Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Turning Point in Iraq; Ice Storm Warning; Lagging Katrina Loans
Aired December 15, 2005 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, welcome, I'm Soledad O'Brien.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien.
History in the making this morning in Iraq, voters are at the polls choosing their future. We're live in Baghdad. Tight security in place for the vote, but threats of violence could still cause problems at the polls. We'll join U.S. troops live as they keep watch.
S. O'BRIEN: And we're watching the winter weather this morning. Dangerous storms hitting the East Coast could make your commute just a mess. We've got your full forecast just ahead.
And talking about a mess, by this time tomorrow New York City subways may not be moving. We've got the very latest on a possible transit strike that is looming. Could be mayhem for millions.
And then take a look at this, they're trying to catch, there it is, a baby. Why did the mother throw her baby out the third floor window?
That story, and much more, ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
M. O'BRIEN: Give him a contract.
Let's get to Iraq right away. It's Iraq at the crossroads, an important turning point. And the goal of today's elections is a representative government no less. If that happens, it could mean the beginning of the end of U.S. involvement in Iraq.
Fifteen million people are eligible to vote. The polls still open right now. Turnout expected to be high. A new Parliament will be elected. And this is not the transitional government, it will be in power for the next four years. Two hundred and seventy-five seats will be filled. The Constitution says 25 percent of them must be women. The prime minister will come from the party with the most seats.
Aneesh Raman live at a polling station in Baghdad.
Aneesh, how has the turnout been so far?
ANEESH RAMAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now there's no voters. There's actually a few trying to come in and they are a little nervous with the television. But at this polling station, where I've been for the October referendum as well, voter turnout was definitively higher, especially this morning. It's around lunchtime now. It's about 2:00 p.m. There's about three hours of official voting time left. Iraqis have gone home. We expect to see sort of a surge again.
Throughout Baghdad it seems turnout has been high, and more specifically, in the Sunni areas. In Dora (ph) neighborhood, for example, high turnout. Sunni turnout always seen as a key element to these elections. It was in October, more so now, because if they can be brought onboard and if they do feel that this political process can work for them, it could mean a curbing in the violence and perhaps an end to the domestic insurgents. So overall, it seems turnout has been high throughout the country -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Aneesh, that whole question of the Sunni turnout is so critical. I was talking a little while ago to Senator Joe Biden. We'll be sharing that interview a little bit -- in a little bit with our viewers. He was talking about how important it is for all these people to get together and come up with some way of compromising. And compromise is a word they're not accustomed to there.
RAMAN: They are not. And we've heard important points made by those who have said that this election is a turning point of sorts, but that we do have another constitutional referendum ahead within four months. Why is that important? Well, the last Constitution essentially sidelined huge issues that are unresolved by these three groups, the Shia, the Kurds and the Sunnis. Federalism, the role of Islam, the role of women, all of that has not been decided upon, so this government, beyond having to deal with the security situation, will have to find a way to reach compromise on those still outstanding major issues -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Aneesh, security clearly tight. That goes without saying. But still reports of violence. What are you seeing and hearing?
RAMAN: Yes, we've had a number of mortar attacks in Baghdad, no injuries reported. Also in Ramadi, an IED exploded.
I just want to turn around and give you a sense of how secure each of these polling stations are. It's quite unparalleled in the world, when you think about it, when you come to a vote. Security forces, Miles, have been living at this polling station for two days now, securing it, making sure that no one entered.
When Iraqis actually come in, and we're seeing actually a flow of voters coming in now, they are searched initially to make sure that they are not wearing any explosives vest. Suicide bombers thought to be the biggest threat today. They are searched again once they come into this gate. This usually a school. And then they go onward to vote. But security incredibly intense, this county is essentially under marshal law until Saturday -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Aneesh Raman at a polling station in Baghdad. Thank you very much. CNN has special coverage of this "Turning Point in Iraq?" "ANDERSON COOPER 360" live from Iraq all week, 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Join him then -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: The Bush administration has a huge stake in today's voting, the elections there coming after a two-week campaign by President Bush to drum up American support for the war.
More on that, here's White House correspondent Dana Bash.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The president will mark election day in Iraq by hosting here, in the Oval Office, Iraqis who voted in the United States. And he's calling the elections a watershed moment.
