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American Morning
Russian Spies Expelled; "King James" Headed to Miami; Extreme Tarmac Delays Drop; Senate Death Hoaxes; Al Qaeda Terror Arrests; King James is Coming; Deadly Flooding Hits Oklahoma; Floods Hit Texas- Mexico Border
Aired July 09, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It's Friday, July the 9th. And we're happy about that. So welcome --
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are.
ACOSTA: Welcome to AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Jim Acosta. John Roberts is off today, as well as Kiran Chetry.
BOLDUAN: Because that means I'm here. I'm Kate Bolduan.
ACOSTA: You're here as well.
BOLDUAN: Yes. Exactly.
ACOSTA: Good to see you.
BOLDUAN: Good morning, Jim.
ACOSTA: Lots to talk about this morning.
BOLDUAN: A lot to talk about this morning.
ACOSTA: A little something about LeBron James from what I understand.
BOLDUAN: There's a little news. I don't know. Have you heard of this man?
ACOSTA: A little development overnight. I think I did hear about this.
BOLDUAN: Yes. So, we're going to get to that as well as some other big stories that we're covering. Let's get to those right now.
Ten Russian sleeper agents expelled from the U.S., whisked off to Vienna last night. Moscow and Washington moving quickly to swap spies and bring an end to an embarrassing mess. All the late developments on that straight ahead.
ACOSTA: And the new king of South Beach, LeBron James tells the world he's leaving Cleveland for Miami to play for the Heat. While one city rejoices, another mourns. And we'll have reaction to LeBron's big decision. That is just ahead.
BOLDUAN: Plus, e-mails announcing the deaths of several U.S. senators went out to news organizations this week. They looked legit, but it was all one big fat joke and not a funny one. Now, the Capitol Hill police are investigating that. The latest from our team in D.C. coming up.
ACOSTA: And the amFIX blog is up and running. What's your reaction to the LeBron James' announcement, or anything else in the news? Join the live conversation right now. Just go to CNN.com/amFIX -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: A big story we have been talking about. Ten convicted Russian spies have just touched down in Vienna, Austria. They were hustled on to a jet at LaGuardia airport last night after being expelled from the United States.
ACOSTA: The two superpowers showed just how quickly governments can actually get things done when they're motivated, working with lightning speed to put an embarrassing international incident behind them.
BOLDUAN: Susan Candiotti is here. You've been following it all. You've got the security watch this morning, Susan, so what's the latest? This has been a multilayered and very complex story.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'll say. And it happened so quickly. I mean, all of this completed from start to finish from the time they were arrested, less than two weeks. So here is the latest.
We got word a short time ago, a U.S. chartered flight that left New York last night is now on the ground in Vienna. Aboard, 10 spies. Most are now returning to their homeland. Their futures, a big question mark. Will they sell their spy stories?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Russians admitting for the first time that these were indeed their own spies.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Each of the 10 pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy for not registering as a foreign agent. Each agreed never to return to America without permission. And if they sell their stories, proceeds must be turned over to the United States. And several were forced to surrender cash, homes and cars as part of their plea deal.
As for popular red-haired dazzler Anna Chapman, who may be the only spy with her own Facebook page, her attorney says the harsh conditions she faced in jail had a lot to do with her guilty plea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She never met personally with any official of the Russian federation. She never passed information. She never received any money. It is not alleged that she engaged in any crime of money laundering. She's glad to be released from jail, but she is unhappy that it probably has destroyed her business and that she has to return to Moscow.
CANDIOTTI: Meantime, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has pardoned four men convicted in jail for allegedly spying for the U.S. They're part of an arranged swap to make the case go away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What it shows is that both Moscow and Washington at one time deal with this as quickly as possible so they can move on in improving relations.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: They appeared cool as cucumbers in court, admitting their real names, for example, are: Cynthia Murphy. She is Elena Vavilova (ph). And Juan Lazaro is actually Mikhail Vasenkov. So no more PTA meetings, coffee shop rendezvous and making cookies for the neighbors. It's time to come in from the cold.
BOLDUAN: And speaking of PTA meetings, there are I think you said, five children involved -- not involved but have been swept into this. What's going to happen to that?
CANDIOTTI: Well, we understand they were not on this flight. So, again, the question is, so what happens to them? Well, there's no hold on them here in the United States. They are free to go whenever they want to. And, in fact, the United States has said they won't stand in their way. We don't know for sure where they're going to go, but we do know they'll be reunited or expected to be reunited soon. And the children in one case, Mrs. Pelaez, said that she wants to relocate in either Peru or Brazil eventually. For now, her children will, you know, stay in the United States, most likely, we think.
BOLDUAN: And in terms of the people being held in Russia that were, you know, convicted in Russia that have been there for years for many of them, where are they going? Are they coming to U.S. soil?
CANDIOTTI: We know no one knows for sure at this point. They are going to be in U.S. custody, turned over to the United States. But we don't know whether they're going to come here or perhaps remain in Europe some place. London, for example, has been mentioned.
BOLDUAN: OK. Susan Candiotti watching it all. Thanks so much, Susan.
ACOSTA: Well, we have some other travel plans to discuss this morning. LeBron James is headed to Miami.
