Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
Veterans' Personal Data Stolen; Rescue Under Way on L.A. River in Glendale; President Bush: New Cabinet in Baghdad Major Step for Struggling Iraqi Democracy; Seven-Year-Old Swims San Francisco Bay
Aired May 22, 2006 - 13:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: OK. If only American politics were this entertaining. Watch these two candidates.
Look at this guy. OK. The slapper says the slap was personal, not politics. That will teach him to (INAUDIBLE).
He says the slappee (ph) accused him of womanizing. The guys aren't done, as you can see here.
Oh man. OK. The dustup came at a debate between party leaders in the Czech Republic. The men refused to shake hands -- OK, I guess that's understandable -- at the end of the program.
Sorry. I enjoyed that way too much.
Hurricane season now just 10 days away. And Jacqui Jeras is...
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh.
HARRIS: I'm sorry, Jacqui.
JERAS: I'm recovering from that -- I was shocked there.
HARRIS: It was just so loud.
JERAS: Wow.
HARRIS: Sorry.
JERAS: Oh, there it is again. I just -- you know, I jump every time. Look at that.
HARRIS: And look at the slappee (ph). Oh, that's tough. Nice response.
JERAS: Oh, that is tough.
Hey, speaking of tough, it looks like we've got another tough hurricane season ahead of us, Tony, unfortunately. NOAA unveiled their forecast for the 2006 season, expecting things to be above average.
This week we're kicking off Hurricane Preparedness Week. That's May 21st through the 27th. We're going to have a bunch of information coming up for you about the hurricane season, the contributing factors, why things are going to be so active, and help you get ready. We'll have some preparedness tips. That's all coming up in just a little bit.
The next hour of CNN LIVE FROM starts right now.
HARRIS: And good afternoon, everyone.
They served their country. Now millions of U.S. veterans may be in a battle to protect their identities. It is a developing story we've been following all afternoon, and our senior Pentagon correspondent, Jamie McIntyre, is here with the latest.
Hi, Jamie.
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN SR. PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Tony.
Well, the Veterans Administration says an employee, a data analyst, took some data home that included sensitive information. His home was burglarized, now that information is out.
They say, according to the Veterans Administration, it is -- it affects 26.5 million veterans and some of their spouses. And included in the data were names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and some disability ratings.
The Pentagon -- the Veterans Administration has now notified the FBI and the VA Inspector General's Office. They've launched a full- scale investigation.
The people who stole this data -- and they won't say whether it was on a laptop or on some sort of drives that were taken home -- but the people who stole it, they have no idea if they really no the potential damage of that. They probably have no idea that they've sparked a full-scale FBI investigation as well.
Meanwhile, the Veterans Administration is taking steps to make sure that the identities of these people are not compromised, that the people affected will be notified by getting a personal letter. They can also go to a Web site, www.firstgov.gov to check on the status of this investigation, and they're taking a lot of steps to try to recover the data before anybody figures out exactly how to use it, because it's of course exactly the kind of data that you would need if you were going to exploit it for identity theft.
Oh, and by the way, the employee who took the data home, in violation of the Veterans Administration policy, he's been placed on administrative leave -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. And Jamie, just to follow this, we are being told at this point at least that was a random burglary that just happened to net all of this information.
MCINTYRE: Yes. I mean, it's sort of a two-edged sword here.
On the one hand, there's no indication the people who stole this actually knew what they were stealing. On the other hand, now we're giving it quite a bit of publicity, so they may start to catch on about what they've got.
HARRIS: Got you.
MCINTYRE: On the other hand, you need to get that information out to people so that they know and they know what to do to protect themselves. And, by the way, if you're in possession of this stolen material, you may want to know that there's a full-scale FBI hunt for you. You didn't just steal some random piece of -- item of computer equipment. You've got some pretty hot stuff, and you're going to have some heat coming down on you pretty soon.
HARRIS: Yes. That makes sense.
OK. Senior Pentagon Correspondent Jamie McIntyre.
Jamie, thank you.
Straight to Betty now, following another developing story for us.
Betty, what do you have?
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Keeping me busy today, Tony.
Take a look at this. We're going to put some video up. Some live pictures out of Griffith Park, Los Angeles.
We're dealing with a river rescue. See the river there? That's the L.A. River, running through Glendale. You see the concrete on both sides of the banks there. And that island toward the bottom of the screen, there's a guy sitting in it.
Don't know how he got there. There's the person right there. Don't know how this person got there, have no clue, don't see any boats anywhere around.
Obviously the current is very swift, and the emergency crews are on scene trying to get this person across and to the shoreline. But a lot of questions going on here today.
