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CNN Live At Daybreak
Three U.S. Marines Killed West of Baghdad; Vice President Cheney Meets With Japan's Prime Minister
Aired April 12, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Waiting for word -- what is the fate of an American hostage in Iraq now that the deadline has come and gone?
It's Monday, April 12.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Here are the latest headlines for you now.
Three U.S. Marines have been killed west of Baghdad. The deaths cap a bloody weekend of fighting with Iraqi insurgents. Nineteen U.S. troops have died since Friday.
The U.S. road map to peace and Israel's plan to close settlements -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak looks for a link when he meets with President Bush at his Texas ranch today.
In Russia, a day of mourning for miners killed by an explosion. The death toll is at 44, with three miners still missing and presumed dead.
And reports out of Mexico say the search for victims from a gas explosion has ended. Eight bodies have been found.
Let's head to the forecast center now and check in with Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: The Tigers 5 and 1.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are they really? They were 4 and 0 on Friday when I was looking at it.
COSTELLO: Five and 1.
MYERS: That's amazing.
COSTELLO: Pretty amazing. Oh, the Masters, speaking of amazing.
MYERS: Oh, I watched the whole thing.
COSTELLO: That was a great finish.
MYERS: I was a couch potato yesterday.
COSTELLO: He won by one stroke and his losing streak ends.
MYERS: The last stroke on the last hole.
COSTELLO: It was exciting.
MYERS: It was.
COSTELLO: Even I thought it was exciting and I'm not a big golf lover.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: We'll talk more about it later.
Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Three more American Marines lose their lives in the fight for Iraq. That's the latest in our situation report this morning. The Marines were killed in fighting around Fallujah. The total number of American troops killed over there now stands at 664. And the fate of American contractor Thomas Hamil is in question this morning. His captors had vowed to kill and burn him if U.S. forces did not leave Fallujah. The deadline has now passed.
In the meantime, Iraqi insurgents are holding seven Chinese men captive. Beijing is asking Baghdad authorities to rescue the hostages. Three Japanese and two Arabs also being held.
The surge in fighting between U.S. forces and the insurgents began one week ago today, and what a week it has been.
Live to Baghdad now and Karl Penhaul to bring us up to date -- Karl, what's happening now?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
Well, to bring us up to date with the latest casualties, as you mentioned, three Marines killed in the province west of Baghdad, in that area around Fallujah, where fighting has been concentrated for the best part of the last week. At the moment, though, a tentative cease-fire is in place. That's appearing a little shaky this morning. Witnesses have reported to us that there have been sporadic exchanges of gunfire between Iraqi insurgents there and U.S. Marines, who are ringing the city, who are laying siege to that city, if you like.
U.S. Marines on the ground tell us that they believe 2,000 Iraqi insurgents remain holed up in Fallujah. But at the moment, members of Iraq's Governing Council are shuffling back and forth between Baghdad and Fallujah to try and broker some political deal there. But U.S. military commanders have told U.S. Marines to remain fast and not to cede an inch of territory because if the need comes, those Marines will be ordered to launch an assault again on guerrilla positions, to take that city by force if there's not some deal whereby the insurgents surrender.
Also in yesterday's fighting, you'll remember an Apache attack helicopter was shot down. That was during a battle for the major highway that leads out from Baghdad towards Fallujah. Two U.S. Army pilots were killed in that -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Karl, I want to talk a little bit about the hostages, too. A couple of deadlines have come and gone.
Who is responsible for these kidnappings? Is it a lot of different groups? Is it one group?
PENHAUL: It's precisely that question that's making it very difficult to negotiate for these hostages' release, Carol. Nobody really knows who these groups are, nobody really knows how to contact them. Certainly, though, they do seem to be based, for the most part, in and around that city of Fallujah. We're getting reports this morning of seven Chinese citizens who were kidnapped on that road coming in from Jordan around the Fallujah area and, of course, yes, the fate of Thomas Hamil. There's no word on him and also no sign of his captors -- Carol.
