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CNN Live Saturday

President Bush Chooses Next Head of the CIA; Hostage Situation in a California Prison

Aired May 06, 2006 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now there is a dramatic rescue going on in Australia. These Australian miners trapped for the last eleven days. But rescuers are getting very, very close and we're going to have a live update.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The women who did it just said that it's taken the power out of -- out of the street harasser's hands and put it into their hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIN: She's talking about turning your cell phone camera into a crime fighting tool. We are going to show you how.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Elaine Quijano live at the White House.

Senior administration officials say President Bush has settled on his choice for the next CIA director. I'll have details coming up.

LIN: Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY.

I'm Carol Lin and here's what's happening right now in the news.

An American Airlines flight from Dallas was diverted to a secure area of Newark's airport after an onboard incident today. That's how it's being phrased by a TSA spokeswoman, who says that five passengers were acting suspiciously. They were questioned by Port Authority officials.

Now, in Afghanistan, 10 U.S. soldiers were killed yesterday when their helicopter crashed in Kunar Province. The chopper was on combat operations. But the U.S. military says the crash was not a result of enemy action.

And a top U.S. counter-terrorism envoy says Osama bin Laden and other terrorists are more likely hiding in Pakistan than Afghanistan. Now, while acknowledging the terrorism arrests Pakistan has made, he says more needs to be done.

A curfew has returned calm to Basra, Iraq tonight. That's after a crash of a British military helicopter triggered a confrontation between Iraqis and British troops. Iraqi police say four British crew members died in the crash. And dangerous weather in parts of eastern Texas today. Take a look at this as one of our storm chasers got a hold of this video. You're looking at hail and thunderstorms battering buildings and cars. We're going to have a live report coming up in just six minutes.

We're going to begin our hour with a Security Watch.

Now, the man you're about to see is becoming the nation's next spy chief. He is Air Force General Michael Hayden and CNN has learned that he is the likely candidate to replace Porter Goss as CIA director. Now, we're expecting an official announcement as early as Monday, but we wanted to tell you it as soon as we learned it.

Now, this morning he told CNN it's just one of those mysteries. Porter Goss says that's all we're going to know about his resignation.

Elaine Quijano, though, has been working this story from the White House -- Elaine, have you learned any more about what happened?

QUIJANO: Well, certainly we had a lot of details coming out yesterday, Carol.

Good evening to you.

But you're right, a little over 24 hours after that announcement, there is already word of a likely successor for the CIA director job. But Porter Goss himself is not saying much about why he wanted to leave.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

QUIJANO (voice-over): One day after he resigned as head of the CIA, Porter Goss told CNN the reasons behind his decision would remain "just one of those mysteries."

QUESTION: Can you tell us why you're quitting?

PORTER GOSS, OUTGOING CIA DIRECTOR: I think that that got played pretty well yesterday.

Thank you.

QUESTION: No. Nobody knows why.

GOSS: Well, it's just one of those mysteries.

QUESTION: You're going to continue it being a mystery, hey?

GOSS: No, I've got some things to do.

QUIJANO: The White House isn't remaining quiet, trying to knock down published reports that President Bush lost confidence in Goss almost from the beginning.

While the president made no mention of that during a commencement address at Oklahoma State University... GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We see the spirit of service in the members of the Class of 2006.

QUIJANO: ... aboard Air Force One, Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino called the no confidence report "categorically untrue," saying the president felt Goss kept the focus on winning the war on terror and played a pivotal role in transforming the CIA.

So what happened?

As CNN reported Friday, intelligence sources say Goss had sharp policy differences with the man he reports to, John Negroponte, the director of national intelligence. The sources say the differences stemmed from plans to move staff from the CIA to other intelligence agencies.

After the announcement, the come home of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Republican Pat Roberts, offered measured praise for Goss's tenure, saying Goss "made some significant improvements at the CIA, but I think even he would say they still have some way to go."

Senior administration officials say that President Bush has settled on Air Force General Michael Hayden as his choice for CIA director and they say an announcement is planned for Monday.

JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: If he -- if General Hayden is the choice, he would be a very good one. He is an experienced intelligence professional. He is very good with situations that require innovation and he is a person who has a clear vision of where he wants to go and therefore, I think, a very good leader.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

QUIJANO: Now, as for Porter Goss, in a statement released after the announcement yesterday, Goss said that he would be staying on over the next few weeks to help with the transition -- Carol.

LIN: All right, thanks, Elaine.

But we still want to dig on this story, because it's too good a mystery to go unsolved.

What really happened to Porter Goss and how is the new guy going to be any different?

Well, Ronald Kessler is a former report and an author of "Inside The CIA."

He joins me now from Washington.

Ronald, good to have you.

RONALD KESSLER, AUTHOR, "INSIDE THE CIA": Thanks for having me.

