Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Patriot Act Vote; Wrong Targets On Pentagon List; Partial Strike For New York Transit System; Iraqi Votes Being Counted; Regifting Tips

Aired December 16, 2005 - 10:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, it is not festive. We are talking gridlock this morning in Washington and New York City. A filibuster threatening to stall The Patriot Act on Capitol Hill and New Yorker transit workers call for a strike. Much more on those stories ahead.
But first, here's a look at what's happening "Now in the News."

The day after Iraq's historic vote, President Bush meets today with the Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations. On the agenda, how to follow up on the election that was high on the voter turnout and relatively low on violence. Mr. Bush's and Iraq's U.N. envoy are set to meet in three hours.

In Pennsylvania, prosecutors added a charge of rape to accused killer David Ludwig. He is the 18-year-old charged with the November 13th murder of his girlfriend's parents. Kidnaping charges on Ludwig were dropped when prosecutors discovered his 14-year-old girlfriend left freely with him after the slaying. Both Ludwig and Borden were captured later in Indiana.

Winter weather proved deadly in metro Washington this morning. Patches of black ice led to this FedEx truck flipping off of I-495 in Tyson's Corner, Virginia. The driver died in this crash. The accident further slowed the morning traffic commute around Washington, D.C.

And the weather's not much better in other parts of the U.S. Some snowy images out of Boston, Massachusetts, this morning. The northeast and Great Lake areas have rain and snow in their respective forecasts. Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider's weekend weather outlook is just ahead.

And good morning. It is Friday morning. I'm Daryn Kagan at CNN Center in Atlanta.

We are going to begin with stories this hour about your civil liberties versus protecting the nation. First up, The Patriot Act. A showdown vote is scheduled in the Senate in the next hour concerning the renewal of key provisions. Timing is critical with the provisions set to expire at end of the month and Congress is ready to recess. CNN's Andrea Koppel is on Capitol Hill this morning.

Andrea, good morning.

ANDREA KOPPEL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

On one side of this Senate showdown are the Republican leadership which are threatening to hold that vote you were just referring to, to cut off debate. But in order to do that, they're going need 60 votes. Now as of yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee said he was confident that they would have those votes.

But on the other side of this debate, you've got Democrats like Russ Feingold of Wisconsin who is leading an ever-growing number of bipartisan senators who are saying that in order for -- that they want major changes and they're threatening a filibuster unless those changes happen. These are restrictions, in particular, like on the FBI that would be able to demand things like business records, to issue national security letters for information and to search people's homes all without notifying the target until 30 days later.

Now in recent days, Democrats and some Republicans have indicated that they might be able to accept a three-month extension of the current legislation, but that's something that Republicans are saying they wouldn't want to do. In fact, if this doesn't pass, it would be a major blow for President Bush who yesterday made an 11th-hour appeal saying that The Patriot Act is an essential part of the United States of American citizens' security and it's been such since 9/11.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That is a bad decision for the security of the United States. I call upon the Senate to end the filibuster and to pass this important legislation so that we have the tools necessary to defend the United States of America in a time of war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOPPEL: But despite the president's appeal, Daryn, it is still unclear whether the Republicans will have the votes necessary, the 60 votes necessary. Just earlier this week, you had four Republicans, including Larry Craig of Idaho, you had John Sununu of New Hampshire, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and you also had Chuck Hagel of Nebraska who broke ranks and joined five Democrats in issuing a dear colleague's letter reaching out to others in the Senate saying, don't sign this bill. Don't vote for it.

Now all of this takes place against the backdrop of today's "New York Times" article which said that back in 2002, President Bush signed a secret order in which he authorized the National Security Agency to basically eavesdrop, not just on foreign citizens, phone calls and to look in on their e-mails, but on American citizens. That's something, Daryn, that you would usually need to get a special court order in order to do that. It is bound to heat things up on the Senate floor.

Daryn.

