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American Morning
Report On 9/11 Commission Investigation; Reaction To The Report's Release; Armstrong Heads For Tour De France Record; Latest On Missing Utah Woman
Aired July 22, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Five 9/11 hijackers seen in a chilling new videotape from the morning of the attacks, while this morning, the final report on 9/11 is released to the public.
The search continues for a Utah woman after police reveal her husband lied about his life.
Boston officials forced to explain why they want convention protesters behind chain-link fence and a spool of razor wire.
And does anyone look better in yellow than Lance Armstrong? His winding road to history, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody.
I'm Heidi Collins in for Soledad today. She's resting as her due date gets closer and closer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: And that it does. That it does.
COLLINS: Yes.
HEMMER: Good morning. I'm Bill Hemmer. Good to have you here.
Other stories this hour: That final report from the 9/11 Commission released in just about three-and-a-half hours from now, 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. It will lay out what happened, missed opportunities for preventing the attacks, and what can be done to improve security. Much more on this. Members of Congress telling us it's very forward looking, so we'll get more details on that.
COLLINS: Also, John Kerry campaigning hard as the Democratic convention draws closer. We'll get an update from Michigan and Kerry's appearance there.
HEMMER: Also, just back from Iraq and already a millionaire. Meet a very lucky National Guardsman, what he received on the trip home. What a story he has, too. We'll get to that.
COLLINS: The understatement of the day?
Jack Cafferty now and "The Cafferty File." JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Coming up on "The Cafferty File," we will tell you why some Chicago airport executives are spending a lot of their time in O'Hare's bathrooms. That's a good place for them.
And Darwin's long sought missing link may be alive and well and living in a zoo in Israel. And we have a picture.
HEMMER: Ooh, nice.
CAFFERTY: Wait until you see this thing.
HEMMER: I like that.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: A good tease. Thank you, Jack.
Just as the 9/11 Commission is about to issue its final report later today, a videotape of some of the hijackers now coming to light. A surveillance camera shows five hijackers passing through security at Washington's Dulles Airport the morning of September 11th, two hours before they crashed Flight 77 into the Pentagon.
Three of them set off metal detectors. They were rechecked. Agents scrutinized some of their tickets, even checked a bag for explosives, but in the end all were cleared to board that flight.
President Bush will be one of the first to get a copy later today of that report.
Kathleen Koch on the front lawn today, live at the White House there -- good morning.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
The chairman -- the vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission, the ones who were here just yesterday briefing the president's top aides on the contents of the report, they will be here at 8:50 this morning to hand deliver to the president his own copy of the completed reported.
And administration officials who have already had a chance to become familiar with the contents of the report are already calling it good and thorough and extraordinary efforts, saying that the Commission should be commended.
The White House is, obviously, anxious to pore over every detail of this report. The president himself, though, already disputing any suggestion that his administration did not do enough to prevent the attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Had we had any inkling whatsoever that terrorists were about to attack our country, we would have moved heaven and Earth to protect America. And I'm confident President Clinton would have done the same thing. Any president would. And -- so, anyway, I'm looking forward to the report. I'm glad -- they've done a lot of good work and it's going to be very useful for the country to listen to what they have to say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: Among the findings: that there were at least 10 missed opportunities to derail the 9/11 attacks; that while both the Bush and Clinton administrations understood the threat posed by al Qaeda, they didn't totally appreciate its severity. The report concludes that responsibilities in the intelligence community are spread too widely. And finally, that no collaborative relationship existed between al Qaeda and Iraq.
So this day, a report -- very long anticipated, though -- a day that the White House would like to have avoided. The president himself initially opposed creating the 9/11 Commission. His administration resisted turning over documents to the Commission, resisted the public testimony of top officials like National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and, indeed, also resisted the president being questioned about length by the full Commission.
Now, the White House, it must be said, did eventually relent on all those points. The Commission got the information that it needed. But it should be pointed out that this final report, though, does come now two months late because of that initial resistance -- Bill.
HEMMER: Kathleen Koch at the White House -- Heidi.
COLLINS: For more on the 9/11 investigation report and how Washington is likely to react to it, David Gergen, a former White House advisor, is editor-at-large at "U.S. News & World Report."
He is live in Boston this morning.
Thanks for being here once again on AMERICAN MORNING.
DAVID GERGEN, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT": Thanks.
COLLINS: Do you think that this report will bring about the necessary changes to make this country safe?
GERGEN: I think in the long run it will. In the short term, it won't because everyone is on such a political edge there's going to be a tendency to, as we've already see in the past few days on the Sandy Berger flap, people just exaggerate far beyond what the facts will bear. And as a result, I think that we're not going to get action between now and the elections.
But after the elections, the reorganization of intelligence, the necessity to strengthen the powers of government to deal with this, I think, will be one of the -- at the top of the agenda for the next president here at home.
COLLINS: Do you think that's soon enough, if we wait until after the presidential election?
GERGEN: Well, I have to tell you, it's -- of course, it would have been better if we'd done it earlier. But it's also important when you reorganize that you not do it in such a hasty way that it's clumsy and you put agencies together that don't fit together.
We've had a lot of trouble at Homeland Security, this vast new department that's been created, in getting the kind of coordination across the agency that's necessary despite the best good will of the people who work there.
These are complex matters and this one needs to be done with great care. Our most important need right now is to remain vigilant, to build up our defenses here at home and to pursue terrorism overseas.
