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American Morning
Keeping Tabs on All Americans; President Celebrating Major Victory on Tax Cuts
Aired May 11, 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: Keeping tabs on all Americans -- a report this morning says the federal government wants a record of every phone call you make.
ED HENRY, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Henry at the White House, where the president is celebrating a major victory on tax cuts. But can it lift his sagging poll numbers?
That story, coming up.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: A disaster area declared after those deadly tornadoes in Texas. Now families are digging through what's left behind.
M. O'BRIEN: Just a little drink, but that taste of alcohol can have very different effects depending on your age.
S. O'BRIEN: We'll look at that and also this -- getting ready for vacation, but you still want a better deal.
Our summer travel series continues. It shows you how to shop for bargains.
That's ahead on this AMERICAN MORNING.
Good morning, welcome everybody.
M. O'BRIEN: Good to have you with us this morning.
President Bush all but assured of winning a big one on Capitol Hill today. The Senate is expected to pass a $70 billion tax cut package. The House passed it yesterday.
CNN White House correspondent Ed Henry joining us live -- and, Ed, with the poll numbers where they are at the White House, I assume they are going to be trumpeting this one.
HENRY: Oh, yes, they're already planning a big signing ceremony for the president next week. They think they'll get some bang for the buck in the mid-term elections, maybe wake up some conservative voters disillusioned with this White House on other policies.
The key to this entire $70 billion package, as you mentioned, the central piece is keeping the tax return on capital gains and dividends down to 15 percent for another two years. That was supposed to expire at the end of 2008. Also, allow small businesses to write off up to $100,000 in investments in equipment. It also extends, for this year only, changes to the alternative minimum tax. That's geared to higher middle income families.
But the liberal Tax Policy Institute charges this is really geared toward the rich. And when you take a look at the numbers, it doesn't look like lower and middle income families really will see anything, much of anything, in their wallets.
If you're earning $20,000 to $30,000 a year, a tax cut of just $9.
If you make $50,000 to $75,000,$110 of a tax cut.
$100,000 to $200,000, about $1,400 of a tax cut.
More than a million dollars, a tax cut of nearly $42,000.
Democrats are pouncing on that disparity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: The Exxon board room is cheering that this is going to pass. The people that work for Exxon, they're not cheering. This is for -- this is not for America, the middle class. This is for the rich and famous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: But the White House is banking on the fact that this could really fire up conservative voters. As I mentioned, they've been a little disillusioned with some White House policies. The president looking for any victory on the Hill he can get right now -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: All right, Ed, tell us about the president's schedule today. He's headed to the Gulf. He's going to give a commencement address at a college in Biloxi.
Tell us about that.
HENRY: That's right, the Gulf Coast Community College. As you remember, the stadium there where the president will be speaking was hard hit by Katrina. The president trying to remind people on the Gulf Coast, all around the country and the world, he has not forgotten the lessons of Katrina.
And here, less than a month before hurricane season heating up again, he wants to reassure people the federal government is getting ready -- Miles.
M. O'BRIEN: Ed Henry at the White House, thank you very much -- sleep driving.
S. O'BRIEN: A CNN Security Watch now.
It is being described as the largest database ever assembled in the world. And your phone number is probably on it.
The "USA Today" is reporting new details on the National Security Agency's program to secretly record and collect -- not record, rather -- secretly collect phone call records.
The program has been running, up and running, since 9/11. The spy agency says it's to detect terrorist activity.
Here are some details in "USA Today" today.
The report says the program does not involve listening to the calls, just keeping a log of who you're calling. AT&T, Verizon, Bell South, all part of the program. Qwest apparently refusing to participate.
The paper says the NSA program is far broader than what the White House has ever acknowledged.
In a statement, the NSA says it's operating within the law.
In just a few minutes, we're going to speak with the "USA Today" reporter who broke that story.
An accused computer hacker is one step closer to facing trial in the U.S. after a British court ruled in favor of his extradition. Gary McKinnon is accused of breaking into Pentagon computers just after 9/11.
