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American Morning

Outrage in Iraq; Rescue Crews in Desperate Search After Snow- Covered Roof Collapses in Moscow

Aired February 23, 2006 - 08:00   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 back, everybody.

I'm Soledad O'Brien.

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Miles O'Brien.

Outrage in Iraq. Even more violent attacks in response to the bombing of a historic mosque there. We'll bring you up to date.

Rescue crews in a desperate search, meanwhile, after a snow- covered roof collapses in Moscow.

S. O'BRIEN: President Bush announcing a new battle plan for future disasters this morning.

And this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But now I don't understand this and I want answers. I'm not comfortable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, that's a dock worker. And what some of them are saying about this plan that would transfer control of some of America's ports to Arab owners. Today, a major review of that plan.

M. O'BRIEN: And this building may not look like much, but what happened inside has, well, screenwriters are already busy, I think. British police are in full go mode after a tremendous robbery in the United Kingdom. We'll give you the full details ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

S. O'BRIEN: We begin with this developing story we've been telling you about all morning out of Moscow.

It's now a determined search for survivors. The roof of this market collapsed. It killed 40 people, 24 more. That's the latest numbers that we have. Eleven people, we believe, are trapped.

Take a look at this map here and get to CNN's Matthew Chance.

He's live on the scene -- Matthew, I know it's unfolding sort of right behind you.

What's the scene like?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's a lot of activity here in northeastern Moscow, the scene of this very tragic collapse of a market building in this part, residential part of the city, essentially.

As we've been covering this story, Soledad, over the past several hours, we've been watching not just a lot of efforts, a lot of relief and rescue work underway, but also those casualty figures climb up slowly but surely.

The latest figures I can give to you now, coming to us, again, from the Emergency Situations Ministry here in Russia, which is overseeing the search and rescue effort.

They're now saying the casualty toll is that at least 40 people confirmed dead as a result of the roof collapsing of that market building.

Right behind me there, you can see rescue workers on the scene. At least 29 people are injured, as well, as a result of the roof collapse. More than 150 rescue workers are currently onsite, trying to cut their way into the wreckage, trying to gain access to any survivors. As you say, it's believed there are about 11 or so people -- although with the latest casualty figures, that number may now have lessened, it may have changed -- are still believed to be inside that crumbled building. And desperately rescue workers are working with sniffer dogs, with light cutting instruments to try and gain access, to try and save as many lives as they can -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, gosh, obviously time of the essence there.

Matthew Chance for us this morning.

Matthew, thanks for the update -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Another developing story -- the rising anger in Iraq over the bombing of a holy Shiite shrine in Samarra. The death toll now tops 100. At least 50 Sunni mosques have been either damaged or destroy.

CNN's Aneesh Raman in Baghdad with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ANEESH RAMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A war ravaged country again on high alert. Throughout Iraq, fear rising that sectarian strife has hit a breaking point after Monday's attack on Shia Islam's revered Askariya Mosque. Iraqi security personnel on leave have been called back to duty. Curfews have been extended.

In Baghdad alone, more than 50 Sunnis have been killed. An equal number of Sunni mosques have been attacked, five of them destroyed. Throughout the country, Sunni officials say, some 100 Sunni sites have been targeted.

In Samarra, the bodies of three Iraqi journalists working for Al Arabiya were found, all executed, including a well known reporter, Atwar Bahjat, a Sunni from Samarra in her 20s. And late Monday, amid the ruins of the sacred shrine and amid angry crowds, the country's interior minister, Bayan Jabr, a Shia, called for calm.

"This aggression of the holy place as a whole is an aggression against one-and-a-half billion Muslims," he said. "It is not an aggression on one community rather than another."

Divides deepening, as well, on the political front. The country's biggest Sunni political bloc now boycotting talks to form a new government after accusing Kurdish and Shia leaders of not condemning the reprisal attacks, playing sectarian politics.

Just last week, U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad threatened to withholding funding for Iraq's security forces if the new government had sectarian ties. And now Shia leaders are placing blame for the recent attack on the U.S.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): The ambassador's statements have given the green light for terrorist groups to carry out more violence. Consequently, he bears some responsibility.

