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American Morning

Planned Testimony From Michael Brown May Have Some at White House on Edge; Jill Carroll Speaks

Aired February 10, 2006 - 07:00   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I'm Miles O'Brien.
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Zain Verjee.

O'BRIEN: Planned testimony from Michael Brown may have some at the White House a little on edge this morning. We're live in Washington for you.

VERJEE: Jill Carroll speaks. A third tape now showing the kidnapped American journalist. This time we can actually hear her speak. We'll tell you what she said.

Just about 30 minutes ago, the man accused of killing his wife and daughter agrees to come home. A live report from London just ahead.

Let the Games begin. But already, there is some controversy involving the American Olympic team. We're live in Torino.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WAYNE GRETZKY: Didn't bet. Didn't happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: But was he trying to protect his wife? You bet. Hockey's great one still dogged by a gambling scandal. New information on what he may have known, ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.

The man at the helm of FEMA during Hurricane Katrina will face a new round of questions today on Capitol Hill, but we may hear some very different answers from Michael Brown this time around. It involves communication between the White House and FEMA that, until now, has remained secret.

CNN's homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve live now in Washington with a preview for us.

Good morning, Jeanne.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN NATL. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles.

Michael Brown, now a private citizen, will be put under oath today, and he may say things he hasn't before under questioning from Congress. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRES. OF THE UNITED STATES: Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job!

MESERVE: But the dismal government response to Katrina, Michael Brown's failure to grasp the situation around him, the "devil may care" tone of his e-mails eventually made him a punchline and a punching bag.

MICHAEL BROWN, FMR. FEMA DIR.: What would you like for me to do, Congressman?

REP. CHRISTOPHER SHAYS (R), CONNECTICUT: Well, that's why I'm happy you left, because that kind of, you know, look in the lights, like a deer, tells me that you warranty capable to do the job.

MESERVE: Initially a defiant brown put much of the blame on local and state officials, but eventually he came to accept some responsibility.

BROWN: I made two mistakes, two very -- I probably made lots of mistakes. But I want to focus on two mistakes today.

MESERVE: Since he left FEMA to start a consulting business, more facts have emerged.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: I'll tell you what my impressions are at this point in our investigation, that Michael Brown, head of FEMA, was at fault, but he was not the only one at fault. That what we find is, unfortunately, a comprehensive pattern of a failure to prepare.

MESERVE: Until now, Brown has followed White House instructions that he not answer congressional inquiries about his communications with top White House officials about Katrina. But his lawyer says unless he hears from the White House, that will change today.

ANDY LESTER, BROWN'S ATTY.: He would love to be able to answer all questions as fully, completely, and accurately as possible. He would like that information to get out. We believe that the public ought to know the facts and, frankly, we believe that the facts will vindicate him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MESERVE: Brown won't be the only one making waves. Senator Lieberman is expected to say the Senate investigation has uncovered nearly 30 communications from the day Katrina hit, stating there was massive flooding. Quoting Lieberman's prepared statement, "It is inexplicable to me how those responsible for the federal response could have woke up Tuesday morning unaware of this obviously catastrophic situation."

Miles? O'BRIEN: Jeanne Meserve in Washington, thank you. Complete coverage this morning as Michael Brown testifies before that Senate committee. Should kick off about 9:30 eastern. That's when Mr. Brown begins speaking -- Zain.

VERJEE: Miles, we're following a developing story from London this morning. Accused murderer Neil Entwisle will not find extradition to the U.S. HE could be here within a week. He's being suspected of shooting his wife and baby to death last month in Massachusetts.

CNN's Paula Hancocks is live in London.

Paula, a very brief hearing for Entwistle this morning and a real about-turn. What happened?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Zain.

Yes, it only lasted a matter of moments, as did his appearance on Thursday evening, a matter of moments that lasted. He has decided not to fight this extradition to the U.S. His attorney said that he was leaning towards that on Thursday, even though he had said that his lawyers had said he would not consent to the extradition at this stage.

Now, of course, those words at this stage meant 24, or less than 24 hours later, he said he would. His lawyer says he wants to go back to the United States as soon as possible. Also the judge in the magistrate court behind me did say to Neil Entwistle, do you understand that once you make this decision you cannot go back on it? It is irrevocable. He then looked at the judge and said, yes, that's fine. He also looked at his father who was in the courthouse as well. So this could take up to a week, we're hearing, from the attorneys of Neil Entwistle. What we now need to see is the home secretary in Britain signing those extradition papers -- Zain.

VERJEE: Paula Hancocks reporting to us. Thanks, Paula -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: Opening day for the Winter Olympics. Have you set your TiVos? Well, There is already a controversy that is in the midst of all of this. Two members of the U.S. Olympic team will be forced to miss their first events. Kikkan Randall and Leif Zimmerman are among eight cross-country skiers who have found abnormally high number of red blood cells. No evidence of drug use, however. They've been suspended for five days, but will still be allowed to compete in other events later.

