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CNN Live Today

The Hunt for Osama bin Laden; Congress Forges Deal to Reauthorize Patriot Act

Aired December 08, 2005 - 10:30   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We're getting new information into us here at CNN about the hunt for Osama bin Laden. With more on that, let's go to Barbara Starr at the Pentagon.
Barbara, hello.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Daryn. It's been a busy morning here at the Pentagon. We've just concluded a press conference with Lieutenant General Karl Eikenberry. He was here visiting today. He is the senior military commander in Afghanistan in command of 18,000 troops.

And he was asked today what about bin Laden? What about the rumors that bin Laden might have died in the earthquake in Pakistan? General Eikenberry very clear, saying he has no reason to believe bin Laden is dead.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GEN. KARL EIKENBERRY, COMBINED FORCES COMMAND AFGHANISTAN: It's important for the American people and it's important for the international community and it's important for Afghanistan in terms of bringing that man to justice. And our forces will not rest until he is either found and captured or killed.

QUESTION: Now, can I just ask you then, your working assumption, I take it, remains that he is alive today. Do you still believe -- does the U.S. military still believe he is somewhere inside Pakistan along the border?

EIKENBERRY: Our working assumption is, Barbara, that he is live today. I will not speculate on his location.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: So pretty definitive word, Daryn, from one of the top military commanders in the United States that Osama bin Laden did survive the earthquake in Pakistan. That is the working assumption of the United States military at this point.

General Eikenberry not willing to say where he thinks bin Laden may be, but the U.S. intelligence community has long believed that bin Laden is hiding somewhere inside Pakistan -- Daryn?

KAGAN: And Barbara, I understand Senator Joe Lieberman making news at the Pentagon today. STARR: Indeed. Another element of a busy morning here, Daryn. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld invited Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, a Democrat, to the Pentagon for breakfast this morning. It was a very exclusive breakfast, just the secretary, Senator Lieberman, and General Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

This invitation, we are told, was extended to the senator just a few days ago. Coincidentally, perhaps, after Senator Lieberman, pardon me, made many statements in support of President Bush's Iraq policy. We are told that Defense Secretary Rumsfeld wanted to hear directly from Senator Lieberman, including his thoughts about his own recent trip to Iraq.

But it could not have come on a more interesting day because there is a newspaper story out there that Senator Lieberman may replace Defense Secretary Rumsfeld at the helm of the Pentagon. Secretary Rumsfeld's staff moving very quickly to quash that, the secretary stating that he has no plans to retire and the invitation to Senator Lieberman was simply coincidental timing to that newspaper article, Daryn.

KAGAN: All right. Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. Things hopping there today. Thank you.

And this just in to us here at CNN. We're getting word from Ed Henry on Capitol Hill that congressional leaders have reached a deal about an extension of the Patriot Act. I think it's 16 different measures of the Patriot Act due to expire very soon. With more on that, let's bring our Ed Henry in on the phone -- Ed?

ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. That's right. CNN has learned that the Congress has now forged a deal, House and Senate leaders, to reauthorize the USA Patriot Act. Of course, the law approved after the 9/11 attacks.

As you mentioned, 16 provisions set to expire on December 31st of this year. The deal has been stalled for months as House and Senate negotiators have been bickering over several key provisions and whether or not they violate civil liberties, FBI access to libraries and business records, so-called roving wiretaps, as well as the lone wolf provision, which deals with a suspect who acts alone in a terror act, someone like Timothy McVeigh.

CNN has learned the deal is that basically, the Senate negotiators led by Senate Judiciary Chairman Arlen Specter have gotten House leaders to give in a bit. And these key provisions I mentioned will now be reauthorized, but they will expire in four years as the Senate wishes instead of ten years as House leaders were pushing for. That's where the key stumbling block was.

The Senate leaders were trying to make sure that these provisions were not on the books for another ten years in case they want to come back in four years and pull them back if they feel that they are violating civil liberties. So a deal. It's been stalled for months, but CNN has learned there finally is a deal reauthorizing the USA Patriot Act. We're also getting confirmation on that from the speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert -- Daryn?

KAGAN: And so the sticking point there and what allowed for an agreement now was on the number of years that this extension would last on the 16 provisions?

HENRY: That's right. And the key ones are the ones I mentioned, such as the FBI having access to library records, the roving wiretaps. Senate leaders were very concerned that if you kept these on the books for another ten years, they wouldn't have had an opportunity to come back and pull them back, review them, if they were going to far.

As you know, civil libertarians have been saying that these are, especially the library records, that it involves snooping, and that peoples civil liberties are being violated. The Senate leaders are now saying that they feel it's been strengthened because, in fact, they will be able to go back and pull it back in four years when these provisions expire, if in fact they feel they're going to far.