COSTELLO: The Chinese that were kidnapped, does anyone know why they were in the country?
PENHAUL: No. That's a question that's mystifying Chinese diplomats. We've heard comments out of Beijing this morning and they say they've had -- they have no idea who these Chinese citizens are or what their purpose in the country was -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Karl Penhaul live from Baghdad this morning.
Of course, we've told you about Thomas Hamil, the man identified as the American civilian kidnapped by gunmen in Iraq. Here's a little bit more about who he is. Hamil is 43 years old. He's the father of two from the small town of Macon, Mississippi. He went to Iraq last September as a truck driver for Kellogg, Brown and Root, which is a division of Halliburton. His wife runs the local 911 system and she just recently underwent heart surgery.
Again, no word about Thomas Hamil out of Iraq this morning.
Vice President Dick Cheney met with Japan's prime minister in Tokyo today and he promised that Washington will do everything it can to help secure the release of three Japanese civilians kidnapped four days ago.
Let's go live to Tokyo now and CNN's Atika Shubert.
Actually, she's not ready quite yet. We're going to get Atika up as soon as we can.
We'll have more on this story on "American Morning," by the way, at 8:00 Eastern. The guest will be James Woolsey, who is the former CIA director.
The parents of a soldier killed in Iraq are appealing to military authorities not to send her two sisters back to that country. Private Michelle Witmer was a member of the Wisconsin National Guard, as are her two sisters. Private Witmer died in an ambush Friday in Iraq.
An immigrant smuggling ring at a major international airport tops our look at some of the news across America this Monday. Forty-two illegal immigrants have been detained by Customs agents at Newark International Airport and four other men are under arrest, charged with immigrant smuggling. One hundred thirty illegals have been detained at the airport over the past four days.
The parents of Grammy Award winner "Weird Al" Yankovic were found dead in their stepdaughter home. The couple, both over 80 years old, apparently died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The home filled with smoke after they started a fire with the fireplace flue closed.
Major storms have ripped through parts of Texas and Houston. High winds and a possible tornado flipped cars and tore the roofs off some apartment buildings. No injuries reported.
The Middle East and Iraq, hot spots on the Bush agenda, as the president meets with some world leaders this week. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will be at the Crawford, Texas ranch today. He wants to talk about Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. That will also be the prime topic when Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, visits the White House on Wednesday. And on Friday, President Bush entertains his top ally in Iraq, Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair.
President Bush says there was nothing specific enough to act on in a presidential daily brief he received a month before the 9/11 attacks. The PDB, declassified over the weekend, says, "Bin Laden, since 1997, has wanted to make terrorist attacks in the United States, follow the example of World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef and bring the fighting to America. Al Qaeda members, including some who are U.S. citizens, have resided in or traveled to the U.S. for years and the group apparently maintains a support structure that could aid attacks." That's what it says in this declassified document.
The document goes on to say, goes on to have warnings about, "Patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I asked for this Central Intelligence Agency to give me an update on any terrorists threats. And the PDB was no indication of a terrorist threat. There was not a time and place of an attack. And it was, you know, it said Osama bin Laden had designs on America. Well, I knew that. What I wanted to know was there anything specifically going to take place in America that we needed to react to.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: The president said if he had known there would be an attack, he would have moved mountains to stop it.
Was the U.S. right in going to war with Iraq? Fifty-three percent of those surveyed in a new CNN/"Time" poll think so. Forty- one percent say the U.S. was wrong. Asked if the Bush administration has a clear, well thought out plan to deal with Iraq, 43 percent say yes; 51 percent say no.
In northern Mexico, the search for additional victims of a gas explosion turns up empty. But others were not so lucky.
No question "The Passion of the Christ" was a blockbuster. But some politicians are targeting the movie with kid gloves.
And how would you like to be force fed a healthy diet? Insurance companies may be whipping up higher premiums for when you spill over your belt.
And what is this? Shades of George and Gracie, sonny and Cher, Harvey and Carol? How long has it been since you've seen a variety show on television?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "NICK AND JESSICA")
NICK LAHEY: We will not have to worry. No dancing or singing that's why.
