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American Morning

Judge John Robert's Background; A Heat Wave Across the Country; Minding Your Business; Response to New "Harry Potter" Book

Aired July 20, 2005 - 07:30   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's about half past the hour on this AMERICAN MORNING. Good morning to you. I'm Miles O'Brien.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Carol Costello, in for Soledad.

Coming up, we're going to get a closer look at the man who could be influencing America decades after President Bush leaves office.

O'BRIEN: We'll talk to someone who knows John Roberts very well now. Former Senator Fred Thompson is leading the Supreme Court confirmation process. He'll tell us why he thinks Roberts is the right man for the job.

Right now, let's check headlines. Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta for that.

Fred, good morning.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, Miles and Carol.

Hurricane Emily has now made landfall. It's now about 30 miles east of the San Fernando, Mexico, area. Emily grew to a category three storm overnight. Texas not in its direct path. But the southern tip of that state is likely to feel some of Emily's 125-mile- per-hour winds and heavy rains. Isolated tornadoes are also likely. Much more on this with Chad Myers straight ahead.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he is considering a global conference on how to root out Islamic extremists. The prime minister speaking to the House of Commons just in the past half hour. Officials are also expected to announce new anti-terror and immigration laws in the wake of the London bombings.

Meantime, British authorities are continuing to identify victims. Police have removed one of the mangled train carriages from London's underground. Seven of the 52 people killed in the bombings died at that Edgware road station.

There's been a suicide bombing in Baghdad. Police say an attacker wearing an explosives packed vest detonated himself outside an army recruitment center. At least six people are dead, dozens of others wounded.

The U.S. military's proposed list for downsizing is getting longer. The base closing commission is adding a handful of sites to the list of facilities to be shut down. Among them, the naval air station in Brunswick, Maine. But the commission chairman says he's worried too many facilities in the northeast have been targeted. Final decisions will be made in the fall.

There's word this morning that authorities in Aruba want some suspects in the Natalee Holloway case to undergo DNA testing. Joran van der Sloot, the only suspect still in custody, has reportedly been ordered to supply samples. So have two brothers released earlier this month. Meanwhile, investigators are trying to figure out if some blonde hair found attached to duct tape is that of the missing Alabama teenager. Her family has posted a new $175,000 reward in the case.

Miles, back to you.

O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Fred.

Judge John Roberts is President Bush's pick to succeed Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. His record could be at the center of a tough confirmation process, but how much do we know about him this morning? Chief National Correspondent John King with a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): He is both young and conservative, just the man for a president looking to nudge the Supreme Court a bit to the right and to make his mark on the federal judiciary for years to come.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He will strictly apply the Constitution and laws, not legislate from the bench.

KING: The pick of John G. Roberts was being cheered by conservative groups even before the official White House introduction, and their support will be critical in the tough confirmation battle just ahead. The president's pick is just 50 years old, a native of Buffalo, New York, a Roman Catholic. And for the past two years, a federal appeals judge on the prestigious D.C. circuit.

Back in 1979, he was managing editor of the "Harvard Law Review" and graduated magna cum laude. His more recent resume is what makes conservatives happy. A clerk to then associate and now Chief Justice William Rehnquist, a post in the Reagan White House counsel's office and deputy solicitor general in the first Bush administration.

JUDGE JOHN ROBERTS JR., U.S. SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: I always got a lump in my throat whenever I walked up those marble steps to argue a case before the court, and I don't think it was just from the nerves.

KING: His role arguing abortion case in that job is already been cited by abortion rights groups vowing to oppose the Roberts nomination. In one, Roberts argued to the Supreme Court that "Roe was wrongly decided and should be overruled." In his 2003 confirmation hearings for his current job, Roberts gave no indication of his personal opinion on abortion. ROBERTS: There's no role for advocacy with respect to personal beliefs or views on the part of the judge. The judge is bound to follow the Supreme Court precedent, whether he agrees with it or disagrees with it.

KING: Also certain to be an issue is his work, while in private practice, helping the Bush campaign make its case during the Florida recount battle.

