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American Morning

Hamas Taking Control; Bode Miller Olympic Update; One Lucky Ticket

Aired February 20, 2006 - 07:30   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, everybody. Lots to get to this morning. Miles is on vacation. Rob's helping us out. We're going to get to that in -- well you and more in just a moment.
First, though, let's get to Carol. She's got a look at some of the top stories making news.

Hey, Carol.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Soledad and Rob.

And good morning to all of you.

We're hearing some possible good news in that massive landslide in the Philippines. Emergency crews say they're hearing, "signs of life movement." That's how they're phrasing it. But so far no survivors have been found. The noise could just be the mud moving. We're going to be follow this story throughout the morning.

New developments out of Iraq too this morning. The U.S. military says a soldier was killed when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb near Karbala. That's south of Baghdad. It's one of a series of attacks in Iraq today. Emergency police say at least 10 people were killed when a suicide bomber blew up a mini bus in Baghdad. And in Mosul, a bomb ripped through a restaurant killing at least three people and wounding six others.

President Bush spending President's Day telling Americans they are addicted to oil. He heads to Milwaukee this morning, and then to the Detroit area. He's expected to push for alternative sources of energy. The president will be in Colorado tomorrow.

A couple of days ago we were talking about how warm it was. Well, that's not the case anymore. A bitter cold across much of the country. Some 3,000 customers in upstate New York without power this weekend. Heavy winds cutting power lines. We're hearing parts of Maine saw the lowest temperatures so far this winter, 18 degrees below zero. Wow.

And a car jacking in central Florida turns into a three-county car chase. Take a look. Sheriff's deputies tried to slow down the SUV by blowing out the tires but the suspect didn't give up. He kept on driving. Finally the car stopped and the driver got out swinging a baseball bat but then police surrounded him, finally handcuffing him and leading him away. Police say no one was hurt. We're not sure what charges the suspect is facing but we're betting they'll be serious charges.

Soledad.

O'BRIEN: Why was he swinging a baseball bat when he was surrounded by officers with weapons pointed at him?

COSTELLO: With guns, I know. Well, hey, he dropped it quickly.

O'BRIEN: Yes. Then he realized, huh, baseball bat not going to work here. All right, Carol, thanks for the update. Appreciate it.

The Islamic fundamentalist group Hamas set to rule in the Palestinian territories. Israel responding by freezing funds for the Palestinians. Let's get right to John Vause this morning. He's live for us in Jerusalem.

John, good morning to you.

What exactly is the impact of these funds now frozen.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now we're seeing that being played out with Hamas officials arriving in Tehran to hold talks with Iranian officials to try and make up that revenue shortfall. And the big concern for both Israel and the United States is that this could potentially open the door for Iran to have a greater influence in the Palestinian territories, the West Bank in Gaza. Israel is also concerned that Hamas may be getting a lot more than just money. It could walk away with some military expertise, how to build bigger and better bombs, bigger and better rockets which could then be used to attack Israelis.

But the point in all of this, though, Soledad, even though these are both Muslim and Islamic groups or countries and Hamas, they are not natural allies. They come from different branches of Islam. And in the past, Iran has not been very forthcoming with money and that there's a lot of thinking that Iran simply would be unwilling and simply not capable of coming up with the hundreds of millions of dollars which is needed each month to run the Palestinian authority.

Soledad.

O'BRIEN: John, when you consider this connection with Iran, or other connections too, isn't there a risk if Hamas doesn't get the money that it needs, that these funds are frozen, that that, in fact, could backfire on the Israel government?

VAUSE: There's a lot of predictions of dire economic consequences if this aid money is withheld. If the Israelis continue with this freeze on the transfer of tax money. That $50 million each month which Israeli transfers to the Palestinians, which is Palestinian money, pays wages for school teachers, doctors, bureaucrats. It basically covers half of the wages bill for the Palestinian authority, which is the larger employer in the West Bank in Gaza.

So if there is a lot of hardship which comes out of this, the thinking is that the Palestinians won't be blaming Hamas, it will be blaming Israel. A lot of Hamas officials I've spoken to over the weekend are very confident, even smug, they believe this strategy by Israel and also the U.S. will ultimately backfire.

Soledad.

O'BRIEN: I guess we'll wait and see. John Vause for us this morning. John, thank you.