BOLDUAN: He sure is. The NBA's prize free agent ended weeks of speculation over his future. LeBron making the announcement last night during a live TV special on ESPN titled "The Decision."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEBRON JAMES, NBA PLAYER: In this fall, I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miami Heat? That was the conclusion you woke up with this morning?
JAMES: That was the conclusion I woke up with this morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: OK. LeBron says the decision came down to the opportunity to win now and in the future. In Miami, he'll be part of a power trio, joining NBA stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
BOLDUAN: And six NBA teams were courting "The King" as they affectionately call him.
ACOSTA: That's right. That's right.
And last night fans in those three cities that were being talked about, Cleveland, New York and Miami, were hanging on every word as LeBron James finally revealed his choice. You can see it right there. The decision set off a wild celebration in south Florida. The mood in Cleveland, though, not so much. Cleveland Cavaliers' owner, Dan Gilbert, says LeBron is leaving in a fashion that he called cowardly betrayal. So I think they're already a little upset about that in Cleveland.
BOLDUAN: I think so.
ACOSTA: In just a few minutes, we'll get reaction from our own sports guy, CNN contributor Max Kellermann, and author Buzz Bissinger who wrote a book with LeBron James. That's coming up.
BOLDUAN: And at 8:40 Eastern, LeBron's new superstar teammate, part of the three stars on that team, the huge combo --
ACOSTA: Three teams.
BOLDUAN: There you go. That's the word I was looking for. Dwyane Wade will be joining us, 8:40 Eastern.
ACOSTA: And what's your take on LeBron James' decision to join the Miami Heat? Do you have one? I'm sure you do. We want to know. Logon to our Web site CNN.com/amfix to tell us what you think.
BOLDUAN: And new this morning, involuntary manslaughter. That's the verdict for a white transit officer in the shooting death of an unarmed black man in Oakland, California. The video captured the scene as Oscar Grant was shot in the back laying on a train platform early last year. Prosecutors wanted a more severe second-degree murder conviction against the BART officer who testified he only intended to tase Grant and accidentally drew the wrong weapon.
ACOSTA: And while this shows a more subdued sign of the protest of the verdict, police had to deal with mass rioting in downtown Oakland. Several stores were vandalized and police dressed in full riot gear lining the streets. About 50 people were arrested and police say they expect that number to double.
BOLDUAN: And a judge in Boston has ruled a federal ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro says the government's Defense of Marriage Act interferes with a state's right to define marriage and forces Massachusetts to discriminate against its citizens by denying gay couples benefits like Medicaid.
ACOSTA: And down in the gulf, a U.S. Navy blimp could make its first flight over the oil-soaked region later today. The 178-foot long airship has arrived in New Orleans and will begin searching for oil slicks and threatened wildlife today, if the weather cooperates if it gets there.
BOLDUAN: And the Texas Rangers fan who fell nearly 30 feet from an upper deck seat during Tuesday's game against the Indians. You remember those images you saw. He says --
ACOSTA: Unbelievable.
BOLDUAN: -- he is very lucky to be alive.
ACOSTA: I'll say so.
BOLDUAN: I think everyone would agree with that. He survived injuries to his foot and ankle but his fall was cushioned by fans below. Morris talked to reporters as he left the hospital telling them how it all went down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYLER MORRIS, RANGER FAN WHO FELL FROM UPPER DECK: I leaned up to get it high. And at that point, I was up over the rail and went backwards over the rail. I didn't -- I lost track of where I was at, I guess, at the situation.
I couldn't hold on to the rail, of course. I didn't have a good enough grip. I started to fall where one of my firefighter friends, Brandon, is sitting on the front row with me. He tried to grab me. He couldn't get a hold of me where I fell. You know, I guess I fell.
People say that I hit the electronic board that's underneath the deck there where I started to kind of do somersaults. You know, they just said that's where I hit. I don't remember anything past that point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Oh, my goodness. Well, Tyler Morris, he also says he sustained a hairline fracture to his skull and his swollen ankle will need more treatment. But I think he made out pretty lucky. But one good thing, he got to meet pitching legend and current Rangers' president, Nolan Ryan. I think there are better ways to meet the president of a baseball team.
ACOSTA: Yes.
BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE).
ACOSTA: From take me out to the ball game to take me to the emergency room, that's what it sounds like there.
BOLDUAN: Quickly. Oh, my God.
ACOSTA: It is 6:08. Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. And with that, we'll turn to Rob Marciano.
Good morning, Rob. Hello, sir.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Good morning, Jim. Good morning, Kate. We're looking at more hot temperatures across the southeast, plus that tropical depression.
Take a look at some of the high temperatures yesterday. Record set again but the core of the heat shifted a little farther to the south down across Virginia and the Carolinas. 102 degrees for a record high in Danville. In Savannah, Georgia, seeing 101 degrees. Charlotte, North Carolina, seeing the century mark as well. And the northwest, packed northwest getting into the act. Seattle, Washington, 95 degrees for a record high there and you'll see similar numbers I think today.
Heat advisories out for the northwest and parts of the southeast with similar numbers. Maybe a couple degrees cooler in spots. We'll start to see a little bit of moderation. And we're starting to see this tropical depression move into Mexico. But the flooding rains are going to continue across the Rio Grande so that's going to be ongoing issue especially for folks who live along the river and in Laredo.
