrote it off and thought it's not coming back on. They're not going to be any agreements. So I didn't bother.
ROBERTS: Yes. Well, eventually got back.
CHETRY: Yes.
ROBERTS: And what a night it was.
CHETRY: It really was. It was a night of firsts, I guess you could say. Director Kathryn Bigelow is queen of the world this morning. She won the battle of the exes, beating out her former husband James Cameron to become the first woman to win Best Director at the Oscars in its 82-year history.
ROBERTS: And that was only the beginning of a historic night. Our Kareen Wynter has got all of the highlights for us this morning from Hollywood.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The lights, the cameras, the action. It's why nearly 2,000 journalists flock to the red carpet to capture the glamour and millions of people around the world tune in to watch the drama unfold at the Academy Awards. Oscar's biggest showdown, Best Picture.
TOM HANKS, PRESENTER: And the winner is -- "The Hurt Locker."
WYNTER: The small budget movie with a huge impact blew out nine other Best Picture contenders to take home the night's top prize.
MARK BOAL, PRODUCER, "THE HURT LOCKER": This was really truly honestly never part of anything we even imagined in our wildest dreams.
WYNTER: In all, "The Hurt Locker" swept six categories, including Best Director. Kathryn Bigelow made history by becoming the first woman ever to win a directing Oscar.
KATHRYN BIGELOW, BEST DIRECTOR: There's no other way to describe it. It's the moment of a lifetime.
WYNTER: In the acting face-off, Sandra Bullock won Best Actress for playing a tough talking mother in "The Blind Side."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA BULLOCK: You threaten my son, you threaten me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDRA BULLOCK, BEST ACTRESS: Did I really earn this or did I just wear you all down? WYNTER: Bullock emotionally shared the honor with her fellow nominees, including Meryl Streep, who received her record 16th Oscar nomination as Julia Child in "Julie and Julia" and with whom Bullock has had an ongoing faux feud.
BULLOCK: I thank you so much for this opportunity that I share with these extraordinary women and my lover, Meryl Streep. Thank you.
WYNTER: After Jeff Bridges, widely considered the front runner in the Best Actor race, finished first and won his first Oscar for his performance as a hard drinking country singer in "Crazy Heart."
Bridges remembered his late parents whose footsteps he followed into acting.
JEFF BRIDGES, BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE: I feel an extension of them. You know, this is honoring them as much as it is me.
WYNTER: The Best Supporting Actress showdown was no surprise. Comedian Mo'Nique captured the gold with her dramatic performance in "Precious."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MO'NIQUE: What real women do, real women sacrifice.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WYNTER: Mo'Nique paid tribute to the first African-American awarded an Oscar.
MO'NIQUE, BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: I want to thank Miss Hattie McDaniel for enduring all that she had to so that I would not have to.
WYNTER: Austrian actor Christoph Waltz took home the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his work in Quentin Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds."
CHRISTOPH WALTZ, BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Oscar and Penelope -- that's an uber bingo (ph).
WYNTER: So, where do the stars celebrate Oscar gold? First stop, the Governor's Ball.
SUSAN GESTON, JEFF BRIDGES' WIFE: Now we celebrate.
JEFF BRIDGES, BEST ACTOR: Yes. Now -- there you go.
SANDRA BULLOCK, BEST ACTRESS: I don't know how I came home with Oscar.
WYNTER: Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: She doesn't know how she came home with Oscar? There -- she -- terrific performance in "The Blind Side."
CHETRY: And she's adorable.
ROBERTS: She was just amazing. Yes.
CHETRY: She is. And it was interesting, we were just talking about it, she also won the Razzie for Worst Performance, for Worst Actress --
ROBERTS: Yes. For "All About Steve."
CHETRY: Right, and in the same exact year she won for Best Actress. So, it's all about those roles.
ROBERTS: And Jeff Bridges was fabulous in "Crazy Heart," too. A must-see movie for all of you out there.
Still ahead on the Most News in the Morning, call it the big rebound. Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business." She'll show us how much the stock market has turned around from its low this time last year.