One, what are you doing there? Why are you even going out there? And the big question right now is, how are they going to get him to the shoreline, stuck in the middle of an island-like area in the L.A. River in Glendale?
You know, usually, Tony, when we deal with river rescues, there are boats involved.
HARRIS: Exactly.
NGUYEN: I'm not seeing a boat here at all.
HARRIS: All right. Well, I guess we'll just keep following this. But I guess they have to toss him a line, and then he has to make his way. But...
NGUYEN: I don't know. But the current is so... HARRIS: ... it could be tricky. So...
NGUYEN: You can see it, yes. The current is very swift.
HARRIS: Yes.
NGUYEN: So they've got quite an ordeal on their hands. And we've been following it, I don't know, for the past 15, 20 minutes. And so they're still in the preliminary stages of getting that guy off the island there. But it's really an odd sight.
HARRIS: It is.
NGUYEN: Isn't it, though? You see this river going through the middle of the city, you see the highway there, you have the concrete banks on both sides. And then you've got this guy stuck.
HARRIS: OK. And I'm just -- I'm just getting some information that they may try to effect this rescue from the air, that there may be a rescue helicopter on the way to try to pull up this guy.
NGUYEN: Well, that would make sense.
HARRIS: Yes, that would make a little better sense.
NGUYEN: Yes. All right.
HARRIS: OK, Betty. Appreciate it.
NGUYEN: We'll keep you posted -- Tony.
HARRIS: Thank you, Betty.
Ninety thousand bucks in cold, hard cash allegedly stuffed in a congressman's freezer. The FBI says it was found in William Jefferson's Washington home last year. That information in a newly released court document which says the money was part of a payment delivered by an FBI informant.
Jefferson, an eight-term Louisiana Democrat, is facing a bribery probe, but he has not been charged yet. And he vows to stay in office.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. WILLIAM JEFFERSON (D), LOUISIANA: I will take full responsibility for any crimes that I committed if that were the case. But I will not plead guilty to something I did not do no matter how things are made to look and no matter the risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: FBI agents searched Jefferson's Washington office yesterday. It's reportedly the first time agents have searched a lawmaker's Capitol Hill office.
And who is William Jefferson? Here's a "Fact Check".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS (voice over): William Jefferson's district covers much of New Orleans. Just days after Hurricane Katrina, as some of the city's residents still clung to rooftops for safety, ABC News reported that Jefferson took a ride with a National Guard contingent and spent an our inspecting his upscale home. Even before that, his problems were under way.
The government says he was videotaped last July taking what the government alleges was a payoff of $100,000. According to a government affidavit, numbers on bills recovered later from Jefferson's freezer matched numbers on the money the FBI says he accepted from an informant. Jefferson denies any wrongdoing.
Last September, Jefferson was cited by a nonpartisan watchdog as one of the 13 most corrupt members of Congress. Others on the list include the now disgraced Randy "Duke" Cunningham and former House majority leader Tom DeLay.
For Jefferson, things took a turn for the worse this month. On May 3rd, an official of a venture called iGate Inc. pleaded guilty in federal court to giving the eight-term Democrat six-figure inducements for help in getting business in Nigeria. And just last week, the House Ethics Committee announced it had opened investigations into Representative Jefferson and Congressman Bob Ney of Ohio.
The Capitol Hill corruption probe seems far from being over.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Not just a cabinet, but a watershed. So says President Bush, pointing to the newly crafted cabinet in Baghdad as a major step for the struggling Iraqi democracy.
CNN's Ed Henry has the details from the White House.
And Ed, over the weekend, the language from the president was a little more cautious. This seems a big, bold step forward, calling it a watershed event.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Tony. With, you know, basically the president's poll numbers dragged to historic numbers because of Iraq he's trying to pivot off this good news from over the weekend, boost his own standing, but also boost the political fortunes of fellow Republicans heading into the midterm elections.
As you noted, what's significant is that, you know, he's not trying to paint too rosy a scenario here, but he is being cautiously optimistic. He is acknowledging U.S. missteps in Iraq, and also he's stressing that the progress is incremental.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Our nation's been through three difficult years in Iraq, and the way forward will bring more days of challenge and loss. The progress we've made has been hard fought and has been incremental. There have been setbacks and missteps, like Abu Ghraib, that were felt immediately and have been difficult to overcome. Yet, we have now reached a turning point in the struggle between freedom and terror.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: Now, CNN has confirm that British Prime Minister Tony Blair will come to the White House later this week for some talks with the president. It's interesting, because Tony Blair is right now in Baghdad, the first world leader to actually visit Iraq since the national unity government took office. Significant also because British officials traveling with the prime minister are saying that they are now looking at getting all foreign troops out of Iraq within four years -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK. Ed Henry at the White House for us.