One of the questions that this Commission report is asking, in effect, is hey, look, we didn't find any collaborative ties between Iraq and al Qaeda? We found collaborative ties between Iran and al Qaeda. It's -- did we attack the wrong country? Hmmm.
COLLINS: All right, well, you have already mentioned Sandy Berger this morning. You know, there is a House committee that has announced it will begin an investigation. But you have come out in strong support of him.
Why?
GERGEN: Well, in part because he's a friend. But in part because I've had the opportunity and privilege of working with Sandy Berger over a long period of time and I have found him to be an individual of enormous integrity and someone who's totally dedicated to the best interests of the country.
Beyond that, it was Sandy Berger who headed off, led the team that headed off a previous terrorism attack. Now, we might be talking about the 12/31 Commission had this -- had it not been for Sandy Berger, because in -- on December 31, 1999, as we prepared or were celebrating the millennium, it was Sandy Berger who went into a bunker, in effect, in Washington for several days with a team and stopped the terrorists who were going to blow up the Los Angeles Airport and other facilities here in the United States. They would have killed a lot of people. And we -- as I say, we would have been talking about a 12/31 Commission.
So: A, I believe that he's been a hero in the war on terrorism; B, I think when you look at the facts, when you distill it all down in the Sandy Berger episode, I think what you find is there was no harm done to national security. There was no compromise of the 9/11 Commission report. Nothing, no original documents were destroyed.
He made some dumb mistakes, taking those documents out in order -- and copying things down and taking them out so he could prepare for the -- to testify. I think in retrospect it was very dumb. But he didn't destroy anything. No security has been compromised here and the 9/11 Commission was able to get all the documents as they prepared this report today.
COLLINS: Well, you say that no security has been compromised. But do you not believe that given the high level security clearance or, I should say, code word level that we know that these documents are labeled under, which is similar to nuclear secrets, if you will, don't you think an investigation is important?
GERGEN: Yes, the Justice Department is conducting an investigation. I do think it's important. I do think it's important we get the facts on the table to ensure that it is what it appears to be. But I also think it's important that we not hang somebody who's been a great public servant and not draw and quarter him just to jump to conclusions and people just -- you know, there is a great suspicion about why this got leaked on the eve of the 9/11 Commission.
And there was an attempt -- I must say, both parties, I think, have been guilty of trying to exploit the situation, both the Democratic campaign and the Republicans, who went after Sandy Berger. I think they've tried to exaggerate this far beyond what the facts will bear.
At the end of the day, the Sandy Berger episode will pass from history as a minor, minor footnote. And it is because no -- the security has not been compromised. The 9/11 Commission was not compromised.
COLLINS: Former White House advisor David Gergen this morning. Thanks so much.
GERGEN: Thank you.
COLLINS: And stay with us for full coverage of the 9/11 Commission report coming up a little bit later today, in fact, 11:30 Eastern time we will have that news conference for you.
HEMMER: Heidi, also, there are questions this morning about the husband of missing pregnant jogger in Utah, Mark Hacking. He's being treated in a hospital now, though. Police say they are talking to him. They have not called him a suspect in his wife's disappearance.
Kimberly Osias live in Salt Lake City there this morning -- good morning there, Kimberly.
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Bill.
Well, this case has taken a number of twists and turns since 27- year-old Lori Hacking disappeared. She was last seen just before dawn on Monday morning as she was preparing to go for a run in the Memory Grove Park area, close to where we are.
The couple told family that they were planning to move to North Carolina, where her husband Mark was set to start medical school. Well, unbeknownst to the family, he never even graduated from college and had no plans of going to medical school. Police have questioned Mark extensively but are not calling him a suspect. In fact, they're not calling anyone a suspect yet. However, they do call him a person of interest and he has not been cleared in the case yet.
Both of the couple's cars as well as a dumpster with bedding have been seized by police as they search for clues following up on leads. More than 1,000 volunteers have fanned out over this area as they look for Lori. Some have been suspicious in light of Mark Hacking's recent lies.
However, his family is remaining steadfast, saying that the couple was very, very in love, devoted to each other. In fact, they were high school sweethearts. Lori was five weeks pregnant, expecting the couple's first child.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERALD SOARES, FATHER OF MISSING JOGGER: I don't think he could do it because he loved Lori too much. And I, when I came to visit him once a month, they always were holding hands together, they were sneaking a kiss here and there. And he was a gentleman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OSIAS: Family members confirmed to me that Mark Hacking admitted himself into a psychiatric ward here in the area on Tuesday. They say the stress has just been overwhelming for him. Police also say that they plan on searching today, although it is scaled back. And those search efforts, Bill, will begin around 8:00 a.m. local time.
HEMMER: All right, Kimberly, we'll track that again.
Kimberly Osias there in Salt Lake City -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Twelve minutes past the hour now.
Time for a look at some of today's other headlines with Fredricka Whitfield -- Fredricka, hello.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, Heidi.
We start in Baghdad, where a raid turned into a major gun battle this morning. American and Iraqi security forces clashed with insurgents in the center of the city. Dozens of people were detained yesterday in the city of Ramadi. Two dozen insurgents were killed in clashes with U.S. troops.
Meanwhile, insurgents have captured seven new hostages from Kenya, India and Egypt. Militants are demanding that the countries and the companies the men are affiliated with pull their personnel out of Iraq.
The U.S. Army is reportedly short on bullets. The "Washington Post" reports that increased combat training and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are draining the armed forces of small caliber bullets. To offset the shortages, the Army has turned to overseas suppliers. Some law makers say those bullets are coming at a premium price.