JESSICA SIMPSON: We won't sing...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.
Vice President Dick Cheney met with Japan's prime minister in Tokyo today. We told you that. And he promised that Washington will do everything it can to help secure the release of three Japanese civilians kidnapped four days ago.
Now let's go live to Tokyo and CNN's Atika Shubert -- good morning, Atika.
What's happening there?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, it's the fourth day of the hostage crisis and still no word on how those hostages are doing. The government, however, seems to be downgrading expectations from yesterday. Government officials earlier in the day said that they still could not confirm the safety of the hostages, could not confirm their whereabouts and Japan's vice foreign minister, who's in Amman, Jordan, heading up an emergency team, was quoted as saying that the government has made no progress whatsoever in negotiating to secure the release of those hostages. So it's certainly a shift from yesterday, when the government was cautiously optimistic of a release. Early in the morning, Arabic television, Al Jazeera, had received a statement saying that the hostages would be released within 24 hours from Sunday morning. But that deadline has long passed. Still no word. As you can imagine, family members are distraught, they're frustrated and especially confused at the conflicting statements that they're getting -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I can only imagine the roller coaster of emotions.
Dick Cheney is in Tokyo. He told the prime minister there that the United States would do everything it can to help.
But what can it really do?
SHUBERT: Well, certainly, it depends on what's happening on the ground in Iraq. There have been some reports the hostages may have been captured somewhere near or around Fallujah. If that's the case, certainly the cease-fire that's trying to be brokered there will be very important. And obviously the U.S. occupation of Iraq there, the coalition that's in place there will be very important in implementing, if the hostage release happens, making sure those hostages are actually able to get out of Iraq afterwards. And that's the kind of help that Japan will certainly be looking for, in addition, obviously, to any kind of information or negotiation that the U.S. might be able to help them with.
But interestingly, Prime Minister Koizumi also got most of the support, actually, just for his stand, his resolve to keep Japanese troops in Iraq despite public pressure -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Atika Shubert reporting live from Tokyo, Japan this morning.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 5:15 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Three American Marines are dead after they came under attack from Iraqi insurgents west of Baghdad. That happened overnight. The three were assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Unit, all working in Al- Anbar Province near Fallujah.
In a speech to soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas, President Bush says he would have moved mountains to prevent terror attacks, but as there were no specific threats outlined in the presidential memo he got a month before 9/11.
In money news, another record for rising gas prices. A gallon of self-serve regular has gone up another couple of pennies over the past two weeks, to $1.79.
In sports, did you see it? Oh, you had to. It was great. Phil Mickelson finally came through in the clutch. The lefty shot a final round, 69, to win the Masters by one shot. The win is Mickelson's first major championship victory. It was amazing.
In culture, the Victoria's Secret fashion show is no more. The company announced they're putting an end to the titillating television event. How come? Because of the increased FCC scrutiny over television content. And, maybe, Chad, because no one really watched it.
MYERS: Well, you know what? Bill Hemmer was there. He was in the front row with Donald Trump last year. He's right there on the left.
COSTELLO: I'm sure he'll appreciate you bringing that up again.
MYERS: Good morning, everybody.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: All right, those the latest headlines this morning.
The search has ended for more victims in a popular Mexican border town. A massive explosion leveled an entire city block Saturday. The final toll is eight dead and 12 injured.
CNN's Alina Cho has more from the Texas-Mexico border.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
04110103.v89
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Coming up next on DAYBREAK -- religion and politics often don't mix, but this campaign season we'll show you how a popular movie is playing on politics.
And ahoy down there -- a time honored tradition gets a new twist. So suit up. The eggs await.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "NICK AND JESSICA")
SIMPSON: One, and we won't be doing, singing or dancing tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Did you catch it last night? It is the "Nick and Jessica Hour." ABC hopes to breath new life into the old-fashioned variety show, as the newlyweds jump from MTV to ABC -- are you listening, Chad?