ITV's Keir Simmons has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
KEIR SIMMONS, ITV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Using a home PC and only a modem, Gary McKinnon single-handedly broke into and shut down American military computers. On one occasion, he left a digital message attacking U.S. politics: "Your foreign policy is akin to state terrorism," he wrote.
GARY MCKINNON, ADMITTED HACKER: I was amazed at the lack of security.
SIMMONS: Outside court he said what he'd done was so easy, the judge was wrong to say he should be extradited and put on trial in the United States.
MCKINNON: My intention was never to disrupt security. The fact that I logged on where there was no password meant there was no security to begin with.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "WAR GAMES," COURTESY MGM)
SIMMONS:
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It can't be that simple.
(END VIDEO CLIP) SIMMONS: The case mirrors the 1980s film "War Games," where a young boy breaks into an American military computer system and causes havoc.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "WAR GAMES," COURTESY MGM)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMMONS: That such a far-fetched plot has become reality 20 years later is staggering.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "WAR GAMES," COURTESY MGM)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Report to comm.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Objective target area (ph). Program (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMMONS (on camera): Gary McKinnon managed to access 97 computer systems over a year. He hacked into networks at the Pentagon, NASA computers, the U.S. Army, Air Force and the U.S. Navy, including computers at Pearl Harbor and Earle Naval Weapons Station, rendering some vital defense systems inoperable just two weeks after the September the 11th terrorist attacks.
(voice-over): So could it happen again?
We asked one man who was one of the first in the world to face trial for computer hacking.
ROBERT SCHIFREN, AUTHOR, "DEFEATING THE HACKER": Hackers aren't going to go away. There's always going to be people trying to break into computers, either for fun-or for profit. And the more we depend on I.T. the more the hackers are going to be around. We do need to be aware just how important computer systems are to us and how important it is to protect them.
SIMMONS: Gary McKinnon's case will now be considered by the home secretary. In court, he argued that the Americans might send him to Guantanamo Bay. The judge rejected that and said though McKinnon may face a harsher sentence in America, that is the price he must pay.
Kier Simmons, ITV News.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
S. O'BRIEN: A quick look at some of the other stories our correspondents are following around the world, from details of the July 7th terror attack in London to the oil fields in Iraq.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Paula Hancocks in London. British security services were ill-equipped to prevent the July 7th London bombings, which killed 52 and injured 700 people. A report out this Thursday saying what is to blame is a lack of resources in the security services. They say that there was a clear failure in intelligence that this attack took place. But not one single agency or individual is to blame.
In addition, they say the terror alert system in Britain should be changed. It was lowered just before this attack took place.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Arwa Damon, embedded with the 101st Airborne in the oil rich region of Kirkuk.
Now, this is known as the eternal flame. You can actually step on it and the flames will not go out. Legend has it that the flame has been burning for 2,000 years. However, the U.S. military told us that it is a product of natural gas burning 300 meters below the Earth's surface, creating a flame so powerful, it has broken through right here, a testimony to the natural resources that are located in this area.
S. O'BRIEN: For more on those stories or any of our top stories, you can go right to our Web site, cnn.com.
M. O'BRIEN: Happening in America now, four years in jail for the man who set the fire that killed 100 in a Rhode Island nightclub. Daniel Biechele spending his first morning behind bars today. Biechele was the manager of the band Great White and set up the pyrotechnics that sparked the horrible fire in 2003.
Before the verdict was read, he apologized to victims' families.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL BIECHELE, DEFENDANT: I don't know that I'll ever forgive myself for what happened that night. So I can't expect anybody else to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Biechele's guilty verdict not the last chapter. The brothers who own the club also facing trials.
A sheriff's posse is now patrolling the desert areas outside Phoenix. They are enforcing a new state law -- it's a controversial one -- that allows state officers to arrest suspected illegal immigrants as smugglers. Up until this point, this has been the purview of the federal Border Patrol.
Three hikers had to be plucked from the side of a mountain in Utah. They unknowingly wandered into an avalanche danger zone. One of the hikers used his cell phone to call for help as soon as they realized they were lost.
