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American Morning

New Message From Osama Bin Laden; Google Versus the Government

Aired January 20, 2006 - 09:32   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: New message to tell you about from Osama bin Laden, brought no change to the nation's threat level, but police around the country are being told to stay alert.
For more on this story this morning, we turn to CNN's Justice correspondent Kelli Arena. She's live in Washington D.C. for us.

Hey, Kelli, good morning.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

Well, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security sent out a bulletin to state and local law enforcement officials, basically telling them to be extra vigilant following up on leads, suspicious activity, that sort of thing. Now that tape that was released yesterday served as a reminder of the threat, but it wasn't in any way specific, and so unless there's some intelligence that comes in to corroborate what Osama bin Laden said, and what he said was that there was a plan under way to attack on U.S. soil, we're not likely to see any change in the threat level.

As for what the public needs to do, we asked FBI spokesman John Miller about that last night. He said the public is actually pretty responsive at times like this, which is exactly what the FBI wants.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MILLER, ASST. DIR. PUBLIC AFFAIRS, FBI: We get more calls to the hot lines. We get more intelligence coming over the transom from people whose awareness are heightened. And while we would discourage fear, higher level of weariness is a good thing.

MESERVE: The FBI and others in the intel community continue to analyze that tape for any leads. But as I said, until there is specific intelligence to act on, it's pretty much going to be business as usual -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, we'll watch and wait. Thanks, Kelli.

ARENA: You're welcome.

S. O'BRIEN: The city of the Los Angeles has decided to take action after hearing Osama bin Laden's latest threats. Thelma Gutierrez is live in Los Angeles for us this morning with some specific precautions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): At this hour, the Los Angeles County Department of Homeland Security has not elevated its alert status because of the Osama bin Laden tape, however, it is asking its citizens to be more aware of anything suspicious. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he had been fully briefed on that threat, and he released a statement saying, "As a precautionary measure, the Los Angeles Police Department has deployed additional resources at LAX, and posted signage indicating that bomb-sniffing dogs and searches will occur frequently. A more visible police presence is also posted at LAX.

Now the port of Los Angeles and the Department of Water and Power have also been notified and will take additional precautionary measures, as well.

Now, according to homeland security officials, LAX has been one of the most widely suspected targets of attack by al Qaeda. Back in 1999, it was al Qaeda operative Ahmed Ressam who entered the United States through Canada with plans to blow up LAX during the millennium celebrations.

And at the port of Los Angeles, in Long Beach, authorities there are being extra vigilant. It is after all the busiest port in the nation where more than a million cruise passengers pass through every year. And $148 billion dollars worth of cargo comes in and out of the country each year. Los Angeles officials emphasize that there is no specific threat against the city, but again, they are asking the public to be more vigilant.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: The tragedy of Katrina only seems to grow over time. And now the despair that has set in, as people confront their losses, is leading to a terrible second wave of death. This one's self- inflicted. Drew Griffin has been looking into the suicide rate in New Orleans. And what he has learned offers another sad chapter in the story of this killer storm. Drew's full report will air tonight on Paula Zahn's Program. He joins us now from New Orleans with the preview.

Good morning, Drew.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles. It's not a great number, but considering this town is only a couple of hundred thousand people now, the Orleans parish coroner says he has ever seen anything like this ever, five people since November 10. That's just in the last two months. And who are they? Three doctors and two lawyers, people who should be at the top of their game, people who should have the money, and the will and the brains to bring back their lives have taken their lives instead.

One of them that we're going to introduce you to tonight is Dr. James Kent Treadway. He has been a pediatrician in this town treating four generations of children in New Orleans. His father, a pediatrician before him, and his son is now in residency to be a pediatrician when gets out of his hospital residency program. This man took his life in November. And we're going to introduce you to his story and what happened to him, how his entire practice eroded and was washed away by Katrina, and he just couldn't handle it. It's one of the puzzling stories of Katrina, and one that, quite frankly, people here think is not over with. The despair in this city is just settling in.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, drew, obviously, as time goes on and there's the sense that everything is just kind of stuck in the mud, if you will, things aren't getting better. This has got to be a problem that people are -- have growing concern about.

GRIFFIN: It's kind of an untold story, the people who live here and are trying to live here say needs to be told.

Take a look at some video, Miles. This is video that we just took a few days ago. It looks in many places like Hurricane Katrina had just hit. There's the grocery stores; if they are open, they have limited hours. Most grocery stores are not open. People cannot get contractors to come to their house. The garbage isn't being picked up. The mail is hit or miss on delivery. It's just a daily struggle to live here. And when you're trying to bring back your house, and your business, and your practice and your family all at the same time, it is just overwhelmingly depressing. And that story, many residents of New Orleans say, is not getting out. That's the story we're going to try to bring you tonight.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Drew Griffin. That's one to watch. Watch for his report on CNN's "PAULA ZAHN NOW." That's at 8:00 Eastern, 5:00 Pacific right here on CNN.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

S. O'BRIEN: Google versus the government. The Internet giant says now after the Justice Department demands a list of Web site searches, but why? CNN technology correspondent Daniel Sieberg is live from Atlanta this morning.

