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American Morning
Chaos in Kathmandu; Government Getting Serious About Crackdown on Illegal Immigration
Aired April 20, 2006 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Chaos in Kathmandu. The people of Nepal want freedom. The government response to their massive protest? Gunfire. We're live there.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: An aggressive move coming this morning. The government getting serious about a crackdown on illegal immigration.
KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kelli Arena at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia, where relatives of 9/11 victims testify for the defense.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And I'm Chad Myers.
Storms right around the Nashville vicinity right now, especially north of the city. Here's a live shot from WKRN, our affiliate in Nashville. Every once in a while lightning off to the right. That is the storm that's going north of the city. But there are more storms in your future today. Stay with us.
O'BRIEN: And, if you could see me now, I'd be blushing. What do men really want -- better sex, more sex? How about both?
NGUYEN: Miles!
Come on.
O'BRIEN: It all depends on your age, they say.
That's ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
NGUYEN: And how do you know?
My, oh, my.
O'BRIEN: Good morning.
NGUYEN: Starting it off right, huh?
O'BRIEN: We'll get to that later.
Good morning.
I'm Miles O'Brien.
We're glad you're with us this morning. NGUYEN: Yes.
Good morning, everybody.
I'm Betty Nguyen in for Soledad this week.
Well, in just about 90 minutes, President Bush will welcome Hu Jintao to the White House. President Hu arrived in the Washington area last night. He and President Bush will discuss a huge U.S. trade deficit, plus the administration's concerns over China's currency. U.S. lawmakers say China's currency is undervalued.
Also up for discussion, opening China's markets to U.S. businesses and Iran's nuclear program. A lot to talk about.
Questions today about change in the president's inner circle, though. People wondering about the significance of the powerful Karl Rove giving up his policy post.
Dana Bash has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Was Karl Rove demoted by a new boss looking to turn a page or shifted to spend more time doing what he does best -- political strategy?
The answer? Both.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The architect, Karl Rove.
BASH: Despite his legendary status as the president's political guru, Rove fancies himself as a policy wonk, too, and wanted to be seen that way.
After the 2004 election, the president expanded his official role to deputy chief of staff in charge of policy. Now, those who know him say taking away any power, especially in policy, is like a punch in the gut.
WAYNE SLATER, AUTHOR, "BUSH'S BRAIN": His portfolio, including both politics and policy, has been something that he hasn't been able to handle as well as some folks might have hoped.
BASH: Several Bush advisers tell CNN they agree, Rove in charge of White House policy did not work.
BUSH: Every year it gets worse, from 27...
BASH: The biggest second term policy initiative failed. Others, like post-Katrina recovery, seen as anemic.
But worried Congress Republicans say they're happy Rove can refocus where they need him this election year -- framing the case against the Democrats. What now?
Sources close to Rove say expect more travel to fire up his vast network of activists, many of whom are disappointed with the president.
VIN WEBER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Karl Rove has become virtually an iconic figure to Republican grassroots activists by virtue of his role in strategizing the last three Republican election victories.
BASH: In reality, Rove may not be in charge of policy, but still very involved and though this was announced as part of a White House effort to suggest a change, many don't expect much.
WEBER: I think the fact is, over the last six years of this administration, Karl Rove, because of his importance to the president and his importance to the administration, has pretty much been able to do what he wants to do. And I think that that's going to largely continue to be the case.
BASH (on camera): Translation? Karl Rove will still be a target of Democratic criticism and still a key strategist and friend at the president's side.
Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
O'BRIEN: A developing story this morning -- violence in Nepal. Police firing into crowds of pro-democracy protesters. There are three dead, 100 injured so far. The government enforcing a curfew with a shoot on sight order, holding 100,000 demonstrators at the edge of the capital of Kathmandu. Obviously a lot of tension there.
Dan Rivers is in Kathmandu.
He joins us on the phone -- Dan, first of all, what are you seeing and hearing right now?
RIVERS: Well, we've been out to the edge of the city, where there have been some really very violent clashes. We've been right in the middle as the huge crowds of protesters tried to attack the police with stones and rocks. And then the police, we understand, just before we arrived, were shooting back at the protesters.
We spoke to people who'd seen protesters shot and killed and shot and injured. We've seen bullets on the ground and blood on the streets.
