Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

U.S. Striking Back After a Wave of Car Bombings in Iraq; Combating I.D. Theft

Aired May 25, 2005 - 07:00   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien. The U.S. striking back after a wave of car bombings in Iraq, as U.S. and Iraqi troops try to free another Western city from the grip of insurgents.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Bill Hemmer.

Millions of Americans victims of I.D. theft and forced to fend for themselves. Is anyone in Congress working to solve this skyrocketing problem?

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Jack Cafferty. Another diversion as Congress focuses on stem-cell research instead of health insurance, tax reform, porous borders and record deficits.

O'BRIEN: And Lionel Tate, he made headlines when he was sentenced to life in prison at age 14. He's in trouble again and possibly heading back to prison, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

HEMMER: Good morning, everyone, on a Tuesday. Just like yesterday, there was a lot of news regarding Iraq this morning. Make that Wednesday.

O'BRIEN: Our top story this morning, the U.S. launching new offensives against insurgents in the western part of the country. There's new word also the most wanted terrorist in Iraq is wounded.

Ryan Chilcote in Baghdad for us this morning.

Ryan, let's start with the latest operation.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

The U.S. military is back on the offensive. It's being called Operation New Market. It's taking place in the city of Haditha. That's about 130 miles west of Baghdad. It's about halfway between the Iraqi capital and the Syrian border in what's called the Anbar province. It began just before dawn. We understand it's mostly a Marine operation. Most of these Marines coming from the regimental Combat Team Two. The Marines say they'd already been in this area, but the insurgents have picked up their activities there. And the whole goal of this operation is, in military speak, is to try to disrupt the insurgents' activities in that area.

It comes just 11 days after the Marines wrapped up what was called Operation Matador. That took place west of there, also in the Anbar province, netting nearly 50 suspected insurgents. Meanwhile, we're getting some information, quite curious information from the insurgent side of the fight, concerning terrorist leader Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. It came in just late last night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHILCOTE (voice-over): A surprising message, purportedly from Al Qaeda in Iraq, this time concerning one of their own, Iraq's most wanted terrorist, Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. The message says he has been wounded and calls on Muslims to, quote, "pray for the healing of our Sheikh Abu Musab Al Zarqawi from an injury he suffered in the path of God. The injury of our leader is an honor, and a cause to close in on the enemies of God and a reason to increase the attacks against them."

The Jordanian-born extremist who's believed to be responsible for the highest profile terrorist acts in Iraq in the last two years, including this suicide bomber attack that killed 127, and the beheading of American hostage Nick Berg.

In an audio message purportedly from Bin Laden five months ago, he called Zarqawi Al Qaeda's prince in Iraq.

Even if Zarqawi is wounded, it's had no effect on the violence that never seems to quit. Insurgents killed a total of nine U.S. troops Monday and Tuesday. Three of them here when a car bomb went off beside their convoy. They also hit Iraqi security forces.

But ordinary Iraqis were, as usual, the worst hit. More than 50 Iraqis were slaughtered, hundreds more maimed in attacks on restaurants, parties and mosques in the first 24 hours of this week.

Iraq's Shiites and Sunnis are increasingly blaming one another for the violence, prompting a prominent Shiite and Sunni leader to meet Tuesday in an effort to quell the tension. The U.S. military is also concerned that Sunni Arabs, who have been left out of the government, are supporting the insurgency. It says Zarqawi represents just one strand the insurgency.

The bottom line, Iraq has become a battlefield for multiple groups with multiple interests.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHILCOTE: Soledad, we've heard rumors about Zarqawi's condition more than once before, and the U.S. military has always said it simply doesn't know if they're true, and we can't confirm this new report.

One thing the U.S. and Iraqi militaries are saying is that even though it would be a significant blow to the insurgency if Zarqawi was injured or better in their minds dead, they by no stretch of the imagination think that the insurgency would be halted there -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Ryan Chilcote in Baghdad for us this morning. Ryan, thanks. In Spain, a truck bombing this morning is being called the work of terrorists. Spanish investigators say the Basque separatist group ETA is behind the blast. At least three people report injuries, 15 more complaining of temporary ear problems. ETA has been blamed for more than 800 deaths since 1968 in its campaign to create an independent Basque homeland.

HEMMER: Next stop, the U.S. Senate. The House has passed a bill that would expand federal spending for embryonic stem cell research; an identical bill now proposed for the Senate, but the president has promised to veto that in the end. Congressman Chris Shays one of 50 Republicans to break ranks with the White House and vote in favor of the bill. He's my guest down in D.C.