But even as Iraqis prepare to go to the polls for a momentous election, the president is still defending his decision to go to war 1,002 days ago. In the most stark terms to date, he accepted responsibility for building his case based on weapons that never turned up.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is true that much of the intelligence turned out to be wrong. As president, I am responsible for the decision to go into Iraq. And I'm also responsible for fixing what went wrong by reforming our intelligence capabilities. And we're doing just that.
BASH: That mea culpa capped a series of speeches that produced a new Bush tone, a White House attempt to appear more candid about what went wrong and right in Iraq. White House aides and allies believe the four speeches in two weeks were helpful, at least in beginning to try to rebuild American support for the war.
But they know here that the president's Iraq legacy now very much hinges on the Iraq elections and whether or not they can change the uncertain and violent landscape in Iraq enough so that American troops can start to come home.
Dana Bash, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: The president is taking responsibility for Iraq intelligence failures. Could he also clear up the big questions in the CIA leak investigation? Columnist Robert Novak quoted as saying, "he thinks President Bush knows who leaked Valerie Plame's name to the media." Novak was the first person to identify Plame as a CIA operative. Presidential adviser Karl Rove is mentioned as one likely source for his story.
Here is what Novak told the Raleigh, North Carolina "News & Observer." "I'm confident the president knows who the source is. I would be amazed if he doesn't. So I say, don't bug me. Don't bug Bob Woodward. Bug the president as to whether he should reveal who the source is."
M. O'BRIEN: An ice storm working its way up the East Coast today. That means dangerous roads as rain hits the ground and freezes. That's what makes ice. A quarter to a half an inch of ice could build up. That also adds a lot of weight that can pull down power lines and trees, of course. Drivers from north Georgia to western Virginia could see the worst of it.
Steve Litz of our affiliate WSOC Charlotte, North Carolina.
Steve, how is it there this morning?
STEVE LITZ, WSOC-TV REPORTER: It's good if you are a duck, Miles. Power crews here in the area are keeping close tabs on the lines to see if they are going to freeze over. That could cause problems here in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Take a look at the ground. The rain has been falling for a couple of hours as a blob of rain moves over the southeast. And we've got some icicles here, pretty unusual for Charlotte, North Carolina to have icicles like that.
Take a look at the videotape we shot about 4:15 this morning. The salt trucks are out on the interstates in the Charlotte region. They are salting these roads, because, as we said, this rain has been falling a good couple of hours now. Started about midnight, maybe 1:00 in the morning. And the temperatures are below freezing, hovering right around 28, 29 degrees.
So what we have out here is freezing rain. The rain is coming down, hitting the ground. And in some spots of Charlotte, North Carolina, and other parts of this region, the rain is freezing over and causing some slippery roads. We have had bridges closed over here and overpasses as well. The largest school district in our area, Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District is open this morning, but we do know that those buses will be rolling slow.
But again, the warning out here is for people to drive real slow. These roads are slick.
Miles, we'll send it back to you.
M. O'BRIEN: Steve, seeing those pictures of all those accidents, I -- if -- as a parent, I'd be a little nervous about putting my kid on a school bus this morning.
LITZ: And that is the case here. A lot of parents get up real early in the morning and the school districts make -- the school district makes a decision about 5:00, 5:15 in the morning as to whether these roads are drivable for all of those school buses. That is the case they determined this morning just a couple of hours ago. So we do expect these kids to be in school this morning and those buses to be rolling on the roads.
M. O'BRIEN: All right. We hope it's a safe journey for all.
Steve Litz is with our Charlotte, North Carolina affiliate WSOC. Thank you very much.
LITZ: OK.
M. O'BRIEN: Jacqui Jeras at the Weather Center.
Jacqui, I guess we probably should remind folks it's the bridges that are the real problems in these situations, right?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. Yes. The bridges and overpasses, of course, they always freeze first. And you keep in mind that they are elevated a little bit so they are higher up. And also the ground, you know the pavement is underneath the earth, or on top of the earth, rather, and that ground temperature can keep -- prevent things from freezing a little bit. So that's why you're a little bit warmer on some of the regular roads, but you get up into the elevated areas, that's when you have trouble.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Back to you.
S. O'BRIEN: A little bit of good news there, I guess.
JERAS: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Rain better than ice.
All right, Jacqui, thank you very much.
Take a look at this videotape. Here are some maintenance workers. And they are under this window because the mother above screaming catch my baby, catch my baby. And there is the baby.