So it's a very tense situation out of the center.
In the center of the capital, it's a complete lockdown. There is -- there are very few people on the streets, lots of soldiers and the curfew is being imposed very rigorously.
O'BRIEN: Dan, can you give us a sense -- this has obviously been welling up for some time. Give us a sense of the depth of the anger among these protesters.
RIVERS: Oh, they are furious, absolutely. I mean, as you say, this has been going on now -- this is, I think, two weeks of protests and a general strike now. And this is really stemming from the king, Gyanendra, here, who has effectively dismantled democracy over the past few years. Last year, he sacked the government and assumed power himself.
And now people are fighting back and they're fighting to get their freedom back and fighting for democracy.
It's drawn a huge, broad coalition of political parties. On the one extreme, cists who want a communist state; and on the other extreme, the mainstream political parties.
But at the moment, everyone is united that they want the king to relinquish his tight grip on power.
O'BRIEN: Other countries in the neighborhood that could play a part in all this -- China and India come to mind right away.
What sort of influence might they have on how things turn out there?
RIVERS: Absolutely. I mean Nepal is sandwiched between China and India. And India is very much involved here. Some envoys have been seeing the king from India today. They have spoken to him and I understand the message basically was the ball is in the king's court now. It's time for him to make -- it's time for him to make some concessions.
And I think India is very worried, as well, about what the onward repercussions of this will be in India. There are lots of Nepalese citizens who've left Nepal and are living in India. And they are worried that there will be more protests, inflamed by the situation here, in India. So they are keeping a very watchful eye. They have a very keen interest in ensuring that this ends peacefully here.
But at the moment, the protesters are being held at bay by the security forces.
O'BRIEN: Dan Rivers in Kathmandu, Nepal.
Thank you -- Betty.
NGUYEN: The Zacarias Moussaoui trial is wrapping up. The defense has a few more witnesses to call before the jury will be left with a life and death decision for the al Qaeda operative who says he was a part of the 9/11 plot.
Now, the witnesses are 9/11 victims' family members, who say Moussaoui should be spared the death penalty.
CNN's Kelli Arena is live in Alexandria, Virginia with the latest on this story -- good morning, Kelli.
ARENA: Good morning, Betty.
Well, as you said, the trial took a sharp turn from a debate over Moussaoui's mental health to hearing testimony from family members who lost loved ones on 9/11, but still chose to testify for the defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
ARENA (voice-over): Mothers, wives, fathers and sons of some of the victims of September 11 came to help save Zacarias Moussaoui from being executed. Unlike many of the family members called by the prosecution, these witnesses offered stories of hope, of picking up the pieces and starting over.
Marilynn Rosenthal lost her son in the attack on the World Trade Center.
MARILYNN ROSENTHAL, 9/11 FAMILY MEMBER: I felt it was the patriotic thing to do. I really did.
ARENA: Patricia Perry told the jury about her son John, a police officer who was resigning, literally turning in his badge, as the towers were hit. John Perry ran to the rescue and was killed.
"We are most blessed that he was our son," she said.
The jury paid close attention, offering sympathetic nods or smiling. None of the witnesses mentioned Moussaoui or the death penalty. On the stand, they gave no reason why they chose to testify for the defense.
But outside the courtroom, when pressed, one witness explained.
ROSENTHAL: Mr. Moussaoui is the wrong man to be -- to be on trial. There are other people who are in the custody of the U.S. government who were central planners for the 9/11 event. Those are the people who should have been on trial.
ARENA: Witnesses also spoke about overcoming feelings of anger and revenge. Anthony Aversano, who lost his father, told jurors: "How I fight the terror in me is to live my life well."
(END VIDEO TAPE)
NGUYEN: Kelli, you can really see the difference in tone between these families and the families who testified in favor of the death penalty.
ARENA: That's right.
Well, of course, you know, they're all -- they're all sad and heartbroken over losing loved ones. But this time we heard a lot about scholarships and memorials that had been set up and how they had to find the strength to move on, to raise their children, to take care of their families. Whereas before you heard a lot from people who were basically stuck in time, people who hadn't even gone into their daughters' rooms or changed a thing and people who really were having a difficult time coping -- Betty.
NGUYEN: Difficult testimony.
OK, Kelli Arena, thank you for that.