Damage from burning fires in eastern central Florida keeping a 12-mile stretch of Interstate 95 closed today. Trees damaged by the burning fires starting to fall across the highway south of Daytona Beach. Some of them are still smoldering.
A dusk until dawn curfew in effect in Westminster, Texas, north of Dallas. This is the area devastated by those tornadoes the other night. Three were killed. It destroyed about two dozen homes. Westminster now a disaster area.
Let's check the forecast now.
Chad Myers with that -- hello, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hello, Miles.
The Weather Service there out of Dallas did say that that was very close to an F-3 tornado, a minor F-3, about 150 to 160 miles per hour. So still a very big tornado for those folks there.
(WEATHER REPORT)
M. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Chad Myers.
Those two Australian miners trapped two weeks underground after an earthquake, well, they're speaking publicly for the first time since they emerged. We've got some new pictures coming in right now.
Moments ago, Todd Russell and Brant Webb thanked their families and they thanked the rescue teams.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANT WEBB, RESCUED MINER: And for all the mates who each day said good-bye to their families and loved ones every shift to put their lives on the line for us and worked in dangerous, unstable conditions to bring us air, we owe our lives to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
M. O'BRIEN: Wow!
It's good to see them.
S. O'BRIEN: I know. They look so good, too...
M. O'BRIEN: Hale and hearty.
S. O'BRIEN: ... when you think about it.
Gosh.
M. O'BRIEN: Two weeks under there and they, shoot, that's -- that's good to see a happy ending on that one.
A third man, unfortunately, however, Larry Knight, was in the mine at the moment of the quake. He was not in a cage, as they were, doing some work, and did not make it.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes. He did not survive. Ahead this morning, more on that report of a secret government database collecting millions of phone records.
We talk this morning to the reporter from "USA Today" who broke the story. Find out just who's being listened to.
M. O'BRIEN: Also ahead, our health series for folks in their 30s, 40s and 50s.
Today, let's talk booze, shall we? How it can affect everything from blood pressure to long-term memory.
S. O'BRIEN: And then later this morning, surviving summer travel. We've got the best values on vacation packages just ahead.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
M. O'BRIEN:. The National Security Agency, that super secret organization involved in that domestic spying program, may be doing something more that we hadn't heard about.
According to "USA Today," tens of millions of Americans' domestic phone records may be monitored by the National Security Agency.
Lesley Cauley is a business reporter for "USA Today."
She broke the story.
It's in today's paper.
Lesley, good to have you with us.
Let's lay it out as quickly as we can here.
First of all, this does not imply the NSA is listening to domestic phone calls you or I would make, correct?
LESLEY CAULEY, BUSINESS REPORTER, "USA TODAY":. That is correct, yes.
M. O'BRIEN:. OK.
So what exactly -- what kind of information are they gathering?
CAULEY:. They are collecting what is known as call detail records. And this is simply the listing of the actual numbers dialed. Incoming and outgoing are being tracked. But, again, we're talking purely the calls being dialed. That does not include your name, street address, Social Security number, information of that sort.
M. O'BRIEN:. Of course, that information, with the phone number, you can get that kind of stuff if you want to get it.
CAULEY:. Absolutely. M. O'BRIEN:. It's certainly -- it's very simple to do that. Anybody can do that on the Web.
We're talking about AT&T, Verizon and Bell South, which are the biggies. So that includes literally tens of millions of Americans.
What have you been able to glean is the NSA using and doing with this information?
CAULEY:. The explanation put forth by NSA is simply that they are -- it is part of a counter-terrorism campaign. No doubt, this is one of many tools in the arsenal to try to track down suspected terrorists, would-be terrorists, that sort of thing.
M. O'BRIEN:. All right, let's interject right now with a statement from the NSA, just so we can get that in here. Here's what they're saying: "Given the nature of the work we do, it would be irresponsible to comment on actual or alleged operational issues. Therefore, we have no information to provide. However, it is important to note the NSA takes its legal responsibilities seriously and operates within the law."
If what you say is true in the piece, is that lawful, to do what they're doing?