LIN: All right, let's talk about what happened to Porter Goss. What is the word out there? What do you think he resigned so suddenly?

KESSLER: You know, I'm amazed that it took this long, because in 2004, I was saying on TV that he is a disaster because of the way he treats people. You know, he treats them with disdain. He doesn't show respect. When some of the top agency leaders wanted to meet with him to present their -- their complaints and talk about how to improve things, he refused to meet with them.

Can you imagine if you had a boss like that, you know, who treated you like that? And yet these people are trying to protect us. They're risking their lives everyday.

I just came out with a book on Laura Bush and I can tell you the one thing the Bushes stand for is treating people with respect -- butlers, maids, Secret Service. And it was well known that there was this huge brain drain of very talented people from the CIA because of the way -- of the high-handed way that Goss operated, and yet it took this long to get rid of him.

LIN: What about General Hayden then? I mean is there some strategy in picking a military guy who is going to fall in line, stay in step?

KESSLER: Well, certainly he's going to bring more discipline, being a military guy. But, also, he is highly respected. He has good people skills, good leadership skills. Porter Goss had never managed anything except his little staff on the Hill. Michael Hayden managed the NSA, and very well.

So he's experienced in intelligence and he's a good manager. I think he's going to really do a great job.

LIN: And he's the number two guy to John Negroponte. I mean he's already in with the boss. But he's got a record.

So as director of the NSA, do you think it's going to be an easy confirmation with Congress?

KESSLER: Yes, there are going to be the usual potshots and they're going to try to get into the fact that -- that he was in charge when the NSA intercepts were approved, but he's already talked about that publicly. I don't think there's going to be anything new.

LIN: But what about the issue of spying on Americans?

KESSLER: Well, you know, spying on Americans isn't really what's going on. It's intercepting conversations of al Qaeda members who are trying to kill us. And that is something that, of course, he will talk about and will be asked and should there be...

LIN: What the boundaries are, because that's the -- the perception can be that well, is, can the average American be caught in one of these wiretaps? Obviously, President Bush says it's only the people who are trying to harm America, but that is something that is going to be widely discussed during the confirmation hearings.

KESSLER: Sure. Absolutely. You know, if a whistleblower wanted to disclose the fact that this was happening, he or she would go to the NSA inspector general. And guess what? That's exactly what Bush did. He informed the NSA inspector general, as well as members of Congress. They didn't have any problem with it. And, you know, I think we all recognize that we have to stop the next plot.

And the fact that we have not been attacked in almost five years is largely because of the work of the CIA and the FBI. You know, we hear all this criticism and there have been very serious problems, but every day, you know, the CIA rolls up more terrorists. There have been about 4,000 terrorists rolled up since 9/11. And that is a major reason why we have not been attacked.

LIN: Ronald Kessler, now I know why you call your back "Inside The CIA."

Much appreciated time.

KESSLER: Thank you very much.

LIN: CNN is committed to providing the most reliable coverage of news that affects your security. So we're going to ask you to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the latest information, day and night.

Have you seen the weather out of Texas today? A dangerous storm system hit the state yesterday and overnight, packing plenty of ammunition. So we're talking about at least one tornado, maybe even more.

Jacqui Jeras has been tracking all of this at the Weather Center -- Jacqui.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LIN: We've had a developing news story that we were just watching right before this hour, so I want to bring you into it.

The California state prison, there's a situation there where an inmate now has a female staff member held hostage and that prison right now is in a lockdown.

So, I have got Joyce McClendon on the telephone with me.

She's a lieutenant with the state prison there.

Ms. McClendon?

JOYCE MCCLENDON, PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER, CALIFORNIA STATE PRISONS: Yes?

LIN: What's the situation right now? Do you know whether the hostage is safe?

MCCLENDON: The situation is currently ongoing. We have dialogue between the inmate and our crisis response team and that's all we have right now.

LIN: Is he making demands?

MCCLENDON: We can't speculate or motivate on his demands at this time.

LIN: So, is he making threats, then?

MCCLENDON: There's just ongoing dialogue with our crisis response team.

LIN: Now, how did he get a hold of this female staff member?

MCCLENDON: She was assigned to work in the dining room there and he took her hostage this morning.

LIN: This is a maximum security prison, am I correct?

MCCLENDON: That's correct.

LIN: So what's a female staff member doing working in a dining hall?

MCCLENDON: All officers are assigned to different positions and that's the position she's assigned to.

LIN: All right, so what additional measures do you think you may be willing to take in order to save her life?

MCCLENDON: Oh, we're negotiating that right now, an attempt to make this into a peaceful resolution.

LIN: Do you know what this prison inmate is in for?

MCCLENDON: Yes, I do.

LIN: Can you reveal that to us?