The president sees in Judge Roberts a man with the poise and political skills. First, to handle the tough confirmation fight just ahead, and then to emerge as an influential and conservative voice on the high court for a quarter century to come.

John King, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN: Republican senators hope Roberts will be confirmed before the start of the Supreme Court term in October. Judge Roberts will be guided through that nomination process by former Senator Fred Thompson, once a member of the judiciary committee. Senator Thompson joins us now from Washington.

Good to have you with us, sir.

FRED THOMPSON, FORMER SENATOR: Thank you. It's good to be with you.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk give us your initial preview on how the confirmation process will be. We just saw Ted Kennedy on a little while ago. He seemed rather conciliatory. Long way you know, 20 years ago, if this was Robert Bork (ph), it would have been an entirely different tone.

THOMPSON: Yes, I think for Ted, that was pretty conciliatory.

O'BRIEN: He's not going to get borked (ph) then, huh?

THOMPSON: No. Well, you know, I think that we've got a chance for a dignified process. One that's commensurate with the seriousness of the task at hand. I think that the country deserves that and I think this nominee certainly deserves that. So I'm hoping for the best.

I mean, they have a right members have a right and duty to ask tough questions, and certainly we expect that, but it's not a question of whose side he's on. He's on the side of the litigant that comes into court with the facts and the law on their side. And he will not be prejudging any cases before the committee or anywhere else. And I think everyone understands that. I hope so. And, if so, we'll have a good process.

O'BRIEN: What you're saying there is that his response, in some cases, may not be the definitive answers that committee members might like. In other words, I can't answer that question because I don't have a case before me kind of thing.

THOMPSON: Well, sure. If you go . . .

O'BRIEN: And that's where it gets tough in these hearings, right?

THOMPSON: It is tough. The members probe and try to probe, try to understand as much as they can. It's hard for them.

But it's also difficult for the nominees. If you go back and look at the transcripts of confirmation hearings, of Democrats and Republicans, judges, they all point out time and time again that there are questions that are not subtle law of 30 or 40 years, but questions that are hot button issues that come before the court time and time again, that they simply can't get into because for very practical and ethical reason. That is, they've got to not only be open minded, they've got to appear open minded to potential litigants of the future and not have foreclosed a position based upon the particular facts of a particular case.

Judges don't decide issues. They decide cases. Two real live litigants, at least two, and the facts of that case and the law of that case. And we need to keep that in mind as we go through the process.

O'BRIEN: But nevertheless, there will be a lot of tea leaf reading here. And there aren't that many tea leaves in this case. It's kind of a blank slate.

I just want to share with you one statement he made which where he kind of weighs in on Roe versus Wade. Now at the time he was the solicitor general for the first George Bush administration. In other words, the president's lawyer. And he said this when he was sort of arguing on behalf of the president in this case. "We continue to believe that Roe was wrongly decided and should be overruled." Now how will he explain that particular statement, do you think, Senator?

THOMPSON: Well, you know, sometimes, as pointed out, a person can represent murderers or anyone else and no one questions it. He's a lawyer representing a client. But on some of these hot button issues, you know, you don't get that kind of a pass. But I would point out that he was a lawyer representing the position of his client in that case. Now, in terms of his own personal views and things of that nature, he addressed that issue to the judiciary committee before and he was confirmed by the committee and passed by unanimous consent the United States Senate.

So whatever one's personal views is as a judge, the main obligation and duty is to set aside any of those views and apply the law and the Constitution. That's what good judges do if they're ethically applying carrying out their duty. And he will do that.

O'BRIEN: But we all bring our world view to any decision and our philosophy.

THOMPSON: No question about it. The question is, can you set those aside in an individual case.

O'BRIEN: Well, that's difficult. But that's difficult. We're all human beings.

THOMPSON: Of course it's difficult.

O'BRIEN: And, you know, he's, you know, by all accounts, a Roman Catholic who adheres to the tenets of that faith. Do you suspect that he will advocate and when the opportunity comes up, reversing some of the key aspects of Roe versus Wade, which provide abortion rights in this country?