Ed, thank you.
Let's get back to Betty now, who is following that developing story, that river rescue in California. We mentioned a moment ago, Betty, that there was a helicopter in the vicinity.
NGUYEN: Well, the helicopter has arrived. In fact, you see the rescue personnel right there in the yellow suit. They want to pick up the person who is stuck on this island there and then take him by air off of it.
On both sides -- you can't see it in this shot, because this is a tight shot, but on both sides of that little island that they're on, water is flowing, and it's a swift current. The question is, how did this guy get there?
Well, we don't really know at this point. What we're trying to determine is, maybe this was like an aqua duct area, because there are concrete barriers and banks on both sides.
HARRIS: Yes.
NGUYEN: So -- we just lost our shot. There it goes. And maybe the water was just let out, and so this guy got caught off guard and was stuck on this island. But as you can see, he's going to be rescued by air.
HARRIS: Wow. And Betty, they're not messing around with this.
NGUYEN: No. No, no, no, they're not playing -- well, I don't know how long this guy has been there.
HARRIS: Yes.
NGUYEN: We've been watching it for the past half an hour, but it was a difficult situation of trying to get him out of this island area because the current is so swift.
HARRIS: Here we go.
NGUYEN: Yes, hoisting him up into the air.
HARRIS: Here we go.
NGUYEN: And then once he gets up higher, you're going to be able to see what we're talking about. You see the current there at the top of your screen?
HARRIS: Yes.
NGUYEN: It's flowing pretty fast, and it looks like it may be fairly deep. And obviously it's posing some concerns, which is why they're having to do it by air.
HARRIS: Well, Betty, this is fast water. This is really fast water. We were just talking to you, what, a couple of minutes ago...
NGUYEN: Just a couple of minutes ago, yes.
HARRIS: ... and the helicopter has arrived, strapped this person up, and here we go.
NGUYEN: Well, apparently they're very prepared for this because...
HARRIS: Yes.
NGUYEN: ... because it takes no time. See, there's that concrete bank there that we were talking about, and you see some graffiti there. So maybe this is an area that stays dry, and then they let out portions of the L.A. River, and then it flows down through, and maybe that's why this person got stuck.
We don't know. Of course we're going to keep checking on that and bring you more. But it's quite a sight to see. I'm sure that guy's got a lot of questions ahead of him. I think it's a he. I mean, we don't even know if it's a he or she at this point.
HARRIS: Yes. Well, I actually wanted to see the touchdown, the landing, but it looks like they're going to take this person up into the chopper or maybe -- wow.
NGUYEN: What a ride, huh?
HARRIS: You would think they would just set the person down on the bank over there.
NGUYEN: Down.
HARRIS: And maybe that's ultimately what's going to happen here. It looks like...
NGUYEN: There it goes, yes. HARRIS: Yes. There we go. We have a better shot of it.
NGUYEN: And then almost to dry land and out of harm's way.
HARRIS: Hello. Hello. Hold on. Hold on.
NGUYEN: Can you imagine, though, Tony, just the fear of being stuck out of there? How did he -- I mean, hopefully this person had a cell phone, which is why rescue personnel are there. But can you imagine being stuck and going, how in the world am I getting off this island with water like that flowing on all sides?
HARRIS: Yes. Well, you want to be careful now because you don't want to have these two lowered and get them slammed into that abutment there. You want to be careful with that. But yes, we've seen this a number of times. About a month or so recently, where once the rescue personnel were able to harness this person up, they started to...
NGUYEN: And touchdown.
HARRIS: Yes.
NGUYEN: Right about -- well, it looks like it and then -- well, they're being very careful for the obvious reasons.
HARRIS: It's breezy.
NGUYEN: Well, I don't know. I don't know if it's breezy or if that's from the helicopter. That may be some of...
HARRIS: It's a combination, because we saw how swift the water was...
NGUYEN: Right.
HARRIS: So it looks like it might be a combination here.
NGUYEN: Yes. They're taking this very carefully, and, of course, they want to make sure everyone gets down to dry ground very safely.
There you go. There's some people that are going to help him.
HARRIS: Yes, jump on in there and help out.
NGUYEN: Oh, I can't wait to hear why this person was out there and figure out some of the answers to some of the many questions that we have today. How do you get stuck on an island like that?
HARRIS: Yes.
NGUYEN: Well, this guy did, and the fortunate thing is that he or she is A-OK.