Boston has launched a pilot program to allow city employees and retirees to purchase prescription drugs from Canada. Mayor Thomas Menino announced the move yesterday, despite criticism from the FDA and a federal prohibition on the practice. Officials predict the plan will result in savings of about a million dollars in its first year.
The Agricultural Department is recalling tons of cooked chicken because of possible Listeria contamination. The tainted chicken was produced July 13th and distributed to warehouses in Georgia and Arkansas. Listeria is characterized by high fever, severe headaches and stiffness and nausea. The USDA says there have not been any reports of illnesses.
And finally, authorities in Brooklyn Heights, Ohio, are investigating how a local cat is still alive. The feline had been euthanized by the animal warden and placed it in a freezer. But when the freezer was opened hours later, the cat jumped out. Officials are double checking procedures to avoid any repeats in the future. But everyone's kind of glad that that happened in that case -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, and I was so glad the line wasn't in there about the nine lives and everything. Thank you for sparing us that.
WHITFIELD: I saved that for you.
COLLINS: OK. Thanks, Fred.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: American cyclist Lance Armstrong chasing history, moving closer to a record sixth straight title in the Tour de France. Four stages to go. After taking the overall lead this week, Armstrong needs to hold on until Sunday, when the three week, 20 stage marathon ends in Paris.
Sally Jenkins has written two books about Armstrong -- "It's Not About The Bike" and "Every Second Counts." She's here now in our studios in New York.
Good morning to you. Nice to see you.
SALLY JENKINS, CO-AUTHOR, "IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE": Good morning.
HEMMER: Yesterday, nine miles uphill, the 10,000 feet, they called this a time trial.
JENKINS: Yes, I know. I mean, car transmissions have a hard time getting up a slope like that.
HEMMER: What is motivating him at this point?
JENKINS: Well, the cancer motivates him. I mean, he was a great talented young rider who was wasting his ability before cancer. And after the cancer, he's been determined not to waste another moment.
HEMMER: Well, he was a pretty good rider...
JENKINS: He was a great rider.
HEMMER: ... but he got a lot of attention going to the Summer Games in 1996.
JENKINS: Well, he...
HEMMER: Probably didn't perform as well as a lot of people thought then.
JENKINS: He was the youngest world champion in history. So, he was a prodigy, and everyone expected that he would eventually become a Tour de France contender. But he was known as slightly overweight and slightly lazy.
HEMMER: Yesterday and throughout the week, at times, there are a million people on the streets to watch this Tour.
JENKINS: Yes.
HEMMER: Yesterday, a bit of an unfortunate incident. Apparently some Germans spitting on Lance Armstrong, chanting some anti-U.S. slogans.
How does that affect him?
JENKINS: Well, obviously he's the most concentrated athlete in the world because it didn't affect him at all. And you know, the funny thing is Tiger Woods looks like he's going to cry if you take his picture, whereas Lance Armstrong managed to make it up nine miles, you know, with fans screaming at him and spitting at him.
HEMMER: One of the points you made, going back to the fans heckling him, is that unusual in the Tour de France?
JENKINS: You know, it's part of the culture of the Tour de France. I mean, don't forget, Eddy Merckx, the greatest cyclist who ever lived, probably, got punched in the stomach by an irate fan, which ruined his bid for a sixth tour. So, getting spat on is unpleasant, but I think Lance would prefer that to getting knocked off his bike by a fan, which has happened.
HEMMER: Well, and it was much more intimate yesterday, because the bikers going at that rate of speed, which is much slower than they normally go...
JENKINS: Right. So someone...
HEMMER: ... which allows...
JENKINS: Someone could get at you if they wanted to, and that was his biggest fear. HEMMER: He has recently separated from his wife and divorced. Cheryl Crow, his girlfriend now, apparently trailing him in the chase car.
JENKINS: Right.
HEMMER: What has the impact of her relationship been with him?
JENKINS: Well, I guess we can put to rest the question of whether or not she's good for him or for his career. He's obviously thriving professionally and, you know, he seems very happy. I don't know Cheryl Crow. I've talked to Lance about her a little bit. He's clearly smitten, and she makes him happy.
Kristin's a wonderful woman and a terrific mother, and they remain real good friends. They're raising those kids together, you know? So, I guess you just have to be happy for him.
HEMMER: There is a documentary running on ESPN this week. And Greg LeMond, a great cyclist in his own right, three yellow jerseys in his time, strong allegations that Lance Armstrong is cheating.
JENKINS: Well, you know, to me, frankly, I don't see how it's possible that Lance is cheating. If you think he's cheating in this Tour de France, I think it defies common sense. And his performance in this Tour de France is consistent with all of his other performances in these Tour de Frances.
I don't know what LeMond based it on and I think if you're going to throw around an accusation like that, you'd better say what you think he's on and when you think he's on it, because otherwise it's just as baseless as all the other accusations.
HEMMER: Doesn't this cloud follow him, though, forever, for those who are...
JENKINS: Well, you know, it's followed every rider in the Tour de France. Cycling has had drug scandals. And there's no question about that. Lance understands that if you lead the Tour de France, people are going to accuse you of doping.
He's been under investigation for two straight years in France. He's never tested positive. He utterly denies it. I believe him as an athlete, I believe him as a man. I don't see how it's possible.
HEMMER: Enjoy the next four stages. We hope the best for him.