We'll talk more about that in about 30 minutes, but a slightly cooler weekend for folks who've been sizzling across the northeast. We'll talk about that forecast as well, coming up a little bit later.
ACOSTA: Yes. We can feel it already up here, Rob. Feels great.
MARCIANO: Enjoy.
ACOSTA: Thanks so much for that.
Coming up, LeBron has moved to Miami. How is it playing in Cleveland? I think we know the answer to that. The only NBA home he's ever known. What do you think? We're going to get to that in just a few moments.
It is 10 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Maybe the most sports in the morning this morning.
So much speculation about where the NBA's most valuable free agent was going. Finally, last night, we got the "King James" version.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEBRON JAMES, NBA PLAYER: In this fall, I'm going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miami Heat? That was the conclusion you woke up with this morning?
JAMES: That was the conclusion I woke up with this morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Really, just this morning? Let's talk about that.
Joining us to talk about LeBron James' decision and the fallout in Chicago, author, Buzz Bissinger, who co-wrote the book "Shooting Stars" with LeBron James. And here in our studio, our sports guy, CNN contributor Max Kellermann.
Buzz, I'll get to you in just a second. I want to go to Max first. What do you think of the decision?
MAX KELLERMAN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, he's bringing his talent to Miami and leaving his loyalty in Cleveland. I think it's an interesting choice. If he wanted to remain popular with the hometown, obviously, he stays in Cleveland.
ACOSTA: Right.
KELLERMAN: If he wanted to amplify his star --
ACOSTA: He's not popular there anymore.
KELLERMAN: Not anymore. If he wanted to amplify his star as big as possible, he goes to New York, the biggest market and the place with the biggest need for him. And if he just wants to win and play with his friends, he goes to South Beach, as he said, to Miami.
It's interesting because he's the guy. The question with LeBron is always, is he the kind of guy who wants to take that last shot? And maybe the answer is no, but it doesn't matter because Dwyane Wade will take the last shot.
ACOSTA: Yes. You can't argue with the fact that his best chance for winning a championship is in Miami right now?
KELLERMAN: Right. Best chance. I mean, the fact that people are going through this charade, well, it's not a given that they come out of the east and get by Orlando. What about the Lakers? There's not an NBA team that will take this team seven games. I mean, they're going to still have to --
ACOSTA: Hold on a second.
KELLERMAN: Yes.
ACOSTA: Let's mark this moment in time. You're making the prediction right now.
KELLERMAN: Barring catastrophic injury -- ACOSTA: Not winning NBA finals.
KELLERMAN: Barring catastrophic injury with absolute certainty, they will win the NBA Finals this year.
ACOSTA: Let me go to Buzz in Chicago. Buzz, you know LeBron fairly well. I love that clip where he says, I made the decision this morning. Was the decision really made yesterday morning?
BUZZ BISSINGER, CO-AUTHOR, "SHOOTING STARS": I don't think so. I think the decision was made when Bosh signed with Miami, and Wade decided to stay there. You know --
ACOSTA: Right.
BISSINGER: -- they're three buddies and three amigos and they want to play together.
I would argue the Bulls could have been a better match. I think the Bulls would have been a really, really exciting team. They need an outside shooter. But I think LeBron wanted to go to South Beach and play with his buddies, and I think this thing has been in place for a long time. There was a rumor that they all met together. It was denied then substantiated.
Frankly, the reporting's been so terrible. I don't know.
KELLERMAN: But, Buzz, you know what, you bring -- you bring it up. Steven A. Smith had that scoop like a week ago. He -- he was reporting a week ago that this exact thing was going to happen.
BISSINGER: Right, right.
KELLERMAN: Yes.
BISSINGER: Well, I guess the -- you know, I have -- the quality of the messenger always concerns me when it's Steven A. But --
KELLERMAN: Well, he scooped everybody.
ACOSTA: Let me -- let me join in and ask you about --
KELLERMAN: (INAUDIBLE).
ACOSTA: Let me -- let me jump in and ask you about the reaction in Cleveland, because I got to wonder whether or not this is really great for the NBA's image. I mean, here you have the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise, I mean, the -- the Web site for the team, the owner of the team, Dan Gilbert, posts a scathing letter, essentially -- I mean, essentially saying this was a slap to the face of his city.
He says, quote, "I personally guarantee that the Cleveland Cavaliers will win an NBA championship before the self-titled, former King wins one. You can take it to the bank." He also called it a cowardly decision. Max, what's going on there?
KELLERMAN: He's really upset, and you -- I kind of -- I mean, listen, I think he'll --
(CROSSTALK)
KELLERMAN: It was obviously done in an emotional moment.
ACOSTA: Right.
KELLERMAN: The interesting thing is as an owner, he showed less emotional restraint than the players seemed to. I mean, Chicago was pulling on the heartstrings for Dwyane Wade and he -- it's -- I've never seen anything quite like that from an owner in professional team sports.
ACOSTA: Yes.
KELLERMAN: But there's never been a situation quite like this.