Good morning. Welcome back here.

REP. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS (R), CONNECTICUT: Good morning.

HEMMER: We heard from a parade of politicians yesterday speak personally about medical tragedy affecting them -- close to their family or their friends. Why do you believe this issue is so important to buck the trend from the White House?

SHAYS: Well, we're talking about basic science. We're talking about science that can heal, cure, save lives. And we're talking about, frankly, new research.

Embryonic stem cell research is just six years old. It's basic research. You need the government to come in. You need the NIH to provide the framework for ethics in this effort. And there's a hope of tremendous progress in health care if this research can continue.

HEMMER: The House leader, Tom DeLay, also a Republican, as you well know, had this to say about this very issue yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TOM DELAY (R-TX): This is one of those issues that have no easy answers. Proponents of the Castle bill, try as they might to find wiggle room, will vote to fund with taxpayer dollars the dismemberment of living, distinct human beings for the purposes of medical experimentation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: He is not one of those 50 Republicans I mentioned at the outset here. And consistently we hear from Republicans and those opposing this about the destruction of human life.

When you balance your own decision going forward with this vote, how do you come down on that side?

SHAYS: Well, I think that they've got ideology that's boxed them in to the extreme. These embryonic stem cells were never in a mother's womb. They will never be in a mother's womb. They will be destroyed. In in vitro fertilization, you create 50 eggs, say, with the hope that you can have a child from one. You destroy the others.

And what we're saying is, "Don't destroy them. Allow for certain cells within the embryo to be taken." The embryo is just a speck and within that speck we're taking out certain cells that can create any cell.

HEMMER: As we know, the White House has threatened a veto on this issue. And if we look at the math right now in the House, you need about 290 votes to override that veto. You got about 238 yesterday; that's 52 short.

Can you make up 52 votes on this matter?

SHAYS: Well, not maybe this year, but I think over time, definitely.

This was a bipartisan debate. It included a lot of pro-life supporters for this research. And it's ultimately going to happen. It may not happen under this president, but it will happen.

And it's happening all around the world. And even those who oppose this research are going to benefit from the health benefits from it.

HEMMER: But immediately after that vote yesterday, there was another vote taken up on this issue. It passed 431-1 in the House. And this pertains specifically to stem cells from the umbilical cord.

What is the substantial difference in this discussion in the House right now as to why this issue could go forward and the issue that you're proposing right now could be shot down at the White House?

SHAYS: Well, because the opponents of embryonic stem cell research supported this, and we support both.

HEMMER: Next stop: the U.S. Senate. Any idea when that happens?

SHAYS: No.

HEMMER: Chris Shays, congressman from Connecticut, thanks for your time there on Capitol Hill. We'll speak again.

SHAYS: Thank you.

HEMMER: Here's Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, the Senate could vote as early as today on one of President Bush's nominees to the federal court. In a visit to the White House on Tuesday, nominee Priscilla Owen was introduced by the president as, quote, "a great judge." Today's vote comes after a Senate compromise which ended years of gridlock on some of the president's judicial nominees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Over four years ago, I put Judge Owen's name up to the Senate for confirmation to the Fifth Court of Appeals. Thanks to the good work of the leader, whose work cleared the way, Judge Owen is finally going to get an up or down vote on the Senate floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Republicans suspect Owen will be approved. After the vote on Judge Owen, the Senate is expected to take up another embattled nominee, John Bolton, the president's choice for U.N. ambassador.

Ohio Senator George Voinovich sent a highly critical letter to his fellow Republicans in which he wrote this: "In these dangerous times we cannot afford to put at risk our nation's ability to successfully wage and win the war on terror with a controversial and ineffective ambassador to the United Nations." Bolton's critics testified that he often bullied or intimidated his State Department staff, leading to charges that he would be a poor choice to represent the U.S. at the United Nations.

HEMMER: Just about 10 minutes past the hour now. CNN Security Watch this morning, armed officers on planes are just one of the major changes expected to be announced today for Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport. General aviation and charter flights have been banned at Reagan since 9/11. Transportation officials now saying they will soon allow them to use the airport under certain conditions. First, only 48 private flights per day will be allowed into that airport. Planes will have to first pass through one of a dozen gateway cities and undergo enhanced security screening there. All private flights will also require an armed law-enforcement officer to be on board one of those 48 flights.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Well, identity theft may be the fastest growing crime in America. There are some ways to protect yourself. But what should our government be doing?