MYERS: I'm not.
COSTELLO: ABC calls Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson America's favorite young married couple.
MYERS: Really?
COSTELLO: The new show even brings back Mr. T. and The Muppets to network television. Mr. T. Is back. And The Muppets. And Nick and Jessica.
MYERS: My producer, Dave, watched it. At least he watched the first five minutes.
COSTELLO: What did he say?
MYERS: That's all he could stand. And that was it. So I had -- I didn't get any...
COSTELLO: Yes, but he is old? No, the producer...
MYERS: He's younger than me.
COSTELLO: He's younger than me, too. He's very young. Jessica looked good.
MYERS: Probably. That would not be difficult.
COSTELLO: And Nick looked good.
MYERS: Did he?
COSTELLO: Yes.
MYERS: Good. Good.
COSTELLO: See? And, look, his shirt matches her dress. Did you see that?
MYERS: I wasn't looking at the shirt, I'm sorry.
COSTELLO: OK. It's time to move along and talk about an Easter egg hunt in Michigan. It got a bit unusual, Chad. That tops our DAYBREAK Eye-Opener.
Some children hunting for Easter eggs in Flint, Michigan found two loaded handguns outside of an elementary school. One of the guns went off when it was dropped. No one was hurt. Everyone's OK. But the police, of course, are investigating.
MYERS: Oh my gosh.
COSTELLO: Here's a happier Easter egg story -- an underwater Easter egg hunt. A Florida dive operator was the Easter bunny. He put on a rabbi a rabbit costume, which is under his breathing apparatus -- see it there -- and he hid eggs in sand bowls and under ledges. Sixteen fellow divers then searched the ocean bottom off of Key Largo.
MYERS: You're not supposed to touch that stuff.
COSTELLO: Well, they did in Florida. And he bet it all on the spin of a wheel and guess what? He won. Ashley Revell sold all of his possessions, including his clothes, and left his London home for Vegas. After some low stakes gambling, he hit the roulette table, place all he had on red and came away with $270,000. Can you believe it?
MYERS: And now he's got to pay taxes. Oops!
COSTELLO: Well, that's true.
"The Passion of the Christ" rode the Easter holiday wave back to the top of the box office. Mel Gibson's epic made more than $17 million over the three day holiday weekend. "Passion" was followed by "Hellboy," oddly enough.
MYERS: Oh.
COSTELLO: "The Alamo" and "Johnson Family Vacation," they all tied for third. "Walking Tall" came in fifth.
Let's talk about "The Passion of the Christ" for a bit more. It has stirred a lot of debate, as you know. And now it's even led to questions on the campaign trail.
Here's CNN's senior political analyst, William Schneider.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
04110003.v15
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: And here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
The calm after the storm -- how could one man and a small militia drive coalition forces into combat? We'll get a sneak peak at what went wrong in the Iraqi town of Kut.
And the release of a secret presidential memo takes center stage. Why critics say it should have raised more red flags.
Also, John Kerry hits the college campaign trail. We'll tell you why he's getting up close and personal with Generation Next.
We'll get the latest from the Granite State.
This is DAYBREAK for Monday.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): She sizzles in the kitchen, on TV and on paper. British celebrity chef Nigella Lawson's cooking is described as "unique" and "refreshing." That might be why she is a best selling author and hosts the Style Network's "Forever Summer With Nigella." NIGELLA LAWSON, AUTHOR/HOST, "FOREVER SUMMER WITH NIGELLA": Only one rule in the kitchen, which is, if it tastes good, eat it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the domestic goddess, food is the essence of life. Her less than perfect approach to cooking a metaphor.
LAWSON: Nothing turns out exactly the way you want. And sometimes in cooking, as in the rest of life, when things go wrong, something else happens. Life can't be controlled.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired April 12, 2004 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Waiting for word -- what is the fate of an American hostage in Iraq now that the deadline has come and gone?
It's Monday, April 12.
This is DAYBREAK.
And good morning to you.
From the CNN global headquarters in Atlanta, I'm Carol Costello.