Stay with us. We've got 16 minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: Nineteen minutes now after the hour and that means it's time for "Minding Your Business" this Monday morning.
It happens every year, and your waistline and your wallet are no match for it. It's Girl Scout Cookie season. But instead of co- workers hitting you up at the office or uniformed Scouts coming to your front door, don't be surprised if they send you a text message or a Facebook note.
This year, troops are going viral to sell their tagalongs and thin mints to try to boost their sales.
CHETRY: There you go. They're very innovative. Thanks to my nieces we have three boxes at the house. We don't need anymore.
Christine Romans is "Minding Your Business" this morning. What -- are you a Thin Mint girl?
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Thin Mints.
CHETRY: I was just going to say thin mints and ice cold milk. My favorite.
ROMANS: This is everyone's beginning -- you know, your -- your first exposure to capitalism, really, as a young child, and I -- I mean, I'm all for it. I think it's fantastic.
CHETRY: That and the paper route.
ROMANS: Yes. My poor grandma and grandpa had to -- basically they subsidized my Girl Scout Cookie selling for -- for much of my life.
But look, I want to talk about this big rebound in the stock market over the past year. A year ago -- a year ago we were looking at 12-year lows in -- in stocks. The S&P 500, you know, I had reasonable people telling me I think this could go to 5,000.
I mean, it was really a panic-stricken time a year ago. And -- and that -- that big recession turned into a huge, big rebound, the likes of which we will likely never see. It usually takes six or seven, maybe eight very good years to put together what we've seen over the past one year.
You've seen the 61 percent gain in the DOW, 68 percent in the S&P 500, 83 percent in the NASDAQ, and I hear from you more and more, is this for real? It is for real. It happened. It's for real because we averted a great depression and the market was able to come back a little bit.
Does it last? That's the question to ask, and nobody knows the answer to that.
Big concerns here. Even as jobs continue to leave -- we lost 36,000 more jobs in the last month -- deficit that is historic, regulatory reform that is still unclear on energy, financial services, health care, people who -- who are hiring and people who are making decisions for their businesses are very concerned because they say they don't have a lot of clarity or visibility about what's going to happen next.
But it has been a remarkable, remarkable year. We averted a disaster. The stock market bounced back, unlike anybody could have imagined that it would, and it's -- but it's been the tale of two worlds. I mean, even -- even as the market has come back, you know, the job situation has gotten worse and worse and worse. So --
ROBERTS: People who hung in there, it paid off for them.
You got a "Romans' Numeral" for us this morning?
ROMANS: I do. It's 490 out of 500.
ROBERTS: Four hundred and ninety out of 500 -- 490 out of 500 top stocks gained in the last year?
ROMANS: Yes, 490 out of the S&P 500 are all up. I mean, it pretty much was an idiot-proof rally if you were in stock or buying stocks last year.
CHETRY: Well, that's good for us.
ROMANS: As pre-stock market -- yes. No, but there's so much money going into the market, so much liquidity, so much -- so much -- just so much money at work, and this idea that we averted -- averted the worst doesn't mean the stock market -- or the jobs market is any good, but it does mean that the stock market has just an enormous -- we'll never -- we will likely never see anything like this again. ROBERTS: Christine, thanks so much. Appreciate it.
ROMANS: Sure.
ROBERTS: Next up on the Most News in the Morning, the company that makes Tasers is under fire today, a new lawsuit raising questions about whether or not the devices are more dangerous than we have been led to believe.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Twenty- five minutes past the hour right now.
There's a legal case in California that's reigniting the controversy over police using Tasers. Back in 2006, Steve Butler was arrested. A police officer used a Taser on him three times.
Doctors say that Butler immediately went into cardiac arrest and that his brain may have been deprived of oxygen for as long as 18 minutes.
Our Dan Simon has the breakdown in this "A.M. Original."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We met Steve Butler on a Tuesday afternoon.
SIMON (on camera): Do you know what day of the week it is?