KAGAN: And you'll be watching it for us. Andrea Koppel on Capitol Hill. Andrea, thank you. And now to concerns about Pentagon intelligence gathering. Did a database on potential terrorist threats also include information on law-abiding U.S. citizens? The Pentagon has launched an investigation on that and CNN's Barbara Starr has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): The Pentagon has discovered problems in the classified database on domestic intelligence threats. Officials confirm the entire database is under review, that they have learned it inadvertently, but improperly, included information on people or groups in the U.S. that are not a threat to the U.S. military.

For more than two years, the military has maintained a little notice database that at times can include information about anti-war groups or others opposed to U.S. military policy. Is it illegal domestic spying? The Pentagon says, absolutely not. In a statement, a spokesman says, "the Department of Defense uses counterintelligence and law enforcement information properly collected by law enforcement agencies. The use of this information is subject to strict limitations."

The information must show a threat to either national security, protection of U.S. military personnel or protection of military bases. Apparently, some of the reports in the database prove to show no threat. They should have been deleted, but they were not, military officials say.

Reports of suspicious activity can come, for example, from people who believe anti-war protests are threatening or from local law enforcement. But it's only valid for the Pentagon to keep the information if it can be proven to be a threat to the military.

The Pentagon is now informing the House and Senate Intelligence Committees about the problem and the steps it's taking to make sure that the military is not improperly collecting intelligence on U.S. citizens.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And as Andrea mentioned, "The New York Times" reporting a U.S. intelligence agency has been monitoring international phone calls and global e-mail messages of people in the U.S. "The Times" reports that the communications of thousand of people may have been followed all without warrants. The National Security Agency reportedly began the snooping in 2002 after President Bush signed an order. "The Times" says the agency has been seeking links to al Qaeda. Eavesdropping inside the U.S. would mark a major transition for the NSA, which was established to spy on communications overseas.

President Bush is now backing Senator John McCain's torture bill. The president announced his support after meeting McCain at the White House yesterday. McCain's propose bans all U.S. personnel from engaging in "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees." White House officials previously had threatened a veto unless the provision contained an exemption from the CIA. House Armed Services Chairman Duncan Hunter had also expressed strong reservations, but reports now say Hunter received assurances from Intelligence Director John Negroponte and will move forward with the bill.

Be sure to stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.

Well, eight minutes past the hour. Let's check in on New York City. Subways and buses are still running for now, but the Transport Workers Union is set to begin a partial strike. CNN's Allan Chernoff is here to explain that. He is outside New York's Penn Station. Clearly no trouble getting to work this morning.

Good morning.

ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn.

And never a boring moment here in New York City. Today, no exception at all. The union, the Transit Workers Union, has not struck the buses and the subways here in New York City as they had threatened, even though they have rejected a contract offer from the Metropolitan Transit Authority. But, as you said, the union is saying it will strike two private bus companies that operate in the borough of Queens. These companies serve 55,000 passengers a day.

Now there has been some confusion over when exactly that strike would begin. Union officials this morning were saying that the strike would start right after the morning rush hour, but the shop stewards at these bus companies have been telling their drivers no strike today, it will begin Sunday night. And now, just a little while ago, union officials saying that a strike will begin within a few days.

What's happening here is that the union is still holding a threat of a strike over the city, not only against these private bus lines, but also against the entire system. And the union leader is still talking tough.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER TOUSSAINT, PRESIDENT, TRANSIT WORKERS UNION: We are prepared to continue negotiations with the MTA. But the MTA cannot continue to negotiate through threats. They cannot continue to demand a contract that guarantees the next generation of transit workers will be worse off than this generation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHERNOFF: We're still waiting to hear whether, in fact, those negotiations are going to resume later today. They went all the way until about 4:00 this morning.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, and, Allan, I was talking to my sister who lives and works in New York City yesterday, and she was saying strike or no strike, it already has an impact because there's already the chaos and concern and people may be coming to work today or maybe not. So it already has slowed things down in New York City.

CHERNOFF: It has had some impact in terms of people having a tremendous amount of uncertainty. A lot of folks came in this morning not knowing whether, in fact, they would have a ride home on the subway or the buses. So certainly some uncertainty for the citizens of New York City.