Here are the latest headlines for you now.
Three U.S. Marines have been killed west of Baghdad. The deaths cap a bloody weekend of fighting with Iraqi insurgents. Nineteen U.S. troops have died since Friday.
The U.S. road map to peace and Israel's plan to close settlements -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak looks for a link when he meets with President Bush at his Texas ranch today.
In Russia, a day of mourning for miners killed by an explosion. The death toll is at 44, with three miners still missing and presumed dead.
And reports out of Mexico say the search for victims from a gas explosion has ended. Eight bodies have been found.
Let's head to the forecast center now and check in with Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COSTELLO: The Tigers 5 and 1.
CHAD MYERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Are they really? They were 4 and 0 on Friday when I was looking at it.
COSTELLO: Five and 1.
MYERS: That's amazing.
COSTELLO: Pretty amazing. Oh, the Masters, speaking of amazing.
MYERS: Oh, I watched the whole thing.
COSTELLO: That was a great finish.
MYERS: I was a couch potato yesterday.
COSTELLO: He won by one stroke and his losing streak ends.
MYERS: The last stroke on the last hole.
COSTELLO: It was exciting.
MYERS: It was.
COSTELLO: Even I thought it was exciting and I'm not a big golf lover.
MYERS: Yes.
COSTELLO: We'll talk more about it later.
Thank you, Chad.
MYERS: You're welcome.
COSTELLO: Three more American Marines lose their lives in the fight for Iraq. That's the latest in our situation report this morning. The Marines were killed in fighting around Fallujah. The total number of American troops killed over there now stands at 664. And the fate of American contractor Thomas Hamil is in question this morning. His captors had vowed to kill and burn him if U.S. forces did not leave Fallujah. The deadline has now passed.
In the meantime, Iraqi insurgents are holding seven Chinese men captive. Beijing is asking Baghdad authorities to rescue the hostages. Three Japanese and two Arabs also being held.
The surge in fighting between U.S. forces and the insurgents began one week ago today, and what a week it has been.
Live to Baghdad now and Karl Penhaul to bring us up to date -- Karl, what's happening now?
KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Carol.
Well, to bring us up to date with the latest casualties, as you mentioned, three Marines killed in the province west of Baghdad, in that area around Fallujah, where fighting has been concentrated for the best part of the last week. At the moment, though, a tentative cease-fire is in place. That's appearing a little shaky this morning. Witnesses have reported to us that there have been sporadic exchanges of gunfire between Iraqi insurgents there and U.S. Marines, who are ringing the city, who are laying siege to that city, if you like.
U.S. Marines on the ground tell us that they believe 2,000 Iraqi insurgents remain holed up in Fallujah. But at the moment, members of Iraq's Governing Council are shuffling back and forth between Baghdad and Fallujah to try and broker some political deal there. But U.S. military commanders have told U.S. Marines to remain fast and not to cede an inch of territory because if the need comes, those Marines will be ordered to launch an assault again on guerrilla positions, to take that city by force if there's not some deal whereby the insurgents surrender.
Also in yesterday's fighting, you'll remember an Apache attack helicopter was shot down. That was during a battle for the major highway that leads out from Baghdad towards Fallujah. Two U.S. Army pilots were killed in that -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Karl, I want to talk a little bit about the hostages, too. A couple of deadlines have come and gone.
Who is responsible for these kidnappings? Is it a lot of different groups? Is it one group?
PENHAUL: It's precisely that question that's making it very difficult to negotiate for these hostages' release, Carol. Nobody really knows who these groups are, nobody really knows how to contact them. Certainly, though, they do seem to be based, for the most part, in and around that city of Fallujah. We're getting reports this morning of seven Chinese citizens who were kidnapped on that road coming in from Jordan around the Fallujah area and, of course, yes, the fate of Thomas Hamil. There's no word on him and also no sign of his captors -- Carol.
COSTELLO: The Chinese that were kidnapped, does anyone know why they were in the country?