JENKINS: Thank you.
HEMMER: Sally Jenkins, nice to talk to you.
All right -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning: Some executives in Chicago are running for the bathrooms. We'll explain.
Also ahead: We're "Minding Your Business." We'll look at the huge sacrifices one airline may have to make to keep flying.
Plus: Chain-link fences, heavy netting overhead and barbed wire to keep people in. It sounds like a prison camp. Actually, it's the Democratic convention. More on that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Delta Airlines just announced huge losses. Now its pilots are trying to help out.
And Carrie Lee's in for Andy Serwer.
She's "Minding Your Business" from this morning's market site -- how are you, Carrie?
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am fine, Heidi.
Thank you very much.
Delta Airlines not doing so well these days, though. The company's trying to stave off Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company's airline pilots are now trying to help the company do that, offering to take a 23 percent wage cut.
This comes two days after the carrier reported its worst ever quarterly loss, losing about $2 billion. But it might not be enough. Delta's CEO says more will be required. Remember, back in December, the pilots' union offered to accept a 9 percent pay cut. Delta, though, was looking for more like a 35 percent cut.
Delta, like other carriers, has an immediate need to cut costs -- high fuel prices, lower average fares, and a huge debt load all hurting the company. And it has been a very turbulent week for Delta's stock. So we'll see what it does today.
Stocks across-the-board looking pretty flat for today's session. We could see some more selling in technology issues, although probably not the huge sell off we saw yesterday. The Nasdaq now at its lowest level for 2004, losing over two percent yesterday. You can see the Dow, the S&P, also a bit lower.
Quickly, one merger to tell you about: Molson and Adolph Coors have agreed to a merger of equals. A lot of people waiting for this offer. The new company is going to be called Molson Coors Brewing, with about $6 billion in annual sales -- Heidi, no word on whether they're going to put out some new brands of beer or not, but we'll see.
COLLINS: Well, yes, I've been waiting this whole time to figure that out.
LEE: Yes.
COLLINS: All right, Carrie, thanks so much.
LEE: Sure. HEMMER: You know, Andy Serwer is out this week, but you know he would be all over that Molson Coors story.
COLLINS: Got him in the lead, yes.
HEMMER: No question.
All right, Jack -- good morning.
CAFFERTY: Where is Andy, by the way?
HEMMER: He's out.
CAFFERTY: Is anybody...
COLLINS: He's actually on assignment.
CAFFERTY: Oh, yes, right.
HEMMER: Oh, is he?
COLLINS: Now he's...
HEMMER: I thought he had vacation this week. No? He was on assignment last week.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: We'll figure it out.
CAFFERTY: All right, I told you we had a picture of the missing link. That's what one Israeli newspaper is calling this 5-year-old critter. It's actually a monkey. Look at this thing. Natasha is in a zoo near Tel Aviv and has started walking on her hind legs only, just like Hemmer.
Monkeys usually alternate between walking upright like people and on all fours. A veterinarian says it's brain damage from a recent stomach illness that almost killed her that could explain this unusual behavior. It's very cool.
The recent performances of Whoopi Goldberg and Linda Ronstadt have scared off some Democrats in Boston, apparently. The "Daily News" here in New York reporting that comedian Margaret Cho has been yanked from a fundraiser that was scheduled around the Democratic National Convention.
The event's organizers, an outfit called The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights group, are reportedly worried that Cho's racy routine could become fodder for the Republicans.
They, the Republicans, are trying to label Kerry the candidate of Hollywood values instead of family values. The Human Rights Campaign supports John Kerry, but insists it's not censoring Cho. And the executives running Chicago's airports are becoming very familiar with the bathrooms there at O'Hare. Aviation Commissioner John Roberson, the big boss, said that the rest of the executives need to get their hands dirty in order to understand the importance of keeping the airport restrooms clean.
The "Chicago Sun-Times" is reporting that starting this week, anyone with the title of assistant commissioner or above will spend eight hours doing the following: mopping the bathroom floors, emptying the trash cans, washing the sinks, and cleaning the toilets.
One custodian is offering some pointers to the new workers, such as don't try to clean the stalls if there's somebody in there.
HEMMER: Yes?
CAFFERTY: You know, I -- it's not clear whether the top guy here, what did I say his name was? John Roberson? I wonder if he's going to be in there swabbing out the...
HEMMER: We should get him on the show.
COLLINS: I'm sure, as a good example, right?
HEMMER: Uh-huh.
CAFFERTY: It could be an interview for AMERICAN MORNING.
HEMMER: You know, you love that town, Chicago, by the way.
CAFFERTY: I do like Chicago.
HEMMER: Nothing but endearment toward Chicago, right?
CAFFERTY: No, I like Chicago. Cosmopolitan, but a little bit of country. It's just the right combination.
HEMMER: Yes, and you love the mayor's office, too, I think?
CAFFERTY: Hmmm?
HEMMER: No, I'm just stirring the pot.
Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: You always walk upright and your hind legs.
HEMMER: That's right. Check my knuckles here, baby. I'm dragging along.
In a moment here, Sanjay is back to tell us about a skin cream treatment that can actually make some forms of skin cancer disappear in weeks. We'll get to that.
Also, the convention controversy in Boston. Why protesters say they're already being treated like prisoners. We'll get to that. The bottom of the hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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Aired July 22, 2004 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Five 9/11 hijackers seen in a chilling new videotape from the morning of the attacks, while this morning, the final report on 9/11 is released to the public.