ACOSTA: I was going to ask you, I mean, Buzz, has -- has a city ever been, I mean, humiliated in this fashion on primetime television in the way that Cleveland was last night? The only thing I can compare it to is when the Colts left Baltimore in the middle of the night, in terms of a slap to the face to the fans of -- of an entire city. I mean, this was -- this was rough stuff.
BISSINGER: It was -- you know, it was rough stuff, and I think it's a good comparison. However, LeBron has given a lot to that community. LeBron has the right to determine his future. I can't argue with that.
What I can argue with, the slap in the face was, first of all, I thought he was incredibly unemotional about the Cleveland fans last night.
ACOSTA: Yes.
BISSINGER: I got the sense he really didn't care. He kept saying, I've done this, I've done that. I thought he really had an emotional bond. I don't think he has.
ACOSTA: He's from Akron.
BISSINGER: I think he's going to leave Akron. He's going to go to South Beach.
ACOSTA: Yes.
BISSINGER: And I think out of courtesy, you meet with Gilbert. He says, well, I haven't really met with him. You meet with Tom Izzo, courtesy, even if you tell Izzo, I don't know what I'm going to do.
He did none of that, which is I'm very disappointed in the way he has handled this.
(CROSSTALK)
KELLERMAN: You know what, Buzz, I think it's an -- I think it's an interesting thing that's going on here, though, because in a way it's sort of a triumph of labor. You have these onerous rules in the NBA that really make it difficult for labor to get together like this and sort of control their own destiny.
And here are guys, there's these three amigos, they're just friends. They want to play together. They're great together. They're great on Team USA, the three best players, along with Kobe, four, and -- that -- that won the gold medal, and they want to have a good time and play in South Beach. It's kind of --
They're even going to play for a guy, Pat Riley, who's in Miami because New York wouldn't give him a piece of the team. Management wouldn't let him buy in, and so he went down to Miami.
So there's an --
BISSINGER: But not --
KELLERMAN: There's an interesting kind of labor angle to this, I think.
ACOSTA: Yes. Well, we're going to talk about this more in the -- in the coming hours. But, I mean -- I mean, wouldn't you both agree that this is not -- neither is walking away with a, you know, with a smile on their face? I mean, obviously, the fans in Cleveland are very upset about this, and --
KELLERMAN: You know who's smiling? The guys in Miami.
ACOSTA: Yes.
KELLERMAN: And, by the way, let me --
ACOSTA: Well, they sold out -- season tickets in Miami sold out yesterday.
KELLERMAN: I want to -- I have a scoop (ph) too, by the way. I know how they're filling out their roster. According to my sources, it's going to be Aqua Man and the Green Lantern filling out this roster. It would be completely unbeatable.
ACOSTA: All right. And we're -- and we're bringing out the magic octopus --
BISSINGER: I don't think anybody has a smile on their face.
ACOSTA: We're bringing out the magic octopus to pick who's going to win in the NBA finals.
KELLERMAN: Well, except in Miami, right, Buzz? I mean, in Miami, they're smiling.
BISSINGER: Well, in Miami there are smiles, but I think LeBron lost a lot of fans in this thing.
KELLERMAN: Yes. Agreed. BISSINGER: And I think people got sick and tired of the endless, self-indulgent -- I thought that hour last night was a joke. He didn't answer any question with anything interesting. It went on forever. It went -- it even went over time.
I mean, this is a basketball player. Make it 15 seconds. He looked tired. Have a press conference, over and done.
ACOSTA: All right, Buzz. Buzz is just getting warmed up. We'll be talking about this more throughout the show this morning.
Buzz Bissinger in Chicago and Max Kellerman, thanks so much for that.
And coming up at 8:40 Eastern, the Miami Heat's resident superstar -- he's already a resident there -- Dwayne Wade. He will join us to talk about his new teammate. That is coming up -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: And -- and are the skies becoming a little more friendly? Well, find out if the threat of massive fines has the airlines thinking twice about keeping you on the runway for long periods of time. More of that after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. Christine Romans is here, "Minding Your Business."
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Three hour delays. OK. So now the airlines --
BOLDUAN: Your favorite topic.
ROMANS: Oh, yes. We love this topic. Look, if you're stuck on a plane --
ACOSTA: And you're in no condition to be talking about delays right now.
ROMANS: I know. Exactly. Well, nobody's going to let me on their plane anyway.
ACOSTA: Oh, that's true. Good point.
ROMANS: (INAUDIBLE) go tell them, I -- I will give birth momentarily, I'm sure. But no one is going to let me --
ACOSTA: Hot towels, anybody? No.
BOLDUAN: (INAUDIBLE).
ROMANS: No one is going to let me on their plane.
But, look, a three-hour delay on the tarmac, it is now the rule that if you get stuck, I mean, the airline is fined $27,000. And the airline CEOs have been telling us for a long time, look, it's not their fault. It's not their fault, these big tarmac delays. This is because of air traffic control problems.
Well, we have the data now from the Department of Transportation, the first month ever where these fines were in effect, there were only five delays of three hours or more. That compares with last year, the same month, when there were 34 delays. Interestingly, of those five delays this May, four of them were all the same route. So there was obviously something happening there and the Department of Transportation is investigating that.
And I'm not sure. I don't have this confirmed, but one of those delays, we're told, is something about a dog getting loose and they had to go find the dog. I mean, that's what these big long delays are supposed to be for, right?