PENHAUL: No. That's a question that's mystifying Chinese diplomats. We've heard comments out of Beijing this morning and they say they've had -- they have no idea who these Chinese citizens are or what their purpose in the country was -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Karl Penhaul live from Baghdad this morning.
Of course, we've told you about Thomas Hamil, the man identified as the American civilian kidnapped by gunmen in Iraq. Here's a little bit more about who he is. Hamil is 43 years old. He's the father of two from the small town of Macon, Mississippi. He went to Iraq last September as a truck driver for Kellogg, Brown and Root, which is a division of Halliburton. His wife runs the local 911 system and she just recently underwent heart surgery.
Again, no word about Thomas Hamil out of Iraq this morning.
Vice President Dick Cheney met with Japan's prime minister in Tokyo today and he promised that Washington will do everything it can to help secure the release of three Japanese civilians kidnapped four days ago.
Let's go live to Tokyo now and CNN's Atika Shubert.
Actually, she's not ready quite yet. We're going to get Atika up as soon as we can.
We'll have more on this story on "American Morning," by the way, at 8:00 Eastern. The guest will be James Woolsey, who is the former CIA director.
The parents of a soldier killed in Iraq are appealing to military authorities not to send her two sisters back to that country. Private Michelle Witmer was a member of the Wisconsin National Guard, as are her two sisters. Private Witmer died in an ambush Friday in Iraq.
An immigrant smuggling ring at a major international airport tops our look at some of the news across America this Monday. Forty-two illegal immigrants have been detained by Customs agents at Newark International Airport and four other men are under arrest, charged with immigrant smuggling. One hundred thirty illegals have been detained at the airport over the past four days.
The parents of Grammy Award winner "Weird Al" Yankovic were found dead in their stepdaughter home. The couple, both over 80 years old, apparently died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The home filled with smoke after they started a fire with the fireplace flue closed.
Major storms have ripped through parts of Texas and Houston. High winds and a possible tornado flipped cars and tore the roofs off some apartment buildings. No injuries reported.
The Middle East and Iraq, hot spots on the Bush agenda, as the president meets with some world leaders this week. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will be at the Crawford, Texas ranch today. He wants to talk about Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. That will also be the prime topic when Israel's prime minister, Ariel Sharon, visits the White House on Wednesday. And on Friday, President Bush entertains his top ally in Iraq, Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair.
President Bush says there was nothing specific enough to act on in a presidential daily brief he received a month before the 9/11 attacks. The PDB, declassified over the weekend, says, "Bin Laden, since 1997, has wanted to make terrorist attacks in the United States, follow the example of World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef and bring the fighting to America. Al Qaeda members, including some who are U.S. citizens, have resided in or traveled to the U.S. for years and the group apparently maintains a support structure that could aid attacks." That's what it says in this declassified document.
The document goes on to say, goes on to have warnings about, "Patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I asked for this Central Intelligence Agency to give me an update on any terrorists threats. And the PDB was no indication of a terrorist threat. There was not a time and place of an attack. And it was, you know, it said Osama bin Laden had designs on America. Well, I knew that. What I wanted to know was there anything specifically going to take place in America that we needed to react to.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COSTELLO: The president said if he had known there would be an attack, he would have moved mountains to stop it.
Was the U.S. right in going to war with Iraq? Fifty-three percent of those surveyed in a new CNN/"Time" poll think so. Forty- one percent say the U.S. was wrong. Asked if the Bush administration has a clear, well thought out plan to deal with Iraq, 43 percent say yes; 51 percent say no.
In northern Mexico, the search for additional victims of a gas explosion turns up empty. But others were not so lucky.
No question "The Passion of the Christ" was a blockbuster. But some politicians are targeting the movie with kid gloves.
And how would you like to be force fed a healthy diet? Insurance companies may be whipping up higher premiums for when you spill over your belt.
And what is this? Shades of George and Gracie, sonny and Cher, Harvey and Carol? How long has it been since you've seen a variety show on television?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "NICK AND JESSICA")
NICK LAHEY: We will not have to worry. No dancing or singing that's why.