KAGAN: Allan Chernoff in New York. Thank you.

We will be looking at world news ahead. Iraqi voters have made their choices and now the ballot counting is underway. We'll take you live to Baghdad for a look at where things go from her.

Back here in the U.S., holiday travel getting underway, but will you be slip sliding all the way home? We'll have the forecast.

And later on, learning what to do with a 40-pound fruitcake and the knitted scarf from Aunt Sally. Gerri Willis has the answer. It's called regifting and apparently there are some times when it is appropriate. She'll be along with her "Top Five Tips."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: They are counting the votes. It's been going on today following Iraq's landmark election yesterday. Officials say it could take two weeks or more to get the final results. Meanwhile, the question being asked in Iraq, and here in the U.S. is, will the election have any effect on the insurgency? CNN's Aneesh Raman is in Baghdad with more on the election.

Aneesh, hello.

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning.

General George Casey, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq, has said that after the election we could see a gradual reduction in insurgent attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces. Now the key word there gradual. No one on the ground sees yesterday's election as a cure-all for all of Iraq's problems. Security, of course, the biggest of them.

But everyone, or most at least, agree this is a chance laced with incredible potential, given that millions of Iraqis yesterday went to the polls in the Shia south, in the Kurdish north, but especially in the Sunni areas. This government does have the possibility of really taking control of this country, finding a consensus among those three groups and trying to bring stability to the streets of Baghdad and the streets of the country.

Now in terms of the time line, Daryn, Iraq's electoral commission says it could take, as you mentioned, up to two weeks for these votes to be certified and then we'll expect a period of intense political bargaining between the various lists. No one of them is set to get the two-thirds of the national assembly that is required to be the coalition that leads this government. And compromise has not been something essentially that the Iraqi politicians have been good at.

But time will be ticking. Iraqis want immediate action on security and basic services. So it will be interesting and essentially will be the first test of this government to see how soon it forms.

Daryn.

KAGAN: And then there's this that we're learning here at CNN, Aneesh, that apparently Iraqi security forces within the last year had Iraq's number one terror suspect, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi in custody. Now clearly that didn't work out like security forces would hope.

RAMAN: Yes, it's a startling revelation that CNN got yesterday from Iraq's deputy interior minister. He told us that Iraqi security forces at some point last year had Zarqawi in custody. They released him because they did not know his identity at the time.

Now the obvious follow-ups we asked, when exactly did this take place and how did this happen? There were no answers for (INAUDIBLE). That's all we know.

We do know from U.S. military officials that in April they had intelligence that high-level terrorists were at a hospital in Ramadi, the city west of the Iraqi capital. Iraqi army officials had told us, they thought Zarqawi was there. By the time they got there, that he had left. But this seems to be the most definitive account of Zarqawi in custody and being released.

Daryn.

KAGAN: Aneesh Raman, live in Baghdad, thank you.

And a reminder for our viewers, Anderson Cooper has been anchoring his show all week from Iraq. And you can watch him again tonight. "Anderson Cooper 360" airs at 10:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN.

ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.

KAGAN: The Friday weather forecast isn't looking too good for parts of the Great Lakes and Northeast where snow could once again be in the picture. With that in mind, let's check in on a suburban shot of -- I guess that's suburban Boston, specifically Newton, Massachusetts, and parts of New England could see another four to eight inches of winter precipitation. Bonnie Schneider is here with more on that.

Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

KAGAN: Before you make those holiday plans, save time and travel headaches by checking in at cnn.com for the latest information on your weather forecast.

Long lines, high prices, they are making it more tempting to regift this year. Gerri Willis has some tips on that very delicate process.

Gerri, hello.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Daryn, good to hear you.

Do you regift? Should you regift? Who do you regift to? "Five Tips" has the answers up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Let's go ahead and check out the markets. They've been open less than an hour. The Dow is up 44 points. The Nasdaq is down a few points. It is down three points.