Rob.

MARCIANO: Soledad, time now to check on the weather. We go to Bonnie Schneider who's down in Atlanta in the CNN Weather Center with the latest weather update.

Good morning again, Bonnie.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MARCIANO: Well, have you seen all those Nike commercials starring Bode Miller? I mean just a few weeks ago it seemed like he was on every major magazine cover. So what happened. So far he's zero for three in his races. Today is race number four. CNN's Larry Smith is live in Torino this morning with a look -- well, we're on Bode watch, aren't we?

LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we are. You know, Rob, maybe he just doesn't want a medal. I mean this is a guy who took his 2003 World Championship Gold and lost it because he used it to hold up his toilet seat. Don't ask me how.

But anyway, the men's giant slalom is underway. The first run is done. The second run is about to get started and Bode Miller right now standing in 12th behind the leader Francois Bourque of Canada.

Now 35 of the 82 competitors did not finish the run. Again, very treacherous with the snow last night. This was actually postponed from yesterday when it was supposed to be competed. But instead it is going off today. But among the two who did not finish, Ted Ligety, who won a gold in the mens combined earlier in these games, he did not finish, as well as Darren Rahms (ph). A disappointing Olympics so far for him as well.

Let's go back to you.

MARCIANO: Hey, let's go back to a little bit of controversy. You told us last hour about a dramatic raid at the Austrian skiers lodge. What do you know now?

SMITH: Well, the latest right now is that the coach involved Walter Mayer. He was accused of doping in 2002 in Salt Lake, was told not to coach the skiing cross-country team anymore. He was here in a private capacity over the weekend when officials spotted him and they did a raid on the Austrian headquarters, their sleeping quarters, and the Austrians very upset. They said it was ungentlemanly.

But as it turns out, Mayer is now back in Austria, released out of custody after he was arrested late last night, after he was avoiding police. He drove into Austria, slammed into a roadblock and, sort of a car chase out of Hollywood, was charged with civil disorder and was released. Police suspected that he had been drinking but he refused a blood alcohol test. And right now the Austrian team and Austrian officials are severing all ties right now with Walter Mayer. We should note, by the way, that none of the athletes that are connected with him have failed any kind of doping test here in these games to this point.

MARCIANO: All right, Larry, thanks for the update. Larry Smith live for us in Torino, where finally it's starting to look like the Winter Olympics.

Well, Bode Miller has been roundly criticized for his attitude and the high altitude and for his habit of partying before the big race. But late night partying may not be the worst thing an Olympic athlete can do. Tonight on "Paula Zahn Now," Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen takes a closer look at another questionable pre-game activity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ancient Greek Olympians, the Buffalo Bills and Josh Davis all have something in common. They're all lean, mean, athletic machines living by a strict code. Train hard, compete hard, and no sex before a competition.

So it was through trial and error that you figured out abstaining was a good idea to win a medal?

JOSH DAVIS: Right. Yes. When I abstained, I got the gold.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARCIANO: All right. And Josh Davis says he knows exactly why he missed the U.S. team. The U.S. national team, that is. All right. Let's find out more, tune in tonight, get the whole story on "Paula Zahn Now." That's tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

O'BRIEN: There are lots of athletes who agree with that. That's kind of an interesting . . .

MARCIANO: Well, I know Alberto Domba (ph) back in the '80s probably wasn't following that advice.

O'BRIEN: Right. Well, no, no, not him. But there's -- remember that guy?

Ahead this morning, instant messages, obviously fun, quick. But if you're not careful, actually it could lead your computer open to an attack. We're going to tell you why that's the case when we "Mind Your Business" just ahead this morning. MARCIANO: Also, the airlines lost 10,000 bags last year. Besides carrying on, what can you do to make sure your bags don't get lost. We're going to have some tips.

O'BRIEN: And there was just one winning ticket in that record- setting Powerball jackpot. Who bought it? We don't know yet but we're going to check in with the owner of the store that sold that lucky ticket.

Those stories are all ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: How old is Sir Charles? Did you (INAUDIBLE).

MARCIANO: He was 42.

O'BRIEN: Happy birthday. And he was just in the other day. I would have wished him a happy birthday if I had know. And, of course, Anderson's mom looking fabulous.