STEVE BUTLER, HAS CARDIAC ARREST BECAUSE OF TASER: No. Monday?
SIMON: I can tell you, today is Tuesday.
BUTLER: Oh, Tuesday. OK.
SIMON: This is 2010.
SIMON (voice-over): Doctors say Butler has almost no short-term memory.
It wasn't always like this, until October 7th, 2006. That's when Butler took a bus ride through Watsonville in Northern California.
SIMON (on camera): The ride was anything but smooth. When the bus pulled into the station, the cops were called. According to police, Butler was drunk and belligerent and refused to get off. He even challenged the responding officer to a fight.
SIMON (voice-over): And that's when it happened.
BUTLER: It had to be something for me to get Tased.
SIMON: To bring Butler under control, the police officer indeed fired his Taser, striking him in the chest. According to the police report, three separate jolts of electricity went through Butler's body. When it was all over, he was in full cardiac arrest, not breathing. Paramedics revived Butler, but his brain was deprived of oxygen, leaving him permanently disabled.
Steve Butler and his family filed a lawsuit, not against the police, but against the maker of the weapon, TASER International. It's the first time the company has been listed as the sole defendant in an injury case.
SIMON (on camera): Can a Taser cause cardiac arrest?
JOHN BURTON, BUTLER FAMILY ATTORNEY: Oh, absolutely. No question about it.
SIMON (voice-over): Attorney John Burton says he has data showing that Tasers, when fired at the chest, can cause fatal heart injuries, and he says the company has known about it for several years.
BURTON: We can prove that they must have known by early 2006, but we suspect that they had all the necessary data in 2005, since they were funding the study.
SIMON: Published in early 2006, the study, funded by TASER, focused on Tasered pigs, with the conclusions, quote, "generalized to humans."
The authors wrote that being Tasered is unlikely to cause cardiac arrest, but recommended Taser darts not be fired near the heart to, quote, "greatly reduce any concern for induction of ventricular arrhythmias."
In plain English, says heart expert Dr. Douglas Zipes, who is being paid to testify against TASER, it means there was concern about Tasers causing cardiac arrest in some cases.
DR. DOUGLAS ZIPES, CARDIOLOGIST: I think Taser has been disingenuous, and certainly up to 2006, the case we're talking about, TASER said in their educational materials that there was no cardiac risk whatsoever.
SIMON: A TASER spokesman e-mailed CNN saying it would not comment on any ongoing litigation. But in a court filing seeking to dismiss the suit, the firm said the Taser devices, quote, "are repeatedly proven safe through testing, including on human volunteers in controlled, medically approved studies, and there's no evidence Tasering of people induces cardiac arrest."
But the company has significantly changed its recommendations for how Tasers should be used.
SIMON (on camera): TASER put out a directive last year telling the tens of thousands of police officers who use the device to no longer aim for the chest area. Instead, they should go for the back, the legs or the lower pelvis. SIMON (voice-over): TASER says the reason, in its words, "has less to do with safety and more to do with risk management for law enforcement agencies."
As for Steve Butler --
SIMON: (on camera): What's up? How are we doing?
BUTLER: Pretty good.
SIMON (voice-over): He doesn't dispute that he was drunk, but he blames TASER for what happened to him. He says he's not frustrated or even angry, just resigned trying to spend the rest of his life trying to remember what happened.
Dan Simon, CNN, Watsonville, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: When CNN first reported this story, TASER International refused to comment, but then the company sent us what it called a fact sheet about Steven Butler's case.
The company said that the 2006 study we quoted produced no cardiac arrest in animals, and while the company says cardiac arrest in people is rare, TASER International insists it does not claim a zero possibility of cardiac arrest.
Now, Taser also claims that Steven Butler had a preexisting heart condition and his blood alcohol level also made him vulnerable to cardiac arrest. Butler's medical and legal team told CNN that he had no documented heart problems and that his alcohol level played no role in his cardiac arrest.