Well, whether you admit it or not, you probably have regifted at some time. And with the holidays, you have more opportunities. But what items are OK to regift and when should you never, ever even think about it? Our Personal Fineness Editor Gerri Willis joins us now with today's "Top Five Tips."

Gerri, hello.

WILLIS: Hey, Daryn, good to see you.

We went to New Yorkers to find out who regifts and why they regift. Listen up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no, I would never do it. I think that's real sour grapes to kind of regift something that you didn't like and give it to someone else. I would never, ever do it. I have not done it yet to this day.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've always thought it's pretty tacky. It's not something I do.

WILLIS, (voice over): Others use the practical approach.

Well, what about that holiday spirit and going out and finding that perfect gift for somebody, you know? Is that important?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're college students. We're poor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got some good junk I want to get rid of this Christmas.

WILLIS: Just wait till you hear this one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The worst regifting I've ever heard was a guy with the engagement ring. You get the ring back from the girl and you give it to the next girl. That's pretty bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIS: All right. So there's, obviously, a right way and a wrong way to regift, Daryn. First of all, let's look at who regifts. It tends to be women who regift the most, more than men. Check out these numbers. Forty-one percent of women regift. Four in 10 people regift overall. Lots of people are doing it. And it's usually people, Daryn, who have a lot of money. Who are giving gifts they've already gotten.

KAGAN: Oh. Well, hopefully they're giving nice stuff.

Now your intention is important here about why you're regifting.

WILLIS: Yes. Yes. You know, it has to come from the heart even though it's a gift you've received from somebody else. So if it's something that you really can't use that you know someone else can, maybe it's time to think about regifting. Be sure you give something, to, that's not something that is really a personalized gift. You want to think about that as well.

KAGAN: And not just exactly only important what you regift, but who you regift to. Whom you do it with.

WILLIS: Absolutely. Well, you know how this is, Daryn. You get a lot of things in the holidays, maybe you don't remember who it comes from. Now you've got to be careful when you give it the next year. If you're regifting something you get from friends and family in the same social circle, you can get yourself in trouble. So you're much better off regifting something that, you know, maybe a co-worker gives you or someone who lives far away.

KAGAN: OK, regift confession. I have regifted the wine.

WILLIS: Well, that's perfectly legit.

KAGAN: Oh, good. OK.

WILLIS: That's actually a good idea. Now, regift the wine, but don't regift the monogrammed duffel bag, OK?

KAGAN: No.

WILLIS: It's just too personal. You want to make sure you pick the right thing to regift. If your grandmother made you some handmade socks, forget about that, that's a bad idea. But there are plenty of sort of generic gifts that everybody sees and everybody gives that are fine. Just make sure that there are no tags on it with your name on it and there's no expiration date that you've passed. Just make sure it's still in good shape.

KAGAN: And if you really want to get into the mood, have a regifting party. WILLIS: I think that's a great idea. You know, that way if you have one of these regifting parties, everybody knows what it's about. There's no mystery there. You're not trying to pass off something that it's not. You can wrap your gift, put it in the middle of the room and everybody picks something out. You know, no muss, no fuss and, you know, no hangover of debt in January. That's what this is about.

KAGAN: Oh, that's true.

WILLIS: It's saving a little money at the holidays. I know everybody wants to do that.

KAGAN: Yes, and I can sense a "Top Five Tips" coming in January, how to deal with that holiday debt.

WILLIS: You're right, Daryn.

KAGAN: OK. We look forward to that.

Gerri, thank you.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

KAGAN: Well, there were some college students in Gerri's piece, which brings to mind the topic of in-state tuition. It has always been kind of a touchy thing. Get a load of this, though. In California, illegal immigrants pay $130,000 less than out of state students who are U.S. citizens. We'll explain why it works that way.

Plus, an even more outrageous story. How a click of the mouse and a few hundred dollars can buy a graduate degree for just about anyone. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We're getting very close to the half hour. I'm Daryn Kagan. Here's a look at what's happening "Now in the News."

New York City transit workers have called a selective strike that could spread to public buses and the subway. A strike against two private bus lines begins this afternoon. Talks on a new contract broke down early this morning.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com