HEMMER: Also, Jay Leno was on the stand yesterday in Michael Jackson's case. Find out in a moment why his testimony may actually have helped the prosecution. We'll get to that.

And Lionel Tate behind bars again. Another run-in with the law. After he was freed from a life sentence, could he be going back to prison? A look at that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The Federal Trade Commission says 27 million people had their personal information stolen by thieves between 1998 and 2003. Over the last several months, major corporations have reported massive security breaches. So what should the government be doing to protect us? Susanna Montezemolo is a policy analyst with Consumers Union, the publisher of "Consumer Report." She's in Washington this morning.

Nice to see you, and thanks for talking with us.

SUSANNA MONTEZEMOLO, CONSUMERS UNION: Thank you, and good morning.

O'BRIEN: Good morning.

Who is responsible right now for protecting our identity and our security?

MONTEZEMOLO: Well, that's one of the problems. It's not clear who is responsible. Some companies, like credit bureaus, are regulated, but there are a lot of companies that hold and profit from our personal information and are unregulated. We don't even know the companies exist, let alone what information they have on us.

O'BRIEN: The Federal Trade Commission, though, seems sometimes to be taking the lead in some ways. What exactly are they doing?

MONTEZEMOLO: Well, the Federal Trade Commission has some information on their Web site, and if you call them on identity theft, but it's certainly not a one-stop shop for identity theft. Right now, victims are on their own, and that's a huge problem, and that's one of the things that Congress is looking to do, is to give the FTC, which is a consumer agency, the power to do more.

O'BRIEN: I know that you're, in fact, one of the people pushing for reform. Do you foresee, though, any realistic way where you can prevent security breaches? Isn't technology just sort of there right now?

MONTEZEMOLO: Well, there are ways to prevent it. There may not be 100 percent foolproof way, but certainly we can get a lot closer to preventing it, and that is through really strong security measures. Also, give people control over their information. It's our information after all, and we should be able to decide whether to give it out nor not. And right now, we don't even know the companies that have our information. We can't look at that information. We can't correct it if it's incorrect. So there's a lot to do.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Forgive me for interrupting you there. It seems that notification is a huge problem. You get a letter in the mail, six months if you're lucky, after something happened, telling you that all your information may or may not have been compromised. You want to change that as well?

MONTEZEMOLO: Absolutely. Notification is a huge problem. And I was one of the Bank of America customers who got the notification letter, and it was completely in legal terminology. Luckily, I work on these issues, so I knew what it meant. But notification has to be specific. It has to be easy to understand. It has to tell you what to do about the problem. So that's a clear issue for Congress to act on.

O'BRIEN: Well, in my family, we've got the Time Warner issue and also the Berkeley issue, all at the same time, coming from both ends. At the end of the day, really, it's up to consumers as it stands right now. You've got some tips, and I want to run through them. You say guard your Social Security card. But I thought thieves really don't need the card. They just need the number.

MONTEZEMOLO: Right, they do just need the number, but what happens is that the number is not only on your Social Security number -- on your Social Security card, it's often on other pieces of information. For example, if you are a Medicare recipient, your Social Security number is on your Medicare card. Often, Social Security numbers are used on driver's licenses, on college I.D.s. As a consumer, you should be trying to get that out of your wallet and take control over it.

O'BRIEN: And the next piece of advice, don't give out personal data. How do you do that in an atmosphere where you go to the dentist, they want to know your Social Security number? Everybody wants your Social Security number. How do say no?

MONTEZEMOLO: Well, the key is to ask why they need the information in the first place. You know, I went to my doctor yesterday. They asked for my Social Security number. My doctor's I.D. card is very different from my Social Security number. They didn't need it. I didn't give it. So ask questions, and also wait until you've initiated a transaction. If you've affirmatively gone to your doctor's office, that's different from somebody calling you, saying that they're your bank, and pretending to be legitimate and getting that information from you.

O'BRIEN: Your final piece of advice in our final seconds here you say look at your credit report, but it costs money to do that, often if you want to do it more than once a year, right? How often should you do it?

MONTEZEMOLO: Right, you should do it at least once a year, and if you think that you're a victim of identity theft, then probably more often. But we all have the right now, through a new federal law, to get a free credit report every year, and we are we should be taking advantage that.