CAULEY:. That's -- that's the big question. It would be open to debate.
No doubt, NSA and the Bush administration would argue it certainly is. ACLU and others on the civil libertarian side of the aisle, however, would probably have a different point of view.
M. O'BRIEN:. All right, the amount of data here is truly staggering, and I'm sure that the NSA has some of the finest supercomputers on the planet.
But what are they able to do when they put all those phone numbers and all of those records into the computer? What can they possibly learn?
CAULEY:. Well, only the NSA knows that for sure and they are not saying. But certainly with this aggregated mass of data, they can slice and dice this a multitude of ways and you cross check it with other databases, other information, they would access to, which is considerable, and, again, secret. There's no telling.
But that -- that is a question.
M. O'BRIEN:. Do you know if there have been specific investigations or arrests, for that matter, that have been generated by this data?
CAULEY:. I do not know for sure. I have not been able to determine that.
M. O'BRIEN:. All right. And as far as we know, how long has this been going on?
CAULEY:. Since at least -- since at least 2001, with the 9/11 attacks. Possibly the groundwork was laid prior to that. But certainly since 2001.
M. O'BRIEN:. All right, Lesley Cauley with "USA Today," broke the story of tens of millions of phone records, domestic phone calls you and I would make, now in a database in the government.
Thank you very much for your time.
CAULEY:. Thank you.
M. O'BRIEN:. Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Still to come this morning, our health series for folks in their 30s and their 40s and their 50s. Today we're taking a look at the damage that alcohol can do to your body over the years, covering everything from memory loss to osteoporosis.
Then later, a woman says she lost her job teaching because she was pregnant. We'll explain why, just ahead.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: People who question whether they're drinking too much might want to consider the side effects of excessive drinking. Obviously, it can be toxic to your health.
Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us from Atlanta with more in our series about health in our 30s and our 40s and our 50s -- hey, Elizabeth, good morning.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning.
You may not feel it really right there in your youth, but the side effects of too much drinking will eventually, over the years, be felt in your mind and in your body.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "ARTHUR," COURTESY WARNER BROTHERS")
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's so funny now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes I just think funny things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN (voice-over): We sometimes laugh at Hollywood portrayals of excessive drinking.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "ARTHUR," COURTESY WARNER BROTHERS")
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ouch! Ooh. Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Isn't that (UNINTELLIGIBLE)?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COHEN: But this isn't very funny.
DR. THERESA ROHR-KIRCHGRABER, EMORY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Over a long period of time, alcohol can affect every single organ system in your body.
COHEN: Dr. Theresa Rohr-Kirchgraber says alcohol affects everything from the heart to the brain.
So what happens if you drink too much in your 30s?
ROHR-KIRCHGRABER: We've had a number of men in their early 30s who, going out for drinks on the weekend, will end up with an abnormal heart rhythm and have to come to the emergency room.
If you're in your 30s and you're a woman and you're thinking about becoming pregnant, alcohol in large doses, we know, can damage the baby.
COHEN: If you drink too much in your 40s, things could get even worse.
ROHR-KIRCHGRABER: In the early 40s is, a lot of times, when we'll start seeing patients with high blood pressure. And alcohol directly affects high blood pressure, as well.
It also starts to affect the kidneys a bit more, too.
COHEN: By the time you're in your 50s...
ROHR-KIRCHGRABER: Now that you're in your 50s, those organs that have had that toxic affect from the alcohol for so many years are really starting to have a hard time. They're already getting stressed by the aging process.
COHEN: That includes deterioration of the heart muscles, short- and long-term memory loss, cirrhosis of the liver, osteoporosis and depression.
Researchers say there are benefits from drinking moderate amounts of alcohol. For example, a glass or two of wine a day can reduce your risk of heart attacks and strokes.
ROHR-KIRCHGRABER: A small amount of alcohol in an adult can actually be hopeful. But remember, everything is in moderation.
COHEN: If your drinking is out of control, doctors say get help. There's counseling and medications can also help reduce alcohol cravings. (END VIDEO TAPE)
COHEN: Now, serving sizes of drinks, like everything else, have grown over the years. So when doctors say a drink or two a day might be good for you, they mean eight ounces, not 20 -- Soledad.