And, of course, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security.
O'BRIEN: Severe weather picture time.
Let's take a look at some of these pictures.
The one coming out, this is St. Clair, Alabama. It wasn't a tornado there, but strong winds, hail and a lot of rain causing some problems. No reports of any -- look at that hail there.
Similar weather in other parts of the country -- Chattanooga, Tennessee. There's the hail there. Pellet sized hail, we decided. Heavy lightning and rain. No reports there of any injuries or significant damage, although I suspect there are a few people who are thinking about having to get some work done on their car this morning.
MYERS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Chad Myers -- pellet-sized hail. You said somewhere it was the size of baseballs.
NGUYEN: Baseballs.
MYERS: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Where was that?
MYERS: That was Talladega, Alabama. Yes.
O'BRIEN: Baseball sized hail.
MYERS: Yes, it was. Right.
O'BRIEN: Now, that would do a number on the vehicle, wouldn't it?
MYERS: It certainly does. And I'll tell you what, though, if you go outside today -- I lived in Oklahoma long enough -- if you go outside today and you see some small dings on your car, go take it and have it -- go take it and have it looked at by the insurance company, but then leave it in the sun for a couple of weeks before you go get the work done. A lot of those dings will pop out on their own and then you won't have to actually get so much work done. It may still cost you the same price, because they're probably going to have to paint it. But if you don't have -- if they don't have to fix all those dents, then if they -- it may come out a little bit better in your favor, as to the final product.
Here's Nashville right now, a lot of lightning and thunder, hail on the north side of the city right now. Here's a live shot from WKRN, our affiliate here. The clouds kind of coming in. You can't really see as far as you used to be able to see. Over on the right side, that's where we're seeing the lightning.
We put a little piece together to kind of try to put the lightnings back to back to back for you that we were seeing just in the past couple of minutes, because there has been quite a bit. Here's that piece. Just one strike after another.
They were noticing that as soon as it would strike on the camera, we would see the flash on our screen here, on the camera screen here. Every time it flashes and you can see it, the iris actually goes down on the camera, the automatic iris, just like you'd have maybe like on your home camera. Those lightning strikes there are around Nashville. And there are more lightning strikes to come.
In fact, you guys, there's another storm that's just off to your west. We're seeing the lightning from this cell that's moving through now. There's another cell here and still another one back out to the west of there.
Charlotte and Memphis, ground stops for you right now. I suspect they're probably not taking too many planes out of Nashville right now because -- with that weather around you, although it's not an official ground stop.
There will be severe weather across the deep South, showers up into the Ohio Valley and a cool day across parts of Bismarck.
But, finally, the snow has stopped into parts of the Dakotas, with 22 inches in some spots up there with that latest blizzard like condition area -- back to you.
NGUYEN: Well, it's about time.
MYERS: Yes, right.
O'BRIEN: Man, we got 75 and they got a blizzard.
MYERS: I know.
O'BRIEN: Go figure.
NGUYEN: Crazy weather out there.
MYERS: That's spring.
O'BRIEN: Go figure.
All right, Chad.
NGUYEN: All right, here's a new way to fix America's illegal immigration problem -- arrest employers that hire undocumented workers?
Coming up, we'll tell you about a massive, multi-state illegal immigration sting. O'BRIEN: Also ahead, sky high oil and gas prices. Can Uncle Sam offer us a little relief?
NGUYEN: And later, it's a religious group that says it is getting a bad rap from Hollywood. Why is it taking on the makers of the movie "The Da Vinci Code?"
That's ahead right here on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Employers of illegal immigrants should be on notice. There will be an announcement today of a plan to toughen up enforcement of immigration law.
Evidence of the new strategy?
In a sweeping raid yesterday -- take a look at where it happened -- 1,000 illegal immigrants rounded up in nine states.
The key thing? Executives of the company who worked -- who they worked for -- also arrested on criminal charges.
Julie Myers is the assistant secretary for ICE, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, and she joins us now to talk about what happened yesterday.
A lot of people involved in this.
Tell me what went down?
JULIE MYERS, IMMIGRATION & CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENT: Thank you for having me.
Yesterday, we announced the arrests of seven corporate officers, current and former mid-level managers at IFCO, who are charged with conspiring to harbor illegal immigrants for financial gain.