MARCIANO: One of the few times I've actually seen Charles quite is in a still photograph.

O'BRIEN: Sir Charles, yes. Big talker, smart guy.

MARCIANO: Good morning, Gerri.

O'BRIEN: Let's talk business news now. (INAUDIBLE) now.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've got a lot going on today.

MARCIANO: And the markets are closed but you've got stuff.

WILLIS: There's always stuff. I've got to tell you.

MARCIANO: You're here with some action.

WILLIS: OK. First of all, we're going to talk about AOL. CEO Jonathan Miller told "USA Today" that the company would be rolling out new services over the next few months. AOL will tap its number one instant messaging service called AIM, along with its music and video offerings to compete with myspace.com. This thing is a juggernaut. It's owned by News Corp. Myspace a powerhouse. The number two Web site behind Yahoo! and ahead of Google.

AOL will make AIM a full service platform to compete with Skype, which is owned by eBay. Google and Yahoo! already offer voice, but AOL will quickly become a force because of its 43 million active AIM users. It's set to roll out in late spring.

AIM and other instant messaging services have become a target, of course, for computer viruses. According to Internet security firm Postini (ph), more than 2,400 viruses targeted IM last year because the security is less than most e-mail servers. That's up from just 142 IM viruses in 2004.

Full disclosure here. We should say AOL is owned by Time Warner, which owns CNN, this network.

O'BRIEN: Corporate cousins as we always say.

Well, why do they have less security on IM than they would have on e-mail I wonder?

WILLIS: That's a great question. My guess is it's a newer technology.

MARCIANO: You don't know the technology -- you don't have more for us than the typical (INAUDIBLE)?

WILLIS: Let me tell you, when I'm programing my computer -- oops, I don't program my computer.

O'BRIEN: To me, when I'm calling the IT guy to help me.

WILLIS: Let me tell you something else, though, about this AOL service coming in March, which I think is funny. They're going to offer classic TV shows for free from Warner Brothers, which is also owned by Time Warner, including "Welcome Back Cotter."

O'BRIEN: Oh.

MARCIANO: Oh, nice.

WILLIS: And "Battlestar Galactica."

O'BRIEN: And, see, what are they charging for that, you know?

WILLIS: A big zip.

O'BRIEN: Really?

WILLIS: It's going to be free.

MARCIANO: It's nothing. The (INAUDIBLE).

WILLIS: Coming in March.

O'BRIEN: So if you're a member?

WILLIS: Yes, baby, you can get that stuff for free.

O'BRIEN: See, that would be worth it. I like it already.

WILLIS: Old TV.

MARCIANO: Now you're starting to advertise for our parent company.

O'BRIEN: No, I get it, corporate cousin, we always say that. Blah, blah, you know the whole deal. Thank you very much, Gerri. Appreciate it.

WILLIS: You're welcome.

MARCIANO: Thanks, Gerri.

O'BRIEN: Rob.

MARCIANO: Well, coming up, the only winning ticket in that huge Powerball jackpot was bought in one store in Nebraska but we still don't know who bought it. We'll see if the owner of that store has any ideas.

O'BRIEN: And McDonald's sued over its french fries. The suit says that, in fact, they pose a serious risk to people who have got food allergies. So exactly who should be worried? We're going to tell you just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. Got a short break and then we're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MARCIANO: Well, some lucky person is soon to hear from, well, everybody they know maybe looking for a few dollars to borrow because that lucky person holds the one winning ticket in the $365 million Powerball lottery. The ticket was bought in Lincoln Nebraska, at a U- stop store. Mick Mandl who owners that store, he joins us, along Tom Johnson, who is a spokesperson for the Nebraska lottery.

Good morning, gentlemen.

Tom, I'm going to start with you. You're the big wig out there.

TOM JOHNSON, NEBRASKA LOTTERY SPOKESMAN: Good morning.

MARCIANO: Who won? You got a name for us? You got a person?

JOHNSON: Well, we think we may have just spoken to the person who has that one winning ticket. They called the store just a few moments ago. We think we may have the winner and we're going to call back very shortly and hopefully talk with the person, then kind of map things out for them.

MARCIANO: Did you specifically speak on the phone with that person? Is it a man? A woman?