Meanwhile, opening ceremonies just a few hours away. Massive security in place, on its toes.

CNN's Alessio Vinci live from Torino this morning.

Hello, Alessio.

ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello to you, Miles. Yes, indeed, incredible security here in Torino. More than 15,000 men here in the city and up in the mountains. And of course a special eye to a group of demonstrators who have already disrupted some of the ceremonies here.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VINCI: These are the men Italian officials say are as Islamic terrorists, anarchists and anti-globaliztion protesters determined to disrupt the Games and make their voices heard. They forced the torch relay to be re-routed several times over of the last week, despite tough security measures usually employed for a head of state.

ROBERTO MASSUCCI, ITALIAN POLICE: The demonstration of 500, 600 people. They are able to disturb and to create problems at the event.

VINCI: In a rare move, protesters greed to let us inside their headquarters. They admit the Games is an ideal platform for brining attention to their anti-globalization cause. After all, they say, the Olympics are a shameful waste of money.

"Attacking the Olympic torch is a provocation, and in some ways we wouldn't refrain from doing it," he says. "But in that context, we reject accusations of being violent."

The threat of an attack by Islamic militants is also being taken seriously, and that has made life difficult for Muslims in Torino who make up about 10 percent of the population here. Community leaders say hundreds have been detained during recent raids, and many have been expelled because they were illegal immigrants without residence or permits.

"While all the others in town are celebrating the Olympics, we are living in anguish waiting for it to be over soon," he says, "because we are afraid something will happen and that many of us will pay a high price."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

And, Miles, we are just a few hours away from the opening ceremony tonight in Torino; 1,500 policemen and other security officials will secure the event in Torino. As you know, among the delegations arriving here today is also first lady Laura Bush.

Back to you.

Alessio Vinci in Torino, or Turin, if you prefer -- Zain.

VERJEE: Miles, the family of abducted journalist Jill Carroll hopeful this morning after new video aired on Kuwaiti television. Carroll says meet her kidnappers demands, bring her home. The 28- year-old was abducted more than a month ago in Baghdad. We want to go live now to Baghdad and CNN's Aneesh Raman who joins us now.

Aneesh, what does the latest video tell us? I mean, this is the first, isn't it, that we're hearing Jill Carroll speak? ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT Zain, good morning.

Exactly. The two previous tapes which aired on Arabic language station Al-Jazeera, they chose not to air the audio. This tape, airing late yesterday on Kuwaiti-based network Al Rye (ph) chose the opposite. We hear for the first time Jill Carroll's voice as she makes an urgent appeal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL CARROLL, KIDNAPPED JOURNALIST: Today is Thursday, February 6th -- 2nd, 2006. I'm with the mujahadeen. I sent you a letter written by my hand, but you wanted more evidence. So we're sending you this letter right now to prove that I am with the mujahadeen. I'm here. I'm fine. Please, just do whatever they want. Give them whatever they want as quickly as possible. There is very short time. Please do it fast. That's all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAMAN: Now, if we compare this tape to the previous tape, which aired on January 30th on Al Jazeera, Jill Carroll seems more composed. In the last tape, she was visibly distraught. She was crying throughout. In this tape, again, no new deadline set by her captors. The first deadline, which came on January 17th, a 72-hour deadline, came and went. Their demanding the release of all female Iraqi prisoners. But chilling words at the end, Zain. Jill Carroll saying there is just a short amount of time left -- Zain.

VERJEE: Have some of those Iraqi female prisoners, the detainees, been released?

RAMAN: Yes, about six days after the first tape aired, after the first deadline, five Iraqi female detainees were released. U.S. and Iraqi officials quick to point out that was unrelated to the demands of the group holding Jill Carroll. We understand there are still four in custody. No sense on when they might be released.

VERJEE: More violence this morning in Baghdad. What can you tell us about that and what we know about casualties?

RAMAN: Yes, the latest numbers we have, at least seven people were killed, upwards of 22 others wounded, after a car detonated outside a Shiite mosque. New video this morning of the hospital as the casualties come in a hospital. The mosque was in a neighborhood of Baghdad that has seen consistent violence. It exploded just as Friday prayers were set to begin -- Zain.

VERJEE: In Baghdad for us, CNN's Aneesh Raman. Thanks, Aneesh.

(WEATHER REPORT)

VERJEE: Coming up, the potential dangers of drugs used to treat attention deficit disorder. An FDA panel responds to reports of 25 deaths linked to the drugs.

O'BRIEN: Also, the president offers details of a 2002 West Coast terror. The question is, why now?

VERJEE: And the latest on that NHL gambling scandal. How much did Wayne Gretzky know about his wife's alleged involvement. Authorities may have some revealing wiretaps. That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Parents should be warned about serious risks of attention deficit drugs that they're giving to their kids. The government is basically concerned about heart damage. The FDA says they've been 25 southern deaths in people taking ADHD drugs. Most of them with children. They say Ritalin and other stimulants should start carrying black box warnings. Black box warnings are the strongest possible safely labels.

