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Bush Dogged by Iraq Questions on Asia Trip; Cheney to Give Speech on War Effort; Officials Examine Claims of Zarqawi's Death; Man, 20, Shoots Seven at Mall; Five Tips on Handling Family Over the Holidays

Aired November 21, 2005 - 10:00   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CO-HOST, "AMERICAN MORNING": ... on CNN LIVE TODAY. Hey, Daryn.
DARYN KAGAN, HOST: Hi, you guys. Have a great day in New York City. We will get started.

President Bush is on his way back from Asia at this hour, a trip that didn't necessarily go as planned. Back home, frustration boiling over on the war in Iraq. One congressman's call to withdraw troops leading to a late-night showdown on the House floor and a lot of critical comments from both sides of the aisle.

And now today, Vice President Dick Cheney is set to be giving a speech in the war on terror in just about one hour from now. We will have live coverage before and after that speech as the war of words rages on.

Right now, let's take a look at what is happening in the news.

General Motors workers are facing a huge hit. GM today announcing plans to cut 30,000 jobs and close to nine North American facilities. Those closings include assembly plants in Michigan, Oklahoma and Georgia. The layoffs are part of a company effort to bring production in line with demand. We'll have much more on plant closings this hour.

There's new information this morning on a shooting rampage inside a Tacoma, Washington, mall. A former girlfriend of the suspect says he sent a warning to her before the incident. She said she received a text message that said the world would know his anger. One person remains in critical condition from the shooting. We'll have live coverage ahead this hour.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is on his way to forming a new centrist party. Mr. Sharon today resigned from the right-wing Likud Party that he helped found. This follows yesterday's Labor Party vote to withdraw from Sharon's ruling coalition.

Israel's president has agreed to Mr. Sharon's request to dissolve parliament. New elections are likely to take place in March.

Is Iraq's most wanted man dead? Both U.S. and Iraqi officials are discounting the report about Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Arab media reported yesterday that al-Zarqawi may have been killed during an operation in Mosul. The U.S. military is conducting tests to determine if the terrorist's body is one of eight people killed in that raid. More on that just ahead in another live report.

Good morning to you, as we kick off the Thanksgiving week. I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta.

We're going to start this hour with President Bush. He has logged thousands of miles this past week, and the war in Iraq seeming to shadowed him every step of the way. That includes the final stop of his eight-day Asian trip, the administration's far flung partner in the war, Mongolia.

Our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux, has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Finally the warmest of greetings in perhaps the coldest of places along President Bush's eight-day journey to Asia.

Mongolia is an eager partner in the U.S. war in Iraq, but a trip designed to promote U.S. economic and political interests in Asia was largely overshadowed by the controversy over Iraq.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: First of all, I appreciate the fact that the Senate, in a bipartisan fashion, rejected an amendment that would have taken our troops out of Iraq before the mission was complete.

MALVEAUX: On his first stop in Japan, standing shoulder to shoulder for the leader he called one of his best friends, President Bush boldly took on his critics back home, while the vice president ratcheted up the rhetoric in Washington.

DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Some of the most irresponsible comments have, of course, come from politicians who actually voted in favor of authorizing the use of force against Saddam Hussein.

MALVEAUX: Both sides abandoned the traditional courtesy not to engage in domestic warfare while the commander in chief was on foreign soil. Decorated veteran, Democratic Congressman John Murtha, upped the stakes.

REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: It's time to bring them home. They've done everything they can do. The military has done everything it can do.

MALVEAUX: On Mr. Bush's second stop, South Korea, the president was dogged by anti-war protests and a surprise proposal from his host, South Korea's defense ministry, to pull out a third of its troops in Iraq.

The president continued to defend his Iraq policy in a rally before U.S. troops but got a tepid response. At the same time, White House officials and their Republican friends continued to paint Mr. Bush's critics as unpatriotic and out of the mainstream.

REP. JEANNE SCHMIDT (R), OHIO: Cowards cut and run; Marines never do.

MALVEAUX: But by President Bush's third stop, in China, it had become clear the political dueling over Iraq, literally playing out across the world, was taking its toll. Mr. Bush offered an olive branch.

BUSH: Congressman Murtha is a fine man, a good man. I heard somebody say, "Well, maybe so and so is not patriotic because they disagree with my position." I totally reject that thought.

MALVEAUX (on camera): On his final stop here in Mongolia, the president kept his critics out of the script and went back to highlighting his broader theme on the war on terror.

(voice-over) But an unplanned moment the day before seemed to symbolize it all. Pressed with the question he was eager to escape, Mr. Bush looked for an exit strategy, something the Democrats have been calling for for Iraq for some time and will undoubtedly continue to do so when the president returns home.