JESSICA SIMPSON: We won't sing...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Welcome back to DAYBREAK.
Vice President Dick Cheney met with Japan's prime minister in Tokyo today. We told you that. And he promised that Washington will do everything it can to help secure the release of three Japanese civilians kidnapped four days ago.
Now let's go live to Tokyo and CNN's Atika Shubert -- good morning, Atika.
What's happening there?
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.
Well, it's the fourth day of the hostage crisis and still no word on how those hostages are doing. The government, however, seems to be downgrading expectations from yesterday. Government officials earlier in the day said that they still could not confirm the safety of the hostages, could not confirm their whereabouts and Japan's vice foreign minister, who's in Amman, Jordan, heading up an emergency team, was quoted as saying that the government has made no progress whatsoever in negotiating to secure the release of those hostages. So it's certainly a shift from yesterday, when the government was cautiously optimistic of a release. Early in the morning, Arabic television, Al Jazeera, had received a statement saying that the hostages would be released within 24 hours from Sunday morning. But that deadline has long passed. Still no word. As you can imagine, family members are distraught, they're frustrated and especially confused at the conflicting statements that they're getting -- Carol.
COSTELLO: I can only imagine the roller coaster of emotions.
Dick Cheney is in Tokyo. He told the prime minister there that the United States would do everything it can to help.
But what can it really do?
SHUBERT: Well, certainly, it depends on what's happening on the ground in Iraq. There have been some reports the hostages may have been captured somewhere near or around Fallujah. If that's the case, certainly the cease-fire that's trying to be brokered there will be very important. And obviously the U.S. occupation of Iraq there, the coalition that's in place there will be very important in implementing, if the hostage release happens, making sure those hostages are actually able to get out of Iraq afterwards. And that's the kind of help that Japan will certainly be looking for, in addition, obviously, to any kind of information or negotiation that the U.S. might be able to help them with.
But interestingly, Prime Minister Koizumi also got most of the support, actually, just for his stand, his resolve to keep Japanese troops in Iraq despite public pressure -- Carol.
COSTELLO: Atika Shubert reporting live from Tokyo, Japan this morning.
Your news, money, weather and sports.
It is 5:15 Eastern.
Here's what's all new this morning.
Three American Marines are dead after they came under attack from Iraqi insurgents west of Baghdad. That happened overnight. The three were assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Unit, all working in Al- Anbar Province near Fallujah.
In a speech to soldiers at Fort Hood in Texas, President Bush says he would have moved mountains to prevent terror attacks, but as there were no specific threats outlined in the presidential memo he got a month before 9/11.
In money news, another record for rising gas prices. A gallon of self-serve regular has gone up another couple of pennies over the past two weeks, to $1.79.
In sports, did you see it? Oh, you had to. It was great. Phil Mickelson finally came through in the clutch. The lefty shot a final round, 69, to win the Masters by one shot. The win is Mickelson's first major championship victory. It was amazing.
In culture, the Victoria's Secret fashion show is no more. The company announced they're putting an end to the titillating television event. How come? Because of the increased FCC scrutiny over television content. And, maybe, Chad, because no one really watched it.
MYERS: Well, you know what? Bill Hemmer was there. He was in the front row with Donald Trump last year. He's right there on the left.
COSTELLO: I'm sure he'll appreciate you bringing that up again.
MYERS: Good morning, everybody.
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COSTELLO: All right, those the latest headlines this morning.
The search has ended for more victims in a popular Mexican border town. A massive explosion leveled an entire city block Saturday. The final toll is eight dead and 12 injured.
CNN's Alina Cho has more from the Texas-Mexico border.
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COSTELLO: Coming up next on DAYBREAK -- religion and politics often don't mix, but this campaign season we'll show you how a popular movie is playing on politics.
And ahoy down there -- a time honored tradition gets a new twist. So suit up. The eggs await.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "NICK AND JESSICA")
SIMPSON: One, and we won't be doing, singing or dancing tonight.