ROBERTS: Well, that brings us to the half-hour and means it's time for this morning's top stories.
Confusion this morning over whether an American member of al Qaeda has been arrested in Pakistan -- Pakistani officials had first said Adam Gadahn was captured yesterday. Gadahn grew up in California, and since 2004, has appeared in numerous videos calling for the destruction of America. But this morning, there are reports that it was actually another American who was arrested.
We're working our sources at this hour. We'll bring you the very latest just as soon as we get them.
CHETRY: Well, President Obama wants a health care reform bill passed and on his desk by the end of the month, and he'll be trying to close the deal when he hosts town hall meetings in Philadelphia and St. Louis this week. The president says 15,000 people a day are losing health care in this country. He insists that waiting any longer to get a measure passed is not an option.
ROBERTS: And the Oscar goes to "The Hurt Locker." The small budget war film with a big upset over "Avatar" for Best Picture at the Oscars last night, and Director Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win Best Director in the Academy's 82-year history.
President Obama says the responsible withdrawal of U.S. troops in Iraq will continue. That commitment coming yesterday after the polls closed in Iraq and despite a wave of violence, Iraqis turned out for the second national election since 2003. So, what does it all mean for the future of Iraq?
Joining us now from Baghdad, General Ray Odierno, he's the commanding general of the Multi-National Force in Iraq; and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Hill.
Gentlemen, great to see you this morning.
Ambassador Hill, more than 30 people killed in violence yesterday, but turnout higher than expected. It's certainly higher than it was in 2005. What does that say about the Iraqis' desire for representative government?
AMB. CHRISTOPHER HILL, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: Well, I will leave some of those issues to General Odierno to answer. But let me tell you that we had 26 monitoring teams all over the country, reporting in from 18 provinces. We're looking at some 8,300 polling centers.
And we would say the vote went really very well. It was very orderly. People knew what the rules were.
We had very few problems, and we think it was a very good election. We have to wait for the results of the election. And after that, we will move on to something called government formation where the Iraqis will need to sit down and figure out how to piece together a new government from this.
But, you know, overall, this was a very successful election. The Iraqi people deserve a lot of congratulations for this.
ROBERTS: General Odierno, Ayad Allawi, who is the candidate for president, accused the government during yesterday's election of the inability to provide safety and security which led to the bloodshed that we saw, including more than 20 people killed when insurgents brought down an entire apartment building.
What do you think about the Iraqi security agency and their ability to keep the peace in the country, particularly after U.S. forces leave?
GEN. RAY ODIERNO, COMMANDING GENERAL, MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE- IRAQ: I think, first off, I believe the Iraqi security forces did a very good job yesterday. Across the country, there are very few effective incidents. There's one that you mentioned. There was one building that fell which was responsible for most of the casualties.
But frankly, in the rest of Iraq, it was extremely peaceful. Many people are able to go to the polls. And I was very impressed with the coordination and work done by the Iraqi security forces. It shows their continued improvement as we move forward.
ROBERTS: So, do you have confidence that when U.S. combat forces leave and the schedule drawdown date is August 31st of this year, that Iraqi forces will be able to fill in?
ODIERNO: I think, over time, we've been naturally moving towards this point. Iraqis have been taking more and more control for security. I think, over the next several months, we'll drawdown to 50,000. We'll end combat operations. We'll go to a train and advise mission.
And I think they are ready to do that. And I think the election and the security they were able to provide proves that.
ROBERTS: Ambassador Hill, you said going into the election, quote, "If this goes well and the government formation goes well, it could usher in a whole new beginning for this country, and also U.S. relations with Iraq." It's unclear at this point who's going to lead the country, because it was very close between the incumbent President Nouri al-Maliki and the challenger, Ayad Allawi. Both coalitions fared very well.
The government formation in 2005 following the election was fairly problematic. What do you expect this time around?
HILL: Well, I think the first thing to understand is: this election was supported by the overwhelming majority of the Iraqi people. There were no boycotts from any political parties, any political coalitions. So, there's a great deal of support for this political process. And I would say more so now in 2010, a very different era, from 2005.