Suzanne Malveaux, CNN, Mongolia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And we pick up the story from there. The next hour here in Washington Vice President Dick Cheney pushes ahead in the administration counter offensive. Mr. Cheney has helped lead the charge against critics of the war in Iraq and the war on terror. And in this speech, he'll again face a decidedly friendly audience.

Our national correspondent, Bob Franken, is at the White House with a preview of that.

Bob, good morning.

BOB FRANKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. And I know you're a big sports fan.

KAGAN: Yes.

FRANKEN: And you know hockey. The person who goes out there and really tears things up is called the enforcer. Well, in politics oftentimes that person is called the vice president. We've had a tradition of that, and Vice President Cheney has been one who has, on many occasions, lived up or down, depending on your point of view, to that job as the vice president, the one who doesn't stand above the fray.

We heard his comments from last week where he was characterizing the criticism, using words like "dishonest," "reprehensible," "irresponsible," and we're going to see if the new tone demonstrated by President Bush while he was on the road is going to be demonstrated at home. If you're taking bets, the answer is probably not. The vice president, of course, will be speaking about the criticisms that have turned this battle and debate into a true war of words, to use the expression you used just a moment ago, a war that continues to escalate -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Bob Franken at the White House. And Bob, you'll be with us in the next hour as we listen in to the speech. Thank you.

We'll be having live coverage of the vice president's speech next hour at the American Enterprise Institute. That is in Washington, D.C., 8 a.m. Pacific, 11 a.m. Eastern.

The White House is discounting reports that a terror mastermind may have been killed in a weekend raid by U.S. troops in Iraq, but even though the administration says the claims are not credible, the U.S. military is, nonetheless, conducting tests to determine if Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is among the dead from a gunfight in Mosul.

Our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, is at her post with the latest.

Barbara, how do they do those tests?

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Daryn, what a military source is telling us is, in fact, they are conducting DNA tests and a fingerprint test on one of the corpses from this raid Saturday in Mosul in which seven or eight insurgents were killed.

It's pretty tantalizing stuff. Here's where things stand. A number of spokesmen for the White House, for the U.S. military and for the Iraqis have all said it is not credible. They do not believe Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was amongst the insurgents killed in that raid on that house in Mosul early on Saturday, but nonetheless, that test is being conducted.

What apparently happened is that forces, U.S. and Iraqi forces, had a tip to go to this house, that they believed insurgents tied to al Qaeda in Iraq, loyal to Zarqawi, perhaps, were operating there. They went there. They took fire. Unfortunately, tragically, two U.S. troops were killed in that shootout, and then the house exploded during this exchange of fire.

That led perhaps to some rumors that a high-value target like Zarqawi perhaps was inside, detonating explosives to kill himself, rather than be taken alive. So the rumors sort of got started, and they decided to conduct this test.

But at this point, a number of sources, any number of sources tell us they simply don't think it's credible that Zarqawi was there. They didn't go to the house based on any information that he was there, simply that there was insurgent activity at this house in Mosul.

So, until we get the final results of those tests, which could, of course, be some days or weeks off, being DNA samples, we won't know for sure, but we are being cautioned that nobody thinks it's true just yet, Daryn.

KAGAN: But meanwhile, the process alone is fascinating, Barbara. What are they comparing it to? They don't have DNA from Zarqawi, do they?

STARR: Well, they're not exactly telling us what type of DNA they have, but they are saying that they are conducting a DNA test and a fingerprint test on one of the corpses.

Now that could make you conclude that they might have DNA of Zarqawi, perhaps through his family back in Jordan, or something that could lead them to a match, but this all exists deep within the U.S. intelligence community. It's not something they're very willing to share in detail with the news media, Daryn.

KAGAN: Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you.

Speaking of the intelligence community, CIA chief Porter Goss has weighed in on the debate over the Senate proposal to outlaw torture of U.S. prisoners.

In his first interview since the McCain Bill pitted the Bush administration against several top Republicans, Goss tells "USA Today," quote, "This agency does not torture. Torture doesn't work. We use lawful capabilities to collect vital information, and we do it in a variety of unique and innovative ways, all of which are legal and none of which are torture."

Goss says the CIA is neutral on the legislation.

Vice President Cheney wants the agency exempted from any such restrictions on the treatment of foreign terror suspects. That bill calling for the ban is sponsored by John McCain, the Republican senator from Arizona who was tortured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

We are at 10 minutes past the hour.

One man likened it to Columbine. A shooting rampage inside a Washington state shopping mall. Text messages are shedding new light on the suspect's possible motive. We're live from Tacoma just ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.

Also, you know about the mold that formed in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina, but you haven't seen a clean up like this. An amazing process that's helping one restaurant owner save the very items that make his eatery unique.

