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CNN Live Today
Plan to Help Wean Americans off Imported Oil; Suicide Attack, Another American Death, Blunt Warning in Iraq; Bird Flu Spreads
Aired February 20, 2006 - 10:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Here's a look at what's happening right "Now in the News."
Rescuers are racing against time, trying to reach 65 trapped coal miner in Mexico. Authorities say there has been no contact with the miners since they were cut off by a gas explosion early yesterday. They were carrying only six hours of oxygen with them.
More international help is arriving in the Philippines at the site of Friday's devastating mudslide. Hopes were raised today by reports of tapping sounds at an elementary school buried beneath the rubble, but U.S. Marines later said they had found no signs of life there. Officials say about a hundred bodies have been recovered.
President Bush pushes his plan to help wean American off imported oil. Mr. Bush is spending this Presidents Day on the road, promoting technology to fuel America's future. He'll give a speech in Milwaukee next hour while visiting a plant that develops batteries for hybrid cars.
Will the mystery millionaire please come forward? We're still waiting to find out who won the huge Powerball drawing. The winning ticket was purchased at a convenience store in Lincoln, Nebraska. The $365 million prize set a record for the nation's largest lottery jackpot.
Good morning on this Presidents Day. Welcome to CNN LIVE TODAY. Let's check some of the time around world.
Just after 10:00 a.m. in Milwaukee, just after 7:00 p.m. in Baghdad.
From CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Daryn Kagan.
An international deal sets off security concerns here in the U.S. Some lawmakers are alarmed over a sale that would put the management of major U.S. ports in control of a company based in an Arab nation.
The controversy erupted when Dubai Ports World based in the United Arab Emirates acquired British-based Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. Now, those are some big, long names, but the British company has been running ports in the U.S. since 1999.
The effected ports are in New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Miami. The Bush administration says necessary safeguards are in place, but critics say the deal could compromise security.
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SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: Why would we give a company and a government that has had a great deal of involvement with terrorism control of our ports?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: The general process that has to work before this occurs requires a very thorough review and, where appropriate, necessary conditions or safeguards have to be put into place.
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KAGAN: The Bush administration calls the United Arab Emirates an ally in the war on terror, but some lawmakers suggest the country has terrorist ties.
It is not port security but energy issues that President Bush is focusing on today. The president says America is addicted to oil and he's trying to help the country kick the habit. He gives a speech in Milwaukee next hour.
White House Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux joins us with details.
Suzanne, hello.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Daryn.
Of course President Bush does not take Presidents Day off, and neither do we. The president is going to be pushing for this energy initiative, essentially to cut 75 percent of the oil that comes from the Middle East, perhaps, in the next 20 years.
That is a very ambitious goal. He is hoping to promote alternative sources of energy.
So that's what tour is about. It's a three-state tour that he's kicking off.
His first stop is going to be Glendale, Wisconsin. He's going to go to a company that develops special batteries for hybrid cars.
His second stop is going to be Auburn Hills, Michigan. He's going to be making remarks at a factory that makes solar panels.
And then his third stop is going to be in Golden, Colorado, at the National Renewable Energy Lab.
Now the big push, of course, Daryn, comes after the president last year failed to convince members of Congress to try to help create other places, or at least look for oil domestically in the United States. The Alaska Arctic Wildlife Refuge, that failed in Congress, so now he is pushing forward, offering credits, research development for alternative technologies -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And what about on this port security story? What's the White House saying?
MALVEAUX: The White House is not responding to it, but certainly the administration, through the Homeland Security secretary, Michael Chertoff, is speaking up. He told Wolf Blitzer yesterday on "LATE EDITION" when asked about this that there's a process, a program that's in place that involves the Treasury Department, the Pentagon, the FBI, that all took a look at this program that it cleared, that it is not a risk to national security. He also suggested as well that perhaps members of Congress would be able to be briefed on classified elements of the program.
Big question, Daryn, of course, is whether or not those members of Congress, if that is going to satisfy them. We know that some are already proposing legislation to make sure that this doesn't happen.
KAGAN: Suzanne Malveaux live at the White House.
Suzanne, thank you.
We will bring you live coverage of President bush's speech on his energy initiatives. That's set to begin next hour at 12:25 Eastern, 9:25 Pacific.