HARRIS: That's good work, huh?
NGUYEN: Yes.
HARRIS: That's really good work.
NGUYEN: That was quick work. You know, sometimes you've got to wait for quite some time to get all the people in place, and the helicopters and all the machinery in place.
HARRIS: Sure.
NGUYEN: But not this time. They did it quite quickly, and the good news is everybody is A-OK.
HARRIS: And our thanks to our affiliate in Los Angeles, KABC, for following the action so closely. Appreciate it.
Thank you, Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. Talk to you soon.
HARRIS: We'll stay on this story.
The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you.
More LIVE FROM straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: U.S. forces aren't letting up on rebels in southern Afghanistan. In the latest offense, the military hit a Taliban stronghold from the air, reportedly leaving dozens dead or wounded. Most of them suspected Taliban fighters. An Afghan officials say some of the casualties were civilians. A statement from the U.S.-led coalition says as many at 80 Taliban may have been killed, but that hasn't been confirmed.
Gaza City was a battleground today. A gunfight broke out between Hamas militia and Palestinian police loyal to the non-Hamas Palestinian president.
Our own John Vause found himself in the middle of it.
And John, you can talk us through this, but my understanding is, is that this has got to be pretty dicey for you personally.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Tony, we're outside the parliament building where most of this action was taking place. We were pinned down there for about an hour or so while the militants from Hamas and the police traded fire, but it has been a tense five- day-long standoff here on the streets of Gaza City.
It erupted today in gunfire and bloodshed. And there are fears among Palestinians that this could only get worse.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE (voice over): No one knows for certain who started shooting first. Each side blames the other. But caught in the crossfire and killed, the driver of the Jordanian ambassador.
For almost two hours, downtown Gaza City was a battlefield as the heavily armed gunmen from the Hamas militia launched rocket-propelled grenades and traded fire with the regular security forces loyal to the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas. It was chaos.
(on camera): The gunfire was coming from the second and third floor of the Palestinian parliament building here in Gaza City, so shooting in that direction. We don't know who is in that building. There was return fire coming from that direction as well. Once again, we don't know who has been shooting at who.
(voice over): Pinned down and scurrying for cover, Palestinian civilians. And with this clash, Gaza, it seems, is inching closer to civil war.
The Hamas army is growing by the day. These are the latest recruits, men once loyal to Mahmoud Abbas, but now they've changed sides. Hamas has deployed its forces throughout the Gaza Strip, facing off, often directly across the street from the regular security services.
Yousef al-Zahar (ph) commands the Hamas militia and says his men are volunteers maintaining law and order.
(on camera): Some people are worried that Hamas is putting an army on the streets to confront Mahmoud Abbas, to take power away from the president. Is this true?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we are not against the president. We are not against anybody.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The majority of the Hamas leaders are liars.
VAUSE: Abdul Aziz Shahin (ph) is a senior member of Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah political faction and accuses Hamas of laying the ground for civil war.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the worst act, the worst death Hamas has been done in all its life.
VAUSE: Hamas and Mahmoud Abbas say they want to avoid a civil war, but on the streets both sides continue to shoot at each other and appear ready for a major confrontation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VAUSE: Palestinian sources have told me this conflict could spread to the West Bank. Those sources say all of the militant groups have recently been stockpiling weapons in the West Bank ready for a fight -- Tony.
HARRIS: CNN's John Vause for us.
John, we appreciate it. Thank you. Stay safe. Let's get back to our top story now. Computer files containing the names, Social Security numbers and birth dates of more than 26 million U.S. veterans, some of their spouses, stolen. The secretary of the Department of Veteran Affairs is on the line with us, James Nicholson.
Mr. Secretary, thanks for your time.
JIM NICHOLSON, SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS: You bet. Thanks for having me.
HARRIS: Well, what can you tell us about this disturbing development?
NICHOLSON: Well, disturbing is right. We had an employee here, a data analyst, who took this data home to work it, and his home was burglarized. And the people took -- took this data.
We think that it wasn't a targeted burglary, they weren't after this. There's a pattern of these kinds of burglaries in this particular neighborhood. But we are -- we think being, you know, appropriately cautious to make -- to get the word out to the veterans that the possibility exists.
HARRIS: OK. Mr. Secretary, why was it taken home? You mentioned to work on it.
NICHOLSON: Well, that's a good question. It was -- he was certainly not authorized to do that. And we've put him on administrative leave. And, you know, our focus right now is on getting word out to the veterans.
There's no reason for them right now to, you know, think that anything unsavory is going on. We have no evidence that any of this is being used or that people that have it even know. But it's a possibility.