O'BRIEN: Susanna Montezemolo, joining us this morning from the Consumers Union, thanks for the good advice.

MONTEZEMOLO: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: We'll see about the reform to come.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Andy is "Minding Your Business." He's going to tell us which companies benefit if the stem- cell bill becomes law. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. A win in the House for biotech companies. Foreign companies stand to gain the upper hand on this whole stem-cell research idea. And a look at the sizzling real-estate market. All three with Andy Serwer right now.

What's happening? You're busy.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: A lot to cover this morning.

The bill that expands fed funding for stem-cell research that passed the House yesterday has employees, and executives and investors in stem-cell companies very excited this morning. These stocks are way up in the premarket trading. Let's take a look at these Geron, Aastrom, Stemcells, they're all very speculative stocks, and they're all in low single digits.

Now, of course this story is very fluid, as they say. An identical bill has to go before the Senate. The president has said he will veto any such measure, and it does not appear that Congress has enough votes to override the veto. So people on Wall Street watching this very carefully. But it all could be moot, because so much of this business now, Bill, is being done in China and India, where there are no regulations. So it will be interesting to see if that comes into play, us falling behind other countries. Another part of the story.

HEMMER: And you got places like England and Japan, spent hundreds of millions of their own federal money into this issue also.

SERWER: Right, right, interesting to see.

Let's talk about the sizzling housing market. Boy, this is truly amazing. Housing up 15 percent in April. That's sales of existing homes, 7.18 million annual pace for those people who file these kinds of things. Average home price now in the United States, $255,000.

HEMMER: That's a record.

SERWER: The median, which is, you know, another kind of an average, of course an equal number; above and below is the median, a little below that. So you know, some places, San Diego, I saw in "The New York Times," it said you can buy six houses in Syracuse for the cost of one home in San Diego.

O'BRIEN: California is out of control.

SERWER: That's amazing.

O'BRIEN: I mean, people outbid each other by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

HEMMER: Is there a consensus on whether or not the bubble is going to burst?

SERWER: Well, I mean, I think at some point it is going to burst in some of those markets, no question, the coast, the northeast corridor of Florida, places like that. It' got to happen.

O'BRIEN: They've said that about New York for a long time. Haven't seen it yet.

SERWER: That's true, Soledad. You're right.

Your government at work is the focus of the Question of the Day.

Good morning.

CAFFERTY: How're you doing?

The House of Representatives has voted to expand federal funding for stem-cell research using human embryos. The bill now goes to the Senate. President Bush has promised to veto, objecting to, quote, creating new incentives for the ongoing destruction of emerging human life. With the focus on stem cell research, though, another opportunity passes to deal with this nation's porous borders, burgeoning budget deficits, tax reform and the fact that there are almost 50 million Americans are with no health insurance. The potential benefits from stem-cell research are huge, but harvesting human embryos is a tricky moral issue for some.

The question is this, should stem cell research be a priority for Congress?

SERWER: Well, that's the question.

O'BRIEN: That's a good question.

SERWER: They've made it a priority, right?

O'BRIEN: Exactly.

(CROSSTALK)

CAFFERTY: That's just another agenda-driven issue, just like the Terri Schiavo stuff. Nothing is being done, you know, about the practical situations that confront the taxpayers in this country. It's all about driving a right-wing agenda down there. It's nauseating.

O'BRIEN: We'll check it out.

Jack, thanks for that.

NASCAR star Jeff Gordon, he had a tough day. This from Chicago. He was at Wrigley Field the other day. Oftentimes celebrities are invited in the booth to sing the -- what, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," seventh-inning stretch. It all went wrong when he started calling it "Wrigley stadium," when it's Wrigley Field, and you know folks in Chicago did not like that.

Here's a listen from Wrigley:

(SINGING) SERWER: Goobers out in force.

HEMMER: Are you kidding me? That guy's not going on "American Idol" anytime soon, is he? Jeff Gordon. Cubs won the game 4-2 over the Astros. That was the good news from Wrigley. That's the bad news right there that you're listening to right now from Jeff Gordon. He had fun, though.

O'BRIEN: Doesn't look like he's taking it too badly.

Speaking of "American Idol," more AMERICAN MORNING still to come.

On "90-Second Pop," Carrie's a little bit country. Bo's a little bit rock 'n' roll. But which one is the next "American Idol?" And should HBO can Bill Maher? the latest on the comedian's controversial comments are ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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


Aired May 25, 2005 - 07:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Soledad O'Brien. The U.S. striking back after a wave of car bombings in Iraq, as U.S. and Iraqi troops try to free another Western city from the grip of insurgents.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Bill Hemmer.