The search continues for a Utah woman after police reveal her husband lied about his life.
Boston officials forced to explain why they want convention protesters behind chain-link fence and a spool of razor wire.
And does anyone look better in yellow than Lance Armstrong? His winding road to history, on this AMERICAN MORNING.
ANNOUNCER: From the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is AMERICAN MORNING with Bill Hemmer and Soledad O'Brien.
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody.
I'm Heidi Collins in for Soledad today. She's resting as her due date gets closer and closer.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: And that it does. That it does.
COLLINS: Yes.
HEMMER: Good morning. I'm Bill Hemmer. Good to have you here.
Other stories this hour: That final report from the 9/11 Commission released in just about three-and-a-half hours from now, 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. It will lay out what happened, missed opportunities for preventing the attacks, and what can be done to improve security. Much more on this. Members of Congress telling us it's very forward looking, so we'll get more details on that.
COLLINS: Also, John Kerry campaigning hard as the Democratic convention draws closer. We'll get an update from Michigan and Kerry's appearance there.
HEMMER: Also, just back from Iraq and already a millionaire. Meet a very lucky National Guardsman, what he received on the trip home. What a story he has, too. We'll get to that.
COLLINS: The understatement of the day?
Jack Cafferty now and "The Cafferty File." JACK CAFFERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Coming up on "The Cafferty File," we will tell you why some Chicago airport executives are spending a lot of their time in O'Hare's bathrooms. That's a good place for them.
And Darwin's long sought missing link may be alive and well and living in a zoo in Israel. And we have a picture.
HEMMER: Ooh, nice.
CAFFERTY: Wait until you see this thing.
HEMMER: I like that.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: A good tease. Thank you, Jack.
Just as the 9/11 Commission is about to issue its final report later today, a videotape of some of the hijackers now coming to light. A surveillance camera shows five hijackers passing through security at Washington's Dulles Airport the morning of September 11th, two hours before they crashed Flight 77 into the Pentagon.
Three of them set off metal detectors. They were rechecked. Agents scrutinized some of their tickets, even checked a bag for explosives, but in the end all were cleared to board that flight.
President Bush will be one of the first to get a copy later today of that report.
Kathleen Koch on the front lawn today, live at the White House there -- good morning.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
The chairman -- the vice chairman of the 9/11 Commission, the ones who were here just yesterday briefing the president's top aides on the contents of the report, they will be here at 8:50 this morning to hand deliver to the president his own copy of the completed reported.
And administration officials who have already had a chance to become familiar with the contents of the report are already calling it good and thorough and extraordinary efforts, saying that the Commission should be commended.
The White House is, obviously, anxious to pore over every detail of this report. The president himself, though, already disputing any suggestion that his administration did not do enough to prevent the attacks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Had we had any inkling whatsoever that terrorists were about to attack our country, we would have moved heaven and Earth to protect America. And I'm confident President Clinton would have done the same thing. Any president would. And -- so, anyway, I'm looking forward to the report. I'm glad -- they've done a lot of good work and it's going to be very useful for the country to listen to what they have to say.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOCH: Among the findings: that there were at least 10 missed opportunities to derail the 9/11 attacks; that while both the Bush and Clinton administrations understood the threat posed by al Qaeda, they didn't totally appreciate its severity. The report concludes that responsibilities in the intelligence community are spread too widely. And finally, that no collaborative relationship existed between al Qaeda and Iraq.
So this day, a report -- very long anticipated, though -- a day that the White House would like to have avoided. The president himself initially opposed creating the 9/11 Commission. His administration resisted turning over documents to the Commission, resisted the public testimony of top officials like National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and, indeed, also resisted the president being questioned about length by the full Commission.
Now, the White House, it must be said, did eventually relent on all those points. The Commission got the information that it needed. But it should be pointed out that this final report, though, does come now two months late because of that initial resistance -- Bill.
HEMMER: Kathleen Koch at the White House -- Heidi.
COLLINS: For more on the 9/11 investigation report and how Washington is likely to react to it, David Gergen, a former White House advisor, is editor-at-large at "U.S. News & World Report."
He is live in Boston this morning.
Thanks for being here once again on AMERICAN MORNING.
DAVID GERGEN, EDITOR-AT-LARGE, "U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT": Thanks.
COLLINS: Do you think that this report will bring about the necessary changes to make this country safe?
GERGEN: I think in the long run it will. In the short term, it won't because everyone is on such a political edge there's going to be a tendency to, as we've already see in the past few days on the Sandy Berger flap, people just exaggerate far beyond what the facts will bear. And as a result, I think that we're not going to get action between now and the elections.
But after the elections, the reorganization of intelligence, the necessity to strengthen the powers of government to deal with this, I think, will be one of the -- at the top of the agenda for the next president here at home.
COLLINS: Do you think that's soon enough, if we wait until after the presidential election?
GERGEN: Well, I have to tell you, it's -- of course, it would have been better if we'd done it earlier. But it's also important when you reorganize that you not do it in such a hasty way that it's clumsy and you put agencies together that don't fit together.
We've had a lot of trouble at Homeland Security, this vast new department that's been created, in getting the kind of coordination across the agency that's necessary despite the best good will of the people who work there.
These are complex matters and this one needs to be done with great care. Our most important need right now is to remain vigilant, to build up our defenses here at home and to pursue terrorism overseas.