MCCLENDON: He was convicted of robbery and three counts of false imprisonment.

LIN: Three counts of what?

I'm sorry, I had a producer in my ear.

MCCLENDON: False imprisonment.

LIN: All right. Then at least you don't have assault on this rap sheet.

MCCLENDON: No.

LIN: All right, so we can hope for the best for this female staff member.

MCCLENDON: Yes.

LIN: Thank you very much, Joyce McClendon.

I hope it turns out safely.

We're going to be watching this story throughout the hour.

Appreciate it.

Now, still ahead, find out what happens when gay rights, freedom of speech and Christian activists all vie for a voice in America's public schools.

And, we've got some great tips tonight on how you can reduce your gas costs. We are going to explain. It has a lot to do with your tires and it's a very young gal who's going to be explaining it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: There is a very dramatic story going on right now in Australia, where these two miners -- you're looking at their pictures right now -- they've been underground a half mile for the last eleven days. Rescuers are so close now. They're about 10 feet away from them. They're digging the last part of the escape tunnel by hand to avoid triggering a new cave-in.

Now, I want to bring in Hugh Williams.

He's joining us by phone from Beaconsfield, Australia.

Hugh, how long do you think it's going to take before the rescuers actually eyeball those miners?

HUGH WILLIAMS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Carol, basically that's the question everyone has been asking day after day, you know, almost week after week now, because it's been taking so long. But the answer is as long as it takes. They're not in any hurry.

The miners are alive. They're breathing. They're communicating with them. They're, you know, despite the fact that they're trapped in a tiny cage, there's no imminent danger.

Now, the ironic thing is that the closer the rescue workers get to the miners to free them, the more dangerous this situation becomes. So really they're just taking it at a very measured pace right now.

LIN: Hugh, I've read that they are getting water, they're getting -- they even got hot soup at one point. They're able to somehow get food to them.

How do they do that?

WILLIAMS: Basically one of the first things when they discovered that these miners were alive was they drilled through a small hole that was lined then with like a type of PVC plumbing tube just large enough for them to be able to communicate with the two miners inside. And through that, they have been able to establish a video and audio link to hand them through things such as digital cameras so that they can survey the inside of their -- the cavity that they are trapped in.

And two have -- actually, it's interesting to note that the miners that are trapped are working in conjunction with the rescuers and have been asked to do some digging themselves in preparation for when this breakthrough occurs. And that looks like it's only going to be a matter of hours from now. Exactly when, we -- we will let you know.

LIN: Right. I've heard anything from 45 minutes to the next four hours. But when you talk about communications with them, apparently these guys are even joking with their rescuers, one of them saying, "Hey, Todd wants steak, egg and chips from a fast food restaurant. Can you send the ambulance through and stop by at the fast food place and bring us something?"

WILLIAMS: Yes, I think they want all kinds of things but, you know -- probably they'd like a nice cold beer. But the paramedics and the rescue workers are thinking very much about the well being of these miners, their safety and their health. While they're no injured, there have been in very tight confinement. And it actually is now in their twelfth day in this tiny space. And regardless of them, you know, joking around, it's still quite a serious matter. And they -- the miners were expressing earlier that they, you know, they felt like jumping up and running out of there and, you know, showing how that they're fine.

But even that, after you've been lying flat on your back for 12 days, it puts quite a strain on the body. And, really, they're looking at their health very closely and they're going to do this in a very graduated and measured way.

LIN: All right, Hugh.

And you're going to be with us through this, so appreciate the time that you have there.

I'm so glad that the men's spirits are still high. I know it's got to be a tough situation.

Hugh Williams, thank you.

Now, folks, still to come...

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And then I looked in the glass and I could see him rubbing his crotch. And then I took out my phone to look busy.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What she did next surprised even her. Using her cell phone camera, she took his picture. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I snapped it really quick. It happened really quick, like, one, two. And then he zipped up and left.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LIN: She was harassed and she did something about it. Her cell phone helped in finding justice against one man's harassment.

And pumping up America -- a Florida teen wants to change the way you treat your tires. Find out why. I'm going to be talking to her next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, ATS METEOROLOGIST: I'm CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider.

As we get closer and closer to the start of hurricane season, we're helping you prepare. We're providing you with Hurricane 101, or factoids of information to get you ready for the start of the season.

Today, we're talking about storm surge, which is actually the piling of water that occurs when a hurricane comes onshore.

Now, back last year, when Hurricane Dennis struck, as you can see, it came onto Navarre Beach at 2:25 Central time, July 10th.

However, over 100 miles away from the storm, we had major storm surge. Over 10 feet of water in the town of St. Mark's, Florida, right on the border there of the St. Mark's and Wakulla Rivers.