Hey, Daniel. Good morning.

DANIEL SIEBERG, CNN TECHNOLOGY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad.

By our calculations, Google handles roughly, oh, 70 million searches per day. So just think about how much information that actually is streaming from desktops, laptops and PDAs all over the world. The government says it wants a peek at that information to protect kids from pornography.

But some analysts worry it sets a dangerous precedent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SIEBERG (voice over): The Bush administration wants to know what millions of people have been looking for on Google, the world's biggest search engine. But Google says, no way. The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit in U.S. district court in California demand that Google turn over data it says will help the government ultimately keep children from accessing pornography on the web.

But critics worry that this could lead to government spying on all types of Internet searches. The government is seeking Google's search records over a random one-week time period that could mean tens of millions of search requests. It claims they won't be tied to a person's identity. It also wants a random sampling of one million Web sites in Google's database.

In the past few years, Google has become a massive clearinghouse for everything from satellite image to library documents to driving directions. Privacy advocates have routinely been scrutinizing the company's behavior. But this time, many of them are in Google's camp.

When Google went public last year, its motto was "do no evil." In this case, Google says it won't comply with the government's request, arguing that it could expose the identities of some users. It also worries the information would be highly valuable to its competitors. Google says it plans to, quote, "vigorously fight the lawsuit."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIEBERG: And you know, Even just a couple of months ago, this may not have resonated so much with people, but all of this comes in light of news about the National Security Agency's program to monitor information from U.S. citizens. It's also, though, the latest chapter in a long-running debate over whether more laws need to be in place to protect children online. And, Soledad, incidentally, I just got off the phone with the Department of Justice, and they're saying, if there is no resolution, the trial will go up in October of this year.

S. O'BRIEN: So a trial date basically set already.

Daniel, there are some of the search engines, though, that are complying with the government. Which ones are?

SIEBERG: Well, as we understand it Yahoo!, MSN, and Yahoo! being number two, MSN being number three, have complied. Also AOL, a part of CNN's parent company, Time Warner, has also complied as well. But Google is the biggest fish out there. They are number one. In fact, according to some statistics from Nielsen Net ratings here for November, Google had about 46 percent of all the searches.

So just to give you an idea of how much that is, all of the other search engines combined didn't match Google's searches. So we're talking about an enormous amount of information. Obviously a big target for the government. If this is what they really want to go after, they're going to need Google to try and play along.

S. O'BRIEN: Maybe hence that October court date that they're talking about.

SIEBERG: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Daniel Sieberg for us this morning. Thanks, Daniel.

SIEBERG: All right.

(MARKET REPORT)

S. O'BRIEN: CNN "LIVE" is coming up next.

Hey, Daryn. Good morning.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: I don't know why I have to follow all the big acts, but I'll try.

We do have another busy morning ahead. We'll get a live update from West Virginia, where another rescue mission is on to find a pair of missing miners. Also never too early to planning for your summer vacation. Our top five tips. We'll show you the best way to save by booking now. Plus, retailing Anne Frank's story using puppets. Stick around to see this, a man inspired by Anne Frank's story. That's all ahead. We'll see you in a bit.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, Daryn, thanks.

M. O'BRIEN: Thank you, Daryn.

Coming up on A.M. Pop., we'll talk to Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Now he is one of stars in the new Woody Allen movie, which is opening this weekend large, as they say. It's called "Match Point." Woody Allen in London. That must have been interesting right there.

S. O'BRIEN: The film has got great reviews.

M. O'BRIEN: Where do you get a good bagel? You know, scones I guess or something.

S. O'BRIEN: Anyway, and a whale. They got a whale over there. But that's another story.

M. O'BRIEN: In any case we're going to ask him what was it like to kiss...

S. O'BRIEN: ... Scarlet Johansson.

M. O'BRIEN: Scarlet Johansson -- I can't get it out.

SERWER: In the rain.

S. O'BRIEN: He's getting a little frazzled.

SERWER: Hot and bothered.

M. O'BRIEN: Can we just keep rolling this clip?

All right, they are going to resuscitate me. We'll be back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: "A.M. Pop" time. Woody Allen's new movie "Match Point" is getting rave reviews and Oscar buzz. It's a -- it's all wet. It's a sexy thriller starring Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. He plays a tennis pro who marries into money and then finds his world turned upside down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCARLETT JOHANSSON, ACTRESS: You daydreamed about making love to me. And I'm not saying the fantasy didn't cross my mind. OK. We had our moment. But, you know, let's move on. Get back to reality. Chris, we're going to be brother and sister-in-law.