Here is what's happened. The house -- the apartment, rather, Claremont Village apartment on fire. Third floor fire. The mother, who is panicking, doesn't know what to do, is screaming down below for people to come. So some maintenance workers are below and she tosses the baby out the window.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow! Wow!
S. O'BRIEN: Baby OK. However, when the baby was caught, by the way, by a maintenance supervisor, Felix Vasquez (ph), the baby is not breathing. So he takes the baby off, performs CPR, baby starts crying and screaming again so he knows the baby is breathing and the baby is OK. Then the fire department has to come on the scene and rescue the mom who is trapped behind those child gates.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow! Wow!
S. O'BRIEN: She has kind of her body out the window, but she can't get all the way out because of the child gates.
M. O'BRIEN: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: They come in, and she's panicking and screaming, and they rescue her. But the good news, look at this, that catch. You can't see that too much. Really good news, good hands...
M. O'BRIEN: Just another day in the Bronx for Felix Vasquez. Wow!
S. O'BRIEN: Wow!
M. O'BRIEN: Wow! Unbelievable!
S. O'BRIEN: Good work there.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. What an at-a-boy (ph). We'll try to -- we're going to try to get a hold of him.
S. O'BRIEN: He said he learned CPR 20 years ago when he was a lifeguard. Put it to use yesterday.
M. O'BRIEN: Good thing it came back.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Good thing it came back though.
S. O'BRIEN: And it did.
M. O'BRIEN: And he learned how to catch footballs in high school, good thing that came back, too.
Coming up, we'll take you live to one of the most dangerous places in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Militias, they're (INAUDIBLE) polling stations. That was one of the first big explosions in this city. That's what we're talking about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Well, Nic Robertson is cool as a cucumber, isn't he?
S. O'BRIEN: Never stops.
M. O'BRIEN: Just kept going. He is amazing. The question is, as he takes us on a tour of some of the violence in Ramadi, what does all that have to do with voter turnout? Is it keeping people away from the polls?
S. O'BRIEN: Also this morning, the Big Apple, we are bracing for a big strike. Will you be able to get into the city this time tomorrow? We'll take a look at the looming transit strike ahead.
M. O'BRIEN: Plus thousands of Katrina victims counting on federal loans to rebuild their lives. But here we go again, red tape standing in their way. Their story is ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: All right, that's Counting Crows.
And that's the classic "Big Yellow Taxi," which you know originally was done by -- who did it? It's like Joni Mitchell. Of course, Joni Mitchell.
S. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Pete (ph).
M. O'BRIEN: Tease. My brain cells just don't operate (ph).
Anyway, you saw the big yellow taxi there tying this all together. Taxis, private cars and sensible shoes may be the only things running in New York City come tomorrow morning. That's because subway trains, like this, buses could be shut down. Negotiations over a pay raise for transit workers are going nowhere. Already Mayor Bloomberg is warning people to be ready to ride bikes. That will be cold.
S. O'BRIEN: It's 17 degrees, Mr. Mayor.
M. O'BRIEN: And I bet he won't be riding a bike. That's just my prediction.
S. O'BRIEN: Kind of -- you never know. He's a guy who rides the subway.
M. O'BRIEN: That's true. That's true.
S. O'BRIEN: So he -- and it wouldn't shock me if he were on a bike. But it is cold to ride a bike.
M. O'BRIEN: He's got the backup chopper just in case, though.
Now if there's no deal, a citywide shutdown of mass transit will hit midnight -- well, 12:01 Friday, which is, you know,...
S. O'BRIEN: Right.
M. O'BRIEN: ... midnight tonight. And they want, what, 8 percent over three years each year.
S. O'BRIEN: And also, you know there was a -- there is a lot of money going around. They are trying to figure out where you allocate that money, to some of the workers, do you put it back in the system? That's kind of what the debate is over, but...
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, they have a surplus.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: And when you have a surplus, it's kind of hard to say no, workers, we can't give you money, right?
S. O'BRIEN: I don't know. We'll see what happens at 12:01, won't we,... M. O'BRIEN: Yes, true.
S. O'BRIEN: ... if -- what is said.
Lots to talk about this morning, including the transit strike. We also have other news from overseas as Iraqis head to the polls.
Carol has got a look at that.
Good morning.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: We definitely do.
Good morning, and good morning to all of you.
Security is tight as Iraqis head to the polls today. Ten million are expected to cast their ballots in parliamentary elections, 10 million. Scattered incidents of attacks have been reported, but so far no major disruptions. We're going to check in with Nic Robertson at the half-hour.