What happens is that if the water piles up high, it can create a lot of flooding. And, unfortunately, storm surge is actually the leading killer when it comes to hurricanes due to the flooding and due to the deaths resulting from drowning in that water.

It's something we'll be watching this hurricane season, for sure.

If you would like more information on Hurricane 101, go to cnn.com/weather.

I'm meteorologist Bonnie Schneider.

CNN is your hurricane headquarters.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LIN: So, gas prices in the United States still hovering around $3.a gallon. But right now, the national average for unleaded regular, $2.92. That's up slightly from yesterday. But get this -- and this gives you kind of some perspective -- the highest recorded average price in the United States was just over $3.a gallon last September 5th, right after Hurricane Katrina.

All right, now, we're trying to figure out ways that we can save, right, because we've got to pay at the pump. There is a solution that is so simple that it is mind-boggling and it is a 13-year-old girl who's pushing this premise about pumping it up -- your tires.

Her name is Savannah Walters.

She won a community award for this effort and a trip to Washington.

And she's here today to join us.

Hey, Savannah.

SAVANNAH WALTERS, FOUNDER, PUMEMUP.ORG: Hi.

LIN: All right, you're talking about a tire gauge, right?

WALTERS: Right.

LIN: Tire pressure. Measure your tire pressure.

You're not even old enough to drive or vote, so how did you come up with this idea?

WALTERS: Well, I studied the Arctic when I was in second grade and I just like fell in love with it because I thought it was so awesome. And then I heard that the government wanted to drill in the Arctic for oil and I was just like really upset about that. And so then I heard that Americans waste four million gallons of gas a day by not properly inflating their tires. So then I was just like well why don't they just pump them up.

And so that's how it got started.

LIN: So you've got a Web site, right?

WALTERS: Yes.

LIN: You testified before Congress about this?

WALTERS: Uh-huh.

LIN: What's been the reaction?

WALTERS: A lot of people don't know and they're like wow, this is so cool, I'm going to go check my tires.

LIN: So how much -- how much can you actually save?

WALTERS: You can save like four million gallons of gas a day by like properly inflating your tires. Like America could save four million gallons of gas a day.

LIN: All right. So I actually don't check my tires and I am not exactly sure when the last time the tire pressure was checked.

So how much miles per gallon -- how many miles per gallon do you think I'm losing? WALTERS: Well, I'm not -- like it depends on your car, but you like lose a lot. And you're supposed to check your tires once a month. And you can go on my Web site and see like how to do it and everything.

LIN: Yes, where do you get a gauge anyway?

WALTERS: Well, you can get them at like a gas station.

LIN: You were actually giving them out.

WALTERS: Yes. I can give them out, too, if you want one.

LIN: No, that's OK. I'll go get my own. But I think it's just really neat that you're just such a big believer on this.

What do you think that this is going to take you?

WALTERS: Well, to save the Arctic.

LIN: To where?

WALTERS: Saving the Arctic.

LIN: Saving the Arctic.

Really, that's your ultimate goal?

WALTERS: Yes.

LIN: You know, that's neat, because you're 13 years old, you have this huge goal in mind. I mean there are big environmental groups like the Sierra Club that are trying to do the same.

WALTERS: Yes.

LIN: And I love the fact that you truly believe that you can make a difference.

WALTERS: Thank you.

LIN: Good luck, Savannah.

WALTERS: Thanks.

LIN: Well, a 10-year school battle for gay rights faces a new twist -- Christian activists demanding their right to free speech. That story is next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're not trying to single out these men for their ignorance, but we're trying to educate men and women that street harassment is not OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LIN: Find out how the Internet and cell phone photos are changing the way some women deal with public lewdness.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Optometry Professor, Dr. Alan Reichow, has designed innovative lenses for sports that have athletes seeing red, literally.

DR. ALAN REICHOW, NIKE VISION CONSULTANT: MaxSight lenses are a contact lens with a performance enhancing tint integrated throughout the whole lens and it filters 50 percent of the light. We designed this to make the ball or the object that's moving pop out, stand out against the background.

Unlike a sunglass, we take a tint, put it directly on the eye so the tint is everywhere. We have no pressure points, no fogging, no sweat buildup on the lens. These lenses were designed specifically for on the field performance, whether it's competition or practice. They were not designed or developed for driving a car.

UNIDENTIFIED CNN CORRESPONDENT: The product is a collaboration of Nike and Bausch & Lomb. Nearly 5,000 eye care practitioners in the U.S. carry it and you do need a prescription.

REICHOW: We've equipped many of the top athletes around the world in a variety of sports.

BRIAN ROBERTS, BALTIMORE ORIOLES: It just dimmed everything and that took the glare away and I wasn't squinting and I could see the ball. It was -- I actually didn't -- I couldn't even believe that you could make something that would help that much.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

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