One of the questions that this Commission report is asking, in effect, is hey, look, we didn't find any collaborative ties between Iraq and al Qaeda? We found collaborative ties between Iran and al Qaeda. It's -- did we attack the wrong country? Hmmm.
COLLINS: All right, well, you have already mentioned Sandy Berger this morning. You know, there is a House committee that has announced it will begin an investigation. But you have come out in strong support of him.
Why?
GERGEN: Well, in part because he's a friend. But in part because I've had the opportunity and privilege of working with Sandy Berger over a long period of time and I have found him to be an individual of enormous integrity and someone who's totally dedicated to the best interests of the country.
Beyond that, it was Sandy Berger who headed off, led the team that headed off a previous terrorism attack. Now, we might be talking about the 12/31 Commission had this -- had it not been for Sandy Berger, because in -- on December 31, 1999, as we prepared or were celebrating the millennium, it was Sandy Berger who went into a bunker, in effect, in Washington for several days with a team and stopped the terrorists who were going to blow up the Los Angeles Airport and other facilities here in the United States. They would have killed a lot of people. And we -- as I say, we would have been talking about a 12/31 Commission.
So: A, I believe that he's been a hero in the war on terrorism; B, I think when you look at the facts, when you distill it all down in the Sandy Berger episode, I think what you find is there was no harm done to national security. There was no compromise of the 9/11 Commission report. Nothing, no original documents were destroyed.
He made some dumb mistakes, taking those documents out in order -- and copying things down and taking them out so he could prepare for the -- to testify. I think in retrospect it was very dumb. But he didn't destroy anything. No security has been compromised here and the 9/11 Commission was able to get all the documents as they prepared this report today.
COLLINS: Well, you say that no security has been compromised. But do you not believe that given the high level security clearance or, I should say, code word level that we know that these documents are labeled under, which is similar to nuclear secrets, if you will, don't you think an investigation is important?
GERGEN: Yes, the Justice Department is conducting an investigation. I do think it's important. I do think it's important we get the facts on the table to ensure that it is what it appears to be. But I also think it's important that we not hang somebody who's been a great public servant and not draw and quarter him just to jump to conclusions and people just -- you know, there is a great suspicion about why this got leaked on the eve of the 9/11 Commission.
And there was an attempt -- I must say, both parties, I think, have been guilty of trying to exploit the situation, both the Democratic campaign and the Republicans, who went after Sandy Berger. I think they've tried to exaggerate this far beyond what the facts will bear.
At the end of the day, the Sandy Berger episode will pass from history as a minor, minor footnote. And it is because no -- the security has not been compromised. The 9/11 Commission was not compromised.
COLLINS: Former White House advisor David Gergen this morning. Thanks so much.
GERGEN: Thank you.
COLLINS: And stay with us for full coverage of the 9/11 Commission report coming up a little bit later today, in fact, 11:30 Eastern time we will have that news conference for you.
HEMMER: Heidi, also, there are questions this morning about the husband of missing pregnant jogger in Utah, Mark Hacking. He's being treated in a hospital now, though. Police say they are talking to him. They have not called him a suspect in his wife's disappearance.
Kimberly Osias live in Salt Lake City there this morning -- good morning there, Kimberly.
KIMBERLY OSIAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you, Bill.
Well, this case has taken a number of twists and turns since 27- year-old Lori Hacking disappeared. She was last seen just before dawn on Monday morning as she was preparing to go for a run in the Memory Grove Park area, close to where we are.
The couple told family that they were planning to move to North Carolina, where her husband Mark was set to start medical school. Well, unbeknownst to the family, he never even graduated from college and had no plans of going to medical school. Police have questioned Mark extensively but are not calling him a suspect. In fact, they're not calling anyone a suspect yet. However, they do call him a person of interest and he has not been cleared in the case yet.
Both of the couple's cars as well as a dumpster with bedding have been seized by police as they search for clues following up on leads. More than 1,000 volunteers have fanned out over this area as they look for Lori. Some have been suspicious in light of Mark Hacking's recent lies.
However, his family is remaining steadfast, saying that the couple was very, very in love, devoted to each other. In fact, they were high school sweethearts. Lori was five weeks pregnant, expecting the couple's first child.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERALD SOARES, FATHER OF MISSING JOGGER: I don't think he could do it because he loved Lori too much. And I, when I came to visit him once a month, they always were holding hands together, they were sneaking a kiss here and there. And he was a gentleman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OSIAS: Family members confirmed to me that Mark Hacking admitted himself into a psychiatric ward here in the area on Tuesday. They say the stress has just been overwhelming for him. Police also say that they plan on searching today, although it is scaled back. And those search efforts, Bill, will begin around 8:00 a.m. local time.
HEMMER: All right, Kimberly, we'll track that again.
Kimberly Osias there in Salt Lake City -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Twelve minutes past the hour now.
Time for a look at some of today's other headlines with Fredricka Whitfield -- Fredricka, hello.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello again, Heidi.
We start in Baghdad, where a raid turned into a major gun battle this morning. American and Iraqi security forces clashed with insurgents in the center of the city. Dozens of people were detained yesterday in the city of Ramadi. Two dozen insurgents were killed in clashes with U.S. troops.
Meanwhile, insurgents have captured seven new hostages from Kenya, India and Egypt. Militants are demanding that the countries and the companies the men are affiliated with pull their personnel out of Iraq.
The U.S. Army is reportedly short on bullets. The "Washington Post" reports that increased combat training and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are draining the armed forces of small caliber bullets. To offset the shortages, the Army has turned to overseas suppliers. Some law makers say those bullets are coming at a premium price.