S. O'BRIEN: Is there a test -- I mean have they updated or changed the test to discover or get some information about whether your an alcoholic? I mean I guess people often thought well, if you're questioning it, maybe there's a good chance you are?
COHEN: And that still is one of the things that people should consider, Soledad.
Sometimes someone will think am I an alcoholic, am I not or sometimes the spouse will say I think you have a problem. And so this is -- here are some questions that people can ask themselves to figure out if they really do have a problem with alcohol.
First of all, if you feel the need to reduce your drinking, that could be a sign right there that, indeed, you do have a problem with alcohol.
Another question to ask, if you're sensitive about people noticing your drinking, if someone says something and you say no, no, no, that's not me, well, that might be another sign that you could possibly have a problem.
Another sign that, indeed, alcohol might be a problem for you is if you feel guilty about how much you're drinking. That may be something that you would want to talk to a counselor about.
And then another question, another question to ask yourself, do you feel the need to have a drink first thing in the morning? Another sign that something might really be wrong.
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
If you're answering yes to all of those questions...
COHEN: Right.
S. O'BRIEN: ... or, maybe more realistically, if you're loved -- if you have a loved one who's answering yes, sort of, for you to all those questions, that's a pretty clear indication you've got a problem and you need to think about getting some help.
COHEN: That's right.
And there are so many different kinds of help these days, that there are so many different opportunities, different people like to attack this problem in a different way and you have to look for the solution that's going to work for you.
S. O'BRIEN: Elizabeth Cohen at the CNN Center this morning.
COHEN: Thanks.
S. O'BRIEN: Thanks, Elizabeth.
Ahead this morning, an unusual case of discrimination to tell you about in Wisconsin. A teacher says she was fired for being pregnant. We'll tell you that story, coming up.
Then later, tips on how you can vacation in style, without breaking the bank. Our vacation values in our special summer series, Surviving Summer Travel, just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Get the latest news every morning in your e-mail. Sign up for AMERICAN MORNING Quick News at cnn.com/am.
M. O'BRIEN: Still to come, you want cheap gas?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes.
M. O'BRIEN: Are you willing to drive for it?
S. O'BRIEN: Maybe.
M. O'BRIEN: Go to St. Cloud, Minnesota.
S. O'BRIEN: Oh, that's far.
M. O'BRIEN: $0.99 a gallon in some cases, if you bought at the right time.
S. O'BRIEN: Ooh.
M. O'BRIEN: Basically, they have a little fuel bank there and people who are smart, when it was $0.99, bought a lot of fuel. Now they're drawing down at a time when they're actually making a killing, virtually speaking.
The question is, as we look more into this, should you buy now?
If you were in St. Cloud, would you buy now?
S. O'BRIEN: Yes, I would.
M. O'BRIEN: I'd be a buyer, too, I think.
Anyway, we'll check in on what they're doing there.
Maybe we should all have a fuel bank, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
S. O'BRIEN: Good morning.
Welcome, everybody.
I'm Soledad O'Brien.
M. O'BRIEN: And I'm Miles O'Brien.
We're glad you're with us this morning.
Carol Costello in the newsroom looking at some headlines -- good morning, Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
Good morning to all of you.
Intelligence gaps, a lack of resources, a lack of cooperation -- sounds familiar. But we're not talking about 9/11. A British committee has just released a report on its investigation into the July 7th terror attacks in London. Fifty-two people killed, some 700 injured. The committee is calling for a new warning system and greater cooperation between agencies to fight so-called home grown threats.
In Texas, the cleanup begins north of Dallas after tornadoes hit the area. The town of Westminster under a dawn to dusk curfew. Tornadoes ripped through the area Tuesday night, killing three people. Dozens of homes have been destroyed.
The Bush political dynasty could have at least one more name added to the list. President Bush says his younger brother Jeb would make a great president. The Florida governor has said he will not run, at least not in 2008. But you never know. His second term as governor expires in January.
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