NGUYEN: We want to put up a statement by IFCO, because we tried contacting them and this is what they had to say about what happened yesterday, saying: "It is our policy to comply with all federal and state employment requirements. We are cooperating fully with representatives from ICE and hope to have this matter resolved as soon as possible."
But my question to you, why the focus on IFCO? What did this company do?
MYERS: Well, there are several things that were very troubling that happened in this case.
We had the opportunity to review payroll records from 2005 for IFCO employees and compare them to Social Security no match numbers. And we discovered that over 50 percent of individuals on the payroll in 2005 at IFCO were using bad Social Security numbers -- ones for kids, ones for people who had already died or ones that were otherwise invalid.
That's very troubling. Social Security will tell you that over 1 percent is extremely abnormal and here we had over 50 percent.
NGUYEN: But in the past, immigration enforcement was simply fining the company. This time, you went down there and you rounded them up, you arrested them, including the executives.
Why do this route?
MYERS: Well, we found that it wasn't effective to focus on just a small fine or a slap on the wrist. The individuals who are doing this, the companies who are profiting from this are doing this to make money. And so we need to focus on what they are doing when they blatantly violate work site laws.
NGUYEN: Are you trying to send a message with this?
MYERS: Absolutely.
And let me just say, we think most companies want to do the right thing. And when they do that, we want to work with them and help them prevent violations, so that they can be sure that they're not hiring illegal aliens. But when they don't, we're going to come after them and we're going to use criminal charges.
NGUYEN: So what are some of the other tough steps that you're going to be taking?
MYERS: Well, in the last couple of days, we've announced a number of different work site cases where we brought money laundering charges and forfeiture charges. So individuals who have profited from hiring illegal aliens -- and often exploiting them -- we're going after their houses, their Mercedes and any money that they have, as well.
NGUYEN: So, is this just the tip of this iceberg? Are we going to be seeing a little more of incidents like this, where you go in and you arrest them?
MYERS: Absolutely. You know, hopefully employers will work with us and they will avoid hiring illegal aliens. But if they don't, they should look out. ICE is there and we're going to work with all our partners in law enforcement to stop them from doing this.
NGUYEN: Why such a huge crackdown right now?
I mean you've always been targeting companies that are doing illegal things.
But is it in response to all the debate lately about illegal immigration?
MYERS: Absolutely not. This case has been ongoing for over a year and at this time, we thought there was enough evidence to bring this case forward. Although I note, the investigation is still ongoing. There may be more to come in this case.
NGUYEN: And there's a news conference today at 11:00 Eastern to talk about the crackdown.
Tell me about what we can expect.
MYERS: Absolutely. At the news conference today, Secretary Chertoff will announce a comprehensive interior enforcement strategy for immigration, the first of its kind for ICE, and tell the American people how we're addressing the problem of illegal immigration on the interior, as well as talk about all the specifics of the IFCO case.
NGUYEN: We'll be following it.
Julie Myers of Immigration & Customs Enforcement, called ICE.
We thank you for your time today.
MYERS: Oh, thank you so much, Betty.
NGUYEN: Miles.
O'BRIEN: Oil prices have hit another record high. That means gas prices, of course, are rising. Coming up, we'll see whether it's time for the government to get involved.
And in our health series for folks in their 30s, 40s and 50s, men, love and sex -- oh, my. Dr. Sanjay Gupta will tell us how men can keep their love life going strong into their 30s and beyond.
NGUYEN: Yowza!
Ooh, Miles.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: OK, men, let's talk sex now. It is a big deal, right?
In today's "30-40-50's" medical report, medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at sexuality for men as they age.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love women. I like women. I like them all.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As a culture, it's evident some men are preoccupied with sex.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sex, sex, sex.
(END VIDEO CLIP) GUPTA: You see it in the movies and magazines and on the Internet. But what's really going on sexually with men in their 30s?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope to be active into my 80s and 90s.
GUPTA: Dr. Chad Ritenour says men in their 30s may start to settle down and get married or start a family, but they still remain concerned about the quantity of sex that they're having.
DR. CHAD RITENOUR, EMORY UNIVERSITY UROLOGIST: In the 30s, we start to see men who are concerned that they may not be as sexually active as their counterparts.