RAMAN: The bombings come at a critical time, which is why virtually every Iraqi leader is appealing for calm. But one notable voice, that of firebrand Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose Mehdi militia have taken up arms and threatened revenge, has been publicly silent.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

RAMAN: And so a worrisome situation here seems to be deteriorating by the hour -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Aneesh, tell us -- apparently a new report about 47 bodies found north of Baghdad.

Put that in the context of what we've just been talking about.

RAMAN: Yes, Miles, it's unclear at the moment whether it's related to the sectarian strife we've seen erupt over the past day. But a disturbing attack north of the capital. Forty-seven civilians killed after they were ambushed by four vehicles of gunmen.

Again, their identities at the moment are unknown. The reports are that they were factory workers.

We're waiting for more details.

But it comes, of course, at an incredibly tense time already in the country -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Aneesh Raman in Baghdad.

Thank you very much.

Let's get some other headlines in.

Kelly Wallace is in for Carol Costello this morning -- good morning, Kelly.

KELLY WALLACE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning again, Miles.

We're beginning with details of the controversial port deal which will be laid out before a Senate committee this morning. Some lawmakers have come out swinging against the deal, while President Bush has promised the first veto of his presidency to keep the agreement intact. Under the deal, an Arab-based company would manage six major U.S. ports.

A brief stop in Lebanon for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her Mideast tour. Secretary Rice meeting with the newly elected prime minister there today. She moves on to the United Arab Emirates, which is at the center of that controversial port deal we were just telling you about here in the United States.

Lessons learned from Katrina -- the White House giving its take this morning on what went wrong. A new report lists recommendations on improving communication and calls for a bigger presence from the Pentagon in relief efforts. President Bush is meeting with his cabinet less than an hour from now to discuss that report.

And in Lincoln, Nebraska, seven men and one woman are the country's newest multi-millionaires. The eight co-workers came forward on Wednesday to claim their Powerball prize. The $365 million jackpot was the biggest in history and they'll each be taking home more than $15 million after taxes.

And, Miles, they said at that news conference that they all used to pool their money together whenever the jackpot exceeded $40 million. Can you imagine the workers who didn't put in money this time around?

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, I wanted to remind them that I was in that pool. And for some reason, they're not buying it.

WALLACE: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: I've been trying to tell you, I've been in.

S. O'BRIEN: We didn't realize you were in the meat packing business.

WALLACE: Exactly.

It's a side job, a side job.

M. O'BRIEN: I do it on the side.

All right, thank you, Kelly.

Let's check the weather once again.

Bonnie Schneider is doing that for us this morning.

Chad is off -- hello, Bonnie.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, ATS METEOROLOGIST: Hello.

I wish we had done a pool like that here at CNN.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

SCHNEIDER: Maybe we would have won something.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

SCHNEIDER: Oh, well.

(WEATHER REPORT)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, more on that controversial deal to outsource U.S. ports to an Arab company. Senator Joe Biden is one of the plan's biggest critics -- there he is to tell us why he's so against it.

S. O'BRIEN: Also this morning, a quiz to test your health I.Q. It's part of our "30-40-50" health series. Of course, those are ages and health questions about those ages.

M. O'BRIEN: And we'll catch up with figure skater -- well, she's not just a figure skater. She's a legend, for skating and for hair styles. She'll talk about the highs and lows that followed her during her Olympic gold medal run. And it turns out she has a special fan in one Kelly Wallace. We'll explain.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: An odd coalition of critics taking aim at the White House this morning. Conservatives and liberals both upset over a plan to allow an Arab-controlled company to buy some key U.S. ports. The concern is it may undermine security in this post-9/11 world.

Joining us now is Senator Joseph Biden, who has some big concerns about it.

Senator, good to have you with us.

SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN (D-DW), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: Hey, Miles, how are you doing?

M. O'BRIEN: Good.

This is a tough one because, on the one hand, you want to have free and open markets. That's something the United States espouses. On the other hand, security is very important. A difficult dilemma. Or did you see it in more starker terms?

BIDEN: No, I think it is a difficult dilemma. But there are certain parts of our infrastructure, Miles, that we shouldn't be farming out. And it goes beyond, in many cases -- I mean, in my view -- this particular case.