Boston has launched a pilot program to allow city employees and retirees to purchase prescription drugs from Canada. Mayor Thomas Menino announced the move yesterday, despite criticism from the FDA and a federal prohibition on the practice. Officials predict the plan will result in savings of about a million dollars in its first year.
The Agricultural Department is recalling tons of cooked chicken because of possible Listeria contamination. The tainted chicken was produced July 13th and distributed to warehouses in Georgia and Arkansas. Listeria is characterized by high fever, severe headaches and stiffness and nausea. The USDA says there have not been any reports of illnesses.
And finally, authorities in Brooklyn Heights, Ohio, are investigating how a local cat is still alive. The feline had been euthanized by the animal warden and placed it in a freezer. But when the freezer was opened hours later, the cat jumped out. Officials are double checking procedures to avoid any repeats in the future. But everyone's kind of glad that that happened in that case -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, and I was so glad the line wasn't in there about the nine lives and everything. Thank you for sparing us that.
WHITFIELD: I saved that for you.
COLLINS: OK. Thanks, Fred.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: American cyclist Lance Armstrong chasing history, moving closer to a record sixth straight title in the Tour de France. Four stages to go. After taking the overall lead this week, Armstrong needs to hold on until Sunday, when the three week, 20 stage marathon ends in Paris.
Sally Jenkins has written two books about Armstrong -- "It's Not About The Bike" and "Every Second Counts." She's here now in our studios in New York.
Good morning to you. Nice to see you.
SALLY JENKINS, CO-AUTHOR, "IT'S NOT ABOUT THE BIKE": Good morning.
HEMMER: Yesterday, nine miles uphill, the 10,000 feet, they called this a time trial.
JENKINS: Yes, I know. I mean, car transmissions have a hard time getting up a slope like that.
HEMMER: What is motivating him at this point?
JENKINS: Well, the cancer motivates him. I mean, he was a great talented young rider who was wasting his ability before cancer. And after the cancer, he's been determined not to waste another moment.
HEMMER: Well, he was a pretty good rider...
JENKINS: He was a great rider.
HEMMER: ... but he got a lot of attention going to the Summer Games in 1996.
JENKINS: Well, he...
HEMMER: Probably didn't perform as well as a lot of people thought then.
JENKINS: He was the youngest world champion in history. So, he was a prodigy, and everyone expected that he would eventually become a Tour de France contender. But he was known as slightly overweight and slightly lazy.
HEMMER: Yesterday and throughout the week, at times, there are a million people on the streets to watch this Tour.
JENKINS: Yes.
HEMMER: Yesterday, a bit of an unfortunate incident. Apparently some Germans spitting on Lance Armstrong, chanting some anti-U.S. slogans.
How does that affect him?
JENKINS: Well, obviously he's the most concentrated athlete in the world because it didn't affect him at all. And you know, the funny thing is Tiger Woods looks like he's going to cry if you take his picture, whereas Lance Armstrong managed to make it up nine miles, you know, with fans screaming at him and spitting at him.
HEMMER: One of the points you made, going back to the fans heckling him, is that unusual in the Tour de France?
JENKINS: You know, it's part of the culture of the Tour de France. I mean, don't forget, Eddy Merckx, the greatest cyclist who ever lived, probably, got punched in the stomach by an irate fan, which ruined his bid for a sixth tour. So, getting spat on is unpleasant, but I think Lance would prefer that to getting knocked off his bike by a fan, which has happened.
HEMMER: Well, and it was much more intimate yesterday, because the bikers going at that rate of speed, which is much slower than they normally go...
JENKINS: Right. So someone...
HEMMER: ... which allows...
JENKINS: Someone could get at you if they wanted to, and that was his biggest fear. HEMMER: He has recently separated from his wife and divorced. Cheryl Crow, his girlfriend now, apparently trailing him in the chase car.
JENKINS: Right.
HEMMER: What has the impact of her relationship been with him?
JENKINS: Well, I guess we can put to rest the question of whether or not she's good for him or for his career. He's obviously thriving professionally and, you know, he seems very happy. I don't know Cheryl Crow. I've talked to Lance about her a little bit. He's clearly smitten, and she makes him happy.
Kristin's a wonderful woman and a terrific mother, and they remain real good friends. They're raising those kids together, you know? So, I guess you just have to be happy for him.
HEMMER: There is a documentary running on ESPN this week. And Greg LeMond, a great cyclist in his own right, three yellow jerseys in his time, strong allegations that Lance Armstrong is cheating.
JENKINS: Well, you know, to me, frankly, I don't see how it's possible that Lance is cheating. If you think he's cheating in this Tour de France, I think it defies common sense. And his performance in this Tour de France is consistent with all of his other performances in these Tour de Frances.
I don't know what LeMond based it on and I think if you're going to throw around an accusation like that, you'd better say what you think he's on and when you think he's on it, because otherwise it's just as baseless as all the other accusations.
HEMMER: Doesn't this cloud follow him, though, forever, for those who are...
JENKINS: Well, you know, it's followed every rider in the Tour de France. Cycling has had drug scandals. And there's no question about that. Lance understands that if you lead the Tour de France, people are going to accuse you of doping.
He's been under investigation for two straight years in France. He's never tested positive. He utterly denies it. I believe him as an athlete, I believe him as a man. I don't see how it's possible.
HEMMER: Enjoy the next four stages. We hope the best for him.