GUPTA: For the thirty-something-year-old man who wants to remain sexually active in later years, he recommends developing a healthy lifestyle now.
RITENOUR: Exercise, take care of yourself, because what you do at this age may be important as you move into the 40s, the 50s and beyond.
GUPTA: Dr. Ritenour says men in their 40s may feel their sexual drive or libido change. And that might be related to testosterone levels dropping. As we get older, it becomes more about the quality of sex than the quantity.
RITENOUR: There is a shift in looking at what's important with the sexual experience. It -- there is a change from quantity to quality.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the best is yet to come.
GUPTA: When men reach their 50s, they often deal with performance issues in the bedroom. And when the frequency of sex goes down, sexual dysfunction is more likely to occur. That's according to Dr. Ritenour.
RITENOUR: Erectile dysfunction starts to set in for most men in their 50s, something that all men experience a little bit as they get older.
GUPTA: But prescription drugs can help. Dr. Ritenour sees a lot of men in their 50s who are more focused on pleasing their partners.
TOM OVERBY, 56 YEARS OLD: It's just better. I -- you know more things and, you know, you're more apt to please than just do it.
GUPTA: His best take home prescription for men in their 30s, 40s and 50s is to stay healthy and physically fit. It could help a man's sex life down the road.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
O'BRIEN: All right, now I want you to listen very carefully to this next line. When it comes to sex, location matters.
NGUYEN: All righty, then.
O'BRIEN: Location, location, location. Pfizer, which makes Viagra, of course, paid for a study of thousands of adults between the ages of 40 and 80 in 29 countries. Sixty-six percent of both men and women in Western countries are satisfied with their sex lives. In the Middle East, 50 percent of the men are happy, but only 38 percent of the women. And in East Asia, just 25 percent say they're satisfied.
Perhaps surprisingly, nearly twice as many men as women in all three regions said sex was extremely important in their lives.
The net-net on this is that where women are treated more equally, apparently there is a greater level of sexual satisfaction all the way around.
There you have it.
NGUYEN: That's understandable.
All right, I mean, can you really talk that much about sex this early in the morning, Miles?
Come on.
O'BRIEN: We can.
Yes, let's just move on.
Let's talk about something else.
NGUYEN: Yes. Quickly.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about prices.
NGUYEN: Let's do that.
Coming up, black market FEMA trailers, yes, at bargain basement prices. We'll look at the latest Katrina problem facing Louisiana officials.
And later, the religious group featured in "The Da Vinci Code," Opus Dei, they say the book and the new movie unfairly paint them as a cult. Find out what they plan to do about it.
That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: If you had the misfortune to be flying yesterday, there's a good chance you were delayed. A false alarm in security at Atlanta's Hartsfield Airport shut down that key hub for a spell, causing a huge ripple of delays all throughout the country.
What if there was a way to fly anywhere, anytime you wanted, with your shoes on, with your nail clippers? Well, Welcome To The Future.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT: I travel at least once a week. You've got to be face-to- face.
Travel has become much more difficult. Travel has become exhausting. Travel has become a job in itself, getting from your home or your office to the airport, through the airport to the plane.
Can there not be an easier way to do this?
One of my wishes is that this concept of the air taxi, with planes just sort of pulling up -- I need to go here now, who's going there? Taxi service, but it just happens to go through the air and it goes more than just around one city. I'd hop in one right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
O'BRIEN: Hailing an airplane may seem like a fanciful notion, but business travelers may be ready to pay a little more for more tailored service. Those long lines, overcrowded, delayed and canceled flights might render old-fashioned airline travel obsolete.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): Ken Stackpoole of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University says the future of air travel is in smaller planes flying to smaller airports.
KEN STACKPOOLE, EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY: One of the positives of using small aircraft in the small airports is that the small airports are normally closer to the real destination that you want to get to.
O'BRIEN: Just one reason why Stackpoole says the air taxi concept is ready for takeoff. In fact, he says air taxi operators are already lined up to buy a new fleet of very light jets, once FAA certification comes through. And the taxi fare for passengers? About a dollar per mile.
STACKPOOLE: Within the next couple of years, you're going to be able to go to your nearest airport, flag down your air taxi pilot and fly to your destination quicker, less expensive and at the time that you choose to fly rather than on an airline schedule, as we fly today.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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