BOLDUAN: Right.
ROMANS: Something unusual that happens, not a routine problem.
ACOSTA: Yes.
ROMANS: One of the things we've heard from the airline industry was that if you put this -- if you put this tarmac delay rule in effect that you just see a lot of flights canceled, that they would just cancel flights --
BOLDUAN: Oh, right. I remember them saying that.
ROMANS: -- instead of where -- you know, and then -- and this would really be disruptive to American air travelers.
Not quite so much. Last year, 0.9 percent of flights were canceled in May 2009. This year, slightly higher percentage, 1.2 percent of flights were canceled. So --
ACOSTA: Small increase.
ROMANS: -- what -- what we see here, I think, is that despite or because of a $27,000 fine, you do not -- you do not have the big, huge --
ACOSTA: They're cleaning up their act a little bit?
BOLDUAN: But what are the airlines saying? What are they attributing this to?
ROMANS: Well, there was very good weather in May, you see? So that might have helped as well. Also, we do know that they have cut capacity, so there might be actually fewer big planes out there, and so it's a little bit easier to --
BOLDUAN: Less traffic.
ACOSTA: Maneuver.
ROMANS: Right.
ACOSTA: Yes.
ROMANS: So we'll -- we'll see if it lasts, but --
ACOSTA: But that's good news.
ROMANS: It's good news.
ACOSTA: We'll take it.
ROMANS: And another piece of good news in this thing is that you had a better chance of being -- staying one with your baggage, you know? So the baggage -- the baggage numbers were a little bit better for the month too.
ACOSTA: Christine --
BOLDUAN: Hey, good month.
ACOSTA: -- you are cleared for takeoff.
ROMANS: Thank you very much.
BOLDUAN: Jim.
ACOSTA: Thanks so much, Christine Romans.
All right. Moving along.
The notices look legitimate, announcing the deaths of several senators. But guess what? It was all one big hoax, and now, the Capital police, they're not laughing. They are investigating. That's coming up next, an update from D.C. in just a few moments.
It's 25 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: All right. You know the old saying, don't believe everything that you read? That is particularly true when it comes to what's online, unless it's on CNN.com.
Despite of what you've seen on the internet lately, Senators Patrick Leahy, Dianne Feinstein and Kay Bailey Hutchison are very much alive. Fake press releases were e-mailed out this week, and some news outlets updated followers on Twitter with some bogus information.
Capital Police are now looking for some answers, and so is our Brianna Keilar.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): United States Senator Patrick Leahy has passed away of liver cancer. That's what the news release read, and it came, so it seemed, from the official e-mail address of Leahy's Senate office. Rumors quickly spread over the Internet, but were just as quickly dismissed, because here's the thing. Leahy was and is very much alive.
Here he was days before the e-mail went out, presiding over Elena Kagan's confirmation hearings.
KEILAR (on camera): Was there any sort of sense of, oh, this is just so ridiculous, or was there a serious concern about this?
DAVID CARLE, SPOKESMAN FOR SENATOR LEAHY: Well, Senator Leahy himself took this in good spirits.
KEILAR (voice-over): David Carle is Senator Leahy's communications director. After the hoax e-mail about his boss, there were others. New Jersey's Frank Lautenberg, California's Dianne Feinstein, even the Leader of the Senate, Harry Reid.
CARLE: The bigger question is: how could someone apparently so easily mimic or spoof official Senate addresses.
KEILAR: We asked Ira Winkler, a cybersecurity expert.
(on camera): If you were to getting an e-mail from me and it looks like it's coming from the email address that you know to be mine, that doesn't necessarily mean I'm sending it?
IRA WINKLER, CYBERSECURITY EXPERT: No, there's a variety of different ways to what they call spoof an e-mail address. It's really easy to send out a message indicating it's from one person.
KEILAR (voice-over): What could tell you where an email really originated is information embedded in it. And Winkler says investigators might be able to be tracked the string of phony emails this way.
(on camera): Will the culprit be caught here?
WINKLER: I tend to think in this case, the culprit might be caught. And the reason is that when somebody does something this stupid for no reason whatsoever other than their own enjoyment or doing something else, they tend to make a lot of mistakes.
KEILAR: Capitol police are investigating this string of hoax e-mails and the Senate is adding an extra layer of cybersecurity. So, at least, internally, people can more easily recognize a phony e-mail.
Brianna Keilar, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: It's just about 30 minutes after the hour, and that means time for this morning's top stories.
One of the biggest top stories this morning: LeBron James is taking his game to south Florida to play for the Miami Heat.
ACOSTA: Really? I didn't hear about that.
BOLDUAN: Where have you been, my friend? I've even heard about that.
The superstar free agent is announcing his decision in a televised special. While Heat fans are celebrating, the owner of LeBron's former team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, is just hot. He says the Cavs fans don't deserve such a, quote, "cowardly betrayal."
ACOSTA: A medical breakthrough in AIDS research. U.S. scientists have discovered a possible antibody breakthrough that can kill 91 percent of HIV strains. The finding could be a huge step towards developing a vaccine for the disease. Scientists are optimistic. But they say much more work needs to be done.