JENKINS: Thank you.
HEMMER: Sally Jenkins, nice to talk to you.
All right -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Still to come this morning: Some executives in Chicago are running for the bathrooms. We'll explain.
Also ahead: We're "Minding Your Business." We'll look at the huge sacrifices one airline may have to make to keep flying.
Plus: Chain-link fences, heavy netting overhead and barbed wire to keep people in. It sounds like a prison camp. Actually, it's the Democratic convention. More on that ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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COLLINS: Delta Airlines just announced huge losses. Now its pilots are trying to help out.
And Carrie Lee's in for Andy Serwer.
She's "Minding Your Business" from this morning's market site -- how are you, Carrie?
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am fine, Heidi.
Thank you very much.
Delta Airlines not doing so well these days, though. The company's trying to stave off Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company's airline pilots are now trying to help the company do that, offering to take a 23 percent wage cut.
This comes two days after the carrier reported its worst ever quarterly loss, losing about $2 billion. But it might not be enough. Delta's CEO says more will be required. Remember, back in December, the pilots' union offered to accept a 9 percent pay cut. Delta, though, was looking for more like a 35 percent cut.
Delta, like other carriers, has an immediate need to cut costs -- high fuel prices, lower average fares, and a huge debt load all hurting the company. And it has been a very turbulent week for Delta's stock. So we'll see what it does today.
Stocks across-the-board looking pretty flat for today's session. We could see some more selling in technology issues, although probably not the huge sell off we saw yesterday. The Nasdaq now at its lowest level for 2004, losing over two percent yesterday. You can see the Dow, the S&P, also a bit lower.
Quickly, one merger to tell you about: Molson and Adolph Coors have agreed to a merger of equals. A lot of people waiting for this offer. The new company is going to be called Molson Coors Brewing, with about $6 billion in annual sales -- Heidi, no word on whether they're going to put out some new brands of beer or not, but we'll see.
COLLINS: Well, yes, I've been waiting this whole time to figure that out.
LEE: Yes.
COLLINS: All right, Carrie, thanks so much.
LEE: Sure. HEMMER: You know, Andy Serwer is out this week, but you know he would be all over that Molson Coors story.
COLLINS: Got him in the lead, yes.
HEMMER: No question.
All right, Jack -- good morning.
CAFFERTY: Where is Andy, by the way?
HEMMER: He's out.
CAFFERTY: Is anybody...
COLLINS: He's actually on assignment.
CAFFERTY: Oh, yes, right.
HEMMER: Oh, is he?
COLLINS: Now he's...
HEMMER: I thought he had vacation this week. No? He was on assignment last week.
CAFFERTY: Yes.
HEMMER: We'll figure it out.
CAFFERTY: All right, I told you we had a picture of the missing link. That's what one Israeli newspaper is calling this 5-year-old critter. It's actually a monkey. Look at this thing. Natasha is in a zoo near Tel Aviv and has started walking on her hind legs only, just like Hemmer.
Monkeys usually alternate between walking upright like people and on all fours. A veterinarian says it's brain damage from a recent stomach illness that almost killed her that could explain this unusual behavior. It's very cool.
The recent performances of Whoopi Goldberg and Linda Ronstadt have scared off some Democrats in Boston, apparently. The "Daily News" here in New York reporting that comedian Margaret Cho has been yanked from a fundraiser that was scheduled around the Democratic National Convention.
The event's organizers, an outfit called The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights group, are reportedly worried that Cho's racy routine could become fodder for the Republicans.
They, the Republicans, are trying to label Kerry the candidate of Hollywood values instead of family values. The Human Rights Campaign supports John Kerry, but insists it's not censoring Cho. And the executives running Chicago's airports are becoming very familiar with the bathrooms there at O'Hare. Aviation Commissioner John Roberson, the big boss, said that the rest of the executives need to get their hands dirty in order to understand the importance of keeping the airport restrooms clean.
The "Chicago Sun-Times" is reporting that starting this week, anyone with the title of assistant commissioner or above will spend eight hours doing the following: mopping the bathroom floors, emptying the trash cans, washing the sinks, and cleaning the toilets.
One custodian is offering some pointers to the new workers, such as don't try to clean the stalls if there's somebody in there.
HEMMER: Yes?
CAFFERTY: You know, I -- it's not clear whether the top guy here, what did I say his name was? John Roberson? I wonder if he's going to be in there swabbing out the...
HEMMER: We should get him on the show.
COLLINS: I'm sure, as a good example, right?
HEMMER: Uh-huh.
CAFFERTY: It could be an interview for AMERICAN MORNING.
HEMMER: You know, you love that town, Chicago, by the way.
CAFFERTY: I do like Chicago.
HEMMER: Nothing but endearment toward Chicago, right?
CAFFERTY: No, I like Chicago. Cosmopolitan, but a little bit of country. It's just the right combination.
HEMMER: Yes, and you love the mayor's office, too, I think?
CAFFERTY: Hmmm?
HEMMER: No, I'm just stirring the pot.
Thank you, Jack.
CAFFERTY: You always walk upright and your hind legs.
HEMMER: That's right. Check my knuckles here, baby. I'm dragging along.
In a moment here, Sanjay is back to tell us about a skin cream treatment that can actually make some forms of skin cancer disappear in weeks. We'll get to that.
Also, the convention controversy in Boston. Why protesters say they're already being treated like prisoners. We'll get to that. The bottom of the hour here on AMERICAN MORNING.
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