The United Arab Emirates is one of the stops for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as she heads to the Middle East today. Rice's first stop will be Egypt, then it's on to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Rice is seeking support for a tough stand against Iran and its nuclear ambitions. She'll also encourage countries not to support Hamas until it renounces terrorism and recognizes Israel.
With the secretary of state's trip, a growing concern over port management being handed over to a company based in the United Arab Emirates. We want to take a closer look at this small Gulf nation. Here are some key facts for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The United Arab Emirates is a tiny nation along the Persian Gulf bordered by Saudi Arabia and Oman. It's slightly smaller than Maine but definitely more wealthy. The Emirates' GDP in 2004, about $102 billion, well ahead of countries like Kuwait and Egypt, and almost on par with Singapore.
Its natural resources are oil and natural gas. And the country's modern economy is dominated by those two commodities.
The Emirates' reserves are huge and are estimated to last well over the next 150 years. Oil production per day in 2005, 2.5 billion barrels. Though not a large oil supplier for the U.S., ties between Washington and Abu Dhabi are strong. Relations were established in 1971 when the Emirates gained their independence form Britain.
According to the U.S. State Department, the tiny Gulf nation became a key ally in the war on terror after September 11.
And one other key fact worth taking note of, the Emirates' air force has just received the first of many military aircraft it's purchasing from the U.S., 80 advanced F-16 multi-role fighter jets, 36 transport aircraft and several Apache helicopters.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: To Iraq now. A suicide attack, another American death, and a blunt warning.
Correspondent Aneesh Raman joins me now from Baghdad with the news of the day.
Aneesh, hello.
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Daryn, good morning.
We haven't heard from the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, in quite some time. Today, at a rare presser (ph), he had some strong words for the new Iraqi government as it talks and forms itself. And he also had a threat for that government, if they put the wrong people in charge of the country's security force.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: We regard Iraq's success to be our success. And as I've said before, god forbid Iraq's failure will be also ours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RAMAN: He's talking there, of course, about the fact that U.S. success here is contingent upon Iraqi success. He also said that the U.S. could withdraw funding, withhold money to support the Iraqi security forces if, as he says, sectarianism is at the top.
Now, what he's talking about there is the current Iraqi interior minister, Bayan Jabr, who has led a ministry really embroiled in controversy. He has long been alleged to have ties to the country's biggest Shia militia, the Badr Bigrade.
Under his watch, the ministry has seen abuse by Iraqi security forces against detainees, mainly Sunnis. And just last week, the announcement that an investigation is under way that a Shia hit squad may have made its way into Iraq's police force.
So, Zalmay Khalilzad, really strong words, the strongest I've heard him say as he tries to spar (ph) on these negotiations to find consensus and to not have someone as controversial essentially at the top of the interior ministry as we've seen in the past year -- Daryn.
KAGAN: And then what about violence today in Baghdad and around Iraq, Aneesh?
RAMAN: Yes, a number of attacks throughout the country that left some 17 Iraqis killed, along with a U.S. soldier. The deadliest attack took place midday in a predominantly Shia neighborhood of Baghdad. A suicide bomber wearing an explosives vest boarded a minibus, detonated, killing at least 12 in that incident alone. Eight others wounded.
The U.S. soldier killed after he hit a roadside bomb on a patrol -- Daryn.
KAGAN: Aneesh Raman, live in Baghdad.
Thank you.
Coming up on CNN LIVE TODAY, congregations come together to protect their houses of worship. Is a serial arsonist setting fires to churches in Alabama, or are there copycats on the prowl? The latest on the investigation.
And we know that bird flu is already an international threat. What are the world experts doing to try to protect you? I'll speak to the man responsible for coordinating the U.N. response.
Plus, it's a millionaire mystery. Who did win Powerball and the jackpot? We'll visit the store where the lucky Powerball lottery player bought the winning ticket.
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KAGAN: Live pictures. Air Force One arriving in Milwaukee. President Bush on board. He'll be making a speech a little bit later on, talking about energy and how he says America is addicted to oil.
That is coming up at about 12:25 Eastern. And you'll see that live here on CNN.
Well, there they are, the numbers, the magic numbers. These are the six double digits that would have gotten you the record-busting Powerball jackpot. The single winning ticket gets somebody -- and you know who you are out there -- $365 million.