JOHNSON: Yes. It was a gentleman and he described the scenario here at the U-stop at that particular time, described the people who were selling the tickets, the conversation they had and the whole bit and hopefully it's the person that we think it is, the winner.

MARCIANO: Nick, you own the shop. Were you on duty? And if you weren't, I know you have security cameras. Did you view the . . .

MICK MANDL, STORE SOLD WINNING TICKET: Yes.

MARCIANO: Did you view the tape? And do you have any idea if it's this gentleman possibly?

MANDL: Yes, I did view the tape. So -- well, we got a better idea now who it could be.

MARCIANO: So were there all women on that tape or does it sound like this one gentleman could be the winner?

MANDL: Well, there was four guys and one female at, you know, at approximately 3:09. So kind of narrows it down.

MARCIANO: Well, besides the winner making some money, I know as a store owner you get a little bump, too. Can I ask you what you're going to make off this?

MANDL: $50,000.

MARCIANO: $50,000. So that's pretty good.

MANDL: Yes.

MARCIANO: But not quite enough to close down the shop. I see you're still in business. What do you plan a doing with that 50k?

MANDL: Well, they're going to close our -- the main street by our store here down for a year, so we'll probably just need that to help make us through that tough time.

MARCIANO: Oh, they've got some construction going on and that will help you get through some slower business?

MANDL: Yes, they're going to close the bridge down for a year and rebuild it.

MARCIANO: Tom, how much money -- at $365 million, what are my options -- if say I won the lottery, what are my options as far as payments go after taxes?

JOHNSON: You have two options. You can take either the annuity -- annuities over 30 years or you can take the cash option which is $177 million. And after taxes, Nebraska and federal taxes, government gets their take, you take home $124.1 million.

MARCIANO: Well that's a lot of cash. What do you advise the winner? Not something you do every day, I'm sure. But what kind of advice would you give the winner?

JOHNSON: We've had nine winners here in Nebraska so far, nine Powerball jackpot winners. So we advise them to sign the ticket and get a hold of somebody who is steeped in financial matters. Someone who understands big money, because this is big money.

MARCIANO: And, Mick, how did you find out that you sold the winning ticket?

MANDL: My manager of the store called me hysterically Sunday morning about 8:00. MARCIANO: And what were you doing? And how did you feel?

MANDL: Well, actually, I was in bed. And I thought oh, you know, I got up and saw who called and thought, oh, no, something happened. And I called back and we sold the winning ticket.

MARCIANO: Well, congratulations to you as a store owner, Mick. Tom, for the notoriety it's brining to Nebraska and maybe a little money to the Corn Huskers. They could use the help on their football team.

JOHNSON: Yes, they could.

MARCIANO: All right, gentlemen, thanks very much.

Soledad, we could have a winner. It sounds like we're getting closer. Some guy called the store.

O'BRIEN: Yes. Yes. That's pretty exciting. And, look, I mean the odds, too, what did they say, four guys on the tape, one woman. Could be. Could be. Can't wait take hear his story. Can't what to hear what he's going to do with the money. I love to hear that. Thanks, Rob.

MARCIANO: You bet.

O'BRIEN: Coming up in just a minute, the airline that lost -- airlines, really all of them, overall lost 10,000 bags a day last year. Were you one of the passengers who lost luggage? We've got some tips this morning on how you can keep your stuff from going missing.

Plus, there's some legal trouble at McDonald's. The fast food chain is now getting sued over ingredients in the french fries. We're going to take a look this morning at some possible risks for people with food allergies.

Those stories are ahead on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Standing by. A check on the weather, Bonnie Schneider, CNN Center for us.

Hello, Bonnie. Before we get to the top of the hour, what you got for us?

(WEATHER REPORT)

O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, sharp increase in violence by teenage girls in this country. Could be side effects of some positive changes in society, at least goes one theory.

Well tell you about that coming up on AMERICAN MORNING. We're back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Good morning. Welcome, everybody. I'm Soledad O'Brien.

Miles is on a little vacation, but Rob Marciano's been helping us out this morning, and we surely appreciate it. Thank you.

MARCIANO: Nice to be here.

What did Miles do to upset somebody? It used to be catered here. Toast is all you get here.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

MARCIANO: I've eaten better on hurricanes.

O'BRIEN: I shared my toast and you're winning. OK.

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