Now, obviously, they're going to have to get on with the task of government formation. You mentioned a couple of the coalitions, but actually, there are three other coalitions as well. We're prepared to do business with any coalition, democratically-elected. We know all the main actors here. We have worked very closely with them over the years.
And so, we would look forward to seeing the Iraqis form up a new government and we would like to develop this broad relationship with this key country in the Middle East, a country that will have economic significance, security significance, political significance in the rest of the region. So, we look forward to a longstanding, broad relationship with this country for many decades to come.
ROBERTS: General Odierno, in 2005, it took 156 days to put together a government. There was a power vacuum, sectarian violence filled that void. Do you expect that there could be a similar result in whatever time it takes from the election yesterday to put a government together?
ODIERNO: Well, obviously, we're very aware of what happened in 2005. We've been working very hard with the government of Iraq and their caretaker government in order to ensure that security will continue during this time. And I think they have a good plan in place. We're working closely with the Iraqi security forces in order to sustain security during this key piece of time as they form the government.
ROBERTS: Right. And one more question to you, General Odierno, and then we'll let you go because I know that you got a number of interviews to do this morning. You recently signaled to President Obama that you may have to leave one combat brigade in the northern part of the country past the August 31st deadline. Where are you with that?
ODIERNO: Well, first off, we run many different scenarios. And that's -- there's different scenarios that are presented if there are some sort of catastrophic problems that we would have to react to.
The bottom line is: we're planning on being at 50,000 by September. We're planning on ending combat operations. We do much contingency planning, but that's all that it is, it's contingency planning in case. My thoughts are, we'll be at 50,000 by the 1st of September.
ROBERTS: All right. General Ray Odierno and U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Chris Hill -- thanks for joining us this morning, gentlemen. We appreciate your time.
ODIERNO: Thank you so much.
CHETRY: All right. Well, still ahead on the Most News in the Morning, we've talked about the White House considering switching gears and having military trials for suspected 9/11 attackers. But now, a plea from an unusual source to keep these cases in federal civilian court -- details ahead.
It's 37 minutes past the hour.
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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Forty minutes past the hour right now.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is offering the White House a deal: his party's support on closing Guantanamo Bay for a deal to try self-professed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others in military tribunals.
ROBERTS: It reverses a plan by the Obama administration to try the suspected terrorists in a civilian courtroom. There is steadfast support on both sides and time for debate is running out.
Susan Candiotti's has got this morning's "Security Watch" for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: John, Kiran, good morning. I'm at New York's ground zero.
And almost nine years after the 9/11 attacks, victims' families and friends are still waiting for a decision on how to try the accused terrorist.
TIM BROWN, CO-FOUNDER, THEBRAVEST.COM: Right here is my best friend Terry Hatton (ph).
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Every time retired New York firefighter Tim Brown visits ground zero, he remembers every detail.
(on camera): When that first tower came down, where were you standing?
BROWN: We were right on the sidewalk here outside of two World Trade Center when it collapsed.
CANDIOTTI: That must have been terrifying.
BROWN: It was terrifying.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Brown demands the president do an about-turn and scuttle Attorney General Eric Holder's plan to try accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others in civilian courts.
BROWN: We should not be giving these scum terrorists the protections of our most sacred document in America, the United States Constitution.
JIM RICHES, 9/11 VICTIM'S FATHER: I think it's a disgrace.
CANDIOTTI: Fellow retired firefighter Jim Riches, whose son was killed on 9/11, says a civilian trial is the answer.
RICHES: They're nothing but terrorists and criminals who murder people, and that's the way they should be tried in federal court, just like we try 200 other men and give them long prison terms.
CANDIOTTI: On Sunday, Senator Lindsey Graham told "Face the Nation" he'll press fellow Republicans to shut the prison in Guantanamo if the president abandoned civilian trials.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I'm going to need people from the Bush administration to try to close Gitmo, to put aside partisanship, rally around this president, stand by his side and say, let's close Gitmo safely.