JONATHAN RHYS MEYERS, ACTOR: (INAUDIBLE)

JOHANSSON: Forget it. It's over.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Yesterday, I sat down with Jonathan Rhys Meyers to talk about the movie and recent success.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: Congratulations. A Golden Globe.

MEYERS: Thank you very much.

M. O'BRIEN: An Irish guy playing Elvis. How did that ever come to be?

MEYERS: Yes, that was a little bit awkward, actually, when I was getting the Golden Globe. I thought should I mention this? How does an Irish guy get to play Elvis Presley? But I thought better of it. And just so happens that that's the way it went.

M. O'BRIEN: Just happens. And now following this, you really are on a roll. You got -- "Match Point" is coming out. And tell us how you and Woody Allen connected?

MEYERS: He saw me in some movies and then, you know, decided to meet me and thought I was good for the role and said let's work.

M. O'BRIEN: This movie for Woody Allen is getting great reviews, perhaps not coincidentally. First time he took -- in a long time he's been outside of the confines of Manhattan. It must have been difficult for him. He has a great ear, of course, for New York dialogue. He is a part of the scene here. Did he have a hard time. Did he have a hard time -- did you have to kind of counsel him on how things would go down in a London conversation?

MEYERS: A little. You know, we just change it. Because, you know, even though he's a great writer, he's not precious about his material. So if there was something that felt unnatural or too New York or too Americanized, then we changed it.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. The character, Chris Wilton, is a tennis star -- or tennis player, more accurately, and is smitten with his brother-in-law's fiance, Scarlett Johansson. You can hardly blame the character. Tell us how that all kind of plays out?

MEYERS: Well, what happens is he starts teaching Tom at Queens, which is a very, very famous club in London. And Tom asks him to come to the opera as a friendly gesture. He does and therefore he meets Tom's sister, Chloe. And Chris is a bit of social climber so himself and Chloe start out this, like, relationship with each other.

And then meets Scarlett Johansson's character, Nola, which is -- you know, he's kind of like -- she's kind of like the opposite to Chloe. Chloe is sophisticated, sweet, beautiful, kind of timid, whereas Scarlet's character Nola is the blonde bombshell, absolute sexuality, you know? So I think he wants them both. He wants the comfort of Chloe's character and the sexuality of Nola's.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, I guess there are a lot of men who want to have it all.

MEYERS: Yes, you know, we all want to have our cake and eat it. And, you know -- and he does.

M. O'BRIEN: Let's talk about some other projects. You just said you're in New York filming with Robin Williams on another project. And you just got done filming "Mission Impossible III" with Tom Cruise. I know you can't talk about the plot on that one. You going to jump on the couch after working with Tom Cruise?

MEYERS: No, I'm not.

M. O'BRIEN: Tell us what that was like.

MEYERS: You know, it was an amazing experience. It's a big movie with Tom Cruise, who's an extraordinary man. From a young actor's point of view in the movie industry, you know, you really can't look at anybody else's career as well as you can look at Tom Cruise's and just be in awe of the way he, you know, commands himself as a human being and as a professional actor and producer.

M. O'BRIEN: Congratulations. And you're on quite a roll. And we wish you continued success. Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

MEYERS: Thank you very much. Pleasure.

M. O'BRIEN: "Match Point" opens nationwide today. A quick break. Back in a moment.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

M. O'BRIEN: It's a sad day here on AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, it is. A big loss for us.

M. O'BRIEN: The maestro of the control room, Ted Fein (ph), actually by his own acclaim, as a matter of fact....

S. O'BRIEN: There he is.

M. O'BRIEN: Ted Fein, the man who you want in there when it's hitting the fan and who's been here since day one on AMERICAN MORNING, literally right on September 12. They started and he was here. Think of a breaking news story over the past few years...

S. O'BRIEN: Ted Fein has been...

M. O'BRIEN: Ted was driving the bus and there is nobody I would rather have in my ear than...

S. O'BRIEN: He suffered some embarrassing moments with all the Red Sox losses. He's a huge Red Sox -- I know, I'm sorry, but we got to bring the good with the bad, Ted. But the big wins, too, right. And he stuck with the team through thick and thin.

M. O'BRIEN: He's a Red Sox fan, he's a runner, he's been at CNN since 1999.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, you say it like he's leaving CNN, but he's actually...

M. O'BRIEN: Oh, that's right. He is staying. He's going to some other program.

S. O'BRIEN: He's doing a 180 and going to "360" on us. But we're going to miss you. What are you going to do at 1:00 in the morning instead of getting up? What will you do? You'll miss us. Admit it.

M. O'BRIEN: We're going to call him and give him a little update on what's going on in the world. But remember, Ted...

S. O'BRIEN: We're going to miss you, Ted.

M. O'BRIEN: He may have "360," but we got 240. That's minutes. Minutes. So we wish you well, Ted Fein. And our loss is Anderson's gain.

S. O'BRIEN: Sure is. Let's get right to Daryn. She's going to take you through the next couple of hours.

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