THOMPSON: We have had the counsel for the ACLU get confirmed on the Supreme Court. We've had one of Senator Kennedy's former staffers get confirmed to the Supreme Court. All based upon the proposition that, despite their prior employment, that they will be objective and consider cases based upon the facts before them and the particular litigants before them. That's what judges do.

O'BRIEN: Senator, hang on one sec. I just want to explain what we're seeing here. We are seeing, I believe this is tape or live? Unclear. This is a tape turnaround. And let's listen as we see Judge Roberts and the president.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He's the kind of person that will bring great dignity to the court. Judge Roberts is off to the Senate this morning to begin his consultations. I'm confident the senators will come to realize what I've come to realize. We're lucky to have a man of such wisdom and intellectual strength willing to serve our country.

I'm also confident that the process will move forward in a dignified, civil way. In my conversations with senators last night, we discussed how important it is that Judge Roberts get a fair hearing, a timely hearing, and a hearing that will bring great credit to our nation and to the United States Senate. And so I've told Judge Roberts over coffee that we will provide all the support that's necessary for the senators to be able to make up their minds, that we will push the process forward because he and I both agree that it's important that he be a sworn in prior to the court reconvening in October. And that I wished him all the best.

So I appreciate you coming by for coffee this morning.

JUDGE JOHN ROBERTS: Thank you very much.

BUSH: Thank you.

O'BRIEN: All right. When you get invited to the White House for coffee, you shop up, right, Senator Thompson? Dignified and civil. That's the term that the president used. He hopes it will be that way.

What do you think? Will it really be dignified and civil, especially when you consider the tone in Washington these days? THOMPSON: I think it could turn out to be better than most people think. I think we've learned from times past that it does nobody any good. It doesn't do the Senate any good. It doesn't do the federal judiciary any good to have a breakdown in civility. Now that doesn't mean that they can't ask pointed questions or tough questions about his record, for example, or anything else that's relevant and can be answered ethically.

But I think, with all the groups swarming around out there and all the people geared up to attack Judge Roberts, even before he was announced, I think that the senators have an opportunity to rise above all that. And I think that we have a good chance of doing that here. I'm optimistic about it based on the comments that have been made so far since the announcement of his nomination.

O'BRIEN: Former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson.

Thanks for your time this morning. Good luck in the process.

THOMPSON: Thanks a lot. Appreciate it.

O'BRIEN: Carol.

COSTELLO: It's already stormy in the weather department, Miles. Let's turn to Chad Myers. He's tracking Hurricane Emily and the heat.

But let's start with Emily, Chad.

(WEATHER REPORT)

COSTELLO: From ice cream and air conditioning to public fountains and swimming pools, they help a little bit. People all across the country, as you heard Chad say, are finding lots of ways to beat the heat. Dan Lothian live in Boston where it's already 80 degrees and climbing.

Dan, how are people handling it there?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wow. They're trying to get cooled down by going, as you mentioned, into fountains and going to the beach. The Boston mayor has issued a heat alert, opening up these cooling centers so that folks can escape the heat. He's also put out a health warning, as he put it, trying to keep people healthy during these extreme conditions. It's not expected to be as bad as it was yesterday but, nonetheless, Boston and other parts of the country are in the middle of a heat wave.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN, (voice over): On the streets of Boston, the heat index might just be measured by how many scoops Peter Barkette (ph) serves up from his Italian ice cream cart.

PETER BARKETTE: Try a free sample. It will cool you down.

LOTHIAN: With temperatures topping 90 degrees, public fountains, wading pools and beaches help the overheated cool down.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When it's this hot out, we have to be at the beach all day.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Heat advisories are in effect all over the place here.

LOTHIAN: It's sizzling from coast to coast.

JERAS: The heat is reaching dangerous levels across much of the northeast and the southeast as well.

LOTHIAN: In Phoenix, Arizona, the heat wave was blamed for 11 deaths since Saturday, where the mercury has hit 110 for nine straight days. Air conditioners have been a necessity. And when they break down, conditions are unbearable.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was like a sauna right inside your house. It was pretty incredible.