The acting House majority leader Roy Blunt telling me that he believes this is a big victory for Republican leaders because this now gives them an opportunity to protect the American people. They were very concerned about these provisions expiring at the end of year. And they're getting this deal done before Congress goes home for the holidays, Daryn.

KAGAN: Ed Henry on Capitol Hill. Ed, thank you.

Within the last week, lawmakers have heard about Hurricane Katrina response from state and local officials as well as individuals. Right now on Capitol Hill, FEMA management is getting a chance to tell its side of the story.

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is questioning FEMA operations heads from Louisiana and Mississippi. The hearing comes amid a new report of response teams being unprepared more than a year before Katrina hit.

Documents show that then-FEMA chief Michael Brown was told in June 2004 that response teams were not ready for a major disaster and were operating under outdated plans. The memo said that managers were getting zero funding for training, exercise, or equipment.

Weather is the word today. That's what you need to be ready for. Bitterly cold temperatures along with snow, sleet, and rain covering much of the country today. I think we're looking at a live picture of St. Louis. Yes. I get points for figuring out the snow. Thanks to KSDK, our affiliate, for providing those pictures. Bonnie Schneider has a full forecast ahead.

First, though, the most joyous time of the year can also be the most stressful, can't it, Ger?

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right, you know. Daryn, did you know that a tree, a Christmas tree, can go up in flames in just nine seconds? We're going to have some holiday safety tips when CNN LIVE TODAY continues. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Once again, getting word in to CNN about a compromise on Capitol Hill between Senate and House leaders on an extension of the Patriot Act. Sixteen provisions of the act were due to expire at the end of the month, but they've come to an agreement about how long some of those provisions will be extended for. We'll have more on this with Ed Henry at the top of the hour.

We're going to get to holiday safety in just a moment. First, I want to welcome in Gerri Willis. And Gerri, good morning. Let's talk about some of the other news of the morning, including this report predicting a huge housing decline, which in the end, this report says, could cost a lot of jobs.

WILLIS: That's right. This is a report from the University of California. Ed Leamer there says that if the housing market were to sustain a long decline, what could happen is the broad economy could lose as many as 800,000 jobs. Now, most of those, half a million in the construction industry, 300,000 in the financial industry.

And, Daryn, I should tell you, one of the most ominous things he says, he says eight of ten of the last recessions were created by a slowdown in the housing market. He says that he expects housing to impact the broader economy this quarter or next.

KAGAN: We'll be watching that. Let's talk about what's here right now, and that is the holidays. You want it to be safe holidays for your family. It starts with picking the right tree for your home.

WILLIS: You've got to do the freshness test, Daryn. It's all about doing the freshness test with your tree. Run your hand along the bough of your Christmas tree. And if the needles fall off, you probably don't want to buy it. You want one that's fresh, it's green. You want to make sure there's resin coming out of the bottom of that tree.

And makes sure that you get the fellow or the woman to cut that trunk again so that it's as fresh as it could be and it can take up water. Even if you're being an artificial tree, check the label and make sure that it says fire resistant.

KAGAN: Good tip. What about Christmas lights?

WILLIS: Well, you want to make sure that any lights you use -- and often people are using several strings of lights together -- make sure they're not frayed or broken in any way. If they are, just simply toss them, because they're pretty inexpensive. And don't string together more than three strings of lights because that's very, very dangerous.

KAGAN: Something we're doing later at my house. Decorating. You want to decorate smart.

WILLIS: Oh, yes, definitely. Decorating's always fun, but you want to do a good job of it, particularly if you have small children or pets in the house. Make sure that the decorations you put on the tree aren't so small that a small child could swallow them.

And if you do have little kids around the house, make sure they don't break when they fall, because you know how it is, Daryn. You have kids or pets running around. They always want to knock the ornaments off the tree.

KAGAN: It's a big target. Picking a good location in your house for the tree?

WILLIS: Yes, definitely don't put it next to a heat source, whether that's the fireplace or maybe a space heater you're using this time of year because it's so cold. Make sure you put it in a place away from foot traffic, too, because it's easy enough to turn one of these over.

Look at this, Daryn. This video amazing. Just nine seconds it takes a tree to go up. It's not long at all, and particularly if you have a dried out tree, it will go up even faster.

KAGAN: And finally, the toys that go underneath the tree, think about age appropriate and safe toys for the kids that you're giving to.

WILLIS: The smaller the child, the more you have to be worried about swallowing hazards. Tiny, small little gifts can be swallowed by children. That's a danger, you want to watch out for that.

And some toys are recalled. There are big problems with them. If you want to know whether you're in danger of having a recalled toy, there are a couple of Web sites to go to, recall.gov and CPSC.gov. So watch what's on the tree, in the tree, under the tree. Stay safe this season.