Millions of Americans victims of I.D. theft and forced to fend for themselves. Is anyone in Congress working to solve this skyrocketing problem?

JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Jack Cafferty. Another diversion as Congress focuses on stem-cell research instead of health insurance, tax reform, porous borders and record deficits.

O'BRIEN: And Lionel Tate, he made headlines when he was sentenced to life in prison at age 14. He's in trouble again and possibly heading back to prison, on this AMERICAN MORNING.

HEMMER: Good morning, everyone, on a Tuesday. Just like yesterday, there was a lot of news regarding Iraq this morning. Make that Wednesday.

O'BRIEN: Our top story this morning, the U.S. launching new offensives against insurgents in the western part of the country. There's new word also the most wanted terrorist in Iraq is wounded.

Ryan Chilcote in Baghdad for us this morning.

Ryan, let's start with the latest operation.

RYAN CHILCOTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

The U.S. military is back on the offensive. It's being called Operation New Market. It's taking place in the city of Haditha. That's about 130 miles west of Baghdad. It's about halfway between the Iraqi capital and the Syrian border in what's called the Anbar province. It began just before dawn. We understand it's mostly a Marine operation. Most of these Marines coming from the regimental Combat Team Two. The Marines say they'd already been in this area, but the insurgents have picked up their activities there. And the whole goal of this operation is, in military speak, is to try to disrupt the insurgents' activities in that area.

It comes just 11 days after the Marines wrapped up what was called Operation Matador. That took place west of there, also in the Anbar province, netting nearly 50 suspected insurgents. Meanwhile, we're getting some information, quite curious information from the insurgent side of the fight, concerning terrorist leader Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. It came in just late last night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHILCOTE (voice-over): A surprising message, purportedly from Al Qaeda in Iraq, this time concerning one of their own, Iraq's most wanted terrorist, Abu Musab Al Zarqawi. The message says he has been wounded and calls on Muslims to, quote, "pray for the healing of our Sheikh Abu Musab Al Zarqawi from an injury he suffered in the path of God. The injury of our leader is an honor, and a cause to close in on the enemies of God and a reason to increase the attacks against them."

The Jordanian-born extremist who's believed to be responsible for the highest profile terrorist acts in Iraq in the last two years, including this suicide bomber attack that killed 127, and the beheading of American hostage Nick Berg.

In an audio message purportedly from Bin Laden five months ago, he called Zarqawi Al Qaeda's prince in Iraq.

Even if Zarqawi is wounded, it's had no effect on the violence that never seems to quit. Insurgents killed a total of nine U.S. troops Monday and Tuesday. Three of them here when a car bomb went off beside their convoy. They also hit Iraqi security forces.

But ordinary Iraqis were, as usual, the worst hit. More than 50 Iraqis were slaughtered, hundreds more maimed in attacks on restaurants, parties and mosques in the first 24 hours of this week.

Iraq's Shiites and Sunnis are increasingly blaming one another for the violence, prompting a prominent Shiite and Sunni leader to meet Tuesday in an effort to quell the tension. The U.S. military is also concerned that Sunni Arabs, who have been left out of the government, are supporting the insurgency. It says Zarqawi represents just one strand the insurgency.

The bottom line, Iraq has become a battlefield for multiple groups with multiple interests.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHILCOTE: Soledad, we've heard rumors about Zarqawi's condition more than once before, and the U.S. military has always said it simply doesn't know if they're true, and we can't confirm this new report.

One thing the U.S. and Iraqi militaries are saying is that even though it would be a significant blow to the insurgency if Zarqawi was injured or better in their minds dead, they by no stretch of the imagination think that the insurgency would be halted there -- Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Ryan Chilcote in Baghdad for us this morning. Ryan, thanks. In Spain, a truck bombing this morning is being called the work of terrorists. Spanish investigators say the Basque separatist group ETA is behind the blast. At least three people report injuries, 15 more complaining of temporary ear problems. ETA has been blamed for more than 800 deaths since 1968 in its campaign to create an independent Basque homeland.

HEMMER: Next stop, the U.S. Senate. The House has passed a bill that would expand federal spending for embryonic stem cell research; an identical bill now proposed for the Senate, but the president has promised to veto that in the end. Congressman Chris Shays one of 50 Republicans to break ranks with the White House and vote in favor of the bill. He's my guest down in D.C.