In our 7:00 hour, we'll talk to the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases about the significance of this research. It is significant.
BOLDUAN: It is significant.
And also, 10 convicted Russian spies have landed this morning in Vienna, all pleading guilty to a single conspiracy charge before being expelled from the U.S. last night. Four alleged U.S. spies also getting pardons from Russia's president in a Cold War-style spy swap. No word yet on when those four prisoners might be coming to the U.S. or getting back into U.S. custody.
ACOSTA: Now, it was more than a year ago that police in Norway began tracking an al Qaeda terrorist plot. Yesterday, authorities announced three people tied to the case have been arrested and there may be more to come.
BOLDUAN: Investigators say it is all connected with the failed New York City subway bomb plot last year.
Our Paula Newton has this morning's security watch and she has been on this story since the story broke. And she is joining us now live in London.
Paula, this is a wide-ranging investigation. Please, break it down for us.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kate, it's been interesting because when we heard from U.S. authorities when they foiled that New York City plot, they told us that it could have been the most serious terror attack since 9/11. You know, Kate, now, we are now starting to figure out why. And you need to go backtrack 18 months all the way to Peshawar, Pakistan. And the fact that U.S. authority say that an al Qaeda facilitator was basically pulling the strings and may have recruited and train more than a dozen of these operatives to hit so- called soft target.
At that point in time, we've had two people in the United States who had links to that operator in Pakistan. Two pled guilty in February. One will face trial shortly.
What has happened, though, was that all the intelligence gathered, authorities notify around the world here in Britain on Wednesday, Abid Nasser, a man who was known to police, was arrested in connection again with failed attempts in New York and Manchester.
Now, the Manchester plots had to do with shopping malls. But still, these very deadly, portable, explosive plots. I mean, you are using very crude material. But you can do a lot of damage. That now, in turn, apparently log -- goes back to these three people who have Norwegian residency, one arrested in Germany, two in Norway.
Norwegian officials saying, look, we tracked these guys for more than a year. We felt it was time to apprehend them. We felt that if they had any kind of indication that we were on to them, they would destroy crucial evidence. What's been so interesting here, though, is that in being able to track them, they've been able to learn a lot about how al Qaeda really trains and organizes these operatives -- again, to use very crude explosives but to really try and hit those soft targets, things like malls and subway trains -- Kate.
BOLDUAN: Well, it seems we have a lot more to learn about all of this and a lot of cooperation and coordination because this was -- just look at that map. It was going back and forth, and back and forth.
Paula Newton, thanks so much -- watching it all from London.
ACOSTA: Thanks, Paula.
Well, coming up, the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. I think we're talking about LeBron James. How fans in Miami and Cleveland are reacting to LeBron James' change of address for next season. That is coming up.
It's 35 minutes past the hour.
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(MUSIC PLAYING)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEBRON JAMES, NBA PLAYER: In this fall, I am going to take my talents to South Beach and join the Miami Heat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Miami Heat? That was the conclusion you woke up with this morning?
JAMES: That was the conclusion I woke up with this morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: There you have it.
ACOSTA: Could you have been more excited about it?
BOLDUAN: What do you mean, Jim?
ACOSTA: (INAUDIBLE)
BOLDUAN: Welcome back to the Most News -- welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.
LeBron James putting an end to all the speculation where he'll be playing next year.
ACOSTA: His choice of the Miami Heat is not sitting well with fans in Cleveland. That, we know. They -- oh, look at this -- I think those are LeBron James' jerseys on fire. That's not good.
Completely different scene in Miami, though, where they are celebrating the Kings' arrival.
Maribel Rodriguez with affiliate WFOR is live in Miami this morning.
They weren't setting things on fire in Miami, correct?
MARIBEL RODRIGUEZ, WFOR-TV CORRESPONDENT: Oh, no, not at all. And I have to tell you, it is a great day. It is a great day here in Miami. We're just outside the American Airlines Arena, the new home of LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and D. Wade.
And needless to say, last night at 9:28 p.m., when LeBron said, "This fall, I will be taking my talents to South Beach," the crowds, as you can imagine, went wild. Well, just after he wrapped his live interview from Connecticut, he hopped on a plane, flew down to his new home here in Miami where he was greeted by some fans, that was just before 3:00 in the morning.
His new boss, Pat Riley, the man who managed to put the dream team together was also there to greet him. They hugged. Then he got in a car and headed over to South Beach where I guarantee, there will be a whole lot of partying going on.
And speaking of partying, something that I'm curious to find out, and we will know soon this morning, is exactly what Miami plans to do to welcome the three kings, because I remember about six years ago, I was standing at this spot here, just outside the AAA when Shaq signed up with the Heat. That was 2004. Miami went crazy. It was at a standstill literally. There was a huge parade. Shaq drove in in a semi and that was only for Shaq.
So, can you imagine the dream team, Miami, going crazy?
And something else that we are feeling out here, it's not just excitement, but it's also a huge sigh of relief for days. We've been following the story, obviously. Fans have been sitting at the edge of their seats, the rumors, is he coming? Is he not?
So, yesterday, when they heard him say the words, "I will be going to South Beach, I will be signing on with the Heat" -- it was a huge sigh of relief here in Miami for all the fans and us, of course, who have been following the story for days. And we are all very, very, very excited out here, Jim and Kate.