LOTHIAN: In Las Vegas, Nevada, triple digits since last week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been 115, 116.

LOTHIAN: All this heat is putting pressure on power grids across the west. In this California control room, managers work to shift electricity to where it's needed most. North of the border, where it's also steaming, officials in Ontario have had to import power from other regions to keep up with demand. Everyone is being asked to conserve energy. What's behind this extreme weather?

MICHAEL SCHLACTER, METEOROLOGIST, WEATHER 2000: What we're seeing right now is an upswing in certain ocean currents that are linked to the atmosphere.

LOTHIAN: Back at the ice cart in Boston, the whining index is rising.

PETER BARKETTE: If it's too cold, they complain. And if it's too hot, they still complain.

LOTHIAN: Coping with the weather's mood swings while trying to stay cool.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN: Power officials here have crews throughout the region in place in case of an emergency. They're also testing their equipment in the field with infrared devices, trying to make sure that everything is in top shape to handle the high demand.

Carol.

COSTELLO: Good enough. Dan Lothian in Boston this morning.

Still to come, we're "Minding Your Business." Signs the housing market could be slowing down. We'll explain next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Layoffs at Kodak and a market check. Gerri Willis is here "Minding Your Business."

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, we've got a lot going on here today. As a matter of fact, yesterday we told you about the HP layoffs at Hewlett-Packard. Today, bad news for Kodak employees. That company has been restructuring. Back in January of '04, they said they were going to lay off 15,000 employees. Today they said the number will total more like 22,000 to 25,000 people.

Now, Carol, you know the story here. The company has been struggling to turn into a digital camera company instead of a film company, and they continue to struggle with that. The markets today, too, if you're looking for a repeat of yesterday, forget about it. It was a nice day. Look at that, 71 points on the Dow.

COSTELLO: Well, it's a beautiful day.

WILLIS: Not so much today. We're looking at some earnings reports from Yahoo! and Intel, not positive. But, hey, you know, the Nasdaq hit an all-time high or a high for the year yesterday. So not so bad.

COSTELLO: What goes up must come down.

WILLIS: That's right.

COSTELLO: Gerri Willis, thank you.

O'BRIEN: So they say. All right. Thank you very much, ladies.

"Harry Potter" fans around the world devastated, confused, calling counseling centers in the wake of the death of a major character in the latest book. So why, why would J.K. Rowling do this? Sell books, of course. Well, anyway, we'll talk to one of the few American journalists to interview the author ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": Folks say, oh, how about the new "Harry Potter" book? Have you been reading the new "Harry Potter" book?

The thing about this new "Harry Potter" book, it's dark and disturbing. As a matter of fact, it's so dark and disturbing that, after Tom Cruise read it, he had to take an anti-depressant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: Now that's dark. The darkness of the latest "Harry Potter" book has certainly made headlines, especially with the death of an important character. It will not be revealed here, folks. Don't worry.

But many readers are sharing their dismay on fan Web sites to quote one of them, "why would Jo do this to us?" Referring to J.K. Rowling, Jo Rowling.

Now she's ordinarily media shy. She sat down with a few reporters over the weekend. One interview is being posted on the Potter web site, the-leaky-cauldron.org. Correct? And there's got to be some hyphens in there. We'll give you the address in a minute.

And, of course, Melissa Anelli is the editorial director of Leaky Cauldron, which has become sort of the definitive "Harry Potter" site. So much so that you can call her Jo, Miss Rowling, I would call her invited you over for an interview. We'll talk about the interview in a moment. But first, the psychological impact of this major beloved character dying is tough. And you're hearing from people. What are they saying?

MELISSA ANELLI, WWW.THE-LEAKY-CAULDRON.ORG: Well they're saying that they knew that this needed to happen. And while they hope that Jo would find a way around it.

O'BRIEN: Needed to happen?