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COSTELLO: Did you catch it last night? It is the "Nick and Jessica Hour." ABC hopes to breath new life into the old-fashioned variety show, as the newlyweds jump from MTV to ABC -- are you listening, Chad?
MYERS: I'm not.
COSTELLO: ABC calls Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson America's favorite young married couple.
MYERS: Really?
COSTELLO: The new show even brings back Mr. T. and The Muppets to network television. Mr. T. Is back. And The Muppets. And Nick and Jessica.
MYERS: My producer, Dave, watched it. At least he watched the first five minutes.
COSTELLO: What did he say?
MYERS: That's all he could stand. And that was it. So I had -- I didn't get any...
COSTELLO: Yes, but he is old? No, the producer...
MYERS: He's younger than me.
COSTELLO: He's younger than me, too. He's very young. Jessica looked good.
MYERS: Probably. That would not be difficult.
COSTELLO: And Nick looked good.
MYERS: Did he?
COSTELLO: Yes.
MYERS: Good. Good.
COSTELLO: See? And, look, his shirt matches her dress. Did you see that?
MYERS: I wasn't looking at the shirt, I'm sorry.
COSTELLO: OK. It's time to move along and talk about an Easter egg hunt in Michigan. It got a bit unusual, Chad. That tops our DAYBREAK Eye-Opener.
Some children hunting for Easter eggs in Flint, Michigan found two loaded handguns outside of an elementary school. One of the guns went off when it was dropped. No one was hurt. Everyone's OK. But the police, of course, are investigating.
MYERS: Oh my gosh.
COSTELLO: Here's a happier Easter egg story -- an underwater Easter egg hunt. A Florida dive operator was the Easter bunny. He put on a rabbi a rabbit costume, which is under his breathing apparatus -- see it there -- and he hid eggs in sand bowls and under ledges. Sixteen fellow divers then searched the ocean bottom off of Key Largo.
MYERS: You're not supposed to touch that stuff.
COSTELLO: Well, they did in Florida. And he bet it all on the spin of a wheel and guess what? He won. Ashley Revell sold all of his possessions, including his clothes, and left his London home for Vegas. After some low stakes gambling, he hit the roulette table, place all he had on red and came away with $270,000. Can you believe it?
MYERS: And now he's got to pay taxes. Oops!
COSTELLO: Well, that's true.
"The Passion of the Christ" rode the Easter holiday wave back to the top of the box office. Mel Gibson's epic made more than $17 million over the three day holiday weekend. "Passion" was followed by "Hellboy," oddly enough.
MYERS: Oh.
COSTELLO: "The Alamo" and "Johnson Family Vacation," they all tied for third. "Walking Tall" came in fifth.
Let's talk about "The Passion of the Christ" for a bit more. It has stirred a lot of debate, as you know. And now it's even led to questions on the campaign trail.
Here's CNN's senior political analyst, William Schneider.
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COSTELLO: And here's what's all new in the next half hour of DAYBREAK.
The calm after the storm -- how could one man and a small militia drive coalition forces into combat? We'll get a sneak peak at what went wrong in the Iraqi town of Kut.
And the release of a secret presidential memo takes center stage. Why critics say it should have raised more red flags.
Also, John Kerry hits the college campaign trail. We'll tell you why he's getting up close and personal with Generation Next.
We'll get the latest from the Granite State.
This is DAYBREAK for Monday.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): She sizzles in the kitchen, on TV and on paper. British celebrity chef Nigella Lawson's cooking is described as "unique" and "refreshing." That might be why she is a best selling author and hosts the Style Network's "Forever Summer With Nigella." NIGELLA LAWSON, AUTHOR/HOST, "FOREVER SUMMER WITH NIGELLA": Only one rule in the kitchen, which is, if it tastes good, eat it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the domestic goddess, food is the essence of life. Her less than perfect approach to cooking a metaphor.
LAWSON: Nothing turns out exactly the way you want. And sometimes in cooking, as in the rest of life, when things go wrong, something else happens. Life can't be controlled.
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