ACOSTA: And season tickets sold out yesterday, correct? So, I mean, I mean, the fans are feeling it right. Now they are -- they're ready for this. Well, they were ready for it before it was announced.
RODRIGUEZ: Well, they actually had to put the tickets on hold -- they had to put the tickets on hold before LeBron said that he was coming to the Heat. When it was just Wade and Bosh, they had to put the season tickets on hold, because of that.
So, now -- now, they are going to start selling them again, whatever they have left.
ACOSTA: Wow. That's going to be a tough ticket to nab down it in south Florida. And we're all anxious to see what happen.
RODRIGUEZ: The hottest ticket, no doubt.
ACOSTA: Hottest ticket in the hottest town.
RODRIGUEZ: The hottest ticket in town. That's for sure.
ACOSTA: Right. Thanks a lot. Maribel Rodriguez in Miami -- thanks for joining us this morning. Appreciate it.
BOLDUAN: Thanks so much.
And coming up at 8:40 Eastern, LeBron's new superstar teammate on the Miami Heat, Dwyane Wade, will join us -- coming up.
ACOSTA: And a lot of comments online this morning about LeBron's decision. I think we got a couple.
BOLDUAN: Yes. Let's read you a couple of them. People are getting right to the point. One saying, "Classless, not because of his decision but how he humiliated the city of Cleveland on live television." Ouch! "If he was going to go to Miami, there was no need for such a hyped up media event. Since when did players decide who will be their coach and who their teammates will be?"
ACOSTA: And not a fan of the decision, obviously.
And another person writes, "In the end, LeBron James is a grown man and can do whatever he wants. I have always been a fan of LeBron and will continue to be his fan."
BOLDUAN: And we'll end it with one. This one I like. "Who cares? World Cup final is on Sunday." There we go -- putting it all into sports perspective.
ACOSTA: I think we need to get the magic octopus, though, to weigh in on the NBA season next year. That's what you do.
BOLDUAN: We were trying for a live interview. Darn it. He's a little busy.
ACOSTA: All right. We got lots of time left to talk about this. So, what do you think? We want to hear from you. Join the conversation right now at CNN.com/amFIX.
BOLDUAN: And it is 42 minutes after the hour. Rob will have more of this morning's travel -- morning's travel forecast right after the break.
ACOSTA: Oh, and in 10 minutes -- and speaking of the eight- armed oracle named Paul, the octopus who, thanks to his gift for picking winners, now could use some protection. We'll tell you who says this sea creature's life is on the line. That is coming up in just a few moments.
Stick with us. We'll be right back.
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ACOSTA: Good morning, Miami. Yes. In case, you aren't aware, that is a song called "Home," fitting song for this morning for LeBron James who is making some travel arrangements --
BOLDUAN: A new home.
ACOSTA: Packing his bags to move down to South Beach. We've been talking about that a little bit this morning.
BOLDUAN: A little bit. That's a beautiful shot of Miami.
ACOSTA: Looks very nice this morning. 06:46 right now. Thanks for joining us. And we got lots to talk about this morning.
BOLDUAN: Lots to talk about.
ACOSTA: In addition to LeBron James.
BOLDUAN: Addition to LeBron James, exactly. Adding insult to injury, pounding rains bringing flash floods to Oklahoma for the second time this week, and Oklahoma City drenched streets turned yesterday's afternoon rush-hour into an absolute nightmare. State officials say a teenage girl drowned in the town of Durant near the Texas border. A flash flood watch remains in effect for 35 counties across the state until this afternoon.
ACOSTA: There's also more flooding in South Texas and Northern Mexico which left a tropical depression dumping up to eight inches of rain in some spots. A swollen Rio Grande river reaching nearly 30 feet above flood stage. Officials evacuated homes on both sides of the border. Texas governor, Rick Perry has activated the state's National Guard troops.
BOLDUAN: About 15 minutes until the top of the hour. Let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. Rob Marciano keeping track of it all for us. What's up, Rob?
MARCIANO: Good morning, Kate. You mentioned that rain across Texas and Oklahoma those are the spots that are problem areas this morning. That tropical depression never made it to tropical storm status yesterday, certainly, bring enough rain to cause problems across Texas and that's going to be an ongoing issue. Meanwhile, heat across the southeast corner and the northwest corner that's where we saw a number of records fall during the day yesterday. And as far as rainfall goes, Laredo still getting some today. The Rio Grande River is still rising and not expected to crest until Sunday afternoon.
So, we got a long haul as far as this is concerned. This is the center of the low. The depression, by the way, that's slowly moving its way into Mexico. Meanwhile, across the section's midsection, the flooding rains across parts of Oklahoma have moved a little bit part to the south and east. This is a very slow-moving cold front. The folks in the northeast can't get their soon enough, but it's trying to. Noticeably cooler today and lower levels of humidity across parts of the Western Great Lakes. Chicago will probably not get out of the mid-70s. That'll be nice.
All right. Some showers and thunderstorms rolling across parts of the Carolinas, at least the low country. This is all to erupt (ph) this morning but welcome because temperatures here are pretty smoking.