CANDIOTTI: Closing Gitmo is an unfulfilled campaign promise the American Civil Liberties Union hasn't forgotten. Its full-page ad in Sunday's "New York Times" shows Mr. Obama morphing into George Bush if the president doesn't stick with civilian trials.
LAURA MURPHY, ACLU LEGISLATIVE DIRECTOR: The president is at a critical turning point and he could be on the verge of making a colossal mistake, both for the safety of the American people and for the image of the United States abroad.
CANDIOTTI: But when it comes down to those who personally knew victims --
BROWN: I am dead-set against this happening on U.S. soil. These terrorists murdered my friends -- 93 of my friends.
CANDIOTTI: Some say enough is enough.
RICHES: It's nine years later, let's try these guys finally, please.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): How will the debate end? An answer is expected in the next two weeks, one that may not satisfy either side -- John and Kiran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHETRY: Susan Candiotti for us this morning -- thanks.
We want to let you know we're going to talk about this a little bit further. Coming up at 8:30 Eastern Time, we're going to talk with former CIA officers Gary Berntsen and Jack Rice, and they also have different points of view on this issue.
ROBERTS: We've got some messy weather across parts of the country. Rob Marciano is going to have this morning's travel forecast for you -- coming right up.
CHETRY: Also in 10 minutes, a police detective gets a surprise while talking to a witness and may just need to call animal control for some backup. Jeanne Moos has the story -- coming up.
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CHETRY: We say good morning to a nice sunny Washington, D.C., this morning. It's 38 degrees, but it is warming up. It's going to be a nice 60 degrees for a high today in the nation's capital.
It's 47 minutes after the hour. It means it's time for your AM House Call, stories about your health this morning. There is new research showing doctors where HIV hides out in your body to avoid being killed off. They say it actually lurks in certain bone marrow cells while medications work to kill off the aids virus in the blood. This also helps explain why HIV isn't curable, at least not yet.
And while HIV devastates the immune system, another new study is telling us how to keep your body's defenses strong and alert. Scientists at the University Of Copenhagen say vitamin D is crucial to arming and activating T cells in your body, and that without it, doctors say our immune system could remain naive to viruses and bacteria in the body.
Also women can toast a new study that links wine to gaining less weight. Researchers studying more than 19,000 women found that moderate drinkers actually had a lower risk of obesity than those who stuck to mineral water. The research suggests that the liver breaks down the fat differently from other foods which affects weight gain. Old officials again stress, though, that moderation is the key.
ROBERTS: Yes. It doesn't seem to be just wine too. It's all alcohol. The liver apparently uses it differently.
CHETRY: They said that if they were rating it, though, people who drink red wine have the lowest weight gain and people that had spirits and beer actually had the most.
ROBERTS: Don't be knocking down those margaritas or if you are, just you know, --
CHETRY: That's right.
ROBERTS: Drink two, one for each hip, right. A check of this morning's weather headlines, Rob Marciano in the Weather Center for us in Atlanta. Good morning, Rob.
CHETRY: Hey, Rob.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, guys. We've known this awhile, right. The French eat a lot of fatty food. They drink a lot of red wine, and they seem to be in decent shape, at least, by appearance. So yes, bon appetite and I salute.
High pressure control across parts of the East Coast. Beautiful weekend finally after a long winter, that's for sure. Winter is not quite over yet, especially with the next storm just coming into the four corners out of the desert southwest, about to get into the central and southern plains. A little bit of fire weather, a problem with winds behind this, and some snow across parts of the higher elevations, but I shouldn't be too big of a deal, but it is beginning to tap some moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.
So, rain is going to begin to spread across parts of the south with this, and they will get up into the central and northern plains as we go through the next 48 hours. We do have moist in the form of -- it's on the ground and that's creating some fog problems across parts of the Midwest if you're traveling through these airports; it's going to be some issues. Maybe a little bit of wind issues across parts of the northeast as well. JFK has one of the runways shut down so that tends to bog things down and Minneapolis and Dallas, you'll see a little bit of rain.