But it is a problem.

M. O'BRIEN: Is this the same kind of scenario as when the Chinese were trying to buy Unocal, for example?

BIDEN: Similar.

M. O'BRIEN: Would you consider that in the same neighborhood, so to speak?

BIDEN: Similar in that -- but that was one step removed from immediate security interests.

Look, I think the real reason you see this uproar, Miles, is, one, this administration gets very bad marks from the 9/11 Commission on port security. They -- they've actually cut back on the security in terms of money being spent. They haven't done all the things that need to be done. And on top of that, they go to look like they put a commercial transaction above a security transaction by, as the news is coming out today, not even requiring the same kind of accountability for the Dubai operation as they apply to other foreign operated ports in the United States -- from recordkeeping to U.S. citizens designated as the person who can be served, etc.

M. O'BRIEN: Well, let me ask you this, though, Senator.

How much do you really think the headquarters of the company that runs these ports has direct bearing on security?

This is really -- it's a homeland security issue, it's a customs issue, and that's not going to change. Those agencies will still be involved.

BIDEN: No, but what have -- what does change is the person running the port knows every detail, every aspect, every bit of how the operation and the security functions. And, look, we're talking about a country that until recently recognized the Taliban as the official government of the -- of Afghanistan, a country that, in fact, has their own ports -- through no fault of their own, arguably -- but incompetence has allowed nuclear materials to be shipped from Pakistan into Iran, etc.

I mean there is a whole lot of reason to be concerned here.

And the idea that the administration says trust me, trust us, that we know what we're doing, is literally ludicrous. Ludicrous.

M. O'BRIEN: Let me ask you this, is it corporate profiling? BIDEN: Well, it's not corporate profiling. What it is, is country specific questioning, because this is a company owned by the government. So the government owns this. And it is not the most stable part of the world to begin with. And the idea that they're allies -- I heard someone say it last night. The Colombian government is an ally with us in the war on drugs. Would you put the Colombian government in charge of our transit points for immigration? I don't think you would.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, a final question here.

I know you're in Austin for another subject matter entirely, a subject near and dear to you that you focused on for many years, the National Domestic Violence Hotline, celebrating the anniversary.

Tell us a little bit about it.

BIDEN: Well, over 1.5 million women, for the first time in their life, pick up a phone, usually in panic, to call and say I need help. And what we've done, Miles, is that over 26,000 calls were dropped over a year ago.

So I went to Microsoft and to AOL and other large companies and said help. Produce a back office for this hotline, women in trouble calling to get direction and help. Make it the most sophisticated back office that exists in any bank in America.

So now when a woman calls from Minneapolis or Seattle or Wilmington, Delaware, they literally are able to be told look, stay right there. We're going to call immediately. The closest police station is 20 blocks away. Don't move.

There's heart wrenching calls, women in shopping malls saying I can see him. He's -- I'm by Gap Kids and he's coming up and he's going to -- he said he's going to kill me and he's beating me up.

I mean these are people who are truly doing god's work and I wanted to put some focus on it and celebrate it and thank American technology companies for helping us save women's lives here.

M. O'BRIEN: A good cause.

Senator Joseph Biden, thanks for your time.

BIDEN: Thanks.

Thanks for having me.

M. O'BRIEN: Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Just brutal stories, too.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Ahead this morning, our health series for folks in our 30s and our 40s and our 50s is next. How much do you know about your health?

We've got a special quiz for you just ahead.

Plus, we're going to catch up with figure skating legend Dorothy Hamill. She's going to talk about how Olympic gold changed her life for the better and, in some ways, for the worse, too.

Stay with us.

That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: You can't see these families at a Red Cross shelter, or families anywhere, and not think, of course, of your own family. People have lost everything. I mean, literally, everything.

This is a Red Cross shelter right in Baton Rouge. Forty-five hundred people overnighted here last night. And as we talked about some of the people who have been refusing to leave, for the people here, they were ready to get out. And this is where they've ended up.