President Bush and the first lady are expected to meet with Iraqi voters living in the United States later today. During a speech, the president acknowledged mistakes in pre-war intelligence, but said his decision to invade Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein was the right one.
But an outspoken Bush critic, Democratic Congressman John Murtha, says he's still not sure the war was justified.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: We go to war because of our national security interests. We don't go to war to start a democracy in another country. We go to war for one reason and they keep mischaracterizing why we went to war by telling a history that turns out not to be true.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Murtha recently called for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
On Capitol Hill, President Bush wins one though. The president has called the Patriot Act essential to fighting the war on terror, and the majority of the U.S. House apparently agrees. It has renewed 16 provisions of the Patriot Act. The legislation now heads to the Senate where its fate is less certain. Some senators say the act gives police too much authority.
A House committee looking into Hurricane Katrina disaster has a message for the Pentagon, show us the documents. It subpoenaed Pentagon documents on how the military reacted to the storm. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco appeared before the House panel on Wednesday. She defended evacuation efforts ahead of Katrina, calling them a success. But she blamed faulty levees for her state's problems. The levee system is expected to be the focus of another hearing on Capitol Hill this morning.
And in Missouri, we're seeing what happens -- well, we're seeing what happens, again, when thousands of gallons of water suddenly wash down river. This is the Black River you are looking at more than 100 miles south of St. Louis. This looks calms now, but what a mess 24 hours ago. All that water spilled out of a reservoir in less than 12 minutes. Only took 12 minutes when a hydroelectric plant's automatic pump filled the reservoir too fast causing a retaining wall to break.
We first told you about this story on AMERICAN MORNING yesterday. And we had first believed, actually officials believed it was weather related, but not. Two homes were flattened because of this. Three children were terribly hurt, and they are in the hospital this morning.
Let's head to the Forecast Center to check in with Jacqui Jeras, because an ice storm is coming to some parts of the country.
Good morning.
JERAS: Good morning, Carol.
(WEATHER REPORT)
Carol or Soledad, back to you.
S. O'BRIEN: All right, Jacqui, thank you very much.
A long wait for thousands of families along the Gulf Coast who are hoping for federal hope to rebuild their homes.
Carrie Lee has got a look at that story, "Financial News Update."
Good morning.
CARRIE LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A lot of frustration here, Soledad. Of course it's almost three months after, or four months, rather, after Katrina struck and hundreds of thousands of families and businesses still waiting for their money.
"The New York Times" reporting the Small Business Administration, which runs the federal disaster recovery, has processed only one-third of the 276,000 applications it's received and rejected 82 percent of them. They say people's credit ratings aren't good enough or their incomes aren't high enough.
Now to make matters worse, a lot of these folks were referred, over two million people were referred by FEMA to go to the SBA for help. You know the SBA acts just like a bank does, you have to have certain credit worthiness standards. And of course a lot of people's homes were destroyed so they don't have access to the records that they need, tax returns and things like that in order to get the ball rolling in the first place, so...
S. O'BRIEN: They have rejected 82 percent?
LEE: Exactly. They have only approved about 17,500 of the loans that have come through so far.
M. O'BRIEN: This...
LEE: Or the requests that have come through.
M. O'BRIEN: So they have set the bar pretty high. I thought at one point they said they were going to loosen some of the restrictions?
LEE: They said they were going to. The SBA's argument is they only have a few hundred people, about 800 people. They basically weren't prepared for something like this.
S. O'BRIEN: Staffers.
LEE: They're doing what they can, but they are understaffed. But it's hard, because a lot of people want to come back to the area, but obviously you need a place to live to get the ball rolling again.
S. O'BRIEN: That is tough.
LEE: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: All right. Thanks very much.
Let's get right to Carol with a look at what's coming up in "Morning Coffee" this morning.
COSTELLO: I've got quite a story to tell. You know, and it's -- I don't know, what are you made of? How strong are you? I am going to introduce you to a soldier who lost both of his legs in the Iraq war. He is on his third marathon. An amazing person, I'll introduce you in "Morning Coffee" next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN: You know...
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning.
COSTELLO: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: ... not many people know that on the side I'm a rapper, too, just like Will Smith. I get jiggy with him.