We've set up, you know, a Web page and a 1-800 number, which I'd really like to give you the 1-800 number if I could.
HARRIS: OK. Yes, let me take it now.
NICHOLSON: It's 1-800-FED-INFO. That's 1-800-333-4636.
HARRIS: And people use this number if they have concerns about their own individual information, correct?
NICHOLSON: That's correct. If they have a reason to suspect something going on, if they call that number they can get information, or they can go to www.firstgov.gov, and that's a Web page, and they'll have information on there as well.
HARRIS: Mr. Secretary, where did the theft occur? And how long had this employee had this information before the burglary, the robbery? NICHOLSON: Well, those are good and appropriate questions, really, but I cannot answer them, because this is under a very active investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigations and the inspector general of VA. And upon their advice and request, I'm not -- I can't answer that question right now, the first question.
HARRIS: But common sense has it feeling like more than just a coincidence. Do you share that at all?
NICHOLSON: Based on what I know about this, I do not think it is -- it wasn't intended to be this kind of a crime. No, they were not after this data.
HARRIS: OK. Secretary Nicholson, we appreciate you taking the time to talk to us and giving us an update on this story.
NICHOLSON: You're welcome. Thank you.
HARRIS: OK. Thanks.
The news keeps coming. We'll keep bringing it to you.
More LIVE FROM right after a break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Well, no one knows when they'll come ashore or where, but forecasters say they will, possibly as many as 10 hurricanes this year. The experts at NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, are predicting 13 to 16 named storms in the Atlantic this season, eight to 10 of which could become hurricanes -- most of them extremely powerful.
That means Category 3 or higher, with winds at least 111 miles per hour. Katrina was a Category 3 when it hit the Gulf Coast.
In the wake of that tragedy, and the government's failures, we were wondering how much confidence you have in Washington's ability to handle another disaster. In a poll conducted by Opinion Research Corporation for CNN, about 12 percent of you say you're very confident, 40 percent somewhat confident, almost half have serious doubts about the government getting it right, despite all of the changes that have been made.
So what can you do to get ready for hurricane season? CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is back with some tips for us.
Hi, Jacqui.
JERAS: Hi, Tony. Well, there's a lot you can do.
And this week, with the release of that forecast, is Hurricane Preparedness Week. And a great quote from Max Mayfield, the director of the National Hurricane Center, saying that preparation through education is less costly than learning through tragedy. There's a great Web site, www.nhc.noaa.gov/prepare. And there are all kind of tips on preparedness on this Web site, in addition to facts and figures.
There's information on the Saffir-Simpson scale. We talk about storm surge on this site, so there's a lot you can learn just by logging in here at the National Hurricane Center.
Now, we're going to focus a little bit on some of the things that you can do right now to get ready, because even though hurricane season technically begins on June 1st, we could see action really any time. In fact, we've had named storms in the month of April before.
So how do you prepare yourself? Well, at home you need to have plenty of water and plenty of food. You need one gallon of water per person per day to last at least three to seven days. And as for food, you want to stock up in your pantry on nonperishable packaged or can food items, make sure you have a non-electric can opener so you can actually access some of that, and paper plates and plastic utensils and napkins always good to have handy, and on standby.
Now, other things that you're going to need, blankets and pillows, clothing that you need. If you're going to be evacuating, certainly you're going to need cash, keys. Have things, games with you to bring along in the car.
Remember the evacuation from Hurricane Rita, where a lot of people left in their cars, but they didn't have water with them in their car or a food supply. So even if you're not staying at home, you need to have things with you.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HARRIS: So Jacqui -- and a lot of these things, it would be better if you picked up a lot of that stuff now instead of waiting to hear from you that there's a storm brewing out there.
JERAS: Absolutely.
HARRIS: And then you get this run on the stores, so that kind of makes sense to get that stuff ahead of time.
JERAS: Definitely.
HARRIS: Jacqui, appreciate it. Thank you.
If you are used to getting the best seats for the big concert tours, you may have to pay a bit more some summer. What's up with that?
Susan Lisovicz is live from the New York Stock Exchange with the details.
(BUSINESS REPORT)
HARRIS: It is an article of faith that movies with as much hype and heat and buzz as "The Da Vinci Code" are just about critic proof. Translation: bad reviews don't hurt ticket sales, at least for the opening weekend. CNN's Sibila Vargas joins me now with the box office numbers. Good to see you.
SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Nice to see you too. As you said, it seems moviegoers around the world were eager to crack the code. Despite all the controversy surrounding this year's most talked about movie, audiences gave in to Da Vinci's temptation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS, (voice-over): Dan Brown's best selling novel the "Da Vinci Code" translated into best seller at movies its opening weekend, taking in $77 million in U.S. ticket sales and $224 million worldwide. That's a second best worldwide debut in history, and the best weekend opening in the U.S. so far this year.
PAUL DERGARABEDIAN, PRESIDENT EXHIBITOR RELATIONS: This movie was number one in Italy, number one in Spain, number one or two in South America. Across the board, worldwide, it was a global phenomenon.
VARGAS: Like the book it's based on, religious groups around the world attacked the film for its fictional assertion that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were lovers, possibly married and gave birth to a child.
(on camera): Some church leaders threatened boycotts, others legal action, but in the end, audiences who decided "Da Vinci's" fate.
DERGARABEDIAN: And I think it's very interesting that a lot of religious groups were against the film, but it shows you that even though you may have an opinion against the movie, you really kind of need to see it if you're going to talk about it.
VARGAS (voice-over): Early reviews of the film, following its premier in Cannes, were less than stellar, but didn't seem to matter to audiences.
RON HOWARD, PRODUCER: Talk to 10 different people you get 10 different reactions to the novel that's the way it's been with the movie. And I really expected that.
VARGAS: The only mystery left to solve now is whether one of the year's most talked about and most controversial films will hold on to audiences long enough to make it a bona fide long-term success.
DERGARABEDIAN: If it already in three days had done $224 million worldwide, this certainly has a shot to be one of the bigger worldwide grosses of all time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sermons, code, monks, Da Vinci.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VARGAS: No one can be enjoying this more than Sony. This was the studio's biggest world wide opening ever. Tonight on "SHOW BIZ TONIGHT," the power of God at the movies. As "The Da Vinci Code" opens at number one, we reveal why Hollywood is wild about religion on the big screen. That's "SHOW BIZ TONIGHT" at 11:00 p.m. eastern. Hope to see you there, Tony.
HARRIS: Thank you.
He'll never run another race, but at this point, surviving is victory enough for Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro. Three bones shattered in the thoroughbred's right rear leg in a tragic stumble at The Preakness. Lesser horses with similar injuries have been put down on the spot, but Barbaro's owners wanted doctors to try and save him. He made it through six hours of surgery. Doctors say his future is still a coin toss.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. DEAN RICHARDSON, BARBARO'S CHIEF OF SURGERY: It's still far too soon to say that he's going to make it. This is a very, very serious injury. Every day that goes by is important, but the reality is that it takes months before you know if a case like this is going to survive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Barbaro may just be tough enough to do it. He reportedly pulled his trainers back to his stall after surgery. If he does recover, Barbaro could earn hundreds of thousands of dollars for his owners in stud fees.
Forget the triple crown for a moment. Who do you like this in this horse race? Freedom of the press or national security. Ponder that for a few. We're going to debate it next on LIVE FROM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: In one corner, the nation's top prosecutor Alberto Gonzales, he says he's ready to go after reporters who publish classified government material. Here's how he puts it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALBERTO GONZALES, ATTORNEY GENERAL: There are some statutes on the book which, if you read the language carefully, would seem to indicate that that is a possibility. That's a policy judgment by the Congress in passing that kind of legislation. We have an obligation to enforce those laws. We have an obligation to ensure that our national security is protected.
Obviously, we want to work with the press in getting the information that we can to pursue criminal wrongdoing. But we want to do so in a way, of course, that's respectful of the role that the press plays in our society.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: You won't be the surprised the fourth of state is ready to go to the mat to uphold freedom of the press. We're going to go a couple of rounds right now.
Gerald Walpin is a former federal prosecutor. Gerald, good to see you.
GERALD WALPIN, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Good afternoon. Good to be here.
HARRIS: And Anne Beeson is an associate legal director with the American Civil Liberties Union. They're both joining us from New York. Anne, good to see you.
BEESON: Thank you.
HARRIS: Gerry, is Alberto Gonzales right on this? Are there some statutes out there that if you read them and interpret them in a particular way, you quite possibly could go after reporters and journalists?
WALPIN: Well, not possibly. Let's take the wording of the statute, if we read the portion. And it's section 798 of our penal code, the federal penal code. "Whoever knowingly and willfully publishes any classified information" -- I'm reading relevant portions.
HARRIS: OK.
WALPIN: "Whoever knowingly and willfully publishes any classified information concerning the communication intelligence activities of the United States is guilty of a crime." And classified information is defined as "any information specifically designated by a United States government agency for a limited or restricted dissemination or distribution."
HARRIS: OK.