And later, you techies, the long-awaited Xbox 360 is here. How does it stand up to the competition and what's going to make Mom and Dad spend all of that money for the holidays? Is it worth it? We'll take a look just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: And now to the West Coast. Shoppers and merchants ran for their lives or ducked for cover as bullets flew in a Tacoma, Washington, mall. In just a moment we're going to tell you new information about the shooting and hostage-taking suspect, but first some witnesses describe the terror they felt yesterday.

Our report comes from Derek Wing from our affiliate, KCPQ.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEREK WING, CORRESPONDENT, KCPQ: A single gunman on a rampage.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dropped off his jacket, pulled out a big gun with a backup and just started shooting at our kiosk.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And it was just like, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was boom, boom, boom. And it would not stop.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was horrible. The worst thing I've ever seen in my life.

WING: Shortly after noon the gunman walked into this mall and opened fire at a kiosk near JCPenney, sending seven people to the hospitals.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw somebody fall over and hit the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shot in the stomach, abdomen, exit wound and then shot in the elbow.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You don't really know what to do, just get out. That's exactly all we could do.

WING: Hundreds did, but three were taken hostage as the gunman barricaded himself inside Sam Goody record store, where this woman's daughter is a manager.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Said that they were being held hostage, the store was hostage. She was very upset and crying.

WING: After three hours, with snipers on the roof and police dogs outside, police went inside, guns drawn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody's safe. We've got it contained.

WING: They did, without any more bloodshed and without a fight from the gunman.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was so scared for you.

WING: Leaving most thankful...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At least we're safe.

WING: ... about a situation that could have been even more tragic. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So now we know what Columbine feels like. We know what all that feels like now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Our Kareen Wynter is standing by in Tacoma, Washington. We had that report from Derek Wing. Kareen is standing by to tell us more.

What have we learned since yesterday about the suspect?

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've learned, according to a local newspaper here, Daryn, "The Seattle Times," that Dominick Maldonado worked at a Subway station here in town just up until four months ago and that co-workers described him as somewhat unstable, that he was quiet, that he loved guns.

But we're also hearing other reports, Daryn, from people who knew the suspect even closer, saying that he was responsible. He held down several jobs. He had a car and that this is the last thing that they would have expected to see.

Now as you can imagine, this morning still, Daryn, even hours after this shooting, people here in the community are still reeling. Many are wondering what would prompt someone to just walk into a mall and start firing away in the middle of a Sunday afternoon? Now that's exactly what Maldonado is accused of here.

We also heard from his ex-girlfriend, who described contact that she made with him. She actually received a text message from him just minutes before the attack, the text message reading, in part, that "Today is the die that the world will know my anger. Today the world will feel my pain. Today is the day I will be heard."

Now Tiffany Robison also went on to describe the fact that she said her boyfriend, her ex-boyfriend, communicated in that e-mail that he was sorry for being rude to her in the past and that he just couldn't take it anymore.

Here's more on her reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIFFANY ROBISON, FORMER GIRLFRIEND OF DOMINICK MALDONADO: He sent me one text message saying that the world is going to feel his anger, feel his pain, that today is the day that he's going to be heard. And I texted back, "What are you doing? What are you doing?" And he didn't respond.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WYNTER: Now Maldonado is behind bars this morning. He's actually on $450,000 bail. He's being charged with kidnapping and assault.

Daryn, we're also hearing that he could make a court appearance sometime later this afternoon.

KAGAN: Kareen, any word on why he picked this mall and the people he shot? Was it just random?

WYNTER: As far as what we're hearing right now, it was just a random shooting. Of course, police spent the night investigating witnesses on the scene, those who also had contact with the suspect before the shooting, but that's really the big question. Why this mall?

I can tell you that, over the past several years, Daryn, since the 1990s, that malls all across the Seattle, Tacoma, area have actually been the scene of several violent shootings. In fact, just a few years ago in 2003, the Tacoma police chief was actually accused of shooting his wife and then turning the gun on himself before their children in a shopping center in a parking and lot. For that very reason, many of the malls across the area have police substations.

KAGAN: I remember that story. Kareen Wynter, live from Tacoma, Washington. Thank you.

On to other news today. A ranking, an annual ranking of the nation's most dangerous cities. It puts Camden, New Jersey, at the top for the second year in a row. But Camden officials say serious crime is down from last year when the survey's statistics were taken.

Detroit and St. Louis follow Camden on the most dangerous cities lists, compiled by Morgan Quitno Press.

And the same survey has come out with a list of the safest U.S. cities. The top three: Newton, Massachusetts; Amherst, New York; and Clarkstown, New York, as well.

Big news out of Detroit this morning. General Motors closing plants and firing tens of thousands. Where the jobs are going away. That's ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.

First, though, the holidays come with house guests. Yes, they do. That does not always bring us good joy in the season. But you know what? Gerri Willis is here to try to buffer some of that family tension.