Good morning. Welcome back here.

REP. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS (R), CONNECTICUT: Good morning.

HEMMER: We heard from a parade of politicians yesterday speak personally about medical tragedy affecting them -- close to their family or their friends. Why do you believe this issue is so important to buck the trend from the White House?

SHAYS: Well, we're talking about basic science. We're talking about science that can heal, cure, save lives. And we're talking about, frankly, new research.

Embryonic stem cell research is just six years old. It's basic research. You need the government to come in. You need the NIH to provide the framework for ethics in this effort. And there's a hope of tremendous progress in health care if this research can continue.

HEMMER: The House leader, Tom DeLay, also a Republican, as you well know, had this to say about this very issue yesterday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TOM DELAY (R-TX): This is one of those issues that have no easy answers. Proponents of the Castle bill, try as they might to find wiggle room, will vote to fund with taxpayer dollars the dismemberment of living, distinct human beings for the purposes of medical experimentation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: He is not one of those 50 Republicans I mentioned at the outset here. And consistently we hear from Republicans and those opposing this about the destruction of human life.

When you balance your own decision going forward with this vote, how do you come down on that side?

SHAYS: Well, I think that they've got ideology that's boxed them in to the extreme. These embryonic stem cells were never in a mother's womb. They will never be in a mother's womb. They will be destroyed. In in vitro fertilization, you create 50 eggs, say, with the hope that you can have a child from one. You destroy the others.

And what we're saying is, "Don't destroy them. Allow for certain cells within the embryo to be taken." The embryo is just a speck and within that speck we're taking out certain cells that can create any cell.

HEMMER: As we know, the White House has threatened a veto on this issue. And if we look at the math right now in the House, you need about 290 votes to override that veto. You got about 238 yesterday; that's 52 short.

Can you make up 52 votes on this matter?

SHAYS: Well, not maybe this year, but I think over time, definitely.

This was a bipartisan debate. It included a lot of pro-life supporters for this research. And it's ultimately going to happen. It may not happen under this president, but it will happen.

And it's happening all around the world. And even those who oppose this research are going to benefit from the health benefits from it.

HEMMER: But immediately after that vote yesterday, there was another vote taken up on this issue. It passed 431-1 in the House. And this pertains specifically to stem cells from the umbilical cord.

What is the substantial difference in this discussion in the House right now as to why this issue could go forward and the issue that you're proposing right now could be shot down at the White House?

SHAYS: Well, because the opponents of embryonic stem cell research supported this, and we support both.

HEMMER: Next stop: the U.S. Senate. Any idea when that happens?

SHAYS: No.

HEMMER: Chris Shays, congressman from Connecticut, thanks for your time there on Capitol Hill. We'll speak again.

SHAYS: Thank you.

HEMMER: Here's Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Well, the Senate could vote as early as today on one of President Bush's nominees to the federal court. In a visit to the White House on Tuesday, nominee Priscilla Owen was introduced by the president as, quote, "a great judge." Today's vote comes after a Senate compromise which ended years of gridlock on some of the president's judicial nominees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Over four years ago, I put Judge Owen's name up to the Senate for confirmation to the Fifth Court of Appeals. Thanks to the good work of the leader, whose work cleared the way, Judge Owen is finally going to get an up or down vote on the Senate floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Republicans suspect Owen will be approved. After the vote on Judge Owen, the Senate is expected to take up another embattled nominee, John Bolton, the president's choice for U.N. ambassador.

Ohio Senator George Voinovich sent a highly critical letter to his fellow Republicans in which he wrote this: "In these dangerous times we cannot afford to put at risk our nation's ability to successfully wage and win the war on terror with a controversial and ineffective ambassador to the United Nations." Bolton's critics testified that he often bullied or intimidated his State Department staff, leading to charges that he would be a poor choice to represent the U.S. at the United Nations.

HEMMER: Just about 10 minutes past the hour now. CNN Security Watch this morning, armed officers on planes are just one of the major changes expected to be announced today for Washington D.C.'s Reagan National Airport. General aviation and charter flights have been banned at Reagan since 9/11. Transportation officials now saying they will soon allow them to use the airport under certain conditions. First, only 48 private flights per day will be allowed into that airport. Planes will have to first pass through one of a dozen gateway cities and undergo enhanced security screening there. All private flights will also require an armed law-enforcement officer to be on board one of those 48 flights.