There will soon be lots of empty desk at Oracle. Andy Serwer is "Minding Your Business," and he's going to tell us more on that.

Hey, Andy.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Zain.

Layoffs there, and they've had them before over the past couple of years. We'll get to that in a second. Let's check the market action from yesterday. The Dow was up a bit. The other indices slipped. A rally yesterday was crimped by higher oil prices. Futures are up a little bit this morning, however.

Let's jump to Redwood Shores, California, just south of San Francisco on the bay. Oracle, tech giant, and they call this place, Zain, the Emerald City. You can sort of see why with this big green buildings there. But some unhappy news this morning: 2,000 people will be laid off at Oracle, the software giant, about three percent of its workforce of 57,000. Why? Because they bought Siebel Systems another company. And there's some redundancies there.

But there are a lot of job opening in Silicon Valley, and tech land and San Francisco Bay area. Google needs a thousand employees, Yahoo! over 500; Sales Force needs 167 people. So presumably these folks will be able to get themselves some jobs out there.

VERJEE: Quickly, another story you're following, the new Toyota Tundra.

SERWER: This is really interesting for car buffs. This is first full-sized pickup truck introduced by Toyota. Look at that baby, a Toyota executive calling it a big bad mother truck. Well, that's a little promotional there.

This is going to be made in San Antonio, and it's not good news for Ford or GM. In fact, a Chevy executive saying, and this is really not great stuff for us, a 5.7 liter V-8, 325 horse. And the F-series from ford was number one and Silverado number two, and you better believe it's going to make some inroads there.

VERJEE: Andy Serwer, thanks -- Miles.

SERWER: Thanks, Zain.

O'BRIEN: Still to come on the program, more post-Katrina red tape and bureaucratic nonsense. Wind or water? It is a multimillion dollar question for one city.

Plus, those church fires in Alabama. They're dredging up a lot of painful memories for some folks who lived through the same horror 16 years ago. We'll see how they are faring now, ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Investigators in Alabama may have a good new clue this morning. They've lifted a handprint off the front door of one of the nine churches torched over the past week or so. The hope is will lead them to whoever is responsible before it happens again. These attacks have rekindled some sad memories for other local congregations in Alabama.

AMERICAN MORNING's Bob Franken has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOB FRANKEN, CNN NATL. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was nearly 10 years ago that Rising Star Baptist was set on fire. It was 3:00 in the morning. John Hodge, the deacon then and now, could only watch from across the road. His church, here since 1932, the place where he had married, burned to the ground.

DEACON JOHN HODGE, RISING STAR BAPTIST CHURCH: Just like something has been taken away from you, something that you cherish, and you no longer have it.

FRANKEN: But Hodge and his congregation did get over it. Rising Star Baptist literally rose from the ashes. Hundreds from the community, from around the world, Habitat for Humanity, the Quakers, all pooled their money, their supplies and labor to rebuild this church, bringing back the community center, the Sunday school, the worship services. For so many, much more than a place to come on Sunday.

ANNIE HILL, RISING STAR BAPTIST CHURCH: I'd rather be here than to be at home. Yes. And all of us are family right in this neighborhood. And all us get together and enjoy each other and sit around after church. We even sit around and talk after church, so I just love to be over here.

FRANKEN: And now with the recent string of church burnings not far from here, they're reliving the pain with a special understanding of what the others are going through.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's hard when you wake up on Sunday morning, and you know you come into your church, but you got to go to another church. It's really a hurting (ph) thing. FRANKEN: The congregation here plans to offer help to rebuild the latest churches, even as these new fires rekindle some old fears.

MARION HODGE, RESIGN STAR BAPTIST CHURCH: I'm very nervous. We had choir rehearsal last night, and we could see an individual peeping in the door. Thank God it was a police officer checking on the building!

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FRANKEN: And they've learned their lessons here at the Rising Star Baptist Church. Unlike the old church, this one, Miles, has a complete security system.

O'BRIEN: Bob, the congregation there, as you say, naturally on the edge. Just give us a sense of the overall mood and how much nervousness there is with this going on.

FRANKEN: Well you know, it's an interesting thing, Miles. When we were finishing up last night, one of the members of the congregation, a man in his pickup truck, came by to make sure we weren't people who here for a bad purpose. This morning, as we were setting up, one of the neighbors who is a member of this church who drives a large truck stopped to make sure we were not somebody here to do some bad things. So they are very watchful here and other churches.

In fact, there is a concern in some portions of the society that people are going to take things into their own hands and they're a little worried about that.

O'BRIEN: That is a worrisome thought, but the vigilance is important, isn't it? Bob Franken in Alabama, thank you very much.

Coming up, the latest on that NHL gambling scandal. Was Wayne Gretzky playing some defense for his wife?

And President Bush talks about a foiled plot to fly a airliner into an L.A. Skyscraper not long after 9/11. But why is he speaking about it now? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

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