Don't bother looking for the big prize unless you bought your ticket at the U-Stop in Lincoln, Nebraska. The convenience store gets $50,000 for spitting out the winning combination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICK MANDL, STORE OWNER: Actually, I was in bed and I thought, oh -- you know, I got up and saw who called and thought oh, no, something happened. And I called back, and we sold the winning ticket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAGAN: CNN's Jonathan Freed is covering the cash frenzy in Lincoln, Nebraska.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JONATHAN FREED, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're still waiting for word here at the U-Stop convenience store in Lincoln, Nebraska, waiting to see whether or not the person who bought the $365 million Powerball ticket is going to come forward today. That red machine behind me right over there is the one that actually sold the ticket just after 3:00 on Friday afternoon.
Now, the store's owners, as well as the Nebraska lottery people, have looked at the surveillance video that the store had running at the time. And they believe that the likely winner is one of four people that you can see on the tape, three men or one woman.
Now, if they take it as cash in one lump sum, it will come out to $177 million. After taxes are deducted, they'd be left with about $124 million.
Now, the store's owners are going to get a $50,000 reward just because the winning ticket was bought here. And the owner was telling us earlier today exactly how he felt about that.
MANDL: Well, they're going to close the main street by our store here in town for a year. So we'll probably just need that to help us make it through that tough time.
FREED: Now, the Nebraska Lottery tells us that whoever did win the jackpot does have six months to come forward.
Jonathan Freed, CNN, Lincoln, Nebraska.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: So let's check in with Jacqui Jeras.
Jacqui, I know you didn't win the ticket because you're here.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I am here, yes. You figured me out.
KAGAN: But do you know anybody in Lincoln, Nebraska?
JERAS: Not at present. I don't think so.
KAGAN: Darn.
JERAS: I know. What do you do? Yes, no big winners in the weather here across the Southeast here, Daryn, either. (WEATHER REPORT)
KAGAN: Jacqui, thank you.
Other news today.
Americans are divided over the way Vice President Dick Cheney handled the fallout from that shooting incident. In a "TIME" magazine poll, 65 percent said the vice president should have taken immediately responsibility for accidentally shooting a fellow hunter, about half the respondents say they approve of the way the vice president handled the incident. Forty-two percent say they disapprove.
When asked whether the vice president is too secretive, 58 percent said yes, compared to 33 percent who said no.
We have a lot more to get to this hour.
Still to come, the tape that has a young man's parents pitted against the boot camp they had hoped would help him. Now the boy is dead and the videotape is public. Did camp personnel use too much force? You can judge for yourself.
Plus, bird flu marches on. What is America's first line of defense?
And President Bush has just arrived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as we look at live pictures of him coming down the steps of Air Force One. The president going to make a speech on energy, going to a company that makes batteries for cars.
You'll hear that live on CNN in just over an hour.
We're back after this.
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KAGAN: There is new concern this morning about the spread of bird flu. In recent days, the virus has turned up in far-flung places like India, Nigeria and France. Health workers are going door to door in western India today searching for people who may be infected. India is slaughtering birds near the outbreak zone.
France says it's on war footing. A duck near Leon tested positive for the virus. The agriculture minister says the French should keep eating chicken to support poultry farmers.
The deadly strain has not been detected in Great Britain. Experts say there's no need to move chickens indoors just yet.
It is important to note that human cases of bird flu have been confirmed only in Southeast Asia and Turkey, and in almost every case victims had close contact with the birds. Since 2003, birds have spread the deadly virus from Southeast Asia to Europe and Africa. Experts predict it will reach the U.S. soon.
Dr. David Nabarro is the U.N.'s avian flu coordinator and he joins me by phone. We have tracked him down in France today.
Doctor, hello.
DR. DAVID NABARRO, U.N. AVIAN FLU COORDINATOR: How do you do?
KAGAN: I'm doing good. What do you think of this latest spread as bird flu is discovered in Bosnia, France and India?
NABARRO: Well, I suppose we're not surprised, but at the same time, we remain quite alarmed by the speed with which the virus is spreading both among wild birds and unfortunately also into domestic chickens.
KAGAN: Do you think it's inevitable that it's coming to the U.S.?
NABARRO: I would like to hope that it's not going to come to the U.S., but I'm afraid that every country needs to be on alert now because it does look as though it's moving quite rapidly across the world.
KAGAN: What about the significance that this has yet to turn into a virus that transmits from human to human?