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Well, identity theft may be the fastest growing crime in America. There are some ways to protect yourself. But what should our government be doing?

HEMMER: Also, Jay Leno was on the stand yesterday in Michael Jackson's case. Find out in a moment why his testimony may actually have helped the prosecution. We'll get to that.

And Lionel Tate behind bars again. Another run-in with the law. After he was freed from a life sentence, could he be going back to prison? A look at that's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: The Federal Trade Commission says 27 million people had their personal information stolen by thieves between 1998 and 2003. Over the last several months, major corporations have reported massive security breaches. So what should the government be doing to protect us? Susanna Montezemolo is a policy analyst with Consumers Union, the publisher of "Consumer Report." She's in Washington this morning.

Nice to see you, and thanks for talking with us.

SUSANNA MONTEZEMOLO, CONSUMERS UNION: Thank you, and good morning.

O'BRIEN: Good morning.

Who is responsible right now for protecting our identity and our security?

MONTEZEMOLO: Well, that's one of the problems. It's not clear who is responsible. Some companies, like credit bureaus, are regulated, but there are a lot of companies that hold and profit from our personal information and are unregulated. We don't even know the companies exist, let alone what information they have on us.

O'BRIEN: The Federal Trade Commission, though, seems sometimes to be taking the lead in some ways. What exactly are they doing?

MONTEZEMOLO: Well, the Federal Trade Commission has some information on their Web site, and if you call them on identity theft, but it's certainly not a one-stop shop for identity theft. Right now, victims are on their own, and that's a huge problem, and that's one of the things that Congress is looking to do, is to give the FTC, which is a consumer agency, the power to do more.

O'BRIEN: I know that you're, in fact, one of the people pushing for reform. Do you foresee, though, any realistic way where you can prevent security breaches? Isn't technology just sort of there right now?

MONTEZEMOLO: Well, there are ways to prevent it. There may not be 100 percent foolproof way, but certainly we can get a lot closer to preventing it, and that is through really strong security measures. Also, give people control over their information. It's our information after all, and we should be able to decide whether to give it out nor not. And right now, we don't even know the companies that have our information. We can't look at that information. We can't correct it if it's incorrect. So there's a lot to do.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Forgive me for interrupting you there. It seems that notification is a huge problem. You get a letter in the mail, six months if you're lucky, after something happened, telling you that all your information may or may not have been compromised. You want to change that as well?

MONTEZEMOLO: Absolutely. Notification is a huge problem. And I was one of the Bank of America customers who got the notification letter, and it was completely in legal terminology. Luckily, I work on these issues, so I knew what it meant. But notification has to be specific. It has to be easy to understand. It has to tell you what to do about the problem. So that's a clear issue for Congress to act on.

O'BRIEN: Well, in my family, we've got the Time Warner issue and also the Berkeley issue, all at the same time, coming from both ends. At the end of the day, really, it's up to consumers as it stands right now. You've got some tips, and I want to run through them. You say guard your Social Security card. But I thought thieves really don't need the card. They just need the number.

MONTEZEMOLO: Right, they do just need the number, but what happens is that the number is not only on your Social Security number -- on your Social Security card, it's often on other pieces of information. For example, if you are a Medicare recipient, your Social Security number is on your Medicare card. Often, Social Security numbers are used on driver's licenses, on college I.D.s. As a consumer, you should be trying to get that out of your wallet and take control over it.

O'BRIEN: And the next piece of advice, don't give out personal data. How do you do that in an atmosphere where you go to the dentist, they want to know your Social Security number? Everybody wants your Social Security number. How do say no?

MONTEZEMOLO: Well, the key is to ask why they need the information in the first place. You know, I went to my doctor yesterday. They asked for my Social Security number. My doctor's I.D. card is very different from my Social Security number. They didn't need it. I didn't give it. So ask questions, and also wait until you've initiated a transaction. If you've affirmatively gone to your doctor's office, that's different from somebody calling you, saying that they're your bank, and pretending to be legitimate and getting that information from you.

O'BRIEN: Your final piece of advice in our final seconds here you say look at your credit report, but it costs money to do that, often if you want to do it more than once a year, right? How often should you do it?

MONTEZEMOLO: Right, you should do it at least once a year, and if you think that you're a victim of identity theft, then probably more often. But we all have the right now, through a new federal law, to get a free credit report every year, and we are we should be taking advantage that.

O'BRIEN: Susanna Montezemolo, joining us this morning from the Consumers Union, thanks for the good advice.