ANELLI: It did. In the overarching story arc, what Harry has to do and where the rest of his story is leading him, he's got to do it without this person. And while she's found ways around this in other books, so there was this nagging hope that maybe, maybe she didn't have to do it. When it did happen, it not only was horrible and sad, but it did feel right. And fans are taking it that way.

O'BRIEN: Felt right. I just want to give you a couple samplings that are going out there. I think these came to your site, as a matter of fact. One of them. "Does anyone else feel there is a massive hole in their hearts? I've been reading about this character since I was nine. That's six years with him and now he's gone." Another one. "I feel empty with losses, horrible, catastrophic and just mean. Why would Jo do this to us? I can't understand how this is helpful to Harry. When I finished the book, I put it down and started crying."

I was with a 13-year-old the other night and she was reading the book at the table. And she got to that page right there right beside me. She was crest fallen. I told her, you know, it's wizardry. He could come back. I couldn't come up with a good answer. What do you think?

ANELLI: Well, he can't come back.

O'BRIEN: He can't.

ANELLI: One thing Jo has been very clear on is death is death in the wizarding world where you can't come back. O'BRIEN: Okay.

ANELLI: However . . .

O'BRIEN: I gave her a bum steer.

ANELLI: However, I think that anybody who knows this character and knows the books knows that he's not really gone and he's never going to be gone. And the things that he has done and imparted means that his shadow, his beneficent shadow, will always be over Harry and the series.

O'BRIEN: And there are ways of communicating. Because, Harry, after all, has communications with his parents, who, you know, died before really the book even the series begins, right?

ANELLI: Not really. He's seen memories and he has heard things but he's never spoken with them specifically.

O'BRIEN: It's not like it's a two-way conversation.

ANELLI: Yes.

O'BRIEN: All right. Let's talk about this wonderful opportunity you had to interview, as you can call her, Jo. You basically were summoned. Did you know this was coming? She called you up and said, come on over and, you know, sit down in the castle here. Is that how it went?

ANELLI: Well, I knew there was a phone call coming. From whom, I had no idea. And so . . .

O'BRIEN: How'd you know that? Was it wizardry or something?

ANELLI: A friend that I speak to because of the site. Because of . . .

O'BRIEN: An owl came and gave you a little tip hint.

ANELLI: Well, you speak with a lot of people in the franchise when you do the site.

O'BRIEN: Sure.

ANELLI: And I was told that you'll be getting a phone call. And I thought, oh, OK, it's a lawyer or somebody who needs to speak to me about something sensitive. And I picked up the phone and Jo Rowling was on the line. And she said she asked me very earnestly, could you come to Scotland to interview me?

O'BRIEN: So you penciled in a little bit of time. You managed to squeeze out the time.

ANELLI: Yes. Yes.

O'BRIEN: What was the biggest surprise you walked away from having done that interview?

ANELLI: That she is as normal as its been made in the press that she is. She is she put us at such ease. We just sat there and talked and we laughed. And I was able to call her Jo with ease, which I didn't think I was going to be able to do. And just the amount of laughter and good will that she expressed.

O'BRIEN: So you enjoyed her. You enjoyed her company.

ANELLI: Oh, yes, very much so.

O'BRIEN: That's great.

ANELLI: As a matter of fact, it was supposed to be an hour interview and it went over two.

O'BRIEN: Fantastic. All right. Well you can read it if you go to the site. Let's get it we'll put the site up on the screen here. It's the-leaky-cauldron.org. Make sure you put all those hyphens in there, otherwise you end up . . .

ANELLI: Or just Google the word "leaky."

O'BRIEN: Who knows where you'll be. But, yes, or just Google the whole thing.

ANELLI: Just Google the word "leaky."

O'BRIEN: Melissa Anelli, thank you very much for joining us. Congratulations. Got her signed copy of the book right here.

ANELLI: That's the British version.

O'BRIEN: A personal treasury. You won't see that one on eBay, I bet.

ANELLI: No, no.

O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks for your time. Thanks for dropping by.

ANELLI: Thanks.

O'BRIEN: Back with top stories in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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