There is, in New Orleans and in Louisiana and in the Gulf Coast, a sense of home, that, you know, home is where you come back to, that really moved me and really surprised me. And because of that sense of home, there's a sense of hope, you know, we're going to stick it out, we're going to survive it, we're going to rebuild somehow.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

S. O'BRIEN: In the nearly six months since Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast -- we're going to take a look back. And starting Monday, we're live in the Gulf. We're going to bring you special coverage, of course, of Mardi Gras on Tuesday. But, more importantly, we're going to tackle some of the key issues and the big problems that still face New Orleans and the entire region.

AMERICAN MORNING is coming to you live from the Gulf. And that begins on Monday morning.

Something else to think about, life expectancy for those of us in the 30, 40, 50 range.

Do you what? Life expectancy is 78.

M. O'BRIEN: I'm more than half cooked. I hate that feeling.

S. O'BRIEN: Thanks for putting it that way. Me, too. Ow.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, ow.

Does living longer mean we're living healthier?

Tomorrow on AMERICAN MORNING, we'll bring you a special hour devoted to health maintenance in your 30s, 40s and 50s.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta will join us.

And he will be joined by Elizabeth Cohen, our medical correspondent, who is at the CNN Center this morning with a preview of our special hour that lies ahead -- hello, Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Miles and Soledad.

That's right, tomorrow you will find out if you really know the facts about your health. You might think you know a lot, but during the hour we'll be teaching you even more.

And right now we have a quiz to try to get your health I.Q.

And so Miles and Soledad, I think you have the questions and...

S. O'BRIEN: All right. I'll -- I definitely don't have the answers, but I've got the questions, Elizabeth.

Here's the first one.

What do you think is the leading cause of death among American women, and by what proportion? Is it breast cancer, is it stroke or is it heart disease that's the leading cause of death in women?

M. O'BRIEN: Do we get to guess?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I'm going to guess breast cancer.

M. O'BRIEN: I think recently heart disease overtook it.

COHEN: Miles, I have to say you're right about this one.

M. O'BRIEN: Ah!

COHEN: Sorry, Soledad.

M. O'BRIEN: Recently.

COHEN: Soledad, a lot of people make that mistake.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

COHEN: A lot of people think that breast cancer is the leading cause of death. In fact, 250,000 women die from heart attacks each year. More women die from heart disease than the next 14 causes of death combined that follow heart disease. So it really is...

S. O'BRIEN: Wow!

COHEN: ... yes, by a huge proportion, the leading cause of death among women.

O'BRIEN: Especially when you consider that doctors don't necessarily look for heart disease and heart issues in women, but often will be doing checks for women and breast health.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

COHEN: That's right.

In fact, unfortunately sometimes they make a mistake and a woman is having a heart attack and they think it's something else.

S. O'BRIEN: Right. Right.

COHEN: They don't always associate heart attacks with especially young women.

S. O'BRIEN: Interesting.

You know, we talked about the average age being 78, what you live to.

Is that higher for women overall?

M. O'BRIEN: Of course it is. Women always live longer.

S. O'BRIEN: How -- the question is this, Elizabeth.

How much longer am I going to live than Miles?

COHEN: Well, I hope you both live long lives and healthy lives.

M. O'BRIEN: I can take you out right now if I need to.

COHEN: But, Soledad, you're going to live longer.

First of all, you're younger than Miles.

But, second of all, you're female, so you're...

S. O'BRIEN: I'm only 20, Elizabeth.

COHEN: That's right.

Oh, I thought it was 19.

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Sorry.

COHEN: So you're definitely going to live longer than Miles.

Now, it's interesting in 1920 that women only lived about a year longer -- women only lived about a year longer than men. And, actually, that number is now up to more like six years longer.

S. O'BRIEN: Really?

COHEN: It's interesting, they're not exactly sure why, but they think it has something to do with the fact that female hearts seem to age less slowly than male hearts.

S. O'BRIEN: That's interesting.

M. O'BRIEN: I wonder why that is.

That's interesting.

OK, men.

What should we be most concerned about? Let's see, cancer, heart disease, strokes? What's -- what are the biggies?

COHEN: You should be concerned about all of those things, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: All of the above.

COHEN: Yes, all of them.

However, the thing, again, like with women, it should be heart disease is actually the number one killer. Twenty-eight percent of male deaths are due to heart disease, 24 percent due to cancer. Eighty thousand men have heart attacks every year. So, again, heart disease is number one.