WALPIN: Now, that's quite clear. The newspapers, reporters, publish information. It is information that is classified.
HARRIS: All right, Gerry, let me -- you brought the hardware and the software, the books. So Anne, let me -- what's wrong with that? It's in the penal code. Sounds like the law's the law.
BEESON: The attorney general says he has an obligation to uphold the law. Well, he also has an obligation to uphold the Constitution and to ensure that our government officials uphold the Constitution. And I would think that our resources in the Justice Department would be better spent focusing on those officials who have broken the law in the Constitution, and not going after journalists who were just doing their jobs.
HARRIS: Yes, Gerry, what about the Fourth Amendment here?
WALPIN: Well, the freedom of speech and freedom of the press, in my mind, has never been held by any court to overrule penal code. And to say that because I'm a journalist, I'm entitled to break the law. Let's look at it as a practical matter.
HARRIS: OK.
WALPIN: If during the second world war, when the German U-boats were waiting for our troop-carrying ships in the Atlantic -- if during that time a reporter had published the fact that certain troop ships were leaving and when they were leaving, classified information, no one would doubt they should be prosecuted for a crime.
And that's the same thing that's true today. We're in a war. Anne may not agree with the law, but we're in it. Congress has passed a law that says classified information, as determined by the executive branch, shall not be published by someone who knows it is classified without authority. And it's simple. There is no case that Anne could cite that says merely because you're a reporter, if you break...
HARRIS: But Gerry, Gerry, can you just sort of randomly -- what about probable cause? Can you just sort of randomly just collect information and track phone calls of -- forget about reporters. You know, there was a story last week in the "USA Today" about just a collection of phone data from millions of people, just regular citizens in the country.
WALPIN: Well, first of all, that's a different subject.
HARRIS: It is a different story, you're absolutely right.
WALPIN: I'll answer that subject easily. The Supreme Court has already decided that the collection and -- of numbers, phone numbers, called from phone numbers, is not subject to the Fourth Amendment, and therefore you don't need probable cause. And let's look at it as a practical matter, again. If we know that Al Qaeda has called a certain number, wouldn't the government want to know what number that phone number is?
HARRIS: How are you assured that it's Al Qaeda on the other end? This is based on all kinds of assumptions.
WALPIN: Well, sure, you want to make assumptions, but that's why you have police and executive authorities in areas that do not involve a violation of the Fourth Amendment. You can't say that because you're getting numbers on a phone, that that's a violation of the Fourth Amendment because the Supreme Court has said it is not.
HARRIS: OK. Anne, jump in here.
BEESON: The question is whether or not the Justice Department should be going after journalists who are doing their job and exposing very serious potential illegality within this administration. I'm talking about practices not just including National Security Agency wiretapping, but also practices like the kidnapping and rendition of innocent people to countries where they're tortured, and the torture of prisoners at detention facilities outside the United States. The government should be encouraging employees with evidence of illegality to come forward and tell the public that information, and...
WALPIN: Yes, you're right, Anne.
BEESON: ... journalists have a duty to publish it.
WALPIN: You're right, Anne, but there are avenues under the law to do it. Go to the Senate committees, the House committees that will take that information. Go to the security person in the agency. But don't take the law into your own hands and decide...
BEESON: We don't know...
HARRIS: And Anne, last word on this quickly, please.
BEESON: We don't know whether these employees did go to Congress or not. Congress has not been exercising out...
WALPIN: Well, you don't know, you're right.
BEESON: The point is, without more information, the public wouldn't know whether the president, the National Security Agency and the CIA are breaking the law.
WALPIN: So every individual can take the law into their own hands.
HARRIS: Let's leave it right there. Good debate spirit, and I knew it would be. Anne and Gerry, good to see you both. Thanks for your time.
WALPIN: Thank you, Tony.
BEESON: Thank you.
HARRIS: So what's your 7-year-old do today? You may not want to tell him or her what Braxton Bilbrey was up to. Then again, this kid could give just about anybody an inferiority complex. LIVE FROM dives in for details on a record-breaking swim. There they are! Hey, Braxton, see you after the break!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Man, when we first heard that a 7-year-old had gone to Alcatraz, we thought, man, that has got to be a record for world's youngest prisoner. Then we remembered that Alcatraz doesn't take prisoners anymore and realized Braxton Bilbrey had something else up his sleeve: a record-setting swim across San Francisco Bay. Braxton and his dad, Steve Bilbrey, join me now from San Francisco. Good to see you both.
Braxton, good to see you, young man.
STEVE BILBREY, PROUD DAD: Good to see you.
HARRIS: How are you? How are you champ? You're good?