And we have heat advisories out from Hilton Head up to Charleston, almost all the way to Myrtle Beach for the afternoon. Heat indices are going be up an over 100 degrees. It will be dangerously hot in these areas and that was dangerously hot yesterday. In Danville, Virginia 102 degrees, Savannah, Georgia, got up to 101, Charlotte, North Carolina, seeing 100 degrees, and Anniston seeing 100, 95 degrees in Seattle. So, the Pacific Northwest getting into the acts as well as far as that hot temperatures are concerned.
Ninety-four degrees for a high temperature in Atlanta today, so a couple degrees cooler. We're starting to see this heat begin to moderate just a little bit. 86 degrees expected in Kansas City and 80 degrees in Denver, also warming up just a little bit there.
As far as some travel delays are concerned, New York Metros, we'll see a little bit of delays because of the haze that's in the air. We're not clearing exactly just yet. Charlotte and Detroit, same deal, Cleveland and Pittsburgh, seeing some showers and thunderstorms, and maybe some delays in Miami, perhaps some showers and thunderstorms, but could be some delays because of partying that's happening down there across South Beach with the announcement last night.
Jim, Kate, back up to you.
ACOSTA: I can think of one travel plan that's not being delayed down there in Miami.
BOLDUAN: Yes. They're clearing the runways.
ACOSTA: Exactly.
MARCIANO: Absolutely.
ACOSTA: Thank you, Rob. Appreciate it.
MARCIANO: All right, guys. You bet. ACOSTA: This morning's top stories just a few minutes away, including, your spies for our spies. D.C. and Russia making a swap, but they're not going to let it break up their friendship. So, with the cold war over, why are we still spying on each other? Answers ahead from Washington and Moscow.
BOLDUAN: And crews keep working to clean the oil and tar balls from beaches across the Gulf Coast, but have you ever wondered where it all goes? Our Randi Kaye will show you.
ACOSTA: That's good question. Plus, it could be a huge step forward in the fight against HIV. Doctors uncover a possible antibody breakthrough that's packing a real punch. So, will we see a vaccine in the near future? Those stories and more at the top of the hour.
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BOLDUAN: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning. It is just about ten minutes to the top of the hour and that means it's time for the Moos News in the Morning. "Paul," the octopus, has correctly predicted the outcome of all six of Germany's world cup matches, including this week's loss to Spain.
ACOSTA: But Paul, or perhaps we should call him Pablo, called Germany home. So, as you might guess, the sea creature comes sooth sayer is now in deep trouble. Some Germans say he'd look better on a plate than in the tank. Here's Jeanne.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's an octopus who doesn't realize his goal is to predict World Cup winners.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Call the oracle octopus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The psychic sea creature.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The tentacle oracle (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The psychic (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The mystic mollusk has gotten famous.
MOOS: Paul lives at the Sea Life Aquarium in Germany where they lowered two boxes labeled with the flags of competing teams. Each box contains mussels, one of Paul's favorite foods.
He picked the winner like six times in a row.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a very sensitive octopus.
MOOS: Faced with a choice between Germany, his current home and Spain, Paul to top Germany then slinked over to Spain and later strattle (ph) the two before making his final pick by opening a box with the Spanish flag. Paul's less lucky relatives were on sale at New York's fairway market. Octopus, $3.99 a pound, Paul's worth a heck of a lot more than that.
Some who were buying octopus were skeptical.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This thing must be fixed. I don't believe that there's some genius octopus.
MOOS: Paul isn't the first animal prognosticator. "Princess" the camel picked winning football teams by selecting one of two graham crackers from her owners' labeled palms while "Chippy" the pundit chimp was pinned against human pundits deciding between Rudy and Hillary for U.S. Senate. But Chippy never made it big like Paul who has his own website. Don't tell any of my of my handlers that I can type and his own twitter account.
MOOS (on-camera): PETA has even gotten to the act demanding that Paul be set free. They're saying an octopus is not a prop that should be used for entertainment.
MOOS (voice-over): After correctly predicting Germany's loss to Spain, the psychic octopus has even received death threats. Put the thing on the menu. I ate your mother.
OLIVER WALECIAK, SEA LIFE AQUARIUM: We take a little bit more care about the octopus than before because there are quite a lot of visitors who want to kill and to eat him.
MOOS: Prime Minister of Spain joked about sending Paul a protective team. And after Spain beat Germany, Spanish celebrity Chef Jose Andres took octopus off the menu. But a jokester on YouTube made Paul the target of a Hitler assassination plot.
Roasted one fan with eight tentacles, I'd love to see him do a penalty kick.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: And this just in from the aquarium. It appears that Paul has picked his favorite, Spain, to win Sunday's World Cup final. And I got a resounding sound of agreement here in the studio. At least, he's consistent, Jim.
ACOSTA: Absolutely. We're hoping that he is going to get it right once and for all because if he gets it wrong on the last pick, come on.
BOLDUAN: Such a letdown.
ACOSTA: He will be dinner.
BOLDUAN: I don't know about that. I love how Jeanne was (INAUDIBLE) her on octopus.
ACOSTA: Yes. I hope she washed her hands after that.
BOLDUAN: Exactly.
ACOSTA: All right. Top stories coming your way after the break. Stick with us.
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