Want to touch on what's going on across parts of Turkey. We had a pretty bad earthquake overnight last night, 5.9 magnitude, but it was a pretty shallow one. Check out some of the damage. Unfortunately, over 50 people were killed with this and more than that injured. African, Arabian, and Eurasian plates come together in this spot, so, it's typically a seismic hotbed, and you know, John and Kiran, our very active time right now, where we're seeing the earth move in a lot of different spots continues this time over in Turkey. Back over to you.
ROBERTS: All right. Rob, thanks so much.
This morning's top stories just minutes away now, including many say it was the most important unfilled post in this administration. Now, President Obama has tapped the new chief for the TSA. Is it the right choice, though? CHETRY: And at 24 minutes after the hour, an "AM original", Saving Carlos. In second grade and falling through the cracks, how the economic meltdown may keep a boy with mental health issues from ever catching up.
ROBERTS: And at half past the hour, they were the men who defended the fortress, the officers who stopped the men with guns and a vendetta from getting into the Pentagon. They are here to share their story live. Those stories and more coming your way at the top of the hour.
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ROBERTS: and the Most News in the Morning rolls on at 54 minutes after the hour.
Alice in Wonderland just set a box office record for a 3D movie by banking $116 million in its opening weekend. Tim Burton's film starring Johnny Depp had an even bigger opening than "Avatar" did. It also set a box office record for best opening weekend by a non-sequel film.
CHETRY: There you go.
ROBERTS: I guess lot of kids wanted to go see that.
CHETRY: It's a good winning duo, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, box office success.
ROBERTS: Yes, and 3-D as well.
CHETRY: Yes, there you go. Trifecta.
Right now, it is 55 minutes past the hour and that means it's time for the Moost News in the Morning with Jeanne. Police officers, of course, are trained to be ready for pretty much anything.
ROBERTS: They expect drunk suspects, violent arrests, but a rodent hiding in a woman's cleavage? Maybe they should have called animal control instead. Here's Jeanne.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They nibble, they scratch, you may even have seen one water ski, but a squirrel popping out of cleavage, somebody call the police. Wait a minute. She's with the police, being interviewed by a detective.
UNKNOWN MALE: No, I was not prepared to see a woodland creature in the interview room.
MOOS: Popping out of a tank top, the woman came to warn Ohio police as a character witness, vouching for a murder suspect. Whenever the squirrel popped out, during the 10-minute interview, she gently pushed him back in. Reminds us of the Web site cute overload which has a whole section called Cats 'n' Racks featuring cats being clutched to bosoms, as well as ferrets, ducks and yes, squirrels, but the cats -- really seemed to know how to push our buttons.
MOOS (on-camera): Most men realize they're supposed to resist staring at cleavage. Hey, buddy, my eyes are up here, and Detective Mackey did his very best.
UNKNOWN MALE: I just kept right on talking to her and listening to her. I didn't acknowledge at all. I really didn't know what to say.
MOOS (voice-over): And she never acknowledged the squirrel either. Unlike that Disney show, where squirrels get in a girl's pants, resulting in a rap dance.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: There's squirrel in my pants.
UNKNOWN MALE: That girl has some serious squirrels in her pants.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: There's squirrel in my pants.
MOOS: But squirrels in your pants pale.
UNKNOWN FEMALE: Oh, my God!
MOOS: Compared to a giant Burmese python up a weather man's shorts at the Iowa State Fair.
UNKNOWN MALE: That's just wrong.
MOOS: And then there was the guy who got caught with 14 live birds under his pants in pink and white raps attached to his calves. He was arrested for smuggling song birds into the U.S., but there's no law against having squirrels in your cleavage. Anyway, it's a lot easier to squirrel away.
Than to have a Burmese python pulling your leg.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: What can you say after that?
CHETRY: Not much.
ROBERTS: Except top stories coming your way after the break. Stay with us.
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