BRAXTON BILBREY, SWAM SAN FRANCISCO BAY: Good.
HARRIS: Do you feel good?
B. BILBREY: Yes.
HARRIS: Do you feel strong? Are you good?
B. BILBREY: Yes.
HARRIS: So where did you come up with this idea, you know what, I'm going to go Alcatraz, I am going to jump into the water and I am going to swim to shore? Where did you come up with this?
B. BILBREY: Well, I was reading an article in a magazine, and I saw that. And then I told my mom and dad.
HARRIS: Well, what you saw was that a 9-year-old had done this, correct?
B. BILBREY: Yes.
HARRIS: And what, did the competitive juices kick in and you said you know what, if he can do it at nine, I bet I can do it at seven?
B. BILBREY: Yes.
HARRIS: Well, had you ever thought about taking on such a challenge before? I hear you're quite the swimmer and a tri-athlete in your own right at seven years old. You're quite a competitor, aren't you?
B. BILBREY: Yes.
HARRIS: What else do you play? What else do you do?
B. BILBREY: Well, I just right now swim.
HARRIS: Yes, you know, the World Cup is coming up. Are you interested in soccer at all?
B. BILBREY: Well, at school.
HARRIS: At school.
Hey, Steve.
S. BILBREY: Yes.
HARRIS: He reads this article, and what does he do? He comes to you and he says oh, dad, what if, and your reaction is what?
S. BILBREY: Is that is a great article, son. Are you serious?
HARRIS: And he says what? S. BILBREY: He says yes, I think I can do this, and, you know, at first you don't take him seriously, but then you see the look in his eyes just looking at me with a blank look like yes, I want to do this thing. So I said let's go talk to the coach and see what he says. And that's what we did.
HARRIS: Well, wait a minute. Did you talk to mom?
S. BILBREY: Well, yes, of course, over dinner, yes.
HARRIS: Over dinner?
S. BILBREY: Yes.
HARRIS: So Braxton, you mentioned it to your dad, and how did this conversation go over with mom?
B. BILBREY: Well, I had to convince her to do it, but we somehow did it.
HARRIS: How did you do it? What did you say? Because I'm going to tell you, it wouldn't have flown very far or very high in my house. So what did you say?
B. BILBREY: Well, mom, I want to do this. I want to do this thing, and then she said are you serious? And I said yes. So she asked my dad, and then that's pretty much how it was.
HARRIS: That's how it happened.
So, Steve, what do you have here? What kind of a son do you have here? You've got a risk taker obviously, a goal setter? What kind of a kid do you have sitting next to you?
S. BILBREY: You know, I tell you what, I've got one of the most amazing, most driven sons that I've ever -- I mean, he's just amazing to me. Everything that he has ever done, he's always excelled at. And, you know, he's also come to us and said hey, I want to do this or that. And, you know, we've said -- anything he comes to us with, we say is that too much for you? And he always say, you know, I want to do it. Let's try it. And I said OK. And he is just driven. He's just very driven.
HARRIS: So Braxton, OK, it's a good idea. You train for it, but it's something different when you're actually in the water and you have to do this. What was the toughest part of the swim? Was there a moment when you said uh-oh, good idea in theory, I'm not sure I can make this?
B. BILBREY: Well, I thought the cold part and the swim was the hardest pretty much.
HARRIS: Was there a moment when you thought oh, I'm not sure, maybe I should go swim over to dad here and coach and call it a day?
B. BILBREY: A few, but not a lot. HARRIS: So what was it -- I'm going to ask you a tough question. What was it in those moments when you said OK, I'm really starting to get tired here, it's really cold? What was it in those moments that led you to just sort of shake it off and continue?
B. BILBREY: Well, just other people yelling at me, saying go faster and put your head down.
HARRIS: And how happy were you when you made it?
B. BILBREY: Very happy.
HARRIS: What did you eat? You had to get in a meal in you. What did you eat?
B. BILBREY: I...
HARRIS: Where did you go? Did you go to McDonald's? Did you go to Burger King? Did you go get some fast food in you as soon as you could?
B. BILBREY: Yes, pretty much.
HARRIS: OK. Hey, congratulations Braxton and Steve. Dad, you're part of that team. Congratulations to you as well.
S. BILBREY: Thank you very much.
HARRIS: Thanks you for your time. We really appreciate it.
S. BILBREY: Thank you.
HARRIS: So how do you get a seven-year-old ready to break a world record? Tomorrow Braxton and his coach join Soledad O'Brien and Miles O'Brien on "AMERICAN MORNING," which airs at 6 a.m. Eastern. We'll be right back.
(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