MONTEZEMOLO: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: We'll see about the reform to come.

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, Andy is "Minding Your Business." He's going to tell us which companies benefit if the stem- cell bill becomes law. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HEMMER: Welcome back, everyone. A win in the House for biotech companies. Foreign companies stand to gain the upper hand on this whole stem-cell research idea. And a look at the sizzling real-estate market. All three with Andy Serwer right now.

What's happening? You're busy.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: A lot to cover this morning.

The bill that expands fed funding for stem-cell research that passed the House yesterday has employees, and executives and investors in stem-cell companies very excited this morning. These stocks are way up in the premarket trading. Let's take a look at these Geron, Aastrom, Stemcells, they're all very speculative stocks, and they're all in low single digits.

Now, of course this story is very fluid, as they say. An identical bill has to go before the Senate. The president has said he will veto any such measure, and it does not appear that Congress has enough votes to override the veto. So people on Wall Street watching this very carefully. But it all could be moot, because so much of this business now, Bill, is being done in China and India, where there are no regulations. So it will be interesting to see if that comes into play, us falling behind other countries. Another part of the story.

HEMMER: And you got places like England and Japan, spent hundreds of millions of their own federal money into this issue also.

SERWER: Right, right, interesting to see.

Let's talk about the sizzling housing market. Boy, this is truly amazing. Housing up 15 percent in April. That's sales of existing homes, 7.18 million annual pace for those people who file these kinds of things. Average home price now in the United States, $255,000.

HEMMER: That's a record.

SERWER: The median, which is, you know, another kind of an average, of course an equal number; above and below is the median, a little below that. So you know, some places, San Diego, I saw in "The New York Times," it said you can buy six houses in Syracuse for the cost of one home in San Diego.

O'BRIEN: California is out of control.

SERWER: That's amazing.

O'BRIEN: I mean, people outbid each other by hundreds of thousands of dollars.

HEMMER: Is there a consensus on whether or not the bubble is going to burst?

SERWER: Well, I mean, I think at some point it is going to burst in some of those markets, no question, the coast, the northeast corridor of Florida, places like that. It' got to happen.

O'BRIEN: They've said that about New York for a long time. Haven't seen it yet.

SERWER: That's true, Soledad. You're right.

Your government at work is the focus of the Question of the Day.

Good morning.

CAFFERTY: How're you doing?

The House of Representatives has voted to expand federal funding for stem-cell research using human embryos. The bill now goes to the Senate. President Bush has promised to veto, objecting to, quote, creating new incentives for the ongoing destruction of emerging human life. With the focus on stem cell research, though, another opportunity passes to deal with this nation's porous borders, burgeoning budget deficits, tax reform and the fact that there are almost 50 million Americans are with no health insurance. The potential benefits from stem-cell research are huge, but harvesting human embryos is a tricky moral issue for some.

The question is this, should stem cell research be a priority for Congress?

SERWER: Well, that's the question.

O'BRIEN: That's a good question.

SERWER: They've made it a priority, right?

O'BRIEN: Exactly.

(CROSSTALK)

CAFFERTY: That's just another agenda-driven issue, just like the Terri Schiavo stuff. Nothing is being done, you know, about the practical situations that confront the taxpayers in this country. It's all about driving a right-wing agenda down there. It's nauseating.

O'BRIEN: We'll check it out.

Jack, thanks for that.

NASCAR star Jeff Gordon, he had a tough day. This from Chicago. He was at Wrigley Field the other day. Oftentimes celebrities are invited in the booth to sing the -- what, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," seventh-inning stretch. It all went wrong when he started calling it "Wrigley stadium," when it's Wrigley Field, and you know folks in Chicago did not like that.

Here's a listen from Wrigley:

(SINGING) SERWER: Goobers out in force.

HEMMER: Are you kidding me? That guy's not going on "American Idol" anytime soon, is he? Jeff Gordon. Cubs won the game 4-2 over the Astros. That was the good news from Wrigley. That's the bad news right there that you're listening to right now from Jeff Gordon. He had fun, though.

O'BRIEN: Doesn't look like he's taking it too badly.

Speaking of "American Idol," more AMERICAN MORNING still to come.

On "90-Second Pop," Carrie's a little bit country. Bo's a little bit rock 'n' roll. But which one is the next "American Idol?" And should HBO can Bill Maher? the latest on the comedian's controversial comments are ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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