S. O'BRIEN: Really?
M. O'BRIEN: No, no...
S. O'BRIEN: And do you do this while you're getting jiggy, just curious?
M. O'BRIEN: ... I am just so unjiggy.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
COSTELLO: I'm scared.
S. O'BRIEN: Really, we're shocked.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes, I'm sorry.
S. O'BRIEN: Welcome to "Morning Coffee." Carol has got that.
Good morning.
COSTELLO: I know. And you know inspirational is a word that you throw around without really thinking about it, but that is not the case for Private Ramon Guitard. This is a guy who does not waste one moment feeling sorry for himself. He lost both of his legs in Iraq. He's set to take part in his third marathon in just the last few months. Amazing, since it was just over a year ago that he was in Iraq in Baghdad when his convoy ran over a roadside bomb.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAMON GUITARD, MARATHONER: We were riding in a vehicle and there was a tremendous flash, like if lightening was to strike in front of me. I hear the -- a female behind me, who was also in the vehicle, scream my legs, my legs. So I'm in front of her so I had to look down. So I happen to look down and my legs were split wide open from mid-thigh to my ankle. And I lost both my knees instant -- an instant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: And you know he had the fortitude, because others in the -- he was riding in a civilian bus in this convoy, which is a whole other problem.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow.
COSTELLO: But the others inside the bus had shrapnel wounds to the head, so he had to take the radio and call for help. So he kept his head.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow.
COSTELLO: He did that. Help came. And then when he was lying there waiting for the military helicopters to pick him up, there was an Iraqi beside him. And the Iraqi was praying to Allah for him to survive. And he got on the stretcher and he told the medics don't you let me die here. I will not die here. And I will tell you the rest of his story around 8:30 Eastern Time.
M. O'BRIEN: Wow...
COSTELLO: He is quite a guy.
M. O'BRIEN: Looking forward to that.
COSTELLO: Yes.
Other topics this morning.
This fourth grader in Gary, Indiana might not be in trouble this morning if someone had just stolen his lunch money. Instead, this kid is facing some serious charges. It seems he tried to pay for his lunch at school with a homemade $20 bill. In fact, authorities say he made more than $250 for himself and his friends on his home computer. He made this money on his home computer and it looked real. In fact, he crumpled it up and stuff to make it look more real.
His parents saw it...
M. O'BRIEN: Isn't technology great?
COSTELLO: I know. His parents saw it...
S. O'BRIEN: The parents who bought him said computer. Yes.
COSTELLO: But his parents thought he was just playing around. They never had any idea that you know he would take the money...
M. O'BRIEN: A scanner, a good printer and...
COSTELLO: Yes. Well the Secret Service is looking into it now.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes, they would be. They would be.
S. O'BRIEN: Wow.
COSTELLO: Yes.
Have you ever wondered why you get into arguments after Christmas dinner? You know you always do with your family. Well maybe it's not really your fault. There is a British study out this morning and it suggests it's the food's fault. The Institute of Food...
M. O'BRIEN: It's not the wine.
COSTELLO: No, no, the food. It could be the wine, too, though. The Institute of Food, Science and Technology in London says potatoes and stuffing are the biggest culprit.
S. O'BRIEN: My favorite.
COSTELLO: Soledad. They say mixing carbs with alcohol and coffee creates this unmanageable mix that affects the neurons in your brain. This is what they suggest, that you substitute carrots or prunes wrapped in bacon, actually.
M. O'BRIEN: Yuck.
COSTELLO: They want you to wrap the prunes in bacon.
M. O'BRIEN: You like the bacon part.
COSTELLO: I can tell.
M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: OK, not more than stuffing, no, for my favorite Christmas dinner.
COSTELLO: Anyway.
M. O'BRIEN: Stuffing wrapped in bacon would be good for you.
S. O'BRIEN: Prunes and bacon?
COSTELLO: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, there's a whole other slew of arguments that will happen, but you're right.
COSTELLO: You'll be so much more loving if you just eat the prunes.
M. O'BRIEN: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: I'll be in my car going to get takeout if I know what's going to be happening.
Carol, thank you very much. Looking forward to the follow-up to that story...
COSTELLO: Yes.
S. O'BRIEN: ... about the private...
COSTELLO: Private Ramon Guitard.
S. O'BRIEN: That's great.
Thank you very much.
Ahead, you heard about mouth-to-mouth, but what about mouth-to- snout? Little dog very lucky to be alive. Hey, it can happen. We've got that story ahead.
(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