M. O'BRIEN: And it -- do you know -- I'm putting you on the spot. Of those 80,000, how many of those are fatal the first time? Quite a few?

COHEN: Quite a few, but fewer than there used to be. They're actually getting better at treating -- at saving people in a first heart attack.

M. O'BRIEN: So if you're having symptoms, though, do not ignore those symptoms.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, gosh, no.

M. O'BRIEN: Right. That's, yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Absolutely.

Can I ask you a question about fertility? Because you heard this story that we were talking about, the 62-year-old woman who gave birth.

M. O'BRIEN: Right.

S. O'BRIEN: Twelfth child.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Tenth surviving child, but twelfth child.

So here's the question. What's the probability that a woman who is 50 has a chance of conceiving? And I guess we would talk sort of like naturally conceiving?

Is a 20 percent chance, an 8 percent chance or a 1 percent chance?

When I had my twins, my doctor said I was advanced maternal age just before I turned 40.

M. O'BRIEN: Did you slap him?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes. Actually, kind of I did.

So a 50 -- a 50-year-old woman?

I'm going to guess a 1 percent chance.

COHEN: Soledad, I was told the same thing, too, with my last child. AMA -- advanced maternal age.

S. O'BRIEN: I know.

It sounds good, doesn't it?

Thanks, doctor.

COHEN: Yes, it just doesn't sound good.

Conception at age 50, the chance is actually 1 percent, or even less.

Now, some people might say but there are all these celebrities who are conceiving at 50, how could that be?

Well, we have to tell you that they're conceiving with lots of help and probably not their own eggs if they're over age 43.

S. O'BRIEN: Or maybe just go ahead and get the surrogate so it doesn't ruin your body, too.

COHEN: Right.

You can do it that way, too.

S. O'BRIEN: All right, well this was an interesting quiz. And it's certainly going to be interesting information when you join us tomorrow, along with Sanjay, because, of course, 30s, 40s, 50s, that's really when you have a chance to make a difference in your health.

Elizabeth, thank you very much.

COHEN: Thanks.

S. O'BRIEN: Our special hour is coming up on AMERICAN MORNING tomorrow, with our health series, "30-40-50."

Elizabeth and Sanjay Gupta, as well.

M. O'BRIEN: For those of us who are half cooked, otherwise.

Elizabeth, you'll do... S. O'BRIEN: On many fronts.

M. O'BRIEN: Elizabeth will be -- every day I turn up the heat a little more.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta will be with her and we're going to take care of e-mail.

S. O'BRIEN: Oh, yes, we've got remind people.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: Send an e-mail. And if you have questions about your health and, you know, we'll take all questions, send it into cnn.com/am.

Ahead this morning, we're talking about advertisers. They're targeting something new to get you to buy stuff.

Guess what?

M. O'BRIEN: I don't know. I couldn't read it but...

S. O'BRIEN: Scented. Your nose.

M. O'BRIEN: Your nose? The nose.

S. O'BRIEN: That's the strategy now.

M. O'BRIEN: Smell-A-Vision.

S. O'BRIEN: Smell your way into purchasing more.

We've got an explanation just ahead.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, and after a season on the bench, a teenager gets four minutes to realize his hoop dreams. And, boy, does he.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON MCELWAIN: I was very excited. The team was excited. Everybody else was excited.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, they're calling him JMAC (ph) in Rochester. And we're wondering why the coach didn't put him in sooner.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Coming up, a very, very special look at Dorothy Hamill through the eyes of a super fan. Really, you could say almost stalker, maybe? S. O'BRIEN: Obsessed fan?

M. O'BRIEN: Kelly Wallace, what -- it was really -- this is really a childhood idol of yours. You had a chance to meet her.

Tell us about it.

WALLACE: Right.

I mean how often do you get to interview someone you idolized as a 10-year-old girl?

Well, I idolized Dorothy Hamill. I got to spend some time with her on Friday. I talked to her about winning Olympic gold 30 years ago, what it's been like, the good times, the tough times. And she is as darling as ever. My unbiased opinion, of course.

S. O'BRIEN: That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

M. O'BRIEN: All right.

S. O'BRIEN: A short break.

We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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