Hi, Ger.

GERRI WILLIS, HOST, "OPEN HOUSE": Hey, Daryn. Good to see you. Stop worrying about those guests. We've got your holiday survival guide. "Five Tips" is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's check out the markets. They've been open about 52 minutes. A little slow, like they've already eaten the Thanksgiving turkey. The Dow is up just three points. The NASDAQ is down just a little bit; it is down four points.

OK. Question for you. Are you having family or friends stay over this holiday season? We have some ideas to make them more comfortable and keep you from going crazy.

Our personal finance editor, Gerri Willis, has today's "Top Five Tips." Gerri, are you going to be an invader, or are you being invaded?

WILLIS: Neither, actually. We're spending our new Thanksgiving in our new house, my husband and I, by ourselves. So...

KAGAN: That sounds blissful.

WILLIS: It could be blissful.

KAGAN: But for the rest of us.

WILLIS: But for the rest of you, if you're getting invaded by a lot of guests, there are lots of things to think about.

If they're staying over, for example, they need a place to sleep, and you may not have enough bedrooms. Think about getting the air mattress. You can pay anywhere from $30 to $200 for one of these things, but they're a lot better than they used to be, Daryn. You can get pillow topping and be really extravagant if you like. Make sure, though, that the kind you buy actually has the pump included so you don't have to worry about blowing it up yourself.

A couple of places on the Web to go to find these things at a decent price: CoolInflatables.com, Overstock.com. You definitely want to shop around and get the best price.

KAGAN: All right. But those house guests are not just showing up looking for a bed. They're showing up with luggage. They want to put their stuff some place. What do you do?

WILLIS: Yes. Go figure. Yes. The real problem is you probably don't have enough storage for your own stuff, much less guests, right? So what do you do? Well, you might want to look for a couple of cheap alternatives to maybe building a closet or something.

Get a luggage rack like you see, obviously, in hotels all over the country, a valet stand to hang clothing. This will be a great alternative to, you know, worrying about the closets. And you can get these at some web sites like DiscountLuggage.com and StacksAndStacks.com. It's a cheap alternative, solves your problem and makes your guests feel welcome.

KAGAN: Well, those guests, you know, they're coming for Thanksgiving dinner, but that lasts just part of Thursday. What are you expected to do with them for the other four or five days they're at your house?

WILLIS: Exactly. And you don't want them under foot while you're cooking, right?

KAGAN: No. Go away.

WILLIS: You want them to go somewhere else and do something else. You want to give them some ideas for things to do in your neighborhood, in your city, in your town. You might want to send them on a couple of web sites like CitySearch.com, which can show you some great things to do in your area.

And you might want to give them that extra key so they feel like they can get in and out on their own, and they don't have to keep bugging you. You want to make them definitely feel at home.

KAGAN: And part of home is all of our homes have little quirks. You might want to explain some of those ahead of time.

WILLIS: Yes. Have you been anywhere where in the middle of the night you hear some banging or something? And the owners know that it's, you know, it's just the furnace, not to worry. But it wakes you up and it frightens you.

Or maybe there's a dog that's particularly aggressive. You need to warn those guests ahead of time. Let them know what they're up against.

And when they do come you might also want to give them a couple of emergency contact numbers, as well. It's all about making these people feel welcome and relaxed like all the details have been thought out ahead of time.

KAGAN: Which might mean offering up some freebies, as well.

WILLIS: You know, when you travel, you always get these little cases of free shampoo and conditioner and lotion and all of that. It's sort of fun to put those in the guest bathroom so they can use them themselves, and they're not using something that's already been opened. It gives them just that little extra feeling of comfort when they come to visit you. So you make it fun instead of a burden.

KAGAN: For someone who's having no guests, you really have this down.

WILLIS: Thank you very much, Daryn.

KAGAN: Maybe next year.

WILLIS: Maybe next year.

KAGAN: Thank you.

WILLIS: Thank you.

KAGAN: Gerri Willis.

All right. We're talking finances ahead. Struggling to stay a float, General Motors announces today it is closing plants from coast to coast. That means pink slips for tens of thousands of hourly workers. We'll break it down for you just ahead.

And saving a piece of history. A procedure that's helping kill and remove dangerous mold in New Orleans. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We're coming up on the half hour. I'm Daryn Kagan.

Let's take a look at what we're watching live out of Washington, D.C. This is the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. Vice President Dick Cheney in the next half hour expected to give a speech on the war in Iraq and the war on terror. You will see that speech live here on CNN.

Right now let's take a look at what else is happening now in the news.

Earlier today in Iraq U.S. forces opened fire on a vehicle driving near a military base between Baqubah and Callas (ph). As many as four Iraqis were killed and five others wounded. A police official says two children are among the dead. A U.S. military spokesman says the shooting is under investigation.

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