KAGAN: We will work on that. Gerri Willis, thank you.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

KAGAN: Just ahead -- a little bit earlier, we were talking with Gerri about potential bad job news. Apparently, there's some more difficult news ahead. We'll get that from business just ahead after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Difficult traffic times in Dallas, Texas, today. Not one, but a pair of accidents involving tractor trailers. I-20 was closed in both directions in south Dallas for a while this morning because of one accident. The other began with an 18-wheeler jack knifed in the westbound lanes of interstate 45, closing those lanes there. No reports of any injuries from either of these accidents.

Are things hot on Wall Street, or a little difficult today? Kathleen Hayes is at the New York Stock Exchange with business news. Kathleen, hello.

(STOCK MARKET UPDATE) KAGAN: Another financial matter, if you plan to send your children to college, the time to start saving is right now. Tips now from "Money" magazine.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALTER UPDEGRAVE, SENIOR EDITOR, "MONEY": The key thing to think about when you're saving for your child's education is to get an early start. That's the single most important thing you can do. If you can start putting money away when the child is very young, it gives that money a chance to compound and grow, and you wind up with more money when the child is ready to go to college.

Today, there are a lot of different ways to invest for a child's education. You may want to look at one of the popular 529 plans, where you essentially can put anywhere up to about $11,000 a year. Another option is what's known as the Coverdell education savings account. You can only put in $2,000 a year, and in both cases, the money is growing tax-free while it's within the account. And when you pull it out, you don't pay any tax on it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: You can find out more about 529 plans and other ways to save for college. Just log on to CNNmoney.com. And next week on "The Long View," Social Security. Should you collect at age 62 or wait for a bigger check when you turn 70?

Up next, super nanny Jo Frost joins us with ways to keep you and your kids smiling through the holidays.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Count on Nanny Jo to say it like it is. Jo Frost, star of ABC's "Supernanny." She rescues out of control families by providing much-needed structure. I spoke to Jo about a big parenting issue at this time of year. How do you help your family survive the holidays? Here's what Super Nanny had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JO FROST, SUPERNANNY: Think it's very important to make sure you keep the cornerstones of a routine in place so that your child does get the recommended amount of sleep. At the same time, you want to be able to tweak it.

We want to know that if we've got grandparents coming around in the evening, we can still make sure that our children sleep later on in the afternoon so they can stay up a little bit later in the evening so that we haven't got grumpy children on our hands or tired and hungry ones.

And at the same time, if we need to get Christmas shopping done, why don't we do carpool for parents? You know, set up a system where the children can be looked after by other parents while they go and get their shopping, and then return the favor. I mean, we want to be able to help each other so that everybody in their own household enjoys the season.

And I see so many parents that are feeling stressed out already. How am I going manage the kids? How am I going put the tree up? How am I going to make sure I've got the correct amount of food in the house ready to cook turkey dinner.

So let's be organized, let's prepare, let's leave enough time, and let's get our kids involved. If we're going to be in the shopping malls and we need to get those presents underneath our belt, let's make it fun for the kids.

Let's make sure that we go out after they've had their nap, or that we go out and incorporate lunch with them. And let's go and see Santa afterwards. Let's go and see the lights in the windows of the shops and make it a fun time for all so we can get our things done.

KAGAN: Know you're really big on the show about the naughty chair, which is basically time out in American terms. Does the naughty chair go on holiday, or should that be a key tool during this busy time as well?

FROST: Well, I think it's important to recognize what can we do to make sure we don't have to result in using the naughty chair, in making sure that we have got things prepared, in making sure that we do stick to a routine means that we're not going have our children becoming tired so it results in temper tantrums where we have to, as a last resort, use the naughty chair.

And, you know, we want it to be fun for everybody. It's a family time. And that's what we want to focus on here is the whole family spending time together, enjoying being with one another and extended family coming over and keeping it magic.

Let's not get wrapped up in the whole consumer thing of making sure that we feel pressured and have to exceed these expectations beyond. It's about recognizing what can we do and how can we do it successfully so that we enjoy ourselves over this period of time as a family.

KAGAN: Very good. As we wrap it up, what is Supernanny Jo Frost hoping for this Christmas?

FROST: Oh, my god. I'm getting what I want for Christmas, and that's my family. I've been working away from the U.K., so I really cannot wait to see them.

KAGAN: Well, you have safe travels home and have a wonderful season, and thanks for all you're doing to help train American parents and the kids around as well.

FROST: Thank you very much.

KAGAN: Nanny Jo Frost. Thank you very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Got to keep Supernanny happy.

While we're on the subject of the holidays, there is a new colored bracelet, this one designed to save the phrase "Merry Christmas." We'll meet the woman behind the red and green. The second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY begins right now.

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