NABARRO: Well, that's important. You know, we remain, of course, concerned that it could turn into the virus that causes the next human influenza pandemic, but as you pointed out, it's not affecting many humans at the moment, and it certainly isn't something about which people should be alarmed about right now in terms of human health.
KAGAN: Which leads to my next question. Is there anything people need to do to protect themselves at this point?
NABARRO: Well, certainly those who are in countries where bird flu is now within the domestic poultry population and who have contact with poultry need to be quite careful. And there are very clear guidance information for them as to what they should do.
On the other hand, however, people who are nowhere near these problems should continue to handle their poultry as normal and also should continue eating poultry. After all, there seems to be no evidence that in any area except for those where there is avian influenza virus that there's any conceivable danger to humans as a result of eating poultry in relation to this virus.
KAGAN: Dr. Nabarro, what is the next development you are watching for?
NABARRO: Well, we're certainly watching for further spread of avian influenza into poultry populations in many countries. And therefore, we've been working closely with veterinary services. So they're on high alert to respond as soon as it happens. And we're also trying to make sure that health services are ready so that were this virus to mutate to become the cause of a human influenza pandemic, we won't be caught napping, we'll be ready for it. KAGAN: Dr. David Nabarro with the U.N.
Thank you.
NABARRO: Thank you.
KAGAN: American health workers are scrambling to set up defenses against the virus.
Here now is correspondent Mary Snow in New York City.
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MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): So far, the deadly strain of bird flu known as H5N1 hasn't made it to the U.S., but experts agree it may just be a matter of time. It would most likely make its way via wild birds migrating from other continents. If that happens, they could infect domestic bird populations, and some of those birds could make their way into live bird markets.
While most people buy their poultry at supermarkets, there are many in cities like New York who buy chickens and other birds at live poultry markets. These markets are regulated and considered safe, but scientists worry that they could one day pose a risk of becoming a breeding ground for spreading the deadly strain of bird flu. That's why samples are taken from birds like these and shipped hundreds of miles north of New York City to be tested at a Cornell University lab.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chickens, ducks, Cornish game hens, anything that you would find in a live bird market in New York City.
SHOW: Sarah Schaeffer (ph) spends her days screening for any sign of the deadly strain. She admits it's a tedious process with some test tests taking days to conduct.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it got into New York (INAUDIBLE). We would find out here.
SNOW: Doctors say there's concern about live bird markets because it's a place where humans could come in direct contact with the deadly virus.
ALFONSO TORRES, CORNELL UNIVERSITY: They can move from bird to bird very rapidly. So the earliest we can detect them, the quicker we can quench that outbreak and keep the outbreak from being overwhelming.
SNOW: Dr. Alfonso Torres heads the Cornell testing program where monitoring has been stepped up since the spread of avian flu. He says his goal is to build a firewall.
TORRES: If we can prevent the viruses, if they happen to occur in the live market, to go into the commercial flocks, then that's almost like a firewall. We can prevent that event from going elsewhere.
SNOW: And he stresses that the threat of the deadly bird flu strain reaching the U.S. is still a big "if."
(on camera): Because New York City has the largest number of live bird markets than any other city in the U.S., health officials say it's important to take extra precautions. And they say because of the testing that's being done, they feel the United States is better positioned than some other Asian countries in preventing bird flu from even getting here.
Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAGAN: Stories making news overseas this morning.
British historian David Irving pleaded guilty to criminal charges in Vienna today. He could go to prison for 10 years for denying the Holocaust in 1989 speeches. Austrian law forbids publicly diminishing the Nazi genocide. Irving now concedes the Holocaust was real.
A one-time ski coach for Austria's Olympic team is out of jail today. Italian agents raided the team's hotel on Saturday after they were told the former coach was hanging out with the athletes.
Walter Mayer was banned from the Olympics after a blood doping scandal at Salt Lake City. Police say he fled the hotel in a minivan and officers chased him across the border to Austria where he was taken into custody.
And from China, the tale of the cat that was too fat. This heavy-duty kitty checks in at 33 pounds.
He has a waist comparable to the size of a human's, and he's a plump lump that likes to be pampered. The cat lives large by downing six pounds of chicken and pork a day.
Well, therein lies the problem. Don't give him all that chicken and pork. He needs a little kitty celebrity fit club or something like that.
All right. Coming up later, a busy department store not exactly the place you'd want to stop and, say, give birth. Sometimes you just don't have a choice in matter. Hear about the team effort at a Wal- Mart store.
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